The Moxy Movie

The Moxy Movie is a 1997 American animated musical comedy film produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Feature Animation, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (under the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label) and released on July 4, 1997 to generally positive reviews from critics but was a box office bomb grossing only $21 million against its budget of $50 million making it one of the biggest flops in animation history alongside The Pebble & The Penguin which also flopped at the same time as this movie did back in 1995 when Don Bluth's studio went bankrupt due to that film's commercial failure causing him to close down his company for good leaving many people unemployed including himself until he got hired again years later working for Fox Animation Studios where he worked on Anastasia before getting fired yet again after another dispute with Jeffrey Katzenberg who is now chairman of DreamWorks SKG since 1994 following Disney's purchase of Amblin Partners while Steven Spielberg became co-chairman along with Stacey Snider ever since 2015 up till today.

Plot
Moxy and Flea are on a quest to save Cartoon Network from the evil Dr. Robotnik, who has taken over the network with his army of robots and plans to destroy it. Along the way, they meet up with some old friends: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Sylvester Cat & Road Runner; as well as new ones like SpongeBob SquarePants (who joins their team after he is fired by Mr. Krabs), Patrick Starfish (SpongeBob's best friend) Sandy Cheeks (an anthropomorphic squirrel from Texas), Squidward Tentacles (Mr. Krabs' cashier/grumpy neighbor) & Plankton (Krabs' business rival). Can Moxy and Flea stop Dr. Robotnik before it's too late?

Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack would be composed by John Williams in which he would use themes from previous Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as "Yakko Warner", "Dot Warner" & Pinky ("Animaniacs"), Fred Flintstone ("The Flintstones") Wilma Flintstone("The Pebbles And Bamm-Bamm Show"), Barney Rubble("Hanna Barberana Super TV Heroes"), Betty Rubble("The New Fred And Barney Show"), Scooby-Doo ("Scooby Doo, Where Are You?"), Shaggy Rogers("A Pup Named Scooby Doo"), Velma Dinkley("What's New, Scooby-Doo?") & Daphne Blake("Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!").

Animation
The film would be animated by Hanna Barbera and Turner Feature Animation.

Trailers
The first trailer for the film was attached to "Batman Forever" in June 1995; the second trailer was attached to "Casper" in July 1995; and the third and final trailer was attached to "Pocahontas" in June 1996.

Production
The film began production in January 1996 at Hanna Barbera Studios; with animation being done overseas at Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. (now known as CGCG Inc.) in Taipei, Taiwan & Rough Draft Korea Co., Ltd. In Seoul, South Korea under the supervision of James Tuckett (who also served as one of the two supervising animators on Disney's 1997 feature film Hercules); with some additional animation being done by TokyoMovie Shinsha Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan.

Development
The film was originally going to be released by Warner Bros., but due to the studio's merger with Turner Broadcasting System in 1996; the film ended up being released by Turner Feature Animation (which would later merge with Time Warner's newly created animation division, Cartoon Network Studios in 1997).

Casting
Bobcat Goldthwait as Moxy/additional voices

Cheech Marin as himself (cameo)

Penn Jillette as Flea/Himself (Cameo)

Chris Rock as Flea/ additional voices 		Tress MacNeille as Dot Warner / Daisy Duck / Additional Voices  	Rob Paulsen Yakko Warner / Pinky / Dr. Otto Scratchansniff / Ralph Tresvant Jr. – Additonal Voices    Jess Harnell Wakko Warner- Additional Voices    Maurice LaMarche Brain -Additional Voice   Sherri Stoner Slappy Squirrel-Additional Voice Tom Kenny Spongebob Squarepants-Lead Role Bill Fagerbakke Patrick Starfish Rodger Bumpass Squidward Tentacles Clancy Brown Mr Krabs Carolyn Lawrence Sandy Cheeks Jeffrey Tambor Plankton Jim Cummings Dr. Robotnik

Release
The film was originally going to be released on June 6, 1997; but due to production delays, it was pushed back to July 4, 1997.

Screening
The film had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France on June 10, 1997. It was then screened at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 18, 1997; and finally had its theatrical release in the United States & Canada on July 25, 1997.

Home media
The film was first released on VHS & Laserdisc by Turner Home Entertainment (now Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) on November 11, 1997; followed by a DVD release on March 9 1999; and a Blu-ray release (along with a reissue of the DVD) from Warner Archive Collectionon May 12 2015.

Reception
Reception for The Moxy Show has been positive over time as many people who grew up watching Cartoon Network during its early years have fond memories of this show along with other Hanna Barbera classics such as Scooby Doo Where Are You?, Yogi Bear etcetera that were shown alongside new material like Space Ghost Coast To Coast which would go onto influence shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Robot Chicken.

Accolades
The Moxy Movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Pixar's A Bug's Life.

The Moxy Movie was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, but lost to As Good as It Gets.

Legacy
The Moxy Show is considered the first original series on Cartoon Network, but due to the production style, Space Ghost Coast to Coast is considered Cartoon Network's first fully produced series.