The Ballad of Mystic Joe

The Ballad of Mystic Joe: A Jumping Ground Story (or simply The Ballad of Mystic Joe) is a 2018 animated fantasy action-comedy film It is the second of two Jumping Ground anthology films developed exclusively for Netflix known as Chronicles from Pencaster, the other being Crocks and Dragons.

The Ballad of Mystic Joe follows Luis Fernando Lopez, a nightclub employee who learns the mystic arts from Joseph "Mystic Joe" Prince after a violent, career-ending assault. The storyline also shows Luis's perspective in regard to the Reality Stone deal, set to be shown an episode of the twenty-second season of The Jumping Ground TV series.

The film was released worldwide on Netflix on September 14, 2018.

Plot
In Kathmandu, the sorcerer Kaecilius and his zealots enter the secret compound Kamal-To and behead its librarian. They steal a few pages from an ancient, mystical text belonging to “Mystic” Joe Prince, a master sorcerer who has taught every student at Kamal-To, including Kaecilius, in the mystic arts. Mystic Joe pursues the traitors, but Kaecilius and his followers escape.

In Pencaster, Luis Fernando Lopez, an wealthy, high-ranking employee at the Maisonette 9 nightclub, witnesses an invasion by Matoombo of the Ten Terrors. He is later brutally attacked by a group of mobsters, leaving him unable to work. Fellow employees Armando Torres and Jessica Rodriguez try to help him move on, but Luis vainly pursues experimental surgeries to heal his hands, nearly bankrupting himself. Luis learns about Jonathan Pangborn, a paraplegic who mysteriously regained use of his legs. Pangborn directs Luis to Kamal-To, where he is taken in by Rocco Pelosci, a sorcerer under Mystic Joe seeking revenge against Kaecilius, who killed his family. Mystic Joe demonstrates his power to Luis, revealing the astral plane and other dimensions such as the Mirror Dimension. He agrees to train Luis, whose arrogance and ambition remind him of Kaecilius.

Luis studies under the Mystic Joe and Rocco, and from ancient books in the library that is now guarded by Yusuf Amir. Luis learns that Earth is protected from threats from other dimensions by a shield generated from three buildings called Sanctums, in Pencaster, London, Vancouver, Paris, Hamburg, Saint Petersburg, Rio de Janeiro and Hong Kong, which are all connected and accessible from Kamal-To. The sorcerers' task is to protect the Sanctums, though Pangborn instead chose to channel mystical energy only into walking again. Luis learns the Mystic Arts quickly, and secretly reads the text from which Kaecilius stole pages, learning to bend time with the mystical Eye of Agamodto. Rocco and Yusuf warn Luis against breaking the laws of nature, drawing a comparison to Kaecilius' desire for eternal life.

In his downtime, Luis attempts to resume his personal life, and learns from Armando that Maisonette 9 had closed down because of financial issues caused by Luis' injury, and that his aunt has disowned him becuase of his disloyalty. At a diner, he learns from Fleeca City-based drug dealer Riccardo Diaz about an auction for the Aether (an Ori energy source forged out of the Reality Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones), and ambushes the auction being held at the Pencaster Democratic Museum of Art and Culture by killing another Ten Terror, Hekatoid with one of his newly-learned spells. Luis, after fighting off Black Order Jaffa, helps Langham Institute student-soldiers Lance Patrick and Zowie Hosker escape, while Johnny Klebitz, the leader of the Crock MC, escapes with the Aether. Yusuf, upon realising what Luis is doing, teleports him back to Kamal-To.

Kaecilius uses the stolen pages to contact Dormammu of the Dark Dimension, where time is non-existent. Kaecilius destroys the London Sanctum to weaken Earth's protection, and sends a group of Zealots to kill what is left of the Dragons MC, with the intention of gaining their testimony. Another group of Zealots then attack the Pencaster Sanctum, killing its guardian, but Luis holds them off until Mystic Joe and Rocco arrive. Luis and Mystic Joe become disillusioned with Rocco after Kaecilius reveals that Rocco's unorthodox strength is due to him drawing power from the Dark Dimension. Mystic Joe, however reveals that he too drew power from the Dark Dimension, which granted him extended longevity. After a fight in the Mirror Dimension of Pencaster, Kaecilius mortally wounds Rocco and escapes to Hong Kong. Before dying, he tells Luis that he too will have to bend the rules to complement Mystic Joe's steadfast nature in order to defeat Kaecilius.

Luis and Mystic Joe arrive in Hong Kong to find Yusuf dead, the Sanctum destroyed, and the Dark Dimension engulfing Earth. Luis uses the Eye to reverse time and save Yusuf, then reluctantly gives the Eye back to Mystic Joe, who enters the Dark Dimension and creates a time loop around himself and Dormammu. After repeatedly killing Mystic Joe to no avail, Dormammu finally gives in to Mystic Joe's demand that he leave Earth and take Kaecilius and his zealots with him in return for Mystic Joe breaking the loop. In the aftermath, Luis returns the Eye to Kamal-To as it contains another Infinity Stone (the Time Stone), and takes up residence in the Pencaster Sanctum to continue his studies. In a mid-credits scene, The Langham's director, Peter Mandelson recruits Luis to his cause.

Main characters

 * William Salyers as Luis Fernando Lopez, A young, Dominican-American employee at the Maisonette 9 nightclub who, after being injured in a violent assault that leads him to a journey of healing, discovers the hidden world of magic and alternate dimensions.
 * Christian Slater as Joseph "Mystic Joe" Prince, A 750-year-old master sorcerer, who becomes Luis's mentor.
 * Thomas Sadowski as Rocco Pelosci, A Mystic Arts warrior close Mystic Joe, who seeks to avenge his family's death at the hands of Kaecillius.
 * Kumail Nanjiani as Yusuf Amir, A Master of the Mystic Arts, tasked with protecting some of Kamal-To's most valuable relics and books.

Future
While promoting the film at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con International, Writer Dan Ast called The Ballad of Mystic Joe the "doorway" into the supernatural side of the Jumping Ground universe, while its protagonist, Luis would become a central character in main series, playing a very important role.