Crocks and Dragons: A Jumping Ground Story (or simply Crocks and Dragons) is a 2018 animated crime comedy-drama film It is one of two Jumping Ground anthology films developed exclusively for Netflix known as Chronicles from Pencaster, the other being The Ballad of Mystic Joe.
The film's story centers on Johnny Klebitz, Vice-President of the Ohio chapter of the outlaw motorcycle club, The Crock MC, and his efforts to keep the chapter running, while dealing with internal conflicts, gang warfare, drug running, and various enemies. The storyline also shows Johnny's perspective in regard to a major artifact deal, with the other two set to be shown in The Ballad of Mystic Joe and an episode of the twenty-second season of The Jumping Ground TV series.
The film was released worldwide on Netflix on June 8, 2018.
Synopsis[]
Johnny Klebitz is a veteran member of The Crocks, a notorious biker gang. Johnny has been creating business opportunities for The Crocks in Pencaster, but his first loyalty must be to the patch he wears on his back and to Billy Grey, the club's President. However, when Billy returns from rehab hell-bent on bloodshed and debauchery, Johnny finds himself in the middle of a vicious turf war with rival gangs for control of a city torn apart by violence and corruption, pitting his brotherhood on the very edge.
Plot[]
Billy Grey, club president of the Crock MC in the Normanton district of Pencaster, is finally released from a court-ordered rehab after being arrested for narcotics possession. His vice-president, Jonathan "Johnny" Klebitz, is not happy about his return, after having spent the past year as the club's acting president all while dealing with its debt, mainly from Billy's leadership, and having a truce with the Lost's rivals, The Dragons of Death, in order for the Lost to run their drug and gun running operations more freely throughout Pencaster. Following his release, Billy quickly breaks the truce with the Dragons before instigating a war with them, causing tensions between him and Johnny to grow, with the latter more interested in keeping the club's business running smoothly than engaging in fights with the Dragons.
Shortly after hearing news that the Crock MC's Enforcer, Jason Michaels, was killed in Fleeca City, Billy prompts an attack on an Dragons' clubhouse. Despite assisting in the attack, Johnny is uncertain about his claim that the Angels killed Jason, which is further strengthened when he watches Billy and the club's secretary, Brian Jeremy, remove a stash of heroin after the attack. Despite the uncertainty, Johnny is soon forced by Ron Jackowski to meet with his superior, Langham Institute student-soldier and drug lord Toad Sanderson, who helps to find a buyer for the drugs[1]. Despite his assistance, the deal goes wrong, before matters are made worse when Jim Fitzgerald, the club's treasurer and Johnny's best friend, reveals that the heroin they stole actually belonged to the Triads. Persuading Billy that they must return it to them, he and Jim are made to hand it back themselves, but quickly come under fire as the Triads retaliate against them for the theft of their heroin. While the pair survive, the gunfight prompts the arrival of the police, who arrest Billy for the incident, while the pair watch.
Prompted to become the Lost's president, Johnny attempts to keep the Crock MC stable, by taking on work with Jim and Uptown Riders, Malc and DeSean. He also becomes entrapped by congressman Thomas Stubbs III, into working for him in dealing with several problems, while also having to help his ex-girlfriend, Ashley, with a few problems connected to her drug habit, which include getting out of trouble by stopping her having an affair with another Langham student, Rob Broflovski[2]. At the same time, Brian, who is still faithful to Billy and believes Johnny to be responsible for Billy's arrest, starts a civil war against him, which soon culminates in an ambush after he tries to deceive him into believing that he wants to arrange a truce with him. While the ambush leads to most of the Normanton chapter dying, Johnny and his friends survive, whilst Brian escapes and goes into hiding.
Eventually, Johnny tracks down and kills Brian, after Ray Bulgarin, a Mafia capo and Ashley's boss, sells his location to him in the interest of establishing his business with the Lost. After dealing with Brian, Johnny is called by Bulgarin to place a bid at an auction for the Aether (an Ori energy source formed out of the Reality Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones) in the Pencaster Democratic Museum of Art and Culture alongside Langham students Lance Patrick and Zowie Hosker. While the deal goes badly wrong after Mystic Arts student Luis Lopez ambushes the auction and kills Hekatoid of the Ten Terrors, Johnny manages to get the Aether and escapes with it[3], only for a suspicious Bulgarin to capture him and Jim to get it back. Although the pair manage to escape their captivity and Johnny ambushes Bulgarin's hitmen, Jim rigs his bike with explosives and destroys a large NOOSE convoy headed straight for the ambush point, sacrificing himself in the process.
A short while later, with the Normanton chapter virtually coming apart, Stubbs meets with Johnny and explains that Bulgarin is under observation by the FIB and that he should stay away from him. Stubbs then reveals that Billy is planning to testify against the Crocks, pinning all its crimes on Johnny while he enters a Witness Protection Program. Meanwhile a group of Zealots working for Kaecilius kills the remaining members of the Dragons[4], and the news reaches Billy, who escapes captivity. Johnny, seeking to kill him for his treachery, leads the remaining members of the Lost in a daring raid on the Boilingbroke Penitentiary, where he locates Billy and executes him.
With Billy dead, Johnny and the other surviving members of the Lost - Clay Simmons, Terry Thorpe and Angus Marsh - return to their clubhouse, only to find it vandalized by Bulgarin's men. Knowing that their brotherhood in Normanton is truly destroyed, the group decide to set fire to the clubhouse, watching it burn. In the aftermath, Johnny arrives at a new Crock MC clubhouse which formerly belonged to Brian, where Angus informs that the club has decided to change its ways and become a force for good in the city, and that the Reality Stone was entrusted to the Furlings, to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands again. Before resuming active duty, Angus presents Johnny with a memorial for Jim.
Voice Cast[]
Main characters[]
- Tony Hale as Johnny Klebitz, Vice-President turned acting President of The Crock MC.
- Matt Gerald as William "Billy" Grey, President of The Crock MC and best friend turned enemy of Johnny, who leads the club in his absence.
- Bill Hader as
- Jim Fitzgerald, the Treasurer of The Crock MC.
- Lester Arnold, the President of the Dragons of Death, the main rivals of the Crocks, whom Billy enters a lucrative deal with.
- Malc, a member of the Uptown Riders motorcycle gang and an associate of Johnny.
- Rob Corddry as Brian Jeremy, a senior member of the Crocks, who is fiercley loyal to Billy, thus disliking Johnny.
- Mike Henry as
- Jason Michaels, the Crock's Enforcer who appears to have severe drinking issues.
- Terry Thorpe, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Crocks.
- Jerrod Chairmichael as Clay "C-Dog" Simmons, the Road Captain of the Crocks, and the best in the gang when it comes to driving.
- Eric Edelstein as
- Angus Marsh, a member of the Crocks who was severely paralyzed in a catastrophic accident caused by Billy, reducing his role to planning the club's missions.
- Horus McKenna, the Crock's Combat Tactician. He uses his wings in group formations, so instead of riding a motorcycle, he flies in mid-air.
- Juno Temple as Ashley Butler, a vicious cocaine smuggler and Johnny's love interest.
- Christopher Meloni as Ray Bulgarin, the leader of a feared Russian cocaine cartel based in Pencaster, and Ashley’s superior.
Other characters[]
- Grant Palmer as Rob Broflovski
- Tom Kenny as Lance Patrick
- Michelle Knotz as Zowie Hosker
- Dee Bradley Baker as Toad Sanderson
- William Salyers as Luis Fernando Lopez
- Eric Bauza as Joseph "Mystic Joe" Prince
Production[]
The film was first announced in March 2017 when The Jumping Ground creators Lee Eisenhower and Conrad Vernon signed a deal with Netflix to create two "epic episodic features" in the Jumping Ground universe, targeting releases during certain periods in 2018. In October 2017, the titles of both films, Crocks and Dragons and The Ballad of Mystic Joe, were announced, with release dates of June 8, 2018 and September 14, 2018 respectively. Both movies would take place during the twenty-second season of The Jumping Ground, with a major crossover with both movies.
Reception[]
Future[]
Notes[]
- ↑ As depicted in The Jumping Ground Season 22 episode "Taking in the Trash".
- ↑ As depicted in The Jumping Ground Season 22 episode "Love, Broflovski Style".
- ↑ As depicted in The Jumping Ground Season 22 episode "Museum Piece", and The Ballad of Mystic Joe.
- ↑ As depicted in The Ballad of Mystic Joe.
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