Journey Beyond Einstein World is a 2022 animated feature-length television film based on the series of Baby Einstein videos. It follows Issac, Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Sunny Bunny the Rabbit, Mozart the koala, and Ollie the Otter as they embark on an adventure beyond their hometown Einstein World in a way to save it from a new force of evil and being banished by it. The cast of the film includes Eddie Glen, Michelle Ruff, Owen Willson, Nolan North, Chris Parnell, John Hasler, Cree Summers, Wallace Shawn, Claire Corlett, Joseph May, and Fred Armisen.
It was released on April 23, 2022. This film has traditional animation as opposed to having the characters being puppets for this film.
Plot[]
The residents of Einstein World are bustling animals that enjoy having fun, working together, and thriving as a community. As such, they're having the first ever Baby Einstein Party, and many animals from far and wide have come to join in the fun, and Caterpillar runs through town with an armful of scrolls on his back. At the castle, Mozart the koala is nervously getting ready for a meeting with a few monarchs that he knows. He becomes very worried that things won't go well for him when the other animals start the festival's main events. When Caterpillar comes in, he tells Mozart that he's going to be alright and that he does not have to worry. In the meeting room where Baby Boy Head 3, Baby Boy Head 1 and Baby Boy Head 2 are, Mozart comes to them and he asks them if they reposition the sun and moon for the concert performance of famed turtle pop star Sally the turtle. But the 3 heads tell Mozart that each of their magic serves a purpose and that, as the most trusted friend that they all look up to, he already has all the magic that he needs to make the festival a success. Dejected, Mozart leaves the room while Caterpillar follows him.
Meanwhile, the other residents of Einstein World are busy getting ready for the festival and are hard at work, as shown in various scenes: Sunny Bunny the Rabbit is selling foods and drinks, Ollie the Otter is tasked with clearing the weather, Issac makes balloon animals and sets up a party stall, Baby Bach is painting the murals in the town square, and Baby Santa the Reindeer is rehearsing music with a choir. Mozart, still upset, approaches the group and shares with them his disappointment in the other monarchies for disapproving of his festival ideas, and he believes that this festival will become a failure. Despite his ongoing nervousness, his five best friends and some of their neighbours have the utmost confidence in him, leading into everyone bursting into a song about unity and working together as one. At the end of the song, Sunny Bunny accidentally fires a multi-layered cake from her party cannon that lands on Ollie and makes a mess, with Ollie suddenly going into panic mode. When Sally arrives for her sound check with a few bodyguards in tow, Ollie briefly embarrasses himself by splattering cake on Sally's jacket. Everyone else gasps at Ollie for what he just did.
Sally dismisses this, however, believing that Mozart and the other residents have full potential and spirit in making her performance a remarkable one. But as Sally is about to go onstage, she remembers the cake frosting on her jacket and cleans it off. All of a sudden, a massive black storm cloud appears in the sky over the city, causing Issac to scold Ollie for bringing about this weather, but Ollie says that he didn't bring them this weather. The other residents notice this and some of them turn to each other in mild confusion. A large, ominous airship emerges from the clouds and lands on the festival grounds. A doppelganger of Baby Bach, Evil Baby Bach, comes out of the ship, announcing his arrival on behalf of Anti Isaac, before introducing Anti Mozart, the evil version of Mozart, as well as being the lieutenant to Anti Isaac. No one on the ground applauds for the strangers since their faces are concerned and shocked or confused. When Baby Boy Head 3, Baby Boy Head 1 and Baby Boy Head 2 greet Anti Mozart, with the regular Mozart curious about Anti Mozart's broken left hand, Anti Mozart does not take very kindly to this and he then demands the immediate surrender of their magic or else something bad or dangerous will happen to them and their city. When they refuse, more airships appear, and a huge army of monstrous doppelgangers (including those of Baby Noah, Patch the Panda, and others) begin to attack the residents of Einstein World, causing worry and panic among the residents. Anti Mozart fires magical orbs to turn Baby Boy Head 3, Baby Boy Head 1 and Baby Boy Head 2 into obsidian statues. Just before he is petrified, Baby Boy Head 3 tells Baby Boy Head 1 to go south beyond the Badlands and seek help from the "Mysterious Musicgriffs". When Anti Mozart sees the regular Mozart nearby and tries to fire an orb at him, Sunny Bunny the Rabbit drives a wagon in front of Mozart to block the blast, causing Grey Puppy to get caught in the crossfire. As such, Issac, Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Sunny Bunny the Rabbit, Mozart, and Ollie the Otter try to escape the city, but the doppelganger armies block their path and surround Mozart, telling him to surrender now or else his friends will perish. Sunny Bunny defends the group with her party cannon and fires confetti from the cannon, but it reflects off one of the army members's shields and destroys the bridge they're standing on, and as such, Issac, Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Sunny Bunny the Rabbit, Mozart, and Ollie plummet over a waterfall, but they are safe by landing on a stray sailboat in the water. Once they are safe from danger, they try to decide what to do.
Having heard Baby Boy Head 3's earlier instructions to Baby Boy Head 1 about going south beyond the Badlands and to seek help from the Mysterious Musicgriffs, Mozart explains they will be going south and getting help from the Mysterious Musicgriffs by themselves. His friends are scared of traveling beyond Einstein World and having to leave their loved ones behind, but Caterpillar says they'll be sticking with Mozart nonetheless. Back in the castle, it appears that the other residents of Einstein World have been captured and put in chains and cages, including Sally and her two bodyguards. In the throne room, Anti Mozart communicates with Anti Isaac via a potion spell, who asks if he's captured the "4 most important characters". Because Anti Isaac needs the magic of all four monarchs to empower his Staff of Darkness and restore Anti Mozart's broken hand, he tells him to give him three days to prepare for his arrival. Unfortunately, Evil Baby Bach enters and informs him that Mozart has just escaped. Anti Mozart asks him to prepare the airship as they will be going to look for Mozart. Some time later, Issac, Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Sunny Bunny, Mozart, and Ollie are marching tiredly through a vast desert, and Caterpillar is getting delirious from the heat. As Ollie collapses from exhaustion, he discovers a cobblestone road leading to a small, industrial city called Piratetown. The city is populated by shady lions and other pirate-like creatures looking to buy and sell anything, from treasure chests to pirate hats, and the arrival of the group is noticed by an anthropomorphic pirate lion.
Soon, Baby Bach suggests they will not draw too much attention to themselves, but Ollie immediately does just that by asking around about the Mysterious Musicgriffs in front of the pirates. The residents of Piratetown become obsessed with buying Issac, Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Sunny Bunny, Mozart, and Ollie, but the lion from earlier steps in to stop them, claiming them to be infected with a fatal illness that he calls "Stranger Syndrome". The creatures flee from the "infected" animals, and Mozart thanks the lion-who introduces himself as Pirate Roary Cooper—for his help. When Pirate Roary Cooper offers to lead them to the Mysterious Musicgriffs, Sunny Bunny is wary about trusting him, but he assures them through song that he can guide them through this unfamiliar and dangerous city. Near the end of the song, Pirate Roary Cooper tells a creature—Needy—outside his home to inform someone named Verko that he has something important with him to settle his debt. Meanwhile, Evil Baby Bach and Anti Mozart arrive in Piratetown in pursuit of the regular Mozart and begin to ask the residents if they know of his whereabouts. A large fish creature believes Evil Baby Bach is an accomplice to the pirates, especially Pirate Roary Cooper, but when the fish notices Anti Mozart's early deception and threatens him, Anti Mozart incapacitates him easily and asks for more information. While staying in Pirate Roary Cooper's house, Issac, Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Sunny Bunny the Rabbit, Mozart, and Ollie are taken by his various belongings, and they regale him with stories of Einstein World and explain about what is happening to the town and that they need the strongest help to take down Anti Mozart and his powerful army of minions, including Anti Isaac. As thanks for his assistance earlier, Sunny Bunny fixes up Roary Cooper's coat, and he is surprised by her generosity. In his search of Roary Cooper's book collection, Mozart discovers that Baby Boy Head 1 was referring not to the "Mysterious Musicgriffs" but rather the Musicgriffins, half-musicial half-eagle creatures who live at the top of Mount Musicial. When Pirate Roary Cooper attempts to supply Issac, Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Sunny Bunny, Mozart, and Ollie with their own airship for their journey, mob boss Verko arrives to buy the group from him as excepted, revealing his true intentions to the group. Ollie yells at Pirate Roary Cooper for betraying them, but Caterpillar tells Ollie to keep his voice down, or else they will be caught.
But Evil Baby Bach and Anti Mozart soon arrive in the house, still in their pursuit of the regular Mozart, and this causes Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Issac, Sunny Bunny the Rabbit, Mozart, and Ollie to escape by using Verko as a distraction. After a hectic windmill chase across the city, Issac and the others stow away on an airship just before it departs from the docks of Piratetown. Meanwhile, Pirate Roary Cooper has been taken prisoner by Evil Baby Bach and Anti Mozart, with Anti Mozart demanding to know where he led Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Issac, Sunny Bunny the Rabbit, Mozart, and Ollie to before he could get to take the regular Mozart. Pirate Roary Cooper, remembering the generosity that Sunny Bunny showed him, points Anti Mozart toward Black Danger Island—in the opposite direction of Mount Musical. On the airship, Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Issac, Sunny Bunny the Rabbit, Mozart, and Ollie try to keep themselves hidden from a crew of panda knights, but they are soon found by the knights. As indicated by the insignia on their uniforms, they are also in league with Anti Isaac, confusing Caterpillar, since Anti Isaac is a very bad lion and he steals things from others. As the panda knights decide what to do with the stowaways on their ship, they turn to their leader: Sir Bodi the Panda Knight. After consulting the Anti Isaac's rule book, Sir Bodi the Panda Knight declares that they should be tossed overboard. But just before they do so, the union whistle blows, and Issac, Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Sunny Bunny the Rabbit, Mozart, and Ollie the Otter unwittingly join the panda knights for a gruel lunch. Sir Bodi and his crew of knights are indentured delivery knights to Anti Issac, despite Caterpillar's negative objections about Anti Issac. When Mozart asks Sir Bodi and his crew of knights to deliver him and his friends to Mount Musical, the knights suddenly refuse to do it out of fear of suffering from a wrath that Anti Issac will give them if they don't follow his wishes or orders. The group of animals learned that before the knights served Anti Issac, they used to be brave knights, fighting monsters and other dangerous creatures like dragons. Through the song Time to Be Awesome, Baby Bach and his friends encourage the panda knights to oppose Anti Issac's iron-fisted rule and return to their ways of being panda knights.
Inspired by Baby Bach's kind and encouraging words, Sir Bodi and his panda Knight crew discard their uniforms and raise their airship's rainbow-colored knight armory and sails. In celebration of the knights's return to glory and fame, Ollie the Otter performs a daring Sea Waterboom against Mozart's wishes. In the distance, Anti Mozart sees the rainboom, realizes that Pirate Roary Cooper lied to him, and turns his airship around. As Anti Mozart's ship approaches Sir Bodi's, the knights hide Sunny Bunny and her five friends below deck so that they don't see them. Like last time, Evil Baby Bach and Anti Mozart board the ship and ask the knights where the regular Mozart is, but a panda knight named Crissy the Knight and her crew claim ignorance, including Sir Bodi, who acts like he doesn't know who Mozart is. Below deck, Issac scolds Ollie for performing his Sea Waterboom when Mozart told him not to do so, then Mozart fears that the panda knights will give the group up to Anti Mozart and comes up with an idea. He quickly opens up the hatch on the ship's undercarriage, and the 6 friends fall through the sky. In midair, Baby Bach uses a crate, a Anti Issac flag, and some rope to create a makeshift hot-air balloon, and he and his friends fly toward Mount Musical.
Back on Sir Bodi's airship, Anti Mozart finds Issac's map and learns of him and his friends' next destination. As punishment for harboring the good Mozart in secret, Anti Mozart destroys Sir Bodi's ship.
While exploring the deserted kingdom of the Musicgriffins, Issac and his friends are led by the Musicgriffin named Molly, who shows the group her home of Mount Musical on a massive geode and various platforms. Molly reveals her kind to be the Musicgriffins, transformed by a magic pearl used by her father, Mr Griff, so that they can hide from Anti Mozart and his minions, including Anti Issac. In the throne room, Molly introduces the animals to her father, who is furious to see surface dwellers in his domain. When Issac sees the magic pearl, he asks Molly's father if he can use the pearl to save Einstein World from Anti Mozart and his minions, including Anti Issac, but Mr Griff refuses, saying that they don't want the pearl to fall into the wrong hands. Mozart, fed up with his friends' and their carefree antics throughout the journey, attempts to steal the pearl while letting his friends unknowingly distract the Musicgriffins with a bunch of fun and games planned for the Musicgriffins. His plan backfires when he triggers an alarm right after Issac happily persuades Mr Griff to give them the pearl, resulting in Mr Griff angrily banishing the entire group back to where they originally came from.
Issac, Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Sunny Bunny, Mozart, and Ollie wash up on the shores of a sandy beach near Mount Musical. As such, they get into an argument over Mozart and his actions towards them, including trying to steal the magic pearl from the Musicgriffins. Mozart says "Issac tried to steal the pearl first!", and then he angrily says that they aren't in Einstein World anymore, and that their usual methods of resolving problems aren't good enough to save their home from Anti Issac and Anti Mozart. After Mozart argues with Issac, with Issac claiming that he didn't want to steal the pearl to kick them out from Mount Musical, Mozart suddenly loses his temper and furiously disowns them as his friends while telling Issac to be ashamed of himself for what he put the group through. Deeply hurt and offended, the group, barring Caterpillar, all leave Mozart behind, and Mozart falls into deep remorse over his actions, with Caterpillar trying to comfort Mozart.
These actions unknowingly allow Caterpillar to be spotted by a doppelganger, who traps him in a net, and when Mozart tries to rescue him, his anti counterpart is able to capture him. While in the airship of Anti Mozart, Anti Mozart throws Mozart into a cage and locks him there, then he taunts him over losing his friends. Anti Mozart tells the regular Mozart about his tragic backstory: as a young koala, he was friends with two other koalas with unknown traits and names, who lost their ball in the cave of an ursa minor while playing one day. When young Anti Mozart tried to retrieve the ball, the ursa broke his left hand. His magic became unstable and dangerous, causing his friends to shun him out of fear. Mozart soon realizes what he did and begs his evil counterpart to let him out, but Anti Mozart refuses, and he just laughs at him. Anti Mozart learned from then on that friendship is a foolish notion, and he takes Mozart back to the town square at Einstein World, where Mozart sees that the residents are still kept in chains and cages, including Sally the turtle, who sings sadly, but a minion tells her to be quiet. Anti Mozart arrives in the castle with his good form in tow, just in time for the arrival of Anti Issac. With Mozart, Baby Boy Head 3, Baby Boy Head 1, and Baby Boy Head 2 now in his possession, Anti Isaac then declares that he's finally going to get the magic of all four monarchs to empower his Staff of Darkness and successfully restore Anti Mozart's broken hand. Mozart gets worried with Anti Mozart laughing out loud, knowing that his plan is going to work and that he will rule the city.
At the beach, Caterpillar successfully breaks out of his net, but is worried about Mozart. Plus, Issac, Baby Bach, Sunny Bunny, and Ollie feel bad about abandoning Mozart just because he messed things up for them. As they consider going back to apologize, Caterpillar suddenly appears and informs them that Mozart's been captured. The others believe there's no way to get back to the town square at Einstein World and rescue Mozart or challenge the forces of Anti Mozart and Anti Issac, since they don't have strong forces of their own, but Pirate Roary Cooper suddenly appears with the cavalry: Sir Bodi and his crew of panda knights. Molly the Music Griffin, having used Mr Griff's pearl to transform into a Magical Musicgriffin, also joins them—at the risk of getting in big trouble with her father. In the already captured town square, Anti Issac is excited by his power to control the world with his newly empowered staff, thanking Anti Mozart and Evil Baby Bach for giving him Mozart, Baby Boy Head 3, Baby Boy Head 1, and Baby Boy Head 2, as well as their magical power. At the entrance to Einstein World, Pirate Roary Cooper disguises himself as a pastry chef delivering a congratulatory cake for Anti Issac, and Issac, the panda knights, Sir Bodi, Caterpillar, Baby Bach, Molly, Sunny Bunny, and Ollie pull the cake cart while pretending to be captured. The gluttonous Evil Baby Bach sees the cake being carted through town and takes a bite out of it, and he notices the eyeball of someone hiding inside. With their cover blown, Molly the Music Griffin and the knights burst out of the cake, and a battle breaks out between the animals' forces and the doppelganger armies. The battle soon reaches the castle courtyard, and Mozart and Anti Mozart look down at it from the balcony. Anti Mozart laughs again as Mozart swears that they will soon regret what they did. Anti Issac, overhearing Mozart's words, is sickened by the "magic of friendship and love" and uses his staff to create a giant and scary lightning storm over Einstein World, forcing the other animals in the battleground space to find or take shelter from the storm.
Anti Mozart tells Anti Issac to repair his hand and that he doesn't want to stay like this as their deal, but Anti Issac angrily goes back on his word and reveals that he merely used him for his own ends, revealing that he betrayed Anti Mozart. Then, Anti Issac attacks Anti Mozart, who nearly flies off the balcony and into the growing black cyclone, but the regular Mozart suddenly breaks out of his cage to successfully save Anti Mozart from Anti Issac's wrath. When Anti Issac prepares to finish off both regular Mozart and the doppelganger Anti Mozart, the rest of the regular Mozart's friends see this and they use Sunny Bunny's party cannon to launch themselves through the cyclone and knock over the doppelganger armies, as well as knocking over Anti Issac. While Issac, Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Sunny Bunny the Rabbit, Mozart, and Ollie the Otter reunite and forgive one another for their actions from earlier, Anti Issac's Staff of Darkness surges out of control with it's magic, which Mozart suddenly realizes. Together with his friends, Mozart races to seize the staff before Anti Issac and his minions do, but both Anti Issac and Mozart get themselves lost in the raging storm. Just as it appears that Mozart is gone forever, he successfully comes floating down with the staff in his possession, much to his friends' relief. The storm cloud fades away and the doppelganger army retreats in their respective airships. But while celebrating their success, Anti Issac emerges from the clouds, holding another orb to turn Mozart and all of the residents of Einstein World into stone and obsidian statues once and for all. Before he can do so, Anti Mozart refuses to let this happen and he jumps in the way, and the orb turns himself and Anti Issac to obsidian.
Caterpillar keeps the stone Anti Mozart from falling off the balcony, but the petrified Anti Issac plummets down from the balcony and shatters into pieces when it hits the ground. The animals are suddenly shocked by Anti Mozart's sudden sacrifice, and Mozart uses the Staff of Darkness to de-petrify him and Baby Boy Head 3, Baby Boy Head 1, and Baby Boy Head 2, returning them to normal. As such, Anti Mozart now has a change of heart and then he frees the rest of the residents of Einstein World from captivity (including Sally the turtle), and successfully restoring Einstein World back to normal.
At night, the residents threw their Baby Einstein Party as planned, and Sally the turtle took to the stage to thank Mozart and his friends for rescuing Einstein World. The residents cheer and applaud for them. As Sally bursts into song on the stage, Sunny Bunny gives Roary Cooper a brand new coat, and he is surprised by her generosity yet again. Then Mr Griff and the other Musicgriffins arrive to join the party, with Mr Griff grounding Molly for leaving home without permission. In the middle of the festivities, Mozart notices a sad Anti Mozart all by himself. He invites Anti Mozart to stay in Einstein World and offers him extra friendship, but Anti Mozart is still upset about his broken hand. The regular Mozart tells him that his magic is still as powerful as the "animal who wields it". In acceptance of their new friendship, Anti Mozart says sorry to everyone, who forgives him. Anti Mozart then creates fireworks for Sally's performance with his broken hand. When Sunny Bunny compliments Anti Mozart's magic display, Anti Mozart reveals that it was in celebration of their friendship. The film ends with Anti Mozart, Issac, Baby Bach, Caterpillar, Sunny Bunny, Mozart, and Ollie performing onstage with Sally for the crowd.