Detective Jenny: The Second Movie (Johnsonverse)

Detective Jenny: The Second Movie is a 1999 American animated/live action hybrid film written by Tammy Jo Johnson, produced by Johnson and Timothy Hill, and directed by Craig Johnson, and the second film in the Detective Jenny franchise. It stars Mary Kay Bergman, Alanna Ubach, Hynden Walch, Cree Summer, Kristen Schaal, Melissa Fahn, Shane Rimmer, Patti Yasutake, Ben Stein, Ricardo Montalban, Raquel Welch, Danny Trejo, Lucie Arnaz, Raúl Esparza, Frank Vincent, Tony Sirico, Steve Buscemi, Aida Turturro, Brenda Vaccaro, Eli Wallach, Michael Pataki, John Stephenson, Robert Loggia, Michael Douglas, and Michael Bell.
The film follows Team Jenny fighting both the Camino Cartel and the Vincenetti crime family as they battle for control of New York City in the absence of Black Scorpion. This was the second and final Detective Jenny film in which Jenny is voiced by Bergman before her suicide later that year, as well as one of Bergman's final voice acting roles; it was released one day after her suicide on November 11 of that year.
During the production of Detective Jenny: The Movie (1997), Johnson wrote story treatments for the second and third films in the series, as well as further seasons, comics, books, and video games. It was officially announced in June 1997, with filming for practical effects taking place in early 1998. It premiered at the San Jose Theatre on November 7, 1999 and was released nationally five days later; it was met with positive reviews for its story, acting, and effects.
== Plot ==
In the aftermath of the destruction of Black Scorpion's moon base, the organization has gone underground to wait for the heat to die down. In their absence, other criminal organizations have become emboldened.
In New York City, Albert "Lips" Vincenetti is alerted to a robbery at one of the businesses under his protection. He and several of his goons go down to investigate, where they are met by Ramon "Motormouth" Gómez, leader of the Camino Cartel. Ramon declares, "While Onizuka is away, we have come to play", and to that end, has decided to expand his drug-smuggling to the Northeast, using New York as an in-road to the lucrative New Jersey market. A firefight and car chase through the streets of New York ensues, leaving many civilians dead or injured and a path of destruction in their wake.
At Team Jenny's headquarters in Hills Beach, Louisiana, Jenny and Makayla are notified by Joe, Dr. Yamashita, and Leonard on Jenny's wrist communicator about the recent massacre. The two call Terry, Kristen, Louise, and Ronnie, and meet up at the underground briefing room, before flying to New York City on Big Bertha. When they arrive, they are shocked at the amount of chaos that has happened (aside from Louise, who is delighted; Ronnie says that Louise needs serious help, which the latter sadly agrees with). One survivor (who lost his legs) tells them that the Vincenetti-Cartel feud has begun, which causes Jenny and Makayla to exchange nervous looks, as the Vincenettis had been founded by a former member of the Denver Crime Family (of which Jenny's father, Clay, was the leader), while Makayla is the de facto heiress of the Cartel.
At City Hall, NYC mayor Jason K. Small gives a speech, promising to take care of the situation to the best of his ability. After he makes his speech, Jason phones Albert, offering to supply the Vincenettis with quality weapons in its feud with the Cartel, instead of the Thompson machine guns used by the Vincenettis; Albert denies this offer, stating "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Jason then offers to give the Vincenettis more money, which Albert accepts. Jason adds that he wants the Vincenettis to provide security for the opening of a new highrise in Columbus Circle, one that he and Don Barron have personally financed with money laundered from the NYPD, and that he intends to use to attract tenants away from the Twin Towers so he can justify closing and dismantling them, having found them ugly, while his new tower, the Jason Small Memorial Tower, is an Art Deco throwback.
Team Jenny walks up to Salva Mart, which is rumored to be a Vincenetti front. Jenny presses the clerk at gunpoint, who reveals that the store is being used to stockpile weapons and collect cash for the Vincenettis' operations; she also reveals that the store is owned by Tuco Vincenetti, one of Albert's brothers, and that the store sells Il Formaggio di Stefano, a cheese brand owned by another one of Albert's brothers, Stefano Vincenetti. The clerk gives the team videotapes of security camera footage before they leave.
Back at the Vincenetti mansion, Albert consults his father and the family's official boss, Roberto "Chunky Bob" Vincenetti, for advice on how to defeat the Cartel. Roberto tells him that his first mistake was getting into a very public, very destructive car chase with the Cartel, which has attracted Team Jenny "like a moth to light". He goes on to talk about how he had once worked for Jenny's father, something that Albert never knew of.
Meanwhile, Team Jenny investigates the tapes they collected from Salva Mart. They deduce that the Vincenettis have tightened their stranglehold on the city since their last confrontation, and that they've expanded their operations to Upstate New York.
Aboard a Cartel ship, Ramon gets a phone call from Albert, who offers to join forces with the Cartel to stop Team Jenny and take over New York City with their combined strength. Ramon laughs at him, before saying he knows the Vincenettis have had it out for Makayla for some time now, and he won't allow anyone to harm her, not even his own people. Albert vows that Roberto will have his head, but Ramon doesn't see Roberto as a threat, given that he was just the guy who got coffee for Clay and his boys. After slamming the receiver down, Ramon wistfully remembers Clay, and vows to kill Jenny and reverse the "brainwashing" she has performed on his daughter.
Jenny and Makayla lay out a plan for the other members to pit both the Vincenettis and the Cartel against each other and take advantage of the chaos to humiliate both Albert and Ramon personally: Kristen and Louise disguise themselves as Vincenetti made men, and Terry and Ronnie disguise themselves as Cartel soldiers, using uniforms taken from members who were imprisoned as well as wigs and sunglasses, while Jenny and Makayla (wearing black) give them the necessary tools, with the outcome of sparking a massive riot between the two organizations that would get national attention.
At City Hall, Jason endorses the new tower, and Don publicly justifies the decision to shut down the Twin Towers by claiming that Tishman (the towers' main contractor) committed major OSHA violations worth billions of dollars.
Jenny and Makayla, dressed in black, go to a rumored Cartel front: One Man's Trash Antiques, which is under construction, and find that there are no actual antiques inside: everything is painted to look old and weathered. They then discover that every "antique" in the store is filled with Cartel cocaine. Then, the two steal all the items, and exit the store. They hand the items to Kristen and Louise, who lace the cocaine on Albert and the Vincenetti goons' food. Meanwhile, Terry and Ronnie pop the tires on several Cartel cars, as well as smashing the windows of other Cartel fronts; they forge a note claiming that the Vincenettis did it.
Later, Albert goes to the Sicilian Homestyle Bistro and orders a plate of spaghetti. When he starts eating, he notices that it has been laced with cocaine; other Vincenetti leaders and goons notice as well. Albert thinks that Ramon ordered this, and sends a large amount of goons to "destroy" the Cartel. Ramon and his family, meanwhile, notice that the One Man's Trash Antiques store and other fronts have been vandalized, and see the forged note. Furious, Ramon declares that the Vincenetti-Cartel feud has escalated, and sends many of his men to "thrash" the Vincenettis. 
As Jason and Don continue work on their tower, they notice that the Cartel has placed several bombs throughout the site. They escape just as it explodes, killing or wounding a number of workers and destroying the unfinished building. Suddenly, news vans and helicopters, as well as FBI vans, arrive at New York City, noticing the riots and destruction happening. Many Vincenetti goons and Cartel soldiers are arrested, and Team Jenny offers to help clean up the mess created. 
Within weeks, the dust has settled: NYC cleanup efforts have taken place, the Vincenettis and Cartel come to a truce, and real estate company Sherman Global purchase the land intended for Jason and Don's tower for cheap. Jenny and Makayla, meanwhile, relax at a beach near the team's headquarters, knowing that they aren't finished yet. 
== Cast ==
* Mary Kay Bergman as Jenny G. Denver
*Alanna Ubach as Makayla Gómez
*Hynden Walch as Terry Clampett-Jones
*Cree Summer as Kristen Smith
*Kristen Schaal as Louise Savage
*Melissa Fahn as Ronnie Hinton
*Shane Rimmer as Joe Quill
*Patti Yasutake as Dr. Michele Yamashita
*Ben Stein as Dennis Leonard
*Ricardo Montalban as Ramon "Motormouth" Gómez
*Raquel Welch as Victoria Gómez
*Danny Trejo as Toni Gómez
*Lucie Arnaz as Adriana Gómez
*Raúl Esparza as Toni Gómez Jr.
*Frank Vincent as Albert "Lips" Vincenetti
*Tony Sirico as Alex Colombo
*Steve Buscemi as Stefano Vincenetti
*Aida Turturro as Francesca Vincenetti
*Brenda Vaccaro as Martha Vincenetti
*Eli Wallach as Tuco Vincenetti
*Michael Pataki as Giorgio Vincenetti
*John Stephenson as Lorenzo Vincenetti
*Robert Loggia as "Chunky" Bob Vincenetti
*Michael Douglas as Don Barron
*Michael Bell as Mayor Jason K. Small
*Maurice LaMarche as Chief Michael Allison
*Ben Gazzara as Sal Bambino
*Tom Kenny as an amputated civilian
*Nancy Cartwright as the Salva Mart clerk
*Steven Zirnkilton as a news announcer
*Christine Cavanaugh as Liz Fields
*Phil Hartman as Joe Waltz
*Jack Angel, Michael Bell, Peter Cullen, Chris Latta, Ray Liotta, Danny Mann, Rob Paulsen, Neil Ross, John Stephenson, and Frank Welker as Vincenetti goons
*Carlos Alazraqui, Eric Bauza, Jeff Bennett, John DiMaggio, Héctor Elizondo, Tom Kenny, and Efren Ramirez as Cartel members
*Pamela Adlon, Gregg Berger, Jeff Bergman, Mary Kay Bergman, Grey DeLisle, Nika Futterman, Janice Kawaye, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Tress MacNeille, Scott Menville, Candi Milo, Masasa Moyo, Rob Paulsen, Patrick Pinney, Kevin Michael Richardson, Yeardley Smith, Tara Strong, Cree Summer, Lauren Tom, Frank Welker, and Billy West as civilians
*Jeff Bennett, Greg Berg, Gregg Berger, Kat Cressida, Tress MacNeille, and Kevin Michael Richardson as police officers
== Production ==
=== Development ===
The film began production in 1996, during production on Detective Jenny: The Movie. Creator Tammy Jo Johnson and director Craig Johnson began writing story treatments for future Detective Jenny seasons, films, and video games.
=== Casting ===
All of the series' main voice actors reprise their roles. The Vincenetti goons (with the exception of one goon, voiced by Ray Liotta) are all voiced by cast members from The Transformers.
=== Animation ===
Animation services for the film are provided by Toei, beginning a tradition in which they handle almost all even-numbered films (with TMS Entertainment animating odd-numbered films); the opposite is handled for the video games (Toei for odd-numbered games, TMS for even-numbered games).
=== Live-action filming ===
Filming for the live-action model sequences took place in early 1998.
=== Soundtrack ===
All original music is composed by Cal Johnson and performed by the Johnson Philharmonic Orchestra, with existing music cues from John Williams, Johnny Douglas, Akira Ifukube, and Barry Gray being used as well.
== Release ==
Detective Jenny: The Second Movie premiered at the San Jose Theatre on November 7, 1999; it was released nationally on November 12.
==Reception==
=== Critical response ===
The film received widespread critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it received a 98% audience score and a 99% Tomatometer rating.
=== Box office ===
=== Accolades ===
At the 72nd Academy Awards, the film received TBA.
=== 9/11 Controversy ===
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the film faced controversy. Part of the villains' plot is to devalue, shut down, and demolish the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, though this wasn't the part that generated controversy. The controversy arose from Don Barron publicly justifying getting rid of the towers involving saying that Tishman (the main contractor for the towers) had committed many OSHA violations.
In the wake of the attacks, the towers' design was believed to have been a major factor in their collapse, being framed tube structures instead of conventional steel frame structures like the Empire State Building. This scene was reevaluated, as many structural engineers believed that the way the towers were built should retroactively constitute an OSHA violation. It was also used as evidence by the 9/11 Truth movement that Johnson had advanced knowledge of the attacks, and were attempting to warn the public that the Twin Towers were unsafe.
== Home media ==
The film was released on DVD and VHS in February 2000. In 2006, it was released again on DVD, and was released on Blu-ray for the first time, as well as on HD DVD and UMD. In 2013, it was one of the first USD launch titles. It was re-released in 2019 on DVD, Blu-ray, USD, and VHS, as well as Ultra HD Blu-ray.
Category:Johnsonverse