The Chucklewood Critters (2024 film)

Tony Love

Amy Jo Johnson

Jeffrey Dean

Amblin Entertainment

Amblimation

Berlanti Productions

DeviantArt Entertainment

Encore Enterprises

***The Chucklewood Critters*** (also known as ***The Chucklewood Critters Movie***) is a 2025 American live-action/3D computer-animated hybrid family comedy adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg that will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and Sony Pictures Releasing under the Columbia Pictures banner and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Amblin Entertainment, Amblimation and DeviantArt Entertainment based on the *Chucklewood Critters* series by Bill Hutten and Tony Love.

## **Synopsis**

Ranger Jones' nephew, Johnny, is coming to visit for the summer and Buttons and Rusty along with their families and friends are really excited to see him. Eventually, Chucklewood Park is threatened to be shut down and destroyed by the evil Harold McCobb of "McCobb Corn Industry." Now, with Johnny's help, Buttons and Rusty and the rest of the critters must defeat and stop Harold McCobb from his greedy desires and save the park.

## **Plot**

In Chucklewood Park, Ranger Jones a.k.a. "Jonesy" prepares setting up the park for the first day of summer camp for the children. Meanwhile, in the middle of the forest, two anthropomorphic woodland cubs, a bear named Buttons and a fox named Rusty, stumble around the woods and decide to go meddling around the campsite to see Ranger Jones. Soon, Ranger Jones explains to Buttons and Rusty that he's opening a yearly summer camp for the children. He also tells them that his nephew, Johnny, is coming to Chucklewood for the summer, which makes Buttons and Rusty excited.

Later, as Buttons and Rusty attend their last day of school, they meet up with their friends, Skipper and Bluebell, Turner, Skeeter and Freddie, who mostly picks on Buttons, who always calls him "Butt." Then, they meet up with two female cubs, also a bear and a fox, Bearbette and Frisky (their girlfriends, who they remember moving to Chucklewood from Crystal Bayou where their old friend, Lester Eli Gator, who is also a good friend of Buttons and Rusty, lives). During class, their teacher, Franklin the Owl, informs everyone that there's going to be an upcoming go-kart race, which Rusty is looking forward to. As the boy cubs make their way home, in the same cave, from school, they tell their parents, Abner and Bridgette (Buttons' folks) and George and Rosie (Rusty's folks) about the go-kart race and Ranger Jones' nephew coming over.

Meanwhile, back in the ranger station, Commissioner Hardwick of the park stops by to Chucklewood to inform Ranger Jones that the park is being shut down by a company called "McCobb Corn Industry" run by its CEO, Harold McCobb. Ranger Jones tries to come up of a way to save the park. Suddenly, Johnny comes to Chucklewood Park a day early. Ranger Jones was very happy to see Johnny. But Johnny, however, was displeased of being there and has no interest in nature or wildlife.

The next day, Buttons and Rusty come to meet Johnny and introduce themselves. So excited about seeing him, they decide to invite him over to their home for dinner which he accepts. On the way home, Buttons and Rusty introduce to Johnny their friends, Skipper and Bluebell, Turner, Skeeter, Freddie and their girlfriends, Bearbette and Frisky, who Buttons and Rusty tell Johnny to refer to as "cubettes" or "girl cubs." The girl cubs then tell Johnny about their old friend, Lester Eli Gator. Later that night, as Johnny goes with Buttons and Rusty to their home, he's greeted by the cub's folks. During dinner, Johnny gets to know about the boy cubs and their folks and gets an interest in nature and wildlife. Abner and George try to exaggerate about their past with Ranger Jones. Johnny mentions about his mother, Sally, who used to work as a ranger in Chucklewood Park before becoming a wildlife expert and referring his uncle as "Jonesy" as a joke, just like most folks do, and he decides to call him "Uncle Jonesy" from now on.

The next day, Rusty asked for Johnny's help to find some parts to build a go-kart and enter the go-kart race while Buttons begins to write Bearbette a love letter and be himself (given advice by his folks) to express his affection to her, but not trying to earn her father, Darwin's trust. Johnny and Rusty find an old car in Ranger Jones' shed and take it to fix it up for the weekend, with the help of Turner and Skeeter. When they finally finish fixing the car, they give it a name, and call it the Adventure Machine (commonly called the "A.M." for short). Then, Rusty begins to write Frisky his own love letter and be himself to express his affection to her, but without copying Buttons' writing (given advice by his folks). Meanwhile, Ranger Jones tries to book "Weird Al" Yankovic and Randy Newman to come to perform.

The following week, during the first day of summer camp, Harold McCobb comes to Chucklewood Park along with his assistant, Bob to check the park and addressing Ranger Jones that he'll present his company to the children. During the assembly, McCobb cancels "Weird Al" Yankovic and Randy Newman's performances for his presentation for the kids, he offers them free samples of corn flavored soda pop but Bob warns McCobb that the soda pop is contaminated with a toxic chemical and that it's not a good idea, plus the pressure for the tank truck full of soda pop is dangerously high and it might blow. But McCobb decides to gives them away anyway and demands Bob to get ready to entertain the kids, dressed up as the mascot, "Corny McCorncob."

Meanwhile, Rusty realizes that he forgot about the go-kart race, so he and Buttons try to head to the campsite and get the A.M. from Ranger Jones' shed by dressing themselves up as new campers. As they get the A.M., they press a red button to go turbo fast to make their way to the race. But things don't go as they planned when their A.M. starts to malfunction, causing havoc for both the park and the race until they crash into the tank truck, causing the tank to burst and spill the soda pop onto Bob, infusing his body with the contaminated product and his Corny McCorncob costume, turning him into an anthropomorphic corn. As Ranger Jones gets upset of Buttons and Rusty for almost destroying the park and stealing his car, Johnny intervenes, telling him he was involved and gets in an argument with his uncle.

Later, Ranger Jones breaks the bad news to the critters that the park is shutting down and that there's nothing he can do until he finds a lost document of Chucklewood Park that his sister, Sally, was saving in case anything happens to the park. But Harold McCobb overhears this and sends Bob (who has returned to his normal self due to the fact that the chemical was a prototype, meaning that it isn't permanent and that it wears off) to retrieve the document while McCobb heads back to McCobb Corn Industry. Meanwhile, Buttons and Rusty feel bad for what happened until they remember the love letters they wrote for Bearbette and Frisky that were back in the A.M. and they decide to go find them. So they sneaked out at night to the ranger station to find the letters.

Later that night, Bob sneaks into the ranger station while Ranger Jones is asleep to steal the document, but he gets spotted by Johnny and flees out of there. Then, Buttons and Rusty make their way to the station and finally get the letters from the A.M. but accidentally press the red turbo button again and blast off, causing it to hit Johnny and him to fall onto the machine. Johnny manages to get the document from Bob, causing him to retreat and manages to engage the brake on the A.M.

Johnny explains to Buttons and Rusty that he's seen the entire situation and that he knows Harold McCobb, he tells them that McCobb is the "worst businessman in the world." He explains to them that ever since he became CEO of McCobb Corn Industry after his older brother and co-founder, Gerald McCobb, disappeared, he's been responsible for one crime after another. For instance, he placed an illegal stand in front of a museum (even though it was free on Mondays), he counterfeited money, he took a newspaper out of a newspaper rack without paying, etc. Buttons and Rusty are surprised at the fact that that's a lot of crimes that Harold McCobb did. Buttons and Rusty also tell Johnny that McCobb is planning to shut down and destroy Chucklewood Park and that in order to defeat him, they need to take responsibility. Johnny, however, informs them that the only way to stop McCobb is by force, but he agrees to go with them and he decides to write a "To Whom It May Concern" letter that he, Buttons and Rusty are going to try and confront Harold McCobb on their own, and that it would be nice if somebody would join them. He also writes that Buttons and Rusty's love letters and his mother, Sally's lost document are connected to the "To Whom It May Concern" letter and to give the love letters to Bearbette and Frisky and the document to his uncle. After he gets finished, he hangs the letter, love letters and document onto the fridge, for Buttons and Rusty's folks to look at, and he climbs aboard the AM with Buttons and Rusty and they take off to confront Harold McCobb.

That same night, as Abner sleepwalks, he bumps into the fridge and decides to get himself some honeycomb, then, he notices Johnny's "To Whom It May Concern" letter on the fridge. Then, he wakes up Bridgette, George and Rosie and shows them the letter, puts on his new reading glasses and reads.

*To whom it may concern,*

*If you found this letter, it means the reason I've come to Chucklewood Park a day early was to get there before Harold McCobb, who is the worst businessman in the world and that I knew that Harold McCobb was planning on shutting down the park. It also means that Buttons and Rusty and I took off to McCobb Corn Industry to confront Harold McCobb on our own, because the only way we're going to stop him is by force and it would be nice if somebody would join us. And by the way, Bearbette and Frisky's love letters and my mom's lost document are connected to the letter that you're reading. So make sure you give the love letters to Bearbette and Frisky and the document to my uncle.*

*Sincerely,*

*Johnny*

The boy cubs' folks were shocked to find out that Johnny knows Harold McCobb and that Harold McCobb was a criminal. They were at least glad that Buttons and Rusty had written Bearbette and Frisky their love letters. They made sure their cubs had written their own words, which they did. They decide to show Johnny's letter to his uncle.

On their way to the ranger station, they give the love letters to Bearbette and Frisky, who were wondering if Buttons and Rusty had written their love letters, which Abner and George explained to them that Buttons and Rusty did. Once they get to the ranger station, they wake up Ranger Jones and show him Johnny's letter. After Ranger Jones reads, he is shocked and horrified to see that his nephew is enemies with Harold McCobb. Abner and George show Ranger Jones the document and Ranger Jones puts it in his pocket.

The next morning, Ranger Jones gives the breaking news to the critters that the fact that he said there's nothing he can do to save the park from shutting down was all a big mistake, much to the critters' relief. He says to them that his nephew, Johnny had the right idea that the best way to stop it is by force. He then shows the critters his sister's lost document and reads it to them.

Unfortunately, as Johnny, Buttons and Rusty travel to McCobb Corn Industry on their own to confront Harold McCobb in the A.M., they ended up crashing in a town near Crystal Bayou, called Crystal Grove, where they meet a girl named Robyn (who happens to be McCobb's daughter who he disowned). Meanwhile, Ranger Jones, along with George and Abner must travel to find Johnny and the boy cubs, while Rosie and Bridgette (who become honorary and temporary camp counselors) and the rest of the young critters, Bearbette and Frisky, Skipper and Bluebell, Turner, Skeeter and Freddie stay behind to watch over Chucklewood. Harold McCobb finds out and sends Bob and hires a bounty-hunter/poacher, named "El Jefe," along with his henchwomen, the "Senoritas," a quintet of outlaw sisters consisting of Sarita (orange), Segunda (blue), Simona (green), Sofia (red) and Susana (yellow), to hunt down Johnny and the boy cubs.

Meanwhile, back in Crystal Grove, while Johnny explains to Robyn what happened and why they're there, he also explains to Buttons and Rusty the real reason why he's spending time with his uncle. When he was young, his mother, Sally, was a wildlife expert, when she died in a forest fire after rescuing some animals. Realizing that the time has come to get revenge on her own father for disowning her, Robyn agrees to go with Johnny, Buttons and Rusty and help them get their home back. While Buttons and Rusty venture off around town to find the parts to fix the A.M. and head back home, Johnny and Robyn go to Crystal Bayou to see Lester Eli Gator for help. Once they get to Lester's cabin, Johnny remembers Bearbette and Frisky telling him about their old friend and points it out to him. Lester recalls to Johnny his past (In a flashback, adapted from *The Honeybunch*) that after Bearbette and Frisky left Crystal Bayou, Buttons and Rusty, along with their friend, Turner, headed to their girlfriends' old home to get Bearbette some Bayou honey, only to be foiled on their every attempt by Lester himself, of course he didn't know that Buttons and Rusty were friends of Bearbette and Frisky, and Buttons and Rusty didn't know that Lester was an old friend of Bearbette and Frisky either. He also tells them that when Buttons mentions Bearbette's name, Lester manages to rescue them from the quicksand that he had left them in and then he gave them some of the honey to give to Bearbette. Johnny was touched in his heart by Lester's heartwarming flashback. Johnny and Robyn then tell Lester what's going on right now. Then, Lester tells them that there's a legend of a ancient bird known as the Thunderbird, that was once the protector of Chucklewood, to save the park. He also tells them that they must go through a mystical mine in order to find the bird.

Meanwhile, Ranger Jones, Abner and George make it to Crystal Grove where they think Johnny and the boy cubs are, but they are stopped by the town sheriff, Bill and his deputy, Tony. Too obviously aware that there's a bear and a fox with him, the sheriff and deputy let him go with a warning. As they make their way through town to search for the kids, they stop at a nearby biker bar to make a phone call back home, but are confronted by a group of outlaw bikers. As Ranger Jones and George try to fight the bikers, they get beat up badly, leaving Abner to fight the bikers including their leader. Soon, they all soon get arrested and sent to jail by Sheriff Bill and Deputy Tony. Now, they must find a way to break out before El Jefe, the Senoritas and Bob get to the kids first.

They've managed to break out of jail along with the bikers (who apologize for interfering with the rescue mission and are revealed to be fans of Chucklewood Park and the biker leader's name is revealed to be Teddy), thanks to Abner's strength, but are stopped again by Sheriff Bill and Deputy Tony, only to distract them by telling them that an old lady nearby is littering and the sheriff and deputy start tackling her, giving them enough time to escape. However, behind them, El Jefe abducts George and Abner with a tranquilizer gun. Ranger Jones was the only one who managed to escape.

Meanwhile, back in Chucklewood, the boy cubs' moms and the rest of the young critters decide that they're going to need a lot of backup, so Bearbette uses the park intercom to call all of the other critters in the forest, including her parents, Darwin and Bearnadine, while the boy cubs' moms go to Franklin's cave to see if he has or can build a computer that can locate all of McCobb's forces outside of the industry, knowing that if they and all of the critters in the park can sweep up all of the enemy forces outside of the industry, they might be able to join George, Abner, Ranger Jones, Johnny and the boy cubs to make it for the final battle for Chucklewood. But they and the young critters are all captured by the Senoritas.

As the kids and the cubs make their way back to Chucklewood, Johnny and Robyn fall off the A.M. and into a river and get captured by Bob and some of McCobb's guards. While Robyn is locked in a room, Johnny is locked in a cage with all of the animals in Chucklewood, including Abner, George, Rosie and Bridgette.

In the cage, George and Abner reveal to Johnny a heartwarming past that when they were cute little cubs, they both had a set of families living in the same cave, just like Buttons and Rusty do today. Rosie and Bridgette then reveal to Johnny that when they were cute little cubs, they also both had a set of families living in the same cave, except unlike George and Abner's cave when they were cute little cubs, theirs had crystals on the inside. Then, all of Buttons and Rusty's folks told him that since they were cute little cubs, they had great times together, even as they grew older. Then, Harold McCobb comes in and reveals his plan to release a gigantic corn-like robot, the "Cornborg," to destroy Chucklewood and puts Bob in charge. Bob tries to double-cross McCobb and plans to take over the company for himself after he gets tired of being bossed around by him. McCobb, however, blackmails Bob, saying that if he gets defeated by anything that gets in the way, he's going to regret betraying his own boss for the rest of his days.

Fortunately for Johnny, Robyn and the animals of Chucklewood, there's no giving up for them, as Buttons and Rusty sneak through Bob, El Jefe and the Senoritas, into Harold McCobb's office drawer and steal the keys to unlock the cells and free Johnny, Robyn and all the animals, allowing them to escape. They all find a secret passageway that leads from the Industry back to Chucklewood but are stopped by Harold McCobb and his guards. With no other choice, Robyn goes through the passageway to get the Thunderbird, while Johnny and all the animals decide to fight. Fortunately, Ranger Jones and Lester arrive and they had rallied up every remaining critter in Chucklewood to help out.

Ranger Jones informs his nephew and all of the animals that he, Lester and all of the other critters were able to sweep up every one of McCobb's forces outside of the industry and the battle begins. Meanwhile, as Robyn goes through the mystical mine, she finally bought the Thunderbird to the real world, and she asks him to help her. As Johnny reaches Robyn with the Thunderbird, on his phone, he is stopped by McCobb himself and is held hostage, but Buttons and Rusty managed to save him. As Harold McCobb is finally defeated, along with El Jefe and the Senoritas, he calls for Bob to help him escape, but Bob ditches him to his defeat, blaming him for getting him exposed to the chemical that he tried to warn him about earlier and telling him that he'll take his chance with his regrets and that he wasn't enough of a better father to Robyn. He prepares to fly off to Chucklewood in the Cornborg to destroy it.

The gang is unable to catch up with him or use the A.M. because it is out of gas. Fortunately, Teddy and the rest of the same bikers from before come and help Ranger Jones, Johnny and all the critters get back to Chucklewood. They also take the A.M. and the detained guards of McCobb, Senoritas, El Jefe and Harold McCobb himself with them. As Bob arrives to the park with the Cornborg, he decides to start his destruction at a nearby campsite full of children and informs all the loggers that he's in charge. Meanwhile, "Weird Al" Yankovic comes to the Chucklewood campsite to perform for the children with his accordion. But when Bob starts his destruction, "Weird Al" Yankovic and the children start to panic until Bob destroys his accordion, causing him to go on a rampage against Bob.

As everyone makes it back to the park, they get all the children out of the campsite to safety and try to stop Bob from destroying both the park and the campsite. Bob, however, releases the contaminated soda pop (forgetting that the chemical on it is a prototype) that got infused with his body before onto the loggers which turns them into vegetable humanoids and releases a swarm of corn-shaped robots to destroy the park with him and the battle for Chucklewood begins. During the fight, Buttons maintains his bravery while saving Bearbette from the clutches of some robots, same for Rusty, who saves Frisky. Then, Buttons and Rusty manage to refuel the A.M. and fly to Bob and the giant robot to confront him. Unable to stand this, Harold McCobb breaks free and decides to join the fight, only to help save the park and get payback on Bob. However, unaware of what McCobb's doing, Bob says to him, "Not now, McCobb. I'm busy doing what you ordered me to do." and he throws McCobb onto the ground knocking him out unconscious without being killed.

Fortunately, Robyn arrives with the Thunderbird, along with his older brothers, who are also ancient birds, the Snowbird and the Firebird. The Thunderbird explains to Buttons and Rusty that his older brothers used to pick on him until he became the protector of Chucklewood, and since he became the protector of Chucklewood, his older brothers started to be nice to him and eventually, his older brothers' legacies have been kept a secret for many generations that passed. That reminded Freddie of anything or anyone, himself!

Robyn manages to move her unconscious father to safety, but she gets caught by Bob. Johnny decides to join Buttons and Rusty to fight against Bob and rescue Robyn. They defeat Bob by shaking him out the Cornborg robot and save Robyn, but Bob refuses to accept defeat and tries to fight back, only to get captured by George who uses a lasso that he stole from El Jefe. Bob then realizes that McCobb's blackmail had come true, saying that he knew ditching him was a bad idea, even though he got him exposed to the chemical he tried to warn him about and wasn't enough of a better father to Robyn. Then, with Abner's tools, the kids and the cubs destroy the robot by opening the door to the electrical power grid, letting the Thunderbird drain it of its electrical power and then throwing it to a collision course with the now vacant McCobb Corn Industry, blowing up both the robot and the industry and making it start to rain popcorn.

Chucklewood is saved, the corn-shaped robots are destroyed and the chemical that infused the loggers has worn off (making Bob realize that he forgot that the chemical he used was a prototype). After Harold McCobb regains his consciousness, Bob notices and confesses to him that because of his blackmail, he was secretly thinking that ditching him was a bad idea. As the camp kids form an angry mob and come charging up to Bob to attack him, Harold McCobb intervenes, telling them that he was the mastermind behind this mess. A camp punk (who is protective of his baby twin brother and sister) demands to him why he did this and complains to him that his siblings could've been hurt in his almost destruction of a park. Then, Harold McCobb confesses that he only wanted to destroy Chucklewood to ruin Johnny's summer with his uncle as revenge for saying that Harold himself was the worst businessman in the world, a fact that he believed was a vicious rumor and dangerous lie until now. But "Weird Al" Yankovic says he knows that there are a few other people who believe that McCobb was a terrible businessman and shows what Bob has done to his accordion. The camp kids then keep their angry mob positions to attack Harold McCobb too.

Suddenly, the police (including and led by the same Sheriff Bill and Deputy Tony from Crystal Grove) shows up with Gerald McCobb, Harold's older brother and co-founder who Johnny thought has disappeared, his friend, Logan and Gerald's 11-year-old son, Todd, who Johnny recognizes as his school tutor and acquaintance. Gerald McCobb reveals that his younger brother had locked him in the closet all school year and stole his job as CEO. Logan also reveals that Bob had did the same thing to him and stole his mascot identity as Corny McCorncob. Todd says that he was able to rescue his father and Logan. Gerald, Logan and Todd reveal that Harold isn't CEO of McCobb Corn Industry and that Bob is an impostor. Johnny explains to them that Harold McCobb disowned his daughter, Robyn, tried to ruin his summer with his uncle and set him up by believing that the fact that he was the worst businessman in the world is a vicious rumor and dangerous lie when it really isn't at all. Harold then confesses that he thought locking his own brother in the closet was the best way for him and Bob to get rich quick and says that it doesn't matter, because Johnny, the boy cubs and his daughter, Robyn defeated them. Then, Sheriff Bill and Deputy Tony and the rest of the police arrest Harold McCobb, Bob, El Jefe and the Senoritas. Sheriff Bill and Deputy Tony apologize to Ranger Jones, Abner and George for interfering with the rescue mission (as the bikers told him about it). The villains regret the terrible things they did, El Jefe regrets disobeying his beloved mother to not be a poacher, the Senoritas regret disobeying their father to not do the same thing El Jefe did and Bob then says that he knew that running a newspaper stand was safer and gives back the Corny McCorncob costume to Logan. Harold then apologizes to Robyn and everybody for all the trouble he caused and confesses to the police about what he's been doing. With a change of heart and being able to understand that money is not everything in life, he decides not to shut down the park and promises Robyn that he'll be a better father when he gets out. His last words before the police drive off with him are, "Take care of my daughter for me, Johnny. Take care of my daughter for me." Johnny says to Gerald McCobb and Logan that the industry has been destroyed, much to their horror. Fortunately, Teddy, the biker leader, reveals that he used to be a construction worker and agrees to help Gerald and Logan rebuild the industry, much to their pleasure. Gerald says to his son, Todd, "For saving me, son, I make you 'Junior CEO of McCobb Corn Industry.'"

The next day, when all the children leave summer camp on their last day in Chucklewood Park, everybody else cleans all the damage in park. Buttons and Rusty manage to confess their feelings to Bearbette and Frisky and Buttons earns Bearbette's father's trust. Bearbette and Frisky kiss and hug their boyfriends for saving her lives and vow to them that they promised to be the best future wives for them because they have hearts of gold and Buttons and Rusty were glad to hear it. Buttons and Rusty's folks also hug them, saying that their adventure has brought their own folks closer to them too and that when they get a chance, they will start playing with their cubs. This heartwarming moment touches all the critters in Chucklewood Park, including Freddie, who wishes he never had to pick on Buttons again and then gets hugged by his father, Philbert. Meanwhile, Robyn talks to Johnny, who became her new boyfriend, on what's next for him. He decides to stay in Chucklewood Park with his uncle to help watch over the park, and to follow his mother's footsteps. Then, he asks his uncle if he wants to take a photo of all the critters in Chucklewood Park to bring them to fame, which Ranger Jones agrees. Ranger Jones then gathers up the critters, who were still embracing themselves in Buttons and Rusty's heartwarming moment, for the photo and all the critters gather up like Ranger Jones told them to, the photo is taken and the critters were brought to fame as the story is spread throughout the the country.

Ranger Jones shows us a few pointers of what happened next, Gerald McCobb got his job as CEO back, his friend, Logan got his mascot identity as "Corny McCorncob" back, Gerald's son, Todd was made Junior CEO of McCobb Corn Industry for saving Logan and his father from the closet, Teddy, the biker leader, started working as a construction worker again by rebuilding McCobb Corn Industry, the bikers decided to work with him in his construction plans, Harold McCobb is parolled out of prison and he starts being a better father to Robyn and they open an outdoor store, "Harold and Daughter's", Bob, El Jefe and the Senoritas are doing community service, picking up trash of the street (which Bob says that it isn't such a bad idea after all and El Jefe and the Senoritas agree with him) under the supervision of Sheriff Bill and Deputy Tony (who became less sadistic and more reasonable with the people they arrest), Franklin decides to give the go-kart race another go-round, Buttons and Rusty won the race with their new and improved A.M., fair and square and without pressing the red turbo button (due to it being placed under a glass container which they attached) and Buttons and Rusty along with their families and friends (including Lester Eli Gator, who decides to stay in Chucklewood for the rest of the summer) and future wives, their teacher, Franklin and the rest of the critters in Chucklewood will have a great rest of the summer together. Ranger Jones also reveals that he has been promoted by Commissioner Hardwick as chief ranger with a new outfit (green outfit) and with Johnny on his side as Junior Ranger, who places an old photo of his deceased mother, Sally, next to the recently taken photo of the Chucklewood Critters. Then, Ranger Jones concludes the film, saying that whether we lose our mother in a forest fire or have our father disown us, make sure we find some friends who are helpful, just like how Johnny and Robyn made friends with the Chucklewood Critters.

During the end credits, photos of the critters' rest of the summer are displayed on-screen, the summer activities include kayaking, swimming, flying kites, playing volleyball, sailing, fishing, watching fireworks on the Fourth of July, etc. The last photo shows Johnny going on an adventure with Buttons and Rusty on their new A.M. one last time before the new school year starts.

## **Cast**

### **Live-action cast**

* Ryder Jack Parker as John ''Johnny'' Boyett a 10-year-old and Ranger Jones' nephew who came to spend the summer in Chucklewood Park with his uncle and go on an adventure with Buttons and Rusty
* Eva Brooke Baker as Robyn McCobb a 10-year-old girl who lives in a town called Crystal Grove, who befriended Johnny and the boy cubs. She's also the daughter of Harold McCobb.
* Amy Jo Johnson as Kristen Parker a young woman and Sally's best friend.
* Jeffrey Dean Morgan as William Boyett Johnny's father. he is named after the actor who voiced Ranger Jones in 4 of the specials.
* Jason Ritter as Ranger ''Jonesy'' Jones, the park ranger of Chucklewood and Johnny's uncle.
* Bruce Campbell as Harold McCobb, one of the two main antagonists and the CEO of "McCobb Corn Industry." He's also Robyn's father.
* Nick Kroll as Bob, Harold McCobb's assistant and the industry's mascot, Corny Cornncob. He's also one of the two main antagonists.
* Danny Trejo as El Jefe, the hired poacher, bounty-hunter and the secondary antagonist, who wears a fanny pack. He gets mad whenever someone gets his name wrong.
* Salma Hayek as Sarita Senorita, the leader and eldest sister of the Senoritas, and El Jefe's right-hand woman. Her signature color is orange.
* Gina Rodriguez as Segunda Senorita, the second eldest sister of the Senoritas. Her signature color is blue.
* Genesis Rodrigez as Sofia Senorita and Simona Senorita, the two second youngest twin sisters of the Senoritas. Simona is the older twin, while Sofia is the younger twin. Sofia's signature color is red, while Simona's signature color is green.
* Leslie Grace as Susana Senorita, the youngest sister of the Senoritas, despite being the largest. Her signature color is yellow.
* Jim Carrey as Sheriff Bill, the crazy town sheriff of Crystal Grove
* Kel Mitchell as Deputy Tony, Sheriff Bill's deputy
* Elizabeth Banks as Sally Boyett, a wildlife expert and the deceased mother of Johnny, deceased wife of William and younger sister of Ranger Jones
* Jesse McCartney as Commissioner Hardwick, the Commissioner of Chucklewood Park.
* Josh Server as Teddy, the Biker Leader
* "Weird Al" Yankovic as Himself
* Evan Goldberg as Gerald McCobb
* Seth Rogen as Logan
* Logan Moreau as Todd
* Randy Newman as Himself

### **Voice cast**

* Callum Shoniker as Buttons, a cute little bear cub who wishes he was brave.
* Kane Atwood as Rusty, an energetic fox cub and Buttons' best friend
* Taran Killam as Abner, a male bear and Buttons' father
* Jesse McCartney as George, a male fox and Rusty's father
* Cobie Smulders as Bridgette, a female bear and Buttons' mother
* Katie Peterson as Rosie, a female fox and Rusty's mother
* Michela Luci as Bearbette, a female bear cub and Buttons' girlfriend
* Mckenna Grace as Frisky, a female fox cub and Rusty's girlfriend
* Keegan-Michael Key as Darwin, a male bear and Bearbette's overprotective father
* Gabrielle Union as Bearnadine, a female bear and Bearbette's mother
* Harland Williams as Skipper, a male rabbit and one of Buttons and Rusty's friends
* Kristen Schaal as Bluebell, a female rabbit and one of Buttons and Rusty's friends
* Gaten Matarazzo as Turner, a turtle and one of Buttons and Rusty's friends
* Kevin Hart as Skeeter, a small mouse and one of Buttons and Rusty's friends
* Anthony JKrew as Freddie, a raccoon who picks on and bullies Buttons and Rusty (mostly Buttons) but is one of their friends.
* Mike Myers as Philbert, a raccoon who is a carpenter and Freddie's father.
* Brad Garrett as Lester Eli Gator, an alligator with a cajun accent who lives in Crystal Bayou and a good friend of Buttons, Rusty, Bearbette and Frisky
* Dana Snyder as Quacker, the messenger duck and one of Buttons and Rusty's friends
* Kenan Thompson as Franklin, an owl and Buttons and Rusty's teacher

## **Production**

### **Development**

In 2023 singer-songwriter Leonardo Navarrete announced that he will make a live-action/animated film based on The Chucklewood Critters and April 20, 2023 the script he made for the film was made. He also announced that Steven Spielberg and Gerg Berlanti will be the film's producers.

### **Principal Photography**

Principal Photography begin on January 20, 2024 in Brisbane, Queensland Australia

### **Filming**

Additional principal photography took place in Paddington, Queensland, Australia.

Lamington National Park used for Chucklewood Park.

Principal Photography wrapped on April 14, 2024 in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

### **Post-production**

Visuel effects, computer-animation and CGI characters are done at Brisbane based Alt.VFX.

## **Trivia**

* While the film is primarily used live-action for the human characters it also shares of computer-animation for the animal characters.
* Most of the lead characters will be voiced by child actors.
* Voice actresses, Barbara Goodson and Mona Marshall (original voices for Buttons and Rusty) will make a brief cameo.
* The movie will be filmed on location in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia .
* Cobie Smulders plays Agent Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

## **Source Material**

There will be many significant differences from the series in this movie:

* The Adventure Machine is commonly called the "AM" in the movie as well as its appearance being updated.
* The working title, "*The Chucklewood Critters Movie"* would be different to the original.
* Some of the characters' designs and the background in the movie will be different than in the series.
* The cave that Buttons and Rusty and their families live in will be in live-action.
* One running gag added in the film involves Franklin attempting to rap only to be stopped or interrupted by the other characters.
* As a park, Chucklewood Park also has a campsite.

## **Promotion and Sponsorship**

The film will promote the indoor water park resort, Great Wolf Resorts and Build-A-Bear Workshop as its sponsorships to the movie.

## **Transcript**

The Chucklewood Critters (2024 film) Transcript

## **Motion Picture Rating (MPA)**

The Chucklewood Critters is rated PG for adventure action violence peril, rude humor and brief mild language.

## **Motion Picture Soundtrack**

The Chucklewood Critters: The Motion Picture Soundtrack