MYCUN and the Mystery to New York

Theatrical release poster

Nancy Cartwright

Andy Serkis

Kodi Smit-McPhee

Selena Gomez

Steve Carell

Ryan Potter

David Spade

John Goodman

Kevin James

Michael Giacchino

June 29, 2012(United States)

***MYCUN and the Mystery to New York*** is a 2012 American 3D computer-animated comedy crossover film, produced by Geo LTD. Animation, with additional animation by Blur Studio, and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the third installment of the *MYCUN series*, and a sequel to the 2008 film *Legend of MYCUN*. The film is directed by Taylor Grodin and David Feiss. It features the voices of Elijah Wood, Toby Kebbell, Nancy Cartwright, Andy Serkis, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Selena Gomez, Steve Carell, and Ryan Potter. The film's screenplay was written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and it takes place six months after the events of the fifth season of *Adventures of MYCUN*. It focuses on Gabriel and the MYCUNs looking for a mystery to New York and Homer and Bart Simpson, and they must stop Koba from ruling New York.

The film was released in the United States on June 29, 2012, four years after its predecessor *Legend of MYCUN*. It is the first sequel in the series not distributed by 20th Century Fox or produced by MYCUN Studios, who had left the series to produce *The Wonderful World of Zak*. This also was the first *MYCUN* installment that utilises Digital 3D. However, unlike its predecessors, it met with negative reviews from critics, and became a box office failure, with a worldwide gross of over $133 million against a $133 million budget, making it the lowest grossing film in the franchise. A fourth film, titled *MYCUN Forever*, was released on May 30, 2016.

## Plot

Set immediately four years after the events of *Legend of MYCUN*, Gabriel Garza and his gang go to Antonio Perez's house, stuck listening to his loud cover of Jungle Boogie (as Antonio took DJ lessons). Then, Antonio plays a Carrie Underwood song called "Don't Forget to Remember Me", only for Gabriel to smash the disc upon hearing Underwood's voice, remarking that time he killed an Underwood creation. The broken pieces of the disc, Foosch Yo Mung (a parody of Fush Yu Mang), leads to a series of dots, which leads to an Ouija board. Not knowing how to use it, they call Hiro Hamada to help. After the board works, flashes occur, and papers rise. They then find the words "Koba Thy Name Is Not Pure", and after saying them, Koba, the world's most violent bonobo, teleports to the house into Springfield from *The Simpsons*, and upon arrival, grabs Homer Simpson, along with the Scan Passer 9000, with him. Koba teleports to New York City, with the Simpsons family and the MYCUNs.

Gabriel has a GPS that he has and tracks down Koba. He found Koba in a shop. Gabriel catches him so that Koba can let go of Homer. Gabriel failed, so Koba bought a remote. The characters fight Koba for Homer. The MYCUNs win, and Bart reunites with his father, otherwise, the Big Ben damaged a bit, the story didn't end. Back at New York, Gru saw slowly the Big Ben is falling towards Caesar, the altered chimpanzee, and Gabriel, even Norman Babcock, they run before the Big Ben went destroyed in small pieces, they discuss about the Big Ben fell, and later in TV, the flashing news are discussing about Big Ben that it is fallen, and persons take a photo of it, posting it to newspaper. Gabriel, running away from New York, he was taking a trip on the garden, eats his snack, later Tiny Tiger came and he sees Gabriel, then he spies him, Gabriel sees him, then he began fighting with him, during the fight there was Gru seeing that they are fighting each other, later after the duel, Gabriel went down, then Gru checks Gabriel how he is, he said sick, because of the virus, then Gru fights with Tiny Tiger, then Tiny Tiger went down.

After the fight, meanwhile, Crash Bandicoot is in the shops, he goes to GameStop, buying a copy of *Crash of the Titans*. when he picked it, he sees Dr. Neo Cortex buying Cortex's Workshop, for Xbox 360, Crash comes over him, and Cortex turns back to Crash, and he kicks out in GameStop, and Cortex stolen the game that Crash brought, and he puts back to the store, and he made the door unopenable anymore, that only Cortex can open it, when Cortex goes away Crash gets the game again and just now he buys it, later, when Crash came home, when he opens it, he finds out instead of Crash of the Titans, it was empty. Just the manual, Crash gets angry and finds for the disc.

In MYCUN City, Bart visits the city, he sees buildings, the arcade, but Bart sees a big truck named "Gru's Candies", and he is excited to eat them, then he came over Gru, he said that he's not allowed to eat food, then he strikes him, and Gru drives away the truck faster, then Bart picks a car from someone, and when he picks it and goes away some person cries for his car going away from Bart, then when arriving near to Gru's truck, the jumps and handles the truck, but suddenly Gru kicks Bart and gets damaged a lot, then he gets bashed from another car, Bart's ears are broken, his arms are almost broken, his legs are broken too, and even the body has revealed his bones, a surgery truck takes him to hospital. In Gabriel's home, he and Red were sleeping in their bedroom during midnight, later a television started up itself, in the television screen, it has 5 Crash Bandicoots, but in creepy quality, calling it "Glitch Bandicoot", then Gabriel and Red get forced themselves to wake up, then they stare to the television, then Gabriel's eyes went possessed him, then he gets eaten from Glitch Bandicoot, then Gabriel and Red scream in terror and it was a dream. Crash Bandicoot rushes for the disc of Crash of the Titans, he sees Cortex holding the disc of the game. He was going to hack the game and replace Crash into Cortex.

Crash runs for it, and duels Cortex, after the duel, Cortex went down and he gives the disc to Crash, then he goes to home and tests the game, and he likes this game. After Bart failed to get food, he went on a coffee bar, with Gabriel, he sees Maurice, the orangutan, with a scar on his cheek pad, due to the apes with guns wound him. Gabriel and Bart waits for the coffee, after he gets into it, he asks for a cup of coffee, after he got it, he suddenly some birds get into the bar and finds it dead, then Grey, one of Koba's minions, appeared and everyone scared and left the bar, then Gabriel and Bart duels him.

In dream logo land, Koba appeared and he makes the Carolco logos and he puts a big 2000, then he invades the Dream Logos world. Bart and his mom Marge Simpson was exploring a volcano, he sees some parts of the volcano, then suddenly a portal of the dream logo land, Koba stands on the volcano ground, and he picks Marge and he attempts to let her fall in the lava, and she let fall in the lava. Bart tries to get Koba, but disappears, and Bart got kidnapped by Grey. Gru and the Minions are making a new plan to save the world because Koba is trying to rule the world, Gru draws the plan in the blackboard, and Dr. Nefario sees the Minions. Then the Minions prepares to go in war, but they see Koba kidnapping Bart and Caesar.

Gabriel gets in Koba's lair, and storms it, after getting to the room where Koba is it at, he started ranting and fighting, after the fight, Gabriel let Caesar and Bart escape the castle, when they escape, Koba's lair shortly collapses. When Gabriel saved Bart and Caesar, he is forced to confess that he once had autism, disappointing the newcomers who feel used and lied to by him. Rocket, the altered chimpanzee, sees a portal to get in the dream logo land, he sees the Carolco logos, he sees a hammer, which it will be used to break the logos, then he goes in action to break the logos, after he breaks the logos, he gets teleported back to earth. Caesar went saved, but he was woken in the Big Ben, and he sees Hiro behind him, and Caesar talks with Hiro, then, Hiro begins singing a song from The Three Mouseketeers, then he got mysteriously disappeared, and Caesar falls to the void, getting on the Final Destination.

Caesar is in the Final Destination, Gru appears, then he does a conversation with him, telling him that Koba is ruling New York and turning into Kobtopia, he has weapons to stop Koba from ruling it, then he joins Caesar and his friends. In the Minimal Rock, Stone, one of Koba's minions, is presenting himself. Stone prepares to fight Rocket, then the duel begins, after the duel he disappears now and he has a soul flying up. Caesar sneaks under at the Big Ben's clock, revealing under that it was Koba breaking the clock, then he runs away for revealing his combative supervillain, after he gets down, Chae Cook, who copied Gabriel's stuff, appeared, and he fights with Caesar, after the duel he goes on the Chae's Castle.

After Caesar gets on his castle, he suddenly sees Koba kidnapping Homer Simpson, he follows Koba. Caesar had found Iken from *Planetokio*, Caesar tells him that he has his power, so he will save the world from Koba, Caesar gives the magic to him, then he turns into the Super Form, then he also has snowboards to go fast in the snow mountain, then, in the end, they get hit by the walls because Koba made them, then he found a haunted house that Fortran made.

In the lava mountain, Gabriel visited it, then he saw Marge's eyes, then he pulls her out, revealing his body revived from being not burned in lava for no reason, she said that Bart was killed by Grey, because Gabriel was too late from saving him, then they head to Chae's Castle and they storm it, until now Chae Cook was revealed to be Koba, because it thought he was a clone of him, then he unleashes his new plan. Meanwhile, Caesar and Iken are exploring Fortran's Haunted House. Iken uses a flashlight to see the rooms, then he found Fortran, and he is coming for them, then Caesar starts fighting him, but Fortran can't attack because he lives in a pirate game, when Fortran dies he disappears in pixel pieces, then Caesar and Iken found an exit to the house. Cortex sees Crash playing with his Wii, then he made his Wii disappear and he gets in Cortex's lab, fighting him for the last time after the battle Cortex forgives Crash, then he disappears forever for life, then Crash gets teleported in his house.

The two Minions, Dave and Stuart, are in the Superjail, later they found out to break the Superjail, then they're trying to find Grey, then he began fighting with him, after the battle he is self-destructing and Dave and Stuart run away, leading to the portal. Koba has an evil conversation with Marge, he says that he has a Scan Passer 9000 that it has evil power, then he picks his Scan Passer 9000, he melts her, then he picks all of her and he closed it and ran away like a thief, but some of the MYCUNs, even the Minions noticed it, then they followed Koba, Pope saw Koba with his cup, then he heads to the Disney castle, meanwhile, they're under the castle, Koba gets to the control room so faster, then he puts a chip to let the Disney castle fly, then the castle began to fly to space.

Gabriel gets to the castle and tries to get to the door, meanwhile, Caesar found Koba's room and they fight for freedom, then after the battle he finally beats up, telling that violence is not the answer, then, in the end, Gabriel hits Koba's head, then he gets out to the window, being ended up frozen, then he finds Marge still liquid, means that she can't get in her normal form anymore. Later Bart comes back and he joins Iken and Naomi, the characters from *Yaku Tsuu: Noroi no Game* and the MYCUNs to celebrate in MYCUN Village, even with the liquid Marge, the story went ended with a cinematic tape, that Koba will be once back someday.

## Cast

* Elijah Wood as Gabriel Garza, the leader of the MYCUNs and Red's husband.
* Toby Kebbell as Koba, a bonobo and Gabriel's nemesis.
* Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson, Homer and Marge's 10-year-old son. Cartwright also voices Rufus in the film.
* Andy Serkis as Caesar, a common chimpanzee and the leader of the apes.
* Kodi Smit-McPhee as Norman Babcock, an 11-year-old boy who can speak to the dead.
* Selena Gomez as Red Puckett-Garza, the queen of the MYCUNs and Gabriel's wife and mate.
* Steve Carell as Felonious Gru, a former supervillain and Gabriel's friend and advisor.
* Ryan Potter as Hiro Hamada

*More coming soon!*

## Production

### Development

Following the success of *Legend of MYCUN*, a third *MYCUN*movie was announced in August 2009 by Michael Wildshill.: "*MYCUN movies* are at least three: maybe more, but we know there are at least three chapters to that story." Joe Stillman, previously known for co-writing Universal's *M.I.S.S.I.O.N.* (2005) as well as DreamWorks' *Shrek* (2001) TriStar's *Planet 51* (2009), and Universal's *Computeropolis 3* (2010) was asked to write the script for the third film.

Later in November 2009, it was announced that Brandon Minez, who was the producer of the first two Computeropolis films one of the developers, and the co-producer for the third season of That's What Girls Do: The Animated Series, and co-directed by Drew Cohen, a supervising-animator on the first three films.

### Casting

In May 2010, Variety reported that Nancy Cartwright was negotiating to reprise his role as Bart Simpson from *The Simpsons* in the film, along with Dan Castellaneta reprising his role as Homer Simpson. In June 2011, Universal confirmed that Elijah Wood, Toby Kebbell, Andy Serkis, Kodi Smit McPhee, Steve Carell, Pierre Coffin, Sachi Matsumoto, Dakota Fanning, Jodelle Ferland, Johnny Depp, Emily Watson, and Scott Astid were returning to reprise their roles as they did since the second movie, and the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth seasons of *Adventures of MYCUN*, while Selena Gomez replaces Anne Hathaway as Red Puckett, Ryan Potter replaces Evan Sabara as Hiro Hamada, and Dakota Goyo replaces C. Elbourn as Ico. Newcomers include David Spade as Ringo Porter, John Goodman as Bob Ogletree, and Kevin James as Joe Hoskins.

## Music

*MYCUN and the Mystery to New York/Soundtrack*

## Release

*MYCUN and the Mystery to New York* premiered in the United States on May 23, 2012. The American release followed on June 29, 2012. The film was also converted to the IMAX format and shown in specific European territories, including Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.

### Marketing

A teaser trailer was released on November 6, 2011 during Sunday Night Football on NBC, and was shown before *Happy Feet Two*, *Arthur Christmas*, *The Muppets*, *Alvin and The Chipmunks: ChipWrecked*, and *The Big Year*. The first theatrical trailer was released on February 16, 2012 during an episode of *The Office* and was attached to films such as *The Lorax*, *The Hunger Games*, *Wrath of the Titans* and *Mirror Mirror*. A second theatrical trailer was released on April 6, 2012 and was attached to films such as *The Pirates! Band of Misfits*, *The Avengers*, *Geoshea Theft Auto 2*, and *Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.*The following month, TV spots were also aired.

A huge amount of merchandise was made for *MYCUN and the Mystery to New York*, such as toys and figurines. Universal teamed up with several major companies to promote the film, including McDonald's, who included 20 toys in their Happy Meals featuring the main characters, and Airheads, who made limited-edition flavors "The MYCUN Flavor" and "Gabriel's White Cherry Taste". A contest, which ended in early April 2012, allowed fans to submit ideas for computer animations to promote the release of the film. The winning idle idea "Gabriel's Move" was unveiled on May 14, 2012.

### Home media

*MYCUN and the Mystery to New York* was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D on October 30, 2012, both releases had a new animated short film, *Minion-Ape Battle*.

## Reception

### Critical response

Unlike the first two *MYCUN* films, *MYCUN and the Mystery to New York* has received mixed to negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 35%, making the lowest-rated film produced by Geo LTD. Animation. The site's consensus reads: "*MYCUN and the Mystery to New York* has too many subplots, pop culture references, but it still lives up to the first two *MYCUN* classics." On Metacritic the film has a score of 53 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Glenn Kenny of *The New York Times* gave the film a positive review, saying "*MYCUN and the Mystery to New York*seems at once more energetic and more relaxed [than its predecessors], the only problems for this film are the pop culture references"

### Box office

*MYCUN and the Mystery to New York* opened in North America on June 29, 2012. On the film's opening weekend, the film earned $6,874,477 for a $2,227 average from 3,086 theaters, and $10,056,980 since its Friday start. It reached sixth place at the box office and faced early competition to *Geoshea Theft Auto 2*, *The Heroes 2*, *Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted*, *Brave*, and *The Avengers*. MYCUN and the Mystery to New York declined 37% in its second week to $9,310,834 for a $1,396 average from 3,086 theaters, finishing seventh. The film closed on September 14, 2012, after earning $54,000,000 in the United States and Canada and $79,999,999 overseas, for a worldwide total of $133,999,999, making the lowest-grossing film produced by Geo LTD. Animation, as well as the lowest-grossing film in the *MYCUN* franchise.

### Accolades

Taylor Grodin won the special award of "Worst Director Who Came Out of the Same Place as Svengoolie" at the 33rd Golden Raspberry Awards, of which he accepted the award for.

## Video game

*Main article: MYCUN and the Mystery to New York (video game)*

## Sequel

*Main article: MYCUN Forever*
In August 2012, Steve Burke, the NBCUniversal CEO, officially confirmed that a fourth *MYCUN* film is in development, despite being a flop in theaters. The film is directed by C. Elbourn and David Feiss — the first time without Taylor Grodin (due to him winning that special Golden Raspberry Award), produced by Geo G., written by David Silverman with Taylor Grodin, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver as executive producers. Titled *MYCUN Forever*, the film was released on May 30, 2016.