The Kingdom of Warnerstock: The Quest for the Wishing Star

The Kingdom of Warnerstock: The Quest for the Wishing Star is a 2024 American musical comedy-adventure fantasy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Zemeckis and Chris Weitz. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and ImageMovers, the film is a live-action remake of Wakko's Wish, a direct-to-video movie based on the 1993–1998 animated series Animaniacs, with a different cast and new characters, instead of the Animaniacs characters. The film features an ensemble cast including.

The Kingdom of Warnerstock: The Quest for the Wishing Star premiered at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles on December 5, 2024, and was released in the United States on December 21, 2024.

Cast

 * Tom Hanks as the narrator of the movie.
 * Johnny Depp as Eric Serfson, the main protagonist of the movie. He is Wakko Warner's live-action reenactment version.
 * Neil Patrick Harris as Steve Warner, Eric's best friend and Jennifer's younger brother. He is Yakko Warner's live-action reenactment version.
 * Melissa Rauch as Jennifer Warner, Steve's younger sister who comes down with a mysterious illness, which causes her to cough and tire often. She is Dot Warner's live-action reenactment version.
 * Kelsey Grammer as King Sebastian J. Salazar the Pushy, the main antagonist of the film and the evil and greedy king of Warnerstock. He is King Salazar's live-action reenactment version.
 * Danny DeVito as Baron Christopher von Cobblepot, King Salazar's loud-mouthed right-hand man and advisor, who serves as the town's tax collector. He is Thaddeus Plotz's live-action reenactment version.
 * Craig Robinson as Constable Ralph T. Roosevelt, King Salazar's dim-witted and friendly constable and Plotz's best friend. He is Ralph the Security Guard's live-action reenactment version.
 * Jack McBrayer as Michael "Mike" McFly, Doc's dim-witted assistant and Phar Fignewton's boyfriend who lives in Acme Falls. He is Pinky's live-action reenactment version.
 * Bill Hader as Dr. Emmett James "Doc" Sullivan, an evil inventor who lives in Acme Falls, wishing for world domination. He is The Brain's live-action reenactment version.
 * Rainn Wilson as Dr. Arthur Schrute, Acme Falls' clumsy pharmacist. He is Dr. Otto Scratchansniff's live-action reenactment version.
 * Kristen Wiig as Lucy Wilde, Dr. Schrute's assistant. She is Hello Nurse's live-action reenactment version.
 * Kate McKinnon as Wendy Darling, Lenny's grumpy wife who lives in Acme Falls, wishing to have new food for their home. She is Slappy Squirrel's live-action reenactment version.
 * Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Lenny Darling, Wendy's cheerful husband who wishes to come up with a name for their unborn baby. He is Skippy Squirrel's live-action reenactment version.
 * Jennifer Garner as Mindy White, a mischievous woman who lives in Acme Falls and spends most of the film chases after Lenny and Wendy. She is Mindy's live-action reenactment version.
 * Bradley Cooper as Ferdinand White, Mindy's younger brother who wants to be acknowledged for his heroism and keep Mindy safe as his wish. He is Buttons's live-action reenactment version, except he talks in full sentences.
 * Idina Menzel as Sarah Dennison, Fred's arrogant and sarcastic wife who lives in Acme Falls, wishing to live in a permanent home. She is Rita's live-action reenactment version.
 * James Marsden as Fred Dennison, Sarah's dimwitted husband who, along with his wife, wishes to live in a permanent home. He is Runt's live-action reenactment version.
 * Andy Samberg as Manny Conway, a very stoic member of the King's guards and the best friend of his two fellow misfit guards (Diego and Sid). He is Bobby's live-action reenactment version.
 * Bobby Moynihan as Diego DeVito, a cranky and short-tempered member of the King's guards and the second of the misfit guards. He is Pesto's live-action reenactment version.
 * Pete Davidson as Sid Hill, a cheerful and naive member of the King's guards and the youngest of the misfit guards. He is Squit's live-action reenactment version.
 * Peter Dinklage as Desire Fulfillment Facilitator (The Good Fairy), a dwarfish, talkative fairy who gives Eric instructions on how to grant his wish. He is Francis "Pip" Pumphandle's live-action reenactment version.
 * Keegan-Michael Key as Sheldon J. Charleston, the captain of the king's guards. He is Mr. Crazy Person's live-action reenactment version.
 * Frank Welker as Phar Fignewton (vocal effects), Dr. Schrute's pet horse who falls in love with Mike. Zemeckis uses a real horse to portray her. She is Phar Fignewton's live-action reenactment version.
 * Background townspeople in Acme Falls:
 * Alia Shawkat as a female townsperson. She is Minerva Mink's live-action reenactment version.
 * Jaime Camil and Alanna Ubach as a married Spanish couple. They are Flavio Hippo and Marita Hippo's live-action reenactment version.
 * Ed Sheeran as the town's friar. He is Chicken Boo's live-action reenactment version.
 * Paige O'Hara as the town's butcher.
 * Richard White as the town's baker.
 * Lady Gaga as the town's grocer.
 * Diane Keaton as Mindy and Ferdinand's nameless mother. She is Mindy's Mother's live-action reenactment version.
 * Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a wrestler in The Cave of Your Worst Nightmares. He is Baloney's live-action reenactment version.
 * Alan Tudyk as a singer in The Cave of Your Worst Nightmares. He sings "Big Time" from Zootopia+. He is Mr. Director's live-action reenactment version.
 * Jemaine Clement as a Gas Station Attendant in The Cave of Your Worst Nightmares.
 * August Michael Peterson and Charlotte Ann Tucker as Penny and Mindy Darling, Wendy and Lenny's newborn twin girls who only appear near the end of the movie as Lenny's wish to name their babies (Penny is after Eric's miraculous wish for "two ha'pennies" and Mindy is after the woman they met on their way to the Wishing Star). They replace Skippy's new friends in this version.
 * Patrick Stewart as King William the Good: The late king of Warnerstock who is revealed to be Steve and Jennifer's father.
 * Helen Mirren as King William's wife.

Differences from the 1999 film

 * Wakko's Wish features the Animaniacs cast in Warnerstock, while this version has a new cast and new characters.
 * The Desire Fulfillment Facilitator's role was bigger than in the original, in which he prophesies the wishing star in the beginning and his magic lets the Captain frees the orphans.
 * The Warners' first appearance at the beginning of the original in which they sit around the campfire is cut and replaced by the Desire Fulfillment Facilitator delivering a prophecy about the wishing star, "One night, the chosen one will wish for a wish upon the wishing star. Then the star will fall in the mountains, far from the chosen one's town. The next morning, everyone will have a race to the mountains. And the one who touches the fallen star first will be granted one wish." Then the film's opening credits roll with "When You Wish Upon a Star" playing.
 * There was an extended version of the film's prologue that features Salazar's backstory. Salazar was revealed to be the grand vizier of King William until he heard of the legend of the evil kingdom of Ticktockia and set off to find the kingdom. Once there, he kills the king of Ticktockia and became the new ruler. With Ticktockia's people as his servants, he returns to Warnerstock, betrays and kills King William, and overthrew Warnerstock. After that, William's wife became ill and died a few days after Salazar's take-over.
 * In the remake, Lenny isn't tone deaf unlike Skippy in the original.
 * In the original, Plotz sees Wakko's ha'penny and he wants it for the taxes. In the remake, Salazar gets alerted by Charleston about Eric's ha'penny and sends Cobblepot to swipe it for his taxes.
 * In the original, in the scene after Yakko tells Dot the story about their parents, Wakko sings "Twinkle, Twinkle" as he plays his harp. In the remake, Eric, having overheard Steve's story about his parents, sings "Wild Uncharted Night Sky" as he climbs to the roof of the orphanage and starts wishing upon the wishing star.
 * In the remake, the Desire Fulfillment Facilitator meets Eric on the orphanage's rooftop instead of inside the orphanage.
 * Unlike the original, Jennifer and Steve meet the Desire Fulfillment Facilitator during his and Eric's first meeting. Then they join him and Eric in singing "Never Give Up Hope (Reprise)".
 * In the original, Dot uses her cuteness to save the orphans. In the remake however, the Desire Fulfillment Facilitator orchestrates the orphans' rescue from the execution by using his magic, a similar nod to Glinda rescuing Dorothy from the deadly poppy field in The Wizard of Oz.
 * In the remake, the failed execution scene was extended, in which Steve and the Captain duel in Salazar's throne room which never happens in the original film.
 * Salazar's defeat at the end is changed. In the original, the Warners boot Salazar out of their palace, and he is attacked by his own dogs. In this version, Salazar furiously swears revenge on the orphans for reaching the star first, only to be betrayed and arrested by Cobblepot and Ralph, who place him in the military base the guards built as punishment.
 * After he makes his wish for two ha'pennies, Eric performs The Futterwacken Dance while the citizens sing "He's Got Two Ha'Pennies". Eric's actor Johnny Depp also performed that dance in Alice in Wonderland as the Mad Hatter.
 * In the original, Skippy gets friends his own age. In the remake, Wendy gives birth to baby twins, whom Lenny names Penny and Mindy.
 * At the end of the movie, the "Never Give Up Hope (Finale)" scene is different from the original. The Wheel of Morality scene is cut and the Good Fairy watches in the sky, very proud of Wakko for making his wish, before winking at the audience.

Music
Alan Silvestri, a recurring collaborator of Zemeckis', composed the score for the film. In addition to the songs from Wakko's Wish, Silvestri and Glen Ballard wrote five new songs for the project, such as "When You Wish Upon a Star" (performed by Ethan Slater at the beginning of the movie and by a chorus after the climax of the movie), "Wild Uncharted Night Sky" (performed by Eric after his ha'penny is taken by Baron von Cobblepot right before he makes his wish upon the star, replacing "Twinkle, Twinkle"), "Wherever You Are" (performed by Eric, Steve, and Jennifer after the king sent them to his palace), another short reprise to "Never Give Up Hope" (performed by Eric as he encourages Steve and Jennifer to not give up on winning the race to find the wishing star), and "If I Didn't Have You" (performed by the main heroes during the end credits).

On December 14 (a week before the film's release), a music video of "If I Didn't Have You" was released, featuring its performers Johnny Depp, Neil Patrick Harris, Melissa Rauch, Danny DeVito, Craig Robinson, Jack McBrayer, Bill Hader, Rainn Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jennifer Garner, Bradley Cooper, Idina Menzel, James Marsden, Andy Samberg, Bobby Moynihan, and Pete Davidson dressed as their respective characters from the movie and the music video takes place in an animated kingdom setting. The song is about the humorous, but touching friendships between the film's eight main hero pairings (Eric, Steve, and Jennifer, Cobblepot and Ralph, Mike and Doc, Dr. Schrute and Lucy, Wendy and Lenny, Mindy and Ferdinand, Sarah and Fred, Manny, Diego, and Sid) that will never break.