Synopsis: Christian Bale plays Silas Croodge, a greedy, miserly, out-of-touch corporate executive that has recently acquired a popular new streaming service. In an effort to cut costs, he not only cancels several animated projects, but also completely purges any evidence that they ever existed from the internet—thus depriving their creators of royalties and residuals.
Shortly thereafter, he is haunted by a trio of cartoon ghosts. Their mission: to “scare him straight” by forcing him to confront the consequences of his actions. Will this encounter with the supernatural convince Croodge to change his wicked ways?
As it turns out, the answer is a resounding “No.” He dismisses the experience as a bizarre nightmare and immediately continues pinching pennies. Fortunately, he can’t avoid karma forever. His mismanagement of his company soon leads him to ruin: customers unsubscribe, employees go on strike, and advertisers withdraw their support en masse.
As Croodge wanders the streets in a daze—haggard, destitute, and disgraced—he curses the heavens, blaming everybody but himself for his misfortune. A giant pencil then descends from the sky and literally erases him from reality.
And everyone else lives happily ever after.