Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm review

AQUA TEEN FOREVER: PLANTASM: 

SECOND AQUA TEEN FILM IS A WILD GOOD TIME FOR FANS OF THE POPULAR ADULT ANIMATED SERIES! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

ADULT SWIM/CARTOON NETWORK

Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad in Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm

 

            The Aqua Teens are back in Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm, the new feature film based on the popular Adult Swim animated series, Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The series ran on Cartoon Network’s late night programming block, Adult Swim from 2000 until 2015 and even spawned a theatrically released film, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters in 2007. 

            To put it bluntly, Aqua Teen Hunger Force is basically what The Powerpuff Girls was for Cartoon Network, but for its adult programming block. It was the longest-running series on Adult Swim until it was surpassed by Robot Chicken and set the groundwork for other beloved shows on the block such as The Venture Bros., Metalocalypse, and Rick and Morty to name a few. 

            I was a huge Aqua Teen fan during middle and high school, which was a perfect time to be introduced to the bizarre and irreverent misadventures of Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad since I was really getting into adult animated shows back then. From binging episodes either On Demand or the DVD releases to staying up late on weekends and watching them live on Adult Swim, and even going to the theater to see the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie when it was released as one of the first R-rated movies I saw in theaters. 

            While this is a standalone film with no connections to the previous Aqua Teen movie, I should give my quick thoughts on Colon Movie Film for Theaters. I enjoy the first Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie though I understand why it wasn’t a huge critical or commercial hit. 

            The first film is essentially a feature-length episode of the series with a lot of strange and absurd characters and jokes, the lack of a coherent narrative, and the film itself was heavily underpromoted compared to the much anticipated release of The Simpsons Movie later on that year. It’s like Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny where it’s a movie made squarely for fans and those familiar with the source material will have a great time, but there isn’t much in it for casual moviegoers. 

            Now, we have Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm, the first in a line of direct-to-video features based on Adult Swim properties and following the success of other films based on adult animated shows released this year like The Bob’s Burgers Movie and Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe. Given that I’m a fan of the series, of course I had to see it and…yeah, I found this movie hilarious. 

            After a falling-out, the Aqua Teens have gone their separate ways with Meatwad (voiced by co-creator, Dave Willis-Squidbillies, Archer, Steven Universe) working (and living) at a dog shelter, a homeless Master Shake (voiced by Dana Snyder-Squidbillies, The Venture Bros., Chowder) living on the streets of New Jersey, and Frylock (voiced by Carey Means-The Brak Show, Welcome to the Wayne) working for a mega-corporation known as Amazin (Clearly, a jab at eBay!). But when a conflict arises involving the evil, 4-inch long (and I don’t mean down there!) tech mogul and Amazin owner, Neil (voiced by Peter Serafinowicz-Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Shaun of the Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy) and an army of mutated plant monsters seeking world domination, the Aqua Teens and their former neighbor, Carl (also voiced by Willis) are forced to reunite and save the day before Something, Something Batman & Robin Reference! 

            The film also features the voices of series creators Matt Maiellaro (Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, Perfect Hair Forever, 12 oz. Mouse) and Willis as Ignignokt and Err the Mooninites, Maiellaro as Markula, and Paul Walter Hauser (I, Tonya, Richard Jewell, Cruella) as Elmer. 

            Overall, Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm probably won’t win over many newcomers, but fans of the beloved series will be greeted with a chaotic, weird, and totally outrageous reunion. The film is essentially a love letter to Aqua Teen Hunger Force as it is filled with callbacks to episodes of the series and appearances by fan-favorite characters such as the Mooninites, Willie Nelson, and Romulox. 

            The jokes are very funny depending on your tolerance of weird, illogical humor, at first it does dive into the whole “Big corporations are evil” shtick, but once the bizarre Aqua Teen humor gets going where strange things start happening and logic gets thrown out the window, it’s absolutely hilarious. 

            Some of my favorites are whenever the Mooninites break the fourth wall and interrupt the movie by messing with the playback buttons on the screen, rewinding and fast-forwarding or downright removing plot-important scenes which had me laughing on the floor, and insulting the viewer(s). Other gags I found humorous are the film’s Space Jam-themed opening credits sequence complete with a live-action depiction of former NBA basketball player, Shawn Kemp and the Aqua Teens in a Looney Tunes-inspired animation style, a fake ending with part of the original show’s end credits sequence, and Carl tricking out his 2 Wycked car into a monster truck with saw blades in front of it complete with a Mad Max-style costume change and the War Boys’ chrome spray paint from Fury Road. 

            What’s interesting about this film compared to Colon Movie Film for Theaters is that Plantasm is a little more story-based than the first film. There is a conflict and a resolution by the end, but the plot is still mostly an excuse for jokes and in true Aqua Teen fashion, the film has an abrupt ending as well as a post-credits scene just like its predecessor. 

            The animation is great (For an Aqua Teen movie that is!) and the characters and environments are given unquestionable visual enhancements while still retaining their cheap, simplistic appearances. The animation is done by Bento Box Entertainment, who is also behind the animation for Bob’s Burgers and the animators did a fantastic job at making the Aqua Teen Hunger Force look as crisp and clear as ever. 

            If you’re expecting a film with a deep narrative, character revelations, and insightful themes…this isn’t it! However, if you’re an Aqua Teen Hunger Force fan or looking for a silly night of laughs and weird, illogical situations, Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm delivers exactly what it advertises and proves the Aqua Teen Hunger Force are still #1 in the Hood, G.