Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm

Aqua Teen has always been a gem in my eyes, yet they can be completely deceptive. You can never expect, nor trust where a certain story (or mixture of nonsense) will end up, but that's why I love this show. This movie was surprisingly straightforward and I loved it. But of course, the trademark mannerisms are on point.

Don't look at the thumbnails for the film, you'll think it's some sort of superhero ripoff. This movie mainly plays off of the Amazon corporation, which yes I think it's a lazy step, but they make it work somehow. The main villain in the movie is kind of annoying and certainly not like the alien spider or Mr. Wong from the dickesode- he's not surreal, he's just a power hungry weird guy with a man bun that does yoga. But all I can say is that fans will be satisfied, there are epic moments for the characters, and it's amazing to see them separated only to unite again.

All in all, the movie has some of the greatest ATHF moments of all time, seriously. But the dull parts are flimsy and lame. Without them, this would have neared perfection. Oh and don't worry, the theme song is exquisite.

Judging from a movie perspective, It's an improvement over the 2007 theater release, but is still filled with nonsense all the way through, which is expected from the humor of the show, but sometimes I feel like it detracts a bit from the enjoyment like the Mooninites that were funny at first but end up feeling kinda stale by the end of the film, the runtime feels a bit too short as well, but it has decent pacing. Aside from that, nothing I didn't expect, amazing animation for Aqua Teen standards tho, amazing song by RTJ as well, very much recommended if you enjoyed the show, won't blow your mind but will make you laugh.

Like so many others, I've been a fan of Aqua Teen since the 2000s and was thrilled when this movie was announced. Unfortunately, the result was very disappointing.

The plot is certainly more focused than the previous outing, which while not perfect, retained the show's humour perfectly. This time, the audience receives a more linear story parodying the unlikable tech moguls we know and endure today, but the satire itself doesn't have much else to say other than pointing to the obvious faults and misdeeds these real life supervillains commit.

The classic characters are still very much themselves, particularly Meatwad, who is as naïve and innocent as ever. Peter Serafinowicz, an amazing impressionist and hilarious performer, is used for little more than a very good Robert Downey Jr. Mimic, which was a bit of a waste of such talent. Longtime fans may also be disappointed by the lack of favourites such as The Plutonians and The Cybernetic Ghost Of Christmas Past, who provided the show and previous film with some hysterical moments. Instead we receive a very dull villain sidekick in Elmer, the flat Japongaloids and Fraptaculans and the forgettable co-workers of Frylock.

While it was nice to see these characters again and not feel like soulless nostalgia such as Han Solo in The Force Awakens, they could and should have been used better, or at least be given better dialogue. Ultimately, I still want more Aqua Teen but not if it's as dreary as this sad, wet fart of a return.

Admittedly it's not as absurdist as the show or the first movie, it actually tells a concise story. I could have done without all the Mooninite movie interruptions, though they were funny at times. It felt like an extended "villain of the week" style episode of Aqua Teen with Neil being a pretty funny inclusion.

Good to see all of the voice cast return, a few more little cameos would have been cool as it feels almost like a reunion since the show's cancellation. I just hope Carey Means got a better contract deal out of this one., and I really do hope the sequel bait at the very very end wasn't just a goof.

Aqua Teen could stand to return every couple years with something like this, but I would kill for a new season instead.

I enjoy these characters as much as anyone, but this movie was way too conventional. The appeal of the show is that it can go in so many nonsensical directions in just an 11 minute runtime. For this film, it seems like they thought they needed to keep a linear narrative going for the 75 minute runtime. I preferred it when things would go off the rails right from the start, and then keep getting more and more out of control. Of course, there are plenty of silly moments and goofy plot points, but compared to what we've been used to, this seems really tame, even as they add in explicit language. I recommend skipping this one--it offers minimal payoff.