If you had told me a few years ago that Aqua Teen Hunger Force (or Aqua TV Show Show, Aqua Something You Know Whatever, etc) would come back as a movie in 2022, I would've told you that you were full of it, but now, I'm happy to see the iconic trio and their sardonic neighbor Carl back! As for the movie? Well, we'll get to that in a second.
ATHF was one of Adult Swim's longest running shows at the time of its cancellation in 2015 and for good reason; the surrealist humor and shoestring flash budget made for a charming, funny, albeit very stupid show that was thoroughly entertaining. In 2007, they released a theatrical film "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters." I'm probably in the minority of fans that thought, despite my love for the show, it was an extremely disjointed and disappointing mess of a movie. The show's formula of surrealist humor and insanity works well for 11 minute vacuums, but not an 87 minute feature film, especially when it feels like they're still working on the same budget.
Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm seems like it learned from the mistakes of Colon Movie and both improves upon it and falters a bit. For one thing, the animation is VASTLY improved. People no longer look like static png's with moving mouths and actually have movement to them. That may not sound like a lot, but it's a huge thing for Aqua Teen. The opening sequence alone sold me on the improvement and even if there's still the occasional animation style here and there, the new animation helps breathe further life into it. The voice actors also feel like they've jumped right back into their roles and like they haven't been gone for nearly 7 years. There's still love for the IP and I'm glad the cast seems like they're having fun.
The story itself is also a massive improvement...as there actually is one somewhat this time around. It feels like the episode of Frylock leaving the gang, only with a bit more stakes to it: the gang is officially split up, Frylock is in a beat up apartment downtown and working for a corporation called Amazin (a not so subtle nod to Amazon), Meatwad is living at a dog shelter bring in dogs that don't even need rescued, and Shake is a homeless bum who refuses to get a job. Frylock becomes buddy buddy with the CEO of Amazin and begins research into cloning that can allow the vertically challenged boss to be taller. However, things go array when a disgruntled employee uses his new research to create plants and usurp the company. With the world in peril, it's up to the Aqua Teens and Carl to settle their differences and save the world from domination.
The story is very straightforward this time around and doesn't feel like a total, shock value filled, disjointed amalgamation and it works well enough for what it is. You're not going to get anything deep or insightful from this film about food products kicking ass, but it's still a pretty fun time regardless...for the most part. While I think it's a vast improvement on Colon Movie, I do still have some gripes. For starters, the movie feels like a giant middle finger to Amazon. I'm all for dragging them through the mud with their unethical work practices, but nothing really new is added to it and the commentary is already know jokes and critiques about Amazon that have been done to death: the CEO who's full of himself and slightly evil, the underprivileged people being paid nothing and working in grueling conditions, the fact that it's pretty much taking over the world, etc. Another thing that is slightly disappointing is the actual Plantasm part, which doesn't even come into play until the third act. It's fun to see the group fight off a large amount of mutated plants, but it feels like it comes in way too late to have much impact.
But by far the most annoying thing about this movie are the Mooninites. Normally they're alright, but here they are an absolute travesty. Their main purpose here is to break the fourth wall (this movie is streaming on HBO Max) and either mess with the timeline of the movie or just flat out insult the audience with a bunch of meta humor and pop culture references. This is a trend that's become very annoying in recent times, especially in shows like Rick and Morty and most egregiously in Velma, and it's no different here. The pacing is pretty decent for the most part, but these segments bring the film to a screeching halt. One grievous flaw in particular is a sequence involving them insulting the audience as they fast forward through the film as a chase scene happens, with Shake, Meatwad, and Carl talking about the insane thing that happened. It's probably the most cliche trope you could do and does not at all feel like Aqua Teen. While I appreciate them toning down the insanity to make the story more streamlined for a movie format, these segments really sour the movie for me and keeps me from wanting to watch it again, hence the 6/10 score.
All in all, it's a decent but flawed return for ATHF. They've apparently announced they're making another season and I'm excited to see what they bring to the table this time around, especially if they keep this style of animation, though I really hope they don't start to go down the Meta route or make it more streamlined.
