Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm
Is there too much of a good thing? Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm is another movie featuring the characters of the Adult Swim cartoon show, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" (or whatever they feel like calling it). In essence, this is a "super episode" instead of a feature length film, barely qualifying as one with its seventy-six minute runtime. But if you just can't get enough of the zany antics of Frylock, Master Shake, Meatwad, and their neighbor, Carl, well...you can watch this, I suppose! (Oh, and would you believe it! I just noticed that the title isn't Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Plantasm! Those wacky guys at Adult Swim got me again!)
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I will always have a soft spot for "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", even if it is juvenile, gross, and just frankly odd at times. But at least it's not "South Park"! "Aqua Teen" (for short) always seems to have a kind of self-aware humor that doesn't (generally) rely on topical jokes en masse (again, cheap shot at "South Park") to be funny. But comedy is always subjective, so while I find this show (and the movies) humorous, it's just not for everyone. I think that "Aqua Teen" became the proverbial anchor for Adult Swim's creative programming for years, with its unique brand of irreverent and bizarre animation and humor, occasional guest stars (usually musical ones like Glenn Danzig and Zakk Wylde), and plots that rarely come to any measure of a sensical conclusion by the end of its characteristically short episode runtime of eleven minutes. But I found that, like comforting junk food, it was good for a quick chuckle, easily putting a smile on my face. (Is junk food supposed to do that?) Basically, the same remains true for Plantasm (again, shortened for simplicity)...except it's almost seven-times as long as one of the episodes, I guess. I'd say that talking about the plot runs the risk of spoilers, but let's be honest: who cares about that? It's going to stay funny if you're already a fan no matter what. Still, I'll try not to ruin the best jokes.
So...apparently Plantasm is set sometime after the Aqua Teens have left their New Jersey home and gone their separate ways. Shake is very homeless, and tells outlandish stories about his adventures to those forced to share his company. Meatwad helps out at a dog shelter...and sleeps there without telling his coworker. Frylock (now going by the alias of "Phoenix") got a job in IT for a megacorporation called "Amazin'", a thinly veiled jab at Amazon, which is ruled over by a diminutive egomaniac named Neil. (Amazin'...not Amazon...although I wouldn't rule that out, either.) Carl and the Aqua Teen's erstwhile landlord, a vampire named Markula, gleefully watch as their neighborhood property values rise while condos are being built and mysterious boxes are left in the street. Suddenly, Neil wants Frylock/Phoenix to help him grow in size, because his current mad scientist and head of R&D named Elmer hasn't succeeded in this. Elmer has instead been cultivating a pet project: talking to triffid-esque plants. Also, Neil staffs his company with true "illegal aliens", a pair of gross species called the "Fraptaculans" and the "Japongaloids"...the less said about them, the better. So Frylock/Phoenix becomes buds with the man-bun billionaire--sporting one himself, and a new chassis following a vicious mugging--but reunites with his old Aqua Teen pals to face a crisis...because they had to get to the plot sometime, right?! Wackiness ensues, with a heavy amount of contemporary lampooning of big companies, billionaires, and video-on-demand stuff, courtesy of the Mooninites hijacking the movie here and there, because filler! There are plenty of nods to movies like The Road Warrior and Rocky, because hey, why not? And when Elmer transforms (yeah, spoiler, pffft...), he also takes on a penchant for constant puns. So while Plantasm is far from a consistent movie--it's kind of the antithesis of that, in fact--for people who liked the show (like me), it is good for a short and sweet callback to this particular brand of humor.
Recommended for: Well...fans of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force"...and probably no one else! Unless you've seen the show before, much (if not all) of Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm will be just too darned absurd to be appreciated. This one's for the fans...or a cheap cash grab. Hey, probably both!
So...apparently Plantasm is set sometime after the Aqua Teens have left their New Jersey home and gone their separate ways. Shake is very homeless, and tells outlandish stories about his adventures to those forced to share his company. Meatwad helps out at a dog shelter...and sleeps there without telling his coworker. Frylock (now going by the alias of "Phoenix") got a job in IT for a megacorporation called "Amazin'", a thinly veiled jab at Amazon, which is ruled over by a diminutive egomaniac named Neil. (Amazin'...not Amazon...although I wouldn't rule that out, either.) Carl and the Aqua Teen's erstwhile landlord, a vampire named Markula, gleefully watch as their neighborhood property values rise while condos are being built and mysterious boxes are left in the street. Suddenly, Neil wants Frylock/Phoenix to help him grow in size, because his current mad scientist and head of R&D named Elmer hasn't succeeded in this. Elmer has instead been cultivating a pet project: talking to triffid-esque plants. Also, Neil staffs his company with true "illegal aliens", a pair of gross species called the "Fraptaculans" and the "Japongaloids"...the less said about them, the better. So Frylock/Phoenix becomes buds with the man-bun billionaire--sporting one himself, and a new chassis following a vicious mugging--but reunites with his old Aqua Teen pals to face a crisis...because they had to get to the plot sometime, right?! Wackiness ensues, with a heavy amount of contemporary lampooning of big companies, billionaires, and video-on-demand stuff, courtesy of the Mooninites hijacking the movie here and there, because filler! There are plenty of nods to movies like The Road Warrior and Rocky, because hey, why not? And when Elmer transforms (yeah, spoiler, pffft...), he also takes on a penchant for constant puns. So while Plantasm is far from a consistent movie--it's kind of the antithesis of that, in fact--for people who liked the show (like me), it is good for a short and sweet callback to this particular brand of humor.
Recommended for: Well...fans of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force"...and probably no one else! Unless you've seen the show before, much (if not all) of Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm will be just too darned absurd to be appreciated. This one's for the fans...or a cheap cash grab. Hey, probably both!