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https://blacknerdproblems.com/scott-pilgrim-takes-off-review/
I forget how I found out about the Scott Pilgrim books. What I do remember is that one volume would come out each year. It was 2010, the sixth and final volume had come out, and the movie was to follow a few weeks later. Time makes us forget the details of certain moments, but I never forgot the feeling reading the Scott Pilgrim series gave me. The series was a beautiful ode to different eras of pop culture, video games, and all things nerdy. Scott Pilgrim spawned a movie, video game, and a fan base that’s been loyal for near 20 years. If Scott Pilgrim is a coming-of-age story, then Netflix’s Scott Pilgrim Takes Off series shows how hindsight can be an amazing editor and narrator to create an even better story.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is written by series creator Bryan Lee O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski with Abel Góngora as the director. I got my first glimpse of the show at New York Comic-Con 2023 at a panel. Bryan and BenDavid showed some scenes from the show along with the official trailer for the show which remixed the Mortal Kombat ‘test your might’ song. Fam, I saw that shit and my body was ready. I loved the book, the movie was fine (ending should of followed the book’s), and here I was hoping we’d get to see a series adaption of the book where we saw more slice-of-life situations between the characters between fights as well as some moments of self-realization.
I was wrong…
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off in a new direction
And… I have never been so happy to be so wrong in my life. When watching episode one, we see the show follow the book to the T. We’ve seen Scott and Ramona meet in two occasions (book and film) and even here in this third iteration, it’s as charming as the first times. For that, I gotta give Science Saru all the credit. They did not come to fuck around with this animation. The characters feel like an amalgam of their looks from the book enjambed with an anime influence. The visuals take risks by making these characters and Toronto stand out in their own way. Every character looks so clean and stylish from the way that they move to the way that they fight. I love how much of a staple this animation feels for the look of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.
The music of the show is its own character as well. From songs we heard in the movie to original tracks, the music curated for the series bangs. There’s a scene of Lucas Lee skating to ‘United States of Whatever” and hearing that track took me all the way back to my senior year of high school in 2003 playing Tony Hawk Underground. The fact that that song was also in T.H.U.G. and used as a trailer for a game, let’s me know that Lucas Lee shredding around town to the track is no coincidence. No sound is wasted in any scene. The music, animation, and characters are all connected. Oh, and speaking of characters…
Another thing that makes this series feel like a homecoming moment is that we got the original cast back together to do the voice acting which feels so natural and in peak performance. You can tell they had fun while also understanding there can’t be a weak link on the mic in this iteration. The bedroom scene between Scott and Ramon in this iteration comes off as this mixture of sexy and charming that I didn’t feel in the movie. It worked, but this shit just felt so different even though I know the scene by heart. That’s an amazing thing for a piece of art to do.
I was fully prepared to watch this series, expecting to see the story going beat for beat. I knew there would be some variations, like seeing Gideon Graves inform Matthew Patel about Scott Pilgrim and how he’ll be set out to throw down with him. I just thought we were getting some small extra details, but when we see Matthew Patel and Scott Pilgrim throw hands, what we actually get is a brand new story…that I am entirely here for.
Okay so beyond this point there are going to be spoilers ahead so, you should go watch the series, then come back so we can discuss the detail and nuance of the new themes brought to the table by Scott Pilgrim Takes Off…
SPOILERS AHEAD
Ramona Flowers’ Finest Hour
What makes Scott Pilgrim Takes Off so different is that when Scott and Matthew Patel clash… Scott loses. Scott gets turned into toll fare, and my jaw became an open draw bridge. Soon as I saw this happen, I realized that everything we thought we knew means we don’t know shit for this show. When Ramona gets a small inkling that Scott is still alive and has proof of him being teleported before Matthew’s punch connected. The show unveils itself as a whodunnit mystery with Ramona as lead detective. What I love about this twist is that in this version of the story, Ramona has more agency now. Our girl gets is center stage in the fighter select screen of her own story. This time instead of Scott Pilgrim fighting to win Ramona, Ramona is choosing to find out what happened to Scott and confront all her exes in order to do so. Your girl felt sparks with Scott Pilgrim and decided he was worth following up on, even if it meant having to confront her past and the person she used to be.
This serves as a brilliant twist. Although, in the books and movie, it was dope seeing Scott Pilgrim fight the evil exes on some Street Fighter II shit. This makes Ramona seem more like an object to be won when we really think about it. Sure, Ramona is aware that it’s something the person she is dating has to go through, and Scott is comfortable with it. Looking back in hindsight, this feels like a fight that Ramona should have been doing herself because this is her life. Whereas in the book, Ramona couldn’t do that, she is fully able of doing so now in this version. Confronting her exes, isn’t something that Ramona wants to do, but she is willing to. The dope part about it is we see that it doesn’t always have to be a fight when confronting or meeting an ex. In some of the relationships Ramona was in, she was the villain. This is something that she has to reconcile with.
In her fight with Roxie, we see them throwing all of the hands in a video store and the fight moving through different cinema backgrounds (genius). They’re fighting but talking is at the root of the matter and the truth is Ramona made Roxie feel like less than nothing. Ramona is aware of this and in the end does what needs to be done to truly put this fight, Roxie, and her own feelings on the matter at ease. Ramona apologizes… and fucking means it. It can all literally be that simple. Roxie doesn’t have to accept the apology as is her right but, here, in this instance we see it is what she needed. We’re seeing Ramona’s actions outside of Scott Pilgrim being around and outside of Scott’s point of view. This is the side of Ramona we didn’t get to see in the books or the movie.
This is Ramona and her exes getting a chance to handle things as adults instead of as enemies or as opposition to for a potential partner to get through. It’s moments like this that make me love how hindsight feels like an editor making revisions for the retelling of this tell. Sometimes things won’t end well with an ex, but I do not think that has to be the case each and every time. Sometimes, all that’s needed is a conversation when both parties are in a better place and willing to own up to the part they played in how thing went or ended. This series gives Ramona’s exes a chance to be something more than just obstacles. They get to become characters with more story and development given to them.
After the fight, Roxie is still trying to test the waters with Ramona, even as friends with benefits. When that’s a bust, she makes out with Kim Pine to see if there’s anything between them. No sparks. It might feel a little male gaze-ish, and I can see that; however, to me, Roxie is just looking to be in lesbians with her. It’s here where Scott Pilgrim Takes Off gives us the other underlying theme that people are looking for or wanting someone that they have sparks with. It’s those same sparks that Ramona felt with Scott that sent her on this journey, even as she finds out, that Scott was seeing a Knives Chau at the same time… and that she’s a high schooler. Ramona still wants to see how things play out with Scott cause that himbo gave her sparks when they kissed and she wants to see things through. This iteration of Scott Pilgrim does a good job at displaying how messy feelings can be. How we connect with people who may have had a relationship with someone we know. How things don’t have to be that weird when a break-up is talked out and everyone can go about their lives.
Writer’s note: I’m sorry, but the whole Scott dating a high schooler thing is still wild. I’m surprised Knives wasn’t aged up to 20 to make it only a 3-year difference. I know it’s implied that nothing happened cause all they did was hold hands. That shit is still grooming, man. It’s noted a lot more in this iteration as well as a “what the fuck” moment, and Scott addresses it later on as well. It would seem that Scott was moving toward being a certain type of dude and we could say oh he’s, so charming or he’s harmless. It’s still a big ick. I’m glad for this iteration that, he sees the error of it, even if it was brought up as a running gag (due to folks real world gross reaction to it.)
Representation Redemption…?
I do love how with Scott Pilgrim out of the way we get to see these characters who didn’t get much time before become something more than one night. Matthew Patel was basically the first of Ramona’s evil exes to catch a fade, but this time around because he “beat” Scott, and realized Ramona wasn’t going to get back with him even though he won. We see Matthew have the confidence to take on Gideon for a change of leadership, win, and take over as the new owner of Gideon’s billionaire estate. Let’s keep it a buck too. We know the Scott Pilgrim series is white as fuck. The creator even apologized for it.
In the series, Matthew Patel is the only dark skin character with lines. We see some Black background characters in this show and Lucas Lee’s agent is Black with some speaking lines but Matthew Patel and Knives Chau are the two prominent people of color in each iteration of this series. This time around Matthew gets to have not only one of the best fight scenes in the show but a journey towards what he thinks he wants that he didn’t get before. Knives in the other iterations gets to have her apology from Scott but here, we see her given much more as we discover she is not only good at marketing, but she’s a fucking musical prodigy on instruments. There’s a sweet scene between Knives and Kim having a jamming session, and we witness the vibe that they create.
This isn’t a scene we get in any of the other iterations. This is a big moment for both Kim and Knives as it doesn’t involve Scott and is a moment for them to share with music being the binding agent. This is one of the rare times we see Kim smiling. This is also big for Knives as she is getting something of her own outside of being a romantic interest. Knives goes from idolizing Sex Bob-Omb’s sound, because Scott was in it to being the missing link that the band needed in order to not suck. Both Knives and Matthew get the time to show another side of themselves thanks to this iteration and most importantly, thanks to Scott not being around.
Everybody in Together Now
Though Scott Pilgrim Takes Off changes things, the changes happen in a familiar way. When Scott Pilgrim comes home, and makes his amends, we see it’s not an evil ex in his way this time or his Negative Scott but the future version of him that’s stopping him and Ramona from moving forward (since he’s trying to make it so Scott and Ramona never get together). I thought this reveal was not only wacky, and out there, but fucking brilliant as well. Before, Scott’s negative side was the thing he had to reconcile with in order to become a better person. This time around he got to be better by seeing what Ramona was going through in order to rescue him and even future Ramona sets a plan in motion to save Scott from himself (his future self) getting in his own way.
Future Scott wanting to never meet Ramona instead of actually doing work on himself and trying to fix the issues with Ramona that lead to divorce feels like Scott’s anxiousness getting in the way. Even all these years later, I love how present Scott wasn’t deterred by what could go wrong because he wanted to work it out. He saw Ramona in the past going out of her way to find a way to rescue him and seeing that changed him. Look, I love fighting and I was excited to see Scott throw hands in this series. I also love when fighters find themselves in a situation where there is no one else to punch and the fight is with themselves. When Future Scott came back to fight. I love how now no one is Scott and Ramona’s enemy. Everybody is on the same side (well for the time being at least). The exes have their own things going on and were actually glad to see Scott and Ramona together.
Look, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is the superior version. I said it. There’s time travel involved, but this banger is canon and the fandom is all the better for it. The writing for this shows the growth of the author Bryan Lee O’Malley as well. My man was 25 when the first Scott Pilgrim volume dropped, and 19 years later, he’s 44 for the Netflix series. O’Malley and BenDavid really did some fine combing with the plot, story, and character development for this retelling. Creators don’t always get a chance to tell the story again, and there aren’t many creators that would take such a big risk instead of playing it safe with a sure bet. Scott Pilgrim takes a back seat to his own series, but my man got three different versions (books, movie, video game) where he’s Mortal Kombats to defeat the League of Exes. This version with Ramona taking the helm is exactly what the fandom needed.
I love it here even more now.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is streaming now on Netflix.
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The post ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ Gives Ramona Flowers Her Flowers appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
I forget how I found out about the Scott Pilgrim books. What I do remember is that one volume would come out each year. It was 2010, the sixth and final volume had come out, and the movie was to follow a few weeks later. Time makes us forget the details of certain moments, but I never forgot the feeling reading the Scott Pilgrim series gave me. The series was a beautiful ode to different eras of pop culture, video games, and all things nerdy. Scott Pilgrim spawned a movie, video game, and a fan base that’s been loyal for near 20 years. If Scott Pilgrim is a coming-of-age story, then Netflix’s Scott Pilgrim Takes Off series shows how hindsight can be an amazing editor and narrator to create an even better story.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is written by series creator Bryan Lee O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski with Abel Góngora as the director. I got my first glimpse of the show at New York Comic-Con 2023 at a panel. Bryan and BenDavid showed some scenes from the show along with the official trailer for the show which remixed the Mortal Kombat ‘test your might’ song. Fam, I saw that shit and my body was ready. I loved the book, the movie was fine (ending should of followed the book’s), and here I was hoping we’d get to see a series adaption of the book where we saw more slice-of-life situations between the characters between fights as well as some moments of self-realization.
I was wrong…
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off in a new direction
And… I have never been so happy to be so wrong in my life. When watching episode one, we see the show follow the book to the T. We’ve seen Scott and Ramona meet in two occasions (book and film) and even here in this third iteration, it’s as charming as the first times. For that, I gotta give Science Saru all the credit. They did not come to fuck around with this animation. The characters feel like an amalgam of their looks from the book enjambed with an anime influence. The visuals take risks by making these characters and Toronto stand out in their own way. Every character looks so clean and stylish from the way that they move to the way that they fight. I love how much of a staple this animation feels for the look of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.
The music of the show is its own character as well. From songs we heard in the movie to original tracks, the music curated for the series bangs. There’s a scene of Lucas Lee skating to ‘United States of Whatever” and hearing that track took me all the way back to my senior year of high school in 2003 playing Tony Hawk Underground. The fact that that song was also in T.H.U.G. and used as a trailer for a game, let’s me know that Lucas Lee shredding around town to the track is no coincidence. No sound is wasted in any scene. The music, animation, and characters are all connected. Oh, and speaking of characters…
Another thing that makes this series feel like a homecoming moment is that we got the original cast back together to do the voice acting which feels so natural and in peak performance. You can tell they had fun while also understanding there can’t be a weak link on the mic in this iteration. The bedroom scene between Scott and Ramon in this iteration comes off as this mixture of sexy and charming that I didn’t feel in the movie. It worked, but this shit just felt so different even though I know the scene by heart. That’s an amazing thing for a piece of art to do.
I was fully prepared to watch this series, expecting to see the story going beat for beat. I knew there would be some variations, like seeing Gideon Graves inform Matthew Patel about Scott Pilgrim and how he’ll be set out to throw down with him. I just thought we were getting some small extra details, but when we see Matthew Patel and Scott Pilgrim throw hands, what we actually get is a brand new story…that I am entirely here for.
Okay so beyond this point there are going to be spoilers ahead so, you should go watch the series, then come back so we can discuss the detail and nuance of the new themes brought to the table by Scott Pilgrim Takes Off…
SPOILERS AHEAD
Ramona Flowers’ Finest Hour
What makes Scott Pilgrim Takes Off so different is that when Scott and Matthew Patel clash… Scott loses. Scott gets turned into toll fare, and my jaw became an open draw bridge. Soon as I saw this happen, I realized that everything we thought we knew means we don’t know shit for this show. When Ramona gets a small inkling that Scott is still alive and has proof of him being teleported before Matthew’s punch connected. The show unveils itself as a whodunnit mystery with Ramona as lead detective. What I love about this twist is that in this version of the story, Ramona has more agency now. Our girl gets is center stage in the fighter select screen of her own story. This time instead of Scott Pilgrim fighting to win Ramona, Ramona is choosing to find out what happened to Scott and confront all her exes in order to do so. Your girl felt sparks with Scott Pilgrim and decided he was worth following up on, even if it meant having to confront her past and the person she used to be.
This serves as a brilliant twist. Although, in the books and movie, it was dope seeing Scott Pilgrim fight the evil exes on some Street Fighter II shit. This makes Ramona seem more like an object to be won when we really think about it. Sure, Ramona is aware that it’s something the person she is dating has to go through, and Scott is comfortable with it. Looking back in hindsight, this feels like a fight that Ramona should have been doing herself because this is her life. Whereas in the book, Ramona couldn’t do that, she is fully able of doing so now in this version. Confronting her exes, isn’t something that Ramona wants to do, but she is willing to. The dope part about it is we see that it doesn’t always have to be a fight when confronting or meeting an ex. In some of the relationships Ramona was in, she was the villain. This is something that she has to reconcile with.
In her fight with Roxie, we see them throwing all of the hands in a video store and the fight moving through different cinema backgrounds (genius). They’re fighting but talking is at the root of the matter and the truth is Ramona made Roxie feel like less than nothing. Ramona is aware of this and in the end does what needs to be done to truly put this fight, Roxie, and her own feelings on the matter at ease. Ramona apologizes… and fucking means it. It can all literally be that simple. Roxie doesn’t have to accept the apology as is her right but, here, in this instance we see it is what she needed. We’re seeing Ramona’s actions outside of Scott Pilgrim being around and outside of Scott’s point of view. This is the side of Ramona we didn’t get to see in the books or the movie.
This is Ramona and her exes getting a chance to handle things as adults instead of as enemies or as opposition to for a potential partner to get through. It’s moments like this that make me love how hindsight feels like an editor making revisions for the retelling of this tell. Sometimes things won’t end well with an ex, but I do not think that has to be the case each and every time. Sometimes, all that’s needed is a conversation when both parties are in a better place and willing to own up to the part they played in how thing went or ended. This series gives Ramona’s exes a chance to be something more than just obstacles. They get to become characters with more story and development given to them.
After the fight, Roxie is still trying to test the waters with Ramona, even as friends with benefits. When that’s a bust, she makes out with Kim Pine to see if there’s anything between them. No sparks. It might feel a little male gaze-ish, and I can see that; however, to me, Roxie is just looking to be in lesbians with her. It’s here where Scott Pilgrim Takes Off gives us the other underlying theme that people are looking for or wanting someone that they have sparks with. It’s those same sparks that Ramona felt with Scott that sent her on this journey, even as she finds out, that Scott was seeing a Knives Chau at the same time… and that she’s a high schooler. Ramona still wants to see how things play out with Scott cause that himbo gave her sparks when they kissed and she wants to see things through. This iteration of Scott Pilgrim does a good job at displaying how messy feelings can be. How we connect with people who may have had a relationship with someone we know. How things don’t have to be that weird when a break-up is talked out and everyone can go about their lives.
Writer’s note: I’m sorry, but the whole Scott dating a high schooler thing is still wild. I’m surprised Knives wasn’t aged up to 20 to make it only a 3-year difference. I know it’s implied that nothing happened cause all they did was hold hands. That shit is still grooming, man. It’s noted a lot more in this iteration as well as a “what the fuck” moment, and Scott addresses it later on as well. It would seem that Scott was moving toward being a certain type of dude and we could say oh he’s, so charming or he’s harmless. It’s still a big ick. I’m glad for this iteration that, he sees the error of it, even if it was brought up as a running gag (due to folks real world gross reaction to it.)
Representation Redemption…?
I do love how with Scott Pilgrim out of the way we get to see these characters who didn’t get much time before become something more than one night. Matthew Patel was basically the first of Ramona’s evil exes to catch a fade, but this time around because he “beat” Scott, and realized Ramona wasn’t going to get back with him even though he won. We see Matthew have the confidence to take on Gideon for a change of leadership, win, and take over as the new owner of Gideon’s billionaire estate. Let’s keep it a buck too. We know the Scott Pilgrim series is white as fuck. The creator even apologized for it.
In the series, Matthew Patel is the only dark skin character with lines. We see some Black background characters in this show and Lucas Lee’s agent is Black with some speaking lines but Matthew Patel and Knives Chau are the two prominent people of color in each iteration of this series. This time around Matthew gets to have not only one of the best fight scenes in the show but a journey towards what he thinks he wants that he didn’t get before. Knives in the other iterations gets to have her apology from Scott but here, we see her given much more as we discover she is not only good at marketing, but she’s a fucking musical prodigy on instruments. There’s a sweet scene between Knives and Kim having a jamming session, and we witness the vibe that they create.
This isn’t a scene we get in any of the other iterations. This is a big moment for both Kim and Knives as it doesn’t involve Scott and is a moment for them to share with music being the binding agent. This is one of the rare times we see Kim smiling. This is also big for Knives as she is getting something of her own outside of being a romantic interest. Knives goes from idolizing Sex Bob-Omb’s sound, because Scott was in it to being the missing link that the band needed in order to not suck. Both Knives and Matthew get the time to show another side of themselves thanks to this iteration and most importantly, thanks to Scott not being around.
Everybody in Together Now
Though Scott Pilgrim Takes Off changes things, the changes happen in a familiar way. When Scott Pilgrim comes home, and makes his amends, we see it’s not an evil ex in his way this time or his Negative Scott but the future version of him that’s stopping him and Ramona from moving forward (since he’s trying to make it so Scott and Ramona never get together). I thought this reveal was not only wacky, and out there, but fucking brilliant as well. Before, Scott’s negative side was the thing he had to reconcile with in order to become a better person. This time around he got to be better by seeing what Ramona was going through in order to rescue him and even future Ramona sets a plan in motion to save Scott from himself (his future self) getting in his own way.
Future Scott wanting to never meet Ramona instead of actually doing work on himself and trying to fix the issues with Ramona that lead to divorce feels like Scott’s anxiousness getting in the way. Even all these years later, I love how present Scott wasn’t deterred by what could go wrong because he wanted to work it out. He saw Ramona in the past going out of her way to find a way to rescue him and seeing that changed him. Look, I love fighting and I was excited to see Scott throw hands in this series. I also love when fighters find themselves in a situation where there is no one else to punch and the fight is with themselves. When Future Scott came back to fight. I love how now no one is Scott and Ramona’s enemy. Everybody is on the same side (well for the time being at least). The exes have their own things going on and were actually glad to see Scott and Ramona together.
Look, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is the superior version. I said it. There’s time travel involved, but this banger is canon and the fandom is all the better for it. The writing for this shows the growth of the author Bryan Lee O’Malley as well. My man was 25 when the first Scott Pilgrim volume dropped, and 19 years later, he’s 44 for the Netflix series. O’Malley and BenDavid really did some fine combing with the plot, story, and character development for this retelling. Creators don’t always get a chance to tell the story again, and there aren’t many creators that would take such a big risk instead of playing it safe with a sure bet. Scott Pilgrim takes a back seat to his own series, but my man got three different versions (books, movie, video game) where he’s Mortal Kombats to defeat the League of Exes. This version with Ramona taking the helm is exactly what the fandom needed.
I love it here even more now.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is streaming now on Netflix.
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram!
The post ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ Gives Ramona Flowers Her Flowers appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
The time most never thought was going to come is here. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is rebooting itself in matrix style. Although, I don’t know if this qualifies as a reboot but more of a continuation. It’s been eight years since the last season, and they promised it would never come back; however, it looks like they lied, and the die-hard fans have never been happier. But how does this continuation stack up to the flood of reboots, reversions, and redos? Should ATHF have stayed in our head movies just as we remember it, never to be tarnished? Or are we ready to take the MFS (Meatwad, Frylock, Shake, aka Master Shake) cinematic universe past the Mooninites? Let’s use these first two episodes as our case study. Are we launching it, or stannin’ it to an uncomfortable level?
My Name Is…
Before I jump in, there will be very light spoilers. To be fair I have no idea how to spoil a show with no rhyme or reason for any of its actions. (aww – It’s the best.)
It is important to mention I am an ATHF super fan. I randomly break into “Alabama Alabama Alabama…” yell “Juice!” when I’m excited, and my ringtone will forever stay the iconic theme song. This also means I will be critical AF and also have the time of my life celebrating the show’s return. Let’s begin.
ATHF starts off without skipping even a Meatwad beat. The opening comes in, and the sweet serenade of a theme song smacks me square across the face with new upgrades. The lyrics are the same, and the beat is almost the same. It just feels a little off. For all of the upgrades needed, I’m sure they felt like tweaking the theme song was the least risky, but for a stickler for nostalgia, I was less than enthused by the updated tune. After that, we’re thrust into the absurdity we remember. Shake is in a magic land where he has like a 12-pack and minions worshipping him. He’s playing some sort of game that is pretty much a one-year-olds Tetris where you put two squares together to make a rectangle.
Shake Zula
You might be asking yourself, WTH is going on, but if you’ve ever watched or loved ATHF, you never ask that question. Never. It doesn’t matter because it turns out Shake has been playing a VR game for Lordt knows how long, and Frylock is relegated to smearing lip balm on his chapped lips and Meatwad to graffiti his crotch with superheroes. ANNNND, we’re back. Everything devolves as usual. I can’t remember if the TV explodes at some point, but I am 100% sure it probably does.
At first, I felt a bit scared, and I was present at the New York Comic Con premiere of the Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm. That film took you to the edge of WTF and pushed you off the cliff. I like to think that panel began the rumors of a ATHF return and spawned this new season. There is also a chance they already knew the show was coming back. Or they said we’re never going to get another go at it. Let’s make this the wildest episode of ATHF anyone has ever seen.
After seeing Plantasm, I wasn’t sure if what I watched of the new season was good or just weirdly modern grotesqueness. The animation was a bit sleeker and less blocky, which I was fine with. I was more critical than ever because I didn’t want it to fall into the realm of Futurama continuations. Let me explain before the Futurama fans get upset (because I am a Futurama fan, of course). Futurama was a late bloomer to the rest of the world. It came out just around the time that people were still experiencing The Simpsons like new and not numb enough to Family Guy yet. People just didn’t get it. Only until it made its way to Adult Swim did people really start to catch on to its expert writing, entertaining storylines, and phenomenal characterization. That means it felt like a resurgence. Futurama then began making new episodes to continue the genius, BUT nothing lasts forever. Once it was canceled, people were sad. We were sad. Then they brought it back! And it was not as great as its former self. After a little while, it returned to its former glory. Then got canceled again. Then came back and was meh, and now it’s back again. Do you see what I mean? It’s concerning that ATHF might go down this path. Dying and coming back to life over-and-over again. Instead of taking that anxiety trip, I gave in as usual to the stream-of-consciousness trip that I know and love. After the initial drop, the rollercoaster started to feel a bit familiar.
The Mic Rula
This brings us to episode two. Now that I’ve settled in and put my petty criticisms to the side, I still don’t like the remastered theme song, and the ending credits are equally upsetting. BUT the episode was excellent. It begins with Meatwad asking Shake if he’s practiced his sign language, and Shake literally uses his middle fingers to say no in so many obscene ways. I immediately knew it was A Quiet Place parody, and I was all in. The debauchery continues, and this time including classic Carl with some oomph, a nasty beard, and a fart to end all farts. I watched with much needed laughs and intrigue. This is starting to shape up to be the Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem or The Incredibles 2. It is a long-awaited return of our best friends. Puss in Boots waited eleven years to give us a second film. Not third or fourth a SECOND film. When we all thought, oh, I guess Puss in Boots in a one-hit wonder they said so sorry for the wait, here is your mf-ing gem. When we thought – oh do we need a one millionth reboot of Ninja Turtles? Not that the reboots have been bad, but there’s… so many. Mutant Mayhem gave us Yerrrr and a gaggle of the most adorable mutant turtles, and an April that inspired Blerd girls everywhere (and offended people because… racism.) So ATHF gave me the warm fuzzy feelings of hilarious disgust it had done before.
The Old Schoola
The episode continues with a repulsive ear alien who landed on the wrong planet, and of course, Frylock does his logical deed of fixing the mess while Meatwad, Carl, and Shake form a really well-done rock band. Trust, none of this is really spoilers because, take it from a superfan, there is nothing like experiencing ATHF through your own eye holes, no matter how much of the story you think you know.
In the end, this redo, reboot, continuation, or whatever, is worth a rewatch. Plus, I think I can get over the new theme song and terrible end credits to have my favorite demented lunch crew back.
Season 12 premieres on Adult Swim on Sunday, November 26 at 11:30 pm ET/PT. New episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force will also be available the next day on Max.
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After many false starts and canceled projects, Star Wars is finally ready to return to theaters. Lucasfilm announced three new upcoming standalone movies during the opening of Star Wars Celebration 2023. These new Star Wars movies include a story about the founding of the Jedi, a movie that will serve as the finale to this era of interconnected Disney+ shows, and the return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey.
And with that, the galaxy far, far away is finally going back to the big screen. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed James Mangold (Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), Dave Filoni (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka), Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel, Saving Face) have all been tapped to direct these new Star Wars movies.
While Lucasfilm shared few official details about the films, the little they tell us says a lot. Here’s what we know about these new Star Wars movies so far.
James Mangold’s New Star Wars Movie Tells the Story of the Force
James Mangold’s “will go back to the dawn of the Jedi,” a time set tens of thousands of years earlier than anything we’ve ever seen on screen before. That might mean we’ll meet the figure known as Prime Jedi. That’s the person who founded the Order on Ahch-To sometime around 25,000 years before the events of A New Hope. Fans already know Ahch-To well. They first saw it in The Last Jedi when it served as Luke Skywalker’s hideaway. A release additionally shares, “James Mangold will take audiences deep into the past, telling the tale of the first Jedi to wield the Force and harness it as a liberating power in an era of chaos and oppression.”
Mangold further noted to Empire that his new Star Wars movie “takes place 25,000 years before Episode IV, and it’s about the discovery of the Force.” He further shares, “I told Kathy [Kennedy, head of Lucasfilm] I wanted to make a kind of Bible movie, a kind of Ten Commandments of Star Wars – kind of a Cecil B DeMille film about the arrival of the Force, and that’s what I’ve been pecking away at between press events. That’s the idea.”
James Mangold’s New Star Wars Movie Connects with Rey’s Next Appearance
Kennedy also recently shared that this movie will help inform the new Star Wars movie featuring the return of Rey. She noted to Total Film, “I think it’s a really nice compliment to what we’re doing with moving into the future with Rey, and then understanding a bit more of where this all came from,” she explains. “Because it will be at the heart of creating the new Jedi Order, so to get a real sense of where that might have began with the dawn of the Jedi could be pretty cool.”
According to a new official Star Wars eras list revealed by LucasFilm, this movie will most likely take place in the “Dawn of the Jedi” era, but could even take place earlier than that.
Dave Filoni’s Film Will Bring Together Many Current Disney+ Series
The next new Star Wars movie will come from franchise veteran Dave Filoni. His film “will focus on the New Republic and close out the interconnected stories told in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and other Disney+ series.” That’s huge news for both the television and movie side of Lucasfilm. When we get a release date for Filoni’s film, we’ll know just how many more seasons of The Mandalorian we might see. Clearly, there’s already an end in sight to Din Djarin and Grogu’s story. Although, we suppose they could continue on beyond a culminating movie. A release further shares, “Dave Filoni will orchestrate the escalating war between the Imperial Remnant and the fledgling New Republic.”
Rey Will Return in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Star Wars Movie
The third and final new Star Wars movie announced will focus on the future. Obaid-Chinoy’s movie will take place after The Rise of Skywalker. It will mark the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey. Set 15 years after the ultimate defeat of the Sith, she will be trying to build a new Jedi Order. Hopefully, that goes a lot better than her mentor Luke Skywalker’s attempts. According to the new list of Star Wars eras, it seems like this movie will take place in the “New Jedi Order” era.
Kathleen Kennedy shared more about the movie with Variety. She noted:
Well, we’re 15 years out from ‘Rise of Skywalker,’ so we’re post-war, post-First Order, and the Jedi are in disarray. There’s a lot of discussion around, ‘Who are the Jedi? What are they doing? What’s the state of the galaxy?’ She’s attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order, based on the books, based on what she promised Luke, so that’s where we’re going.”
Speaking to Empire, Kennedy added, “The First Order has fallen, the Jedi are in chaos – there’s even a question of how many exist anymore – and Rey’s building the New Jedi Order, based on the text that she was given and that Luke imparted on her.” She also offers, “Rey has made a promise to Luke, and that’s really the core of where we’re going and what this story will be. And I think it offers just tremendous opportunity to introduce new characters and start with something fresh, because we culminated with what George [Lucas] was creating, and now we take all of that and move it to the next chapter.”
On the topic of a possible Luke Skywalker presence in the new Star Wars movie, Kennedy said: “I don’t know if we’ll spend a lot of time in flashbacks or [on] Force ghosts or things like that, but certainly, the spirit of what he represents to her is going to be significant.”
Recently, Daisy Ridley herself gave her first comments on her new Star Wars movie. While her comments remain vague, she noted to Collider, “I’m very excited. The story is really cool. I’m waiting to read a script because, obviously, I don’t have any other updates. It’s not what I expected, but I’m very excited.” And additionally told the The Hollywood Reporter, ” I’m genuinely really excited about the next one [Star Wars movie]. I haven’t read anything, but I know the story. It’s really worth telling, worth exploring, and I think people will be excited.”
Something tells us it won’t be smooth sailing for Rey, though. The dark side of the Force has a way of always creating shadows over the galaxy far, far away, especially in theaters.
Originally published on April 7, 2023.
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