Series revivals are, if not already, the next big thing on television. Cartoon Network gave Samurai Jack a conclusive ending on its Adult Swim block in 2017 with a series finale following its cliffhanging cancellation fourteen years after its original run. Disney Channel brought back That's So Raven and Boy Meets World with a sequel series: Raven's Home and Girl Meet's World with a "where-are-they-now" scenario (Lizzie McGuire being the next in line). Taking a page from both networks, Nickelodeon revived a couple of their classic catalogs with Hey Arnold! and Rocko's Modern Life with made-for-television movies that like Jack, provided a proper conclusion to these cancelled cartoons.
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| The Almighty Tallest and Zim in the first episode. |
No other revival peaked my interest than Invader Zim, a show that followed the insane and bizarre exploits of the titular alien attempting to invade the Earth. While not a dedicated fan, I was intrigued by its dark comedic tone that is rarely seen a children's cartoon, outside of perhaps Courage the Cowardly Dog and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.
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| Zim and Dib. |
As mentioned with Hey Arnold! and Rocko's Modern Life, Invader Zim was a Nick cartoon that unfortunately got the axe before it could wrap up its story-line. But where Arnold! and Rocko lasted for a more than a few of seasons, Zim lasted only twenty six episodes. The reasons ranged from being too expensive to produce (CGI was incorporated that it added to the cost), seen as too creepy and scary for a kids, low ratings, and overshadowed by SpongeBob SquarePants and The Fairly Oddparents at the time (both Zim and Oddparents premiered on the same day).
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| Gaz and Gir. |
Despite it's cancellation, the show garnered a big enough fanbase, that after about a decade of waiting, it was finally announced that Zim was coming back.
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| Zim & Gir in their Earthly disguises reunite with Dib. |
In what appears to be days, weeks, months or even years, Zim (Richard Horvitz) emerges after a long period of inactivity and plots his next phase of taking over the Earth. His earthly nemesis Dib (Andy Berman), a young boy obsessed with the paranormal, has seen better days, with his long wait for Zim's return has him resemble Thor from Endgame.
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| Zim contacting the Almighty Tallest. |
It's here where Zim uncovers the truth that audiences of the TV show have known since the first episode. Zim's masters, the Almighty Tallest (Wally Wingert & Keven McDonald), never intended to invade Earth as they find Zim as nothing but a nuisance and only sent him there to get rid of him. This is bad news for Zim who falls into a defeated depression but good news for the overzealous Dib who see's his chance to finally expose Zim's alien identity to the world. Has Dib's moment of glory arrived or does Zim have one last trick up his sleeve?
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| Dib and Professor Membrane. |
If it were that easy, there wouldn't be a movie.
Enter the Florpus is everything I wanted to see in a
Zim movie, the stakes are higher than ever before, the original voice actors return to reprise their roles, the animation retains much of its original design even with the added updates, acknowledgement of the cartoon and comic books, bringing newcomers up to speed, and the characters still being themselves from the cartoon.
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| Dib and Gaz jamming. |
Florpus goes even further by surprisingly being sincere with it cynical characters. Dib's cold young sister Gaz (Melissa Faun) is more wholesome than what she appears to be, and Dib's relationship with his father, Professor Membrane (Rodger Bumpass) plays a crucial part in the story.
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| [Insert Maniacal Laugh] |
On the irken side, Zim is deluded than ever before but in Florpus we see see him evolve from an incompetent idiot to a maniacal menace. Even more deluded are the Almighty Tallest who like Zim are too arrogant to see any common sense even when it's right in front of them. Gir (Ricky Simmons) continues to be his hyper-active and absent-minded self and is adorable in every scene he's in.
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| The Tallest enjoying another day of Zim's absence. |
Amidst the madness and mayhem, series creator Jhonen Vasquez adds plenty of energy, action, humor, satire and an astonishingly amount of heart that isn't heavy-handed or overwhelming. The climax is especially mind-blowing that to even hint what happens would only spoil the surprise. All I can say is that there should be a word for this kind of occurrence.
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"Peace is Nice, Peace is Nice
Peace is Better than, Chicken and Rice!" |
Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus is a joy to fans of the series. As for non-fans who can't find nothing to watch on Netflix, if you can get past the dark comedy and bizarre atmosphere, it's an entertaining watch with no dull moment. Give it a go and prepare for PUDDING!
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