Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm Blu-ray Movie Review

The dark side of the Mooninites.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 15, 2022

Originally conceived as a spin-off of Cartoon Network's surprise smash hit Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro's Aqua Teen Hunger Force somehow ended up outliving its predecessor through 15 seasons and even a 2009 feature-length film. Since the show's 2015 cancellation, it enjoyed a brief YouTube revival earlier this year and now comes Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm, a second full-length film released straight to video and HBO Max.

Filled with all the crudely subversive in-jokes and fan service die-hard fans should expect, this surprisingly not brisk 76-minute production follows the aftermath of a bloody space battle in which the Aqua Teens have now gone their separate ways on Earth: Master Shake (Dana Snyder) is homeless, Meatwad (Dave Willis) volunteers/squats at a pet shelter, and Frylock (Carey Means), under the alias "Phoenix", does tech support for the mega-corporation Amazin, owned by mogul and micro-man Neil (Peter Serafinowicz). After a support ticket finds Phoenix face-to-face with the pint-sized billionaire in his nearby lair, a rumored spaceship called "The Lllama Dolly", Neil's spurned assistant Elmer (Paul Walter Hauser) unleashes a breed of sentient plant-like beings that threaten to take over New Jersey... including the lush front lawn of Carl (Dave Willis, again). This of course provides the fuel to get our Aqua Teens back together and, soon enough, it's all-out warfare with weed whackers, pesticide, and a car decked out just like Mad Max: Fury Road.

Plantasm differs from the first Aqua Teen film in that it actually has a semi-logical plot, which might end up being its biggest handicap. Not that I'm against accessible entry points -- if such a thing even exists for this franchise -- but it's a lukewarm thread at best, one that offers several bright spots but spins its wheels elsewhere, especially most of the attempted social commentary concerning Amazin' and its owner. Then there's a running gag involving Mooninites Err and Ignignokt (Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis), who interrupt the film seven times -- including the end credits -- and this gets old pretty quick. (For added emotional torture, an on-screen text prompt lets the non-threatening Mooninites "hijack" your smartphone with a near-endless string of SMS insults and even a spoiler for the post-credits scene. It's kind of clever, but I unsubscribed after about 40 minutes.) Everything ties together in a reasonably satisfying way, but your enjoyment of Plantasm may hinge more on your nostalgia for its overall vibe than the story itself.

It's kind of fitting for a franchise whose oddball characters and dialogue take precedence over everything else, so it's likely that anyone who enjoyed earlier versions of Aqua Teen Whatever will get their money's worth. But even within the boundaries of direct-to-video fare there's room for improvement here, so here's hoping that future Cartoon Network DTV productions -- of which there are at least two planned -- build momentum, or at least keep it going. Surprisingly enough, Warner Bros. has gone all-out on the home video front, serving up Plantasm in either this stand-alone Blu-ray or a 4K combo pack (which even feels weird to type), both of which include a few solid bonus features.

Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Although it unsurprisingly falls short of its 4K counterpart, only those who have already seen Plantasm in its native 4K will notice any kind of shortcomings here. Considering the franchise's modest visual roots -- and the fact that this is a single-layer disc -- the Blu-ray provides a good-looking presentation indeed, one with mostly crisp edges, good color saturation, and a surprising overall lack of banding, posterization, and other digital remnants. When compared side-by-side, this 1080p presentation obviously lacks some of the razor-sharp detail and depth seen in its native resolution, yet very few fans of Aqua Teen are likely in it for the animation quality so even this looser presentation might be more than enough. Still, some of its occasional shortcomings could have been remedied with a dual-layered Blu-ray; that disc may have run an even closer race with the 4K edition with a capable upscaler, given the latter's lack of HDR enhancement. Even so, there are no major problems here so this Blu-ray earns decently passing marks on its own.

Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Similarly, the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix falls within expected territory for a film of this type: mostly front-loaded, but with a more than a few little sonic surprises due to the subject matter and constantly shifting tone. Surrounds open up nicely during heightened action, which includes a handful of battles on and above the Earth and also extends to the original score. Channel panning and discrete effects come into play here as well as an overall envelopment that feels suitably large but not overcooked. Speech and other foreground effects are crystal clear -- when they're supposed to be, at least -- and obviously do most of the driving here, occasionally also extending into the rears depending on location and volume level. Overall, it's a perfectly good mix that complements the visuals nicely.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the main feature only. For whatever reason, the bonus features only include Spanish subtitles which is very unusual for a Warner Bros. release.

Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with stylin' cover artwork duplicated on the matching slipcover; a digital copy redemption slip is also tucked inside. The extras are a little hit-or-miss but worth a run-through.

• Audio Commentary - This fairly packed group commentary features co-writer/co-director Dave Willis (Matt Maiellaro was unavailable, sadly), key voice actors Carey Means and Dana Snyder, lead editor/producer Dave Hastings, and a handful of additional producers and editors that all chime in occasionally to offer their thoughts on the film. It's all a bit chaotic and overwhelming at times, which somehow makes sense.

• Aqua Teen is Back (6:51) - Matt Maiellaro, Dave Willis, executive producer Craig Hartin, and several cast members (including Shawn Kemp) offer a light-hearted look at the film's inception and development.

• Deleted Scenes (4:22 total) - A whopping 22 clips are included here in fully finished form, but don't get your hopes up: as the total time implies, some are barely more than a single sentence. They're also all annoyingly prefaced by an Adult Swim intro, which often runs as long as the "scenes" themselves.

• Animatic with Full TextBot Script (80:27) - As the title suggests, it's the entire film in animated storyboard form with full voices and mostly finished sound effects. But it's also advertised on the packaging as an "Alternate Cut" (presumably with those deleted scenes included) so, again, don't get your hopes up.

• El Walko in SlowMotiono (3:00) - A low-budget music video for Run the Jewels' opening theme featuring crew members and voice actors. It's a solid track but still third place to A.T.H.F. and Beef Rapp.

Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm revives Cartoon Network's second-longest running series with another feature-length film that, for better or for worse, mostly preserves the show's unpredictable sense of humor. It's certainly entertaining in spots and the animation is a solid step up from previous iterations, yet it unsurprisingly feels pretty padded even at just 76 minutes and the constant Mooninite interruptions don't help matters, either. Warner Bros.' Blu-ray is fine enough for casual fans with a solid 1080p transfer and several decent bonus features, although the 4K combo pack more faithfully supports the new and improved animation's true UHD roots. Recommended to the right audience.