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Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm 4K UHD Review

“Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm” wilts.

2022’s made for home video “Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm” is the second animated feature film from the long-running Adult Swim animated series “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.” In this adventure, Meatwad, Frylock and Master Shake are no longer living together and are off on their own. Master Shake is homeless, Meatwad lives at a dog shelter, and Frylock works at Amazin (an Amazon esque corporation run by the very small Neil). As one might expect, the 3 characters come together again when Neil’s sidekick Elmer at Amazin ends up unleashing plant creatures on the world. Can the trio save the day?

It’s been 15 years since Meatwad, Frylock and Master Shake had their own movie and a lot has changed technically. From an animation standpoint, this is the best the Aqua has ever looked. There’s a bigger scope to everything, there’s big action set pieces, and the characters aren’t just roaming around a living room or the front yard. Directors/writers Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro really went all out on making this movie more of a bigger budget spectacle. If only they had a better script. 

While there are a few chuckles here and there (namely Meatwad’s lines and the “Space Jam” spoof with Shawn Kemp in live-action form), most of the movie falls flat. Not even the fourth wall breaking by the Mooninites really helps the clunky and rather dull narrative spoof of Amazon. It frankly feels too ordinary for Aqua. What made the early seasons of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” resonate so much with fans was its focus on the core group of characters and the seemingly bizarre and random humor sprinkled in throughout. Making Aqua bigger doesn’t make it better. The new characters (the Neils and Elmer) aren’t memorable and take away time from the ones we want to see like Carl and Meatwad. Perhaps Aqua just works better as a short form series than it does as feature films. With all of that said, if you’re a die hard fan, you’ll definitely want to check this new film out. If you’ve never stepped into the world of Aqua Teen before, this is not the place to start. Stick with the first 4 seasons of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” instead.  

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.78:1 2160p. How does it look? The brand spanking new animation shines in 4K.

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? The movie is nothing if not lively in the audio department. 

Extras:
* A fold-out movie poster
* Commentary (on the 4K and Blu-ray) by Dave Willis, Dana Snyder, Carey Means, Craig Hartin, John Brestan, Nick Gibbins, Paul Painter, Ned Hastings, Nick Ingkatanuwat, and Matt Foster.
* Digital copy
* Blu-ray copy
* 22 deleted scenes.
* Animatic with full textbot script.
* “El Walko In SloMotiono”- Cast and crew slow motion music video.
* “Aqua Teen Is Back”- A featurette on the franchise’s return.

November 8, 2022 - Posted by nicklyons1 | 4K UHD Review | Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm 4K UHD Review, Aqua teen Forever: Plantasm Review, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie, Frylock, Meatwad