Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters

Starring: Dana Snyder, Dave Willis, and Carey Means
Directed by Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis
Year: 2007
IMDB / Wikipedia

First of all, before those of you in the WordPress universe start typing nasty replies to this review let me just state this: I get it. Not just your frustrations at what I’m going to say but also that I get the film as well. As a fan of the Aqua Teens I was excited that they were allowed to make a movie, let alone get it released in movie theaters that weren’t located in the bad part of town. I went and saw this movie in the theater. Sure, I was the only one in there and I fell asleep for a few minutes during the film, but I got it.

That being said: what the fuck did I just watch?

The best part of ATHF is that the stories are contained into neat little 11-minute containers which, sadly to say, is about the life of most of their plots. The film tries to expound upon that by taking the same quirky hilarity that invades Adult Swim and expanding it out trying to answer some of the open-ended questions about the group’s past and some of the non-sequitor visuals given during the end credits of each episode.

Want a better picture: the movie is about a piece of poorly constructed, evil exercise equipment that manifests into an evil (and pregnant) robot that goes about destroying the city. Did your head explode? Is blood shooting from your nose?

The film does have a good amount of the wit and alt-comedy that the show is known for but the highlight is the number of respected entertainers they got to lend their voices, no matter how briefly, to the film. Who would have thought that Fred Armisen, Bruce Campbell, Chris Kattan, Rush drummer Neil Peart, and Tina Fey FFS all had roles in the film.

In all, there’s something to this film. Yes, it’s ludicrous, stupid, and never going to go down as a consensus comedy classic, but I get it, I laughed, and (God help me) I’ll probably watch it again.

Best Part of the Movie: With animated movies where voice actors are asked to play many characters, it’s hard to nail down one. So, in lieu of this, I’m going to post the best part of the movie. Enjoy!

Trailer:

Aladdin

Starring Robin Williams, Gilbert Gottfried, and Scott Weinger
Year: 1992
IMDB / Wikipedia

When I was eight, Disney was coming forward into their second renaissance with the film The Little Mermaid. Had I been born a girl, I would have been more excited about this movie. It would not be until years later that I realized that this was, indeed a good movie and it truly was the rebirth of Disney movies on the screen. The technology associated with animation had caught up enough with the imaginations of the animators and creators to let them tell the story they wanted to in a fantastic new way.

Aladdin was the second film in Disney’s resurgence and it was one of those films that captivated everyone. I remember seeing this in the movie theater when a family friend took my sister for her birthday (she was turning three) and I got to tag along. At the age of 11 I was trying my best to be mature but this movie helped that fall away quickly. Never before had I been enchanted with an animated movie like this.

The thing that really stuck with me was the music. Even as a young person, the thing that stuck with me was the song and this film did not lack for music. I asked for, and received, the soundtrack on cassette some months later and I about wore it thin. When the movie came out on VHS, the family bought it and we enjoyed it a lot. From there, I was hooked on Disney films old and new.

Watching this film again on DVD recently was an experience because it made me feel like I was back in the movie theater seeing all of this for the first time. That quickly wore off as I started to hum and even sing along with some of the songs. The story was enchanting (though not as devious as I had remembered) and it was as satisfying after all these years. I am looking forward to sharing this kind of movie magic with my children (if/when I have any) and start them off with one of the true classics of Disney animation.

Most Valuable Actor: Robin Williams as the Genie (and others). This film would be nothing without Williams’ ability to summon up a myriad of voices and expressions to fit whatever the screenwriters could come up with. I imagine the animators had a difficult time to trying to match visuals to Williams’ animated vocal style.

Trailer: