Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters
Directed by Matt Maiellaro & Dave Willis
Reviewed by Rusty Roberts
There comes a time, every few years or so, that a TV program we’ve grown to love and invited into our warm homes decides to make an attempt at reaching a wider audience by going to the movies. Such famous cartoons, like The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo, made the jump years after the shows were laid to rest, to spark interest in new children and maybe bring the kid out in grown ups to drag their family to see something out of their adolescence. But what of the cult cartoon, one that is totally not for kids (maybe not even adults) that makes the transition from small screen to big screen?
Aqua Teen Hunger Force is one of the original programs from Cartoon Network’s late night block of programming known as Adult Swim. It’s also one of two that’s still around (Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law is the other) and hasn’t been banished from the airwaves due to poor ratings. So a few years ago, creator Matt Maiellero decided to bring his tale of a trio of fast food products from Jersey to the big screen. The resulting film is the very long-winded title Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theatres. What, like you’d expect any less from Frylock, Master Shake and Meatwad?
Without giving too much away, a quick synopsis would go something like this: our faithful avengers are in possession of an exercise machine that has magical powers. Through prophecies a la The Terminator, several recurring enemies of the Aqua Teens appear in the film trying to get their hands on the machine. Rather than destroy it, the machine’s owner, their lovable neighbor Carl wants to give it a try. What happens? Havoc ensues and the only thing that may be able to stop it is the “Nude Love” of Master Shake.
Going in, I was thinking that maybe I would be let down by this -- a fan of the show has to be skeptical going in. Unlike other sitcoms that run around 23 minutes sans commercials, the average episode of Aqua Teen is 10 and a half minutes. So the idea of 90 minutes of this could get tiring or not work in the format presented, but in the end, it’s successful.
Unlike an Adult Swim favorite that is too sporadic (see: Robot Chicken,) Aqua Teen can take one story line, stretch it out over a longer period of time than usually given, and make it work. The movie features a nice amount of cameos (spoiler alert: Neal Peart drumming inside of a watermelon! Bruce Campbell as the 4th Aqua Teen!), but thankfully doesn’t overdo the audience with that either. What the movie is a little overdone with is the Cybernetic Ghost character that I loathe. Other than that, it comes down to whether the viewer is a fan of the show or not. If you’re a fan, you’re in for a treat: just think of it as watching one long episode or having one of the many marathons you currently have in your dorm, while stoned and eating Doritos.
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