Jay’s Month of Screams, Day 16- Rocko’s Modern Life

Ever since I started this month long event, I’ve made a conscious effort to avoid using any of the examples I used for FANDOM. Yet I can no longer put off using this next one because it’s so good. It’s Rocko’s Modern Life: Sugar Frosted Frights.

On Halloween night, everyone is excited for candy and costumes, except for Filburt. Thanks to his Halloween-hating Aunt Gretchen and her stories about the infamous Hopping Hessian, the poor turtle’s in fear of the holiday. So Rocko and Heffer decide to teach him about the joys of Halloween.

However, it turns out giving someone who’s never tasted candy before can backfire horribly. Filburt goes into what I can only describe as a G-Rated drug trip, which is something that a show like Rocko would be willing to allude to. Seeing Filburt devolve into a sugar-crazed state is disturbing, but what takes the cake is the hallucination where he turns into a giant demon. The older fans may recognize it as a parody of the famous Chernabog scene from Fantasia. It has the music for Night on Bald Mountain playing, which only adds to the scene.

Once Filburt comes down from his sugar-high, though, we get a real treat in the Hopping Hessian. One of my favorite stories to read around Halloween is Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Hopping Hessian is a silly, yet still scary, parody of the Headless Horseman. Plus the ending is pretty funny.

I recommended this special in my article on FANDOM, and I still think that it was a good decision. Sugar Frosted Frights is awesome, and the Hopping Hessian is fun. The real lesson learned here, though, is never listen to Crazy Aunt Gretchen. Happy Halloween!

Click here to see the FANDOM Article I did for Halloween last year. Click here to see my other animation stuff. Or here to see all holiday related posts.

Jay’s Month of Halloween, Day 4- Invader Zim, “The Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom”

I had wanted to save this until a later time in the month, but I’d been watching Zim all day, so why not? I already talked about it in my FANDOM article, but I wanted to get more in depth this time around.

On Halloween night, a mishap with one of his dad’s inventions sucks Dib and Zim into an alternate reality. One based on Dib’s own imagination, which doesn’t get explained beyond that. In hindsight, that’s something that could have been addressed. Is Dib’s imagination so powerful it can create an alternate universe? That’s both cool and scary at the same time, especially considering the implications of how he sees the world.

Welcome to Your Nightmare

The nightmare world is straight up nightmare fuel, complete with grotesque versions of Dib’s family and Miss Bitters. Knowing now how dark and twisted Jhonen Vasquez’s comics can be, I think this explains a lot about the episode. Vasquez seemed to like pushing the envelope in Zim before, but Halloween Spectacular let him cut loose.

Since one can argue that most episodes of Invader Zim are scary enough to be Halloween epsiodes, Vasquez had to go all out, and it shows. The scenery is dark and twisted, the monsters are grotesque as they come, and everything screams Halloween. As I said in the FANDOM article, though, the scariest thing was seeing GIR after his candy rampage. Terrifying!

Click here to see the FANDOM Article I did for Halloween last year.

Click here to see my other animation stuff. Or here to see all holiday related posts

Jay’s Month of Halloween, Day 1- Avatar: The Last Airbender Special

Good evening, boys and ghouls of every age. Welcome to the first day of my month of Halloween. To start us off strong, I’m going to start with one of my favorite shows of all time, Avatar: The Last Airbender. I was a huge fan of Avatar growing up, and my love remains as strong as ever. While it may have come out a week after the holiday, the Season Three episode “The Puppetmaster” is meant to be a Halloween special. It says so on the Avatar Wiki!

The episode opens with Team Avatar telling ghost stories around a campfire at night. This helps set the tone for the episode: it’s going to be as scary as a kids cartoon can be. We can share in the kid’s nervousness and subsequent relief when they meet a woman named Hama. Hama seems very nice, if a little eccentric, with Katara quickly bonding with her. Especially when it’s revealed that she’s not only from the Southern Water Tribe, but the only other Waterbender left. 

Sokka, however, is crazy suspicious of her and thinks something’s off. The show even drops several hints that he’s right. As This suspicion comes to a satisfying conclusion with the climax of the episode. Under the full moon, Hama reveals her ultimate skill. The power that allowed her to escape captivity when no one else did: bloodbending.

Blood-bending Made my Blood Freeze

I’ve seen far scarier things, but something about bloodbending made my skin crawl in fear as a kid. Think of it: someone controlling every muscle of your body like a puppet master. The worst part is that you’re conscious the whole time, and can’t do anything about it. That’s a terrifying thought.

I’ve seen far scarier things, but something about bloodbending made my skin crawl in fear as a kid. Think of it: someone controlling every muscle of your body like a puppetmaster. The worst part is that you’re conscious the whole time, and can’t do anything about it. That’s a terrifying thought.

Katara beats Hama, but has to use blood-bending to do so. She had to in order to save the lives of Sokka and Aang, but it means Hama still won. The final shot shows her on the ground in tears over what happened, driving home how messed up this was.

The Scary Puppetmaster

This episode was dark, as dark as a kid’s show could get. The legacy of this episode ended up being far-reaching. Blood-bending plays a key role in the first season of the sequel show, The Legend of Korra. If the technique wasn’t scary before, that show made it terrifying. That fear stems from this appropriately named episode, “The Puppetmaster”, though. I loved it, and to this day, I don’t regret watching it even if my parents had grounded me for a month. NOT SORRY! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Click here to see the FANDOM Article I did for Halloween last year.

Click here to see my other animation stuff. Or here to see all holiday related posts!

I never got a chance to talk about this in my review, so I made this. There were a lot of scenes in Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus that I enjoyed. So, yeah, let’s talk about the moments from Zim’s triumphant return that I loved most of all.

Dib’s Bizarre Adventure

The opening eighty seconds of Enter the Florpus have Dib giving a monologue on the history of his conflict with Zim. What makes this scene so humorous is how it visually skews what happened to favor Dib’s ego. The entire sequence is drawn in an animesque to show how Dib views his fight with Zim.

The best part of this sequence is that it takes visual inspiration from the popular anime JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Like the main heroes of JoJo, Dib’s depicted as being far taller and more muscular than someone his age should be, which also shows off his ego. Conversely, Zim and his robot minions look far more menacing than we know they are, with Zim being the scariest of them all. In a final JoJo reference, we have this scene with Zim and Minimoose. Tell me this doesn’t remind you of the Stands from JJBA.

Peace Is Nice

As part of Zim’s master plan to conquer the world, he hijacks the use of the Peace Day Membraclets for his own ideas. When the children struggle to all, hold hands due to various obstacles, Zim tasks GIR with motivating Earth’s kids. GIR’s solution is to come up with a terrible yet catchy song.

Peace is nice, peace is nice

Peace is better than CHICKEN AND RICE!

Peace peace peace, rice rice, rice,

peace, peace, peace, chicken and rice!

I thought that the LEGO Movie 2’s appropriately named “Catchy Song” was a lousy earworm, but this is is even worse. The singing was so bad that I had to cover my ears to make it stop. It didn’t work, though. Now it’s stuck in my head. I need help!

Zim’s Victory

No matter how incompetent he can be most of the time, its the times when he’s competent that make Zim a deadly threat. In his most complex plan ever, Zim modifies the Peace Day bracelets created by Professor Membrane to turn the children of Earth into a world-spanning star-gate. Using Minimoose as a power source, he teleports Earth to a location that puts it in the path of the Irken Armada. He then proceeds to celebrate in Dib and Gaz’s faces.

No matter what Gaz may say, you should never underestimate Zim. The fact that he admits that his previous moping wasn’t an act and that he the idea for this plan from Dib shows how resourceful the evil alien can get. As always, though, Zim’s hubris ends up being his downfall in some form. If it weren’t the giant Florpus hole, then the Tallest would have blown Earth up to get rid of Zim for good.

Membrane Family vs. Zim

At the climax of the film, Dib desperately tries to undo Zim’s master plan and save Earth. The Irken’s one step ahead of him, though, and has an army of robots ready to crush Dib with a wave of his hand. Right when it looks like all’s lost, Professor Membrane arrives to save his son. Together, father and son team up to destroy Zim’s army, with Gaz coming in to deliver the coup de grace.

While the chase and fight sequence is visually stunning, the real draw to this scene is how it lets Dib finally get what he wants most. All through the show’s run, Dib’s been desperate for his dad to support him in his interests. While Membrane may think he’s hallucinating, there’s no hiding the fury he has towards Zim for trying to hurt his son. Seeing these two team up to save the world was Dib’s dream come true, and I’ve never seen him happier during Invader Zim’s run.

Enter the Florpus

As Zim’s army lays in ruins and the Membrane family victorious, the Florpus hole finally drags Earth into it. As a result of the collision of alternate realities, the visual style of the film begins to change in rapid-fire mode. Thankfully, this multi-media hell ends when Professor Membrane uses Minimoose to return Earth to its previous location in space.

This scene’s about as trippy and weird as Invader Zim could get, and seems like an animator’s dream. It also reminds me of a very similar moment from the four-part finale to Gravity Falls, Weirdmageddon. I don’t know if the shoutout was intentional, but I ended up loving it regardless. Leave it to Zim to almost tear reality apart.

Oh, if you guys didn’t know, Zim has his own comic book series now! Crazy right? You can read it right here on this website!

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus Review

Once upon a time, Nickelodeon asked a comic book writer named Jhonen Vasquez to make a TV show for them. What Vasquez gave them was Invader Zim, a show about a little green alien trying to conquer Earth and the paranormal obsessed boy trying to stop him. Nickelodeon didn’t appreciate it, or it’s high budget, so they canceled the show before it could finish. Fast forward almost two decades later, and the show’s explosion in popularity made Nick realize it made a mistake. They begged Vasquez to come back and do more Zim, but when they didn’t want to air it, Netflix did it for them. And that’s the story of how we got Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus.

I have been waiting for years for Invader Zim to make its return and give fans the closure they wanted, of which I am one. Does it hold up to how I remember the show? After watching it all weekend, my answer’s yes and no, but overwhelmingly yes.

By the way, there are spoilers ahead. If you haven’t seen the movie on Netflix or wherever some fans put it up, be warned.

The Return of Zim!

After an animesque opening monologue in which Dib explains how Zim vanished some time ago, we see what’s become of him. He’s shut himself inside his room and let his body (and sanity) go while obsessively waiting for Zim’s return. In hindsight, it’s like a metaphor for the fans waiting years for Zim to return, which makes it even funnier to see him wig out when Zim does reappear.

Since Zim’s one of the precursors to the modern-day Internet Troll, he spent all that time sitting in a toilet laughing evilly. Zim says he did it because he knew Dib would neglect his body wondering where he went, leaving him free to begin Phase Two of his master plan. Thus the two enemies begin their war anew, with Zim ready for his biggest plan ever; that is if he can remember what it was!

Doesn’t Waste Time to Enter the Florpus

Unlike other reboots, Enter the Florpus knows it doesn’t need to waste time on excess nostalgia bait or explaining everything. It recognizes the fans will remember what the show’s about. Thanks to this, Enter The Florpus hits ground running, as though the show never ended in the first place.

If nothing else, the seventeen-year absence has only improved the show. The entire cast slips back into their roles like a reliable pair of shoes, giving their all from the start. Given the characters he’s played since Zim ended, though, it seems like Richard Horvitz never took off the Zim shoes. He owns the screen every time Zim goes to talk, bringing all the manic hamminess of Zim to life.

Zim’s Amazing Glory

As for Zim himself, this film shows him in all his evil glory. Do you know how I keep saying that Zim can be a deadly villain when he’s shooting himself in the proverbial foot? His plan in Enter the Florpus solidifies my argument. Without spoiling anything, Zim comes closer to victory than he ever has in the show. Even Gaz realizes how dangerous he is this time around. GAZ! If she’s willing to help Dib without any ulterior motive this time around, you know things are bad.

It’s a Family Story

Speaking of the Membrane family, they all play a significant role in this film, rather than just Dib. At its core, Enter the Florpus is a family story, and about getting respect. We saw how dysfunctional the Membrane family was in the show, and it still is, to an extent. The show implied that Dib’s obsession with Zim stems from a desire to gain his father’s approval, and that conflict comes to a head in this special. Even when faced with physical proof that his son’s right, Professor Membrane’s ego makes him deny it. Meanwhile, while Gaz has grown noticeably more patient, she still has a low tolerance for her brother’s antics.

In spite of the show’s mantra of “doom,” Enter the Florpus offers a glimmer of hope in the life of Dib. The events of the film lead him to strengthen his bonds with Gaz, who actively helps and encourages him at times, and his dad. As the film nears its climax, in one of the most heartwarming moments in the entire series, Dib hears the words he’s always wanted his father to say: he’s always been proud of him.

Then we get a beautifully choreographed chase and fight scene against Zim’s army of robots with the fate of Earth at stake, which is incredible!

For Better or Worse

In regards to the black comedy and creepiness, the film tones noticeably down the creepiness while turning up the comedy. Some fans may complain that the disturbing aspects are what made Zim Zim, but I think it’s for the best. I’ve made it clear that there are moments that even I thought were a little much, and I’ve seen some weird stuff! Plus, the tone lines up with the ongoing comic book, and that has the Zim feeling to it.

In the end, Zim’s greatest plan gets thwarted, not by Dib alone, but by the entire family. For once, Invader Zim doesn’t screw Dib over in the end, either. He’s gotten closer to his sister, and while Professor Membrane still doesn’t believe in aliens, Dib knows that his dad’s proud of him. They even get a new family member in Clembrane, a deformed, pudding obsessed clone of Membrane made by Zim. Ironically, Clembrane’s more openly affectionate and supporting of Dib and Gaz, giving them the emotional support they need.

If anyone’s the loser in this, it’s Zim. He finally figures out the Tallest don’t respect him. Instead of reflecting on his actions, he doubles down on his attempts to get their respect. Then when he ends up losing, he deluded himself into thinking he won.

Of course, the Tallest aren’t around to express their hatred of him. Thanks to Zim’s plan, they’ve entered a deadly Florpus Hole that’s causing them to collide with alternate realities. Yeah, Enter the Florpus gets its name from a MacGuffin.

Tune Your Eyeholes and Watch This!

So, aside from the film’s title comes from a MacGuffin, and noticeably more restrained dark comedy, Enter the Florpus still captures everything that made the show a cult classic. If you were hoping that it would provide a concrete ending for Invader Zim, though, forget it. The end gives us something better: potential plot threads for the series going forward.

Like the character himself, Invader Zim is the cartoon that refuses to go away and only gets stronger as time goes by. With the success of Enter the Florpus, maybe Jhonen Vasquez will want to finish the show on his terms. At least Netflix will give him more freedom. If this leads to more Zim in the future, I’ll be ecstatic. If not, then I can rest easy knowing that I got some sort of emotional closure to an unfinished chapter of my childhood.

I give Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus a 6/5. Every bit as flawed and crazy as the original show was. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Oh, if you guys didn’t know, Zim has his own comic book series now! Crazy right? You can read it right here on this website!

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

My Top 10 Favorite Episodes of Invader Zim

This past week, we’ve taken a stroll down memory lane as I looked back on one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, Invader Zim. I’ve looked at some of the best moments, the best characters, and the incredible CGI that went into it. Now, my Zim week of Zim nears its end as we get ready for my review of Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus. Before we do that, though, I want to take one last look back at the best of Zim. So, here we are, my favorite episodes of Invader Zim, in no particular order.

The Nightmare Begins

What better place to start my list than the very beginning. The title is incredibly appropriate, as it represents the horror-themed work of series creator Jhonen Vasquez. In-universe, though, I think it refers to two things: the Tallest having to deal with the fact that Zim returns from exile, and Dib having to deal with Zim coming to Earth.

As a whole, the first episode does little beyond establish the plot and character dynamics. From the Irken Empire’s hatred of Zim, how Dib’s the outcast and only one who knows Zim’s an alien. Above all, though, it establishes a universal truth about the show’s world: almost everyone is varying levels of crazy or stupidity, sometimes both!

I’M GONNA SING THE DOOM SONG NOW!!

Abducted

This episode sees Zim and GIR get hit with a hilarious dose of irony, as they get abducted by aliens! The two get abducted by two aliens so monumentally stupid that they think Zim’s human even after telling them he lied. It doesn’t take that long for Zim to escape.

As Zim explains in a call he makes to the Tallest, he found the one species in the universe dumber than humans. I whole-heartedly agree with him. The two aliens, who are actually expy’s from Vasquez’s comics, are among the dumbest beings I’ve ever seen on TV. It’s their sheer stupidity and harmlessness, though, that makes them so much fun to watch.

The Wettening

I brought this up in my previous post about the smartest characters on the show, but I wanted to include it again. When Zim discovers that earth water burns his skin like acid, Dib sees this as an opportunity to destroy him for good. The two prepare for the ultimate water war, but Zim comes ready with the mother of all water balloons.

I liked this episode for two reasons. First, it manages to take something as simple and harmless as a water balloon fight into an epic battle. Second, and as I said in my post on the smartest characters on Invader Zim, it shows how dangerous Zim can be. If his overzealousness and ego didn’t hold him back, he could very well conquer Earth on his own. Plus, I love that smug look of victory he gives as he walks through the watery ruins of the city.

NanoZIM

This was one of the episodes of Zim that I kept watching over and over and never got tired of. When Dib gets photographic proof of Zim out of his disguise, the alien shrinks himself down into Dib’s body to destroy his brain. What follows is an epic chase and fight inside of Dib as the two duke it out.

I already said it in my CGI article, but I’ll repeat it: I loved the CGI in Zim. It showed me what computers could do for cartoons, and this episode burned that notion into my mind. Even today, I think it holds up well. Not to mention, seeing Dib flush Zim down the toilet is hilarious.

Battle of the Planets

Zim learns that the planet Mars was turned into a spaceship by an extinct race for the sole reason of “because its cool.” He plans to use it to squish everyone on Earth, but Dib counters with Mercury also converted into a spaceship. The two battle it out on a planetary scale before Zim’s recklessness has him lose once more.

When I first saw this episode, I thought it was the coolest thing the show had ever done. The entire premise is also the kind of crazy only Zim could pull off. An alien race that died turning their planet into a spaceship for the awesomeness? Mercury having a pair of buttcheeks that Dib pilots it from, and even gets stuck in at one point? GIR distracting Dib by pressing all the buttons on his controls, and somehow stealing his cameras when he wasn’t looking? The whole thing’s Zim at its finest.

Backseat Drivers from Beyond The Stars

In the season two premiere, Zim learns that the Tallest are closer to Earth than they’ve ever been. He wants them to come and watch his latest plan to destroy humanity, but when they refuse, he takes matters into his own hands. He hacks into The Massive and remotely-pilots it to Earth. At the same time, an Anti-Irken Resistance, the Resisty, attacks The Massive, and Dib hacks in Zim’s base to destroy The Massive. The Tallest are stuck on the universe’s craziest rollercoaster, and they can’t get off!

The second season of a good show is when they should start world-building and expanding the scope of the story. We got introduced to more of the series lore, such as the origins of The Massive, Dib’s recovery of Tak’s ship, and the Resisty. Had the show not been canceled, I think the Resisty would have had a significant role.

Dib’s Wonderful Life of Doom

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you got everything you ever wanted? In this episode, Dib receives all of that, and then some. One night, he’s visited by strange shoe-aliens that grant him superpowers to defend the Earth like never before. Right away, everything seems to go great for Dib. He finally captures Zim, gets the respect and validation he’s always craved, and dedicates his life to studying the paranormal. His whole life seems so perfect. That’s when it’s revealed that its all a lie. Zim put him in a giant simulation so he could get him to admit to throwing a muffin at him at lunch.

On the one hand, I thought it sweet to see the outcast Dib get everything that he wanted in life. He captured Zim, saved the world from the Irken Empire, and made paranormal studies a legitimate science. On the other, I find the fact that Zim set up this big, convoluted plan to learn if Dib threw a muffin at him to be hilarious. To make him even more of a troll, Zim finishes it up by throwing a muffin at Dib’s head. Only Zim would do so much over something so petty.

Lice

A day at Skool gets derailed when everyone falls victim to an outbreak of lice. Everyone except for Zim and Ms. Bitters. The entire Skool’s locked down by Countess von Verminstrasser, the Delouser, who’s convinced that the infestation is caused by a Lice Queen. Dib thinks she’s just plain crazy.

I loved this episode because its a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Dib, the one who believes in aliens, ghosts, and the paranormal, thinks the Countess is crazy for believing in a lice queen. She’s exactly like him, right down to her mannerisms and belief in something no one else believes in. And just like Dib with Zim, she ends up being right in the end. The whole thing’s so ironic, and it’s hilarious.

The Frycook What Came From All That Space

This was the show’s last hurrah before the Christmas Special and the show’s cancellation. If you recall from the first episode, Zim got banished to the planet Foodcourtia for ruining Operation: Impending Doom I. In this episode, his old captor, Sizz-Lorr, tracks him down and drags him back to Foodcourtia to serve out his exile. Zim has one week to get off the planet before an annual food rush traps him there for twenty years!

Aside from liking the premise of a food rush keeping people trapped on a planet, I liked this episode for expanding the series lore. Apart from seeing Zim’s first exile, we got a new setting and look at what life’s like in the Irken Empire, albeit focused on fast food. The big highlight, though, is the epic, city-wide chase as Zim attempts to escape Foodcourtia before The Great Foodening. That, and this one kid keeps showing up as a running gag pointing at Zim.

Tak: The Hideous New Girl

A mysterious new girl shows up at Skool and proceeds to torment Zim to no end. While Zim’s convinced its because she likes him, he’s shocked to reveal that she’s an Irken! After Zim ruined her chances to become an Invader, she came to Earth to conquer it in Zim’s place and gain the status she craves. Faced with such a deadly foe, Zim has no choice but to work with Dib and Gaz to stop Tak’s plans.

This is my all-time favorite episode of Invader Zim, in terms of plot, characters, and world-building. Most notable was the first appearance of Tak, who I consider the smartest and deadliest person on the show. Had the show continued, she would have had a significant role going forward. This should have been the start of even bigger stories for the show. Now, though, it’s merely an excellent reminder of what could have been.

OH, WAIT, THAT’S RIGHT! WE STILL HAVE THE COMICS, AND ENTER THE FLORPUS! I’m going to go watch the special again and then write my reviews!

Oh, if you guys didn’t know, Zim has his own comic book series now! Crazy right? You can read it right here on this website!

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

The Funniest and Craziest GIR Moments

When it comes to insanity, I think there’s only one cartoon character that has everyone else beat. No, not the Joker; he was a comic book character first. I’m talking about the robot whose brain is literal garbage and tacos: GIR from Invader Zim.

GIR’s basically the definition of insanity/stupidity, and we love the little guy for it! He’s Zim’s robot minion, and while he’s supposed to help him conquer Earth, he goofs around instead. Some of the show’s funniest moments come from GIR’s antics, and as a loyal fan, I’d be crazy to not talk about them. So, let’s go over what I think are GIR’s craziest and greatest moments.

TACOS!, Invasion of the Idiot Dog Brain

Remember earlier this week when I talked about GIR became the AI for Zim’s Base? The little guy had a field day doing whatever he wanted. First, he refused to obey Zim, then he proceeded to bombard him with mindless TV, for a whole year! To top off the insanity, GIR then levels half the city to get tacos. Must obey the taco man!

As annoying as he can get, GIR’s good at making us laugh. I can’t quite explain it in words, but seeing him turn into a giant robot doghouse is hilarious.

Flaming Cheese! The Frycook What Came From All that Space

When Zim gets kidnapped and taken to serve as a fast food slave for the rest of eternity, he calls GIR to arrange for his rescue. After immediately forgetting his task for the next few days, he ends up calling the Tallest. This is what he said verbatim:

I wish I knew how whatever thought process he has came to this conclusion. Then again, I think exposure to GIR’s mind would drive people insane or make them stupid.

Which reminds me…

Weaponized Stupidity, Plague of Babies

Never underestimate the power of stupid. When Zim’s base gets attacked by an army of aliens that look just like babies, the Irken comes close to being overwhelmed. In a last ditch effort, Zim hooks GIR up to an amplifier he’d been messing with and kicks it on to max power. The resulting waves of stupidity are so powerful that they render the aliens brain-dead, leaving them with the minds of babies.

This wasn’t really a crazy moment from GIR, but I put it here because I thought it’s a funny take on the idea of “lethally stupid”. The stupid waves briefly killed Zim earlier in the same episode, so we know how dangerous they can be. Come to think of it, if Zim ever turned that into a weapon, he could reduce humanity to drooling mush. Thank heavens it’s a one episode thing.

Dancing Weenies, GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff

Ever wonder what goes inside of GIR’s mind sometimes? Too bad, because we got a glimpse of it. While helping Zim on one of his plans, GIR starts daydreaming. As we watch through his eyes, he imagines a herd of cows as dancing weenies. He then proceeds to ruin Zim’s plan.

If this is what GIR thinks on a daily basis, then he’s crazy.

The Doom Song, The Nightmare Begins

This was the first of many crazy moments from GIR. As he and Zim head out on their “mission”, the little robot proceeds to sing “the doom song.” He keeps at it for six months.

This moment’s part earworm and part laugh out loud for me. It’s just plain hilarious and I can’t adequately express it in words. It also indicates how stupid and crazy GIR really is.

Doom doom doom doomy doomy doom doom!

BONUS MOMENT

Want to see GIR annoying the perfect being? DevilArtemis took care of that for us.

Oh, if you guys didn’t know, Zim has his own comic book series now! Crazy right? You can read it right here on this website!

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

HEY EVERYBODY, ITS ME, JAY! I JUST GOT DONE WATCHING INVADER ZIM: ENTER THE FLORPUS AND HOLY SNAP WAS IT GOOD! I’M TYPING IN ALL CAPS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I’M SO EXCITED! ZIIIIIM!!

Okay, post awesome special high is wearing off. Rational thought restored. Anyway, I wanted to let you all know that I will be posting two important Zim-things tomorrow. First we have my list for my all time favorite episodes of Invader Zim. Followed by my in-depth review of Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus. And also a spoiler review, maybe. I don’t know, I just want to talk about how dope that special was.

A quick update: I’m still not done with my review yet. I want it to be as perfect as possible, so it’s taking longer than I want it to. Don’t worry: it’s coming this week.

My Top 4 Darkest Moments in Invader Zim

No matter how much I liked it, I won’t deny that Invader Zim has some seriously dark moments. I think I may have suppressed the memory of some of them for the sake of my sanity. I’m Jay, and here are what I consider to be the darkest and weirdest moments on Invader Zim. For the record, pinning this down to a wiggle moment may be hard, since this is Invader Zim. Don’t be surprised if I use the whole episode.

The Piggy, Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy

This, kids, is why you shouldn’t mess with time. In an attempt to get rid of Dib before they ever meet, Zim builds a time machine to send things back in time to kill his nemesis. When the killer robot doesn’t work, Zim resorts to using an arsenal of rubber piggies, to devastating effect. While it works at first, Zim’s plans backfire when Professor Membrane makes Dib a nigh-invincible mech suit that nearly kills Zim.

What made this whole event so disturbing is that Jhonen Vasquez did intend to kill Dib off for good. He even planned on replacing him with a new character. Nickelodeon had to step in and remind the staff of Invader Zim that this was still a kids show, so Dib lived. In the end, Zim undid the events of the episode by telling himself to ever use the time machine. This Dib went back to his normal, harmless self.

Dib’s AI Kills itself, Dibship Rising

When Dib downloads his personality into Tak’s ship, the ship actually thinks it’s Dib. Zim takes advantage of this to take command of the ship to dispose of Dib for good. Fortunately for Dib, he manages to get through to his AI counterpart and regain control. Unfortunately, the memories of Dib’s life are so depressing that the AI erases itself. Basically, it commits suicide.

This may not be as outright disturbing as some of the other things mentioned here, but it’s the most realistic. The implication here is that while he doesn’t outwardly think much of it, the bullying and traumatic experiences Dib’s gone through leave him depressed. If it weren’t for his obsession with the paranormal, Dib may actually kill himself. That’s really disturbing!

As a side note, if you or anyone you know are suffering from depression or thoughts of suicide, seek help. Your life is not worthless.

Keef’s Eyes Get Plucked, Bestest Friends

Remember that episode where Zim got a best friend in the form of Keef? I’m asking because I barely remember it since I had to repress the memory! After realizing that Keef’s too clingy, Zim’s solution is to replace his eyes with robotic ones. The robot eyes then fool Keef into thinking the first thing he sees is Zim.

Of all the moments from Invader Zim, this may be the only one that I was actually scared of as a kid. I mean, I get that being dark is Vasquez’s thing, but come on! This was messed up on all kinds of levels. The fact that it looked like Keef died at the end of the episode made me almost block out the memory altogether. Thank god for my dream-catcher, or I’d have nightmares.

Dark Harvest, Dark Harvest

In order to protect his identity as an alien, Zim decides to steal the organs from every student in the skool. The end result is turning him into a freakishly huge blob monster stuffed with organs. Despite how crazy his plan is, it ends up working. As an added bonus, he makes everyone think Dib’s a freak of nature.

This is the other episode of Invader Zim that I ended up choosing to forget about, for a number of reasons. First, its dark as hell and not something you’d want kids to be seeing. Second, and most importantly, is that I don’t think it aired that often, so I don’t have a good memory of it. This episode is also controversial due to a murderer citing it as inspiration during his trial.

You know, I was going to include a fifth example, but after Dark Harvest, I realize that nothing can top it. If you guys have any other dark moments you remember from the show, let me know. Jay out!

Oh, if you guys didn’t know, Zim has his own comic book series now! Crazy right? You can read it right here on this website!

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

My 5 Favorite CGI Moments in Invader Zim

I already said it before, but I’ll say it again: I loved the CGI in Invader Zim. Growing up in a time when it was still a new thing, CGI was rare. It seemed almost unheard of outside of movies, at times. So fit a little kid to see it being used on a regular basis in a cartoon, it looked like the coolest thing ever.

Even after almost twenty years, the CGI in Invader Zim holds up well, seamlessly blending with the 2-D animation. So I thought, heck with it; let’s make an article out of it. These are my favorite CGI moments in Invader Zim. There will be minor spoilers ahead.

Mobile-Home GIR, Invasion of the Idiot Dog-Brain

After a mishap while replacing a defective AI, GIR ends up trapped inside the base’s computer. While Zim tries to get GIR to cooperate so he can fix the mess, all the robot can think about is tacos. So he picks up his house body and runs all the way to Crazy Taco.

Aside from being a hilarious example of GIR’s insanity, this was one of the more creative ways the show used CGI. The animators deliberately designed GIR’s house form to resemble that of a dog. If you look closely as GIR rampages through the city, you’ll notice how seamlessly the CGI blends with the 2-D buildings. This was a memorable moment for Zim, and it still makes me smile to this day.

Battle of the Planets, Battle of the Planets of Doom

After taking control of Mars, which is a planet-sized spaceship, Zim plans to crash it into Earth and squish all life. Dib counters him by using the planet Mercury as his spaceship. What follows is an interstellar battle of planets, and I loved every minute of it!

This moment has to have been Zim and Dib’s biggest battle ever, literally. The two adversaries chased each other from the edge of the Sun to the rings of Saturn. For someone who grew up fascinated with spaceflight, this was like a dream come true! Plus, it had some of the funniest moments in the show spaced in between.

Nanowar, Nanozim

When Zim shrinks himself down to microscopic size to destroy Dib’s brain, Dib counters using a nanomachine to take the fight to him. What follows is a chase through Dib’s body as the boy, and later Gaz, attempt to stop Zim from wrecking Zim’s brain.

Nanozim was an earlier episode on the show, but one that used CGI to the fullest. I watched the event over and over on tape. I even tried making little versions of Zim and Dib’s ships out of Play-Doh so I could re-enact it. Then the part where they turned into robots and started fighting was so epic! If I didn’t love Invader Zim before, then this had me hooked on it.

War on the Irken Armada, Dib’s Wonderful Life of Doom

Ah, what could have been. While stuck inside a simulation, Dib envisions what his perfect life would be like. This dream life culminates in him leading an assault against the Irken Armada where he single-handedly brings down their flagship. Then he gets a medal and everyone gets free snacks.

While the battle sequence only lasted for a minute, it was impressive to look at. Dozens of ships of varying sizes clashed in a battle straight out of a sci-fi movie. Then Dib brings down The Massive in a series of shots that transitions between 2-D and CGI with epic music in the background. It was like Independence Day times a hundred!

Zim vs. Tak, Tak, the Hideous New Girl

The climactic season finale to Invader Zim upped the stakes for everyone on the show. In a bid to stop Tak from conquering the Earth instead of him, Zim engages in an epic dogfight in space. All of this happens while the Earth’s core is being pumped out, too.

The show had already seen its fair share of epic fights, but I thought there was something otherworldy about this one. The battle between Irkens in space as molten magma floated around them looked so cool. I can’t put into words why I liked this so much, but I just know I did. DO NOT QUESTION ZIM!

Oh, if you guys didn’t know, Zim has his own comic book series now! Crazy right? You can read it right here on this website!

Click here to see my other animation stuff.