RJ Writing Ink

A Fan’s Thoughts on Avatar: Seven Havens

Do you know those stories where someone leaves the house to get something, but when they get back, they find their home destroyed? That feeling sums up what the Avatar fandom is feeling right now. The one consolation is that the house is not a metaphor for the state of the fandom itself but for the world Avatar takes place.

Earlier this month, Avatar: The Last Airbender reached an important milestone as it celebrated its 20th anniversary. The franchise has continued to thrive, growing even more popular since being added to streaming platforms. A new animated film is due to come out in theaters in 2026, and rumors spoke of even more projects in the pipeline. Then, less than a day before its 20th birthday, the creators of the show announced the next chapter in the world of Avatar, Avatar: Seven Havens.

Then, people started reading the synopsis…and started to worry.

What Happened to the World of Avatar?

The details remain scarce, but it seems that (hopefully) decades after the events of Legend of Korra, the world of Avatar experienced a disaster of potentially apocalyptic proportions. The nations as we knew them are likely gone or only survive in small pockets. That alone is a bittersweet pill to swallow, as it could mean many places we came to know throughout the franchise no longer exist. Or, if they do, they may no longer be recognizable. However, the worst part about the synopsis for Seven Havens is it says that Korra’s successor as the Avatar is no longer considered humanity’s savior, but a destroyer. That line alone has left many fans asking the same question:

“What the heck happened to make things get so bad?!?!”

Korra Still Can’t Catch a Break.

From what I’ve seen based on the comments, the general consensus seems to be that something horrible happened to Korra. Something that marred the Avatar’s reputation so badly that all of humanity turned on them. However, as to what happened and where Korra fits into all this, fans remain divided. Some people believe that Korra could have been directly responsible for whatever catastrophe rocked the world. Others believe that she might have been set up and made out to be the bad guy. And some think it’s both: she might have caused a disaster, but only because the alternative would have been far too horrific to be allowed to happen. What is certain, though, is that we are missing a great deal of context that Seven Havens will hopefully provide.

As for what I think, I’m in the camp that she is getting unfairly blamed for whatever happened to leave the world in the state it’s in during Seven Havens. I also think that this is a deliberate ploy by DiMartino and Konietzko to discuss the hate that Korra got.

Korra Wasn’t a Bad Avatar, you Know!

As a show and as a character, Korra has become infamous for being a divisive character. Many OG fans consider her an inferior successor to Aang, and her detractors cite her shortcomings throughout the show. The most egregious, though, is the fact that she got Raava ripped out of her and their connection to her past lives severed, resetting the Avatar Cycle altogether. In other words, fans may never get to see Aang, Roku, Kiyoshi, and the other past Avatars again!

They’re not wrong to be upset. I loved Aang, and the idea that we may never see him again as a guide to future Avatars is heartbreaking. However, I do not consider what happened to be entirely Korra’s fault.

like how can you look at this and say yeah this is korra’s fault pic.twitter.com/yroson2O5m

— c (@racerkuvira) February 22, 2025

Keep in mind that Korra was fighting an uphill battle when she went into that fight with Unalaq. She knew this, and so she tried to get help from the President of the United Republic. And he refused to do anything, thinking it better to defend Republic City. To this day, I believe that if Raiko had sent support, Korra wouldn’t have had to fight so many enemies at once, and Unalaq and Vaatu wouldn’t have been able to rip Raava out of her. What makes it even worse is that, afterward, Raiko still blamed her for the destruction UnaVaatu caused!

Korra Had a Tough Act to Follow, and She Knew it

A big theme in The Legend of Korra is how people would not stop comparing her to how great Aang was, which is understandable. Like many, I grew up watching Aang and wasn’t entirely comfortable with seeing someone succeed him. But does that mean Korra was an inferior successor? No! People held her to these impossible standards and wanted her to be as good a character as Aang was. And while Aang was an amazing character, he wasn’t perfect and made mistakes—many Avatar’s made mistakes during their lifetimes. The whole reason the Avatar Cycle started was because Avatar Wan made a mistake. But the entire point of the Avatar is that they’re not this perfect being that can solve everything.

The point of the Avatar being human is for them to be flawed and mess up like everyone else. That’s part of being human; regardless of their godlike power, the Avatar is still human. And through their collective experiences, Raava also learned what it meant to be human. That’s something that plenty of Korra haters seem to forget, and it’s something that people during the time of Seven Havens will have to remember.

But with that rant out of the way, what do you guys think? Does this sound like something you’re going to watch? Do you think the premise of Seven Havens is a mistake? Let’s get some fan discussion going!

And be on the lookout for a second part talking about the other big thing regarding Seven Havens.

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A Fan’s Look back on Avatar: the Last Airbender on its 20th Anniversary

It was November, 2004, and ten-year-old me was going to the movies with my family. We were going to see The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie together, and I was beyond excited. SpongeBob was my all-time favorite cartoon and my hero, and I was getting to see his movie! We got our snacks, sat, and waited for the previews to finish so the film could start. That was when a preview for a show that wasn’t out yet flashed across our screens. It’s name was Avatar: The Last Airbender.

I didn’t think too much of it at the time. After all, I was too excited to see SpongeBob on the big screen. Little did I realize it, but that one preview of Avatar would be my introduction to what would be the best cartoon of my childhood.

Slowly Gaining an Interest in Avatar

Over the next three months, Nickelodeon would slowly ramp up its promotion for this new show called Avatar. Their entire channel became inundated with commercials explaining what Avatar would be about. How it took place in this fantastical world filled with strange animals and people who could wield the elements. That there was an entire nation bent on conquering everyone. And that the only person who could hope to stop them was a kid who spent the last hundred years frozen in ice.

Emphasis on the kid part, as several ads repeatedly mentioned his age.

One of the Best Nights of My Life

I don’t know when it started to pique my interest, but sometime during those three months, I had gone from shrugging my shoulders at this funny-looking show (how was I supposed to know it was based on anime? I didn’t even know what that was yet) to wanting to see what it was like. So, fast forward to Monday, February 21st, 2005, the premiere day. I just got out of school for the day (probably did my homework), turned on the TV, and went to Nickelodeon to watch their programming block U-Pick Live. My sister eventually joined me, and together, we waited as U-Pick Live counted down to the premiere of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

I remain thankful that my curiosity compelled me to watch the premiere, because it became one of the best nights of my life.

An Incredible Three Years Ahead

Saying that the first two episodes of Avatar blew me away would be an understatement. I was utterly floored by what I saw! There was the whole premise of this fantasy world ravaged by a century of war. The way it balanced the profound moments with a goofy sense of humor. And above all, there were the characters, most of whom were only a few years older than me. The fact that Aang was only two years older than me, had this enormous responsibility he never asked for, but was also this goofy kid who just wanted to have fun really resonated with me. He was like the cool friend I always wanted, and I quickly became attached to him! Though, honestly, I grew attached to all of the characters.

I spent the next three years devotedly watching Avatar and saw almost every episode. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined a cartoon on Nickelodeon could tell such a compelling story. The best part is that as I grew older, I began to understand the complex themes behind the story. While it wasn’t unheard of for kids’ shows to focus on important themes and morals to impart them to viewers, Avatar was different. It was willing to dive into topics its peers rarely ever did. From the cost of war to the effects of discrimination and abusive parenting, this kid’s cartoon was pretty mature! And like a fine wine, it’s only seemed to get better with age!

Avatar is as Good as I Remember

To this day, the night the series finale came out is among the best nights of my life. That’s how significant an impact this show had on me! And while the creators could have decided to call it a day after that, they didn’t. Instead of being a one-hit wonder, Avatar would spawn a franchise consisting of novels, comics, a sequel series, and another sequel series coming in the near future! And thanks to the pandemic keeping everyone stuck at home for a year, Avatar experienced a renaissance in popularity at the start of the decade.

And now, it’s more than twenty years old. Man, how time flies! But no matter how old it may get, Avatar was, is, and always will be one of the greatest shows ever created. And I cannot imagine what my life would have been like without it during those pivotal years of my childhood.

A Fan’s Retrospective on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 20 Years Later

New Year’s Eve, 2003. Nine-year-old me is celebrating by watching Nickelodeon count down the final hours of 2003 with their best moments throughout the year. Then, the host, Pick Boy, segues into a teaser showing off what’s to come for Nickelodeon in 2004. While I don’t remember the rest of what was included, one image shown brighter in my eyes than the sun itself:

The following day, I woke up, went on Nick.com, and found the teaser trailer for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. I then proceeded to watch it hundreds of times.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Meant Everything to Me

To say that I was a fan of SpongeBob as a kid was an understatement. Until Avatar: the Last Airbender showed up a year later, SpongeBob was my favorite cartoon of all time. Even long after I’ve stopped watching the newer episodes, SpongeBob holds a special place in my heart. That little sponge was the coolest, funniest, and friendliest guy kid-me knew, and I wanted to be just like him. Throughout 2004, I would follow news about the film with a growing obsession, all leading up to the day when it finally came out in theaters, and I got my family to take me to see it. Even though I already knew most of the plot, I was still over the moon watching the movie, thanks to playing the tie-in games ahead of time. SpongeBob, my hero, is on the big screen! It was one of those moments that stayed rent-free in my head.

Now, here we are, twenty years to the day when SpongeBob and Patrick went on their biggest adventure ever. Having rewatched the whole film for the first time in years, I felt compelled to ask myself, “Is this film still good? Does it hold up after two decades of additional SpongeBob content?”

My answer: not only does The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie still hold up, but it’s even better as an adult.

I Relate to SpongeBob’s Struggles With Maturity

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you should know the film’s plot by this point. After Plankton steals the crown of King Neptune and frames Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob and Patrick have to go on a quest to get it back from the treacherous Shell City. However, the driving force behind the whole film is SpongeBob’s emotional conflict because of how others perceive him as an immature kid. They’re not wrong. SpongeBob is a kid at heart, but getting passed over for a promotion he had more than earned because of it really got to him. As a result, he, and to a lesser extent, Patrick, spend most of the film going through this character arc. First, they ignore what everyone says about them, then they try to act like how they think an adult should act. Eventually, though, SpongeBob makes peace with his childish nature. Instead of letting it get to him, he wears his childishness like a badge of pride, giving him the power he needs to save the day. And giving us one of the most epic guitar solos in animation history.

I already loved seeing SpongeBob prove his naysayers wrong as a kid. I had never seen a problem with the way SpongeBob acted before, after all. However, after going back and rewatching The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie as an adult (and listening to others review it for a whole day), I appreciate the themes even more as an adult. As we get older, our worldview starts to get more complicated as we see how stressful it can get. More often than not, it can become a trial to stay happy and have a positive attitude, especially when we’re going to inevitably fail. I’ve learned that all too well as I’ve become an adult and found myself working the same kinds of jobs that SpongeBob has. In addition, I’ve also been called out for my own perceived immaturity, something that bothers more than I would like to admit. Thus, I can relate to SpongeBob’s plight in this film.

And you know what? After seeing this movie again, it reminds me why I want to remain a kid at heart forever. Yeah, SpongeBob can be an immature goofball, something that’s gotten exaggerated in later seasons. But looking back on this film and seeing how happy he is with his life, a lot of people could stand to learn from it. Everyone should keep that inner child alive and well and maintain that youthful sense of optimism all their lives.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is Still Amazing

In short, I loved The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie as a kid, and I love just as much as an adult. I love it more when you consider the waxing and waning of quality in the post-movie era. If anything, having the show continue up to the present day has only allowed its popularity to endure to the point that it’s more than just a show. SpongeBob is a legend on par with Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny. And The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie played a large part in making that happen.

Also, this movie introduced me to the likes of David Hasselhoff and Scarlett Johansson. I didn’t even know Scarlett voiced Mindy until after she hit it big as the Black Widow!!

My Reaction to the Departure of Avatar’s Creators Cutting Ties With Netflix

When I heard that Netflix was making a live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I was weary of the news. After all, M. Night Shyamalan butchered the beloved show with his crime against cinema. But then we heard that the series creators were going to be executive producers, and my hopes went up. This was what fans have been wanting for years. But then, earlier this week, we got this announcement:

You heard them, folks. Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino, co-creators of Avatar, are quitting on the Netflix adaptation. As a result, fans around the world have gone into near-mourning about it. As an Avatar fan myself, I don’t blame them: this made me want to give up on the adaptation as well! However, it was Michael and Bryan’s words that kept me (hesitantly) on board. They have a lot of respect for some of the people working on this remake, and I’d hate to see talented people get blacklisted because of the fans hatred. So, I decided to at least give Netflix a chance.

Then, this article from Fandomwire started making the rounds on Twitter.

This Won’t Stop Avatar

even if this article’s true, and the creator’s departure just killed any chance of a live-action series, I don’t think Avatar is doomed. It’s been going through a renassiance all summer, and with new stories and graphic novels poised to come out in the coming months, I see no signs of it losing momentum. In other words, yeah I’m upset about the news, but this won’t destroy Avatar. It may make fans wait years for a proper adaptation, but if the Netflix series bombs, then we can show people how awesome the original was.

Also, I respect Michael and Bryan for their decision to stick to their integrity.

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

Here’s to my all-time favorite cartoon, Avatar: The Last Airbender! I could go on for hours and hours about how amazing this show is. From the fighting based on real-world martial arts to the inspiration from real-world cultures, to its incorporation of anime art-styles. Avatar: The Last Airbender was, is, and hopefully always will be, the gold standard by which I judge cartoons. And I’m glad it’s up on Netflix in America.

Click here to see my other animation stuff. 

Top 5 Favorite Thanksgiving Day Specials

I don’t understand why, but I’ve never been that big a fan of Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s because of the fact that I don’t like the food; it’s true. I don’t like stuffing, gravy, or mashed potatoes. However, I still appreciate what Thanksgiving means. It’s about being able to spend time with family and think about what we’re blessed to have. Still, I’ve spent 2019 doing something for several big holidays, and I won’t stop with Thanksgiving. So without further ado, here are my top 5 favorite Thanksgiving Day Specials!

#5- Talking Turkey, CatDog

Few people in Nearburg love Thanksgiving as much as CatDog, though they each love it for different reasons. Dog’s simply thankful for everything he has in life, while Cat only wants turkey. However, when the only turkey in Nearburg comes seeking refuge from the holiday, the two have to work together to help him escape to freedom.

I only saw this special a few times on TV, and I didn’t find it until years later with streaming. As far as what it brings to the table, I think this special’s pretty average. While it’s subtle, though, there is a message about the importance of family. It’s just hidden underneath the slapstick of Tom Kenny and Jim Cummings.

#4- Garfield’s Thanksgiving, Garfield

Given how much Garfield loves Thanksgiving, one would think Thanksgiving’s his favorite holiday. However, this holiday special sees Garfield put on a diet on the day before Thanksgiving. As a result, Garfield has to find a way to dodge his diet, or else make sure no one enjoys the holiday.

I was a big fan of Garfield growing up, and I especially enjoyed the old show, Garfield and Friends. So I naturally had to include the fat cat’s Thanksgiving day special on my list. The only reason it’s not higher on the list is due to my in credulousness at the fact that Garfield’s vet, Liz, put him on a diet right before a holiday involving eating. I get that she has to watch out for his health, but the woman had the worst possible timing! Good thing Garfield got out of the diet in the end.

#3- Helen Keller, The Musical!, South Park

In this Season Four episode of South Park, the kids are putting on their annual Thanksgiving Day play on Helen Keller. In an effort to one-up the kindergartners play, Cartman adapts the play into a Broadway musical, complete with a pet turkey jumping through a ring of fire. However, when lead Timmy chooses a disabled turkey named Gobbles, Cartman’s forced to take drastic measures to save the show. Oh, and Kenny dies.

South Park has had its fair share of Thanksgiving Day specials over the years, but I think that this one is my personal favorite. I honestly thought that the bond between Timmy and Gobbles the turkey was heartwarming to watch. Moreover, despite Cartman’s objections, I think using a disabled turkey was appropriate given it’s about Helen Keller. My favorite part, though, is the ending, where it’s revealed the kindergartners play was a lame, one minute act. Never trust Butters as a source of information.

#2- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Peanuts

Taking the number two spot on my list is a special that needs no introductions, because almost everyone in America knows the name Charlie Brown. Right when Charlie Brown and Sally are going to their Grandmother’s Thanksgiving day dinner, Peppermint Patty invites herself, Sally, and Franklin over. As a result, Charlie Brown has to cook an impromptu dinner, with the help of Snoopy and Woodstock.

Like almost every other Peanuts special, “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” is a holiday classic. It follows much of the same formula as many of the other Charlie Brown specials. Charlie Brown faces a problem, his wishy-washy nature exacerbates the problem, then he solves the problem. We’ve seen it a thousand times, yet it never gets old. It helps that we had the dynamic duo of Snoopy and Woodstock to provide their brand of silent comedy.

As good as “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” is, though, it’s not my favorite Thanksgiving special. That honor goes to another

#1- The Thanksgiving Episode, Regular Show

Taking the top spot is one of my all time favorite cartoons, Regular Show with their Thanksgiving Day special. After accidentally destroying all the food for their Thanksgiving dinner, Mordecai and Rigby scramble to make things right and get that precious turkey. While everyone else is trying to pick up their families or get more food, the duo enter a singing contest with the prize being a naturally born Turducken. However, they find themselves competing against the likes of billionaire Rich Buckner for the prize

There are a few reasons why this takes my top pick for my favorite Thanksgiving day episode. Firstly, I enjoyed the fact that Richard Buckner was a humorous parody of Donald Trump, complete with his hair. Secondly is the song that Mordecai and Rigby sing in the contest, “What are You Thankful For?” Not only is the song super catchy, but provides a genuinely heartfelt message about the meaning of the holiday: spending time with loved ones. For that reason, I name it my all-time favorite Thanksgiving Day Special.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? Let me know in the comments below! And be sure to check back this Saturday, as I have news about my plans for December!

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

Jay’s Month of Screams, Day 31- Spongebob Squarepants

Alright, boys and ghouls, are you ready for Halloween? I know I am, thanks to my month of screams! I’ve had a blast talking about all the specials, movies, and scary web shows I’ve watched all October, and before it ends, I wanted to share one of my favorites. It’s a classic Halloween special from one of the greatest cartoons of all time. First, though, I need you guys to answer a question: who live nears a graveyard under the sea? SPONGEBOB SCAREDYPANTS!

Spongebob Scaredypants

Fed up with being the easiest person in to scare in Bikini Bottom, Spongebob decides to do the scaring on Halloween. So he dresses up as the Flying Dutchman, and after a quick shave courtesy of Patrick, he tries to get rid of his embarrassing nickname for good.

As kids, we could all sympathize with Spongebob’s desire to not be so scared on Halloween. Halloween’s about getting scared, yes, but it’s supposed to be in good fun. Therefore, not being able to enjoy it is the worst.

Unfortunately for him, Spongebob’s flimsy idea of a scary costume doesn’t scare anyone. At best, it confuses people to see someone run around with a sheet over him. That’s the joke, though, so it’s pretty funny.

Spongebob Scares Everyone

Taking said joke to its logical conclusion, Spongebob and Patrick try to crash the Halloween party at the Krusty Krab. However, thanks to a jellyfish sting, the operation goes belly up; or pants up. I know it may be a bit mean, but even I couldn’t help but laugh at Spongebob’s failure.

The first appearance of the Flying Dutchman was the perfect level of scary for me as a kid. He looked and sounded terrifying, but Brian Doyle-Murray knew how to ham it up so that kids could like him. However, that made his reaction to the sight of what’s underneath Spongebob’s costume even funnier.

While the sight of Spongebob’s brain was weird, I was too young to fully understand how weird it was. Besides, I liked everyone’s reactions.

Scaredypants Was An Instant Classic

It’s been twenty years since Spongebob premiered on Nickelodeon. Even two decades on, “Spongebob Scaredypants” remains one of my favorite Halloween specials. It’s got all the hallmarks of what would make Spongebob a legendary cartoon. The humor, the voice acting, even the music all blend perfectly to create a 90s classic. I watch it every Halloween, and I hope that it remains a classic for years to come.

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!

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