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.

Why I love Invader Zim

The universe’s filled with many great mysteries. People can spend their lives trying to find answers to big questions like “why are we here?” or “are we alone in the universe?” There’s one question, though, that’s bothered me since childhood: why did they cancel Invader Zim?

The Nightmare Begins

Premiering on Nickelodeon on March 30th, 2001, Invader Zim focused on the titular Zim. Part of a warlike race of aliens bent on universal conquest, Zim believes he’s been sent to Earth to conquer it for his people. In truth, though, his leaders sent him away because he’s a narcissistic moron, they wanted to get rid of for good. With his moronic robot sidekick, GIR, Zim attempts to come up with plans to conquer the planet in the name of his people. Fortunately, his ideas are either ruined by his incompetence, or by Dib, a paranormal investigator.

AMAZING!

When I first saw Invader Zim all those years ago, it was indeed a cartoon like none I’d ever seen before. On a channel filled with generally light-hearted and comedic shows, Invader Zim stood out like a sore thumb. Everything from its tone to its music to its art style clashed with the other Nicktoons. It was the black sheep of the Nicktoons family. And I LOVED IT!

As I said, Zim was something that I’d never seen before. It loved to deal with the macabre and pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable on kids shows. From an episode where Zim harvested organs from human children to outright trying to kill Dib onscreen, this show could get pretty dark. Despite everything, though, Zim knew how to stop short of becoming a full-on horror movie and keep itself in the kid-friendly realm through humor.

Despite how dark it is, the show knew how to make kids laugh with its sense of humor; which mainly dealt with craziness. Almost everyone on the show was varying levels of crazy. Zim could go from talking regularly to shouting manic monologues the next made him hilarious. I loved Dib’s passion for the paranormal and how he saw himself as this big hero. The whole cast was like a madhouse in a hall of mirrors.

CGI Was Legit

Of course, the characters weren’t the only great thing about the show. What set it apart from everything else was how it regularly used CGI. It was the first time I’d ever see a cartoon use CGI techniques, and the results were jaw-dropping. From a nano-bot fight inside of Dib’s body to the clashing of planets, it made the process look like a work of art. Even after twenty years, I still think the blend of 2D and CGI holds up well.

Nickelodeon Screws Up

Despite being one of the coolest cartoons in their arsenal, though, Nickelodeon failed to realize what it had. They kept pushing its time slots around which killed its ratings, and the writers chafed at the censors they had to follow. They complied but made every effort to undermine Nick’s authority. Eventually, the costs for the show and the low ratings made it a loss for the network. So, Invader Zim got scrapped halfway through season two.

To this day, I consider Nickelodeon’s decision to cancel Invader Zim to be a mistake. They had something unique and amazing, but they couldn’t see it for what it was and tried to let it die. I consider never seeing how Invader Zim ends to be one of the biggest regrets of my life. Heck, if I had a portal gun or dimensional scissors, I’d go to a universe where the show never got canceled. If multiverse theory’s right, there has to be one out there!

Foolish Executive Monkeys

Ironically, by canceling it, Nickelodeon made Invader Zim more popular than ever. With the rise of online fandoms and streaming, people found places where they could gather and keep the love for the show alive. Critics now call it one of the best cartoons Nickelodeon ever made and praise it for being different. I adore it for being different and have supported the idea of finishing the show.

Now, it seems like our prayers are being answered. After years of speculation, Nickelodeon announced they would bring the series back with an hour-long special, Enter the Florpus. Then it seems they wussed out on it, so Netflix stepped in to take the reins. I don’t know how the special will go, but I only hope that it gives us the closure fans need. Will Dib ever expose Zim? Will Zim conquer Earth at long last? These questions… may not be answered in the upcoming special. For now, though, it’s just great to have Zim back.

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.

Greetings, worm babies of Earth. It is I, Invader Zim. For years, you have thought that I was gone. That I had given up on my glorious mission of conquest. Foolish Earth creatures, didn’t you know? An Invader never stops until they’ve finished their mission. For years, I have been watching you. Observing you and your ways. And now, finally, I have returned. Returned to bring about a pain unlike any known form of pain as I laugh at the collective soiling of your pathetic pants!! PREPARE. FOR. YOUR. DOOOOOM!! AHAHAHAHAHA

Master, Can I Sing the Doom Song Now?

No, GIR. We talked about this. I never want to hear that song again. Now let me finish my evil speech. I hijacked this Earth creature’s website to spread the word of my impending evil!

But I wanted to tell everyone about piggies. I like piggies!

Look, GIR. This is very important. I’m trying to let everyone know about my upcoming special on Netflix this Friday. So I took over this website to let everyone know about the Week of Zim! It’s five whole days counting celebrating the amazingness that is ZIM!

Can I have a taco? I need tacos. I need them or I’ll explode!

*groan* okay. Since it is a special occassion, we may partake in the disgusting earth snacks. Just let me finish up here.

Yaay! Tacoos!

Finally, he’s gone. Anyhow, obey Zim, come back every day at noon starting tomorrow, OR PREPARE FOR YOUR DOOM! MWAAHAHAHAHA!

Well that was weird. But the loud little green man was correct. Everyday I’ll be talking about one of my favorite cartoons of all time, Invader Zim. All of this will lead up to my review of Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus. And be sure to see the special for yourself on Netflix this Friday, August 16th. We did it, fellow Zim fans!

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

Kneel Before Zim!

Do you remember this show? Invader Zim, the cult classic of Nickelodeon. Created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez and premiering in 2001, this show isn’t like other Nicktoons. It was extremely dark for a kids cartoon. Too dark, it seems, for some kids to watch, and it worried a lot of parents.

Me, I didn’t care one bit. I loved Invader Zim because it was dark and different from other Nicktoons. I did think some of the episodes were a little too scary (I don’t even remember the “Dark Harvest” one that well). But it holds a special place in my heart for the amazing use of CGI. It was one of the first times I had ever seen CGI in a kids show, so I was mesmerized by it!

All the love can’t help with bad ratings, though, and the show got pulled in the middle of its second season, with a bunch of episodes remaining unreleased or unfinished. The last episode I ever saw was its Christmas Special, which aired sixteen years ago tonight. In honor of that, I decided to rewatch it for my 25 days of Christmas. So without further ado, I give you The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever.

Zim Ruins Christmas Forever

The entire story takes place in flashback, being told by a robotic snow who is a clear parody of Frosty the Snowman. He explains that two million years ago, Zim discovered the concept of Christmas, and more importantly Santa. 

After seeing how much humanity loved and adored Santa, Zim got an idea. An awful idea. Zim got a wonderful, awful idea. *cue the evil Grinch smile*

Using alien nanotechnology, Zim creates a robotic Santa suit for him to control, then with a flourish, presents himself to the world as the real Santa Claus.

Humanity successfully fooled, he summons them to the North Pole for a huge rally. In hindsight, the decorations, chanting, and the sinister overtones of the song, reminds me of a cult rally. It does give us the most oppressive and tyrannical Christmas Song ever, though. And I loved it!

Zim’s master plan is to build a teleporter and beam humanity to the Irken Empire to use as slaves. The only one with enough sense to oppose him is Dib. But since humans in Zim are stupid, they don’t believe Dib and Zim throws him in Jingle-Jail.

Fortunately, Dib doesn’t have to do anything this time around. Zim made the Santa Suit too good, and it’s started to think it’s the real Santa. Anything Christmas-related makes it take over.

Despite his best efforts, the suit manages to overpower Zim, trapping him inside.

So Zim’s trapped forever and Santa is real. Happy ending for all! Until Dib shows up with a giant robot suit and causes the suit to go berserk. 

The Fight I Couldn’t Show You

After a giant monster fight, Dib weakens the suit enough for Zim to escape, shrink it down, and have Dib throw it into space. There might have been a moral behind all that, but for the life of me, I still don’t know.

But despite thinking him destroyed, the Santa Suit, in fact, survived to gather power in deep space. Now it comes back every year on Christmas and terrorizes the Earth, so everyone has to live inside domes and placate him with milk and cookies. Dark

Dark Show, But I Loved It

Yeah, Invader Zim was a dark and scary cartoon more often than not, but that’s what it was supposed to be. That’s why I liked it so much: it was different, and not seeing it canceled leaves a hole in my heart. I know it’s sounds sappy, but I wanted to see where the series would go. This Christmas Special was the last episode that ever aired; the rest were released years later by Nickelodeon.

In hindsight, maybe it would have been a good idea to just leave Zim trapped inside the suit. It would have been a good way to end the series: Earth saved, Santa is real, and Dib got what he wanted with Zim stopped. At least we still have the comics and the upcoming movie. And even after all these years, I still love this Christmas Special! Ho-ho-ho, Happy Holidays one and all!

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