Entergalactic

dir: Fletcher Moules

2022

Entergalactic is an entirely animated movie, and a Netflix exclusive one at that. This is not one for the kids, definitely. Not because it’s beyond them, because the story is a very simple one, but there are some sex scenes, surprisingly enough.

But, this isn’t a flick that would satisfy weirdos or perverts, because that’s not its purpose(?) It’s probably more like a longform accompaniment to Kid Cudi’s album of the same name that came out this year. And he also voices one of the main characters, being Jabari.

Jabari has recently moved into a loft apartment in Manhattan because he’s started a new job with Cosmic Comics, which I’m guessing is like Marvel or something. To date his claim to fame has been spraypainting a character he calls Mr Rager wherever he can on the walls of New York. The task before him is converting Mr Rager into some kind of comic book character.

This sounds fantastical, but, I assure you, it’s not imaginary within the dreamy context of the animated movie. Jabari is a dreamer, but he’s also drunk and stoned a lot of the time, so I guess there’s a fair bit of overlap between the actual and the imagined.

Jabari is a young African-American man in New York, but, thankfully, within the confines of this story, there’s only a small amount of racism he has to deal with, so he isn’t shot by cops for no reason or excluded from too many aspects of contemporary society. He has no money issues either, so he’s doing better than most of us. Also, with his group of friends, life is a constant drug and booze fueled exciting time for which there are no repercussions other than a mild hangover that one time.

He does sometimes have the Mr Rager character appear and seem like he wants to kill him, but this is less a psychotic break and more an opportunity to let an aspect of Jabari’s personality shine through (which kinda seems like self-doubt, or anger) along with the animation.

As for the animation, well, it’s unfair to the animators to say this, but they do a fairly good job aping / ripping off / homaging / appropriating the animation style from recent masterpiece Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, New York never looked this great in animated form, except, um, for the last time it looked this great.

The difference is this isn’t an action movie. Some action-y things happen, but mostly it’s the incredibly bright and colourful manner in which the city is depicted. The animations of the people are great too, very expressive, though sometimes they’re quite wooden (when they’re just walking). Jabari mostly tools around the city on bikes and such, and that’s animated pretty well.

The other side of the equation isn’t so much the love interest, being Meadow (Jessica Williams), but his crew of friends that he drinks and does drugs with at every opportunity, who also always give him the worst advice at any given moment, no matter what the situation is.

I don’t think they’re bad or stupid people; they’re just bad at life advice, which is okay, because most of us are. The fun they have on nights out seems awesome, like the best parties and clubs most of us never could get into or survive.

One of the friends is voiced by Timothee Chalamet, so take that with whatever size grain of salt you desire, especially since it’s obvious that Chalamet is voicing the token white character in Jabari’s crew.

When Jabari finally meets Meadow, like in any decent rom com, it’s after multiple occasions when they could have met for real, but the makers realised there wasn’t much story going on and they needed to delay the inevitable. To complicate Jabari’s journey as well, before the “real” relationship can start, he has to keep rubbing up against his past, including an ex he broke up with half a year ago called Carmen (Laura Harrier).

Just a difficult situation having two gorgeous women in love with you (eventually) at the same time. Sounds like murder. What will he decide?

When he and Meadow actually interact, despite already being next door neighbours, they are immediately fuckstruck with each other, and from then on (once they seal the deal), their interactions are cosmic, they float about in a constellation of extraordinary moments and galactic delights.

They’re so happy with each other that we inevitably come to the misunderstanding portion of the story, to delay some kind of happy every after? This takes up a surreal amount of time and mental real estate, but anyone who’s ever watched a rom com knows the central couple needs the stumbling blocks and the obstacles in order to prove that they really do deserve to be together, and not with their 2nd or 3rd choice peoples.

It doesn’t bug me that it’s so simplistic, because visually it’s so arresting and strong, and the music is enjoyable, especially if you’re a Kid Cudi fan. And who doesn’t love love, hey?

It’s just that it lacks any complexity, the obstacles don’t feel real, also, not really sure this flick sold me on the idea that these two characters specifically need to be together for the good of the universe. I’m not sure I really felt that bit of it, even as I felt some sense of closure at the end, with how (ever so simplistically) everything is resolved.

It’s okay. These things are usually resolved with people having to get somewhere before someone catches a plane, or running to the Empire State building before the viewing deck is closed for the night, or getting to the press conference before they leave England for good this time. This one is resolved with people just going “uh, okay, we DO like being with each other, and we’re not seeing anyone else so…” That’s mega romantic, for sure.

It was an enjoyable enough way to kill 90 minutes. I’d probably watch it again for the visuals alone, but there is all that trite dialogue to look forward to as well.

7 ways in which this has nothing to do with the Beastie Boys album Intergalactic out of 10

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“Love is a motherfucker, boys. It'll find us all. It'll hurt us all. But goddamn it, it's the only thing that'll save us all. If you got it, hold on to it.” – um, okay - Entergalactic