Nerdland is a 2016 direct-to-video animated dark comedy film directed by Chris Prynoski and written by Andrew Kevin Walker.
Paul Rudd and Patton Oswalt star as John and Elliot, two slackers who are pushing 30 and want to make a name for themselves. It also stars Hannibal Buress as Nerd King, who runs a collectibles shop. Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome star as Sally and Linda, two aspiring actresses working in retail. John Ennis stars as a detective and Mike Judge plays Archie, a homeless veteran.
Produced by Titmouse, the film was originally slated for a theatrical release but ultimately ended up on direct-to-video.
Nerdland provides examples of:
- Art Shift: The "Video XV" sequence, which is animated by some noted animators, including Bill Plympton, Peter Chung and Hiroyuki Imaishi of Studio TRIGGER.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- A casual opening mention of an upcoming unveiling of the new Hollywood sign becomes important at the end, as it interrupts a live broadcast where John and Elliot ask Sally and Linda to move into the witness protection program with them. They decline.
- The Ditz: Sally and Linda qualify, being superficial aspiring actresses who (barely) work as cashiers at a mall clothier.
- Hacker Cave:
- Nerd King has one of these, where he runs wide surveillance over the entire store and holds his most valuable collectibles.
- John's room applies as well, though it's not nearly as flashy. He makes a bold attack against Mega Corp, the largest corporation in the world — and then gets his computer melted by a counterattack by its CEO.
- Impossible Hourglass Figure: Sally and Linda again.
- Reality Show: In the post-credits, Sally and Linda kind-of get their wish by getting their own reality TV show, albeit still in their boring dead-end retail jobs.
- The Vietnam Vet: Archie is your general Stock Character homeless veteran, very loosely resembling Epic Beard Man
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