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YMMV / The Groovenians

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  • Alternate Aesop Interpretation: In spades with the main lesson. "Do what you love and don't let people tell you what to do" seems to be the point, but another way to interpret it (what with the characters doing impromptu plays on their lawn, not having jobs to pay their parents they live with, and refusing to pay Norman the owner of the home they move to on Groovenia) is "Do whatever you want for free and don't get a job".
    • At the end of the episode, when Norman threatens to come back the next day to get his rent payment, we hear a little nugget of information that boils down to "Tomorrow is another day". The implications seem to be to not let these problems bother you and to worry about them later", but it's really hard not to see this lesson moreso as "Ignore your problems and deal with them when they come back. Don't prepare for them, just ignore them" which is an incredibly dangerous mindset akin to only worrying about thelack of a fire escape after you're already in a fire and can't escape.
  • Anvilicious: And how! Basically, what it boils down to is "being a creative person is great, as long as you only do it for art's sake, because making money is for boring greedy people - which is everyone who isn't creative and just has a normal job!"
  • Awesome Music: Admittedly, the intro is pretty catchy. It also helps that it's sung by The B-52s.
  • Critical Dissonance: Even though critics and audiences alike hated its poor animation and storytelling, The Groovenians was able to get nominated for an Annie award, possibly because of the "artsy" elements courtesy of the creator being a surrealist artist himself.
  • Designated Villain: The parents and Norman. While Norman is meant to be greedy and the parents are way too pushy and controlling with their children, they mostly just want their kids to get jobs instead of putting on plays for nobody on their lawn, and Norman just wants the money that he's rightfully owed as a landlord.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse: Lalasha seems to be the only character most people like.
  • Esoteric Happy Ending: Sure the heroes manage to ward off Norman and the Normals. However as Jet points out, there is nothing to stop Norman from returning and send him and Glinda back to Jeepers, which he flat out promises to do. The solution presented is to not worry about it and just party.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: One of the two protagonists is an overly cheerful, redheaded alien named Jet. Sound familiar?
  • Nightmare Fuel: When the parents and bride for no given reason change into demonic monsters.
  • One-Scene Wonder: Ru Paul as a flight attendant is mainly doing the usual RuPaul shtick, but somehow it fits perfectly into this show.
  • Questionable Casting: Vincent Gallo, Paul Reubens, Dennis Hopper, Ru Paul and the daughter of Robert De Niro all have voiced roles.
    • And what on earth is such an incredibly talented guy like Jeff Bennett doing in this pilot?
  • Rooting for the Empire: Some find the main characters so grating, and their designs so odd, that they desire for King Norman to win
    • Also, for a show promoting art and design, King Norman, the Normals, and the demonized Jeepers-denizens have some of the most memorable character designs, which mostly mesh with the show's limited CGI animation.
  • So Bad, It's Good: The cartoon can bring some entertainment to those who like surreal animation.
  • Strawman Has a Point: King Norman's song is about how everything has consequences and people shouldn't be expected to have fun all the time without paying for it. This has the unintentional effect of making him the most sensible and practical character in the cartoon, as Jet and Glindy seem to place so much focus on their artmaking that they have no means of supporting themselves, with him also unintentionally pointing out that in the real world, Jet and Glindy would be considered welfare dependents at best.
  • Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: In a very bizarre way. Jet, and Glindy come across as a pair of unlikeable, pretentious, self-centered, immature bums, while the "antagonists" such as the parents and Norman are exaggerated and unrealistic caricatures of human behavior, it's hard to find anybody who is genuinely likeable and truly worth rooting for.
  • Values Dissonance: Those who dislike the short often point at its Doing It for the Art aesop as being their biggest point of contention. They argue that this stance is far too idealistic, ignoring the realities that artists sometimes have to take on projects primarily for money just to pay the bills and/or have the means to continue working on passion projects, and that even artists doing something mainly for the craft may still desire compensation for it depending on the context.

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