Invader Zim

Some of the shapes/lines are also rounder and less angular now, which gives the characters a softer and less geometric look.

I guess it doesn't look bad but it'll take some getting used to. Samurai Jack was kind of the same thing.

So, I wonder if this is an actual "ending" for the show or just a way to promote the franchise for an eventual third season. I don't remember this show really having much of a plot or at least getting anywhere with it's plot.

The last thing of significance I recall was another Irken showing up and Dib and Zim working together against her.

I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!

I looks like adaptation of first issues of Invader Zim comic book.

My thoughts exactly. They seem to be using elements from the first few issues of the Zim comic by Oni Press (which are said to be a continuation of the show anyway), like:

• Gaz's outfit
• Zim and GIR stretching
• And Dib who, due to constantly watching Zim, has become much worse for wear and has seen better(ish?) days.

Having said that, it took me a while of reading posts here to realize it was a considerably different artstyle, so it's already doing an impressive job of replicating the original's look to some degree.

Finally, anyone else appreciate how they gave Dib a full set of hair this time around?

We see the Control Brains in the trailer and its description says Zim finally gets the message that the Tallest sent him to Earth to get him out of the way. My guess is the movie uses IZ Comic #1 as a way to get the audience up to speed and then uses material from unused scripts (The Trial, Invader Dib maybe). It might also depend on whether this movie is a finale, a pilot for a revival, or both.

I would be fine with it being a finale, personally, but wouldn't necessarily be opposed to a third season if they have actual ideas for new stories.

Oh snap, yeah, it's a finale. Didn't read the description.

(2) What's... "control brain?"

Okay, so, to review the past 5-6 years, things that have come back that we never thought would come back:

• Dragonball Super
• Samurai Jack
• Fooly Cooly Progressive
• Hey Arnold movie
• Invader freaking Zim

I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!

The Control Brains were seen in Sizz-lor and Tak's episodes. They're apparently high up enough in Irken society to pick jobs for Irkens. They were going to be in the unused episode where Zim goes on trial. The IZ wiki says Jhonen said in DVD commentary that the CB's are Irkens who were genetically altered to not need bodies, but I don't know about that.

Anyway, here's a rundown on the reliable information for the much speculated Invader Dib:

So what's offically known is that:

A. Jhonen considered a plot where there's a threat to the universe that gets an Enemy Mine situtation.

B. Eric Trueheart said that Jhonen also considered a plot where Dib goes to war against the Irken Empire.

Edited by Maljen on Jul 22nd 2018 at 12:44:26 PM

I like the callbacks we see in Dib's garage. The Control brains and space settings look pretty cool as well. I just hope this movie has more meat on its bones than just random stuff happening, like in a few episodes and comics. At the very least, they could bring back characters like Tak and Skoodge(seriously, does he even exist anymore?), and give each of the main four time to shine.

It kind of bugs me when people say "Zim is a dumb gag cartoon and you're watching it wrong if you expect any character development or continuity," because the thing is, the original series and the unproduced episodes did have bits of continuity and world-building. It was episodic silliness primarily, but it wasn't Happy Tree Friends level of "shit just happens and nothing ever matters."

"I am the lord of Purity, who tolerates no deviation." My first online story

Well, it's just as bad to treat it so serious.

YO. Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie.

You're right, but a work doesn't have to be either pure zaniness or edgy drama epics. There are plenty of gag cartoons with absurd characters (The Amazing World of Gumball) that also explore their characters, their arcs, and the world they live in.

"I am the lord of Purity, who tolerates no deviation." My first online story

I got the impression from some of the things Jhonen said that they might try to have a bit more Character Development on this one. Even from just the premise, we know Zim finally realizes that the Tallest think he's an annoyance at best and it ends up having a pretty big effect on him.

Maybe Zim tries to up his game? Tries to do a plan that will convince the tallests that his invasion is going well? But honestly, seeing Zim lose passion about his society would be more interesting, but it also feels antithetical to the show.

Bide your time, and Hold out Hope — GANKUTSUOU Just because it's irrational, doesn't mean it's not real.

I suspect Zim would just create his own passion and just try to outdo the Tallest.

I've been rewatching some old episodes the animation seemed more traditional, so of course it would look different in a more computer/flash animated setting. Jhonen Vasquez pushes the limits of animation, with comic book shots, so the new animation continues this legacy, but especially watching some of the animation of zim, i get uncanny valley vibes where the new animation company doesn't quite know how to animate the unusually animation asked of them?

writing-wise, I feel the trailer does a disservice to the show. The show above all had a plot that was usually tied into clever, though rather subtle humor. It was also rather satirical, and I do truly wonder how that will change in the almost 20 years its been since the show has debuted. It derived a plot and humor from the satire and humorous way the show was composed, and while I'm grateful they aren't really showing all the jokes in the show, I think they aren't grabbing new audiences, or even introducing it too new people what the show was really like. Someone commented that the show seemed to be random humor, and grossout out too, and I felt really bothered because while I understand that's what this trailer makes the show look like, Invader Zim has always been one of the most clever things I can think of in humor, I can think of few rivals- I'm partially defensive cause I didn't always get it, and yet when you finally understand it, almost ever aspect of the show is composed to fit into some sort of humorous structure of the world (zim being ancient, yet going to an elementary school) so much detail and effort is in the humor, and yet it was balanced by some really good, epic plots. I can get why they don't want to reveal the whole plot, but I would of liked a small explanation of whats going on?

Sorry kinda long, I don't hate the trailer/animation, I'm really happy that this even exists, I just feel for a comic con trailer it dropped the ball.

Bide your time, and Hold out Hope — GANKUTSUOU Just because it's irrational, doesn't mean it's not real.

They've said teaser is just whatever clips they had to show. They weren't even finalized. Some of it is apparently going to be reanimated.

Mega Man fanatic extraordinaire

Honestly, if there's one thing I don't like about this trailer, it's that they're recycling the opening of the comics with Dib getting gross and obsessive waiting for Zim. Not only is that just another way to say, "lol Dib is a pathetic loser", it also leads to some seriously mean-spirited fat jokes, which always struck me as cruel and insensitive.

Given Jhonen's attitude, I'm also worried the movie'll take pot shots at the fanbase for growing attached to the characters and "watching the show wrong".

"I am the lord of Purity, who tolerates no deviation." My first online story

It doesn't lead to anything...if they actually do it pretty much the same way.

Mean spirited...Invader Zim though?

YO. Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie.

I'm well aware of the general tone, but the whole "fat and disgusting" format feels uncomfortably tasteless, especially for a children's network.

"I am the lord of Purity, who tolerates no deviation." My first online story

REDACTED

Edited by Zeromaeus on Aug 31st 2018 at 7:28:09 AM

Mega Man fanatic extraordinaire

In the beginning of the comic, Dib isn't being made fun of because he's fat, nor he being called disgusting because he's fat. He's being made fun of for not taking care of himself, of which gaining wait is one conseqeuence, but also his lack of showering or cleaning in general (which is where the disgusting jokes come in), lack of sleep, complete social shutdown, etc.

Basically, he's made fun of for turning himself into an obsessed shut-in. Mean spirited or no, it's not a joke that children's television has ever shied away from (you can see the exact same joke in Gumball, for instance).

And TBH, the end of that storyline is a lot more mean spirited than the beginning of it.

"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.

And also fat jokes have been a thing in Zim before. Remember Bloaty's Pizza Hog? I remember Bloaty's Pizza Hog.

It's been 3000 years…

Maybe equating being fat to being unhealthy is bad and creates self-esteem problems for people?

Zim's fatphobia is still bad even if it's not unique.

Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.

It shouldn't be...

YO. Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie.

Ummm...

...I'm not going to lie, there's probably some "ist" term for this kind of thing and I'm definitely something-ist because I really can't sympathize with this point at all.

Edited by Soble on Aug 31st 2018 at 9:11:58 AM

I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!