Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus

Directed by Hae Young Jung, Young Kyun Park, and Jhonen Vasquez

August 16, 2019

Netflix

Voice Cast

• Zim-Richard Horvitz
• GIR / Bloaty-Rosearik Rikki Simons
• Dib-Andy Berman
• Gaz-Melissa Fahn
• Professor Membrane-Rodger Bumpass
• Almighty Tallest Red-Wally Wingert
• Almighty Tallest Purple-Kevin McDonald
• Clembrane / Zim’s Computer / Minimoose / Schmoopsy/ Bees-Jhonen Vasquez
• Tak’s Ship-Olivia d’Abo
• Weird Alien #2/ Poonchy-Paul Greenberg
• Foodio 3000 / Weird Alien #1 / Excited Audience Member-Justin Roiland
• Bracelet Monster / Announcer / Angry Man / Boy-Eric Bauza
• Peace Day Host / Comms Officer / Ham V.O. / Alien Guard / Man-Fred Tatasciore
• Robo-Mom-Mo Collins
• Robo-Dad-Michael McDonald
• Neighbor/ Hot Dog Guy-Breehn Burns
• Floopsy / Martha/Happy Lady/ Weird Alien #3/ Girl/ Gloinky-Jenny Goldberg

Our favorite Irken Invader enacts a plan that could destroy the Earth after learning the Almighty Tallest had no plans of ever conquering our planet.

When the series first aired, I thought it was absolutely brilliant and I have watched it a few times since and it still holds up very well. It looked like nothing else and came on during a period of great creativity at Nickelodeon. The bizarre stories and odd humor kept you hooked.

It took me forever to finally get around to watching Enter the Florpus and this is one of those things that I kick myself for waiting so long to do. Much like the show this film is part parody and part drug induced fever dream and it is glorious to watch. Very rarely can movie versions of dormant shows retain the quality and the sensibilities that made fans want more long after they it off the air. This is the rare movie that does just that. It perfectly embodies the feel of the show and would fit nicely if it had come on immediately after the show’s final episode.

What starts off our plot, much like in the show, is Zim’s idiocy. Zim has been laying low for some time now. Dib has been watching and waiting and becoming, well, gross. He is more chair than man now because he sat down for so long that his body has fused to the chair upon which he sits. He thinks Zim is gone but why and where is a mystery.

Low and behold Zim has been hiding in his house all this time just to make Dib grow gross and incapacitated so he could enact Phase 2 of his plan and in keeping with the general humor of the show Zim cannot remember what that is or if he even had one.

Through mechanizations and events that make sense only in this show’s universe, Zim concocts a plan to transport Earth into the path of the Irken Fleet so the Almighty Tallest MUST come to Earth because they travel in a straight line for reasons. This leads to the titular florpus which is one of those destructive space anomalies found throughout science fiction.

The jokes are just as weird, and the world is just as bizarre yet still as familiar as it used to be. The continuation of the concept is seamless from the series to this. Jhonen Vasquez wrote another episode of the show rather than tried to make the greatest thing ever and he made one of the best Invader Zim stories. Wisely he did not reach for perfection but rather decided on a good job.

All the regular voices return near as I can tell. This certainly helps in retention of the feel of the show. There is nobody that sounds off too much anyway. Gaz is probably the only one that sounds a little different, but it has been quite a long time since the last episode and the difference is just due to age.

The only character that did not make a vocal comeback though they did show up silently was Ms. Bitters who was voiced in the series by the late Lucille Bliss. Another actress had reportedly taken the role for some game adaptions that I am unfamiliar with, but she did nothing here and that is just fine. Bliss was a voice acting legend and it was appropriate not to recast her character for the film. Recasting is dangerous in any situation but recasting for a cult series more so.

This was an animated feature that much like the TV show references the past in its stories. It builds upon and references the past which is still a little unusual even today in animation. Even so this is a stand-alone story that you do not need to have seen the show to understand. Even Tak’s ship shows up and does not require knowledge of the story of its origin to understand.

The script is great, and it is accompanied by strong animation that works very well. We have the weird humor that made the show so special in this movie. The jokes come steady and are more often than not laugh out loud hilarious.

Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus is a great continuation of the TV series. It will certainly appeal to old fans as well as fans of just odd material. Watch it!