Release Date: Check website for cities and times.
Director: Steve Stark
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Film Pulse Score: 6/10
It’s been seven years since we last saw Jay and Silent Bob hanging outside the Quick Stop in Clerks II. It’s been even longer since we last saw them in animated form in the animated series. So what have the dynamic duo been up to after all these years? Pretty much what you’d expect, same shit different year. However, this time they are once again in animated form. After winning the lottery, the pair decides to do what most people would do. Buy mansion? Buy an island? Travel the world? Squander it on pot and hookers? No. They become super heroes! Bluntman and Chronic are born!
Written by Kevin Smith and directed by Steve Stark, this animated feature is an irreverent and often funny send up of the superhero genre. No superhero or supervillain is left unscathed as they take jabs at not only current cinematic heroes but even ones that are soon to be. The humor is pretty much scatological and juvenile but that is what the characters are known for. If you know the characters then you know exactly what to expect and for the most part they deliver. The film is an origin story of how Jay and Silent Bob became Bluntman and Chronic, how they came face-to-face with their arch-nemesis The League of Shitters and how they ultimately save the city.
Besides Smith and Jason Mewes, Stark has gathered a few other names to provide the voices such as Eliza Dushku, Neil Gaiman, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Conroy, Tara Strong and Stan Lee. The voice work is only as good as the script itself. Some of the jokes do fall flat but the talent does do what they can with what they have. It does come through that everyone appears to be having a ball, one can only imagine how the recording sessions were.
Smith’s love of the genre comes through in his screenplay. The jokes come fast and furious at the start and they are pretty funny. As the film progresses they start to lose their impact and by the end it becomes only sporadically funny. Smith takes a risk by popping up from time to time to interject an explanation or disclaimer regarding a certain plot element. It kind of works. Overall it’s still a fairly entertaining spoof of the genre.
Super Groovy Cartoon Movie is an amusing comedy that serves as a relatively satisfying filler until Smith unleashes Clerks III. It has plenty of funny moments but for every joke that works there’s one that falters. If you are a fan of the duo then it is a must see. If you aren’t and juvenile humor isn’t your cup of tea it’s best to skip it. Smith and Mewes are taking the film on the road and touring the country hitting various cities. They are screening the film, which also features a new Smodcast cartoon short, and having a Q&A in each city. Consult http://seesmod.com/groovymovie/ to see if the film will be playing in your city soon. Snoogans!
