Zim discovers his almighty leaders never had any intention of coming to Earth and he loses confidence in himself for the first time in his life, which is the big break his human nemesis, Dib has been waiting for.
Invader Zim is another show that has turned 18! Originally airing between 2001 and 2002, Invader Zim is a dark sci-fi/fantasy comedy that received a cult following after it's cancellation despite only having a run of 27 episodes; to the point that it has won an Annie, an Emmy, and has spawned its own fan convention, and official comic series.
The original series was inspired by the idea of an alien from an incredibly advanced race with access to powerful and advanced technology that could easily take over or destroy the Earth, but instead, stays in school all day, never even thinking to sneak out. A combination of robots, monsters, horror and science fiction films, and aliens, with an art technique that is stylized with sharp edges, thick black outlines, big heads, small or elongated bodies, and big eyes for the characters.
It is an art and animation style that has been carried over to this new special, though not without a few changes. The feature keeps the colour palette of pinks and purples that the original series was known for, but it has significantly lightened the scenes, removing much of the dark and grimy feel that fans have come to expect. Events that go on in this world are still extremely random, and the character designs still follow the awkward, dystopian dimensions. The animation is also much smoother in Enter The Florpus (clearly an advantage of animating with improved technology so many years later).
The voice cast return to reprise their roles and surprisingly the humour is still the same and hasn't become tiresome. This was a welcome surprise not only because peoples humour does tend to evolve and change over time, but because the original tone of comedy was so random. It came from yelling random unconnected words, singing nonsensical songs, unexpected explosions, and potty humour. It's a form of comedy that is rather low-brow but difficult to balance properly, and yet here it has been balanced well.
I don't want to give anything away when it comes to the plot, so I'll simply say that the story is in a familiar vein, but with more emotional depth to it, the longer runtime allowing a side-arc and some character development to finally happen to our main characters. We get to see the results of Zim's narcissism turn on him, and we see more of Gaz and Dib's father Dr. Membrane. Similarly to Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling, the pacing is a little off (though here it is to a much lesser degree) with the first two acts taking time to build and develop the story. The pacing in the final act is spot-on, however, and has some great animation and action, that blends various art styles rather well.
While the story is somewhat familiar, that is exactly what the series is. To deviate from that would be to remove what has made it a cult classic. Invader Zim: Enter The Florpus puts together a feature-length story with the great animation (albeit brighter) and voice talent we had hoped to see returning. Does this invite further episodes? To be honest, Enter The Florpus is the perfect way to end it all.