2008 Woodie Awards
'Aqua Teen' not the mean machine it could have been
Peter Crist
Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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PROS
The good parts are really good
All of the TV show's best characters make appearances
The first five minutes are hilarious
CONS
The boring parts are really boring
The very best characters from the show don't get enough screen time
Some bad jokes repeat themselves
If you haven't seen Aqua Teen Hunger Force, you probably won't get this movie. Even if you have seen the show, you still might not get it. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters starts with a strong five minutes, then dawdles through a story that unlike successful TV show to film crossovers (e.g. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut), is almost no different than its original small-screen material.
One could assume that the reason for making a movie out of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force TV show would be that a) top-notch jokes were written for b) a story that is worthy of a feature-length presentation. Unfortunately, the first requirement was not met, and arguably, neither was the second. The movie is almost identical to the show apart from the fact that the movie is six times as long as a regular TV episode. So where the show suffers, the movie suffers six-fold. When viewers have to deal with a dumb idea for more than an hour, just paying attention will quickly become a difficult chore.
The great Master Shake, aptly named because he is indeed a giant, living milkshake, is the best part of the TV show. His self-centered ignorance is the driving force behind most of what makes Aqua Teen as good as it is, but in the film, he disappoints by not nearly reaching his humorous potential.
Of the other main characters Meatwad, Carl and the lovably condescending Mooninites, none are at their best. Even the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future seems uninspired.
Aqua Teen didn't work as a movie. Capitalizing on popularity, while understandable, was rushed and inappropriate for the creators of the television series. If not for the sloppiness, an Aqua Teen movie could be okay. Had the writing staff spent a longer time refining the story, it could have been twice the movie it was. Instead, the big-screen version only takes advantage of its freedom by increasing the frequency of curses and sexual jokes. As it turns out, the fast-food threesome is better in small doses.
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