“Entergalactic,” a Netflix television special, was released on Friday, Sept. 30, in conjunction with rapper Kid Cudi’s album of the same name. Kid Cudi created “Entergalactic” alongside “Black-ish” producer Kenya Barris, working off his supposedly final album to develop a fitting storyline.
“Entergalactic” presents a love story between two artists, set in a vibrant version of New York City. The special serves as a standalone piece of feature-length adult animation. To my knowledge, this is a rare offering; as revolutionary as “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” was, the work was still attached to a well-known series.
As adult animation grows in popularity, it’s important to distinguish the genre from animation meant for children. Yes, the word “adult” is in the name, but visually speaking, content for the two age groups could easily be confused. While adult animation varies on levels of appropriateness, “Entergalactic” is more explicit than most televised shows. Researching or pre-screening beforehand is a necessity, especially for busy parents who tend to plop their children in front of a television.
Split into several chapters, the special zooms in on the life of Jabari (voiced by Kid Cudi), a street artist recently brought on by Cosmic Comics to transform his character Mr. Rager. While settling into his new apartment, Jabari runs into his neighbor Meadow (voiced by Jessica Williams), a photographer whose work has begun picking up traction. “Entergalactic” depicts the two as they grow to love one another, yet carries a comedic element through its ensemble of side characters.
Laura Harrier, from “Hollywood” and “Spiderman: Homecoming,” voiced Carmen, Jabari’s persistent ex-girlfriend; singer Ty Dolla Sign and Timothée Chalamet voiced his close friends Ky and Jimmy; Vanessa Hudgens voiced Meadow’s expecting best friend; even Jaden Smith and Macaulay Culkin made an appearance. To top it all off, each character had an uncanny resemblance to their respective voice actors.
Plot-wise “Entergalactic” was admittedly slacking; not a whole lot happened, although Jabari’s quest to maintain the integrity (or lack thereof) of Mr. Rager was a nice touch. The street-art character Mr. Rager was inspired by Kid Cudi’s 2010 song of the same name — “Entergalactic” is likely easter egg paradise for fans of the star.
The special was sprinkled with powerful commentary, subtly touching upon issues of racism, anti-feminism and even the world of dating apps.
While the soundtrack certainly added to the special, the best part of “Entergalactic” was its visuals. New York City, often seen as a “concrete jungle” was made colorful and pulsing with energy. Jabari and Meadow were often atop a Citi bike and the special was interspersed with sequences of characters biking across galaxies. “Entergalactic” also toyed with different animation styles, switching things up as characters told stories or recalled memories. Texting was made humorous through its incorporation of real photos and the animated version of photos were elevated to a level similar to the portraits in “Harry Potter.”
As a whole, “Entergalactic” is a fresh work of art about art; my only gripe: the loose plotline.
