Summary
- Apple TV+ series Strange Planet explores the absurdities of our everyday life, highlighting the bizarre aspects we’ve grown accustomed to.
- Adapted from the graphic novel by Nathan W. Pyle, the show combines Pyle’s genius take on the world with Dan Harmon’s elevated and gut-busting humor for a clever and hilarious meta commentary on our society.
- The adorable animation, witty satirical comedy, and charming voice cast make Strange Planet one of the most relaxing and calming shows on TV, suitable for all ages despite being labeled as a kid’s show.
When you stop and think about it, our everyday life is pretty weird right? The fact that we celebrate another year of life with our birthdays, the importance of pop culture and celebrities, how we keep what were once wild and dangerous creatures as pets, how we drink the mother’s milk from a different species, and even how odd air travel can be. When you think about it, the aspects of our modern life that we have all grown accustomed too are kind of bizarre. That’s where Apple TV+ brand-new original series, Strange Planet, comes in to play, exploring the absurdities of our world and our everyday lives.
Adapted from the graphic novel written by New York Times bestselling author Nathan W. Pyle, which quickly became a social media phenomenon, Apple TV+ Strange Planet offers a hilarious and perceptive look at a distant world, which isn’t too unlike our own. Pyle returns to his adorable world of Strange Planet, and with the help of co-creator Dan Harmon, famous for his work on beloved comedy series like Rick and Morty and Community, the two are able to create a clever, thought-provoking, and hilarious meta commentary on our world.
Dan Harmon’s sense of elevated and gut-busting humor flows throughout this series, and his style of humor paired with Pyle’s genius take on our world makes for a dynamite combo. The animation is nothing short of adorable, and beautifully brought to life, and the exceptional voice cast only help elevate the show’s cute and hilarious nature. The animation, dialogue and witty satirical comedy all culminate in one of the most relaxing, charming and calming shows every put to TV.
Although it is labeled as a kid’s show, much of the humor and references may go over some of the younger audiences head. That said, it is more than suitable for all ages, and adults and kids alike will certainly find something to love about Strange Planet.
An Allegory For Our World
The Apple TV+ animated series Strange Planet adapts Nathan W. Pyle’s exceptionally creative and ingenious graphic novel even deeper. The show begins by exploring the absurdity of air travel and air lines by exploring the evolution of human flight, mimicking airline safety videos, the incredibly tiny-sized snacks they serve on airplanes as well as the whinny nature of customers who moan about every single thing.
Likewise, the same episode delves into concerts and the effects that the break-up of a highly acclaimed musical act has on certain individuals. As one of the best episodes of the show, it makes for a perfect opening, easing audiences into its adorable world, as well as including some of the biggest and most intelligent laughs of the series.
From there, Strange Planet delves into going on dates, birthdays, quarter life crisis’, pets, and restaurants among so many other things to great effects. The show will really make you question the world and allow you to sit back and wonder how bizarre many of our everyday traditions really are.
Adorable Animation
Strange Planet is one of the most adorably animated TV series ever made. Sporting a world filled with cotton candy pinks and purples, the aesthetic creates a warm and soothing feeling that will shoot dopamine right into your brain, putting a smile on your face the entire time. Along with the show’s deliciously animated world, come the equally adorable blue beings that inhabit this world. Their animation is stunning, opting for a calming shade of blue that adds to the soothing and relaxing nature of the show.
Gut-Busting Humor
Dan Harmon is among the best comedic writers on TV. His work on both Rick and Morty and Community helped create two of the best comedic TV shows of all time, and his work on Strange Planet is no different. Harmon fills the world with little nuances that will force audiences to giggle all over.
His comedy never beats audiences over-the-head with absurd in your face humor, jokes or slapstick comedy. Instead, it’s Harmon’s satirical and more nuanced comedy that earns Strange Planet it’s laughs. His writing and dialogue is on point and never fails to make us laugh, however, it’s the small details hidden in the world of Strange Planet that deserves praise. For example, in one of the earlier episodes there’s a sign that reads “Tired?…Try Sleeping” a sweet take on the road signs that read “Tiredness Can Kill.”
However, as hilarious as Dan Harmon’s writing is, the show wouldn’t have worked without Pyles’ comedic input. His dry and somewhat poetic dialogue from his incredibly popular book series drives most of the animated show’s humor. By using phrases like “Uninvited from relationship” to mean a break-up, or “mild poison” to describe alcohol, the dialogue of Strange Planet is unique, intelligent, creative, and all in all deeply funny.
An Extremely Comforting TV Show
Perhaps one of the show’s most admirable aspects is how unexpectedly comforting it is. By this we mean that the show oozes a warm, soothing, and relaxing experience that you won’t find many other places. The animation is pleasing to the eye with its soft pastels and pleasant colors, and as previously mentioned very soothing. The dry humor and dialogue helps elevate the relaxing nature of the show, and the show’s voice cast give off soft vocal exchanges that can’t be overlooked.
The show’s dialogue, even when exploring pretty negative themes, like midlife crisis’ and turbulence the dialogue is always quite positive, using words like “discomfort” and “uninvited” to describe terrible experiences adds some levity and charm to these moments and allows audience to delve even deeper into this wholly soothing animated experience.
Similarly, the likes of Danny Pudi (Community, Mythic Quest), Lori Tan Chinn (Awkwafina’s Nora From Queens), the great musician Tunde Adebimpe (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Marriage Story), and Demi Adejuyigbe (The Good Place, Between Two Ferns: The Movie) give off comforting and charming performances as different blue beings, adding to how adorable and relaxing the world of Strange Planet is.
A ShadowMachine, Harmonious Claptrap, and Apple Studios production, Strange Planet premieres on Apple TV+ Aug. 9.