By: Bryane Escobar
A review of animated Kid Cudi’s Netflix Original, Enterglatic.
The film Entergalactic was swarmed with controversy before its release. Co-creator Kid Cudi created the soundtrack for the film however, weeks before its release the album was leaked on SoundCloud. The leakers also placed outsourced sound effects over the tracks, not only weakening the product but ruining it for consumers before its official release.
The film itself is animated by DNEG Animations and it follows the footsteps of Sony Animation’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, not only by the color grading, but by the character designs and independent spaces.
The biggest difference between the presentation of the two companies is the frame rate. Spider-Man was animated at 24 frames with Miles Morales being animated on 12 frames for narrative importance, until the latter part of the film. That means within every second there are 12 to 24 panels worth of movement on screen.
However, Entergalactic was filmed at an even lower frame rate.Though the official count has not been released by the animation studio some speculate that the frame rate is between 8 to 5, creating a choppy form of motion which does dissatisfaction to the film.
As for the story itself, it relies heavily on cliches. The idea of love at first sight, is a constant overplayed cinematic trope which is used once again here. It provides little interest or understanding as to why characters feel so connected. The main romance continues with little to no development, aside from a self-manufactured third-act conflict.
While on the topic of development, the side characters lack significant development as well. Every single character, aside from the Jaden Smith cameo in the middle of the film, is used for pure comedic relief. They place no guidance, display no sense of character growth, or do anything to progress the story of the film.
If you asked me if I were to recommend the film, I would say no. There are plenty more drama films online that have a much more compelling story. With gaps in frames, the unique art style is counteracted. I’d say, “Don’t waste your time.”
Tags: arts & entertainment, movie review, movie reviews, redwood high school, redwood journalism