Aqua Teen Hunger Force:
The Baffler Meal Complete Collection
review by Bobby Blakey
Over the years there have been some truly bizarre animated series hit the airwaves and none wackier than Aqua Teen Hunger Force that debuted in 2000 and ran until 2005 from creators Dave Willis (“Squidbillies,” “Space Ghost Coast to Coast”) and Matt Maiellaro (“Space Ghost Coast to Coast,” “12 oz. Mouse”). In 2007 the series got the film treatment with the feature Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters. Now the entire series and the film are finally coming together in one complete collection.
Aqua Teen follows three unique detectives, the Aqua Teen Hunger Force, who share a rental house in New Jersey. This mystery-solving trio is comprised of human-sized food products: Master Shake, the big-mouthed, self-appointed team leader with a short attention span and no work ethic; Frylock, the only reasonable member of the group, who happens to be a box of French-fried potatoes--spuds with power; and Meatwad, a talented round mound of meat who can take the shape of a hot dog or an igloo. Together, this triple threat tackles unusual cases from the luxury of a neighbor's swimming pool--unless they're confronted by danger. Then, of course, the three run like hell.
This show is all kinds of stupid, silly, ridiculous and I love every minute of it. From the first moment I saw the show when it originally aired I was hooked. The idea is so silly but just works perfectly. I remember going in thinking what the hell is going on with this show that I thought was going to be a silly superhero show and ended up being a series of chaotic neighborhood adventures that shouldn’t work in any way but just does.
When that catchy rap theme kicked on you know you are in for some fun, but after seven seasons they started mixing it up as well as changing the titles as an ongoing joke. Throughout it all the show never changed and just added to the hilarity of it all. I love these characters, but their interactions
with each other and especially their neighbor Carl (my personal favorite) will leave you hurting from laughter.
Throughout the series so many great characters are brought into the mix, but nothing ever outshines the main trio and Carl where they were given even more time to shine in the feature film. The animation is simple and creative using traditional 2D art that sometimes fuses real world elements with hilarious results. This is one of those shows that doesn’t work for everyone and I totally understand that. It is over the top, very adult at times and does require you to just let it happen to be something you can invest in. You either love it or you don’t and I love every moment of it and cannot wait to keep diving back into this set over and over.
This release features all 140 episodes from the hit series 11 season run, the feature film, and over 30 hours of bonus content on 20 discs. Step into the wacked out hilarious world of the Aqua Teens when Aqua Teen Hunger Force: The Baffler Meal Complete Collection is served up on DVD on September 20th from Warner Home Entertainment.