What's so great about Invader Zim?

[Novdeloth]

Okay, I know I might get flamed for this, but I have to ask: what's so great about this show?

I'm not bashing it. I've never seen it before, and I just want to know what makes it such a great cartoon. On this forum, I've seen a lot of people praising it as well as their reactions to news about its cancellation or the possibility of future episodes never airing. From the amount of support it gets, it must be an excellent show.

Is it the writing, the animation, does it break away from the norm? Is it hilarious, and if so, what makes it hilarious? I gotta know what I might be missing out on, and if there's a chance that I can ever see it if I decide to.

(By the way, I do know that Johnen Vasquez is the creator of the show, and I've read "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac". By any chance, is the same dark humor in JtHM found in Zim? I like a daring cartoon.)

 

[Lunacat]

Well, can't really speak for everyone else but I thought what made ZIM such a great show that it did indeed, take risks. It was a dark cartoon with smart writing. Ok, some of it is gross humor (the whole 'ZIM stealing people's organs' episode grossed me out a bit) but at least it was cleaver and not mindless butt jokes (can you guess what show I'm referring to? lol.) I also thought the animaton was very nice, but maybe that is just me. I really liked the characters and their designs.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think this show is for everyone. In fact, I noticed that more High School teens watched it than children.

Plus, the main reason this show was great: Johnen Vasquez created it. The man is a genious IMO and anything (even a show made for Nick) is great in my book.

 

[Mackenzie Rainelle]

The thing that made it so incredible for me was how it was so...UN-Nick. The lines were better (with the creators of JTHM, Lenore, and one of the head writers from MST3K on the staff, how could they not be?), the animation was a lot more dynamic and did some of the most beautiful CG/2D melding I've seen on television. The characters were actually interesting and much more bizarre and warped than anything currently running on Nickelodeon.

And the best thing of all, added jokes. Anyone who had read SQUEE! would have immediately recognized the aliens in "Abducted". Fillerbunny made an appearance, as did Tess, and I think Squee was in there a time or two. There were cameos of Vasquez, Steve Ressel, Roman Dirge and Frank Coniff sprinkled in, adding to the fun...

It's my favorite show.

 

[Nadine]

I agree with what's been said... it's more daring than any cartoon I've seen in a while. Plus, the direction is really great; all the shots, lighting, and music were taken more seriously in IZ than a lot of cartoons. It really allowed the action and humor to work well.

If you are curious to see an episode or two, I suggest that you go here:
http://ice.dhs.org/zim/

 

[DemonKrowno]

Tess made a little appearance? ....which episode?


This show is just fantastic. Great animation,very well developed characters,and the story is to die for. The jokes are the best anywhere. If you've read even one panel from any of Jhonen or Roman's work(s),then you'd love it to the end....which it seems,we are.

 

[Yuss]

Some think the battery girl in Game Slave 2 was supposed to be Tess, but no one's confirmed that. Personally, I think she looks more like the NERVE secretary if anything.

As for ZIM... it's definitely my favorite cartoon right about now, but I don't know why. I'm really obsessed with it at this point.

I honestly don't think ZIM's all that dark. I keep hearing praise over its dark and gothy humor, and I don't see it much. It's not Rugrats, but it's not SQUEE!. They've had the darker episodes (GS2, Dark Harvest) but I wouldn't call it a dark show so much.

It IS different, though. Like people have said, the animation has the secret ingredient: Effort. The CGI blending in the first episode, "The Nightmare Begins", MORE than beats out Futurama. The later episodes, unfortunately, don't utilize it as much (Nightmare Begins had CGI galore), but they've still got it (TAK!). Even without the CGI, the show really looks like a comic book. They've got every angle, every perspective, they actually have a WORLD there. The characters move nicely, the colors are almost perfect. The backgrounds work perfectly. This is a nice-looking show, to say the least.

The writing somehow works. There isn't much detail I can go into here, but the writing is great. That's not at all hindered by the voice actors: Richard Horvitz (Daggett), Rikki Simons, Andy Berman (The Wonder Years), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), plus a slew of other minor actors.

The characters you can REALLY get into. I highly recommend The Scary Monkey Show for the up-and-coming ZIM fan. As it turns out, every minor character on the show actually has a name. It adds some depth to the viewing experience when you actually recognize the background characters. This is a real world.

The plot's not awful. Actually, it's fantastic if anything. This is above all things the reason why I'm distressed over the show's cancellation. The creators of the show were working to have a real story going, with new characters and plots intended for the next season that was so hideously cut short. Things were going to happen that now won't happen. You actually WANT to know how the Invasion is going. Again, I turn you to The Scary Monkey Show for this. Their Irken Guide shows you just how much thought went into this show. (i.e.: a lot.)

I don't know what else can be said. Watch it. There's a good chance you'll love it, there's a chance you'll hate it. Depends on just how much you want to enjoy it.

~B+:

 

[SpotLane]

It had TV's Frank on the writing staff! That's good enough for me!

 

[Mackenzie Rainelle]

This is the girl people think looks like Tess.