Director Julian Glander’s feature debut, Boys Go To Jupiter, is one of the most unique animated films in some time.
The film follows a teenager in an almost dystopian vision of peak capitalism suburban Florida, who is desperately trying to earn $5,000 – to little luck.
A dreamy film
Boys is a dreamy film, full of seemingly random surrealistic moments. It comments on the mundanities of working-class living, mega-corp’s lack of responsibility to their workers (our lead loses hundreds of dollars he has made from deliveries, and the company claims this was a mistake, then fails to rectify it), amongst others.
A scene where our lead is collecting food to deliver to a customer from a restaurant claiming to feature the “world’s largest hot dog” stands out. Nobody comes to see that spectacle anymore; they’d simply order the food online for delivery.
Deeply modernistic
The film does, at times, struggle with its themes, and a monologue about ant colonies feels a little too on-the-nose. Our characters roam a world, not unlike our own, where you can’t walk down one street without seeing what feels like a hundred different billboards. They seem dissatisfied with the world around them, dreaming of winning the lottery and bulldozing an orange company to give people oranges for free. Even the next-door neighbour – a religious nut – claims the end is near. The message is quite clear without spoken explanation.
Boys Go To Jupiter is a deeply modernistic film, right from its stunning video game graphics (which are unlike anything you’ve probably seen) to its dream-pop soundtrack. While its story sometimes falters due to forced weirdness, it remains a captivating and original watch throughout its relatively short runtime.
Featured Image Credit: sourced from boundingintocomics.com/Julian Glander
He/Him
Arts Editor 24/25
Press email: arts@brignews.com
