After destroying their school during a science fair, Beavis and Butthead are sent to space camp as punishment. While there they get on a space mission and end up transporting themselves from 1998 to 2022 via a black hole.
Director: John Rice, Albert Calleros
Cast: Voices of Mike Judge, Gary Cole, Nat Faxon, Chi McBride, Andrea Savage
MPAA Rating: No official rating but most likely PG-13 for language and crude humor
Run Time: 1hr 26mins
Fun Fact: Production meetings were held on Zoom due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
I love Beavis and Butthead.
Growing up during their height in popularity in the 1990’s I was never allowed to watch it. In fact, watching MTV in general was a no go until I was in late middle school. I didn’t really get into the show until it was long over its first run, and repeats were shown on MTV2 on Friday evenings where I would spend my time watching the marathons the station would air for hours. I was excited when they made a brief comeback in 2011 and was bummed that they were not coming back at that point in time. I had always wondered how they would adapt to the different time eras and in 2011 we all got a bit of taste with it.
Fast forward ten years later and it was announced that they were coming back once again with an all-new movie and series that was supposed to air on Comedy Central. That changed to it all being released on Paramount+ streaming service. I already had the service but had to wait another year for it. The movie was to be the launch for the new series. I had some worries because with today’s entertainment climate on what is considered comedy and offensive, I had some skepticism towards it due to what Mike Judge was going to do. He made up the story and script a few others but let two others direct the feature. That move I felt was the right one so Judge could focus on giving audiences a quality story.
Beavis and Butthead Do the Universe was worth the wait. 1996 was when Beavis and Butthead Do America was released so a 26-year gap was what we had to go through but once again it was worth the wait. We get a creative and fun film that gets funnier as the movie goes on. Just like Do America and the television series the duo is looking to “score.” Some might think that it would just be a one trick pony but for something like this, it works. I hadn’t laughed hard like I did in quite some time from a film. There were a couple of moments that I had to press rewind because the scenes were just that funny. Mike Judge is on his A-game with his voice work. It was great hearing these characters and their iconic laugh again. Also seeing their antics again was a pleasure even with the updated time frame. Nobody is safe with these two around and one scene where they attend college brings in a topic that is very relevant today and it was one of the better scenes of the film. It also fits these two characters because of their history.
Beavis and Butthead also get some upgrades, especially Beavis. While most of the time we have seen being Butthead’s punching bag, we get more of an expansion of him showing feelings. The duo find some updated technology and Beavis has many moments of expression. Butthead is mostly the same but there is a moment in the climax that he has a bit of change to him that I didn’t really expect to happen. I actually had a feelgood moment during that change and scene and thought to myself that was a good move. While the duo is mostly the same, they have a bit more depth to them and it freshens them up and not relying on what was popular back in the 90’s.
Other things that make the film great is that its animation is top notch. It’s clean and well-focused and looks good. Animation has come a long way since the 90’s and it fits in the update of the series. Pacing wise the film always has something going on so it will keep you invested, and the runtime is on the shorter side, so it doesn’t drag on. The story is creative to get these characters to 2022 and it has science fiction elements to it that even a die-hard science fiction fan might appreciate.
Overall, Beavis and Butthead Do the Universe is a great film that will make you laugh. We get a cleanly animated, well-paced, and smartly written film. Beavis and Butthead get some upgrades to fit the new time era they are in, and it doesn’t rely on what made them popular in the first place. While the duo still has their original qualities, they have more to them. The series needed something like this because it freshens it up and it introduces it to a new and younger audience that never seen an episode of the show. There is a new series as well on Paramount+ and it is just as good as this film. This film kicked it off in a good way. If you haven’t seen it yet go and see it and have a great time.
Verdict: Hit
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