Aqua Teen Hunger Force Season 12 Episodes 1-2 Review

Join Swimpedia as we review screeners of the first two episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Season 12 with minimal spoilers.

[MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD]

Eight years ago, Mike Lazzo made the executive decision to end Aqua Teen Hunger Force after 15 years on air, citing a desire to “move on.” Series creators Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro stayed with the network, continuing with their shows like Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell, Squidbillies, and even a revival for cult classic 12 oz. Mouse. However, fans never stopped talking about Aqua Teen, and last year, the network delivered. After a series of YouTube shorts focusing on the Aqua Teen villains released in spring 2022, the team that brought Adult Swim to the spotlight returned with a direct-to-video feature length film, Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm. The film saw a much different take on the Aqua Teens, ditching the simplistic animation and nonsensical plots that defined the show in exchange for updated, fluid animation provided by Bento Box and a storyline focused on the Aqua Teens splitting up and reuniting to fight an Amazon-esque mega corporation that had taken over New Jersey. Some fans were not happy with the change, believing that the creators had moved away from the style of humor that made people fall in love with the show. Shortly after the release of Plantasm, Adult Swim announced they had greenlit Aqua Teen for five more episodes, as a sort of test run, to see if they were interested in making more. As longtime Aqua Teen fans ourselves, we can reassure all worried fans, this is the Aqua Teen you know and love.

The series, now animated by Atlanta-based Archer studio Floyd County, retains the same fluid animation that Plantasm employed, but paired with the classic sense of humor from the original series. This allows the show to go even further with its comedy, letting the Aqua Teens emote and move beyond the 10-15 set motions they were given back in 2000. The two episodes given out to reviewers, entitled Shaketopia and A Quiet Shake, quickly demonstrate how much more the creators are allowed to do with these characters, now that they are not restricted by the same budget they had back in the day. Shaketopia focuses on Shake running a VR world that Meatwad quickly infiltrates, and A Quiet Shake feels like classic Aqua Teen, featuring the team taking on more odd aliens.

The last few seasons of Aqua Teen featured a new intro theme and title each season, and this new season finds a new spin on that tradition. The title of the show is back to being Aqua Teen Hunger Force; and the opening sequence is a reanimated version of the original show’s opening theme, featuring a new remix by Schoolly D. They really go crazy with the character animation here, letting the animators show off what these characters can do now.

The cast does an excellent job once again, comfortably slipping into the characters they’ve played for 20+ years now. Carey Means as Frylock takes the spotlight here again, especially in episode 2, but Dana Snyder and Dave Willis are also at the top of their game. In a new era of Adult Swim where things are more different than ever for the network, it’s nice to have some old friends back getting up to their usual shenanigans.