Tennis Ball on His Day Off, Julian Glander’s animated release from Adult Swim, packs the sort of generational ennui you’d expect from an artist who grew up in a hyper-connected, post 9/11 world. In three minutes, you sense a fresh voice delivering unique perspectives in a visually appealing way. His follow-up, Boys Go to Jupiter, is his first feature-length effort. The film, animated in Blender, doesn’t look like anything else you’ll see this year. While many theatrical animated films have started to blur , Glander’s film is unique in a way that’s sure to stick with viewers. Florida looks almost inviting when animated. The pastels and warm lighting evoke lazy summers and vacations. But we all know that’s not what it’s like to live there.
Enjoying a lazy day at the beach, Beatbox (Elsie Fisher), Freckles (Grace Kuhlenschmidt), Peanut (J.R. Phillips), and Billy 5000 (Jack Corbett) are lounging when they come across an anomaly. A Day-Glo coloured worm washes onshore and disappears just as quickly. The other kids sit and wonder aloud what the creature could be, but Billy has to get to work. Billy is a genius at math, but he dropped out of school to pursue immediate financial gains. He’s cracked the code (so he thinks) to getting rich fast, and he wants to start as soon as possible. But first, he needs to pay his sister back before he moves out of her garage. So, Billy goes through town, making deliveries to a dinosaur-themed mini golf park owner (Joe Pera), a snack shack with the world’s largest hot dog sign, and Dr. Dolphin (Janeane Garofalo), a CEO of an orange juice conglomerate.
When Billy’s Swagway scooterboard dies, he has to walk all the way back home. In the daytime, anything seems possible, yet the sun-kissed pastiche of Florida takes on a new mood at night. The darkness pervades Billy’s outlook on life. This latest setback leaves him defeated. It’s almost impossible to make a living in the U.S. without a vehicle. No vehicle means no deliveries for Billy, condemning him to the meagre existence he desperately wants out of. Billboards promising lottery winnings and cheap fireworks transition to messages about damnation stunningly fast. Neighbours offer no help, but they sneer: “No one ever made it to heaven on an electric vehicle.”
Being a teenager is an isolating experience. You’re swimming through a sea of hormones, always on the verge of conflict, and frequently adrift from those who love you most. The scale of Boys Go to Jupiter perfectly frames just how small Billy is in this world, dwarfing him inside the vast abandoned landscapes of Florida. Animation often covers close-ups of characters, relying on facial expressions and exaggerated physical mannerisms. Glander utilizes stillness to stress how rare it is in this modern age. The film is a reminder to find joy in all circumstances, while examining how systems often place difficult choices on us. When Billy is asked to do questionable things for tips, he repeats his mantra of “$5000.”
Boys Go to Jupiter has a lot on its mind about the micro-gig economy and collective burnout, but there’s room for creativity as well. One of the film’s best running jokes is if Billy doesn’t call food “grub,” the app will hear him and dock his pay.
After interacting with the wide spectrum of humanity, Billy reckons with questions about what, besides money, drives him. Weenie (Chris Fleming) waxes poetic that the giant hot dog that resides over the restaurant overshadows the “little dogs” (meaning us) in the grand scheme of things. It isn’t just the customers that change Billy. He happens upon a second creature, named Donut. But he’s not the only one looking for Donut; Dr. Dolphin needs it to revolutionize her juice business. Dr. Dolphin measures quality time with her daughter in optimized propagation and millions of units in sales, so appealing to her sense of humanity won’t do anything. With the help of Rozebud (Miya Folick), Billy learns to set aside his Grubster app and prioritize living things, not hustle culture.
Admittedly, the film is a bit slight. For being 90 minutes long, the mood is the main draw, not the story. When there’s nothing happening, dreamy pop songs play out with stream-of-consciousness lyrics. An original composition about eggs and the variety of styles to eat them is a highlight. Of course, you could argue that is the point Glander’s making: We need to be able to turn off sometimes.
Aided by an eccentric ensemble made up of alt-comedy figures like Joe Pera, Sarah Sherman, Julio Torres, and Demi Adejuyigbe, Boys Go to Jupiter likely won’t feature on any top ten lists, but it serves as a breath of fresh air. Good stories can come from anywhere; we just have to look a bit harder.
