Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie, 2013
Directed by Steve Stark
Featuring the voice talent of Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Ralph Garman, Eliza Dushku, Tara Strong, Jon Lovitz, Jennifer Schwalbach, Neil Gaiman and Kevin Conroy.
SYNOPSIS:
Jay and Silent Bob hit the lottery jackpot, and use their cash windfall to become crime-fighting superheroes.
There is a lot that can be said for nostalgia. Many people look back at things we loved from our childhoods with rose tinted glasses and will often ignore their flaws because we remember them so dearly. In the mid-90s and early 2000s, Kevin Smith was riding high (no pun intended) with his comedy duo Jay and Silent Bob. The pair had debuted in Smith’s Clerks and would be recurring characters in Mallrats, Chasing Amy and Dogma before getting their own movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, in 2001. The pair had comic books, toys, t-shirts and even had cameos in Scream 3 and Degrassi: The Next Generation. But they were put on ice since Smith decided they had run their course and he wanted to explore other avenues as a filmmaker. That was until Jason Mewes (the Jay in Jay and Silent Bob) got out of rehab to start a new life of being clean and sober. In doing so he put together a passion project: bringing Jay and Silent Bob out of retirement for an animated feature, Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie.
Written by Kevin Smith and directed by Steve Stark, Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie sees the titular heroes strike it big on a lottery ticket and decide to spend the money on becoming superheroes Bluntman and Chronic. The dynamic duo quickly become headline news but in doing so create some enemies, including The Diddler, Dick-Head, Lipstick Lesbian and Cocknocker, who band together to become The League of Shitters.
In the past, Smith has been criticised for writing solely for his audience and no one else – and that writing was nothing but crass, childish jokes. This is even made light of in his 1997 indie-darling comedy Chasing Amy in which the main character Holden tells Alyssa that all the money to be made is in dick and fart jokes. Some of his critics also used to slam the writer for adding in jokes that only work if you’ve seen the previous movies as his first five films all tied together. However, his audience loved it. So Smith used to argue that he should write for his audience as he has one in-built. And never is Smith’s ethos clearer than in this rather vulgar little animated comedy that really was made just for the Kevin Smith crowd. Critics be damned, this movie plays to its audience and in that sense, it hits a home run.
Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie relies on its audience to understand and have seen the back catalogue of Kevin Smith to really appreciate it. Side jokes, nods and references to Smith’s previous work cake the film like a layer of frosting and the movie never tries to be anything more than an homage and piece of entertainment for its fans. The jokes come in thick and fast and it never shies away from being as disgusting or as childish as possible. And in a way, it really works. It’s not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but if a life-long Jay and Silent Bob fan just wants to see the duo on screen making fart jokes and saying “snoogins” then they’re going to get what they want.
It’s the movie equivalent of an old 90s garage band getting back together for one last tour. They wear the same plaid shirts, they play the same tunes and they do the same show they did 20-odd years ago and their old fans pay to see them do it. This is Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes playing their greatest hits in animated form. Credit to them, they never miss a beat, but you can’t help by feel a slight sense of sadness about the whole experience.
That’s not to say that Smith and Mewes sat back at gave a half-arsed reunion, far from it. The animation is brilliantly wacky like an old Ren and Stimpy episode and the cast of characters are colourful and excellently voiced. Ralph Garman provides a great Arnold Schwarzenegger impression for the role of Dick-Head, Eliza Dushku is hilarious as the Lipstick Lesbian and the joke of having Tara Strong replace Mark Hamill with her My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic voice is a touch of genius. The film may not always be funny (or even good), but the execution of the movie is first rate.
If you were never a fan of Smith or Mewes and found the Golgotham section of Dogma derailed the serious-tone with unnecessary poop jokes, then you will loathe and despise Jay and Silent Bob’ Super Groovy Cartoon Movie. However, if you loved the films when you were a teenager and long to see them do their same old shtick a second time round, then you will love it. It’s crass, it’s lewd and at times it can be very funny. Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie is a love-letter to its fans and it’s a damn fine one too.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published July 3, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
