Invader Zim
| Invader Zim | |
|---|---|
| File:Invader zim title card.JPG The North American title card | |
| Genre | Animated television series Comic science fiction |
| Created by | Jhonen Vasquez |
| Written by | Frank Conniff Roman Dirge Rob Hummel Danielle Koenig Courtney Lilly Eric Trueheart Jhonen Vasquez |
| Directed by | Steve Ressel |
| Voices of | Richard Horvitz Rosearik Rikki Simons Andy Berman Melissa Fahn Wally Wingert Kevin McDonald Rodger Bumpass Lucille Bliss |
| Theme music composer | Kevin Manthei |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 27 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nickelodeon |
| Release | First season: March 30, 2001 – December 10, 2002 Second season: June 10, 2006 – August 19, 2006 |
| Release | show_name_2: Invader ZIM |
| Release | show_name_2: Invader ZIM |
| Release | show_name_2: Invader ZIM |
| Release | show_name_2: Invader ZIM |
| Release | show_name_2: Invader ZIM |
Invader Zim, trademarked as Invader ZIM, is an award-winning[1] American animated television series that aired on and was produced by Nickelodeon. The TV show received low ratings during the latter part of its first season and faced subsequent cancellation midway through its second season.[2]
Production history
First broadcast on March 30, 2001, Nickelodeon had desired a show for their older demographic when Invader Zim was greenlighted. Nickelodeon promoted Invader Zim for this purpose, but did not provide a time slot that the creators of the program thought suitable. Consequently the show suffered in the ratings.[3] When it was obvious that Nickelodeon would drop the show, the crew requested that Invader Zim be moved to MTV as Ren and Stimpy had been, but this did not occur until the show entered syndication. Before the second season was completed, Nickelodeon canceled the series, leaving at least seven episodes and a planned television movie series finale un-finished.[4]
The show completed its run in European and South American territories normally, and can currently be seen in syndication on Nicktoons Network, which started airing the completed season two episodes in Summer 2006. In Canada, YTV began airing the series on its Bionix programming block on September 8, 2006. The Invader Zim DVD collection has been released by Media Blasters in North America. The series has also been translated into several different languages for foreign broadcast in more recent times.
Plot synopsis
The plot of Invader Zim revolves around the life of its title character, Zim. Zim is a member of the imperialistic Irken race, an extraterrestrial species whose social hierarchy is based on height. The Irken leaders, known as the Almighty Tallest, are named Purple and Red, and serve together because they are exactly the same height. As recounted during the premiere episode, "The Nightmare Begins", Zim, who is both very short and very naïve, was banished to the planet Foodcourtia for overzealously attacking his own planet and allies[5] during Operation Impending Doom I.[6]
Upon hearing of Operation Impending Doom II, Zim escapes from Foodcourtia (or "quits", as he seems to have thought of it more as a mission than an exile) and arrives at the Great Assigning. Here elite Irken soldiers are chosen to become Invaders; special soldiers whose mission it is to blend in with the indigenous life forms of their assigned planet, collect intelligence, and prepare the planet for conquest by the Irken Armada. Zim pleads with the Tallest to assign him a planet, and in a desperate act to get Zim as far away as possible, they assign him to a presumed planet on the outskirts of their known universe that has never been explored. This "Mystery Planet" is Earth, and Zim's erratic attempts at world domination and/or the eradication of the human race begin.
Format and setting
Invader Zim follows a mostly self-contained episode format, the only continuity being the main storyline for each episode: Zim tries a new method to conquer the Earth while his human arch-nemesis Dib tries to stop him, with much lack of interest from the rest of the characters in the show.
Many of the character designs in Invader Zim are highly geometric and thin compared to normal animation, which is typical of Jhonen Vasquez' drawing style. The writing often conveys misanthropic and pessimistic themes, though these darker elements are often used for the purposes of parody and satire, often showing disturbing subject matter by children's animated program standards. Similar satirical styles and comical mannerisms can be found in many of the characters in the show as well as running gags and common themes in each episode. These include repeated references to bees, squirrels, moose, meat, Dib's head, chihuahuas, monkeys, tacos, "piggies", cheese, morbid obesity, and various euphemisms for human excrement.
Jhonen Vasquez also frequently includes cameos from his first published comic series, Johnny The Homicidal Maniac, into Invader Zim as well as cameos of the cast, crew, and various celebrities.[7]
According to the DVD commentaries, Invader Zim takes place in an alternate universe of its own, with a present-day Earth more technologically advanced than the real Earth (though most of its inhabitants seem to be even less intelligent). The most common setting of the show is where Zim spends most of his time "infiltrating" the human race: a school (spelled "Skool" in the show). Many of the extraterrestrial planets in Invader Zim seem to operate on a similar level to earth, sharing the concepts of fast food, vending machines, gift shops, and convention centers.
Episodes
The two seasons of Invader Zim were produced before Nickelodeon canceled the show citing low ratings, over-budget production, and lack of interest in continuation of the series.[8] In season two, the animation style became slightly more stylized and pronounced in motion than season one.[9] The majority of the completed season two episodes were never aired on Nickelodeon in the North American territories, although they were all eventually shown as "old episodes" on the Nicktoons Network in the summer of 2006.
There were at least seven partially finished season two episodes with designs, voice overs, and storyboarding completed before cancellation. Additional episodes had completed scripts or were still in the outline stage when the show was canceled. These unfinished episodes included a two-part series finale in which Dib was to fight the Irken Armada by going to the aid of the planet Meekrob, which could have become a TV movie special, "Invader DIB".[10]
Characters
Main characters
Zim is the shit!. He is a narcissistic megalomaniac who engages in histrionic outbursts proclaiming either his normality (for a human, while in disguise) or his innate personal and Irken superiority. He is constantly trying to conquer the Earth or destroy the human race, and is generally unsuccessful. Zim wears at least three disguises when in public, the most used one consisting of contact lenses and a wig, claiming that his green skin and noticeable lack of ears are part of a "skin condition".
GIR or G.I.R. is a dysfunctional version of the Irken S.I.R. (Standard-issue Information Retrieval) units, multipurpose robots given to Irken invaders to help them conquer planets. The meaning of the "G" is unspecified; in fact, not even GIR knows what the "G" stands for. GIR has a seemingly manic personality; he jumps in and out of useful operation frequently, a change noticeable by the color of his eyes, which glow red when he is obeying Zim competently. He rarely helps advance Zim's plans, but sometimes assists Zim unintentionally by antagonizing various opponents. As a disguise, GIR wears a green dog suit that has a very prominent and oversized zipper on the front, adding to its comical implausibility. GIR likes food, annoying other people, and watching tv, especially the Angry Monkey show.
Dib is Zim's arch-nemesis, a member of Zim's class at the "Skool" they both attend. Dib is obsessed with the paranormal and supernatural and is often criticized and scorned by his classmates for being "crazy" due to his outlandish theories. He apparently is the only human to recognize and/or care that Zim is an alien and makes it clear that intends to expose Zim for what he really is. Ironically, everyone Dib comes into contact with claims he has an unusually large head, even though all the children in the show are designed with abnormally large heads. Dib wears an undershirt of the same design as the character Squee's shirt from Jhonen Vasquez' earlier comic book series Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.
Gaz is Dib's sister and also plays a prominent role in the show, but rarely takes an active part in stopping Zim's schemes. She knows and admits that Zim is an alien, but does not care because she believes that he is too stupid to take over the world. The only things she seems to show interest in are playing video games, shown most prominently in the episode "Game Slave 2," and Bloaty's Pizza Hog. Although she has aided Dib occasionally, she has only done this to fulfill her own agenda. Gaz displays mostly indifference, annoyance with, or contempt for her brother, and will threaten him with pain in order to make him comply with her wishes. She is usually dressed in dark colors similar to Pepito the Antichrist in Jhonen Vasquez's earlier comic book Squee! and has a generally violent and stubborn personality, causing many fans to speculate that her style is a reference to the Goth culture by Jhonen Vasquez. She can be tolerant to what is probably excrutiating pain, as is seen in the episode "Dark Harvest".
Supporting characters
Throughout the course of the show, numerous and varied characters appeared in each episode. The most recurring supporting characters were:
The Almighty Tallest are the leaders of the Irken Empire. Two Tallest, Red and Purple, seem to be of the same height and rule concurrently. Both share common traits of ignorance, hedonism, and laziness. They hate Zim, and always try to undermine his attempts to please them. Red is suggested to be more intelligent than his counterpart, having some sort of knowledge about the Massive's inner workings and mechanisms as seen in "Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars".
Professor Membrane is the father of Dib and Gaz. He is cited as the world's smartest man, host of the popular television show Probing the Membrane of Science, and inventor of "Super Toast". His primary method of managing his children is by way of a floating digital projection screen and his recorded messages to them are often out of date.[11] Also, he rarely calls Dib and Gaz by their names, instead calling them 'son' and 'daughter.' He believes Dib to be insane, and wishes he would practice "real science" instead of paranormal investigation.
Ms. Bitters is the teacher for Dib and Zim's class. Devoid of any compassionate emotion, she is a tall, slender aged woman of unknown origin. She also has an extremely dark disposition, which she propagates in her "lessons", such as "The universe, and how it will eventually implode in on itself" and "Our whole society is nothing more than a perilous house of cards, destined to collapse under its own weight" in "Door to Door". The character is directly pulled from Vasquez's earlier comic book series Squee! where she was the title character's teacher.[citation needed]
Response
Critical reaction
Invader Zim was not initially well accepted, failing to acquire a steady audience. It was critically accepted, winning multiple awards and nominations for the first episode alone. However, since its cancellation, it has acquired renewed acclaim, with an aggregate 9.1 rating on TV.com and IMDb. The DVD release has also renewed interest and reception, with the DVDs receiving high scores.
Awards and nominations
During its initial broadcast, Invader Zim was the recipient of three awards and seven nominations.[12]
In 2001, Kyle Menke won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for "The Nightmare Begins" for his storyboarding, as did Steve Ressel, who won an Annie for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production for "The Nightmare Begins". That same year, Steve Ressel, Jhonen Vasquez, and Mary Harrington won the World Animation Celebration award for Best Title Sequence.
The show was nominated for five other Annie Awards in 2001: Outstanding Achievement in a Primetime or Late Night Animated Television Production, Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production (Steve Ressel for episode "Dark Harvest"), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music Score in an Animated Television Production (Kevin Manthei), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television Production ([Jhonen Vasquez]), and Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production ([Richard Steven Horvitz]).
In 2002, the sound crew was nominated for the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Television - Animation for "The Nightmare Begins". In 2003, the show was nominated post-cancellation for an Annie for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production.
Media information
Home video and merchandise
In May 2004, Media Blasters released the first volume of an official Invader Zim DVD collection in cooperation with Nickelodeon. By late 2004, two subsequent volumes completed the series release. A boxed set in the shape of Zim's house has also been released which includes an extras disc with an alternate cut of "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever", complete voice overs for seven of the unfinished episodes, interviews with Kevin Manthei on the sound design and music of Invader Zim, and a soundtrack of Kevin Manthei's main compositions for the show. Originally this set included a duty-mode "GIR" figurine in a roof compartment in the box set, but Media Blasters silently stopped including it with the termination of Palisade, the toy company that had been producing Invader Zim figurines, without notifying distributors that the package had been altered. The three DVD volumes were re-released in late 2006 as a low-priced series box set without Zim's house as a case.
Two series of Invader Zim figures were produced, including Zim, GIR, Dib, Ms. Bitters, and Almighty Tallest Purple in the first series and Human Disguise Zim, Doggie Disguise GIR, Gaz, Almighty Tallest Red, and the Robo-Parents in the second. A third series was planned with Santa Zim, Elf GIR, Professor Membrane, Tak, and Nightmare Bitters, but the manufacturer, Palisades Toys, ceased operations in early 2006.[13] A multitude of other toys were produced before the termination of Palisade, such as a miniature replica of the Voot Cruiser and a 12 inch "Mega GIR" figurine with a removable dog disguise. Many non-licensed products exist such as iron on transfers, stickers, and keychains, which are commonly sold at retailers like Hot Topic.
As of November 25, 2006 both seasons of Invader Zim are available for download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.[14] In addition, the majority of the show's episodes are available for download on iTunes.[15]
Video games
An interactive flash game has been posted on Nickelodeon's official Invader Zim site since the series' original broadcast, based on the episode NanoZim, in addition to other shockwave games. There were two video games created with Zim as an included character: Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy and Nickelodeon Party Blast. Zim's Voot Cruiser and house were seen briefly in Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island. Zim and GIR are both playable characters in Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots.
On the popular flash video and game sharing website Newgrounds, several artist have made flash games and movies about Invader Zim. There are also flash videos on other works by Jhonen Vasquez such as Filler Bunny and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Newgrounds even gave Invader Zim its own "collection". The page contains all the dress-up games, soundboards, short movies, flashes inspired by Invader Zim, and the only two JTHM flash videos on the site.[16]
References
- ^ : RevolutionSF - Emmy Awards 2001: Futurama, Zim Only Slightly Ripped Off : News
- ^ The Amazing Invader Zim Website > Archives > Ask Jason Stiff
- ^ "Nickelodeon Cans INVADER ZIM" (HTML). 18 January, 2002. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Adam Tierney (1 September, 2004). "An Interview with Jhonen Vasquez and Rikki Simons (page 2)" (HTML). Retrieved 2007-05-08.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "The Frycook What Came from All That Space". Invader Zim. Season 2. Episode 10. 2006-08-19. Nickelodeon.
Zim: I blew up more than any other Invader! / Almighty Tallest Red You blew up all the other Invaders.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "The Frycook What Came from All That Space". Invader Zim. Season 2. Episode 10. 2006-08-19. Nickelodeon.
Control Brain: (sentencing Zim) No longer an invader, you will be banished to the Irken snacking planet of Foodcourtia.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help) - ^ The Amazing Invader Zim Website > Cameos
- ^ IGN: An Interview with Jhonen Vasquez and Rikki Simons
- ^ Patrizio, Andy (2004-10-27). "Invader Zim: Horrible Holiday Cheer (Volume 3) review" (html). Retrieved 2007-11-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|Publisher=ignored (|publisher=suggested) (help) - ^ Zim guide with air dates Buzzyworld
- ^ Membrane recording: "Daughter, feed the puppy." Gaz: "Oh yeah, we used to have a puppy, didn't we?" ("Future Dib")
- ^ "Invader ZIM" (2001) - Awards
- ^ "Changes at Palisades Toy" (HTML). February 1, 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Invader ZIM to be on the XBOX Live marketplace" (Press release). Microsoft. 6 November, 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Invader ZIM comes to iTunes" (HTML). 20 June, 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Invader Zim
External links
- Invader Zim Nickelodeon's official Invader Zim page
- Invader Zim at IMDb
- Template:Tv.com show
- Invader Zim at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- YTV Invader Zim page
- Invader Zim Wiki
- Room With a Moose Invader Zim fansite
- Project: Gir building a Real Life, Functioning G.I.R. Robot
