REVIEW: ‘Boys Go To Jupiter’ Delights In Its Oddity

Written and directed by Julian Glander, Boys Go to Jupiter is a satisfyingly bizarre animated feature about a group of teens in Florida trying to get through the malaise of winter break. Billy 5000 (Jack Corbett) has been drifting away from his friends recently, obsessing over making $5000 as a food delivery driver (hoverboarder) so he can pay his sister (Eva Victor) for crashing with her and move out on his own now that he’s decidedly dropped out of school.

The plot is loose, sometimes confusingly so. But generally, Boys Go to Jupiter delightfully passes between vignettes with odd, colorful characters who wax poetic about life and lay down quixotic little quips. Billy is the main character, hoverboarding around town, making deliveries and scheming to make money.

But between his misadventures and Mr. Moolah’s (Demi Adejuyigbe) mantras, his friends like Freckles (Grace Kuhlenschmidt) and Beatbox (Elsie Fisher) get into shenanigans involving Miss Shanon (Sarah Sherman), or Rozebud (Miya Folick) fights with her mom, Dr. Dolphin (Janeane Garofalo). That is, when somebody isn’t singing a witty little song about eggs.

This bizarre animated feature rests more on slice-of-life vibes than its loose plot.

Nothing is normal in Boys Go to Jupiter. Dr. Dolphin’s juice business creates weird fruit hybrids, Billy is carrying around a donut-shaped alien, and somebody in town is ordering spaghetti from every restaurant there is, supposedly to review them. The oddity oozes with charm, even as long conversations about grind culture and labor give a semi-serious undertone to the whole affair.

The mundane scenarios are awkward but funny, insightfully reflecting a lugubrious teenage outlook on Floridian life while filling Boys Go to Jupiter with so much life. It feels like a truly lived-in world, despite only seeing most scenes from a fixed angle. Every shot feels like a diorama, or a point-and-click adventure game scene.

The angles are high, and the camera is distant, as if the viewer is a voyeur peeking in on a scene from an omniscient point of view. Every now and then, though, the camera does something unexpected. It might shake around or zoom in and out, and every time it does, the movie feels more personal, bridging the distance.

The camerawork in Boys Go to Jupiter gives a voyeuristic spin to these little vignettes.

Visually, Boys Go to Jupiter has a totally bespoke style. It’s something in between low-res animation and plasticine claymation. It’s befitting of a boring life in Florida as well as the weird tone of the movie. Or, perhaps, it’s what creates the intended weirdness.

The character models are far from detailed; some side characters are barely even human-shaped, or just straight-up eyes inside a window or doorway. And yet, every character is teeming with personality from their visuals alone.

There is a good bit of fun to be had with Boys Go to Jupiter. Its cast is stacked with some of the best comedians today (Julio Torres, Chris Fleming, and Cole Escola among those not already mentioned). Its message about capitalism is not subtle, but it’s not the type of in-your-face cultural criticism that warrants eyerolls. Any cringe Boys Go to Jupiter engenders is because teenagers are cringe. Their shenanigans are a joy to watch.

Boys Go to Jupiter is playing in select theaters beginning August 8th.