Review: Dick Figures the Movie

Dick Figures the Movie tells the story of Red and Blue, best friends turned enemies, who hunt for the Great Sword of Destiny in order to save the world…and their friendship.

The producers of the Dick Figures Movie do something that really no one else has done. They take a brand popularized by internet shorts, and turn it into a 73-minute long film. For the most part it works, but that doesn’t mean the film wasn’t without its faults. As a matter of fact, there are plenty…but that doesn’t mean the formula doesn’t work here. It’s just that, after you watch the first let’s say 20 minutes, you can pretty much pick out how the film is going to play out. 

At the end of the day we have an animated buddy-action/comedy that is none too dissimilar to a bunch of others you may have seen in the past. The premise of the film follows Blue as he is looking to get a really special present for his girlfriend. In order to do that he and Red have to team up and find this ancient sword with pieces that take the dynamic duo all over the map, like Tokyo, Paris, and of course their humble home quarters. Along this journey, the guys get into a whole bunch of arguments which leads to the duo going their separate ways at different points of the movie, but it’s Dick Figures and you know there is a fifth season, so naturally you know the guys will be able to resolve their differences before the ending.

The journey is the real strength of the film as Red and Blue employ the lovable and crass humor that the animated characters are best known for. Blue takes on the typical ‘guy trying to win over the heart of his lady’ while Red is constantly acting like a crazy socio of whom constantly gets in the way of Blue making any substantial progress. I loved the opening bit where Blue is seen as Red calls ‘a pussy’ while Red comes off looking like a ninja fighting maniac. These principles are seen during the entire course the film where Red does shit just because he can, while Blue deals with the after effects . Like there’s a scene where the guys get stranded on an island, poor Blue is just thinking about his lady and how he’s going to get back to her…Red? He burns the fucker down!

The dialogue between Red (Ed Skudder) and Blue (Zack Keller) is there, but it isn’t the movie’s strongest asset. Aside from the hysterical banter that Blue has to deal with at the behest of Red, when the guys get down in dirty looking for substance, there just doesn’t seem to be a strong connection either in a positive or negative aspect. Case in point, there’s this scene where the guys are on a row boat talking and an argument ensues that sees the two swear each other off. My problem with the take is that Red doesn’t seem all THAT convincing to me in the exchange and therefore I just wasn’t sold on the idea that these two really hated each other. Rather it just seemed like a petty argument and at the back of my mind I thought these guys were going to make it out just fine.  Contrast this conversation when near the end as Red is driving in a party bus and seeing a depressed Pink which causes him to spring into action to save his boy Blue. The closing fight scene (which was animated beautifully, more on that later) was I think the START of what the two characters can BE in future installments of what should be a rather successful franchise.

Having a guy like Tourettes just show up out of nowhere can certainly do a lot to spice up any sort of monotony, and this idea is employed with a bunch more characters that should be fan favorites by now if they aren’t already. Characters like Stacy, Dingleberry, and CrookyGrin all put up solid efforts in making sure this movie isn’t just ‘Red vs Blue’ (see what I did there?). The always dependable Eric Bauza does an excellent interpretation of a stereotypical Asian-influenced villain in his take as Lord Takagami, giving us the grunting/angry dialogue typical found in films like Kill Bill Vol 1 which is high praise if you ask me.

The REAL treat is what should be the ode to any fan of animation. The background design is some of the BEST work I have seen and it even gives a lot of the main stream animated shows a run for its money in a lot of ways when it comes to structure and the amount of detail seen throughout (wait until you see Tokyo). The action/chase scenes are also a treat…from a car chase in Paris that would make the directors of Italian Job rethink their career goals, to the stellar and I mean STELLAR cavernous fight scenes (both inside and out) all of which could be worth the price of admission ALONE. You can definitely tell a lot of resources went into the animated end of the film and the production certainly is as big of a jump for the franchise as The Simpsons and South Park did in their respected movie releases.

Where the film does falter is in the run of the mill premises laden throughout. I can pretty much give you a synopsis right here, “Two guys need to go on a big adventure so that guy A can get something for his girlfriend of whom he loves. Guy B is constantly getting in the way and it leads to a confrontation. Can the dynamic duo resolve their differences??” Yea, the main over-arching plot of the film isn’t that original, and yes I realize its crass humor, but in this day in age when we’ve seen the likes of Ted, Jay and Silent Bob, and a slew of others use the same ideas both in live action and animated, Dick Figures certainly leaves a lot to be desired in this department.

In any case, Dick Figures the Movie is certainly worth the buy. At $10 its already cheaper than going to the movies and you don’t even need to pay for snacks because you have snacks at home. This first entry in the series is a strong and valiant effort by some of the most respected animators in the business. However, it’s just that…a movie WRITTEN by animators. If the guys can go out and get a decent screenwriter with fresh ideas, this movie franchise is a home run. However, those in favor of silly over-the-top and witty banter, stellar animation, and a plethora of characters spouting plenty of DICK and fart jokes this one is for you (and me).