Review: Aquadonk Side Pieces “Handbanana’s Demise”

Overview:

Carl notices that Handbanana is just not acting like himself anymore. And after the dog gets eyes for the sexy little Master Shake next door, the couple has some serious issues to work out. Thankfully, Carl gets Handbanana feeling like his old self after seeing the stupidity of their neighbours. But as the dog goes to rape Carl once more, he is in for one last surprise.

Our Take:

That is a wrap for Aquadonk Side Pieces. The ten-episode collection of shorts ends as it began, with Handbanana. The Aqua Teen Hunger Force spinoff collection has been a surprising treat the entire way through revisiting multiple former villains of the series. But most surprising of all is the double dose of Handbanana, a relatively minor character during the 11-season run of the original series.

Surely, it would be expected that if any villain received two Side Pieces, it would be significant players such as the Plutonians of the Mooninites. Regardless, Carl’s pet/partner/captor gets the extra treatment. However, bookending the Aquadonk collection with the same character happens to serve the series of shorts well, gifting the illusion of a cohesive story where there is none.

Voiced by Aqua Teen Hunger Force co-creator Dave Willis, Handbanana is a strange character to give such love. Illustrated poorly, the dog is a clone of Master Shake’s hand, and it has a driving desire to rape Carl at every chance. In his first Aquadonk appearance, Handbanana manages to control Carl even further with a shock collar and an enforcer who prefers the name Spaghetti.

However, in this second Side Piece appearance, Handbanana is not quite himself. Likely bored of raping Carl repeatedly, the dog craves something more, preferably with a straw sticking out of his head. Thankfully, Carl and the dog manage to work out their differences. Which gives Carl the perfect opportunity to try and be rid of his dominant pet for good.

In the end, not much changes for Carl. Meaning should the show find revival in another movie or the such, Carl would still be in his abusive relationship with his pets. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. Next time we return to this world, it should be as we left it.

After all the entertainment Aquadonk Side Pieces offered, it was a worthy conclusion. All in all, the collection of ten episodes fills out a full half-an-hour, making this one of the best ATHF episodes ever created. Hopefully, there will be more Side Pieces in the future, as these shorts have been more entertaining and nostalgic than anticipated. Even better would be a complete revival. If Aquadonk has taught us anything, the Aqua Teen Hunger Force should never die.