There’s very little independent American animation tiptoeing into theaters these days, so bless illustrator Julian Glander for throwing himself into the surreal and entrancing Boys Go to Jupiter.
Across venues like The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Adult Swim bumpers, Glander’s work has straddled absurdism, sincerity, and satire. His debut feature builds on that playful-yet-poignant sensibility with a lo-fi musical exploration of life in the loopy Gen Z lane. A bubblegum digital aesthetic gives the vibe of a cozy indie game.
Planet Money host Jack Corbett stars as Billy 5000, a teenage gig worker scrambling to earn $5,000 before New Year’s Eve, and thrown for a loop after an encounter with an alien named Donut. With voice performances from Joe Pera, Julio Torres, Janeane Garofalo, and Elsie Fisher, and an original song from Miya Folick… I already feel not cool enough to recommend it, but here we are.
Glander has cited a few sources of inspiration that should feel familiar to anyone living life in the modern world: virtual wanderings through Google Street View, long winters in the suburbs, and the stranglehold of modern capitalism. The power of 3D modeling tool Blender allowed him to coalesce those feelings into a cartoon package in just 90 days. It’s maybe the furthest an animated film will get from Minions in the year 2025.
Polygon is thrilled to debut an exclusive clip that perfectly captures the film’s absurdist heart: the debut of “The Egg Song.” Here’s how Glander sets up the clip, which features a performance by comedian Grace Kuhlenschmidt as the “horrible, obnoxious teenage boy” Freckles.
“In this scene, Freckles has just announced that he is pivoting from his hustle of being a rapper and ‘transferring to sensitive ballads’ — his words, not mine. Before we recorded, I told Grace to listen to ‘True Love Will Find You in the End’ by Daniel Johnston as a musical reference. I wanted that kind of raw, unskilled innocence. And Grace said, ‘I don’t think Freckles would sing like that. He would sing like Machine Gun Kelly.’ An amazing insight. Insanely accurate understanding of the character.”
Boys Go to Jupiter opens in New York theaters on Aug. 8 and expands later this month.
