Entergalactic: A Vibrant Ode to Love
Fletcher Moules’ Entergalactic (2022) doesn’t just cater to the visual appetite. It’s a film dedicated to animation as an art form for all ages. Apart from that, Entergalactic is created for black creators, much like its protagonist Jabari (voiced by Kid Cudi). It also featured songs by black musicians. The film also opened the discussion of the struggles black artists face in the animation industry. But political discussions aside, Entergalactic touched on something very familiar to all of us: love.
Entergalactic is a simple yet effective tale of love.
Entergalactic revolves around Jabari, a comic artist. Cosmic Comics offered to turn Jabari’s character Mr. Rager into a comic. Immediately, the conflict of his struggles in balancing love and career is introduced. Jabari bumps into his ex-girlfriend Carmen (Laura Harrier). He breaks the news of Cosmic Comics’ offer and Carmen invites him to drinks. Despite his friends’ warning that Carmen is only interested in him again because of his new job, Jabari hooks up with her. Later on, he realizes that they don’t work as a couple.
After figuring things out with Carmen, Jabari pursues his neighbor Meadow (voiced by Jessica Williams). Over vegan burgers, the two bond. Jabari, then, second-guesses whether he should have a relationship with his neighbor. His friends Jimmy (Timothée Chalamet), Jordan (Jaden Smith), and Downtown Pat (Macaulay Culkin) convince him not to. Jabari and Meadow get together anyway, ignoring their friends’ advice. Months after being happily in love, the conflict kicks in. (SPOILER ALERT!) One night, Meadow accidentally opens Jabari’s phone. She happens upon a message from his ex-girlfriend Carmen.
The next morning, Jabari wakes up with Meadow gone. He quickly realizes that she saw the photo Carmen sent, insinuating he spent the night before at Carmen’s. Jabari rushes to Carmen and explains that he is already with someone. Upon closing his Carmen chapter, he tries to explain himself to Meadow. However, Meadow wants to take a break because she is busy with her upcoming exhibit. Respecting Meadow’s decision, Jabari backs off. In their days of separation, Jabari focuses on his Mr. Rager comic while Meadow works on her photography exhibit. Jabari attends Meadow’s exhibit, smiling as she gave her speech. The film ends with the two running back into each other’s arms at the vegan restaurant – where they had their first date.
Entergalactic establishes animation as a medium for all ages.
Despite its mature themes and scenes, Entergalactic bust through the screen with vibrant colors while discussing hard-hitting questions. One of the film’s focuses is on Jabari’s career as a black artist. Initially, he didn’t want to produce his character Mr. Rager under Cosmic Comics. This is because of Cosmic Comics’ image. Upon knowing that Jabari will release Mr. Rager’s comics under Cosmic, Meadow was taken aback. From this, the audience could immediately understand that Cosmic tends to have a “different” perspective on art, something different from Jabari’s.
The film also showed how artists tend to feel insecure and discouraged. Meadow, despite having good photography skills, displayed feelings of uncertainty. Given the opportunity to share her work, she began questioning whether her work was on par with other artists. Jabari also second-guessed Mr. Rager despite drawing him for years. He debated on whether he should change some aspects of Mr. Rager to make it more marketable. But despite their insecurities, both Meadow and Jabari pulled through. Meadow had a successful exhibit. Jabari’s ideas for Mr. Rager’s comic were approved.
Jabari struggles in balancing two types of love: his love for his art and romantic love.
In Entergalactic, Jabari’s dilemmas all relate to love. First off, he does not want to compromise the quality and message of his character Mr. Rager. He knows that Cosmic Comics can pull him in a direction he doesn’t like. His second dilemma was his neighbor, Meadow. In the first place, he and Meadow did not clarify what their relationship was. Because of that, the two of them struggled in figuring out their feelings for each other. Karina (voiced by Vanessa Hudgens) encapsulates the film’s message in a quote:
Love is the easiest thing in the world when it happens by accident, but it doesn’t get real until you do it on purpose.
I definitely agree with the film’s message. In Entergalactic, Jabari and Meadow immediately clicked. They quickly realized their chemistry and that they complemented each other well. However, when it came down to defining that chemistry, they struggled. They didn’t want to cross that line and call each other “boyfriend” and “girlfriend”. This is simply because they were afraid of being hurt. Nevertheless, both Jabari and Meadow came to their senses. Both of them realized that getting hurt is worth feeling the love they have for each other again; even if all moments are technically just temporary. In her speech at the exhibition, Meadow shares her regret about pausing things with Jabari:
Sometimes, moments can get too big for us. We get scared. We run. We fold. We do the wrong thing. We say the wrong thing and just like that, the moment has passed.
Meadow and Jabari both experienced their lives without each other in their months of separation. Ultimately because of that, they decided to risk getting hurt. They realized life without each other isn’t just as visually and emotionally striking. Currently, Fletcher Moules’ Entergalactic is streaming on Netflix. Want to read more articles like this? Click here.
