The year is 1993. MTV has begun expanding their programming beyond music videos. From sketch comedy programs like “The State” (which would make its television debut in the following year) to reality shows such as “The Real World,” MTV began incorporating different types of shows on their schedule — with one program holding a unique place among the others: “Liquid Television.” “Liquid Television” showcased short films from a variety of influential animators, including John R. Dilworth, who would later go on to create the series “Courage the Cowardly Dog,” and Peter Chung, who created the unique “Æon Flux.” However, there is one animator featured on the program whose work would leave the largest impact on the network, and create one of the most influential animated programs: Mike Judge, the creator of “Beavis and Butt-Head.” This series followed two titular high schoolers who reside in the fictional town of Highland, Texas who want to score with women, and are a complete nightmare for their neighbor Tom Anderson (who would be an influence for Hank Hill on Judge’s series “King of the Hill”) and their teacher, Mr. Van Driessen. Each episode features segments of the duo sitting on their couch and mocking music videos with their hilariously crude commentary.
While MTV did revive the series for one season back in 2011, it would be a little over a decade before “Beavis and Butt-Head” would see another revival. It wouldn’t be until 2022 in which that revival would arrive, in the form of the release of “Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe.” I watched “Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe” with my partner, and it is a hilarious film.
“Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe” follows the titular duo (both voiced by Mike Judge, returning to portray the characters) after a disastrous high school science fair, as a result of Butt-Head using a kicking machine on Beavis. The consequences of the duo’s actions result in an unorthodox sentence by a judge: to attend space camp, which is led by astronaut Serena Ryan (voiced by Andrea Savage). During the first day of space camp, the duo repeatedly dock an entry port for absurd periods of time, miraculously impressing everyone and resulting in Serena having them trained for space with them having to dock the entry port during a crucial flight — which they misinterpret as Serena wanting to sleep with them. As a result of the flight going hilariously wrong because of the duo’s antics, Beavis and Butt-Head are shot out into the outer regions of space and are transported via a black hole to the modern day. In the modern day, Serena is running for governor and after discovering the duo are alive, she seeks revenge for what happened on that very flight.
Albert Calleros and John Rice, the directors of the film, bring Mike Judge’s vision from script to a feature-length film, capturing Judge’s concepts of these characters with this film. Calleros and Rice also adapt the rough animation style and character designs into the current age of digital animation, resulting in a perfect emulation of the look of the original series and its 2011 revival, with the animation looking sleek while retaining the rough look that gives the series its charm.
Mike Judge returns to his creation, writing the hilarious script for the film. Judge takes the viewer on a voyage through the space-time continuum through the perspectives of two incompetent teenagers, with the signature humor and crude comedy that made the original series so great. Some of these hilarious moments involve the duo’s interactions with modern technology such as Beavis believing that the voice assistant Siri is actually Serena, and the duo using an iPhone to buy tons of nachos. Furthermore, in terms of the humor of the film, there is a hilarious sequence involving the alter-ego of Beavis, The Great Cornholio, a persona that emerges after he consumes a large abundance of sugar — with this persona craving toilet paper.
Mike Judge also nails the gravelly and nasally voices of the duo, with his voice still sounding as fresh as it did back in the 1990s, resulting in a great comedic vocal performance with some hilarious line deliveries throughout the film.
Andrea Savage’s portrayal of Serena Ryan is also fantastic, with her growing obsession with murdering the duo being felt through her stellar vocal performance.
“Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe” is an excellent return for the television series, with Mike Judge writing a great script filled to the brim with humor. Along with Judge’s script is the fantastic animation from Albert Calleros and John Rice, capturing the distinct look of the series through feature-length means. It is a hilarious film, and is truly a perfect entryway for the current revival of the show.
The Great Cornholio is within us all.
“Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe” is available for streaming on Paramount+.
