Nickelodeon officially announced today the greenlight for an all-new, 90-minute Invader Zim TV movie from original creator Jhonen Vasquez, marking the network's third animated property from its rich library of content to be reimagined for today's audience. The 2D-animated TV movie, produced by Nickelodeon in Burbank, will show the latest and greatest ridiculous attempt at world domination by the universe's worst alien invader ever. The movie will also feature original voices from the fan-favorite television series. Here's what Chris Viscardi, SVP, Content Development and Production, Animation, Nickelodeon, had to say about the TV movie in a statement.
Invader Zim is returning to Nickelodeon with a TV movie
Invader Zim will return in a new 90-mimute TV movie from original creator Jhonen Vazquez, E! News has learned. The movie will showcase the latest ridiculous attempt at world domination by everyone's favorite terrible alien invader. The original voice cast is on board with Richard Horvitz as Invader Zim, Rosearik Rikki Simons as GIR, Zim's robot servant, Andy Berman as Dib, Zim's arch-enemy who is still determined to expose his plans, and Melissa Fahn as Gaz, Dib's younger sister. Look for additional casting to be announced in the coming months.
In the Hey Arnold! movie, the story from the original series picks up with Arnold finally getting answers about the whereabouts of his missing parents. The new Rocko's Modern Life special will bring back all the beloved characters, but offer some unexpected new takes on life in O-Town.
The series followed an alien named Zim who comes to Earth from the planet Irk after his leaders sent him on a mission just to fool him, not knowing that in fact there was another planet out there. Once here, Zim and his malfunctioning robot GIR manage to blend in with the rest of the kids, while attempting to conquer the Earth and enslave the human race. Richard Horvitz (who voiced Zim), Rikki Simons (GIR), Andy Berman (Dib) and Melissa Fahn (Gaz) will return for the 90-minute TV movie, as reported by EW.
On November 8, 2016, Harvey Beaks creator C.H. Greenblatt stated on his Tumblr page that Invader Zim creator Jhonen Vazquez was working on a movie based off the series in a reply to one of his followers. However, Jhonen initially denied this on his twitter. But on April 4, 2017, Nickelodeon confirmed that an Invader Zim television film was in the works with Jhonen Vasquez involved and all the main character leads returning to reprise their roles.
On May 10, 2019, Viacom announced that the distribution rights for the film had been sold to Netflix, who announced three days later that they intended a release date sometime in Summer 2019. The movie was finally released on August 16th, 2019, with the title Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus.
Both movies are revivals of two classic Nickelodeon titles with one being Rocko and Invader Zim. The news came after the CEO of Viacom was on an earnings call on Friday, May 10th speaking about future projects.
Invader Zim joins other Nickelodeon classics like Hey Arnold! and Rocko's Modern Life as they set to return later this year. The show initially debuted on Nickelodeon in 2001 and featured Zim, an alien invader, who set out to conquer earth to curry favor with his home world. While Zim discovered he didn't have the aptitude to conquer worlds, he and his companion GIR won over audiences as they set out to integrate into human communities to learn more about their would-be servants.
Nickelodeon is bringing back one of its classic cartoons for a new TV movie. According to Entertainment Weekly, the creepy Invader Zim will get a 90-minute movie featuring four returning cast members from the original series.Invader ZIm aired on Nickelodeon from 2001 to 2004. The series followed an alien named Zim who wants to conquer Earth with his robot servant GIR by his side. Along the way, he has to face off against paranormal investigator (and Zim's classmate) Dib and his sister Gaz. The show won an Emmy award for its animation in 2001.
Invader Zim is the third classic Nickelodeon cartoon to get its own TV movie, with Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie set to air in November and a Rocko's Modern Life TV special (to feature the characters' commentary on the technological advancements of recent years) also in the works. The Invader Zim movie hints that this may be a new trend for Nickelodeon, meaning we could potentially see reboots of everything from Courage the Cowardly Dog to Rocket Power in the coming years.
The new Invader Zim movie will bring back several members of the show's original voice cast: Richard Horvitz as Zim, Rikki Simons as GIR, Andy Berman as Dib, and Melissa Fahn as Gaz. The Invader Zim TV movie will have a 90-minute runtime and begins with Zim hatching a brand new scheme to conquer Earth.
At San Diego Comic-Con 2018, Jhonen Vasquez explained that Nickelodeon had been asking him about doing more Invader ZIM (2001) for years and that he always had to decline their offers either because he was busy working on something else or due to not being able to come to an agreement with Nickelodeon on a budget for a Invader Zim revival; but being "completely miserable" with the other things he was working on at the time, Jhonen accepted Nickelodeon's latest offer to do more Invader Zim. Nickelodeon initially wanted a new Invader Zim television series, but Jhonen suggested a six-episode miniseries instead. He soon changed his mind to a television movie, since doing a movie would be "infinitely less stressful".
On November 8, 2016, Harvey Beaks (2015) and Chowder (2007) creator C.H. Greenblatt was asked by a fan on Tumblr if he would work with Jhonen Vasquez on an hypothetical Invader ZIM (2001) movie, and he responded, "Jhonen IS making an Invader Zim movie for Nick. I'm not a part of it, but I'm excited."
Jhonen Vasquez returned as executive producer and as the voice of Zim's computer, along with Kevin Manthei as the composer, and Jenny Goldberg, who worked on the Invader Zim comic book series, as the art director for the movie. Most of the cast members from Invader ZIM (2001) reprised their roles in the movie, including Richard Steven Horvitz as Zim, Rikki Simons as GIR, Andy Berman as Dib, Melissa Fahn as Gaz, Wally Wingert as Almighty Tallest Red, Kevin McDonald as Almighty Tallest Purple, Rodger Bumpass as Professor Membrane, Olivia d'Abo as Tak, and Paul Greenberg as Poonchy.
To celebrate the making of the movie, Jhonen Vasquez partnered with publishing house Abrams for a brand-new Invader ZIM art book. Titled DOOM DOOM DOOM: The Art of Invader Zim, the book will be published in July 2019 and it will be the definitive history of both the fan-favorite series and the upcoming TV movie. A fully authorized, all-access compendium of never-before-published production art, storyboards, behind-the-scenes photos, and ephemera, the book will feature exclusive, interviews with Vasquez and other key crewmembers that reveal the origins, art, and imagination behind one of Nickelodeon's most beloved turn-of-the-millennium series. The 240-page book is from author Chris McDonnell, who has served as author and designer for Adventure Time: The Art of Ooo, Steven Universe: Art & Origins, and BoJack Horseman: The Art Before the Horse, and has also designed books on Ralph Bakshi, Wonder Woman, and more, and will feature foreword by Vasquez.
Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus! was produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio in collaboration with Maven Animation Studio in South Korea. During the panel at San Diego Comic-Con on July 20, 2018, Jhonen Vasquez revealed that they had written the movie in 2015 and that at the time of the panel, they were currently in the process of getting first take animation back from their overseas animation team, Maven Animation Studio.
Invader Zim was truly one of the greats of the golden age of Nickelodeon. Tragically short at just two seasons, Zim will now finally get the send-off he deserves with plans to release an exclusive 90-minute TV movie in the coming years.
Invader Zim followed the exploits of Zim, an incompetent but determined alien invader who arrives on Earth with imperialistic ambitions to essentially conquer the human race and take over the planet. The show lasted only two seasons but quickly became a cult classic due to its incredibly dark humor.
After years of being off the radar, Invader Zim is returning to Earth to invade our television screens with a brand new TV movie titled Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus. Nickelodeon has now released a brand new montage-like trailer of the film fresh from San Diego Comic-Con 2018.
Dib Membrane vs. Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus is an animated web television film based on Invader Zim that was released on Netflix on August 16, 2019. Creator Jhonen Vasquez returned as executive producer for the film, along with the show's principal voice actors. Netflix acquired distribution rights to the movie along with Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling from Nickelodeon in May 2019.
Invader Zim will be zipping back to Nickelodeon for a 90-minute movie, and the comeback project will feature the classic voices of Richard Horvitz (Zim), Rikki Simons (GIR), Andy Berman (Dib), and Melissa Fahn (Gaz). Fans will re-enter the world of a desperate Zim still trying to enslave humanity with his annoyingly cute robot, but we can probably expect some updates. For Nickelodeon, this will be the first time they've aired new content from Invader Zim since the series' brief revitalization in 2006. As far as the Invader Zim cast is concerned, however, this will be the first new adventure they've been a part of in about 15 years!
I'm sure there's more than a few of you who only vaguely remember Invader Zim, so here's a brief breakdown of the cult series. Zim is an alien who invades Earth in an attempt to win back the favor of the Irken race after humiliating himself on the field of battle. Once he arrives on Earth, Zim (aided by his goofy robot GIR) disguises himself as a child in order to learn more about humans so that he can destroy them. Zim's plans for destruction are often thwarted by his neighbor Dib, who is the only person suspicious that Zim is not human. It's unclear if the movie will pick up in the present day with all of these characters aged, or we'll just jump right back into where the series last left off. Don't expect answers from series creator Jhnonen Vasquez, who only seems to be throwing folks off the trail... 2ff7e9595c
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