Space Goblins (2020) - Short Animated Sci-fi Film Review

Space Goblins is a half hour long animated indie short that was created entirely by just two people; Amer Shihab and Harry Bryan. There is something about simplified animation that somehow puts me on edge, I find it strangely disconcerting. In the case of this short film that is not a problem, it just adds to the alien vibe.

Gib (Shihab) and Gob (Bryan) are two bounty hunting space goblin brothers who we find out on a mission to capture a warthog themed alien who is on the run for not paying his taxes. The two track him down to a squalid planet, deciding to check out a remote and run-down strip club for clues as to his whereabouts.

I had expected the titular goblins to be bad and nasty people. Instead, this is almost like a 'day in the life of', with the story following these two determined and law abiding brothers who it turns out are surprisingly competent. This is a dialogue heavy film with many scenes of characters talking face on into the screen. Sometimes this works and sometimes this doesn't, such as the intro scene set on their spaceship that just seemed to go on and on with the character talking in a meandering way. Some of the dialogue did get to be amusing, such as a scene at a bar, and the chief of police who literally has eyes in the back of his head. There is one action scene and it was short but sweet.

The animation was basic, but it all looked good, reminded me quite a bit of creepy British animated sketch show; Monkey Dust or the animated segments from old children's program - Around the Bend! The film world is full of bright and vibrant colours, and there were some neat moments, such as the CG planet that shows behind the cockpit of the brother's spacecraft. Voice work was decent, a few of the more exotic alien types were a bit hard to understand, but that could well be due to my hearing rather than anything else. There isn't too much to be found here that would warrant its 18 rating, there is a small bit of animated nudity, and some scatological references. 

On the whole, Space Goblins plays its story unexpectedly straight, the goblins are not the meat heads you might expect them to be, and there is an enjoyable atmosphere, even if full of a little disquieting feel. The press release states this has earned a bit of a cult following, enough that there is a live-action feature film currently being made that continues the unsettling feel and looks quite promising from the teaser trailers.

SCORE: