It’s incredibly been almost 20 years since the first instalment of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series was released, and Edgar Wright has somehow rounded up the iconic gang from the 2010 cult classic film for a brand new animated adventure in the beloved franchise. Grab your guitar plecs and roller skates for an incredibly fun and mysterious new action-packed adventure!
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off still centres around the titular bassist meeting the girl of his literal dreams, Ramona Flowers, and subsequently discovering he needs to defeat her seven evil exes to date her. However, this animated offering revisits and reimagines the original tale with a fascinating, almost multiversal ‘what if’ mystery.
The new series features familiar story beats and certain elements (yes, there’s still plenty of video game and pop culture references) which fans will enjoy, but with a whole new mystery at its heart, exploring several different perspectives and arcs along the way. The pair utilise so many novel and creative framing devices in the show, constantly reinventing itself while pushing the story (and franchise) much further, with some big surprises, impactful arcs and rewarding reveals throughout.
Through the mystery angle, writers and co-showrunners Bryan Lee O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski cleverly dive deeper into characters who were sidelined in the live-action film, crafting brand new dynamics and conflicts. Thankfully there’s way more from the fascinating League of Evil Exes and their backstories, along with more from Ramona’s perspective, refreshingly fleshing her out and reframing her character. There’s also some plenty of voice cameos to boot.
The series is perfectly animated by Science SARU, wonderfully replicating the style from the graphic novels and side-scrolling beat ’em up Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game. The studio gleefully utilises split screens, Fight! vs screens, fun title cards and plenty more outstanding fight sequences, paired with a brilliant 8-bit score from Joseph Trapanese and Anamanaguchi. Plus there’s exciting new Sex Bob-Omb tracks!
O’Malley and Grabinski have crafted a hugely entertaining and surprisingly mature offering with a ton of new twists which consistently keep you guessing – with the stunning animation proving the cherry on top. Oh and the opening song ‘Bloom’ from Necry Talkie will definitely be your next favourite Netflix intro!
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will be released on Netflix on 17 November
