The 90’s and 2000’s was a golden age of animation for both film and TV, some garnering popularity from their art, some from their stories, and others from… their sheer strange uniqueness, let’s say. The shows produced during that animation renaissance are still remembered today. Some with a curiously strange nostalgia, such as with repugnance from the gross-out fad era or hopeful sentimentality from the shiny “Xtreme” Y2K era. Whatever the case, there’s no denying that such a time encapsulated some of the most distinctive shows even by today’s standards, or even especially with today’s standards.
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But while many shows from that bygone era have passively been considered classics, some gems still stand the test of time and are considered part of modern pop culture. Surprisingly, some even became cult classics beyond their original intended generation and demographic. One such show, Invader Zim, pervades pop culture even today, with old and new fans flocking to get their fix of media, merch, and exclusive behind-the-scenes info. Fans have been pining for the possibility that their favorite show will one day see an era of its renaissance revival.
A Little Green Alien Conquering Generational Gaps
Even though the alien race known as the Irkens live to conquer other planets, sending Zim to invade Earth just happened to be an excuse to get rid of this destructive annoyance from their own home planet. But Zim, unaware of how his leaders view him, is determined to become a true invader and conquer Earth to gain respect and a name for himself. Along with his malfunctioning robot henchman GIR, Zim disguises himself as a normal human child in order to gain intel and repeatedly tries executing his extensive, absurd schemes. But there is one paranormal-obsessed human child who knows Zim’s true identity: Dib. But as inept as Zim is with his schemes continuously being thwarted either by Dib or his own incompetence, the stupidity of the human race itself is oddly also a saving grace.
With its humor deriving from absurd situations and casually arbitrary gags and quips, Invader Zim in particular could be considered the pinnacle of the partially-cringy but mostly widely renowned and adored “RAWR XD” era. While Nickelodeon had no shortage of strange and successful shows at the time itself, this show still seemed oddly out of place on the channel, its tone perhaps leaning toward the often more bizarre and somewhat darker shows of Cartoon Network. Regardless, Invader Zim still found success beyond its intended airtime.
Invader Zim Still Invades Pop Culture
Created in 2001 by Jhonen Vasquez, Nickelodeon requested an idea from the comic book artist geared toward an older audience and immediately accepted Vasquez’s first pitch of Invader Zim. Running for a total of 27 episodes plus a pilot episode, the series eventually faced declining ratings and budget, leading to its cancellation with six unfinished, unaired episodes. Even so, years later, the show has since been renowned for its unique art style and humor, even being dubbed one of Nickelodeon’s best shows, being nominated for seven Annie Awards and two Golden Reel Awards, and actually winning an Annie Award, an Emmy, and a World Animation Celebration Award.
In 2011, fans created a convention called InvaderCON, honoring their favorite little green alien, with two additional conventions held in 2012 and 2014. Continuing the story after the TV series, Jhonen Vasquez created a comic book series in 2015 that was published by Oni Press and concluded in 2021. In 2019, fans’ pining for more media was heard, and the film Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus was released on Netflix. Over the years, official merchandise for the much beloved series such as video games, toys, clothing, and accessories has continued with successful demand.
Even Vivienne “Vivzipop” Medrano, creator of Hazbin Hotel, has been a lifelong huge fan of Invader Zim. The influence in her own unique art style can be seen in her modern popular hit series; she even managed to import Zim’s own renowned voice actor Richard Horvitz to voice Moxxie in Helluva Boss. With fans flocking to relevant social media platforms and forums to share similar interests and new merch cropping up at pop-cultural stores such as Hot Topic, the fandom is still alive and thriving with both new and old fans.
Invader Zim can be streamed on Paramount+.
Sound off in the comments if you’re a fan of this cult classic series!
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Image courtesy of Peacock
