Since the world first caught wind that Netflix was bringing the phenomenon of Scott Pilgrim back as an animated series, fans have been clamouring for more information on the upcoming show. But can Scott Pilgrim Takes Off live up to all the hype and become a worthy spin-off to Edgar Wright’s classic 2010 movie?
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Scott Pilgrim Takes Off starts off fairly similar to the 2010 movie, to the point where you might wonder if the movie has just been remixed and mashed up into a series. Scott is still a loser who is living off of Wallace. He meets Ramona at a party, falls in love at first sight, and ends up two-timing Ramona and Knives, who find out because he invites both of them to go and watch his band, Sex Bob-Omb, play at a live show.
Leading up to the show, he receives a letter from Matthew Patel, the first of Ramona’s evil exes, introducing the League of Evil Exes and the fact that he will have to fight all of them to win the right to date Ramona. Of course, he failed to take the letter seriously and found out the hard way. All sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Matthew Patel interrupts the show and challenges Scott to a fight, which he gladly accepts. The first episode ends with Scott Pilgrim and Matthew Patel exchanging blows, effectively the last point at which the series is anything like the movie. When the smoke clears, Matthew Patel is left standing, while Scott has been defeated, leaving a few coins in his place (which is the same as what Scott gets for defeating Matthew in the movie).
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What follows is a series of events that focuses on a universe that Scott is no longer a part of, as his band tries to move on and heal and as Ramona tries to understand what happened to her new boyfriend-not-boyfriend.
While the humour and the return of the original voice actors in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off are a definite plus, the real draw of the series is the fantastic art and animation style. If you will, imagine a slightly edgier version of Steven Universe that is better suited for older teens and adults, with a style that is slightly rounded at the edges, has plenty of sparkles and a novel way of telling a story.
The way the animators play with the effects of the foreground and background is where their genius levels genuinely shine through, adding an almost 3D element that won’t allow your eyes to focus on it but forces you to focus precisely where the animators want you to be.
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Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a fabulous new reboot of the Scott Pilgrim vs The World franchise and is definitely worth a watch if you are a fan of the movie or games. But it is also a significant step in the world of animation. I highly recommend it because of the masterful way that it uses colour, light, and backgrounds to tell a unique story.
In short, just like the movie, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is incredibly unique and fun.