Nearly a decade ago, one movie about horny foodstuffs left its mark, to the tune of over $143 million on a budget of just $19 million. For an R-rated, animated comedy, this was virtually unheard of, and still remains something of a small miracle. The raunchy flick became an event, and the talk of the theater I used to work at for several weeks. Who wouldn’t want to watch a wild hot dog and a quirky bun fall in love, culminating in a giant food orgy as the finale? Setting out to craft a Pixar-quality movie for adults overflowing with food puns, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (who have collaborated on a number of projects, including 2014’s meta comedic masterpiece, This is the End) managed to rope in big names for their hyper-sexualized fantasy world. With the majority of the creatives and cast members still firmly in place, Prime Video’s sequel series reopens the fridge in a flavorful way. Arriving in a landscape that still refuses to take full advantage of cinematic animation for adults, Sausage Party: Foodtopia continues to push the envelope with outrageous storylines, colorful visuals, hilarious musical numbers, and Pixar-level emotion that leaves you salivating for more.
For those in need of a serious refresher (2016 was a long time ago!) or who just plain haven’t seen the original Sausage Party, worry not. The debut episode, aptly titled “The First Course,” brings out Gum (Scott Underwood) to recap through clips and narration. Yes, Stephen Hawking stand-in sorbitol, maltitol, xylitol, mannitol, calcium carbonite, soy lecithin, vegetable trigylceride, and talc—”Gum” for expediency’s sake—returns once more to guide us on this new journey. Every creature has life, from light bulbs to packages, juice boxes, used condoms, and more. Foodtopia side-steps the original’s meta cliffhanger ending, as the entire crew was traveling through Gum’s stargate destined for another dimension. Instead, the series doubles down on the food and their battle with the former “Gods,” now referred to as “humies.” A war has broken out between food and humie, sparking a revolution from the actions of Frank (Seth Rogen), Brenda (Kristen Wiig), Barry (Michael Cera), and Sammy (Edward Norton) that spreads far and wide. Leaving the confines of Shopwell’s Grocery Store behind, food become the dominant species on planet Earth.
Armed with the knowledge that “the Great Beyond” was merely a false myth, the hatred of humies has only intensified in the aftermath of the war, leading to Barry in particular having a fierce vendetta against all things human. By glazing over this “war,” Foodtopia dives headfirst into the frying pan. As expeditiously as the food appears free from their human oppressors, a new complication emerges. Victims to the elements, a “great flood” of water from the “ceiling” comes down to quite literally rain on revolution leaders Frank and Brenda’s parade. Many die tragically, including the entire family of a small grain of rice, and one lead. Most of the food revolt, heading back for Shopwell’s even though the crumbling building has fallen into disrepair. Until they understand more about the flood, they cannot put blind faith into Frank and Brenda.
Before the “First Course” ends, two main characters have met their demise, proving that almost anyone in this universe can be just as expendable as the movie. The sense of danger remains omnipresent, accompanied by increasingly sticky situations. Frank and Brenda desperately try to maintain control of an impossible scenario. Human teeth, symbols of defiance over their former oppressors, become a rate of currency as created by a sassy defiant orange named Julius (Sam Richardson). Food slums are birthed, along with an entire caste system and eventual police force. Julius and his constantly puckered anus becomes the dastardly villain of the season. An entire food society forms, not unlike the ones held in place by humans in the modern day. Faced with certain doom, a nerdy nervous human named Jack (Will Forte) may be their only hope. Nary a mention has been made of some missing key players—gone entirely are heroic lesbian Teresa del Taco (Salma Hayek), and Great Beyond creators Firewater (Bill Hader), Twink (Scott Underwood), and Mr. Grits (Craig Robinson). Still, the team of writers manage to organically evolve concepts only teased within Sausage Party.
According to Gum, the humans can see food come to life when high on bath salts, where the interdimensional wall between species becomes thin enough. Humans, though nearly extinct, are vital as the food spiral wildly out of control in their hunger for “mouth pearls.” An election may decide who ultimately reigns over the foodfolk. Frank, Jack’s unlikely cheerleader, ends up closely bonding with him whilst he and Brenda struggle to keep Jack out of harm’s way. Paramount to Barry’s arc, the practice of “cockpitting” that Douche (Nick Kroll) utilized has been underlined as a key means to possess and control the humans. This entails jamming up a human’s butt to use them like a puppet. Lest one assumes Foodtopia will be tamer than its counterpart, rest assured that most definitely has not happened. The “Sixth Course” even comes with a trigger warning, containing the single most shocking animated sequence since the original’s giant food orgy.
It would be remiss not to discuss the power of soundtrack on making Foodtopia a total blast. Whereas megastar composer Alan Menken was responsible for the wondrously catchy “The Great Beyond,” the Prime Video series features tunes equally vital to fleshing out the overwhelmingly large world of the foods. Along with the innumerable cuisine puns present in dialogue, most songs featured have had their lyrics tweaked to reflect the unfolding action. A police force captures troublesome foods to “Bad Foods,” and “Barracuda” becomes “Can of Tuna.” A brilliant episode centered around a “Burning Man” concert and celebration lets many major food groups perform in their own concert style, including a macaroni singing out “I’m just a little dancing piece of macaroni” to the tune of “Macarena.” In nearly every “course” that these episodes have been titled, often creative and endlessly catchy songs help capture a certain comedic vibe recalling Weird Al Yankovich’s parody songs.
As previously mentioned, the original movie had a budget of only $19 million, delivering a product in the end that was visually gorgeous. In the aftermath, it turns out that the folks at Nitrogen Studios (now called Cinesite, who acquired the company in 2017) were underpaying their animators. Many walked out, and a huge chunk of them were not even credited for their work. The underpaid animators eventually won a lawsuit to earn back their funds. Undeniably, the level of polish and beauty that was present in the movie iteration takes a backseat here, instead emphasizing massive ideas and bold characters. Watching the two projects back to back calls an obvious comparison to the animation, which simply cannot measure up to what came before. Bardel Entertainment and Stellar Creative Lab are in charge of that category this time. That said, Foodtopia still looks far better than other animated projects in the television format—the scope, voice acting, and satisfying situational humor more than make up for any minor shortcomings. Had I not viewed it so immediately after the movie, I doubt I would have even noticed a difference.
The introduction to each “course” sends viewers down a swirling kaleidoscope of food and color, setting the tone for the ridiculous shenanigans that will follow. Some of the biggest laughs come from experimentation, including a shocking PSA of an overworked family of eggs led by two lesbian mothers, or a propulsive safe heist sequence meant to emulate the one from Fast Five. Pop culture references aplenty fly out rapidly, at times giving the feel of a Shrek movie on acid. Perfectly paced at an addicting eight episodes, each cutesy character has a clear and concise arc, some of which will hopefully carry over into a potential second season. These include: Sammy exploring a stand-up comedian career to cope with the loss of his boyfriend, Lavash (David Krumholtz), at the close of the war; Brenda committing to a society that doesn’t use teeth as currency; Barry maintaining justice for the food criminals; and Frank protecting Jack while attempting to be a good leader in the process.
As with Sausage Party before it, Foodtopia has a deep emotional core to elevate its raunchy humor by microdosing it with heart. Through a sharp script and emotive performances, the charms become impossible to resist. Smart and subversive, with a dash of Happy Tree Friends, watching food in peril has never been so sublime. As before, both the creatives and the vocal cast truly make this feel special. Rogen and Goldberg are quite a dream team. The level of improv remains unclear, but I suspect there was plenty of it to further shape the characters and their distinct personalities. An apocalyptic setting suggests the series could continue on in an exciting way from this point, not to mention an outrageous cliffhanger. Preposterously over the top and enriching ideas found in its cinematic predecessor, Sausage Party: Foodtopia cooks up a full feast that’s undeniably one of the tastiest shows of the year.
Build a better tomorrow with Sausage Party: Foodtopia, premiering all eight episodes exclusively to Prime Video worldwide on Thursday, July 11th.
