Sausage Party: Foodtopia was one of the best series of 2024—perfectly raunchy and deliciously nostalgic, with just enough “humie” and food murders to satiate even the most discerning of palates. By all means, it was an incredibly satisfying follow-up to 2016’s Sausage Party that juiced many of that film’s concepts to organic new places. Originally billed as a limited series, Foodtopia garnered enough attention for seconds, and the tasty concoction brewed up by the creatives has finally arrived! Season 2 has one notable cast absence, the animation most definitely still does not live up the movie’s Pixar-level standards, and there’s no shocking, jaw-dropping moment of scandal that we have come to expect. Still, this nutso second season acts as a terrific and altogether hilarious return to this world. Packed with more humies, impactful characters, and nonstop puns, Sausage Party: Foodtopia expands its wild universe to new horizons of ridiculousness.
The horrors of the humie/food war have mostly subsided, but that has not made daily life any easier for the surviving foodstuffs. In the aftermath of the cruel twist of fate that resulted in Brenda’s dramatic death, hot dog Frank (Seth Rogen) and schlubby human Jack (Will Forte) have taken over Foodtopia. Fellow hot dog Barry (Michael Cera) and Sammy Bagel Jr. (Edward Norton) make up Frank’s “government.” The season opens with an elaborate musical sequence that starts jolly and positive, loaded with sexual innuendo; things grow dark once Frank tries to hold Brenda, and she simply turns to mush. Despite daydreaming about a world where the other foods all appreciate Frank’s efforts for a harmonious Foodtopia, the reality tells a different story. As Frank sleeps nightly in the cozy confines of Jack’s underwear, other foods are suffering.
Heats rise, and foods must wait in lines for fridge access. Frank is shunned for being a humie lover. Defiant graffiti—and whispers of revolt—are in the air. There are no more smiles in Foodtopia. Despite Frank’s vision for a Cool Zone Expansion involving the import of many more fridges, the citizens have had enough. In the first episode back, a group of rebels including Duncan the Donut, Shane, Iced Tea, Rutabaga, pumpkin Pie, and Julius the orange launch a plan to get Frank and the others out for good. They exile Frank, Jack, Barry and Sammy from Foodtopia forever. Without the bath salts to continue seeing the food as sentient beings, Jack begins to panic. They come across a horde of wild berries, but ultimately their banishment leads the group to a potential oasis: Newfoodland.
Where the first season found the foods departing from the confines of Shopwell’s Grocery Store, season two widens the scope even further by thrusting our heroes outside the gates of town and into the veritable unknown. This isn’t “the Great Beyond” though, but merely a seemingly perfect place where foods have evolved into a wonderfully harmonious society. The humans here are “domesticated,” used for the betterment of foodkind. The practice of “cockpitting”—jamming up a human’s butt to use them like a puppet—returns full force. Not only do these new foods recognize that working alongside humans is essential, but they also worship Frank, Brenda, and the others as god-like, having launched the revolution in the first place. Frank is invited to sit on a council that represents each food group, with no one leader in charge. But is everything truly as amazing and carefree in Newfoodland as it appears? It could be the mecca of their people if this society can be trusted…
Alongside our returning characters are a few notable additions that make the season feel refreshing. Nutricia (Jillian Bell), a super-intelligent nut, greets the foods and puts Newfoodland’s best interests above all else; Sherman (Martin Starr) the titty cake is Nutricia’s right-hand man; human Jill (Patti Harrison) could be a potential love interest for Jack; sassy warrior Dijon (Marion Cotillard) the mustard acts as Jill’s butt pilot, and immediately catches the adoring eye of Barry. Each of these play into the greater arcs of three out of the four leads. Still reeling from Brenda’s demise, Frank tries to embrace the ways of Newfoodland to help dull the pain of his loss; feeling abandoned and used, Jack turns to Jill and the other humans for connection despite essentially being a cannibal; Barry grows closer to Dijon and becomes Jack’s pilot on missions.
Despite being an outlier to the main storyline, Sammy’s meta contributions to the greater whole are satisfying in an unexpected way. Initially, Sammy is obsessed with putting on a one-bagel show, but Newfoodland provides fresh opportunities. It connects him with exciting directors, such as Francis Ford Capicola, and eventually results in the pursuit of a moviemaking career. Sammy believes the power of their past stories can change the outlook of other foods about the horrors of war. Allowing us to revisit a couple vital moments of Sausage Party was a great narrative choice, but it does result in Sammy’s character arc being a bit stagnant.
Fans of the movie and previous season can rest assured about the creatives recapturing the magic. Each subsequent season appears to open even wider, and the tease of a third promises even further development from this end. Bardel Entertainment and Stellar Creative Lab continue to deliver adequate animation, with the true superpower lying in the voice acting and incredibly creative scenarios. That said, noticeably less experimentation occurs through the medium this time around. There are sadly no more real food pun tunes rolling across the soundtrack either, but this season does sample plenty of fun hits that accompany the action well. Pop culture references are fired off at rapid pace, including an extended sequence with a Mad Max-style fleet of cars that was one of the season’s clear highlights. Another full-on spoof of Top Gun hits all the right marks. An Armie Hammer joke involving cannibalism comes at a most unexpected but perfectly executed moment. The food puns continue to be the series’ greatest asset.
Perhaps no one could have foreseen such a progression for a television show hatched from a movie containing a veritable smorgasbord of a food orgy. In another world, perhaps it could have evolved into a big-budget film franchise. Something about the binge-watch model fits the unique adult animation like a glove. This season has egg wash waterboarding, butt-plug piloted human anal intrusion, and a genoa-cide of dead salamis. It also has heartfelt character moments and utterly bonkers plot shifts in equal measure. Wherever Foodtopia takes us next, it will no doubt come buoyed by a game cast of vocal talent, and the madcap imagination of Ariel Shaffir, Kyle Hunter, Rogen, and Goldberg.
Sausage Party: Foodtopia returns for seconds, with all eight episodes cooked to perfection exclusively for Prime Video worldwide on Wednesday, August 13th.
