Invader Zim - Aliens Exist (Animatic)
Hiffuu -
334,613 views
My first attempt at making an animatic! I've always liked this song and thought it suited Dib quite well.
All art by me.
Aliens Exist by Blink-182
20 Comments
@Dusk_Breeze 7 years ago
And to think, Zim was just sitting in a toilet laughing maniacally the whole time.
@Dana_Brain 7 years ago
I also like the implication that Membrane is trying to be a better father but doesn't quite know how without dismissing his interests and concerns entirely... and just ends up pushing his son away further. And that Zim sees how much his absentences effect Dib's mental state and thus begins phase one.
@pixelpunk6055 7 years ago
This is so underrated? How hasn't the whole fandom seen this?? I love this so much???-
@moniquet6017 7 years ago (edited)
You've been hiding in the toilet all this time?
Yes.
Like, the whole time?
Thats right.
Yes.
Like, the whole time?
Thats right.
@BkHHHsupreme 7 years ago
This brings Dibs addiction in a whole new light. Instead of comical, it's now something very concerning that needs to be looked at with caution.
@rockspoon6528 5 years ago
You know what would be a really interesting alternate universe of Invader Zim?
One where Dib does not recognize that Zim is an alien. He's still gung-ho about aliens existing, and Zim is constantly paranoid that Dib figured him out, but Dib is convinced that Zim is human.
One where Dib does not recognize that Zim is an alien. He's still gung-ho about aliens existing, and Zim is constantly paranoid that Dib figured him out, but Dib is convinced that Zim is human.
@PaleNoFace 7 years ago
The fact that Zim is the best friend has so many implications and I'm living.
@Dana_Brain 7 years ago
This is such an amazing scene and fits as a perfect prologue to the movie in every way. I really like the emphasis on Zim when it talks about his best friend. Cause the sad thing is, Zim is probably the closest thing he has to a best friend. Like Dib really has no one in the world who believes him, besides Zim. Which you can tell really eats at him and causes him to be a recluse the more Zim doesn't come to skool. I just love this a lot
@briaw8557 7 years ago
This was one of the best animatics I have ever seen. The song choice and your art work really bring the characters to life. You did a fantastic job of keeping everything so in character to the show. Such an A+ video all around!
@janamullinix2037 7 years ago
Zim while did is in his room trying to figure out where he is: "im on the toilet hope the ice cream don't melt b*tch"
@Mehhhhhhhh 7 years ago
They could've actually used this as the intro to Flourpus and it would've worked so well.
@TheStarsTwilight 7 years ago
Warning: Mini Thesis Paper of a Comment Ahead.
A lot of people are saying they feel bad for Membrane, but quite frankly when it comes to the beginning of Enter the Florpus/Issue 1 I feel way worse for Dib and can't sympathize with his dad at all. Dib manages to get himself in such a severe state of paranoia that he spends weeks straight not leaving the monitor to go sleep, bathe, or presumably (as it's made very clear he didn't ever leave that room) using the goddamn toilet. It's ironic that the ONE time his dad decides not to call mental health services, Dib legitimately needed them. The state he was in was beyond unhealthy and he could of very easily ended up accidentally killing himself from his own neglect. To put this in perspective - even animals instinctively avoid living in their own shit. The fact Dib's mind broke down to such an extreme degree is a clear sign that the kid needs serious help. Dib might be correct about Zim, but as referenced at the beginning of the animatic, that doesn't mean he's sane. I mean, Dib's behavior in the beginning of Issue 1/Florpus is scarily close to extreme cases of paranoid schizophrenia (the term is no longer in use and Dib would actually be a childhood schizophrenic, but let's not go there). It gets even worse when you remember Dib literally IS working under the delusion that if he leaves the monitor for a second Zim will immediately do something.
Paranoia in general is not a fun feeling - imagine living in constant terror, scared that the entire universe is out to get you and if you can't control everything you're going to die. It's an intense situation that completely destroys any chance of feeling happy or fulfilled with life. Spending weeks if not months seeped in pure, neverending terror is absolutely horrifying. It's especially horrifying that Zim, an alien, was able to perfectly predict Dib would act out that way despite being so far from normal behavior for... life in general, not just humans. The fact even ZIM could pick up on how severe Dib's obsession is and the levels he'll go suggests Dib may have done this kind of thing before, albeit on a much lesser extent.
Back to the point about Dib's father, Professor Membrane fully knew Dib was acting in a very unhealthy manner and didn't seem to care. The fact he doesn't call mental health services despite Dib becoming a legitimate danger to himself is beyond neglectful. It makes Membrane look like someone who only cares about Dib's "insanity" when it's affecting his reputation, as the only difference here from other times where Dib is acting paranoid (besides it being much worse) is the fact that Dib is hiding from the rest of humanity. This is one aspect where Enter the Florpus actually makes Membrane's behavior WORSE as in the original version of this plot, Membrane at least knew what his son was doing. However, in Florpus he casually states "oh well, at least he's not dealing with paranormal stuff" which is so blatantly false that it becomes clear Membrane never even bothered to check on his son. He seemed pretty content in Dib just hiding in his room forever. It's part of the reason I honestly don't buy the idea Membrane is this caring but flawed father and feel like Florpus was less addressing the abuse in Dib's home life and moreso pretending it doesn't exist (while ironically keeping the neglect implications of this plot, making it fail even at that). Membrane saying he's proud of Dib is sweet and all, but frankly I can't see it with how his actual character is, especially in the original show. The way the professor constantly calls his own son insane to his face borders on emotional abuse and I just can't ignore that.
The worst thing though is that in the end, it's revealed Dib didn't even realize what the crap he'd done. He was so far out of reality that when he's pulled back in by Zim's return he's disgusted with himself and his actions. There does seem to be a part of Dib that deep down believes everyone else is right and he's legitimately annoying and insane. Having that confirmed all at once is one hell of an epiphany. Worse yet, in the case of the comic version of this storyline, Zim uses Dib's borderline psychosis to humiliate him across several galaxies, likely as a way to enact Dib's own goals for Zim (surveillance followed by exposure) against him. Dib ends that issue alone, crying because his reputation has been ruined even more than it already was. The poor kid had his mental state completely taken advantage of only to be blamed for something he couldn't even tell was wrong (at the time) and nobody bothered to help him improve against.
And this kind of thing actually happens in real life. Invader Zim in general gets scarily accurate in terms of how it portrays ableism. It doesn't hide shit and shows it in all its disgusting glory. And, while never explicitly stated, the show makes it very clear that the way Dib is treated is wrong and the people who harass him are assholes. It's surprisingly rare to see mental health discrimination portrayed in universe and have it be treated as inhumane. It's even rarer to see discrimination against the severely mentally ill shown as incorrect despite how rampant it is. At the end of the day, regardless of whether Dib is actually schizophrenic or not, he's still presumed by humanity to be and their treatment still has a clear impact on his self image and emotional state. There's a reason Dib is so desperate to finally be respected. Yet the show treats him as a person in his own right. He has goals, he has hobbies, he has feelings, and struggles and relationships. If anything, Dib is the single MOST developed and human character on the show. In a way, the shows handling of the subject is absolutely beautiful and one of the most real takes on living with a mental health issue.
Sorry for this long diatribe - this animatic just perfectly encapsulates a lot of my thoughts about the plotline and what it means for Dib as a whole. You clearly have a great understanding of the implications and how to convey them perfectly.
A lot of people are saying they feel bad for Membrane, but quite frankly when it comes to the beginning of Enter the Florpus/Issue 1 I feel way worse for Dib and can't sympathize with his dad at all. Dib manages to get himself in such a severe state of paranoia that he spends weeks straight not leaving the monitor to go sleep, bathe, or presumably (as it's made very clear he didn't ever leave that room) using the goddamn toilet. It's ironic that the ONE time his dad decides not to call mental health services, Dib legitimately needed them. The state he was in was beyond unhealthy and he could of very easily ended up accidentally killing himself from his own neglect. To put this in perspective - even animals instinctively avoid living in their own shit. The fact Dib's mind broke down to such an extreme degree is a clear sign that the kid needs serious help. Dib might be correct about Zim, but as referenced at the beginning of the animatic, that doesn't mean he's sane. I mean, Dib's behavior in the beginning of Issue 1/Florpus is scarily close to extreme cases of paranoid schizophrenia (the term is no longer in use and Dib would actually be a childhood schizophrenic, but let's not go there). It gets even worse when you remember Dib literally IS working under the delusion that if he leaves the monitor for a second Zim will immediately do something.
Paranoia in general is not a fun feeling - imagine living in constant terror, scared that the entire universe is out to get you and if you can't control everything you're going to die. It's an intense situation that completely destroys any chance of feeling happy or fulfilled with life. Spending weeks if not months seeped in pure, neverending terror is absolutely horrifying. It's especially horrifying that Zim, an alien, was able to perfectly predict Dib would act out that way despite being so far from normal behavior for... life in general, not just humans. The fact even ZIM could pick up on how severe Dib's obsession is and the levels he'll go suggests Dib may have done this kind of thing before, albeit on a much lesser extent.
Back to the point about Dib's father, Professor Membrane fully knew Dib was acting in a very unhealthy manner and didn't seem to care. The fact he doesn't call mental health services despite Dib becoming a legitimate danger to himself is beyond neglectful. It makes Membrane look like someone who only cares about Dib's "insanity" when it's affecting his reputation, as the only difference here from other times where Dib is acting paranoid (besides it being much worse) is the fact that Dib is hiding from the rest of humanity. This is one aspect where Enter the Florpus actually makes Membrane's behavior WORSE as in the original version of this plot, Membrane at least knew what his son was doing. However, in Florpus he casually states "oh well, at least he's not dealing with paranormal stuff" which is so blatantly false that it becomes clear Membrane never even bothered to check on his son. He seemed pretty content in Dib just hiding in his room forever. It's part of the reason I honestly don't buy the idea Membrane is this caring but flawed father and feel like Florpus was less addressing the abuse in Dib's home life and moreso pretending it doesn't exist (while ironically keeping the neglect implications of this plot, making it fail even at that). Membrane saying he's proud of Dib is sweet and all, but frankly I can't see it with how his actual character is, especially in the original show. The way the professor constantly calls his own son insane to his face borders on emotional abuse and I just can't ignore that.
The worst thing though is that in the end, it's revealed Dib didn't even realize what the crap he'd done. He was so far out of reality that when he's pulled back in by Zim's return he's disgusted with himself and his actions. There does seem to be a part of Dib that deep down believes everyone else is right and he's legitimately annoying and insane. Having that confirmed all at once is one hell of an epiphany. Worse yet, in the case of the comic version of this storyline, Zim uses Dib's borderline psychosis to humiliate him across several galaxies, likely as a way to enact Dib's own goals for Zim (surveillance followed by exposure) against him. Dib ends that issue alone, crying because his reputation has been ruined even more than it already was. The poor kid had his mental state completely taken advantage of only to be blamed for something he couldn't even tell was wrong (at the time) and nobody bothered to help him improve against.
And this kind of thing actually happens in real life. Invader Zim in general gets scarily accurate in terms of how it portrays ableism. It doesn't hide shit and shows it in all its disgusting glory. And, while never explicitly stated, the show makes it very clear that the way Dib is treated is wrong and the people who harass him are assholes. It's surprisingly rare to see mental health discrimination portrayed in universe and have it be treated as inhumane. It's even rarer to see discrimination against the severely mentally ill shown as incorrect despite how rampant it is. At the end of the day, regardless of whether Dib is actually schizophrenic or not, he's still presumed by humanity to be and their treatment still has a clear impact on his self image and emotional state. There's a reason Dib is so desperate to finally be respected. Yet the show treats him as a person in his own right. He has goals, he has hobbies, he has feelings, and struggles and relationships. If anything, Dib is the single MOST developed and human character on the show. In a way, the shows handling of the subject is absolutely beautiful and one of the most real takes on living with a mental health issue.
Sorry for this long diatribe - this animatic just perfectly encapsulates a lot of my thoughts about the plotline and what it means for Dib as a whole. You clearly have a great understanding of the implications and how to convey them perfectly.
@scribblebluwu1159 7 years ago (edited)
Love this. Now I’m just wondering how pissed dib really is to find out zim has been in a toilet after all this hard work of stalking his house aggressively
@feedmeastraycat8247 7 years ago
Probably the best animatic I’ve seen in a looong time, I love how this could be an introduction to how the movie came to be, how Dib became a chair. So bothered that the closest thing he has to a friend is suddenly just gone and absent. Beautiful.
@derpydonut3906 6 years ago
This really brings more emotion into Dib as a character because we don't really see what really happens at home with Dib! We are mostly in Zim's perspective so this brings a lot of life to Dib! Great work! <3
Invader Zim - Aliens Exist (Animatic)
Hiffuu -
334,613 views
My first attempt at making an animatic! I've always liked this song and thought it suited Dib quite well.
All art by me.
Aliens Exist by Blink-182