'Solar Opposites' Preview: Sci-fi comedy looks similar to 'Rick and Morty' and promises human-hating aliens
If you are a fan of ‘Rick and Morty’, there is a lot to look forward to in Mike McMahan and Justin Roiland’s upcoming offering, ‘Solar Opposites’. The eight-episode animated Hulu series that lands May 8 focuses on a family of aliens of earth.
While the concept is hardly a new one, it will be fun to see what McMahan and Roiland do with it. While the latter’s contribution to the show is already visible in the aesthetics of ‘Solar Opposites’ in the trailers and posters -- it looks straight out of a ‘Rick and Morty’ side adventure -- McMahan brings to the table his experience not just from the Adult Swim sci-fi cartoon, but also from a plethora of other animated comedy productions like ‘China, IL’, ‘Out There’, ‘Drawn Together’, and ‘South Park’.
The show features a family of four aliens -- Terry (Thomas Middleditch), Korvo (Roiland), Jesse (Mary Mack), Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) -- and the Pupa, a kind of pet by the looks of it, who escape their doomed home planet and end up on Earth, living in the suburbs of middle America. From what is visible in the trailers, Korvo is the quote-unquote Rick of this cartoon. While he has the same voice (Roiland’s), he does, however, seem to be missing the alcoholism and the burps.
What seems to be the biggest similarity between Korvo and Rick (apart from the voice) is their shared hatred for human beings. The alien constantly whines about how stupid humans are and how they are destroying their own planet. So misanthropic ramblings are definitely something we can expect from the show.
Terry, on the other hand, looks chilled out. A little too much, if you compare him to Korvo. The children Jess and Yumyulack look like they face some heavy bullying in school -- because they are aliens, is the best guess. For that matter, the whole family looks like they have problems with being accepted by their neighbors, even though the general population seems pretty unaffected by the presence of five aliens in their midst. Then again, no one in ‘Rick and Morty’ seems to have any problem digesting the high-concept shenanigans the duo partake in.
The name of the show, a play on “polar opposites”, seems to hint at everyday conflict in the alien family that would undoubtedly lead to some science fiction adventure. One can only hope that show, just like its spiritual predecessor, does not hold back on violence. The trailer already suggests mature language.
Just like ‘Rick and Morty’ again, ‘Solar Opposites’ also boasts a phenomenal list of guest voice actors, which includes the likes of Alan Tudyk, Tiffany Hadish, Tom Kenny, Alfred Molina, Christina Hendricks, Rainn Wilson, Eric Bauza, Amanda Leighton, Maurice LaMarche, Miguel Sandoval, Nat Faxon, Natalie Morales, Phil LaMarr, and Kari Wahlgren.
All in all, with Roiland’s name attached to the project, with its visual aesthetics, and with the kind of actors who have lent their voices to the show, one can easily assume that ‘Solar Opposites’ will be a worthy animated comedy. Whether or not it lives up to ‘Rick and Morty’ is a different matter altogether.