Kid Cudi’s Entergalactic drew more from Beyoncé than Spider-Verse

Entergalactic, the new animated limited series from executive producers Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi and Black-ishNetflix premiered Kenya Barris’ animated special, created by Kenya Barris. Mescudi plays Jabari (a charming street artist) who falls for Meadow (Jessica Williams), a young photographer. The animated 90-minute special features Mescudi.

Entergalactic’s Read the entire story Lands somewhere between High Fideliity, A Great PersonAnd It’s possible to make it in America Mescudi was a star in the film). What makes it special? EntergalacticIts animation tells the story in a unique way. It has a striking look with powerful character designs and bold silhouettes.

Entergalactic serves as a visual accompaniment to Kid Cudi’s album of the same name. Talking to Polygon over Zoom, director Fletcher Moules cited visual albums like 2016’s Beyoncé: Lemonade and Albert Magnoli’s rock musical drama Purple Rain as principal influences on the special’s production.

Image by Netflix

“Those were huge jumping-off points for Entergalactic,” Moules says. “Often in visual album releases, you have the narrative chasing the music. We were all on the same page from the beginning. EntergalacticIt was a music album but it had strong characters and narratives. We looked at other musical visual releases, but used television as a format to really let the narrative drive the project as a whole.”

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-VerseFans and journalists made common comparisons to, the Oscar-winning 2018 animated film executive produced and edited by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. EntergalacticIt was released on June. Moules, while grateful for the compliments, pointed to an Oscar-nominated animated movie that inspired the tone of the film. Entergalactic.

“I looked at films like I Lost My Body, which is very similar in the fact that it’s a very adult story told through animation,” Moules told Polygon. “I wanted to make something that felt handmade, that felt like an art film. When an artist releases an album, an artist is expressing themselves, they’re putting it out there, creating an emotional response; love it or hate it like any piece of art. I felt like the visual component had to be the same.”

Image by Netflix

A second influence is on Entergalactic’s animation was “making of” art books from studios like Pixar and Disney, which is evident in the look of the special itself.

“I would always flip through those in my years working in animation,” Moules says. “And I would always look at the concept art and say, ‘But why didn’t the film look like that?’ Concept art is so beautiful, you really get to feel the artist’s hand there. For me, concept art is the best. Entergalactic, what was imperative to me was to see the artist’s hand on screen the whole way through, whether that be in the character and background designs or in our lighting.”

This all is combined in an exciting new picture of New York City. Here, the skyline contrasts against more familiar backgrounds.

“The aim of Entergalactic for me, when we designed the world, was to make it a great place to be in,” Moules says. “It’s a version of New York that’s appealing; it just washes over you with a sense of warmth.”

EntergalacticIt is streaming on Netflix.