Summary
While Dan Harmon’s idea for aRick and Mortymovie sounds perfect, there is one problem holding it back.Rick and Mortymight have started as a silly self-referential satirical sci-fi comedy, but the Adult Swim hit has only grown more cinematic in its scope and ambition since it began. Early seasons ofRick and Mortyalready boasted boundless visual creativity and narrative invention, while seasons 4—7 increased the show’s emotional stakes with its most dramatic character arc yet.Rick and Mortyseason 7’s Rick Prime storylineproved a movie adaptation of the show could work.
Similarly,Rick and Morty’s season 7 ending showed that the series has no lack of ambition, even when it comes to self-contained, character-focused episodes. For many shows, an outing wherein the main character faces their deepest fear would be an easy excuse for a bottle episode with limited locations and a straightforward plot. InRick and Morty, this premise gave rise to an ambitiously surreal, tragicomic adventure that folded in on itself countless times. It will be tough forRick and Mortyseason 8to outdo this episode as the outing underlines the show’s cinematic potential.
Rick & Morty Season 7 Ending Explained
Rick and Morty’s season 7 finale featured a wild twist ending that redefined the dynamic between Rick and Morty heading into season 8 of the series.
Dan Harmon Promised The Rick and Morty Movie Would Be A Giant Episode
Rick and Morty’s Co-Creator Used South Park’s Movie As A Comparison
As it is clear thatRick and Mortycould sustain an entire feature-length movie, the question of why the show hasn’t hit multiplexes yet is worth exploring. In October 2023, series co-creator Dan Harmon toldThe Hollywood Reporterthathis plan for a cinematic spinoff would be to take aRick and Mortyepisode and “Spend a bunch of extra money on it and make it 90 minutes long.”This approach might seem disarmingly simple, but it has also proven successful for earlier adult animated TV shows that made the leap to the big screen. Thus, Harmon’s instincts make sense.
Plenty of Rick and Morty outings have significant emotional stakes despite the show’s episodic nature.
The Bob’s Burgers Movie,The Simpsons Movie, andSouth Park: Bigger Longer And Uncutall opted to treat their cinematic spinoffs as an extra long episode. In all three cases, the creators maintained the same tone and style as the original show instead of opting for something more dramatic. WhileRick and Morty’s lowest-rated episodewas criticized for being a silly sci-fi misadventure with few stakes, this doesn’t mean that the show must abandon its roots while making the transition to the big screen. Plenty of the show’s earlier outings have significant emotional stakes despiteRick and Morty’s episodic nature.
The Rick and Morty Movie Would Follow Two Great Cartoon Comedy Adaptations
The Simpsons Movie And South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut Used Similar Strategies
Ideally, Harmon’s vision for the show’s movie spinoff would be something similar to the earlier successful adult animated movies mentioned above. AlthoughThe Bob’s Burgers Moviewasn’t a financial hit, it was a success with critics because the show managed to translate its low-stakes character comedy into movies successfully. Similarly, sinceThe Simpsonsalways had a zanier sense of humor thanBob’s Burgersand a bigger world with more supporting characters, the show’s movie spinoff was appropriately ambitious. In contrast,Rick and Morty’s movie would likely be as chaotic, fast-paced, and darkly funny as the show, likeSouth Park’s spinoff.
South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncutarrived at the height of the show’s popularity and successfully translatedSouth Park’s tasteless brand of comedy into a bigger, more ambitious story.Rick and Morty’s most underrated charactersprove that plenty of its plots, from Morty’s romance with Planetina to Rick’s dark backstory, could have benefited from a longer runtime. ARick and Mortymovie could follow in the footsteps of bothThe Simpsons MovieandSouth Park: Bigger Longer and Uncutby taking the movie’s bigger budget as a chance to focus on a large-scale standalone adventure, as Harmon suggested.
Between season 2’s finale, the Evil Morty story, and particularly the Rick Prime arc, it’s fair to say Rick and Morty relies on serialized plots way more than South Park.
Rick and Morty Has One Problem South Park’s Movie Avoided
Rick and Morty’s Existing Canon Makes A Movie Plot Harder
This makes more sense than trying to tie together the show’s overarching story with a spinoff. However, thesheer number of canon plots and supporting characters thatRick and Mortyhas could cause an issue for the movie. Between season 2’s finale, the Evil Morty story, and particularly the Rick Prime arc, it’s fair to sayRick and Mortyrelies on serialized plots way more thanSouth Park. As such, the show has already pulled off numerous large-scale, ambitious adventures. Certainly,Rick and Mortyhas much more lore thanSouth Parkhad beforeBigger Longer and Uncut’s 1999 release.
AlthoughRick and Morty’s sci-fi setup means the show has retconned a lot over the years, the series doesn’t play as fast and loose with its canon asThe Simpsons. WhereThe Simpsonsreveals various contradictory futuresfor the same characters with no explanation,Rick and Mortyuses interdimensional travel, the Central Finite Curve, and other genre tropes to justify its retcons. As such, theRick and Mortymovie faces one issue that didn’t plague its earlier antecedents.The Simpsonscould ignore its lore when convenient andSouth Parkscarcely had any.Rick and Mortyhas a whole multiverse.
The Rick and Morty Movie Can Make This Issue An Advantage
Rick and Morty Can Utilize Its Expansive Fictional World
Although this sounds like a potential issue for the spinoff, there is reason to think thattheRick and Mortymovie could make the show’s lore work in its favor. LikeThe Simpsons Movie,Rick and Mortycould use its existing canon and established characters to make the plot deeper, more emotionally resonant, and more satisfying. Recurring characters could return for cameos even though the main focus of the plot would be on a new adventure. Characters could reference earlier events without these shaping the movie’s narrative. This would work better than focusing the movie’s plot on the show’s lore.
A Rick and Morty movie that followed the blueprint set out by The Simpsons Movie could acknowledge existing characters and important storylines without letting them define the spinoff.
Although it sounds satisfying to picture a grand cinematic end to a storyline like Rick’s battle with Rick Prime, a canon-centric would run the risk of alienating casual viewers who weren’t familiar with the show’s lore. In contrast, aRick and Mortymovie that followed the blueprint set out byThe Simpsons Moviecould acknowledge existing characters and important storylines without letting them define the spinoff. As a result,Rick and Morty’s movie spinoff could stand on its own merits instead of relying on the show for its plot. This could allow theRick and Mortymovie to fix its biggest potential problem.
