After All review: a charming Aussie animation oddity

In After All, doomsday bunker besties Flynn and Marshall find solace from the horrors through classic movies. Sure, they may be mutants living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland but that doesn’t mean they can’t appreciate the fine art of French New Wave, Italian Neorealism or pre-code Hollywood.

When Flynn (voiced by Aunty Donna’s Zach Ruane) and Marshall (voiced by comedian Luke McGregor) open their bunker doors for the first time, they discover a world perfect for making a movie of their own, one without any direct studio competition!

The super-short form, super-punchy adult animation was created by non-binary filmmaker Jess Murray. Drawn, animated and scripted in a style that evokes The Ren & Stimpy Show, SpongeBob Squarepants and Regular Show, Murray’s After All is an oddity of Aussie animation that is sure to find a niche following on YouTube after its debut this week.

Watch the After All trailer

The inspiration behind the madness

As sci-fi as the show sounds, After All is actually heavily inspired by reality. Growing up in regional Tasmania, creator Jess Murray has likened their upbringing to being in ‘a desolate wasteland’, and wrote Flynn and Marshall with their own experiences of being misunderstood, both as a film lover and a wannabe filmmaker, in mind.

The show holds up pretty well as a stand-alone thing but you will undoubtedly get more out of it with a cinephile’s mind. There are clever references to Werner Herzog, who appears here as a cup of yoghurt; Agnes Varda, whose name is lent to a half-grandma, half-worm who loves gambling; and the title character from the film Jean Dielman, who is briefly reimagined as a magical anime girl. The stream-of-consciousness absurdity will entertain just about anyone but having a deeper understanding of film and film history deepens the enjoyment exponentially.

There are also plenty of swipes at the current state of the film industry. Wandering the wasteland, Flynn and Marshall encounter Lez, a dodgy salesman (voiced by Alexei Toliopoulos) who can’t wait to produce – and control – their little movie.

Flynn wants a spectacle with himself in the lead, but Marshall wants a quiet arthouse flick. Will their creative differences produce something truly unique and transcendent, or will their fallout be a thing of cinematic legend?

Around this central narrative, you’ll find plenty of little curios that delight: a cyclops named Eugene, a band of killer gnomes and a rat with protruding nipples who produces its own ‘milk and beans’. Yum.

Alongside the central cast you’ll find cameo appearances from some of Australia’s best comedic talent, including Ben Russell, Michele Brasier, Mish Wittrup, Millie Holten and Demi Lardner, to name just a few. Much like Lesbian Space Princess, this show makes the excellent choice to highlight the funniest voices in the biz.

After All is a delightful show, but at only six episodes with a total a runtime of less than 40 minutes, it is far too short to become something truly memorable.

After All is out now on YouTube.

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