“Entergalactic” is a 2022 multimedia project from musician and actor Scott Mescudi, better known by his stage name Kid Cudi. The project consists of a 15-track concept album and a feature-length animated Netflix special that works to frame a story around the songs. The special is a romantic comedy that follows an artist named Jabari who starts to catch feelings for his new neighbor Meadow, making him wonder whether or not he is willing to fall in love. Alongside Mescudi, the film stars Jessica Williams (“Booksmart”), Timothée Chalamet (“Dune”), Vanessa Hudgens (“tick, tick…BOOM!”), Christopher Abbott (“Possessor”), Macaulay Culkin (“Home Alone”), Ty Dolla $ign, 070 Shake, Jaden Smith and Teyana Taylor.

Despite his inconsistent output, Kid Cudi is one of my favorite artists working today. I really love how candidly he discusses his mental health, which is something that wasn’t all that commonplace in hip-hop when he started back in 2007.

I am not exactly someone who is entirely well-versed in music, so my critiques of the album itself are based mainly on how I felt about the lyrics, the production or the overall feel. Based on all of that, I would say that the album “Entergalactic” is solid. Some of the lyrics are a little cringey, but I think the album benefits from its production and Cudi’s vocal delivery and iconic humming.
With that being said, I really loved the animated special. There are a few things that stop it from being spectacular, but as a whole, “Entergalactic” serves as a beautiful reminder of the power of both Kid Cudi’s music and the medium of animation.

One of the biggest strengths of the special was its voice acting. Mescudi has already proven himself to be a solid actor with his roles in Luca Guadagnino’s “We Are Who We Are” and Ti West’s slasher “X,” and he continues here with his vocal performance. He gives the character of Jabari a lot of charisma, which seems to come naturally for Mescudi. There are definitely moments that give him an opportunity to be emotional and he gives them everything he’s got, but the best moments are when Jabari just feels like Kid Cudi. I also really enjoyed Timothée Chalamet’s recurring role as Jimmy, Jabari’s friend and drug dealer. The character is entertaining to watch, and Chalamet’s line delivery adds to it as well. He feels like a real person while also being pretty funny. But out of all of the actors in “Entergalactic,” I would say that the best performance is from Jessica Williams, who plays Meadow. Her character is clever, and I think that Williams’ delivery reinforces this. There are moments where it doesn’t feel like this is an actress delivering lines; her performance seems effortless at times, and helps make this character feel like a real person.

The script was also really well-written. “Entergalactic” is essentially a romantic-comedy, which I usually don’t like (except for “You’ve Got Mail” and “The Big Sick”). However, I think that this special works as well as it does because of its likable and realistic characters. I also think that the story is well-paced and interesting to watch. However, there is a major conflict at the end of the second act that was, in my opinion, extremely stupid. I almost started yelling “literally just talk to her” at my laptop, and unfortunately, this conflict fuels the entire last act of the special. While this wasn’t enough to completely take me out of the story, it was significant enough for me to knock some points off.

Out of everything in the special, I’d say that my favorite aspect of it will probably be everyone else’s as well: the animation. It felt a mix of French 2D animation (particularly “Ernest and Celestine” and “I Lost My Body”) with the personality of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and “The Mitchells vs. the Machines.” All of the characters and environments look beautiful, and the use of vibrant colors makes everything pop.

All in all, I really loved “Entergalactic.” The animation, voice performances, writing and music are all exceptional. If you’re a fan of Kid Cudi or animation (or both), then I’m sure that you’ll love this too.

Album Rating: 7.1/10
Netflix Special Rating: 8/10