It’s the day after Christmas in suburban Florida, and Billy 5000 (Jack Corbett) and his friends drift through the sun-bleached limbo between holidays by slacking, shoplifting, and beatboxing. In between sneaking into pools and zoning out on the beach, Billy hustles for tips on the food-on-demand app Grubster, determined to make exactly $5,000 before New Year’s Eve. As he zigzags across town on his hoverboard delivering fast food to a cast of oddball locals, a routine drop-off at the Dolphin Groves Juice Company leads to an unexpected reunion with Rozebud (Miya Folick), his childhood crush, and a mysterious alien creature named Donut that’s stowed away in his backpack. The surprise encounter sets off a surreal chain of events that puts Billy in the crosshairs of Dr. Dolphin (Janeane Garofalo), a ruthless juice mogul who will stop at nothing to reclaim her extraterrestrial property.

Directed by Julian Glander in his signature tactile, lo-fi CGI style, Boys Go to Jupiter transforms the sprawl of suburban Florida into a pastel purgatory of empty strip malls, algorithmic music, and adolescent yearning. What begins as a quest for financial freedom slowly evolves into an offbeat odyssey of love, labor, and late-capitalist absurdity, as Billy is forced to decide how far he’ll go to protect his friends—and his future. With its deadpan humor, musical detours, and deeply felt strangeness, the film reimagines the coming-of-age comedy as a vapor-soaked fable for the burnout generation.

For in-depth thoughts on Boys Go to Jupiter, please see my colleague Phil Walsh’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Boys Go to Jupiter arrives on Blu-Ray with a lovely 1080p presentation that exhibits the film with the necessary care. The impressive, skillfully crafted 3D animation aesthetic has a distinct video game-esque style and creativity that stands apart from major animation studios. The screen is clear of any digital inconsistency with a valuable array of textures within the artwork. The edges are rigid and consistent within the defined space. The colors are complex with amazing primaries saturating the screen. There are no serious digital anomalies present, such as compression artifacts or ugly banding. All of the material within the film looks exquisite for a production of this scope. Cartuna continues to champion independent animation.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that renders as confidently as the video side of things. As something of a musical endeavor, it is of paramount importance to have impeccable sound, which we experience here. The soundtrack and original score for this are very pleasant and emanate with an undeniable fidelity. The dialogue sounds excellent with a clear presence throughout the journey and no moments of being clipped by competing elements. The subtle environmental sounds within the town help make the space feel more fleshed out and alive. There is not much activity in the low end, but a few crashes and whatnot add a bit of texture. This audio experience does not come up short in any respect. Optional English SDH, French, Spanish, Czech, German, Italian, and other various subtitles are included.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Julian Glander, executive producer Peisin Yang Lazo, and performer Max Wittert provide a commentary track that is largely free-flowing and not on topic, but it remains very entertaining while providing occasional insights into the production of the film and the narrative at large.

Julian Glander Short Films: A selection of very entertaining animated short films is provided that show the evolution to Boys Go to Jupiter.

- Street Demon (2014) (0:29)

- Bloop’s Birthday (2016) (3:27)

- Skybaby (2018) (2:42)

- Working Myself Into A Puddle (2024) (2:01)

Music Videos

- Winter Citrus (1:41)

- No Batteries (1:08)

- Egg Song (1:37)

- Beverages Have Different Flavors (1:37)

Original Trailer (1:47)

Booklet: A multi-page booklet featuring storyboards, script pages, photos, and more is provided.

Final Thoughts

Boys Go to Jupiter is a truly delightful, endearingly unique animated odyssey that throws in healthy doses of surrealism to complement the generally fuzzy vibes. The animation is impeccably crafted within its lo-fi aesthetic as it conjures a fleshed-out environment that you wouldn’t mind staying in for hours. The film features songs that are incredibly catchy and will have you listening to them long after the movie has ended. You also cannot go wrong with the talent on hand lending voices to these characters. This is a true gem of independent animation. Cartuna has released a Blu-Ray featuring a lovely A/V presentation and a welcome selection of special features. Animation fans should not pass this up. Recommended

Boys Go to Jupiter is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome or select indie retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Cartuna and OCN Distribution have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.