Debuting at the 24th Tribeca Festival, Z Cher-Aimé’s Captain Zero: Into the Abyss Part II screened in the category “Shorts: Whoopi’s Wonderful World of Animation”. Sporting a stunning voice acting cast, unique aesthetic, and confidently clear style, the 15-minute short captivated audiences in the midst of 6 other films. Into the Abyss Part II is everything the creative team has hyped it up to be during their viral marketing campaign, plus more. And fortunately, we’re in for more, as the team continues to finish the feature-length project.
Captain Zero / Xerxes (voiced by Z Cher-Aimé) is a high schooler balancing school days, socializing, and superhero life. But Into the Abyss Part II diverges from most superhero iterations by placing Xerxes’s depression and mental health at the forefront of his characterization. The short film achieves this by making use of a balanced frame narrative: we listen in on his therapy sessions with Dr. Niobe (voiced by Angelica Ross) in the present day while also witnessing his most recent face-off against Oblivion (A. Ross) and The Depression Demon (voiced by Keith David). His only backup so far is the hero Daisy / Buttafly Girl (voiced by Zolee Griggs).
Captain Zero deftly speaks to issues of depression as well as anxiety while also highlighting imposter syndrome through the techniques mentioned above. While modern audiences may desire instant gratification in their films, whether bigger or faster, Captain Zero takes up time and space and slows down.
One element that may catch audiences by surprise in a jarring sense is the pacing from frame to frame. Every individual scene feels necessary, and the shots are stunning, reminiscent of scenes in Across The Spider-Verse, but some frames stick around for longer than necessary, prolonging the overall scene without adding to the development. This choice of pacing likely allows the film to breathe, easily tying it back to its anime influences, while also allowing audiences to soak in the color palette, but in terms of pacing, audiences may be left with an uncomfortable sense of wonder and wanting. And maybe we need that in actuality.
The overall framing of the film is well-suited, from the ’90s FBI warning intro to the therapy sessions that operate as a foundation for the film’s central conflict. The production team is clearly committed to the style and approach of the film, and this leads to a strong tone.
An additional perk of the film, for animation and media lovers in general, is the references to classic and modern animation. The unfortunate debate surrounding live-action remakes and animation as a genre rather than style is alive and well, and part of the reason 2D animation is often overlooked. This film acknowledges that history and debate and chooses to side with Hanna Barbera, FernGully, Dragonball Z, and G Force, just to name a few. The film effectively accomplishes these references, acknowledgments, and call-backs without creating a sense of placation or connoting anything pedantic.
If the animation doesn’t draw you in, then the voice cast will. Every character is expertly handled, containing depth and gravitas when necessary and timidness on occasion. The character profiles are intriguing and leave us wanting more.
If Tribeca unfortunately passed you by, the film is currently prepping a tour, with official dates in Washington D.C. (Aug. 8), Chicago (Aug. 24), and Seattle (Oct. 8), and Atlanta, L.A., Oklahoma City, and NYC still in the works. In the meantime, check out Part I on YouTube.
Into the Abyss Part II is everything the creative team has hyped it up to be during their viral marketing campaign, plus more.
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Jeffrey W. Peterson is a teacher, critic, and writer. He previously taught English Composition at Spelman College and the University of West Georgia, as well as Language Arts and percussion at metro-Atlanta high schools. He currently teaches at Fusion Academy in Alpharetta, GA, while pursuing a PhD in Moving Image Studies at Georgia State University. He has a BA in English, an MFA in Writing, and in addition to membership in Atlanta Film Critics Circle (AFCC), he’s also a member of the African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) and Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic. Previous work appears in Naija Nerds, The Streamr, Murphy’s Multiverse, and Indie Film Minute.
Captain Zero and this project is absolutely amazing and EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE! This is what’s needed for this society and world as a whole. As a superhero battling depression, we can relate to wanting to be bigger than life, famous, love by all and unstoppable but also having anxiety and overwhelming feeling of depression when it doesn’t go our way. CZ will show how even when we think only about ourselves and our potential greatness it can also crush us. This movie that will turn into a series will explore, challenge and inform people about depression and how to overcome and deal with it. I can’t wait for the world to see it