Media Thread: Planetronika Pilot (2026)

So I saw this in my feed the other day, but I didn't put time aside to watch it until just now. Another Indie Animated Pilot called Planetronika.

To copy-and-past the description: "Space explorer Butterfly and her best friend Freestyle decide to take the day off with a game of basketball. But things go horribly wrong when their reckless abandon turns their simple game into total chaos". It's an animated short that completely exemplifies the art style of the Early 2000s. The title screen feels like Frutiger Aero, the art style feels like a combination of Flash Animation and Totally Spies, and it just scratches that nostalgic itch for an era long past that I've been missing for maybe Twenty Years. Not only that, but it's got some excellent character designs. Of course Butterfly is cute as an early 2k Anime Girl, but I freaking LOVE Freestyle's design. A vague shape of a man with a cartoonishly stretchy slime body has so much potential. Also in the background, we can see a few little orb-shaped animals; I could totally imagine these things being used for Merch or something. The way that this short looks and moves is IMMACULATE. Perfect stars, no notes.

Unfortunately, the excellent vibes and aesthetic doesn't make up for the story. Or rather, lack thereof. The short has a simple topic of Butterfly and Freestyle just playing some B-Ball; and that seems like a perfect situation to get some action shots and comedic hijinks. Sadly (and this may just be a matter of taste), but I didn't find it very funny. A lot of the comedy featured felt like cutaway gags or non-sequiturs, and it didn't really get a chuckle out of me. It felt kind of distracting, and kind of took me out of the animation that I keep gassing up.

At a short 7 minutes it's a brisk watch that I recommend watching, and if you're into the style I can imagine watching it several times (or at least repeatedly looking at screenshots), but overall it didn't blow me out of the park. 6/10.