Season Review: Sausage Party: Foodtopia Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

After standing up to the human race, Frank (Seth Rogen) and his friends establish a safe haven dubbed “Foodtopia.”  Following a massive flood that destroys their once-promised land, they have no choice but to partner with humans to ensure the survival of their race.

Our Take:

Comedy veterans Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg made animation history with their first R-rated CGI animated film that’s seemingly innocent on the outside but wildly absurd and raunchy on the inside.  That film became known as Sausage Party, an adult animated comedy inspired by Pixar’s age-old question, “What if ‘blank’ have emotions,” and applied it to food.  The film, directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan, depicted a sausage named Frank discovering the truth behind their purpose, leading him to start a revolution against their human gods.  Sausage Party offered plenty of adult content you’d typically see in other raunchy comedies, ranging from its explicit jokes to the sexual content, with the food orgy scene being the most memorable and f’d-up sequence ever to put in an animated film.  However, its R-rated shenanigans were clever and funny enough to emphasize its thoughtful portrayal of religion and respecting others’ beliefs.  It not only showcased that raunchy comedies can be more than just a display of F-bombs and sex jokes but also proved that animation is for everyone of all ages.  This was before Guillermo del Toro’s famous speech about animation being a medium at the Oscars following his win with Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio in 2022.

Following the success of Sausage Party, there had been talks of a follow-up along with more adult animated films for several years.  It wasn’t until 2022 when Amazon ordered a sequel to Sausage Party, with most of the people from the first film returning to develop it, including Rogen, Goldberg, and Vernon.  However, instead of creating it as a movie, the follow-up is formed as a streaming series, which continues the adventures of Frank and his friends following their war against the human race.  Considering my appreciation toward Sausage Party for its humor and direction, I couldn’t help but be curious about how it’ll play out, even though it’s been years since I last saw the movie.

There were also some occasions where follow-ups to their successful predecessors, whether as a movie or series, fell short of what made them great.  So, there was definitely some concern amid my curiosity toward the long-awaited sequel series, especially the film’s relevancy and the waiting gap between the movie and Foodtopia.  Additionally, Foodtopia could’ve winded up being an unnecessary cash grab that’s eight years too late or worse, being as overly raunchy and tedious as Rogen’s previous adult animated series, Santa Inc.  Thankfully, Foodtopia wound up being neither of them.  Did it hold a candle to what Sausage Party delivered?  No, but it didn’t have to.  All it needed was to be a fun adult animated comedy that’s clever enough to surpass its flaws, and Foodtopia managed to do just that.

If you’re familiar with Sausage Party, you’ll know exactly what to expect from Foodtopia.  It’s got adult language, plenty of food puns galore, pop culture references, and even a hot dog fucking a human.  It’s also got a food orgy in the first episode if you’re in the mood for that type of stuff, although that scene lacked a more significant shock value compared to the food orgy from the film.  While it can be a bit redundant with the food-related jokes, it’s never to the point of being unfunny, dull, or even overly obnoxious.  This is mainly due to Conrad Vernon, who directed the entire season.

Conrad Vernon, who co-directed Sausage Party and other family-friendly content like Shrek 2 and Monsters vs. Aliens, is known for combining entertainment, wit, and instances of heart in his movies, and his direction for Foodtopia is no exception.  In addition to its amusing yet raunchy humor, Foodtopia didn’t shy away from some of its bold narrative choices and themes, especially when killing off some of its major supporting characters.  Throughout the series, Frank and his allies experience that their kind is just as flawed as the humans they hate.  Whether through corruption or capitalism, we’re all screwed up, and only through understanding, support, and forgiveness can make us better…until Frank decides to screw that up, setting up a possible second season.  While it’s not a perfect reflection of those themes due to its cliffhanging conclusion, the show’s mixture of vulgarity and heart is another showcase of adult animation being more than just F-bomb after sex reference after more F-bombs.

Much of the voice cast from the movie returned to reprise their roles as their respective characters, including Rogen, Kristen Wiig, and Michael Cera.  Unsurprisingly, they show that the series would be impossible to endure without them.  Rogen and Wiig provided some solid chemistry together as Frank and Brenda, despite Frank’s choice towards the end of the season.  The only interesting elements of the cast were Barry (Michael Cera) and Sammy Bagel Jr. (Edward Norton), both of which use their popularity to hide their inner pain, mainly the latter when he lost Kareem Abdul Lavash (David Krumholtz) during the revolution.  In Barry’s case, his heroics from the movie masked his feeling of being the deformed runt of the litter.  The rest of the cast also did well with their performances, including Will Forte as Jack, a human who helps Frank rebuild Foodtopia, and Sam Richardson as Julius, the orange with a secret agenda.

Overall, Sausage Party: Foodtopia is delectable enough to serve as a surprisingly entertaining second course.  Obviously, it’s not going to impress everyone with its raunchy tone and sexual content, especially those who aren’t fans of the R-rated animated comedy.  However, those who are may find themselves lucky with Rogen and Goldberg’s attempt at expanding the food society they created.  The voice cast was good, all, if not most, of the jokes were amusingly raunchy, and the messages fit suitably within its explicitness.  As mentioned before, the show’s ending shows possible signs of a second season, serving as a streaming tradition that’s as gross as expired milk.  But if the new season happens to be just as delicious as this, then I wouldn’t mind having a taste of that dessert.