A lookback at “Enter the Florpus”
It still kind of amazes me that this movie pulled off the dual accomplishments of providing pay-off to a set-up from 18 years earlier (see also: Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, which did the same for a 15 year old set-up) and providing genuine depth and meaning to both itself and the series it’s a finale to in spite of the absurdist “Lol, random!” seeming surface level.
In “The Nightmare Begins”, we see the Almighty Tallest have their eyes set on expanding the Irken Empire, but don’t want Zim to take part of it because they hate him, which leads them to send him on what they believe to be a fool’s errand to the farthest edges of the universe. But of course, Zim ended up persevering and continuing to annoy the Tallest with his belief that he’s a legitimate Invader in Operation Impending Doom II. “Enter the Florpus” gives us the ultimate breaking point, where the Tallest actually end up destroying their entire operation and empire because they are consumed by their hatred of Zim and desire to flat-out kill him.
In “The Nightmare Begins”, the fool’s errand Zim is sent on is to conquer a planet the Almighty Tallest don’t even believe to exist…which, of course, it does: it’s Earth. The following series is all about Zim’s trying and failing to conquer Earth for the Irken Empire’s sake, and in “Enter the Florpus” Zim finally realizes the futility of his efforts when he learns the Tallest have no interest in coming to Earth (although he believes it to be the direct result of all his failures rather than it being the way the Tallest have always felt) and sinks into a depression.
In “The Nightmare Begins”, Zim is firmly established as an incompetent buffoon who will inevitably screw up his plans for conquering Earth. But after shaking off his depression in “Enter the Florpus”, Zim actually becomes so laser-focused on the goal he now sees finally within his reach that he becomes a successful threat. Of course, even at his most competent Zim is still a screw-up, as carrying out his plan ends up creating a Florpus that threatens to destroy Earth, which would leave the Tallest with no planet to conquer even if they wanted to.
In “The Nightmare Begins”, there is a climactic chase, with Dib in pursuit of Zim. Here, your sympathies are with Zim, who has just gotten to Earth and is at a disadvantage, not to mention Dib is motivated purely by his ego. The climax of “Enter the Florpus” also features Dib chasing Zim, but now the sympathies are reversed: Dib, fresh off seemingly losing his father, is motivated by the genuine desire to save Earth, while Zim holds the advantage.
In “The Nightmare Begins”, Gaz is established through swearing her older brother Dib will pay for drinking the last soda, showing that she has a fairly contentious relationship with him. In “Enter the Florpus”, Gaz ends up being the one to encourage Dib when he’s at his lowest point, expressing that no matter how much he annoys her and how often they clash, he’s still her brother whom she cares for (much needed after Season 2 flanderized her so badly).
In “The Nightmare Begins”, Professor Membrane is established by not listening to what Dib has to say since he’s busy with something, flat-out dismissing him when he tries. He keeps this up throughout the series, naturally giving Dib the impression that his father isn’t proud of his weirdo son and that exposing Zim will rectify that. In “Enter the Florpus”, in a dramatic moment Professor Membrane reveals that Dib doesn’t have to prove anything because he’s always proud of him - he genuinely never considered that his dismissiveness when busy would give Dib the impression it did because he took it as a given that his children knew he loved them and was proud of them. Now that he realizes his mistake, he showcases his development by spending the rest of the movie more attentive and openly caring toward Dib.
Speaking of Professor Membrane’s development, I feel this moment in the climax deserves more attention. Professor Membrane spends the movie thinking the whole fantastical scenario he’s in is just a dream, since everything going on is so unscientific and he can’t grasp that it could possibly be real. However, when it comes time to save Earth through a literal Yes or No selection, we see him hesitate and almost press No before then pressing Yes. So much said here without any dialogue: Professor Membrane realizes that if he presses Yes, then he’s lending this whole crisis legitimacy…he’s practically admitting that it’s not a dream and is really happening. Pressing No to not save Earth since, hey, it’s all a dream anyway…that’s more in line with what he wishes to believe. However, he still presses Yes. Why? Because even if it is a dream, he couldn’t bring himself to let his children perish. If it’s a dream and he has total control, then there’s no excuse for him to condemn even dream versions of his children to their doom along with the rest of the planet. When it mattered most, the man’s love for his kids overcame his rational scientific mind. And that’s just beautiful.
I also want to mention how wonderfully the movie solidified Dib and Zim as foils of one another. Both of them are the same but different. They are the same in that their egomania and desire to protect or conquer Earth conceals a fragile core: deep down they are insecure losers who just want to receive validation from someone they look up to - for Dib, his father, and for Zim, the Almighty Tallest. It’s what leads to Dib empathizing with Zim, and trying to help him even though it backfires horribly. But they are different in that not only does Dib start to evolve past his delusions while Zim only sinks further into them, but also their efforts are proven futile for entirely opposite reasons. Dib can never make his father proud of him because his father loves him and is already proud of him…he doesn’t need to accomplish any grand feat to prove himself to him. Zim, on the other hand, can never make the Tallest proud of him because the Tallest hate him and anything he does, even successfully, will only piss them off more as they just want to be rid of him. It really is two sides of a single coin.
Finally, the ending of the movie - and series - is just perfect, with the “lol, random!” veneer concluding the main characters in a random religious allegory. The Membrane family are left off in a state of Heaven: they love each other and are happily seated at the table for dinner. They even have a new member in Clembrane, whose existence confirms the prior ordeal to have not been a dream but Professor Membrane hilariously sticks to that story anyway because he’ll be damned if he ever admits something so unscientific out loud. The Almighty Tallest are left off in a state of Hell, literally trapped in a fiery inferno within the Florpus (and for added karma, they’re puppets now). And Zim, with GIR and Minimoose still at his side, is left off in a state of Purgatory. Never the model of sanity to begin with, Zim’s biggest and most competently executed plan failing and dooming the Irken Empire in the process has caused him to fully retreat from reality - he now claims stealing a clown doll from Dib’s house was the plan all along, makes outrageous false statements like “Zim always wins!”, and takes the Tallest’s screaming as they dance in the Florpus’ flames as a “yes” when asking if they are pleased with him as an Invader. He’s never going to stop making screwball plans to conquer Earth for the Irken Empire even when there is no more Irken Empire. The good news is that Dib will doubtlessly be all too willing to humor him, so it is kind of a happy ending for him too.
Invader ZIM: Enter the Florpus - it truly is one of the smartest dumbest movies ever.
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