I just found out it’s Indie animation day today, so I’d like to talk about one of my personal favourite indie projects!
Monkey wrench is a 2D sci-fi action comedy about a an alien mercenary group making ends meet in a post-human galaxy. Hot-headed, trigger-happy Shrike and the more compassionate and patient Beebs take odd jobs to raise their rank on the merc leaderboard in the hopes of making a name for themselves as Monkey Wrench.
It’s just the right mix of frenetic, goofy and fun while also having a solid emotional core and not being afraid to get more serious. It’s like a Saturday morning cartoon that skews a bit older and puts a big ol’ smile on my face. Shrike and Beebs are strongly characterised while also having depth to them, and every episode tells me a little more about them while also making me want to know more.
There is definitely something more sinister bubbling up in the background, with political assassinations, power plays, intergalactic governments, a species ending-galactic wide cataclysm that has rendered a quarter of the galaxy uninhabitable almost 800 years later, and skeleton aliens!
The show currently has 4 episodes so it’s the perfect time to jump in now and get invested!
The art style is rad, with strong character silhouettes and bold colour schemes. Every single character has a vastly different body type and are animated with such care that they have a real sense of weight and motion - there’s real energy to it and there is nothing else out there that looks, sounds and FEELS like this show! It’s a zingy shot of lime juice in the savoury paella of indie animation!
The soundtrack by Ockeroid is amazing too!
Check it out here: https://youtube.com/@monkeywrenchseries?si=mEghaQ528ZZcbCUY
Home for the Monkey Wrench Web series created by Joshua & Ashley Palmer
