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The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart

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The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart
Directed byJackson Publick
Screenplay by
Based onThe Venture Bros.
by Jackson Publick
Produced byRachel Simon
Starring
Music byJG Thirlwell
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Home Entertainment
Release dates
  • July 21, 2023 (2023-07-21) (Digital)
  • July 25, 2023 (2023-07-25) (Blu-ray)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart is a 2023 American direct-to-video adult animated science fiction action adventure film based on the Adult Swim animated series The Venture Bros., where it serves as the series finale. The film is directed and co-written by the series creator Jackson Publick and writer Doc Hammer, who serves as the film's executive producers and features the voices of the show's returning principal cast, James Urbaniak, Patrick Warburton, Michael Sinterniklaas, Publick and Hammer. The film centers on a nationwide manhunt for Hank Venture, which leads to a coming darkness from the past that involves the Venture Family, the Guild, and the Monarch.

Originally envisioned as a potential eighth season of the series, the film is the second of Adult Swim's line of direct-to-video movies after Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm, and was released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on digital on July 21, 2023, and Blu-ray on July 25, 2023, followed by its availability on Max (known during the film's production as HBO Max) 90 days later.[1][2][3][4]

Plot

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Three days after Hank's disappearance, the O.S.I. is distracted with a low-level Guild villain attacking one of their labs with powerful technology supplied by the mysterious new villain organization ARCH. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and Red Death are assigned by the Council of Thirteen to investigate. After discovering via DNA test that they are seemingly related following his Guild initiation, The Monarch is forbidden from attacking Dr. Venture until their relationship is confirmed. Meanwhile, Dr. Venture struggles with perfecting VenTech's newest invention, the "HelperPod" virtual assistant, due to a bug that makes it levitate while playing music.

Driven by guilt over sleeping with Hank's girlfriend, Dean goes to Orpheus for help, who goes with Jefferson to find him. Acting on advice from his imaginings of various characters he enjoys playing (The Detective, The Bat, Russian Guyovich, and Enrico Matassa), Hank makes his way back to his old family home at the Venture compound in an attempt to rediscover himself. The Monarch is approached by his ex-girlfriend and ARCH's invisible leader Mantilla, who promises to let him arch Dr. Venture again if he joins them. Hank encounters his old friend and O.S.I. cadet Dermott upon his arrival at the abandoned Venture compound, who reveals he found a picture of "Bobbi St. Simone" signed to Dr. Venture amongst his collection of stolen Venture memorabilia.

During a detour, Jefferson is attacked by blaculas in Chicago, where Dean is seemingly bitten by one and tries to hide it. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is framed as ARCH's leader and blacklisted by the Guild, but Red Death helps her escape. The Monarch and 21 are abandoned by ARCH upon breaking in to VenTech Tower, while Mantilla uses 21's phone to hack into the HelperPods and use their levitating bug to uproot the tower, sending them into orbit. Hank arrives at Bobbi's animal sanctuary, who explains that she had a brief tryst with Jonas after he gave her invisibility powers for a movie. She was later recruited by the O.S.I. as a Guild mole, but fell in love with the Guild's leader Force Majeure and had a daughter, Mantilla. The two were later forced to flee and went into hiding after The Sovereign killed Majeure for Guild leadership. Hank, overwhelmed by his head injury, falls back into purgatory.

Billy and Pete advise Rusty to individually destroy the HelperPods to slowly lower the tower back to earth. He, Hatred, The Monarch, and 21 are nearly killed by their gravitational field when they try, forcing them to hide in the air ducts. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch breaks into Mantilla's apartment, where she is waiting for her and explains that she wants to run ARCH with her out of admiration. She mentions that Dr. Venture had transferred her mother's invisibility to her in exchange for her eggs (implying that she is technically Hank and Dean's biological mother) and that she is the rightful heir to the Guild. She turns off the HelperPods in exchange for Guild immunity, causing the tower to start falling at a lethal speed. Orpheus comes to purgatory to rescue Hank, who is moved by the fact that Dean is the one who led his rescue.

Dean accidentally transports himself to purgatory and is attacked by the physical manifestations of Hank's characters. Orpheus pulls them both out and Hank finally forgives his brother. Hatred discovers the Ventronic mech inside the tower as they reenter the atmosphere, and the team devises a plan to slow the building's descent. They manage to marginally slow the tower using Ventronic, though The Monarch accidentally ejects his part of the robot in the process. Aided by Hunter Gathers and the O.S.I.'s mothership, Ventronic safely lowers the tower into the ruins of the compound, while The Monarch is impaled by the fallen statue of Jonas after leaving the arm. Dean nervously reveals his bite to Jefferson, who explains that he merely injured himself on Jefferson's tooth necklace when he tackled Dean to safety.

Ben arrives on the scene and saves The Monarch's life by using Dr. Venture's blood for a transfusion, and Ben reveals that they are not related—The Monarch is actually Dr. Venture's clone made for his infertile parents, albeit infused with minor traces of baboon DNA (to combat premature baldness) which caused his extreme aggression. Ben gives Hank a custom GMT Master, given to him by Jonas before Dr. Venture was born. Ben makes note of the engraving on the back, Elige Tua (choose your family), telling Hank that "blood doesn't make a family, love does", while Dr. Venture promises Dean whoever his "true" mother is loves him very much. A weakened but impassioned Monarch declares his determination to hate Dr. Venture and leaves in triumph. In a post-credits scene, in a flashback montage, a young Dr. Venture reveals Hank and Dean to H.E.L.P.eR., who are growing in an artificial womb attached to his chest.

Cast

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Main article: List of The Venture Bros. characters

Production

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After the conclusion of the seventh season in October 2018, the series was announced to be renewed for an eighth season.[5][6] On September 5, 2020, one of the show's illustrators, Ken Plume, tweeted that The Venture Bros. was cancelled.[7][6] Jackson Publick confirmed two days later that the show was cancelled. The script for Season 8 had been partially written at the time of its cancellation a few months before the public announcement.[8][9]

Following the announcement, Adult Swim stated via Twitter that "We also want more Venture Bros. and have been working with Jackson and Doc to find another way to continue the Venture Bros. story".[10][9] On November 13, 2020, HBO Max general manager Andy Forssell tweeted that HBO Max was "working on" reviving The Venture Bros.[11] On May 12, 2021, it was announced that a direct-to-video film was greenlit for production from Adult Swim, which will conclude the story from the series, and air on HBO Max 90 days after its home video release.[1][3] In April 2023, it was announced that HBO Max would re-launch as Max on May 23 that year.[12][13]

Production for the film was finished in March 2023.[14]

Release

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Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart was made available on digital platforms July 21, 2023 and released on Blu-ray on July 25.

Reception

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The film received highly positive reviews from critics and audiences. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 92% approval rating based on reviews from 12 critics, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[15] Nick Valdez of ComicBook.com said that the film was an "emotional finale" to the series, stating that "It's the kind of ending that leaves you wanting more. Not because the film itself was lacking, but because it leaves you with such a warm feeling that you don't want it to ever end. And for those who've watched The Venture Bros. for all this time, it'll likely hit a hundred times harder."[16] Danielle Dowling, writing for The New York Times, also said that the film ended on a high note and said that "If we were never to see the Ventures again, Radiant lets us part with them on a high note, but hopefully this end is just the beginning."[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hibberd, James (May 12, 2021). "Adult Swim Orders 'Venture Bros.', 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force', 'Metalocalypse' Movies". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  2. ^ @JamesUrbaniak (May 13, 2021). "@ColonelCactus Not a joke, there will..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b Milligan, Mercedes (April 19, 2023). "First Clip Revealed for 'The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart'". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  4. ^ "Breaking News - Venture Bros. Fans Rejoice with All-New Original Film "The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart" | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com.
  5. ^ "The Venture Home News Facebook Page". Facebook. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Valdez, Nick (September 5, 2020). "Venture Bros. Art Book Author Says Show is Cancelled". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  7. ^ Plume, Ken [@KenPlume] (September 5, 2020). "The Venture Bros" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Publick, Jackson [@jacksonpublick] (September 7, 2020). "Unfortunately, it's true: #VentureBros has been canceled. We got the highly disappointing news a few months ago, while we were writing what would have been season 8. We thank you, our amazing fans, for 17 years of your kind (and patient) attention. And, as always, We Love You" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ a b Moreau, Jordan (September 8, 2020). "'The Venture Bros.' Canceled at Adult Swim After Seven Seasons". Variety. Archived from the original on September 9, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ^ @AdultSwim (September 7, 2020). "We also want more Venture Bros. and have been working with Jackson and Doc to find another way to continue the Venture Bros. story" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Alter, Rebecca (November 17, 2020). "HBO Max Is 'Working On' Saving Venture Bros". Vulture.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  12. ^ Spangler, Todd (April 12, 2023). "HBO Max to Be Renamed 'Max' With Addition of Discovery+ Content". Variety. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  13. ^ Maas, Jennifer (April 12, 2023). "Warner Bros. Discovery Unveils 'Max': Everything Revealed at Combined HBO Max-Discovery+ Streaming Presentation". Variety. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  14. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ "The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  16. ^ "The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart Review: An Emotional Finale". Anime. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  17. ^ Dowling, Danielle (July 20, 2023). "'The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart' Review: Return of the Glorious Weirdos". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
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