Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (2022)

There are fictional characters who feel genuinely indestructible, and Beavis and Butt-Head are probably near the top of that list. Mike Judge's perpetually adolescent metalhead duo first appeared on MTV in 1993, and for much of the mid-nineties they were an unlikely cultural flashpoint: lampooned by parents, beloved by teenagers, and taken surprisingly seriously by media critics who saw in their slack-jawed commentary something almost satirical. The original series ran until 1997, spawned a theatrical film in 1996, was briefly revived in 2011, and then, twenty-six years after the show first aired, the pair returned again for Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe. The film's own tagline cheerfully declares it "the dumbest science fiction movie ever made," which tells you more or less everything you need to know about the ambition on offer. It premiered on Paramount Plus in June 2022, landing in a media landscape where nostalgia revivals had become almost a genre in their own right.

The film was directed by John Rice and Albert Calleros, with animation produced by Titmouse, a studio with a long track record in adult animation. The production also involved MTV Entertainment Studios and Judge's own Judgemental Films, meaning the original creator retained a firm hand on proceedings. The premise sends the duo from 1998 through a black hole (via a doomed Space Shuttle mission that begins, as these things tend to with Beavis and Butt-Head, with a spectacular misreading of social cues) and deposits them into the present day, where smartphones, identity politics, and the general bewilderment of modern life become the new backdrop for their particular brand of obliviousness. For anyone curious how the pair's earlier big-screen outing holds up, it's worth checking out the site's review of Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, which also stars Mike Judge in the central roles. Judge again voices both characters here, and it's the kind of performance that's easy to underestimate: keeping two distinct, lovably idiotic personalities consistent and funny across a film-length runtime is harder than it looks. The supporting cast includes Gary Cole, Chi McBride, Andrea Savage, and Nat Faxon, providing a relatively straight-faced human world for the boys to blunder through. That contrast, sensible people reacting to complete nonsense, has always been a load-bearing pillar of the franchise's comedy. If animation as a format interests you more broadly, the site's review of Josep covers a very different end of what the medium can do, and makes for an interesting counterpoint to something like this.

Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe is exactly what you’d expect: more of the same juvenile humour, dim-witted misadventures, and accidental chaos from Mike Judge’s iconic duo, just now with a sci-fi twist. This time, Beavis and Butt-Head get blasted into space (naturally), flung decades into the future, and somehow end up bumbling through a world even dumber than they are. The premise lets the film play with modern tech, social media absurdity, and woke culture, all filtered through two teenagers who only care about “fire!”, heavy metal, and nachos. It’s funny in places. Some gags land. Judge still nails their voices and rhythms, and there are flashes of that old Beavis and Butt-Head magic where sheer stupidity becomes its own kind of genius. Fans will appreciate the callbacks and the fact that, after all these years, they haven’t changed a bit. But it’s also clearly made for nostalgia. The satire feels softer, less biting than the original series, and the story meanders without much real stakes or surprise. It’s decent, sure, but not great. More like a lazy Sunday cartoon binge than a must-see movie. Harmless, occasionally hilarious, but mostly just coasting on past glory. If you miss the noise, welcome back. Just don’t expect enlightenment.

For me, that comparison to a lazy Sunday binge feels about right, and I can't quite shake it. There's genuine affection to be had here, and I'd be lying if I said a few of the gags didn't catch me off guard in the best way. But affection only carries a film so far. When you stack this against something like Trolls, which I reviewed here and which at least commits fully to its own absurd energy, you realise how much a film like this needs momentum to sustain itself over eighty-six minutes. The time-jump conceit is clever enough on paper, and there are moments where Judge finds that old frequency, but they pass quickly. Beavis and Butt-Head work brilliantly in short, sharp bursts. Whether they were ever really built for feature length is a question this film raises more than it answers. Good for a watch, especially if you grew up with them. Just maybe don't block out your whole evening for it.

Rating: ★★★  | Year: 2022  | Watched: 2025-09-14

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (2022) on YouTube

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
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Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

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