Adapted from an adventurous platform game, the story of Scarygirl has been recently made into an animated fantasy film. The original graphic novel was woven by Nathan Jurevicius, an Australian artist. The directors Ricard Cussó and Tania Vincent introduce us to yet another sci-fi film delving into the matter of a futuristic theme with an evil scientist trying to destroy the world. Some other adventure animations that share a similar essence with that of this film include Wall-E, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Happy Feet, and others. The plot revolves around the quest of a little girl to save her father and the world from the clutches of an evil scientist. Will Arkie be able to save her father and the world? Let’s find out!
Spoilers Ahead
What Were Dr. Maybee’s Intentions?
The bounty hunters of the evil Dr. Maybee is out on the search for a giant octopus. A huge reward is placed on anyone who is able to find the creature in the city. Dr. Maybee is tired of experimenting on the small squigglers, who hardly have any regenerative properties, and aims at capturing Blister, the giant octopus, for monetary gains. Meanwhile, Arkie spends a peaceful life with her father, Blister, on a peninsula full of natural plankton. Blister has regenerative capabilities and helps in healing the plants that are withering due to the experiments of Dr. Maybee in the city. The experiments require drawing energy from the sun, which has been draining out solar power and harming the environment. On the one hand, Dr. Maybee is reliant on giant machines that have been destroying the planet, and on the other hand, Blister keeps away from machines, calling them ‘dangerous.’ Arkie is keen on using new machines, but Blister warns her of the perils associated with them. An accidental misuse of a machine by Arkie sends a signal to the bounty hunter, Chihoohoo, and his accomplices, and they immediately locate their abode, resulting in Blister being captured. He is taken to the laboratory of Dr. Maybee, where he is experimented on. His regenerative DNA is transferred to other citizens to make them stronger. Dr. Maybee is conducting these experiments in exchange for huge sums of money from his clients.
How Did Arkie Manage To Save Her Father And The World?
Arkie sets off on a mission to save her father and the world from the clutches of Dr. Maybee. She runs into Egg and Bunniguru, as their aircraft crashed on the peninsula. She is accompanied by them on her mission, as they say that they wanted to help her, but their real intentions lie in capturing her and earning the bounty to clear off their debts and fix Egg’s broken shell. The three are transported to the City of Lights by the Tree of Knowledge, which gives Arkie a vision of the incidents that she would face before her journey. On reaching the city, Arkie is amazed to see so many kinds of new creatures. She is, however, chased around the city by many strange citizens, as there is a huge bounty on octopuses. It is not long before Chihoohoo captures Bunniguru and questions him about Arkie.
Bunniguru and Egg are initially reluctant because, by this point, they have become good friends with Arkie. Later, he gives in, and Arkie is captured and taken to Dr. Maybee, where she is immediately recognized by him as his long-lost daughter. When she is told that she will be genetically mutated by him back into a human from an octopus, she refuses. As she tries to help Blister, she seeks the help of Keeper, the once-trusted accomplice of Dr. Maybee. The plea brings a change to Keeper’s heart, and she decides to help Arkie out. Keeper takes Arkie to a bower, where there are several squigglers that she has saved from Dr. Maybee’s experiments. Keeper also reveals her own identity, and we see her as a half-squiggler who had been metamorphosed into a half-squiggler and a half-human by Dr. Maybee’s experiment. She says that she was one of his most initial experiments, and she also acknowledges that what the experiments were doing to the squigglers was cruel. She also says that Dr. Maybee is so consumed by his power that he does not care about the planet or his daughter anymore.
Arkie then goes back to Dr. Maybee Lab to request him so that Blister can be released. He, however, refuses and says that he would also capture her to recreate his perfect daughter with Arkie’s DNA. He said that Arkie was nothing like his own daughter and that she had nothing left to offer him anymore. Just then, Bunniguru and Egg come back to the lab to help Arkie out. As they crash into the lab with their aircraft, Arkie uses this as a chance to release Blister. The injured Dr. Maybee tries to take revenge on them and turns on his machines to draw out all the solar energy and destroy the planet, killing all the creatures. Just as he is trying to run away to another planet, Keeper stands in his way and, with the help of the squigglers, transforms him into a half-human and half-squiggler. On the other end, Arkie, Blister, Bunniguru, and Egg try their best to shut down the system and finally manage to do so. They are finally able to save the world, and all the citizens bask in the joy of seeing the sun shine bright again. The regenerative capacity of Blister helps him mend the broken shell of Egg, and in the end, they return to their peninsula. Egg and Bunniguru also follow them to their peaceful abode and live amidst the natural ecosystem, away from the crowds and pollution of the city.
What Was Arkie’s Real Identity?
When Arkie reaches Dr. Maybee’s lab, she is recognized by him as his daughter, whom he had thought was dead. He tells Arkie that Blister was not her real father and that he had lied to her. He tells her that many years ago, he and Arkie were forced to leave their planet because it was destroyed. He and Arkie were the only humans left in the galaxy, and they later shifted to this planet. He had heard of an octopus with regenerative properties, Blister, and thought that he could help in restoring the human race. But when Dr. Maybee finally went to capture Blister, he attacked, resulting in Arkie’s death. He tried restoring his daughter through her DNA and by harnessing the sun. Finally, he created a baby who was half human and half octopus, and before he could nurture and perfect her, fate took her away again. She ended up with Blister, who never told Dr. Maybee that his daughter was alive. However, the DNA of Blister was used in creating Arkie, which made her more of a daughter to Blister than to Dr. Maybee. While Blister accepted the way Arkie was, her own father, Dr. Maybee, was keen on changing her appearance and transforming her back into a complete human. Despite having a blood relationship with Dr. Maybee, Arkie felt a stronger bond with Blister, providing her with a determination to save him by the end of Scarygirl.
Final Thoughts
Scarygirl proves that the relationships that are made over time are stronger than blood ties. Arkie takes the side of the good and rejects the evil, even though her own father was on the wrong end. This C-G animated feature film, however, displays the type of adventure that has been explored many times before by different directors, but the unique characters make the story stand out. The frenzy and fast-paced adventure in the film can be compared to Star Wars and other similar films. The futuristic appeal of Scarygirl points in the direction of the harm inflicted by humans on the planet. Just as portrayed in the film, it is possible that we would damage our planet so much beyond repair that we would have to go and live on another planet. These films are a reminder for us to mend our ways and preserve our environment.
