Pale Force is ridiculous. Let's just get that out of the way. Originally aired in pieces on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," it follows the adventures of a superhero called Pale Man, a taller, fitter version of creator Jim Gaffigan. Pale Man is the coolest most popular guy on the planet. Everyone loves him and admires him deeply, including Conan O'Brien, whose dream comes true when he becomes Pale Man's sidekick.
However ridiculous it may be, Pale Force is absurd in a completely awesome way. Every little episode, under the pretense of pale jokes, is basically an ongoing jab at Conan: in the Pale Force universe, he's assumed to either be gay or a woman by virtually everyone who comes across him, and, let's face it, for good reason; he's effeminate, bizarrely weak, and has a squeaky pre-pubescent voice (provided by Gaffigan).
That -- Gaffigan's steadfast devotion to keeping the joke going -- is what makes this little series work so well is. He never passes up an opportunity to make Conan look like a jackass, and this consistency is hilarious. Conan pees himself like fifty times over the course of the series, and has a tendency to run away, limbs flailing wildly. For the Pale Force movie, for example, Dakota Fanning is enlisted to play Conan. (She ends up kicking his ass -- though, in Conan's defense, she's revealed to be a robot, apparently Gaffigan's way of trying to remain true to life.)
When it's not poking blatant fun at Conan, Pale Force is chock full of celebrity cameos. Sort of, anyway -- most of the voices, including those of the villain Lady Bronze (who's modeled after Eartha Kitt) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (who is evil and hellbent on conquering Pale Man), are done by Gaffigan. Jay Leno and Nicole Kidman also make appearances (and are also voiced by Gaffigan), as well as the White Stripes and a talking polar bear.
The disc runs just shy of an hour and a half and features 21 mini-sodes. The animations, helmed by Paul Noth, are crude, yet, with the exception of Gaffigan and O'Brien, humorously accurate; for the most part, you know exactly who is being mocked. The theme song is wonderful as well, recounting Gaffigan and O'Brien's "spooky, bloodless skin" and "freakish pallor." Add on the extras (a description of which is coming up) and you've got somewhat of a steal at $14.
DVD Bonus Features
Also on the disc are clips of all of Gaffigan's appearances on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," which feature O'Brien bitching about his animated portrayal and Gaffigan offering unwavering assurance that things will get better. Whether serious or not, it really just adds to the character. There's also a single deleted scene of Conan jazzercising, and some early sketches of the animations.
"Pale Force" is on sale December 1, 2009 and is rated NR. Animation, Comedy. Written and directed by Jim Gaffigan. Starring Jim Gaffigan.
