“When I’m around you, I kind of feel like I’m on drugs. Not that I do drugs. Unless you do drugs, in which case I do them all the time. Every drug.” 

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is one of those movies that whenever I watch it, I realize I’ve somehow forgotten everything about it. Don’t ask me about the plot, or the characters, or what’s happening at any point in time, because every time I watch this movie, it’s like I’m watching it for the first time. I think that’s one of the biggest charms to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World—it’s so easily forgettable, and so easily enjoyable when it all comes rushing back. 

With a pretty star-studded cast, you’d think I wouldn’t forget people like Chris Evans and Aubrey Plaza, or Kieran Culkin and Brie Larson being in this movie. Yet, every time I see these guest stars on screen, I’m pointing and laughing and thinking about what a time 2010 was.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a romance-comedy-live action and somewhat-animated mish-mash of a movie. It’s based on the original graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O’Malley, and is filmed and animated like a video game. To match the style of a comic book, the movie literally animates noises, sound effects, and branches reality off into a world where flying around and fighting with video-game style lightsabers is normal. This year, we’re celebrating the anniversary of VFX, the battle of the bands, and dying your hair with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

TWENTY-TWO YEAR-OLD WISDOM

Scott: “Garlic bread is my favorite food. I could honestly eat it for every meal. Or just eat it all the time without even stopping.”

Ramona: “You’d get fat.”

Scott: “No, why would I get fat?”

Ramona: “Bread makes you fat.”

Scott: “Bread makes you fat?!”

Scott Pilgrim is like Jimmy Olsen (fictional character from Superman), how he manages to pull these beautiful women is beyond rhyme or reason. He’s a total “lady-killer-wannabe-jerky-jerk”, as said by Aubrey Plaza’s character. He’s a dorky, 22 year-old nerd who lives with his 25 year-old friend and “cool, gay roommate” Wallace (Kieran Culkin). 

Scott (Michael Cera) is currently dating a 17 year-old high school girl, Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). The two have never kissed, have barely held hands, and basically nothing else. They like to go to the record store, play dance based video games, and attend Scott’s band practice for “Sex Bob-Omb”, the next big punk-rock group. Everything changes when Scott meets the literal girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). 

Scott’s life gets complicated as he continues his relationship with Knives, but develops his feelings for Ramona. In the meantime, Scott finds out that to be with Ramona, he must defeat her 7 evil exes one by one. 

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World features all of the stereo-typical things that happen in the life of a 22 year-old—breakups, finding a job, learning to master a sword, specializing in the skills of self-respect, finding the girl of your dreams, killing Chris Evans . . . just the normal things, really.

In all actuality though, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a seriously fun movie that breaks barriers between the mediums of film, manga, and video games. It pokes fun at the unserious ways in which people treat one another, and how young people go in and out of relationships, and most importantly, how all of that is OK. While the movie wasn’t seen as a financial success when it first was released in 2010, it grew with time (as many movies do) and became a cult-fan favorite for those who love transmedia narrative. Now, we’re celebrating 15 years of Scott Pilgrim.

A GIG IS A GIG IS A GIG, IS A GIG!

In 2023, the Scott Pilgrim verse took another leap as it entered into uncharted territory—a television show! Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is an anime series developed by creator O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski that’s hosted on Netflix. This show is based on the graphic novels, with the entire main cast from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World reprising their roles as voice actors! 

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a retelling of the original plot of Scott Pilgrim, but has its changes. Like the movie and the graphic novels, love blooms when Scott meets Ramona Flowers. However, when Scott faces off against Ramona’s first evil ex, Matthew Patel, he loses and is supposedly killed. The rest of the animated show follows Ramona as she believes Scott to still be alive and investigates his mysterious disappearance. In this alternate reality of Scott Pilgrim, the audience sees the different ways and trajectories of the character’s lives as Scott is no longer at the head of the charge. 

The entire show has 8 episodes, concluding the end of the show. There is not a second season, as the creators really only intended there to be one season. Creator Bryan Lee O’Malley wrote on the social platform X, “It was an honor to work with all of the cast & staff around the world. It was like conducting a symphony orchestra every day.” He went on further to say, “As you know, we only intended one season, and called in a lot of favors to make it happen, so making more would have been nearly impossible.”

HE PUNCHED THE HIGHLIGHTS OUT OF HER HAIR!

If you haven’t watched Scott Pilgrim vs. the World yet, it’s time. Not only is the movie hilarious, but it will certainly be an escape from your everyday life realities as you’re watching Scott face off against seven opponents with his fists and his guitar. Celebrate 15 years with these characters that make audiences laugh, cringe, and wish that life could be like a video game.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is currently streaming on HBO Max