Various people find themselves on a mysterious train with an endless number of cars, each one being its own universe, and they must find a way to get home in this animated anthology series.
“Infinity Train” in its original debut was a television series produced by the Cartoon Network in 2016. Three years later it was made into a miniseries that comprised of four seasons and then introduced as Books. The animation style is very appealing to youth, yet each book has its own set of characters with a dark set of themes that at times have been considered controversial for children. This mixed form of media has teenage passengers who transfer from car to car with a robotic Conductor, One-One, on a train as they seek resolution to their life issues.
Jesse (Robbie Daymond) is a precocious 14-year-old who is on the run with an escaped reflection, Mirror Tulip (Asley Johnson). The two constantly face obstacles that find them on opposite sides of the spectrum and they bounce their ideas off of one another. The barren landscape which they travel through provides alternative routes for the emotional issues they are struggling with and once they seem to get the situation under control, there is an open portal that leads them back home. “Book Two” specifically focuses on “MT” Mirror Tulip, who is being punished for abandoning her reflection in “Book One.” She meets a new set of friends which includes a deer (Alan Dracula), who has superpowers, Jesse, a passenger who enters the train and does not seem to be able to stand up for himself as well as a Cat (Cat car) and a Toad (Toad car). With MT’s help, Jesse overcomes his fears and is able to leave the train, yet he feels indebted to her and re-enters the train to help her escape and in celebration of her escape, her name is changed to Lake.
Owen Dennis, who created “Infinity Train,” previously created video games as a teen and the inspiration for this project came as a result of insecure feelings he developed on a return flight from China. What he decided early on was that the movement amongst the cars on the train would be designed to help youth overcome their personal issues, which would be relative to most teens. While the script seems to be a real form of therapeutic adventure with alternative resolutions, I found myself a bit distracted by the zaniness of it all and agree that certain viewers will fall in love with the creativity and unpredictability while others may hopelessly fall off the track in the midst of all the diversions.
Now available on DVD
