This animated feature serves as the coda to the MTV series Daria, which spawned 65 half-hour episodes and one previous movie (Daria: Is It Fall Yet?) during its five-year run. It is wry teen misfit Daria Morgendorffer's senior year at Lawndale High -- time to figure out what university to attend. Her first choice is Bromwell, which is also the first choice of her blue-blooded boyfriend, Tom, whose illustrious ancestors are all alumni. When Daria, Tom, and Tom's mother head off for a campus visit, things don't go as planned. Daria almost bombs her interview; even worse, traffic, bad weather, and the need for Tom to suck up to the alumni keep Daria from getting more than a drive-by look at her second-choice school, Raft. Ironically, though, she gets into Raft and not Bromwell. Tom, of course, does, and the resulting friction leaves a question mark hanging over their relationship. College questions also plague Daria's friends: Jane frets over whether even to apply to art school in Boston, while Jodie must convince her status-obsessed father to let her attend a primarily African-American university where she can finally fit in. Big questions face even Lawndale's younger students as Daria's fashion-plate sister, Quinn, is forced to take a restaurant job to pay off the credit-card bills she's rung up on clothes; hanging out with college kids and helping a new friend through a drinking problem help give Quinn a new outlook on her previously shallow life; can the end of the Fashion Club be far behind? Daria: Is It College Yet? premiered on MTV on Monday, January 21, 2002; nearly commercial-free, the original presentation included the world premiere of the video for "Breaking Up the Girl" by pop band Garbage, alongside clips from all five seasons of the show. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Review
Smart, witty, and pragmatic, just like its protagonist, this feature-length farewell to MTV's favorite misfit doesn't waste too much time mourning the show's passing. It's too busy cramming in innumerable plot developments, wrapping up loose ends, and sending its main characters off to the real world (though not, thankfully, to MTV's The Real World). It's no surprise to anyone who's seen more than a few episodes of Daria that Ms. Morgendorffer would handle her college search, her graduation speech, and the end of her first real relationship with grace, dry humor, and levelheaded poise; the real surprise is the acceleration of sibling Quinn's transformation from Fashion Club bimbo to thinking young woman. Best pal Lane Jane gets short shrift amidst all the comings and goings of the Morgendorffer girls, but supporting characters Jodie and Mack enact a well-written subplot about the choices faced by college-bound African-American teens. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of broad humor involving the romantic exploits of various faculty members at Lawndale High; as was often the case on the show itself, the coarse stereotypes with which the grown-ups are depicted detract somewhat from the sharp writing that defines the teen protagonists. Still, Daria was a great youth-culture snapshot that touched on eternal teen truths and captured the specificity of growing up in the late '90s. And Daria: Is It College Yet? enjoys the same strengths as the series that spawned it. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Cast
Becca Lish; Fisher Stevens; James Woods; Lisa Collins; Dave Grohl - Daniel Dotson; Brett Barsky; Alvaro J. Gonzalez - Trent Lane; Wass W. Stevens - Max Tyler; Wendy Hoopes - Jane Lane; Carson Daly - David Sorenson; Bif Naked - Alison; Geoffrey Arend - Charles Ruttenheimer III; Cindy E. Brolsma; Lemon Krasny; Maria Rodas; Ben McCrea; Karen Kunkel; Amy Palmer; Gilat Meltzer; Ashley Albert - Ms. Janet Barch; Rachel Anton; Kiki Barrera - Steve Taylor; Corey Block; H.R. Bridges; Joseph Buoye; Michelle Damato; Sarah Drew - Stacy Rowe; Rebecca Emily - Ashley-Amber Taylor; Bart Fasbender - Nicholas Campbell; Amanda Fox; Maggie Frederic; Amy Goldman; Tracy Grandstaff - Daria Morgandoffer; Russell Hankin - Tom Sloane; Jessica Hardin; Steven Huppert - Joey; Katie Kingston - Marianne; Nora Laudani - Ms. Angela Li; Stefanie Layne; John Worth Lynn Jr. - Sick Sad World Announcer; Janie Mertz - Andrea; Daniel Milledge; David Moritt; Rhodri J. Murphy; Tim Novikoff - Jeffy; Petunia; Rita Pietropinto - Aunt Amy Barksdale; Julian Rebolledo - Jake Morgendorffer; Willy Schwenz - Jesse Moreno; Barbara Soehner - Aunt Rita Barksdale; Bradford Jay Sussman; Marc Thompson - Anthony DeMartino; M. Ting; Laurine Towler - Michele Landon; Jennifer Visalli; Amir Williams - Mack Mackenzie; Jessica Cydnee Jackson - Jodie Abigail Landon
Credit
Tom Marsan - Art Director, Karen Disher - Animation Director, Tony Kluck - Animation Director, Guy Moore - Animation Director, Ted Stearn - Animation Director, Maria Rodas - Associate Producer, Felicia Stevens - Associate Producer, Karen Disher - Director, Karen Kunkel - Editor, Karen Sztajnberg - Editor, Abby Terkuhle - Executive Producer, Glenn Eichler - Executive Producer, Janet Wygal - Composer (Music Score), David Trexler - Production Manager, Cindy E. Brolsma - Producer, Lemon Krasny - Producer, Andrea Wortham - Producer, John Bowen - Sound Mixer, John Bowen - Sound Editor, Neil Cedar - Sound Editor, Philippe Desloovere - Sound Editor, Tony Pipitone - Sound Editor, Peggy Nicoll - Screenwriter, Glenn Eichler - Screenwriter, Heather A. Austin - Production Assistant, Brian Gauler - Production Assistant, Keith E. Williams - Production Assistant, Ben McCrea - Voice Director, Jared Deal - Background Artist, Corey Olin - Background Artist, Splendora - Musical Performer, Dino Alberto - Properties Designer, Kaori Hamura - Properties Designer, Kevin Shinkle - Properties Designer, Mike Wisniewski - Storyboard Supervisor, Bobby Suarez - Storyboard Artist, Ted Stearn - Storyboard Artist, Anthony Davis - Storyboard Artist, Denny Fincke - Storyboard Artist, Frank Gresham - Storyboard Artist, Dave M. Rodriguez - Storyboard Artist, Matthew Peters - Storyboard Artist, John Hassler - Foley Walker, Choon Man Lee - Supervising Director, Karen Kunkel - Post Production Producer
