Why Rick & Morty Season 5 Episode 3 Has A Different Animation Style In It

Warning: SPOILERS for Rick and Morty season 5, episode 3, “A Rickconvient Mort”.

Rick and Morty has always had a distinct animation style, but that changed in season 5, episode 3. The episode, “A Rickconvient Mort,” jumps back to the 1990s with a reboot of a ’90s icon Captain Planet and features a brief scene of Morty and Planetina stylized in an animation reminiscent of a crayon drawing.

The episode opens with Rick and Morty being rescued by Planetina, an ecological heroine who’s summoned by four kids with magic rings. Morty quickly becomes enamored with Planetina, and soon, the pair are dating. After rescuing Planetina from her controlling summoners, the pair travel the world to save the planet from anyone who threatens it – all despite Beth’s protests. However, Planetina’s methods become increasingly violent. After watching her murder 300 people, Morty calls the relationship off, leaving him heartbroken while Beth does her best to console him. The new style of animation, which can be found around the 8-minute mark of the episode, occurs as Morty and Planetina are becoming infatuated with one another.

In Dan Harmon’s section at the end of the episode, the co-creator explains this relationship is about “passion… that makes you dizzy,” which often comes with young love. With this newest love interest, Morty’s growth shines through; but it also serves as a reminder that Morty is really just a teenager at heart. A scene of the pair kissing quickly pans to the childlike animation. The entire sequence is animated as if drawn with crayon, featuring Planetina and Morty as flowers, the moon, fairies, and more – almost like juvenile doodles reminiscent of what lovestruck teens would draw in the margins of their notebooks. Morty is a teenage boy in one of his first relationships, and that fact is reflected in this style of animation.

This scene serves to remind audiences that despite Morty’s cynicism and his growth in Rick and Morty season 5, he is still a 14-year-old boy. There is a naivety around Morty and Planetina’s relationship – surely a “sentient amalgam of natural elements” and a teenager couldn’t go on saving the world together forever. Planetina doesn’t seem to have aged alongside her “kids,” so it’s likely she will never age – Morty, however, is a human boy who will age, and still has school and a family back home. But these aren’t things the couple are worried about. They’re in love, and that’s all that matters to them at the moment; until everything falls apart, that is.

This scene isn’t the first time Rick and Morty has featured different animation. “Bushworld Adventures,” a non-canon episode, is animated in an entirely different style than canon episodes. “Rick and Morty vs. The Genocider,” is stylized from anime. Rick and Morty frequently manages to perfectly highlight strong emotions with new, distinct styles of animation – and Rick and Morty season 5 is no exception.

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