Z-Realm 4: Dark Travel



Z-Realm 4: Dark Travel is a traditionally-animated theatrical sequel to Z-Realm 3: Saving Zarc. The movie was released roughly six years after the previous one. Once again, the plot centers around Jake and Marla, plus a new character: 13 year-old Aspiring Young, as they travel to the end of the Z-Realm to face Phantominous. The running time was 2 hours, 23 minutes, longer than any other Z-Realm movie thus far.

Plot/Synopsis
Set 11 years after the events of Z-Realm 3, Zarc was presumed dead, and 30 year-old Jake and Marla now work as Z-Voyagers, who must give a new student a taste of what it's like to do their job. However, Jake is suspicious of this new student and believes something's up.

Age Rating
The movie was still PG-13 like the second and third ones. Jake says the F-word, but it's not played for laughs like when Marla said it in the previous movie. Once again, a lot of S-bombs and disturbing imagery.

Tone And Atmosphere
The movie was also noted to have a much darker tone than the first three, hence the title, "Dark Travel." The comedy department that was at the heart of the original three is near gone. Which is understandable, considering this is the second-to-last movie and it makes sense that it would want to take itself more seriously.

Production
The script for the fourth movie was finished not too long after the third one was released to theaters. It was originally set for a release date 2-3 years after the third. The script was then scrapped and rewritten. As a result, the movie was in development for more than half a decade, making it the longest gap between two Z-Realm films at the time.

The original script was revealed to not feature a timeskip and would just be business as usual. Animations for this early draft, most of which are unfinished, started surfacing online and are featured on the home and streaming releases of the actual film.

Reception
Critics and audiences respected this film for its boldness and how it "shook up the status quo even more." For this movie, minimalistic set design was apparently a good choice and audiences didn't mind the darker, more story and character-driven tone.

Preceeded By

 * Z-Realm 3: Saving Zarc
 * Z-Realm 2
 * Z-Realm (Film)

Succeeded By
Z-Realm 5: Abyssal Abyss