Character Analysis: Moist

Character Analysis: Moist

By: Brian Cotnoir

     Oh, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog”, I can’t think of any better way to spend 45 minutes than watching you and singing along to your songs.  It only made sense that I would do a Character Analysis on one of the films memorable characters.  That’s why I chose to do one on Dr. Horrible’s “Evil Moisture Buddy”, Moist!

CHARACTER: Moist from “Dr. Horribles’s Sing-a-long-Blog” (2008)

Moist

Moist is the sidekick to the evil genius Dr. Horrible.  He doesn’t create hi-tech gadgets or have any super powers.  He just sweats...a lot; hence the nickname “Moist”.  The film doesn’t give us hardly any background on Moist, but Zack Whedon gives a detailed—albeit a brief—background to the origins of Moist in Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories.  According to comics, Moist was at one point a regular happy boy, who had cracked and dry skin.  When he was 6-years-old his father came home with a plutonium powered humidifier in an attempt to make his skin not so dry and cracked.  The plutonium powered humidifier worked a bit too well to the point where it altered his DNA and now he is forever in a constant state of perspiration.                         

     Eventually Moist would go on to be the Henchman to Dr. Horrible.  When we first see Moist in the film, he is bringing Dr. Horrible his mail, amongst the letters is a letter from Bad Horse; the leader of the Evil League of Evil.  Moist is more than willing to lend his abilities to make things damp or soggy to Dr. Horrible, but the Doctor informs Moist that he must go on his next mission alone.  When Doctor Horrible’s mission fails, he is informed by Bad Horse that the only way to gain entrance into the Evil League of Evil is to commit an assassination.  The Doctor asks Moist if he could ever kill a person.  Moist replies by telling him that he’s “not E.L.E. material” and that “at [his] most bad a$$ he makes people feel like they need a shower”. As loyal as Moist is to Doctor Horrible, he doesn’t look like he could harm a fly (let alone a human)  I think he’s just some loner looking for friendship and he found that friendship in a man almost as pathetic as him.

THE ACTOR:

Actor Simon Helberg

Moist is played by actor Simon Helberg, who is known more popularly as the actor who plays Howard Wolowitz on “The Big Bang Theory”.  Helberg does a very good job with the role.  Unlike, Howard from “The Big Bang Theory” who is more of a comic relief loser character, he plays Moist as more of a sad sympathetic loser character.  To me it didn’t feel like he just playing a revamped version of Wolowitz, Moist felt like a separate character he was playing.  I like how he gave Moist a nasally pitch when he speaks.  He’s not even in the film that much and he leaves quite the impact.  There aren’t any characters in films, television, comics, etc. who are as unique and as great as Moist.

CHARACTER IS SIMILAR TO OR INSPIRED BY:

     I definitely feel that Moist is similar to Dougie aka General Disarray from “South Park”.  Both Moist and General Disarray are “henchman” to a loser villain character bent on destroying/ taking over the world and they constantly fail.  Both characters suffer from low-self esteem and I’d even say could both be considered “loners” because they are the only people who would possibly want to associate themselves or with people like Doctor Horrible and Professor Chaos.  Which makes sense because Doctor Horrible and Professor Chaos seem to need Moist and General Disarray as much they need them.  

General Disarray (L) and Professor Chaos (R) from "South Park"

FATE OF THE CHARACTER:

     When Doctor Horrible is accepted into the Evil League of Evil, Moist continues to follow him as his loyal henchman.  We see a brief scene of them robbing bank, and the last we see of Moist there is a girl flirting with him at Dr. Horrible’s Lair.  So it appears that be being associated with Dr. Horrible, Moist has gained some “Bad Boy” credit and he uses those credentials to pick up women.