Tuesday 29 May 2018

Series Review: "Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia" (2016-18).


"From Emmy and Academy Award winning creator Guillermo del Toro comes" Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia. This computer-animated fantasy television series created by Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel of the same name by Del Toro and Daniel Kraus, and produced by DreamWorks Animation and Double Dare You Productions for Netflix. After uncovering a mysterious amulet, an average teen assumes an unlikely destiny and sets out to save two worlds.

Initially, del Toro envisioned the idea as a live-action television series; however this was deemed impractical due to budgetary concerns, and as a result he instead turned the idea into a book. DreamWorks then planned to turn the book into an animated feature film. The feature film was going to be directed by Guillermo del Toro and Rodrigo Blaas. Eventually DreamWorks decided to instead turn it into a TV series with Netflix. Rodrigo Blaas became an Executive Producer and Supervising Director on the series. Del Toro modeled the show's sensibilities after shows he grew up with such as Johnny Quest (1964-65). To this end, he sought to make the main character of Jim "in that '70s mold," and "really a very good boy" with del Toro noting that this was a constant struggle for him to express to both writers and actors. Eventually he came across Anton Yelchin, who embodied those qualities although by del Toro's estimate it still took him a few sessions to fully understand the character. When creating the show's narrative, del Toro noted that he wanted a "bittersweet journey" for the main character dealing with issues that most such "power fantasies" failed to address. The show was one of Yelchin's final projects as he died shortly after recording most of his character's dialogue. Del Toro refused to replace his recordings, which del Toro noted was a challenge for the show's recording engineers. Del Toro added that his experience as a father and Yelchin's young age were also factors that led to the decision. The first season was released worldwide on Netflix on December 23, 2016. The second season premiered on December 15, 2017, and the third and final season premiered on May 25, 2018.

The series features the voice talents of Anton Yelchin, Emile Hirsch, Jonathan Hyde, Kelsey Grammer, Ron Perlman, Steven Yeun, Clancy Brown, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Anjelica Huston, Lena Headey, Tom Kenny, David Bradley, Tatiana Maslany, and Diego Luna. The show, thanks largely to its spectacular cast, has managed to do what so few children shows even today have: assemble a cast of characters that depicts the world as it is, with a range of identities and experiences. Which brings depth and believability.

Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia is a must-watch, it is an adventurous, exciting, and occasionally moving children's show. It's smartly-written, beautifully animated, engaging, well-thought-out, and meaningful. It's greatest asset is the show's emotional authenticity and how it exposed very young viewers to darker subject matter while giving them a framework for understanding these issues. One of the most well animated programs (children's or adult) in a long time.

Simon says Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia receives:



Also, see my review for The Strain.

No comments:

Post a Comment