If you’ve followed, or are a fan of Guillermo del Toro’s work as a film director, you’d be well aware of his bent for the fantastic and the impossible.
He is the man who brought Hellboy to life, and gave us the monster fest that was Pacific Rim . Naturally, news of his collaboration with DreamWorks Animation and Netflix to produce an animated series was one that caused quite a stir. The result of this collaboration, Trollhunters , premièred on Netflix this Friday.
Trollhunters takes on the story of a 15-year-old boy, Jim (Anton Yelchin, who passed away this year), who is chosen by a magical amulet to become the Trollhunter — a hero who must protect both good trolls and mankind from evil trolls.
Jim is helped in his mission by his best friend Toby (Charlie Saxton), and Blinky (Kelsey Grammer), a good troll who takes it upon himself to train Jim in the ways of the Trollhunter. Jim must now train, and defeat the evil troll Bular (Ron Perlman), who will stop at nothing to destroy the amulet and claim both worlds.
The series has 26 episodes in total, and they’re fairly short, with each clocking not more than 25 minutes, making them the perfect little work break, or the perfect binge, depending on how you watch Netflix shows. It must be said though, that there is nothing in Trollhunters that is particularly groundbreaking by way of story or characters, which is disappointing, considering that someone with the calibre and whimsy of Del Toro is directing it.
Trollhunters just has all the usual DreamWorks tropes — the underdog who is suddenly thrust with a hero’s responsibility, the sidekick who also provides comic relief, the adolescent love interest, adorable creatures and a fierce villain, who are all put together with the stunning animation that has become DreamWorks’ signature.
The troll worlds are beautifully constructed with meticulous attention to detail, and the Man vs. Troll fights are impressively choreographed.
The dialogue is fast and has plenty of humour, again, something that’s become standard with anything that DreamWorks produces. Occasionally, there are moments that stand out, like Jim’s interest in cooking and baking, and the way he takes care of his overworked mother, but there is nothing that particularly makes you go ‘whoa, I’ve never seen this before’ — especially when you’ve watched How To Train Your Dragon, which is similar in terms of storyline and characters.
That isn’t to say that the show is not fun, though — it’s enjoyable. At a time when television is getting darker and edgier, Trollhunters’ simplicity is actually its selling point. It’s light, visually arresting, clean, and possesses neither the pandering that kids’ shows today are in excess of, nor the risqué jokes that adult animation shows are infamous for. Trollhunters is a show for children, yes, but of all ages.
( Trollhunters is presently streaming on Netflix.)
