Review of: Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia – a Netflix Original Series
Created by Guillermo del Toro in conjunction with DreamWorks Animation and Double Dare You Productions.
Review by Xeranthemum
My youngest is the one responsible for this Netflix obsession. He was watching it while we were busy making plans for New Year’s Eve and, instead of focusing on what needed to be done, my husband and I were both sucked into the story. Three hours went by without notice. We finished this particular story loop about Merlin and Morgana, and good versus evil trolls, the next day.
What made this series so compelling? The characters, the plot and its intelligence. Yes, it’s a cartoon but computer generated or not, the presentation is filled with action, battles, lessons, growth in maturity and fantastical creatures, and the most compelling aspect, friendship. There are so many elements to take in that I more than likely will re-watch it from the beginning. It’s that detailed and good.
There are so many characters that flavor this series; good and bad trolls, regular humans and humans on a quest with a destiny, namely Jim. He’s not comfortable with the burden he will bear but with his friends at his side, he is forced to stand tall and accept his role. The troll hunter’s mom does not come across as dumb or disrespected. She has strength, she loves her son and she acts like a grownup should. Her unconditional love is a joy to behold. Jim’s respect for his mom and his clear love for her garners my respect.
Morgana was presented as convincingly evil but Merlin isn’t exactly a benign character. He’s more acerbic, canny, and Machiavellian. Actually, there were tried and true fantasy tropes sprinkled throughout the episodes and yet, they were made fresh and riveting within Jim’s role in the series. All 52 installments are amazing. Each show ends with a cliffhanger or a shocking revelation, or a threat from which there seems to be no chance of escape. That is how easy it is to keep watching show after show after show. The hours effortlessly fly by. It must be magic, LOL.
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For fantasy lovers this series is like candy, or potato chips – you can’t watch only one episode. I certainly couldn’t.
If you’re not sure yet, watch the trailer and be amazed.
If you are curious about 3 Below, the sci-fi fantasy sequel, then this trailer is for you:
Jim reminds me of Johnny Quest, but instead of his best friend being Hadji, it’s a troll with 6 eyes named Blinky, short for Blinkous Galadrigal, and humans Claire and Toby. Their friendship is a huge asset to the story. I heartily recommend watching the Troll Hunter series. It’s like a great epic YA fantasy book come to ‘life’.
I skipped over this show when I saw it on Netflix, but your review has convinced me to give it a try. It sounds really good.
Hi, Astilbe- have you tried it yet? 🙂
My two children (and I find myself and husband sitting, too…) love this show.
Hi, Jean:
It’s rare nowadays to find shows that the whole family can get together and watch, and everyone finds something to enjoy.
Thanks for your comment!
Initially found the series to be very interesting and family friendly. Several episodes into Tales of Arcadia, the pattern of constantly predictable wrong decisions became incredibly annoying, to the point of not proceeding past episode 23. Whatever the situation, whether the scene involved the irritating and unnecessary character Toby or the barely-competent, overly clumsy main character Jim, every decision made would ultimately be the wrong one and place everyone and everything in peril, stretching the improbable concept of a 12-year-old holding the fate of the world in his hands.