aaronbarnes-06825 Reviews

The Dragon Prince (2018– )

Excellent animated series

[9/10 · 14 March 2020]

I happened on this on a bored afternoon flicking through Netflix. A passing curiosity led to to watch it and I'm hooked.

Firstly, the animation in simply stunning, the backgrounds lush and all the characters superbly represented. The style can take a bit of getting used to, though.

What surprised me the most was how story driven this was from the off, and it's not afraid to represent every single aspect of society. It actually actively challenges stereotypes brilliantly.

Initially I felt the script was heading towards humour which relied on unnecessarily silly or even condescending gags. Happily this isn't the case, and it is actually extremely witty, with dialogue that works on several different levels. I have even found myself laughing out loud at some points, which for an animated series such as this is quite an achievement.

You find yourself falling in love with most of the characters fairly quickly, although I do find Soren exceptionally irritating. I get the feeling he's meant to be.

The lines are blurred between good and bad also, and there are moments that border on being philosophical. The characters really are all on a journey, real and metaphorical.

I'm genuinely surprised at how good it actually is!

Ronja, the Robber's Daughter (2014–2015)

Surpringly good!

[8/10 · 31 October 2018]

The not so good:

Some of the voice talent seems a bit miscast. That said, the performances do grow on you The 3D animation takes a bit of getting used to. The character of Mattis is somewhat irritating and feels a little bit too melodramatic.

The good?

In watching the initial episodes, the animation was decent and the story seemed a bit slow at times. Stick with it. It's touching, fun, sad poignant, perilous and magical with some genuinely scary characters added to the mix. For the most part it is gentle, touching on friendship, relationships and a love of the outdoors. Much to my surprise, I've fallen in love with it, and the characters (mostly).

The backgrounds are sumptuous, and despite my previous comments the 3D, while occasionally a bit clunky, really grows on you, and in fact is really quite good. There are some very special moments that are worth waiting for, you'll know them when you see them, which take this way beyond just a childish cartoon into something with quite a powerful message that is of use to us all.

There are a few scenes that just blew me away, that were totally unexpected and unusual (?) in a "kids" production. A result of the ethos of not talking down to children at Ghibli?

This isn't just a collection of independent episodes either, with is a clear story arc running through the whole series.

A slow burner that will eventually melt your heart. It really is enchanting.

Edited to add:

I'd never read any of Astrid Lindgren's books and after watching the series, out of sheer curiosity, I've read the book. What is most surprising is that the series reflects the book perfectly. It is unusual in that it is a complete and true adaptation, to the extent that most of the (English Language version) dialogue is taken straight from the book. Much credit should go to the producers at Ghibli for having the courage to make it this way!