Tales of Arcadia: A Guide to Del Toro's Visually Stunning Animated Franchise

 

For those who have never heard of the Tales of Arcadia, it is a interconnected franchise of three animated shows that take place in a fictional town called Arcadia. Apparently this town holds secrets to worlds that involve trolls, aliens and ancient wizards, trying to keep the world intact. This series of shows are created and produced by the legendary director Guillermo Del Toro who have helmed monster movies like Pan's Labrynth and Shape of Water. It is honestly not surprising to learn that something as rich and as weird as these trio of shows were created by a guy like him. 

The Tales of Arcadia is honestly one of the better animated shows out there and I consider it one of Dreamworks best animated properties and that includes the movies too. 

Now, why am I here talking about this? Well, if anyone out there who has no idea that these shows were connected whatsoever or have no idea in what order to watch them.. you can check it out right here my opinions towards the show and how to watch it accordingly. Think of this as a review to all three shows since I have binge-watched all of it recently. So, lets begin shall we. 

1) TROLLHUNTERS

The first show to watch would be Trollhunters. There are three seasons and all of the episodes are one hell of an adventure. Trollhunters is about a 16 year old, Jim Lake, who finds an amulet that has chosen him to be a Trollhunter, the protector of the good trolls and to fight against the bad ones called the Gum Gums. 

I can easily say that Trollhunters is the best among the Tales of Arcadia for not only its imaginative storyline but also for the way it paced and presented in 52 glorious episodes. The series finale brings along a Avengers-level fight scene that deserves to be worshipped by whoever that becomes a fan of this awesome show.

The most touching and sad thing about this show is that Jim Lake was actually voiced by Anton Yelchin before his untimely death. The show makes sure that it highly dedicates Anton's work for that he had voiced the character till its second season. Apart from that, Trollhunters is definitely a strong addition to the Dreamworks Animation catalogue since the How To Train Your Dragon franchise. 

2) 3BELOW

The second show to watch is 3 Below. Unlike Trollhunters, 3 Below has only two seasons and each of them has 13 episodes. The show centers two teenagers who are alien royalty who seek refuge in the town of Arcadia, passing as foreign exchange students after fleeing their home planet for it was conquered by a tyrant who is out to get them. 

3 Below interconnects with Trollhunters in the most-Marvel way possible by constantly crossing-over with the fan-favourite characters from it's sister show. Comparing between the two shows, Trollhunters is definitely way more entertaining and does not suffer from bland filler episodes while 3 Below, as ambitious as it is, unfortunately does. Apart from that, the animation for this show is so vibrant and bright, it is almost blinding (literally). 

3) Wizards

The next show to watch is Wizards. It may seem like a direct sequel to Trollhunters but in some way, it does bring together both Trollhunters and 3 Below into one show while also introducing new characters that will definitely bring a whole new set of repercussions to the future of this vast yet somewhat small fictional town of Arcadia. 

Unlike the previous shows, Wizards is a 10 episode miniseries that has so much of story to tell but so little time to convey them in episodes that only run for 20 to 30 minutes. Yes, Wizards is as fun and enjoyable as its predecessors but unfortunately you can't help be wondering where to look or pay attention half the time whilst binging. If the show ran for another season more, they could have focused more on the central characters of this show instead of characters from Trollhunters and 3 Below. 

The best part about this show is that it sets up the epic finale that is set to premiere on Netflix next year. It is called Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans and it will be the first full-length feature film in the franchise that will be comprising all characters from all three shows and tying all loose ends that were left hanging in each of the shows (Which ain't that many from what I remember. Probably need to watch it again to pinpoint more). 

(This is the promotional banner that they released after airing Wizards on Netflix as a tease for the fans)

So, yeah... there you go. My review of the entire Tales of Arcadia franchise. Anybody who does end up enjoying the first episode of Trollhunters, will enjoy the rest. It is a guarantee. All three shows are currently streaming on Netflix right now. So, go ahead and get well-versed in Arcadian lore.