The Guillermo del Toro series I skirted until they sat down and forced me to watch (there was an ultimatum), and then surprisingly the first series attracted me. The animation is bright, the characters are in harmony with contrast (gray and blue trolls against the background of the sunny town of Arcadia), pleasant voice acting (one of the trolls was voiced by Petya Glanz, so the ears were happy), and the mixture of the ordinary school life of the main character and the magical world of Guillermo attracted all attention. It is safe to say that the director carried his vision of trolls, his world through the years, in order to show the troll market - an important location - in "Troll Hunters" (2016), leaving the tradition and canonicity of the characters after "Hellboy" (2004).
The main character Jim is faced with a magical amulet that attracts him, beckons, like a ring of Omnipotence. The guy does not suspect anything, and the viewer before these events is introduced to the course of things. There are evil and good trolls, the hunter becomes the chosen troll, who on the side of good helps to fight evil trolls. After speeches about the prophecy, when no one is yet known, the series gives a tense moment: death, which leads the amulet to the young Atlanta (as Jim calls one of the characters).
The first season introduces the world of ordinary school friends who encounter trolls living under the bridge. The amulet, made by Merlin, chose man to protect the two worlds. We are shown Jim’s first acquaintance with mentors, again playing a palette of colors, trolls become on the protection and guidance of the teenager. The animated series gradually shows different sides of the plot: they immediately point to villains who disguise themselves among people, to heroes - schoolchildren and trolls. The author showed that it is possible to exist together, finding a common language. But when for the entire existence of the amulet, for the first time in his life, he chooses a human rather than a troll as a protector, this plot branch causes dissonance in the perception of the reality of trolls.
As is typical of teenagers who have discovered incredible things, Jim reveals the cards to his friend Toby – a funny, geek child who skillfully picks up jokes and gets excited. The fact that the amulet gives the owner armor and sword, in the modern world such artifacts are striking. The series after the presentation of the characters develops several lines: the school, where attending classes are pleasantly exhibited, the main bully in the class, the girl with whom Jim is in love. This school atmosphere allows you to move away from trolls and follow the process of learning and development of characters. The second storyline: events in the troll market, where creatures are shocked by the choice of the medallion. The motives and true intentions against the next troll hunter are revealed.
Goodbye to your past life. When you become the object of the attention of trolls, both villains and new allies are recruited, but how to hide everything from others. Attempts and getting used to a new image pass slowly, so that the viewer can feel all the changes in the plot: not only in the main character, but also in the secondary characters. As always, there is a prophecy that can stop the most dangerous troll Boulard. The first season introduces us to the boy and his attempts to decide which is better: to quit this troll business and remain a simple schoolboy, or to challenge fate and start training for the upcoming battles. The choice must be reasoned, so difficult fate throws Jim into the abyss of troll life to show not only the life of stone creatures, but also to recognize the hidden motives, fears and doubts. The character of the boy perfectly conveys the 16-year period, in addition to youthful maximalism, responsibility for the peace and prosperity of not only the world of trolls, but also your own falls from above.
Each hero is given a fair amount of time. Discover certain people or trolls gradually. The season ends with the knowledge of everything that is happening, you can do without detailed scenes, as you become attached to the characters, and they are able to surprise in the final. The second season changes tone and manner, more training, more preparation. Between the seasons there is no period in time, literally on one location the characters stop in the finale of the first season, as the same dislocation begins the action in the second. The viewer is already getting used to Jim's coaches - Mr. Margunchik and Aargh - the hunter has his own team in the face of his friend Toby and girlfriend Claire. Jim’s mother, who connects with the trolls much more closely than expected, although she does not suspect it. Noble children limit parents from the dangers of knowledge. The fates of the three are so connected that every positive troll knows them as an inseparable trinity. And if you know positive people, then negative guys also know.
The prophecy of a bridge connecting the dark lands and our world is well played out. The second season reveals these lands, presenting to our attention the reverse side. Such a coin about two ends is found in cinema often, but always skillfully fits into the plot of the story. In fact, we have a villain who can't get into our world, his accomplices. On the good side is a troll hunter with his team, loyal trolls. The rest of the inhabitants of the underground market remain neutral, although totalitarianism in the person of the villain does not seduce them, but they are tired of sitting underground. Trolls retain their barriers at Guillermo: from the rays of sunlight turn into a collapsing stone. They themselves consist of a magical stone, in short, the magic of Stonehenge is here, so as not to fool your brain.
Over the course of two seasons, the characters have grown up, not in age (events are only in the school year), but in terms of skills and knowledge about the dangerous events of the future. The transformation also concerns secondary personalities who managed to appear in a new light before the audience. The misfire, which was overlooked by positive personalities, releases the opposing force to the will, for which neither the audience nor the characters were ready. You are already so fond of watching that you follow the slightest changes in the characters, behavior and views of the residents of the town. And all the details, all the small tricks, short dialogues are connected, nothing just happens: in the first season they speak about the fear of one person, as in the finale of the second they use a forbidden technique against him.
Events reduce seasons to battle. After the acquaintance and disclosure of each hero, moral principles and friendship come to the fore, when for the sake of a loved one the hero is ready to go even against the salvation of the world. Love, which supposedly slips through all adversity, should not interfere with the achievement of goals. The final season of reshaping the main character, stuns the viewer and introduces Merlin as not the most amazing person. It was nice to see the founder of the magical community, albeit in the animated series, but his image was not what you expect.
The epic battle sums up by throwing the hooks on spin-offs whose characters flash in the final season. The product came out great. I’m happy for Guillermo, I enjoyed the story, the presentation and the script. Accelerated from the first season, quietly meeting the expectations of the audience, and at the end made the final touch. This is an animated series that is recommended to watch for adolescent and adult audiences, but children will not understand many things.
I learned about this animated series thanks to fans of How to Train Your Dragon, who often recommended it for viewing. I got into fandom last year, so I couldn’t get past the Troll Hunters. In addition, its creator is Guillermo del Toro, director, producer and screenwriter, who had a hand in such films as The Hobbit, the Pacific Rim, Dream Keepers, The Cat in Boots and so on. So I couldn't miss it!
The main character is a schoolboy from the town of Arcadia James "Jim" Lake Jr., who lives the most ordinary life of a 15-year-old teenager: he races with his best friend Toby Gonzalski on a bicycle, tries to do well in all subjects, sighs for classmate Claire Nunes, takes care of his mother, dreams of a real scooter. Once in his hands falls a magical amulet, which reveals to the teenager the truth: under Arcadia live a variety of mythical creatures, the most numerous of which are trolls. For centuries, good trolls are at war with evil trolls led by the terrible Ganmar and led into battle by his son, the fierce Boulard. The only one who can stop them is Merlin's chosen amulet called the Troll Hunter. For the first time in history, it becomes a human being. Jim will have to learn to wield a sword, protect a peaceful troll market from invaders, cope with many of the most incredible creatures, and also save his secret life from curious classmates. Don’t be late for your Spanish class!
The fact that I liked the cartoon so much suggests that I have a severe lack of magic and fantasy. Agree, because it is useful sometimes to get distracted and plunge into the unknown and exciting world of magical animation. Such for me was the unusually bright and attractive world of Arcadia. Indeed, Guillermo del Toro managed to give us something new and incredibly exciting - a unique world of trolls, combining both real and mythical plot motifs, such as traveling on the Mayflower or the mascot of the great Merlin, as well as many new elements, such as a variety of magical creatures, magical devices and potions, which can be found on the Troll Market. It is worth noting the smoothness and consistency of the plot: step by step, series by series, we are exposed to new details of the life of trolls, so my interest did not fade a minute!
In addition, the cartoon boasts an excellent sense of humor. In general, the plot of a teenager who is forced to lead a double (and mostly heroic) life promises many delicate and, therefore, hilarious situations. I particularly enjoyed the two episodes—time stoppages (I love all this time manipulation) and a lot of Troll Hunters (reminds me of the Third Pirates). And the episode dedicated to the film "Breakfast Club" - I haven't laughed so much in a long time! We must not forget about music – the main heroic theme was composed by one of my favorite composers. Also, it became very pleasant to hear classical music, for example, Galop infernal, and the music of Edward Grieg from the suite Per Gunt is much more symbolic than it might seem at first glance - especially the composition "In the cave of the mountain king", which the evil goblins chose as their battle song. Well, not to mention the finale of season 2, which showed us one of the most epic scenes in animation – it is inexcusable!
To the glory of Merlin, daylight is under my control!
In addition to the fascinating plot and incredible setting, the series boasts charismatic characters that you admire and care about since the first series. Jim Lake Jr. is an ordinary schoolboy who by fate becomes a Troll Hunter, and, moreover, the first person to take this post. At first, Jim is not very eager for this life, where at every step there is a mortal danger: he still has to run to physical education! And then we see him grow up and grow up before our eyes, becoming a brave and selfless hero to be relied on and admired. This is also a great merit of the wonderful actor Anton Yelchin, whose voice truly animated the hero. One of the reasons I watched the Hunters was to hear the voice of Anton, who I considered one of the most promising young actors. And who left us too soon... Thank you, Anton, for Jim, for Kyle, for Chekhov, for Charlie, and many other movie heroes!
One of the main driving forces of the series was friendship. You can immediately notice the important role played by Jim's friends: Toby Domzalsky, Jim's best friend and taco lover, who from the first day strongly supports Jim on his way, and then with the help of a magic hammer will find a solution to any problem; Claire Nunez, initially the object of Jim's sighs, then his faithful friend, who, having mastered the power of the Ghost Staff, learned to create magical portals; a troll Morgunick with six eyes and a six-eyed master of Jimb, then a great master of the art, Jimb, and then a friend. Repeatedly, the series emphasizes the power of teamwork, mutual assistance and trust between friends: they say “Together we are stronger”, and there is no dispute with this. It is not for nothing that the series is new exactly Troll hunters...
For the death of Ganmar, the eclipse is within my power!
There are many other colorful characters in the series: Walt Strickler, one of Jim’s school teachers, who calls (not without reason) his Young Atlas, who hides a lot of secrets and remains one of the most controversial characters of the animated series; changeover Ne-Enrique, who has made a long way from a nasty green monster to almost a member of the family; Steve Palchuk and Eli Pepperjack, a school bully and a school botan who still have a lot of us.
The villains also turned out colorful: Bular, a fierce and powerful troll who prepares everything for the return of his father, the terrible and merciless Ganmar from the Dark Lands; the sinister killer Angar Roth, who will not stop until he finishes the Hunter, and many others.
I recommend watching the Hunters in the original - you can hear the voices of famous actors: Kelsey Grammer, Ron Perlman, Jonathan Hyde, Clancy Brown, Tom Hiddleston, James Pufroy, Mark Hamill, Lena Headey and David Bradley.
As a result, in the new year, I, tired of drama and tragedy on the screen, went on a fabulous animated journey to Arcadia, where a huge number of unusual creatures live. Guillermo del Toro has already announced two spin-offs, where we will talk about aliens and sorcerers, and the action will also take place in Arcadia. I look forward to continuing. A fascinating, fun, colorful and exciting animated series Troll Hunters I put a well-deserved assessment!
This animated series is based on the book of the same name by the notorious Guillermo del Toro and the winner of several literary awards Daniel Kraus. The joint work of Guillermo del Toro and DreamWorks Animation is suitable for all ages, and will easily attract the viewer with its interesting new world, excellent animation, colorful drawing, diverse characters and vivid narrative.
One morning, Jim Lake Jr. and his best friend Toby find an amulet. Jim is, to put it mildly, surprised and confused when the amulet turns him into a troll hunter in silver armor and sword. And even more surprised to learn that there is a whole world of trolls living under the quiet town of Arcadia, where Jim lives with his mother named Barbara.
In the first two episodes, everything that happens on the screen seems simple and stamped. But then begins to develop the plot, the world and the main conflict of the series, which cannot but captivate. And as the viewer gets acquainted with the characters, the huge mythology and the world of trolls, more complex storylines begin to develop. It touches on Jim’s friendship with Toby, which goes through ups and downs, and the first love of the protagonist, which begins to complicate his double life, as well as the fact that Jim in the role of a hunter is poorly received by trolls who consider people “meat bags”. And here the problem of family relations is touched upon, and not only the main character, which surprised me. But do not think after these words that the series is extremely serious, no, there is great humor and a lot of comic moments. As for the “non-human characters”, then the troll mentors named Argh, Blinky, Draal and the antagonists (Little Enrique, Mr. Strickler, Boulaar, Angore Roth) are my favorite characters here, they add depth to the plot and they are very pleasant and interesting to watch.
In terms of drawing and animation, I am also very pleasantly surprised. Everything looks very high-quality, bright, colorful and detailed. I will venture to compare it with the recent feature-length animated film “Sing”, and you understand how the budgets of full-length and multi-series cartoons differ.
“Troll Hunters” is a beautiful in all respects animated series that can give you a lot of pleasant emotions when watching. I look forward to Season 2.
“Troll Hunters” is a new series from the TV division of Dreamworks, made for Netflix, which was created directly by Guillermo del Toro – and it was more than enough for me to want to watch it. The plot of the series turned out to be far from new: a skinny high school student with an ordinary name Jim one day finds himself chosen to fight bad trolls (yes, this time it is trolls). And yes, it is with bad trolls, since good trolls also exist - he protects them) and other evil spirits, in which his comical but faithful plump friend and troll mentor help him, our young hero must combine all the supernatural adventures with the ordinary life of a schoolboy, such as confronting a school bully, writing a history test, or inept kicks to a pretty classmate. And the cherry cliché at the top of the genre cake: all this he must hide from an unsuspecting mother. Along the way, there are evil teachers who are not what they seem, and Muggle friends who acquire magical artifacts in the course of the story, and wise mentors, and many other well-known techniques. Does that ring a bell? Replace the schoolgirl with the trolls with the vampires and the scene with Sunnydale, and everything falls into place. The story is secondary. But I liked the animated series. Yes, this is a replica, but the replica is very beautiful and high-quality, which does not parasitize the classics of the genre, but brings something of its own. Characters are colorful, they want to empathize. If one of the heroes appears to be an absolute evil, one is given a reason; if one wants to take over the world, one is motivated to do so. Character negativity here is not a diagnosis: heroes are not hostages of their types, negative characters can show positive traits of character, and vice versa. The animated series is almost devoid of uncompromising pathos and has easy humor. Animation at a high level (if you take into account that this is not a full meter).
Who is likely to like the Hunters? First, dreamy teenagers. If I had seen this cartoon at 12 or 15, I would have been a fan. Seriously! I would be a member of a fan club, read all the fanfictions on it, no matter how miserable they were, and collect stickers with the characters of this series. I wonder if students are picking up stickers now. I think this series can be useful for teenagers as a springboard from primitive black and white and categorical children’s stories to more complex and multipolar works. Secondly, “Hunters” will appeal to those who graduated from high school, but who watched the same “Buffy” with ecstasy, or who still has a collection of “The Chronicles of Narnia” on the shelf. Yes, I’m not excited about “Troll Hunters”: due to my age, I notice plot inconsistencies, and sometimes a lack of logic in the actions of the characters. But this story evokes some pleasant emotions, the hope that everything unimaginable and good is possible. And he's just funny.
About trolls and people: fun and very interesting.
I immediately decided that I would watch this cartoon, because this is the creation of Guillermo del Toro - the author of such works in the genre of fiction as "Hellboy", "Labyrinth of the Faun", "Pacific Rim", "Stamm", etc.
And I wasn't wrong! Along with some quite classical forms, there is in the “Troll Hunters” a proprietary deltor humor, an unpredictable plot, and even rare for such a genre, pathetic depth and layered narrative.
The plot in a nutshell is the eternal struggle between good and evil with the participation of trolls and people of varying degrees of goodness.
The main scene is a small American town, as well as the underground realm of trolls right below it.
There are almost no uniquely bad characters, everyone’s character is revealed, changed and developed.
In the center of the story - the main knight of the animated series Jim (long and thin) and his friend Toby (small and plump) - they are a classic pair of Don Quixote and his friend Sancho Panza (another reference to Spanish culture, which is stuffed with the cartoon), their classmate Claire, bold, intelligent and masterfully solving riddles, and a couple of wonderful trolls.
Teacher Strickler is a tragic figure. I wish he was finally lucky. At least in love, if not in plans to conquer the world.
One of my favorites is a gnome that has evolved our perception from a rat-like malignant animal tangled under our feet to a hero willing to risk his life for his friends.
Another example is the replacement of Ne-Enrique, from a small and cynical creature of hell he eventually turns into the protector and brother of Claire.
In form, the cartoon is more like a movie than a series. The plot develops quickly and it is very much felt that it will not be stretched and extended, it is not inherent in his character. A total of 39 episodes are promised.
Anyway, I recommend it! This is especially true if you have a teenager of either sex. Most likely, he will appreciate the unique humor, action, mimic trolls and genuine humanism of this series.