I had heard about Gargoyles, but I had never seen it. I spend an evening watching the five-part beginning of the series called "Awakening" and thought to myself "this is really good! Disney goes dark".
But when the main gargoyles went to New York, I had my doubts on how it was possible to top that great set-up. Was it going to be just a fish-out-of-water story? Was Goliath's gargoyle friends just one-note comic relief characters? (they actually seemed so for one or two episodes).
But the writers managed to make it! Every one of the gargoyles and the humans gets their time to shine and don't seem like they do nothing in the episodes not revolving solely around them. We get intrigueing storylines connecting to their complex relationship with their human friend Eliza and other not so friendly characters not to mention some flashbacks here and there to their time in Scotland.
The animation was atmospheric, dark and beautifuly detailed with god use of shading and angles making New York look foreboding and grand. The statues appearing when the gargoyles turn to stone also look amazing.
I love Keith David's voice, period! I knew him from Todd McFarlane's Spawn and Disney's own Princess & The Frog, and his gravelly voice really captures the tortured moddy spirit of Goliath. And Ed Asner did an equally enchanting job as the elderly Hudson.
I love Disney's animated work, but I love them even more when they step out of their comfort zone and tries something darker and more thoughtful like Hunchback of Notre Dame and in this case, Gargoyles.
I'll admit that it is the substance that defines a good movie and not only how dark it is, and therefore I don't consider The Black Cauldron so due to too much style over substance, but when Disney does dark right like Gargoyles, it is absolutely amazing!
But when the main gargoyles went to New York, I had my doubts on how it was possible to top that great set-up. Was it going to be just a fish-out-of-water story? Was Goliath's gargoyle friends just one-note comic relief characters? (they actually seemed so for one or two episodes).
But the writers managed to make it! Every one of the gargoyles and the humans gets their time to shine and don't seem like they do nothing in the episodes not revolving solely around them. We get intrigueing storylines connecting to their complex relationship with their human friend Eliza and other not so friendly characters not to mention some flashbacks here and there to their time in Scotland.
The animation was atmospheric, dark and beautifuly detailed with god use of shading and angles making New York look foreboding and grand. The statues appearing when the gargoyles turn to stone also look amazing.
I love Keith David's voice, period! I knew him from Todd McFarlane's Spawn and Disney's own Princess & The Frog, and his gravelly voice really captures the tortured moddy spirit of Goliath. And Ed Asner did an equally enchanting job as the elderly Hudson.
I love Disney's animated work, but I love them even more when they step out of their comfort zone and tries something darker and more thoughtful like Hunchback of Notre Dame and in this case, Gargoyles.
I'll admit that it is the substance that defines a good movie and not only how dark it is, and therefore I don't consider The Black Cauldron so due to too much style over substance, but when Disney does dark right like Gargoyles, it is absolutely amazing!