It’s one week until The Dragon Prince will be available for everyone on Netflix.
Haven’t heard of it yet? You’re in for a treat.
The Dragon Prince is a new animated series created by Aaron Ehasz (Avatar: The Last Airbender) and Justin Richmond (Uncharted) as the debut creation of their new story and play studio, Wonderstorm Inc. Adding to that prestigious team, we have Giancarlo Volpe (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Star vs. The Forces of Evil, Green Lantern: The Animated Series) as the Executive Producer for the animated series, and his experience in telling nuanced stories with complex characters is already shining through in the three episode preview.
Don’t worry. No spoilers here.
Let’s start out with the trailer if you haven’t already seen it.
I’ve seen a few people worried about the animation style, but having seen it in action, I can safely say there’s not much to worry about. An article over at Polygon did a good commentary on it, but it bears repeating. While there are a couple of moments where small details can seem a bit stuttering, they really are small moments (flags flapping in the wind in a wide shot, or a nod here and there) and easily overlooked or a matter of stylistic choice. The action, and there is so much action, flows smoothly and keeps you on the edge of your seat watching the interplay. (I could do an entire post on the creative weapon designs and will later.) The changing frame rate used in some scenes over others is put to good use, punching up some moments for extra effect.
The first three episodes introduce us to a world on the brink of war. There were originally six types of magic (Sun, Moon, Stars, Earth, Sky, and Ocean), but 1,000 years ago, a Human mage discovered Dark Magic. The horror of the newly invented magic caused the Elves and Dragons of Xadia to banish the Humans to the West, setting up a border guarded by the Dragon King, Thunder. In more recent history, the humans killed Thunder and destroyed the egg containing his sole heir, The Dragon Prince. This is what has brought Xadia and the Human kingdoms to the edge of war.
That’s the simple explanation. The one that makes the Humans out to be the unquestionable and unrepentant villains of our tale. However, life, and this story, are not such simple matters of black and white, and we quickly start to see that in the show as it presents the things that have happened thus far as shades of grey and a result of complex choices with wrongs committed on both sides. A lot of time is spent reinforcing that choices are rarely simple nor purely acts of good or evil and how violence can quickly become an unending cycle. It addresses honor and loyalty and how quickly it can become a mess when you start seeing the other side of a conflict as full people. The story is setting up complex and nuanced morality and views of history that I’m really excited to see where it goes.
It looks like family of various types is going to be a major over-arching theme of the story with step-siblings Callum and Ezran, the contrast of a more antagonistic but playful relationship between siblings Soren and Claudia, Callum’s complicated relationship with his stepfather, King Harrow, and Soren and Claudia’s relationship with their father. This is also set against Rayla’s relationship with Runaan and the other Moonshadow Elves and what is sure to be her burgeoning friendship with the two Human princes. I expect found family and other relationships not forged by birth to become increasingly important as the story continues.
Additionally, we have a beautifully diverse cast. King Harrow (Luc Roderique) is clearly a black man while his step son Callum (Jack DeSena) appears to be white and crown prince Ezran (Sasha Rojen) appears to be mixed. Despite initial screenshots of Rayla (Paula Burrows) and Runaan (Johnathan Holmes), not all of the Elves are pale skinned and white-haired. The crownguard is specifically stated to be comprised of men and woman, and we see a variety of skin tones and hair types of multiple genders. We even see a primary character with a visible limp who requires a cane much of the time. There was a lot of set up and introductions to get through in the first three episodes, and as we see our three leads (Callum, Ezran, and Rayla) traverse the world of Xadia, I expect to see even more visible diversity come in since it was stated as a specific goal of the crew during the San Diego Comic Con 2018 panel.
The writing itself walks a nice balance between those heavy themes of moral greys and smatterings of humor. The characters are quirky and believable. It would have been so easy to set up Claudia (Racquel Belmonte), Soren (Jesse Inocalla), and Viren (Jason Simpson) as purely antagonistic characters, but instead they aren’t. Viren’s motivations and loyalties are complex and you are left uncertain of what to make of him. Soren varies between clever and foolish, and while he teases, doesn’t seem to be genuinely ill-intentioned, helping as often as he jokes. Claudia too walks a fine line between airhead and genius with a fierce sense of caring and loyalty. Ezran and Callum are both young, and far more aware of the complexities of their world and position than they’re generally given credit for while still being kids who want to have fun and want the world to be simple. They’re all complex characters and seeing how they will grow and mature over the course of the story is exciting.
In just the first three episodes, The Dragon Prince has introduced multiple plot threads that promise a lot of potential and all threads that I’m fascinated to see not only how they end up, but how hey get to that ending.
If there’s one criticism to be had from the first three episodes, it is just how much happened. There’s a lot going on, a lot of nuanced motivations and relationships introduced, and a lot of world-building set-up. It could easily be overwhelming. I think they overall did a good job of parceling it out in small pieces at a time to prevent it feeling like you’re getting huge info dumps, and leaving you fascinated to learn more at the end of each episode.
Side note: Watch the credits for every episode, the illustrations change each time, and I feel like they show even more of a glimpse into the characters and cultures of Xadia.
I really believe this is going to be the new show to watch. A complex world full of nuance, adventure, magic, dragons, and elves that doesn’t let the fantasy elements overwhelm creating strong characters that I think everyone is going to be able to find one or more that they can personally identify with on some level.
All this is done while showing that the wider events of the world don’t leave children untouched no matter how much you try to protect them. With the themes that loyalty and honor, right and wrong, differ based on your position and perspective on the course of events while asking the questions of whether or not the ends justify the means and how you can end a cycle of violence makes it look like we’re in for some truly poignant story telling.
Remember how I mentioned that Wonderstorm is a “story and play studio”? That means this animated series is just the beginning of our introduction into a deeper world. While the wonderful team at Bardel Entertainment animated the series, the storytelling and direction comes from Wonderstorm which is also actively developing a connected video game. We don’t know yet what platform or play style to expect from the game, but we can probably safely expect it to be fully integrated with the story and world presented in the animated series, and the animation style of the show will translate very well into the 3D models of a game. Those seven different kinds of magic and various creatures and races create a lot of room for exploration in a game, and the history provided at the beginning of the first episode means games could be set at various places or times within Xadia, adding even more depth to the world-building.
I look forward to jumping into the truly immersive franchise the Wonderstorm team appears to be building, and I hope you all will too.
Remember to watch all nine episodes of the The Dragon Prince when they’re released Friday, September 14th. (Go ahead and add it to your Netflix list here.)
Join us on twitter to make #TheDragonPrince trend on September 14th. Starting at 2pm PDT, and going for at least an hour, make and RT posts with #TheDragonPrince in them. (Get your local time: link)
