Remember when Nicktoons tried to reboot Voltron a few years ago?
Well, now that DWA holds the rights to the franchise, a new series is coming to Netflix.
http://variety.com/2016/biz/news/dreamworks-animation-guillermo-del-toro-trollhunters-voltron-netflix-1201672250
That link title almost had me believing Del Toro was making it.
Still, I'll keep an eye on this.
Voltron is a series that sounds cool on paper, but nothing I've seen from the franchise has excited me much, a bit of nostalgia for the original via Toonami aside.
There doesn't seem to be a reason to be excited about this one yet, but if it's good, I'll be interested.
I'll be honest, I can't read "Dreamworks' Voltron" without picturing the robot beasts spouting bad pop culture ref's as they transform. :whuh:
Quote from: Painted Outlaw on January 06, 2016, 05:03:31 PMI'll be honest, I can't read "Dreamworks' Voltron" without picturing the robot beasts spouting bad pop culture ref's as they transform. :whuh:
Nah. DWA dropped that crap a while ago when they started making more serious movies.
I apparently missed out on a lot of their timeline then, heh.
Quote from: Daikun on January 06, 2016, 05:28:20 PM
Quote from: Painted Outlaw on January 06, 2016, 05:03:31 PMI'll be honest, I can't read "Dreamworks' Voltron" without picturing the robot beasts spouting bad pop culture ref's as they transform. :whuh:
Nah. DWA dropped that crap a while ago when they started making more serious movies.
Like Home? :blush:
Dreamworks still has its fair share of issues as a studio, but dumb pop culture references aren't really one of them anymore.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blastr.com%2Fsites%2Fblastr%2Ffiles%2Fstyles%2Fblog_post_in_content_image%2Fpublic%2FVoltron-Legendary-Defender-Netflix-poster.jpg&hash=15a7135418103de8694d1d8a59c5f278ff13d9bb)
Check out the trailer. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChXy1Qtv9TE) Surprisingly, it's not CGI! :huh:
The premiere date is June 10.
Not a bad trailer. It looks pretty solid.
Lots of info from WonderCon. (http://www.toonzone.net/voltron-legendary-defender-teaser-reel-stills-cast-revealed-wondercon-2016) Stills, cast, and more!
Jeremy Shada and Josh Keaton?! Spider Man and Finn in the same cast? That's an interesting lineup. And the lady that plays Jasper in SU too. Now I'm even more curious about this Voltron reboot.
New trailer! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdqoQjaOGeU)
Whoa, that was fantastic!!
I know the work of Avatar animators when I see it, definitely binge-watching this one when it hits.
Quote from: Peanutbutter on May 12, 2016, 06:40:18 AM
Whoa, that was fantastic!!
I know the work of Avatar animators when I see it, definitely binge-watching this one when it hits.
This has caught my attention
Go watch it! (https://www.netflix.com/title/80075595)
Watched the first two episodes so far, the show is a blast! Seriously, its much better than the Thundercats reboot on CN that fell apart. Since tomorrow is Saturday I'm going to wait until tomorrow morning to binge through the rest of them.
At the moment, I really love Lance. Alura's design is the only one that was a little "off" to me, but even that wasn't so bad after she put her hair into her trademark bun.
Watched the first episode. Feels rather derivative in terms of writing and characters so far, but here's hoping that it's all just set-up for better material. I'll watch a few more episodes tomorrow.
I started the pilot last night, and I enjoyed it alright. It's definitely a bit cliched, especially if you're familiar with mecha series, but I think the build up is solid, and I'm not really annoyed by the characters. The action seems cool so far, but it definitely feels like a series which will do it better as it comes along.
I'm going to watch some more tonight, so I hope I enjoy it more.
There might be a few clichés, but they do a good job of shattering a lot of others.
I got around to finishing the show last night, and I liked it overall. It feels like a case where I'm sure the second season will improve things, and thankfully we don't have to wait too long.
There doesn't seem to be a whole lot for the series if you're not much of a mecha fan, but I am, so I dug the action pretty well. I do wish that it wasn't so male heavy, though. Allura was decently written, but she's basically it. Still, the Pallidins were similarly well-written, so I can't be too harsh about them.
Quote from: Avaitor on August 03, 2016, 04:46:25 PM
I got around to finishing the show last night, and I liked it overall. It feels like a case where I'm sure the second season will improve things, and thankfully we don't have to wait too long.
There doesn't seem to be a whole lot for the series if you're not much of a mecha fan, but I am, so I dug the action pretty well. I do wish that it wasn't so male heavy, though. Allura was decently written, but she's basically it. Still, the Pallidins were similarly well-written, so I can't be too harsh about them.
We don't? Has somewhere reported when the next set is?
Also, you omitted Pidge. Not a huge fan of gender/race bending, but they did a great job with her character and arc. And it didn't get too on the nose with "Girls can do things too!" that can unintentionally come off backhanded.
It's been confirmed that the second season will be out before the end of the year.
Quote from: Peanutbutter on August 03, 2016, 11:35:38 PM
Also, you omitted Pidge. Not a huge fan of gender/race bending, but they did a great job with her character and arc. And it didn't get too on the nose with "Girls can do things too!" that can unintentionally come off backhanded.
Oh, true. Pidge is pretty cool.
Dreamworks seems to be knocking their shows out pretty quickly, but if the quality doesn't decrease, all is good. And I'm reminded that I still need to check out their Peabody & Sherman show.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on August 04, 2016, 09:46:19 AM
It's been confirmed that the second season will be out before the end of the year.
But what's the date?
No clue.
Here's the announcement, though. (http://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/704591-voltron-legendary-defender-season-2-coming-late-2016#/slide/1)
Season 2 trailer. (http://comicbook.com/2016/10/03/exclusive-voltron-legendary-defender-season-2-trailer-poster-and)
Premieres January 20, 2017.
Season 2 is out! (https://www.netflix.com/title/80075595)
I was thinking about blogging this show and pretending it was Book 5 and 6 of Legend of Korra, but I admit while I like the show, I don't care enough about it to write 400 words per episode. But I do want to get something written about it out. It's surprising to me how a Voltron show can get 500 posts on 4chan threads on a daily basis. I thought it would be more of a modest hit among viewers, not something that sparks this much discussion there.
I still have to watch season two, but I was honestly pretty "meh" on the first season. For me, more than anything else, the character dynamic falls rather flat in how static they all feel. When it comes to an ensemble show like this, I feel as though the series lives or dies based on how interesting its character interactions are. If season two improves on this, it might be worth a go.
Yeah, I'd say season two's been better on handling character chemistry. The writers just letting the cast hang out instead of being told by higher-ups to ship them like in Korra helps.
Other than Keith being a bit bland at times in the first season, I don't see how the rest were "static" before. Lance, Hunk and Pidge bounced off each other well all the time right off the first episode. Hunk and Pidge had great arcs that fleshed them out. Pidge even had a good sibling like relationship with Shiro last year. If anything, I think the current season while good with its overall plot sacrificed a bit of potential character moments for Lance, Hunk etc. at the expense of fleshing Keith out.
Season 3 confirmed for this year (http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/04/02/dreamworks-confirms-voltron-legendary-defender-season-3?abthid=58e1aa706e21d3fd1b000027).
Can't say it's a big surprise, but I also can't say I'm disappointed at all.
Wouldn't be surprised if it gets delayed though. After all, Season 2 was supposed to be out last fall.
Probably there will be a delay but hopefully it won't be a major one. I want Lotor!!!
The season 3 premiere will be screened at SDCC. (http://www.toonzone.net/sdcc-2017-day-one-schedule)
Season 3 trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY3hpm_m1eY)
New season starts August 4.
EDIT: Season 4 starts in October. (https://twitter.com/Voltron/status/888095685299519489)
As mentioned season 3 is only 7 episodes and season 4 is apparently only 6, so basically one season split into two. I'm not really complaining though.
Don't know why the split, but at least there won't be as long a wait in between.
ITS UP! (https://www.netflix.com/title/80075595)
One episode in, LOTOR!!!!!
Seriously, can already tell this series is going to great having him in. He was already one of the highlights of the 80s series, for the right reasons or wrong reasons. This version is going to be amazing!
They made Lothor actually pretty competent and cool, which was pretty neat. I also like his harem of henchmen. They feel like more interesting and formidable adversaries for the paladins than previous villains, including Zarkon himself.
Though speaking of which, I didn't find the backstory episode very satisfying. In fact, I'm pretty frustrated by it. Sure, they described the circumstances of what the lions were originally made for, but really didn't explain anything about how or why the lions and Voltron were created - like, how did Allura's father just instinctively know to make them in the form of lions, how their powers worked, and that they could all combine to form a giant mech? Why does quintessence give them sentience, and why did they decide that need a psychic link with the pilots? It's supposed to be some spiritual thing, sure, but I wanted a concrete understanding of how the lions and Voltron actually work and where they came from, and the episode only raised more questions than answers.
Not to mention it's not very satisfying that Zarkon and Haggar didn't really become corrupted by their own ambition and power but are just being manipulated by the dark quintessence. None of the characters seem to have surmised this, but it's pretty obvious that both of them have just been brainwashed by the dark creatures from that alternate reality into becoming evil. I mean, Haggar did push her science experiments too far to the point she risked the planet and her health was failing, and Zarkon enabled her out of both love and temptation of power, so they do carry the blame for the destruction of the Galra homeworld. But while Zarkon wanted more military might, there was never an indication he was interested in conquering and colonizing other worlds, and Haggar's experiments on quintessence were more for the pursuit of understanding it rather than using it for evil ends. It's clear from the disconnect from their motivations before they "died" and after they were resurrected that their personalities and memories were changed by the dark quintessence to pursue evil ends. While it'd be interesting to see whether Zarkon and Haggar might be able to be redeemed if they have been brainwashed, I feel this development really robs a lot of responsibility from what they've done as villains and shifts the blame to a shallowly nebulous force that simply represents evil. To contrast with a backstory from this team's previous show, in Avatar Fire King Sozin was enticed and motivated by power, there were many early signs of his colonial desires long before he had a chance to launch a full-scale invasion, and in the end he chose to let his best friend die in order to pursue those ambitions. That to me was an effective villain backstory that showed how Sozin's path to darkness was self-propelled, but still humanized him through his tragic friendship with Roku and other positive qualities that could've made him a good person if he had chosen to be. My problem with Zarkon is that the backstory makes it seems like he hasn't chose to seek revenge and conquer worlds of his own volition, but because he's been corrupted by an evil force. I was initially excited that we'd learn more about how Zarkon betrayed the rest of the original paladins and became evil, but now I feel like Zarkon and Haggar have just become less interesting and nuanced antagonists because they aren't truly responsible for the actions they've done since the beginning of the war.
Also, where does Lothor factor into all this? I'm assuming he was born before Zarkon and Honerva were corrupted by dark quintessence because they lost their memories and romantic feelings for each other after that, so when was he exiled and why? Does he know what happened to his parents, or even suspect anything? Actually, is Haggar even his mother, or did Zarkon have an affair? And I still don't understand how the Paladins surmised Lothor is after pure quintessence after learning the backstory. Why did Corran tell them a story that Lothor wasn't even a part of when they're supposed to be figuring out what Lothor is up to, not what Zarkon was after all those years ago? It felt like a really flimsy excuse to do an origins of Volton episode, except they didn't have time to fully explore or develop the mythology to a degree that was satisfying or made any sense. The more I think about that episode the more it frustrates the hell out of me. Season 4 better clear up some of these things or do a better job of explaining what Lothor's motivations are.
One week later and I'm still pissed at that backstory episode. You know they've made a real misstep when the original Zarkon's motivations from Voltron/Go-Lion seem more credible and less shallow than those of a modern-day incarnation.
On the contrary, I thought Zarkon's backstory was good and did a great job expanding both his and Hagar's characters.
Quote from: LumRanmaYasha on August 19, 2017, 10:12:19 AM
One week later and I'm still pissed at that backstory episode. You know they've made a real misstep when the original Zarkon's motivations from Voltron/Go-Lion seem more credible and less shallow than those of a modern-day incarnation.
I forgot. What were his original motivations back in the 80s show?
The original Zarkon was pretty basic in terms of motivations; he wanted to conquer the universe and become immortal. But at least he chose to do that and his fall from grace was self-propelled. My issue with Legendary Defender's Zarkon is that he's clearly just being mind-controlled by dark quintessence, and that all the bullshit in the episode about him wanting to increase his military power isn't what actually makes him turn to the dark side. At least the original Zarkon was a villain by his own volition.
Quote from: Avaitor on August 03, 2016, 04:46:25 PM
I got around to finishing the show last night, and I liked it overall. It feels like a case where I'm sure the second season will improve things, and thankfully we don't have to wait too long.
There doesn't seem to be a whole lot for the series if you're not much of a mecha fan, but I am, so I dug the action pretty well. I do wish that it wasn't so male heavy, though. Allura was decently written, but she's basically it. Still, the Pallidins were similarly well-written, so I can't be too harsh about them.
I disagree. One of the reasons I hate mecha shows, pretty much besides me finding the action to be boring, is how boring the characters are. They made this series a lot of fun and this is the only mecha series I have liked since Sym-Bionic Titan.
Quote from: Peanutbutter on August 03, 2016, 11:35:38 PM
Quote from: Avaitor on August 03, 2016, 04:46:25 PM
I got around to finishing the show last night, and I liked it overall. It feels like a case where I'm sure the second season will improve things, and thankfully we don't have to wait too long.
There doesn't seem to be a whole lot for the series if you're not much of a mecha fan, but I am, so I dug the action pretty well. I do wish that it wasn't so male heavy, though. Allura was decently written, but she's basically it. Still, the Pallidins were similarly well-written, so I can't be too harsh about them.
We don't? Has somewhere reported when the next set is?
Also, you omitted Pidge. Not a huge fan of gender/race bending, but they did a great job with her character and arc. And it didn't get too on the nose with "Girls can do things too!" that can unintentionally come off backhanded.
:whuh:
Other half of this season came out, and it was all right. Not a fan of that episode where they had to do a stage show to appease the coalition though. And annoyed at how Lotor's crew went turncoat so quickly before getting more characterization.
I feel you even though I suspect Keith's mom is still on his side.
The final season premieres December 14. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltUs2qYl1XU)
Well its over...
Spoiler
- Allura is dead! ...yay?
- Shiro sucks at politics! ...yay??
- Hunk became a caterer! ...yay???
- Katie is still best girl and now inventor of Vehicle Voltron and as a result worst girl! ...yay????
- Keith is now super cat people ninja assassin administrator for intergalactic Toys for Tots! ...yay?????
- Lance is just ass. Now he will never be truly happy because he never got to tap that sweet Altean ass! ...yaaaehforgetit
Boy did this show lose the script harder than the last season of Korra.