When Netflix unveiled our first look at Trollhunters, the footage shown promised an appropriately giant dose of adventure interspersed with fantasy, heart-warming humor and beautiful animation.
Excitement has remained high for the animated series ever since, though after the tragic passing of Anton Yelchin, there’s an air of poignant sadness going into the show’s premiere. It’s right around the corner, too (December 23), when the late Yelchin will lead a star-studded voice cast as sprightly fifteen-year-old Jim Lake Jr., an everyday teenager who unearths an entire population of trolls deep beneath his hometown of Arcadia. From there, our pint-sized hero assumes the mantle of the Trollhunter, and fights to restore peace to the forgotten civilization.
Curious to learn more about the story behind Trollhunters? Wonder no more, as executive producer Guillermo del Toro can be seen outlining the show’s creative vision up above. Also starring Charlie Saxton, Kelsey Grammer and Ron Perlman, there’s a real sense of mythology underpinning Netflix’s latest original series, and it’ll be interesting to gauge whether del Toro’s fantasy romp has the mileage to warrant further seasons.
At the very least, Trollhunters is faring well with critics. In his glowing review, Isaac Feldberg showered praise on both the animation and stellar cast of Netflix’s latest original series, writing that the show is “beautifully animated and brought to sparkling life by an ebullient voice cast (led by the late, lamented Anton Yelchin), Trollhunters is an always engaging and often wildly entertaining addition to the kids fantasy genre.”
Trollhunters premieres via Netflix on December 23 – just in time to keep the young ones – and the rest of us! – pacified over the holiday period.
