The 90's were an interesting time in animated entertainment. With the revival of faith in Disney's animation studio through the Disney Renaissance, they started to produce a wide variety of animated television shows to test how audiences would take it. This variety scaled from light and bubbly to something a bit darker in tone. While the younger kids could catch the zany antics in Adventures of the Gummi Bears, those looking for a slightly more engaging story could catch Gargoyles.
The show follows a clan of Scottish gargoyles from the late 10th century that are awakened from a curse in the 1990's and must adjust to their new life in New York with the help of billionaire David Xanatos and Detective Elisa Maza. This is one of those shows that wasn't afraid to take risks with themes. Within the first season alone, it deals in plot lines including the likes of police corruption, betrayal, and gun safety, as well as adding in bits and pieces of mythology and tons of references to Shakespeare's plays. Although they don't stray away from the darker topics, they do still leave room for some delightfully comedic moments too.
With an all-around great cast of characters, every episode of the first couple of season is a real treat to watch. A decent plot and some great hand-drawn animation for the time, with fun voice cast as well, It's an overall great show.
Now on to the bad part. I mentioned that the first couple of seasons were good. Some looking the series up may notice that there is a third season, often referred to as The Goliath Chronicles. This season was a rough point and most fans of the show tend to pretend it's not in the canon of the story. The biggest issue here was the animation changes. The animation studio in charge of production for the show was apparently reassigned and Gargoyles was outsourced to some of the other animation groups under Disney's ownership. In return, we got a season animated by a group of people that were not familiar with the content of the show. Characters began looking weird and acting odd compared to the previous seasons, thus leaving this season in a bit of an awkward position.
Though I adore this series for what it is, I have to admit that it does have many flaws. However, it's still a great show to give a watch! It's available in its entirety on Disney+.
Rating: 3.8/5 Jalapenos
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