Voltron: Legendary Defender

Image credit : Dreamworks Animation / World Events Productions / Studio Mir

CAUTION : What follows is a grown-ass man talking about a cartoon series that is a reboot of another cartoon series from the 1980s. Do not proceed if the previous sentence made you roll your eyes.

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If you were borned before the 1990s + you have access to a TV in Malaysia, Voltron should be a familiar name that would trigger all sorts of nostalgia. 

The original Voltron intro. Video credit : World Even Productions / Toei Animation

It was a children's cartoon series with an uncomplicated premise - 5 young space explorers, each piloting a giant robotic lion that can combine to form an even larger humanoid robot called Voltron, Every episode they will fight against the evil King Zarkon and his dastardly minions, which invariably culminates in a showdown between Voltron and a Giant monster. Like I said, uncomplicated. 

But as a child I was awestruck.....GIANT ROBOT LIONS! SPACESHIPS! GIANT MONSTERS! PEW PEW PEW!....come to think of it, I never really outgrew that phase, which was what drew me to the new series.

Image credit : Dreamworks Animation / World Events Productions / Studio Mir

Voltron: Legendary Defender (V:LD) is a reboot of the original show that started airing on Netflix in 2016 and is still an ongoing series with 5 aired seasons so far. I don't know how I missed it 2 years ago, but I am catching up and just finished 3 seasons.

The creators of the new series took the original story and characters and gave it a modern spin for the contemporary audience. It is still a children's cartoon show, but with a new format, updated visuals and amazing production value for a show meant for kids.

Image credit : Dreamworks Animation / World Events Productions / Studio Mir

Gone is the monster-of-the-week trope of the old. In the original series, Voltron appears in almost every episode to fight whatever giant monster the villians cooked up; This is not the case in V:LD. In fact, in the first season I can count with one hand the number of times Voltron was formed, and even less times it was due to the need to fight a giant monster. 

Video credit : Dreamworks Animation / World Events Productions / Studio Mir

Because of this, each time the 5 lions combined it actually meant serious shit was going down, and whenever these monsters (called Ro-Beasts, as in Robot Beasts, get it?) appear, they are actually incredibly powerful and terrifying foes so much so that Voltron don't always come out on top. 

Instead, the series focuses more on the overarching war against the Zarkon's forces, depicting the Voltron team's struggles to fight against a 10,000 year old empire with enourmous military might using naught but five ancient robot lions.

Old Zarkon (top) and New Zarkon (bottom). Image credit : Dreamworks Animation / World Events Productions / Studio Mir

This time around, the backstory for each character, including the villians, are more fleshed out. They are no longer the one-dimensional good / evil guys, but characters with different motivation and goals that form the core of the narrative. Heck, even Voltron itself got it's own episode explaining it's origins and the tragic events that led to the war.

That is, if you can get over the archetypical cheesy dialogue  of a children cartoon. But, if you can stand anime, this should be a non-issue.

Image credit : Dreamworks Animation / World Events Productions / Studio Mir

What I love most about V:LD is the production design, everything from the characters, spaceships, robots to the environments and planets. It's easy to see the amount of thought and detail given to the design of everything we see on screen, which is a pleasant surprise for these types of show which are usually produced with a tight budget. The animation, being a mixture of traditional 2D mixed with cel-shaded 3D, looks great. Most of the comedic moments are well played as well.

Quiznak, V:LD's version of "f**k".....I think. Image credit : Dreamworks Animation / World Events Productions / Studio Mir

My only complaint about Legendary Defender is you will need to suspend your disbelief in a lot of sequences to enjoy it. For example, all the aliens they interacted with speak fluent english and understands each other perfectly well. They can consume each other's food with no ill-effect. I suppose the show creators would prefer to focus on the narrative than the somewhat trivial matter of explaining inter-species biology.

Image credit : Dreamworks Animation / World Events Productions / Studio Mir

This is not a cheap cash-in on a popular property, but a sincere remake of an iconic cartoon beloved by many. If you are a 1980s baby and was struck by the Voltron magic when you were young, this is a great opportunity to see the franchise in a new light without falling into the nostalgic trap. 

On a side note. 

While researching for this post I discovered that a live action Voltron movie was in the works, though I am unsure if it is still an ongoing project. A couple of concept art illustrations was published to the internet, such as below:

Image credit : Animus Films

Suffice to say, I hope this movie will NEVER get made.