After a few previous attempts at revival, World Events Productions has now teamed with DreamWorks Animation, Netflix, and Studio Mir to launch Voltron Legendary Defender on the streaming network. The series launches with a thirteen episode (Note: you’ll see only an 11 episode count, as they are presented as a one-hour premiere followed by ten 22-minute episodes) first season tomorrow, June 10, 2016, rebooting the original tale for a new generation.
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Having watched the hour-long pilot, “Rise of Voltron,” we have five reasons for you to assemble your friends and check out this excellent reimagining, and even finally fully realized version of Voltron.
The Creative Team
If you’re an animation fan, you’ve probably heard the names Lauren Montgomery and Joaquimย Dos Santos. The showrunners ofย Voltron have worked together before, after all, onย Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequelย The Legend of Korra. Montgomery also storyboarded forย Justice League Unlimited andย The New Frontier, directed theย Legion of Super Heroes animated series, and directed theย Wonder Woman animated film. Dos Santosย also worked onย JLU, as a director, and handled the DC Showcase short films The Spectre andย Jonah Hex. So yes, quite the pedigree there. They’re joined by Tim Hedrickย as head writer, also fromย Korra andย Airbender.
But the animation superteam doesn’t stop there. Studio Mir is handling the actual animation of the series, having worked on (you guessed it)ย Legend of Korra, as well as some animated shorts for season one ofย Guardians of the Galaxy.
With all that talent assembled, any animation fan should instantly want to giveย Voltron a try.
The Voice Actors
Of course, while the writers, producers, and animators work hard to bring the story to life, they also need a strong voice cast to carry it home. Voice acting is a unique art, and the combination of longtimeย pro voice actors and some stand-out actors who are new to this particular craft works very well here. It’s also a list that comicbook and animation fans should know almost straight down the line.
Josh Keatonย voices Shiroย the fearless leader (this character replaces Sven), but you’ll remember his voice as Hal Jordan on Green Lantern: The Animated Series and theย LEGO games and films, or Spider-Man onย The Spectacular Spider-Man.
Bexย Taylor-Klaus was Sin onย Arrow and guest-starred as Teresa onย iZombie before going to theย Scream tv series main cast. She voices Pidgeย (though he’s still a boy, the youngest of the group).
Steven Yeunย you know fromย The Walking Dead where he plays Glenn, but he got his voice acting career started on – you guessed it –ย The Legend of Korra, where he voiced Avatar Wan. He’s the hot-headed Keith here.
The voice of upstart Lance is Jeremy Shada, best known as Finn the Human onย Adventure Time. There’s a little bit of Finn’s impulsiveness in there, for sure.
If you saw Tyler Labine’s face, you’d undoubtedly recognize it. The young actor’s career has taken him across TV and movies, includingย Tucker and Dale vs. Evil,ย Reaper, andย Deadbeat. He voices the lovable but slightly ridiculous Hunk, rounding out the main crew.
Kimberly Brooks plays the Princess Allura, who guides the new paladins on their way, and gamers will instantly recognize her voice – she played Ashley Williams in theย Mass Effect games and Barbara Gordon/Oracle inย Batman: Arkhamย Asylum andย Arkhamย City. Kiwi comedian Rhys Darby voices her advisorย Coran, and Neil Kaplanย plays the villainous King Zarkon, having voiced Optimusย Prime and severalย video game and animeย characters.
Yeah, like we said, it’s a who’s who of animation acting.
The Laughs
You’re obviously expecting plenty of action fromย Voltronย Legendary Defender, but you’ll probably be surprised by how funny this show is. The balance of humor, heart, and action is something Montgomery and Dos Santos are experts at, and it’s on display from the very beginning ofย Legendary Defender. Naturally, Rhys Darby’s Coran is hilarious, but there are some great moments of levity from Pidge, Hunk, and especially from Lance, as well. It’s something some action cartoons forget to include, and it’s a great reason to watch this one.
The World Building
If you’re aย Voltron fan, you’ll find plenty in this show that’s recognizable. But if you don’t know your Voltronsย from your Power Rangers from your Gundams from your Transformers, don’t worry; everything is laid out perfectly and succinctly, with a perfect amount of exposition for you to understand the stakes from the get go. On top of that, since they’re taking a ground-up approach to the world ofย Voltron here, you’ll get much more in-depth looks at these characters (even just in the pilot), the fight they become embroiled within, and even the history of the Lion robots themselves than ever before.
The Giant Freaking Robot Action!
Yes, the funny and the lore and the performances and the pedigree are all well and good, but you turn onย Voltron for one main reason: you want to see giant robots fighting. You get that from the onset here, and it’s some truly glorious battle. The fight scenes in the first hour include Lion versus drone, Lion versus huge ship, Voltronย versus huge ship, Lions versus drones, and even some pretty damn cool hand-to-hand that shows off their individual weapons. It’s fast paced, and yes, despite them flying, the lions’ legs still move as if they’re hopping through the air, old-school style.
Watchย Voltronย Legendary Defender on Netflixย tomorrow. It has giant freaking robots.
