Voltron Legendary Defender: 5 Reasons To Check Out Netflix's New Animated Series
During the giant robot and toy-driven cartoon boom of the 80s, animation houses literally could [...]
The Creative Team
If you're an animation fan, you've probably heard the names Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos. The showrunners of Voltron have worked together before, after all, on Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel The Legend of Korra. Montgomery also storyboarded for Justice League Unlimited and The New Frontier, directed the Legion of Super Heroes animated series, and directed the Wonder Woman animated film. Dos Santos also worked on JLU, as a director, and handled the DC Showcase short films The Spectre and Jonah Hex. So yes, quite the pedigree there. They're joined by Tim Hedrick as head writer, also from Korra and 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) Legend of Korra, as well as some animated shorts for season one of Guardians of the Galaxy.
With all that talent assembled, any animation fan should instantly want to give 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 longtime 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 Keaton voices Shiro the fearless leader (this character replaces Sven), but you'll remember his voice as Hal Jordan on Green Lantern: The Animated Series and the LEGO games and films, or Spider-Man on The Spectacular Spider-Man.
Bex Taylor-Klaus was Sin on Arrow and guest-starred as Teresa on iZombie before going to the Scream tv series main cast. She voices Pidge (though he's still a boy, the youngest of the group).
Steven Yeun you know from The Walking Dead where he plays Glenn, but he got his voice acting career started on - you guessed it - 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 on 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, including Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Reaper, and 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 the Mass Effect games and Barbara Gordon/Oracle in Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Kiwi comedian Rhys Darby voices her advisor Coran, and Neil Kaplan plays the villainous King Zarkon, having voiced Optimus Prime and several video game and anime characters.
Yeah, like we said, it's a who's who of animation acting.
The Laughs
You're obviously expecting plenty of action from Voltron 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 of 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 a Voltron fan, you'll find plenty in this show that's recognizable. But if you don't know your Voltrons 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 of 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 on 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, Voltron 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.
Watch Voltron Legendary Defender on Netflix tomorrow. It has giant freaking robots.
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