Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia is regarded as one of the best animated TV shows of the last decade! It is brought to us by the awesome Guillermo del Toro, DreamWorks, and Netflix. I feel like I have said it a million times, but the library of Netflix’s original animated series can rival anything that any other streaming service offers these days.
How to Download Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like Guillermo del Toro, check out also his other works, for example, Hellboy (2004) and The Shape of Water (2017).
The Movie Review
The premise of Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia sounds pretty simple. We have this young boy called Jim who finds a magical amulet that makes him the first-ever human troll hunter. It is Jim’s task to save and protect the world from the secret world of trolls that the majority of mankind is unaware of.
Jim is such a great character and he is very likable. Jim is a great hero for kids to look up to, he has many great qualities, but it is his going from reluctant hero to being the ultimate hero that I liked. Over the course of the three seasons that the show runs, Jim must train and try to live this double life where he does his normal “human” stuff and also fights as a troll hunter.
Now as this is called Trollhunters and not just Trollhunter, Jim is joined by others on his quest, he has his best friend Toby, his “girlfriend” Claire, and then we have Blinky. Blinky is awesome, he is a troll, but one of the good ones and he helps Jim become the ultimate Trollhunter and he really becomes something of a father figure to him. I loved the way this relationship grew over the three seasons.
Each season has its main story arc that is the focus of that particular season. Season one keeps things simple, introducing us to the characters and having Jim and the gang need to protect Arcadia from the bad guys. In season two, Jim ends up trapped in the Darklands and his friends need to save him. The third season brings Jim’s sophomore year of high school to an end, but there is an ancient evil that he must also deal with.
The visuals of Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia are a lot of fun. I would not say that this is one of the best-looking things DreamWorks has done, but this is a TV show and not a movie to be fair. I am a huge fan of the crazy designs of some of the trolls and other creatures and the fight scenes are done very well. There is always a lot of colors and “magical” effects happening that give the show its own kind of unique look.
As Guillermo del Toro was the man behind this, many great actors came on board to provide voices. Jim is voiced by Anton Yelchin in seasons one and two and then Emile Hirsch in season three after the tragic passing of Anton Yelchin. I got a real kick out of Kelsey Grammer being Blinky! My favorite performance though was Ron Pearlman as the villain Bular and I wish he was in the show more.
I know that with the look it has and the title, Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia many will pass this off as just a kid’s TV show. Look, this is aimed at kids, but it is the kind of kid’s show that is just as much fun for the adults too. I remember my dad loving watching Dungeons & Dragons in the 80s with me and I get those same vibes and feelings watching this with my son now.
