---Summary:
Gargoyles is a cartoon made by Disney and written by Greg Weisman and was airing from 1994 'till 1997. The story is focused around a group of gargoyles, humanoid creatures who turn to stone during the day. They once lived on Earth in medieval Scotland many years ago, until their clan was destroyed and through some misunderstandings, the remaining few were blamed for lives that were lost and were put under a spell that left them permanently turned to stone for a thousand years. They now break free of the spell only to find themselves in present day Manhattan, the remains of their castle now in the possession of a rich and villainous man... These gargoyles now act as protectors of the city, but as they soon find, their presence is not all that welcome.
---Writing:
There's a lot I could say about the show and its writing. A lot of people consider the 80s to be the high point of writing in cartoons, with creative premises and memorable characters. Because of many of the great shows that came from that era, a lot consider the 90s to be the era of silly cartoons. But Gargoyles is nothing of that sort. It takes some moments to remind you, hey, you're watching a cartoon, but from start to finish it's a rather gritty and entertaining show.
The first season I would say is somewhere between "so-so" and "awesome" - Not every show starts off knowing where it wants to go, but I think a lot of setups the first season pulled went on to be brilliant plots in the following season. Season 1 is where we get a basic idea of what to expect from the show, basically.
Season 2 is what I consider to be THE season. It's a long-running one full of so much plot and story arcs. Whereas most shows open up telling you what happened in the previous episode, this one will, when deciding to continue a pre-existing plot point that hasn't been continued in some time, it tells you what happened the last time said plot point got used. I like that. On top of that we learn more about the past of the gargoyles. Along with some Shakespearean characters like Oberon and Puck; two antagonists that really set in stone the types of villains I wish to write for in my own works.
However, it's by season 3 we start to go downhill somewhat. Greg Weisman, the man who started it all, was taken off the show, along with various others who had worked on it. You can read more about it in this article. The writing, in my opinion, was definitely less spirited and a lot more repetitive by this point, and all the awesome use of plot in season 2 just went away as they resorted to one-shot plots with some kind of lesson at the end of it all. It became less of an epic show.
And it would seem that Greg Weisman felt the same way. In 2006 he was partnered with Slave Labor Graphics to produce a comic continuation, which ultimately ignores the entire 3rd season and ultimately has more freedom to do what he wants with the series now without having to follow cartoon rating limitations. I may have to review this comic series sometime to complete this review.
But I'm rambling now. What it comes down to is that without the 3rd season in mind, this show had some dead-solid writing and it was nice and dark for a kids show. I was always really intrigued by it as a kid and looked forward to watching it whenever it came on. It always came on around midnight too, setting the mood.
---Animation:
The show had a fairly consistent flow of motion going on. There were a few episodes where you could tell "this is Studio B doing the animation as opposed to Studio A" but for the most part they managed to keep things solid. I liked the designs they provided for the more mystical characters like Puck and Oberon. The portrayal of Gargoyles was also, of course, a fine balance; they were human-like, could be made monstrous when they needed to be, yet could also show a gentle side. It was a fine mixture.
---Voice Acting:
The voice cast, as I understand it, consists of various Star Trek actors, which you can read more about in the opening text featured here since I'm not knowledgeable in Trek lore. I do have to say, though, the voices they chose for this were a nice palette. Everyone fit their character and personalities, and they had good chemistry. Some extras fall in line with what I said above with the writing; they make sure to remind you you're watching a cartoon, and are not afraid to do some kind of silly voice to do so. All I'm gonna say is... Vinnie.
---Its Legacy:
Gargoyles has a small but noticeable fanbase. There's even a convention! However, it seems that, for a show of this quality, it's not enough. It deserves more love I think.
The Complete First Season was released on DVD. Because season 2 is such a long-running season, they released Season 2: Volume 1 with the intention of releasing Season 2: Volume 2 at a later date, followed by Season 3. However, apparently due to poor sales of volume 1, volume 2 never saw the light of day, and aside from the comic series, that seems to be it for Gargoyles.
It's a sad endcap and I hope this truly isn't the end of this franchise. I hope that it sees some form of resurgence.
---Final Thoughts:
Overall, Gargoyles is WELL WORTH YOUR TIME. It's a fairly gritty Disney cartoon with fantastic writing, good animation, exceptional voice acting, and overall a fine show I would recommend to anyone looking for something that mixes magic with the modern world. And aside from the sour taste of a disappointing downfall in DVD releases, it's a fun ride. While I would plug the typical "Support the franchise, buy the DVDs!" schpeel, you're gonna have to load up a Torrent for seasons 2 and 3. Give it a shot - what've you got to lose?
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