Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles

Quite simply, Gargoyles was wonderful. No other word could possibly describe it. A great plot that continued to grow; characters that matured, lost innocence, and grew up; simply beautiful animation, even better acting on the part of the voice actors; and, most important of all, an absolutely original idea. There will never be another one like Gargoyles, ever. There can be no dispute. I don't think I will ever run out of praise for Gargoyles, nor have anything but. Everything about it was pure genius on the part of the shows creator Greg Weisman. In fact, to this day, I am certain that Gargoyles do exist because of the sheer realness of the show. And believe me, Gargoyles was very real. People died, trust was betrayed, central characters were changed forever by events in the story. One example of this is the vengeful agenda of the main "bad guy" (quotes are around the term "bad guy" because in Gargoyles, no one was truly evil, with the possible exception of the non-Fox members of The Pack.) Demona. The former love of Goliath, the leader of the clan of gargoyles that forms most of the central characters, Demona is an immortal gargoyle who was deeply hurt when her entire clan, save Goliath and his five friends, were smashed during their daytime sleep, during which they are stone statues. Betrayed, hurt, and angry, Demona has dedicated her life to the destruction of humanity. This is but one example of how the characters were developed and changed by events in the entire chronology of the series. Gargoyles is no longer on TV anymore. It could not compete commercially with Power Rangers, may they endure a thousand torments, and had to be cancelled. But, it's legacy will always live on in the hearts of those of us whose lives were touched by it and who will always keep a special place in our hearts for it. However, I may have mispoken myself. Gargoyles may be not be on TV any longer, but, they still thrive in the form of fan fiction. They are great stories, and they are written in such a way that you do not have to have seen the entire series to fully understand what is going on, although it helps slightly. And, if you wish to see Gargoyles in it's televised form, some of the very early episodes can be found in any video store in the cartoon section. Watch it. Trust me, you will never be the same once you've looked through the eyes of a gargoyle.

"Gargoyles" was a series released during the "Disney Afternoon" block of the mid-nineties. What makes it so unique is that it's still the only dramatic animated series Disney TV has ever produced. It stunned people at the time with its tragic plots, realistic weapons, and clear consequences to characters' actions. It's definitely not for young children (the Y7 rating is a good guideline), but don't think it's just another brainless afternoon shoot-'em-up designed to sell action figures. The backbone of this saga is what all timeless fiction must contain: plot and character development. The writing is taut, the acting fantastic, and the animation beautiful, but they are all mere servants to the story, which stays interesting and moderately serialized throughout the entire series (just the first season has been released on DVD, 13 of 65 episodes).

Overall, I think this is the best animated television series to ever come out of this country. If you at all appreciate the art form, you'll wonder where this show has been all your life. In a time when comedies are saturating both the primetime and daytime cartoon markets, it's nice to find a gripping animated drama without needing to set your sights to the other side of the Pacific. Highly recommended.

I cannot begin to detail how phenomenal this show is. I have seen plenty of exceptional animated shows, and some of them are very underrated, but Gargoyles has it all, mystery, complexity, depth, adventure and suspense, and one of those rarities where there is not a bad episode.

The animation is superb, very dark, moody and stylish. In fact, there are several animated sequences in Gargoyles that have a cinematic feel to it. The backgrounds especially are a wonder, and I loved the creative yet bold and dark use of colours. The music is outstanding, it is dark, atmospheric and mysterious constantly and adds to the mature tone of the show.

Another strong asset is the show's writing. No clichés, no wishy-washy moments. This writing can have a subtle humour to it, yet is also very intelligent, bold and thought-provoking. Then there are the story lines. They are filled with mystery and adventure, and I was really surprised at how incredibly deep Gargoyles was. I have seen some deep and complex animated shows, namely Peter Pan and the Pirates, to some extent ThunderCats and especially Batman:The Animated Series, and Gargoyles is just as deep as those. And the characters are wonderful, so unique and likable, while the voice work is top-notch from all involved especially from Keith David who is note-perfect in the title role of Goliath.

Overall, if you haven't seen Gargoyles, I suggest you do. 10/10 Bethany Cox

The plot of Gargoyles is like a well paved street: no holes. The creators took exceptional care to ensure a growing and continuing plot line that involved all of the characters. The idea was very innovative and inspiring. It involved a clan of Gargoyles, stone by day/flesh by night, that were betrayed by humans in 994. They were frozen in stone by a magic curse for a millenium until a multi-billionaire broke the curse. They awoke to a new world in a foreign land completely dominated by humans that were unaware of their existence. After befriending a courageous police officer, Elisa Maza, and being betrayed by the man that broke their curse and a fellow clan member, they triumphed over their enemies and became Manhattan's guardian angels. The rest of the series continued to be interesting. Incorporating Arthurian legends and mythological deities, the show always took fictional constructs and shaped them into tougher versions that were really cool. Most impressive, Gargoyles included Shakespearean characters, with a twist. Macbeth had been alive for over 900 years, and had a grudge for gargoyles. A Midsummer Night's Dream's Oberon and Titania were powerful beings that possessed powerful, and often destructive magic. With a unique blend of villains and allies, and villains that became allies, the plot of Gargoyles was ever changing and continuous. As for action scenes, I have never seen better ones. Scenes of epic sword fights, aerial combat, and hand-to-hand fighting made the fight scenes exceptional. I would like to describe the action better, but I find it hard to express in words how intense, creative, and simply awesome the scenes really are. Ultimately, Gargoyles is the greatest animated series I have ever seen, and I advise any action lover to see it. Whether you like action, plot line, creativity, or even Shakespeare, you will find all of that in Gargoyles: The Best Animated Series Ever!

I have just one question: How can Disney Television Animation produce such a wonderful show as "Gargoyles" for a couple of seasons and then go back to being Disney Television Animation? I simply cannot understand it, and if anyone has any thoughts, PLEASE share them with me! This show was a breath of fresh air on every level. If this wasn't a groundbreaking show, it certainly raised the bar sky high.

Voices--Many's the time I have thought that they could have chosen a better actor for a part in animation. Not here. The voice cast was so good that to this day I cannot imagine anyone else filling the bill. In the role of Goliath, Keith David demonstrated that he possesses one of the greatest speaking voices of any actor in the business. Jeff Bennett was also great as Brooklyn, my favorite character. (Loved the white hair!)

Music--Carl Johnson's scores were great. They beautifully set the tone and underlined the action and the drama.

Animation--Excellent. Dark, moody and stylish. The shots of the clan as stone statues are downright eerie at times. To this day, I still can't believe Disney did this one.

Plot--Action, drama, technology, mythology, humor and a little Shakespeare on the side. Folks, WHAT MORE COULD YOU POSSIBLY ASK FOR? This series had the most tightly structured story lines ever--there was not a single moment of dead air anytime.

The best thing about the series, however, was the characters. For being a clan of gargoyles (with a couple of humans), these characters were as real as you and I. Things HAPPENED to them! They actually got HURT as a result of violence. They matured, sometimes in ways unexpected. They found out the hard way who their friends and enemies were. And they had to live with the consequences of their actions, which sometimes came back to haunt them in later episodes.

Here's hoping Disney will realize the error of their ways and bring this show back. If you are already a fan, may you continue to enjoy the show. If you haven't seen it, give it a chance. But be advised: Once you have seen television and the world through the glowing eyes of a gargoyle, you will never want to settle for "standard kiddie fare" ever again.