User reviews

I had the chance to catch a preview screening of the first four episodes of Primal on the big screen in Los Angeles. This is the most stunning piece of animation I've seen in years. It completely immerses you in a rich, fantastic world. The character designs are brilliant. The action is awesome. And it does it all without a single word of spoken dialogue. A triumph of visual storytelling.

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal, set in the Mesozoic era, depicts a story of a caveman named Spear, who, under tragic circumstances, is forced to ally with a T-Rex, Fang, in order to survive whatever obstacles it is they come across on their journey.

I'm three episodes in so far, and I'm hooked. Not only is it beautifully animated which makes every battle scene stand out and be visceral, but it does so much more to appeal to our internal emotions solely by the expressions on the characters' faces and their movements, without really humanizing anything. It reminds you that in this harsh world, to live is to eat, and to eat is to kill. The art style is gorgeous as well, with its world rich with subtle details to make it feel alive. The score for this hits a balance between something eerie and organic, with a bit of drums added in which adds to the tension during chases and whatnot.

This show is a gem. Please go see it and voice your support so we (hopefully) get to see more like this.

This perhaps one of the best series Adult Swim has made in a long time, being another great excellent series by Genndy Tartakovsky, with impressive animation and a great atmosphere.

Amazing how the lack of dialogue actually works incredibly well for this series: The rule "Show, don't tell" is at full display here, and it has an excellent dramatic effect.

It feels more cinematic than many modern dialogue-driven action movies.

From the timing to the story and the style; at its core this is a very masterfull story told with beautiful delicate animation. It's not easy telling a story without words but when you can, not do but CAN; well, you get a powerful display of raw, one might even say, PRIMAL essence of character.

This is why we make animation. This is why we tell stories. have fun with this show and be prepared for the feels.

One of the best animated episodes iv'e seen in awhile, which story is told through sound and visuals instead of words. Very impressive

Tonight, I watched the new animated show for Adult Swim, Primal, from show creator, Genndy Tartakovsky who is well known for creating Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2003, Sym-Bionic Titan and the Hotel Transylvania franchise. It was beyond amazing, the perfect teamwork between Spear (The cavman) and Fang (The Dinosaur) going on adventures to hunt, kill and survive through many deadly prehistoric creatures that can kill anything or anyone. This is one of the best things Genndy Tartakovsky has ever done. Now it can wait for another episode tomorrow night at midnight! And then, I'll also wait for Hotel Transylvania 4. I give Primal a 9.5/10

I gave this a 9 until episode 5 now I have it a 10!!!! Just epic

In the 1970's Marvel Comics ran a series of comics in its own series called Devil Dinosaur, it was about a intelligent verbal primate who saved a dinosaur similar to the one here , only red hence the name, and the minute they bonded was sparked to the memory of the characters in the comic and this screamed in my head the joys from the pages into an awesome animation spectacle which is so richly done! Two species fighting for their lives and each other bound by circumstance created in such a way that entertaining , powerful and richly drawn with rich hues of saturated prime colors. I'm going to be saddened knowing it will end. Since the days of Dexters Lab to Samurai Jack i have enjoyed the creators style, this I hope brings more for us to enjoy on the fringe. Thank You Mr. Tartakovsky for your stellar work.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Actions are louder than words. This can be seen here as well. It's a true piece of art and distributes some good values: loss and its coping mechanisms, bravery, friendship, survival, loyalty.

It's a good one. I highly recommend.

It's definitely nothing for younger children but aged 7 and up could watch that. Europeans aren't that strict and since it's animated it's kind of okay and has really good values.

An interesting and fun show with a good story that has great potential.

From the very beginning, it is clear that this is a series for adults.

There is an abundance of violence, it is quite brutal and bloody, and the very beginning of the story is really sad.

The animation is good, as is the directing and the series itself is easy to watch. The episodes are interesting, the story unfolds quickly and sometimes goes in unforeseen directions which is one of the things that makes this show good. The first season is almost brilliant, while the second season is not so good.

The first season of the show is excellent, interesting and brutal. Each episode is interesting in its own way and some episodes are brilliant.

Rage of the Ape-Men is probably the best episode in the series.

The story is really interesting, bizarre and fast-paced. The second season is not as good as the first, the quality of the episodes varies, and the ending is a bit disappointing. The last few minutes of the season are indeed both sad and hilarious at times.

Despite the flaws, the series is overall good and interesting precisely because of those few episodes that are excellent.

An interesting, unusual and brutal series that is really worth watching.

A thrilling, passionate show with cool prehistoric dinosaurs and creatures - you build a bond with it's two relatable leads and understand their anger, sadness, fear, amusement, happiness and curiosity; and neither even speaks a word. The animation and art style is fantastic and the jurassic landscape that Spear and Fang inhabit is immersive and atmospheric. I highly recommend this show to anyone looking for well-made animated storytelling (if you can handle the brutality in both it's themes and imagery).

Primal is a very stunning show, setted in the prehistoric times, it tells about the strong friendship between a caveman and a dinosaur. Both lived a very traumatic experience and the only way to survive is stay and fight together.

The story is told through sounds and music, there are no dialogues, no words. The sound design, shots and animations are simply amazing, I was completely stunned: the tension in some scenes, the develop of the friendship between the animal and the human being and the design of other creatures. Everything is well balanced and you can really bound with main characters.

Genndy Tartakovsky made another amazing product, and I understand immediately why I fell in love with this serie: when I was a child, I used to be a big fan of Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack. Of course I just found out that he was the creator of all these series. It is a small gem. If you want to watch quality stuff, I highly recommend this show.

It's something you have to see for yourself. Even if you think animation is above your tastes since you grew up...Personally, Im not young. And this series is not made for young people.

I won't gush over it, which I easily could.

But to say this is going under the radar is a gross understatement.

This series matches up with some of the best animated series, ever. Including Anime... Very very rarely does the west give the Japanese a run for their money (not including CGI animated films) And there was no need for words. The animation, writing and score did the talking.

The orchestral score... Its.. Just go watch it.

You know a show is great when you can drop into any episode and find yourself enthralled. From the very first scene of Primal I was hooked.

The show has no dialogue which honestly is completely genius. The way the animation shows expression through actions and gestures is just great, and it made me feel calm, like a visual meditation. Finally a show that pushes you to watch rather than to listen to a bunch of babbling. I'm urging everyone to watch it, I'm going to show it to my friends that "dont like cartoons" so they can see that when done right, animation can almost be more powerful at conveying emotion than film. It hasn't been out long but I think that this show will go down in history and stick in our minds for years to come. Quite nothing like it. Not one bad thing to say at all.

Intense colors, intense action, intense sound ... then total silence :-) Tartakowsky is a master of animated action with cool stylized designs. This show is so riveting and enjoyable to watch! 🙂

This is an animation about the brutal side of Nature. Everything is greatly animated from the harsh environment to the facial expression of the characters. The plot of each episode is basically the same except for episode 1 and 10.

IT starts out with the Main characters spear and fang bonding over their dead families and Work together to defeat a bigger for. Runde and repeat and you have episode 2-9. And IT is still enjoyable but sometimes IT feels like they only survive due to plot armor, which ruins IT a bit.

In episode 10 we see new human and the ending leads to a theory about what going to happen in season 2.

When Tartakovsky's Samurai Jack was on TV, I loved watching it. Later, when I was able to get all the episodes online, I binged the whole thing. There was a certain raw energy to it despite the simplistic story, which still managed to fit.

In contrast, as soon I started watching this caveman drivel, it immediately felt derivative as a result of the layover of the concept. I was watching a caveman, but everything about the fighting style, impossible monster dinosaurs, and individualistic mega fighter hero.

I don't really understand this caveman hero either. Where did he come from? All we know about him is that his girlfriend and two kids get brutally ripped to shreds. There is no complex mission, curse, mythological development. Recurring interactions with a nemesis. There is no internal battle. Rather, we get this kind of dinosaur pet (raptor with dog-like behaviours), which is endearing and if anyone has a dog, can relate to its emotional appeal.

While it seems unfair to complain about realism in a fantasy animation, all animations follow certain rules. This animation does follow its rules, but the rules it sets out make it impossible to relate-to or understand. Here are the major failures in its setup that make it so cringe to watch: Human beings have always lived in societies starting from tribes. Where were his parents? Where were his girlfriend's parents? How did they reproduce? How did they evolve? This animation would have worked much better if it would just exile this dude for perhaps violent behaviour. Then at least we could empathize with his regret and guilt over getting his girlfriend and kids killed, which without this backstory just seem like gratuitous violence.

The creatures: Fine, there were giant dinosaurs. But giant creatures do not survive without the little ones. The world is lacking in these little creatures, which makes it feel robotic and dry.

Hostile environment. We get it. Dinosaurs were dangerous. But how can this caveman and others survive? Were they always megafighters? Even Samurai Jack starts out not being that strong. It was his evolution that was so appealing. It feels acceptable initially, but after about 20 minutes, it begins to feel overwhelming. As a result of the savagely harsh environment, the caveman becomes a savage impossible character.

These are just a few weaknesses in this animated series, and they could probably be described in more nuance, but perhaps I can just conclude by saying that if you enjoyed Samurai Jack and you generally don't look at your phone while you watch series, you'll get annoyed. There are certainly strong points in this animation, but they are unfortunately overcast by the nagging weaknesses.

An Ally-oop-ish 'cave man' (Spear) and his tyrannosauroid companion (Fang) struggle to feed and to survive in an imaginary primal world of monsters and (now) extinct species. The show definitely views nature as 'red in tooth' as various creatures, including the heroes' off-spring, get decapitated, bit in two, or messily devoured by a variety of prehistoric carnivores. There is no script beyond grunting, roaring, or screaming but series creator Genndy Tartakovsky manages to bring a lot of personality to his voiceless yet engaging characters (both man and beast). The physics are as unrealistic as the paleo-biology, but viewers willing to suspend their disbelief will be rewarded with entertaining stories and a rich, somewhat surreal, depiction of an alternative primeval Earth.

At first, I didn't expect it to give me something enjoyable! But man oh man! It is amazing!!! No voice! Just pure raw emotions and wildness! Believe me guys! It's so worth your time! It has one of the best story telling of cartoon history! It will touch you emotionally make you thiking of the survival dificulties human and every living animal had to go through.