After the unfair and sudden cancellation of the animated fantasy show The Owl House (2020-2023) showrunner Dana Terrance felt like she was mistreated creatively by Disney and all of their arbitrary rules and control over her project. This led her to partner up with the independent animation studio Glitch and the result was this ineffable cyberpunk mystery titled Knights of Guinevere, created by Dana Terrace, Zach Marcus, and John Bailey Owen (other creative minds of The Owl House)
Slightly based on Arthurian mythology and with fairy tale tropes and imagery, the show presents Park Planet, a floating amusement park-themed location that has an android princess named Guinevere as its mascot. All of this was a creation of a Walt Disney-like man for his daughter Olivia, who kept abusing Guinevere and keeping it on a leash, forcing the android to jump to the water below the planet, only for it to be brought back and fixed. Years later, two exploited workers, Andi (a park engineer) and Frankie (a factory worker and scavenger), find a shabby android model and discover something they shouldn't have.
Beginning with a somewhat beautiful or idyllic too-good-to-be-true world aesthetic, a slightly oppressive atmosphere underneath it it's quickly unveiled, it's stylish glamour then develops into conspiratorial peril as the protagonists uncover certain mysteries and have to fight for their lives in this cyberpunk and highly technological and mechanical semi-dystopian world.
Dana's criticisms of Disney are smartfully extrapolated into unleashed capitalism as the show portrays female (corporeal/human) exploitation by the system and media at the hands of corporations through the body degradation and deterioration of Guinevere, as well as the pollution of the environment that's also drained out of natural resources and littered with waste that's recycled in a never ending cycle. The show's worldbuilding is slowly but surely unfolded through the main characters' perspective and actions as we are introduced to different sections and settings, conveying their function in the world and the story's internal socioeconomic system, some of these are markets, workplaces, royal locations, etc.
This pilot has detailed artwork and well done animation that, while choppy at small fragments, really overcomes the dangers an independent studio could stumble upon. These talented craftspeople are put in charge of a captivating and bewildering storyline that must be speculated about, that being part of the fun, while never feeling like an obligation as the answers I am sure will be properly revealed with time, as we have seen in The Owl House.
The pilot is a visual delight, featuring gorgeous expressive lighting and overelaborate and overstuffed visual design with attention to detail and highly ostentatious art direction when it comes to environments, characters and backgrounds.
The two contrasting (in design and personality) main characters are charismatic yet none of them truly fall into a stereotypical role that could become tiresome, they display more dimensions than one would think and end up becoming endearing very quickly. A lot of this has to do with the dynamic and lively voice acting, as well as the enriching details the storyboard artists and animators are able to implement through a character's actions or reactions.
The series seems to have set itself as one of the best and more intriguing pilots of all time, particularly captivating audiences with just one episode. If you are in the mood for a creepy, marvellous and adult-oriented series that relies on plot and an unravelling mystery with astounding artwork and uncomfortable body horror then I can safely say you should check this one out.
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