Skull Island: Monsters and Animation

Skull Island is a more mature animation set in the MonsterVerse. The same Universe that features the monsters and characters from King Kong and the US’s Godzilla. I actually am a big fan of this universe, and I thought it was going to end. I’m pleasantly surprised and excited to see it grow. Animation was a direction I didn’t think it would be going, however this lets the universe open up to bigger and more crazy things.

Episode one is a basic pilot episode, which has a pun in the name of the episode (Maritime Pilot), so I’m already a fan. The episode sets up the premise of the “bad guys” and “good guys” and introduces us to a wide range of likable characters right off the bat. 

The main character Charlie seems to be stuck in his dad’s world, which makes him upset and can resonate with people who feel stuck. He is quickly through into a world he doesn’t understand, after a mysterious girl washes up on to his teams boat, and things spiral from there. I don’t want to say much more on that, as I like to keep my reviews mainly spoiler free. However, I will say that this animation gets mature real fast. I was a bit taken back seeing blood. Not a crazy amount, but still, a bit shocking.

The animation is beautifully done, and feels like the animation from other shows, like Young Justice. So the show gets big style points. It throws in some CGI at points, but is overall enjoyable. The characters are each uniquely drawn and stand out from one another. 

The voice action is also impeccable. Some extremely talented people on this cast. Mae Whitman is one of my favorite actress and I love that she’s continuing to do voice acting. Of course Phil Lamar is in this, his voice is iconic and needs to be in every animation project to be good! If you’ve watched any cartoons, who knows his voice.

The story is simple so far, with a bit of mystery and excitement, but nothing too crazy. The pilot episodes are usually the time to just set everything up, and I can’t wait to watch the next one. Which is what a good pilot should do. I will say, I wish this show gave better set up. Through research, I found that this show takes place in the 90s, which was never stated. It helps place the series in the universe. So I wish it had been mentioned. But other than that, I don’t really have a downside to this first episode. Hopefully this show continues on this path! I’m so ecstatic to see the MonsterVerse grow!

Now just bring back Mothra.