Gargoyles Animated Series Review

In an effort to show my son some of the great animation from my early 20s, I had to introduce him to the Disney show, Gargoyles. I fondly remember it and recognized it for being more 'just an animated show'. I was not mistaken and actually appreciate it even more now.

The story focuses on five Scottish Gargoyles consisting of their leader, Goliath, and the rest: Hudson, Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington, and their pet, Bronx. The group had been encased in stone hundreds of years ago but a rich despot, Xanatos, rebuilds their castle, brick by brick, on the top of a New York skyscraper which brings them back to life. From there it is a matter of fitting into their new surroundings and working with Elisa Masa, a New York police officer, who ends up protecting the Gargoyles. Along the journey there is way more depth than this basic understanding of the series. The show ran from 1994 - 1997 and was canceled rather unceremoniuously.

One thing about the show is it is a bit of a Star Trek: The Next Generation (and other series) throwback. Two of the main voices are Jonathan Frakes as Xanadu and Marina Sirtis as Demona. Other Star Trek folks have voices in the show including Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner, Kate Mulgrew, Avery Brooks, Colm Meaney, LeVar Burton, and even the late, great Nichelle Nicols. I would venture to guess that many of these actors had a difficult time not being typecast after their Star Trek roles so, much like the great Mark Hamill doing the Joker, voice acting was a great outlet for the group.

There were 78 episodes with the majority of them, 52 if I remember correctly, in season two. Where the show shines is the story. There are some generic 'monster of the week' episodes, but there is also a depth to the history of the characters that really makes this more of a drama than anything else. There are flashbacks to the past and events that happened there that directly influence character decisions in the modern timeline. There are recurring characters that are more than just throwaways and there is character growth, both good and bad. Some that come to mind are Macbeth, Duncan, Arthur Pendragon, Fox, and, of course, Xanatos. These are just a few of them however. There were also often different factions that sometimes worked with, or against, the main Gargoyles clan.

The stories often connected the series in a way that was not heard of in an animated series back then. For Disney to do this, they broke from tradition with shows like Tale Spin, Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, and more. Instead, this show had depth and solid writing. Once Disney+ opened the vault on this one, it was one of the most streamed series and has led to the possiblity of resurrecting it. That would be nice as I don't think the show was ready to be canceled after season three as there is no feeling of conclusion. The final episode is just another episode with no closure. Another thing is that for at least a half of the second season, the story consists of Goliath, Bronx, and another Gargoyle character, Angela, being 'stuck' on a transport from Avalon which brings them all around the world and in different time periods. It was a fun way to get the characters to experience something new while removing some of the bonds of being stuck in New York. One of my favorite characters, Griff, is introduced during this period as well as Loki.

This is one of those series I'm glad I got to watch with my son. He loved it and looked forward to it. When it ended he was upset there were no more episodes. I really hope they bring it back as it would be great to get with the clan of Gargoyles once again!