I admit, when I found out about this series, it was a good surprise. I kinda always wanted a Skylander series since it came out, but always felt it was wishful thinking. By the time I write this, I think I saw enough episodes (9 out of 12) to give myself a good opinion, and all I can say is... eh, it's okay, but not as great as it could have been.
I'll start with the positive: the visual are absolutely amazing, and so are the voice actors. None of the characters is particularly dislikable. Kaos and Glumshanks are hilarious, and in general the humor usually makes me chuckle.
On the downside, I kinda feel like the show stubbornly avoids exploiting its potential. Skylanders has tons of characters with their own interesting backstories, all which could have made an entire episode each at least. But weirdly enough, the show... just doesn't want to use that. None of those picked for the main cast were particularly interesting, except for Spyro and Stealth Elf, and the only one among them who does get a backstory is Spyro, at the beginning of the pilot. The large majority of the other characters are relegated to cameos and occasional background appearances; I find it particularly frustrating that Hex, a character who in the game defeated Malefor, is reduced to as side character who doesn't even succeeds at her test. I know, I know, it's a kid's show, but seriously, that's no excuse for wasted potential. Transformers G1 did a better job at exploiting and balancing most of its character.
Overall, Skylanders Academy is a well-made show with occasionally funny jokes, but not really what I was hoping for. I kinda hope it'll improve in its potential season 2, but I doubt it.
WesternAnimation It's fine I guess, but I kinda hoped more...
I admit, when I found out about this series, it was a good surprise. I kinda always wanted a Skylander series since it came out, but always felt it was wishful thinking. By the time I write this, I think I saw enough episodes (9 out of 12) to give myself a good opinion, and all I can say is... eh, it's okay, but not as great as it could have been.
I'll start with the positive: the visual are absolutely amazing, and so are the voice actors. None of the characters is particularly dislikable. Kaos and Glumshanks are hilarious, and in general the humor usually makes me chuckle.
On the downside, I kinda feel like the show stubbornly avoids exploiting its potential. Skylanders has tons of characters with their own interesting backstories, all which could have made an entire episode each at least. But weirdly enough, the show... just doesn't want to use that. None of those picked for the main cast were particularly interesting, except for Spyro and Stealth Elf, and the only one among them who does get a backstory is Spyro, at the beginning of the pilot. The large majority of the other characters are relegated to cameos and occasional background appearances; I find it particularly frustrating that Hex, a character who in the game defeated Malefor, is reduced to as side character who doesn't even succeeds at her test. I know, I know, it's a kid's show, but seriously, that's no excuse for wasted potential. Transformers G1 did a better job at exploiting and balancing most of its character.
Overall, Skylanders Academy is a well-made show with occasionally funny jokes, but not really what I was hoping for. I kinda hope it'll improve in its potential season 2, but I doubt it.