It has been a few years now since poor old Kong was dragged around the Earth and beaten up by Godzilla. However, fans of the ape kaiju can dive straight back into Legendary’s Monsterverse thanks to Netflix’s Skull Island animated series.
Skull Island is an eight episode exploration of this mysterious lost island and the introduces of a new cast of characters. Surprisingly, while it does add something more to the Kong mythos, its greatest strength lies in the human characters, and Dog.
Created, written and executive produced by Brian Duffield, Skull Island follows a team of explorers, featuring the young Charlie and Mike as well as their fathers, who rescue Annie from drowning in the ocean. Despite having the best of intentions, this event kicks off a chain of events that finds most of them stranded on Skull Island, where various monsters and the mighty Kong reside. Now, they need to figure out how to not only get off the island but also survive the deadly inhabitants.
Once everyone is on Skull Island, the human characters are split into two groups, the pre established, weapon wielding team of mercenaries and the younger generation of Mike, Charlie, Annie, and her “pet” Dog. The main story, as you would expect, is that both of these parties need to find the other, so they can all escape. However, the most interesting parts of Skull Island are when Mike, Charlie, Annie and Dog interact. Similarities can be drawn to Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, also on Netflix, but it has to be said this group is far more likeable and easier to get behind. This is largely due to the chemistry of Nicolas Cantu (Charlie), Mae Whitman (Annie) and Darren Barnet (Mike), who play off each other like they have been lifelong friends.
Skull Island does unfortunately withhold the focus on Kong until the halfway point, at least. What Duffield and the team do here is build up the mystery and lore of Skull Island as well as help make the audience care for the human characters a little more. There are strong links in the setup and narrative structure to Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ Kong: Skull Island, which released way back in 2017, but that doesn’t change the fact that the animated series takes its sweet time to get to Kong! When Kong does arrive, it’s clear to see who the true king of the Monsterverse really is. Skull Island isn’t afraid to show off both sides of Kong either, his violent side, as well as his compassionate and protective side. Kong is shown as being able to be an ally or a foe and the show carefully walks a delicate tightrope by demonstrating how keeping his emotions in check is key to this.
Just like their work on Castlevania, Powerhouse Animation doesn’t cut any corners on the quality of the series’ look either. The scenery is highly detailed and mysterious, making the viewer wonder what could be hidden behind the next set of trees or rock, while the monster details pay tribute to the movies. There’s an obvious anime influenced quality to the animation style that definitely heightens the characterisation, as well as adding an extra layer of believability to the intense scenes. While the show doesn’t get too bloody, thankfully, there are still plenty of moments that can make a casual audience squirm in their seats.
Skull Island succeeds in creating a show that isn’t solely about Kong fighting other monsters. While he, and the rest of the monsters, will be the primary source of appeal, the series introduces an intriguing cast of human characters, and Dog, that viewers will want to know more about and see how their journeys continue. The show concludes on a cliffhanger so, hopefully, that indicates there’s a lot more story to be told.
What did you think of Skull Island? Do you want to see more of Kong’s stories? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
