Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia (2016–2018) User Reviews (139)

Behold the Wonderful Imagination of Guillermo Del Toro

[minabixley · 8/10 · 12 May 2017]

Exciting, stylish, fun, entertaining, action packed, and very, very impressive. Trollhunters is an adventure story of kid-turned-hero à la Buffy the Vampire Slayer; it has a light, quirky, and humorous attitude à la Meet the Robinsons; incredibly detailed and immersive world-building à la Avatar; and a good dose of Del Toro's sinister monsters and dark psychological twists. Although aimed at a younger audience, it holds the depth and complexity of any adult show, while remaining whimsically childlike. Light and dark are perfectly balanced – it's got both silly kid humour and suspenseful situations that are genuinely unsettling. This is, after all, the same guy who made Pan's Labyrinth, and you can definitely see the influence here.

I was constantly impressed with the depth of imagination and real cleverness of this series. The unique monsters, magical elements, and new plot complications never stopped coming. The overall story arc is fantastically well-written, and character developments and relationships are truly believable and affecting. The baddies are interestingly conflicted, the goodies are endearing and extremely likable. You've got the terrified yet courageous hero Jim, clumsy yet smart wing man Toby, and sweet yet kick-ass Shakespeare-aficionado Claire, and all the rest, equally original. Brilliant voice acting too, especially from the late Anton Yelchin. Oh, and it's beautifully animated. Little wonder it won six Emmys!

Del Toro's creation is flawless. Trollhunters is something you can enjoyably binge-watch and then put off watching the last few episodes because you don't want it to come to an end. I can't wait for the second season – I haven't watched anything this good in a long time.

Fresh, delightful, smart and fun.

[sadak7599 · 9/10 · 22 July 2018]

Simply this is a great show with all the ingredients: 1- The "journey of the hero" narrative; 2- Lovable characters; 3- Really funny supporting roles, jokes and situations; 4-a lot of adventure and imagination; 5- Great acting, storytelling and rhythm. 6- smart script to engage people from kids to adults. 7- The consistency of the del Toro universe, with some familiar places and designs.

When I finished the last season, I began to watch it again. This is not common!.

The only flaw I can remark is the loss of momentum in the last season, in which the script is showing some fatigue, coincident with the long expected troll-humans clash. The third season finish with less freshness and a more conventional tone.

Netflix Does It Again

[yoboy3232 · 9/10 · 9 January 2017]

This show is amazing. I binged watched it in about a week. I had interest in the show because I like Del Torro's work but I didn't expect to like the show so much. From the first scene they get you hooked and wanting to see more All the characters are great and get you to know each one of them. They make you love characters from a lovable giant Troll to a small quirky Knome. The three Villains on the show are really good too. One of the best ways I can describe the show is like a Spider-man type vibe were a teen is given these amazing powers that he has to use to protect and also has to balance it with his everyday school and home life. The only thing I have to say that might be taken as bad was that mid way through the season they switch villains and it sort of feels like a whole new season. But that does not take away anything on how good the show is. I will highly recommend this show to everyone I know and am hoping that a second season will come some time in 2017 because it left us off with a big cliff hanger which I want to know what happens.

Awesome TV show from DreamWorks

[ja_kitty_71 · 10/10 · 21 January 2017]

I had come across this series on Netflix, and after watching the first season, I love it! I thought it was a really awesome show from DreamWorks.

The series is about a teenager named Jim Lake Jr., who had found an unusual amulet in the midst of a pile of rubble that was under the city bridge. In the evening, two trolls, Blinky and AAARRRGGHH!!!, came to Jim's house and explained that the amulet had chosen him to be the first ever human "Trollhunter," a guardian who protects an underground world of trolls and gnomes from bad trolls. The troll pair also stated that the rubble pile belonged to the previous Trollhunter Kanjigar. As Jim tries to adapt to his new-found position with Blinky, AAARRRGGHH!!! And his best friend Toby's help, an evil plot is unfolding in the city of Arcadia, which makes it hard to figure out who is friend or foe. That is all I know.

So overall, I love this series for its fantasy, humor, and awesome animation.

A show worth watching again and again.

[silversilverworks · 10/10 · 26 December 2016]

This show was a triumph For del Toro and for Nexflix. Rarely do I find a show for children that completely captures me as an adult. While the broad picture is a fantasy world built for children, the script and storytelling will pull in any parent who watches it with them. Trollhunters does something very few forms of entertainment do these days, it offers something parents and children can enjoy together.

As I watched the show my two sons (11 and 3) were all enjoying it and for the same reasons. The imagery, the suspense, the action and the emotion made you want to binge watch it to the end. I know it will be something to watch again (with two boys it's inevitable) and I am sure that it will be a show to look for missed treasures that were missed before.

Fresh & Delightful

[ninaespinozacarrillo · 10/10 · 9 January 2017]

An incredible series, for the whole family and all ages, fun story, heroic, romantic, epic, full of mythological beings presented with a phenomenal freshness. It contains all the nuances necessary to captivate the public. Worth a second and third season at least.

The characters are solid but do not have enough time in the first season to develop. We did not finish seeing the different facets of the main characters. Being a story based on mythology has incredible possibilities to continue and delight the audience.

It would be a shame not to continue, for my refreshing result to see a proposal of this type of part of Guillermo del Toro, which, without departing from what he usually offers us, ventures into animated projects with a lighter character, being a story fit for everything I publish without being boring or bland.

In my particular opinion the lamentable loss of Anton Yelchin should not mean the truncation of this incredible proposal. I think there are enough actors in the market who can bring new life to Jim's character.

Do not miss the opportunity to enjoy this first season.

Best kid/adult TV series in for... well a very long time...

[Kjell-nz · 10/10 · 8 January 2017]

Harks back to the good "old" days. A TV series made with an awesome story, that both kids and adults who enjoy fantasy will love. In this case a story so well put together you find yourself sitting with your children, waiting for(self imposed) the next episode. Forcing yourself to switch off after each one, just to have that enjoyment of making it last longer."Dad can we watch the next Trollhunters?" being the most asked question in the house.My seven year son and my eleven year old daughter both loving it and talking about it with each other, asking their friends where they are up to (because they are all watching it too.. wait, you're not watching, quick, come with me, you can watch it at my house, "Dad can xyz, watch some Trollhunters?"... yeah it's that good). Being so involved in the story getting a lump in the throat when... watch it, I won't spoil it for you, but trust me, it's really really good ! I really hope they can find someone as good as Anton Yelchin to be Jim, but hope even more that they make a season 2.

Favourite animated series on Netflix

[markybox-76689 · 10/10 · 17 July 2017]

At first glance, this might look like a kids-only series to any adult that sees this in the Netflix menus.

However, it is extremely captivating with lots of relevance to adults too (just look at all the reviews!). Much more relevant than expected.

As a couple, both of us (age 43 and 56) have gotten hooked. Please keep publishing more original animated series like this on Netflix, it keeps us coming back for more.

Season 2??

[mariovilla-90875 · 10/10 · 25 December 2016]

I finished the first season within 2 days. Its a very good series which I will enjoy seeing if there are more seasons coming out in the future or (parts). Since the actor of Jim in this series recently died will there be another actor that sounds familiar taking his place?. Or will this series end here which I don't really want to happen to this show. Its a really amazing series you have to watch. I was so addicted to this show I went and bought the book and read it in like 1 day. Hopefully there will be another season. You have to watch this series on Netflix if you haven't already. Keep up the good work. I can't wait when I get a notification when season 2 is released!!

Great animation and first season

[stevebondi · 7/10 · 2 November 2020]

The show started off great with the animation, the mythology, and awesome voice cast. I highly recommend the first season. But after that (including the subsequent seasons/series related to "Arcadia"), I feel most of the magic was gone :-(

Trollhunter pray it will continue

[sadie_m_lady · 10/10 · 8 June 2017]

Most excellent I started watching and just could not stop. I told all my kids about it so well done. I love Anton and am so sad for the loss and pray this show continues. As I am super excited to see what happens next Such a great premise the characters the look and feel of the show just awesome. This animation is great for kids of all ages nothing bad just exciting and fun. His Mom totally makes me laugh. Just fun characters with great personalities.

nice animated show

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 16 July 2019]

This Netflix animated series is created by Guillermo del Toro. Unbeknownst to humans, trolls live under the town of Arcadia. Their chosen hero Trollhunter battles various dark forces from the Darklands. The present Trollhunter gets defeated leaving behind his magical amulet. Teenagers Jim and his bumbling best friend Toby find the amulet which chooses Jim to be the new and only human Trollhunter mentored by trolls Blinky and AARRRGGHH!!!. He has a crush on classmate Claire Nuñez.

Guillermo del Toro has a great eye for design. I don't know how involved he is with this show. I can see that the trolls have a certain del Toro vibe. The trio of kids are perfect simple hero characters and their troll friends are solid personalities. The story is pretty good for the first season. It's fun and I loved it after one season. I like the animation style and that season ends by defeating the villain. The second and third seasons drag a little as the show keeps inventing new adventures for the heroes. This is a very well-made animated show on Netflix. It ends after 3 seasons as del Toro continues with the other two parts, 3Below and Wizards, of the Arcadia trilogy.

Vapid

[Chuck_EM · 3/10 · 29 September 2020]

Why do all the characters act like goofy convenience store clerks?

Loved it!

[vanimiofereil · 10/10 · 25 December 2016]

I started the show, just because I liked the pics shown on Netflix. But after the first few episodes I was totally into the story! I love the characters and the story line. They are on one hand easy to understand but on the other hands they all have their own personality. Just so you know: I'm nearly 20 so I'm not a kid anymore, but I love it now and I think I'd have loved it when I was a kid. Love the details who are worked out in every episode so you can take from the beginning references of things you learned earlier. The main characters are filled with love and understanding and really know how to work out the plot of the story.

Brilliant! - Season 2 please!

[sssowers · 10/10 · 17 January 2017]

We just finished watching Netflix Original Series of The Trollhunters series' based on Guillermo del Toro's book. The story line is brilliant! There are plenty of twists & turns. Just when you think you know all the tricks, more pop up and surprise you. Being an animator myself, I really enjoyed the special effects. They were artistically done without over doing it. The animation is wonderful with beautiful landscapes. The voice talent is especially stellar with Kelsey Grammar and Jonathan Hyde! Thank you Dreamworks! My family ate it up and are clamoring for the next series! Will there be a 2nd or more series? If so when might the 2nd series happen? Thank you again for fabulously entertaining series!

Spectacular show - fun, great mythos, great visuals, great relationships

[rehabdoc · 10/10 · 26 December 2016]

This is an absolutely top notch show with a legitimate season long story arc like Buffy the vampire slayer. Characters, friendship, and relationships are emphasized and everybody speaks with their own voice. Top notch voice acting from Kelsey grammar, Anton yelchin, Ron Perlman, and the people nobody heard of as well. Very positive role modeling. And of course unparalleled world building, monster design, and visuals that always come with Guillermo Del Toro. Troll market's wondrously glowing beauty reminding me of Book of Life. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

. . .

SPOILERS: If you loved Buffy, lots of stuff clearly referencing Buffy. No question the plotting is HEAVILY influenced by season 1&2 of Buffy the Vampire slayer, which was also set in high school with a "chosen one" in a world of supernatural (trolls replace vampires) . The first two episodes here are actually titled becoming part 1&2 which is the name of two of the greatest Buffy episodes of all time, as if to cement the Buffy reference. The main character lives with a single mom, just like Buffy, and slayers/trollhunters are supposed to work alone. Except this one acquires a gang of scoobies who eventually make indispensable contributions. Angor Rot, one major opponent, is Basically much like "the Judge" in Buffy. They sit basically on a hellmouth type gate out of which the greatest evil entity is trying to escape, and only The hero himself is key to opening the gate to let him into our world.as season goes on, he is hiding more and more from mom, straining their relationship The coming out as a hunter/slayer scene to mom is a little reminiscent of the Same scene in Buffy. The mom bashing a bad guy in the back of the head shouting get away from my son is a direct homage. Also like Buffy, huge emphasis on having to hit the ancient tombs and study to beat their enemies. And the trolls turn to stone in daylight like the vampires.

Yet despite taking many plot points and the core character dynamic from Buffy, it feels fresh and there are constant surprises. The main characters are very different. Jim is a nurturing type boy who cooks gourmet meals for his mom to take to work at her night shift work as a physician. The bully kid interestingly is strongly reminiscent of Kent from Real genius. Too much like him not to have been deliberate.

Haven't Been This Hooked On a Series Since Avatar: TLA!

[TheBadGamingBoy · 10/10 · 18 May 2018]

I have NOT been this hooked on a series since Avatar The Last Airbender! This series is fantastic! There's so much to go over that I don't even know where to start! I'll go like this: 1. The Story 2. The Characters 3. The Villain(s) 4. Overall Thought

1. The Story: The Story goes like this: a boy named Jim finds an amulet that, if he says this incantation(For the glory of Merlin, daylight is mine to command), he'll turn into the Trollhunter. The Trollhunter is tasked with protecting the good trolls of Trollmarket located beneath a town called Arcadia and the citizens of Arcadia from the Villains(which I'll get into later).

2. The Characters: I'll obviously start off with our main protagonist; Jim Lake Jr. One of the best parts of the series, is that he is flawed. There are moments when I feel sorry for him, when I'm frustrated at him, and when I think he can do better with something. That's ALWAYS an admirable trait for a character. Being flawed. Moving on to my favorite character(who is not Jim), we have Claire Nuñez. She is Jim's love interest and a very amazing character. There will be moments with her and Jim where I just squeal from their cuteness together. And there are moments when I tear up due to her losing her brother to the Villains to turn into a changeling(which I'll get into later). There is my third favorite character(second not counting Jim), Tobias Domzalski(Toby for short). He's the obvious comic relief character and I haven't seen a comic relief character this funny since Sokka from Avatar: TLA! He is absolutely hilarious! But like Sokka, there are his serious moments. Like when he's saying goodbye to a friend(I won't spoil what happens). Then there is Blinky, one of the first trolls you meet. He's a fine character. He's pretty funny and there's not much else to say other than he's brilliant and has good character traits like helping Jim, Claire, and Toby find Claire's baby brother. Then we have AAARRRGGHH. I'm not kidding. That's his name. He's like the second comic relief character and Toby's 'wingman.'

3. The Villain(s): The villain(s) are so well written! The first villain you see(and one of the first characters, is Bular. He looks like a giant troll Minotaur. He's got one of the coolest voices I've ever heard! Voiced by Ron Perlman, the voice of Sinestro from the CGI animated Green Lantern series, voice of the Satbbington Brothers from Tangled, and voice of Firelord Sozin from Avatar: TLA! We've also Gunmar, the Bular's father and biggest villain in the series. The main goal for almost half of part 1. Voiced by Clancy Brown, voice of Mr. Krabs from Spongebob, Lex Luthor from various DC related media, and Long Feng from Avatar: TLA! We've then got Mr. Strickler, a changeling. A changeling is like a monster than that hide amongst humans by 'morphing' into one. We've also got Angor Rot. Alongside Combustionman from Avatar: TLA, He's one of the coolest assassins I've ever seen! He's actually a really smart character. His one weakness is a ring called the Inferna Copula. Whoever bears the ring controls him.

4. Overall Thought: If you haven't seen this series, then you have to and I mean HAVE to watch this series! It is absolutely fantastic. You'll especially enjoy this series if you're a big fan of fantasy!

This is how you do a first season

[owenthepotato · 8/10 · 27 December 2016]

Guillermo del Toro and the DreamWorks crew hit this one out of the park.

On the whole, this show has a great set up, lots of subversions of the usual teen fantasy adventure tropes, and EXCELLENT episode continuity.

In terms of animation, as somebody who's nuts about 2D hand drawn stuff, this is some of the best 3D animation I have ever seen. Like, in the same ball park as the HTTYD series. Though, like HTTYD my only fault with the animation is the occasional re-use of background character models that shouldn't be there. Still, this isn't a major issue.

S P O I L E R S ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ This show ends on a cliffhanger and needs a second season. Im'a be mad if it doesn't.

Thankful

[shawn-86390 · 10/10 · 4 January 2017]

My Grandson and I have been completely focused on How to train your dragon.. Got Netflix for the rest of the series it had!! I wrote DreamWorksas my lil man 6 has anxiety issues and He loves toothless and hiccup, all the crew!! Now we fall upon troll hunters it's also amazing!!!! I love mail character and it made me ray to think this young man is gone... Not telling my grandson that news😳💔 we have last episode to go, 1-3 each night! I pray there is a way both for How to train your Dragon & Trollhunters,,,, BOTH ARE 25 out of 1-10👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Your reaching fkids that need to be reached but have broken issues inside!! Helping my lil man believe in himself a little more each time we watch your stuff! Thank you DreamWorks

Shawn Bailey

Best Kid/Teen/NerdAdult show Netflix has ever done!

[totalork · 13 December 2023]

I was deeply saddened when making this review because I saw that Anton Yelchin had passed away shortly after finishing his lines. He was a such a wonderful actor (in this show and his other movies that I am quite fond of like Odd Thomas) and I have always enjoyed this show when I first watched it years ago in my early twenties. I am now almost thirty and saddened to hear about his death because this show was that good! I am a fantasy lover and nerd so if you enjoy that kind of stuff then give Trollhunters a try. Its a kids show so its basically spongebob with trolls and some violence plus a surprisingly good plotline for the main characters. After 4 seasons this show turns into a sci fi spinoff and another fantasy spinoff followed by a crossover movie that looks epic! 100% worth the watch.

Fun a bit dragged out...

[EvanKevelson · 7/10 · 1 March 2022]

This is the one of the few Dreamwork shows that can appeal to older audiences, with good voice acting, clever humor. However along with everything else coming out of Dreamwork since Shrek, and their break with Aardam Studios.....just spin offs and sequels that increasingly leave one unsatisfied, that lack a coherent story and don't spin out of control as it did by Rise of the Titans which is horrible.

I created this account just to write this review

[andercou · 10/10 · 3 June 2018]

This show was absolutely amazing and I wish that it could have had more seasons, sadly because of what had happened to Anton they couldn't.

I just finished season 3 and I was bawling at the end for multiples reasons. One: it's over. Two: some of my favorite characters died. Three: it was dedicated to Anton. The show was just astounding! Very emotional at times and very entertaining.

If you are looking to watch something new and good, I definitely recommend this! It's great for every age, not just children (FYI I'm in my 20s)

Very fun and engaging show with some issues.

[castojaden · 7/10 · 6 November 2021]

Overall, this is a well made and fun show to watch. It does a great job of structuring episodes in a way that makes you anxious to watch the next episode without feeling like the main story line is being dragged out way too long (which is a frequent issue with many serial TV show). The characters are generally solid, the world building is well done, and the overall it is a fun watch for both kids and adults. One of the things I appreciated most was that it took time to have the character learn and progress with both their powers and their arcs, so while the character make steady progress they never feel like Mary Sues.

However, there are some issues that became more and more apparent to me with each season. My biggest frustration is pacing problems, especially around climaxes/finales. During the plot and action packed finales, there are far too many times where it feels like important scenes were either cut entirely or trimmed down significantly. There are multiple instances of a climatic battle being way too short and moving so quickly it can be difficult to follow along with what exactly happened.

Additionally, there are a few frustrating instances of a character growing in an area and seeing that arc fulfilled, only to have something happen that resets that character and makes them have to learn the same lesson all over again.

Nevertheless, notwithstanding some of the annoyances that keep me from considering this a top tier show, this is definitely worth watching. I highly recommend and am confident you will have a blast, but don't expect a masterpiece.

Great story BUT!!

[meezooo-42998 · 5/10 · 30 October 2020]

The overall i could tell you its awesome but few points threw me off first saying "i dont care about my father" after mr blinky was pretending that he was his counselor telling his mother that he still suffers from it. second the way he's treating toby when he get excited as i remember one he told him " it's not a toy , stop drilling all over it" Like really thats how kids supposed to treat their friends. try to make the content more useful for the kids to learn kindness and deal with their emotions not hide them.

Guillermo del Toro is an absolute genius!

[muhammadali-78659 · 10/10 · 4 December 2020]

The trilogy is the second best "kids" show after Avatar the Last Airbender. From the animation to the characters to the world building to the plot, everything about the show is exciting, thought-provoking, and extremely entertaining.

There are so many little details that require multiple viewings to truly appreciate, and this is definitely a trilogy I will be be watching over the years.