One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled. It was a time of darkness. It was a world of fear. It was the age of gargoyles. Stone by day, warriors by night. We were betrayed by the humans we had sworn to protect, frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years. Now, here in Manhattan… the spell is broken. And we live again! We are defenders of the night. We are Gargoyles!
When people speak about how ’90s nostalgia is here, I struggle to believe it, primarily because of how little interest Disney has in reviving Gargoyles, which is hands down the coolest TV show they have ever produced. Between the money made off Marvel and Star Wars (which renders the chances of a live-action film less likely day by day), and the lack of reprints for Slave Labor Graphics’s comic book continuation, a Gargoyles revival is a distant pipe-dream, which is why I’m doing a weekly retrospective of the series. Consider this column an extension of We Want Comics, our series for the properties that the world needs more from.
We’ll begin with the first two episodes of the five-part opening story “Awakening,” which aired the week of October 24, 1994. Part 1 is an extended flashback to the protagonists’ lives in the Medieval castle Wyvern, while Part 2 actually reveals the circumstances of their coming to modern day New York.
1. Complexity
Part 1 opens with a thunderous battle across the foggy skyline of New York, as debris falls onto the streets below, and Detective Elisa Maza finding herself bewildered as to what could leave claw marks in solid concrete. The episode doesn’t even come back to the present, ending on a cliffhanger in the past, which looking back was an incredibly ballsy move for a kids’ show: it’s a good thing Part 2 aired the next night.
There’s enough distrust, misunderstandings and betrayals in the story of how the Gargoyles wind up arriving in present day New York to fill a whole movie, or season of television. It’s an adult sensibility that also becomes reflected in the character arcs, as Gargoyle leader Goliath goes from the idealist trying to make an alliance with humans work, to one who declares he can never trust us again.
There’s also a reference to the Biblical Goliath in Part 1, which is incredibly literate and sophisticated for a children’s show, especially when most of them seem reluctant to acknowledge real world religion.
2. This is truly a Disney cartoon
It’s impossible to watch this and not see a lower-budgeted example of the beautiful work Disney was doing on the big screen at the time: the detail in the animation and layouts is truly worthy of the company’s name, from the lovingly painted backgrounds, the lavish use of smoke, shadows and light, and the exquisitely rendered explosions. I particularly love the way the detail on the Gargoyles’ bodies actually increases as they turn into background statues. There’s also the dramatic orchestral score, which at times strongly brings to mind Hans Zimmer’s work on The Lion King, albeit with a more Clannad-esque feel.
3. Censorship
It’s truly fascinating how Part 1 features dramatic close-ups of Clancy Brown’s Viking leader realizing the Gargoyles can actually bleed. Otherwise the censorship is pretty plain to see, with the Gargoyles and their human allies largely kicking and tossing their attackers from the walls, and the archers who loose their arrows at the retreating Vikings are apparently aiming at the ground instead of them.
Later on, Goliath announces his intention is not to pursue and attack a Viking caravan, but to merely scare them off; ironically, when attempting revenge on those responsible for Castle Wyvern’s sacking in Part 2, his enemies fall to their deaths, and it’s only Keith David’s amazing performance as Goliath that stops you from realizing his angry howl at being denied his revenge is a seriously hilarious breaking of the fourth wall.
One last word on this subject: it is delightful to hear David Xanatos (Jonathan Frakes) say the word Hell in a Disney cartoon.
4. Accents
The dodgy Scottish accents are definitely the most dated aspect of the show, which aren’t even consistently applied between human and Gargoyles characters. None of the Gargoyles have them, except Ed Asner’s Hudson, while all of the human characters do, except Jeff Bennett’s Magus, and Brown, who evidently lucked out not having to do one as a Viking. It’s not an aspect I look forward to hearing again in further flashbacks on the show.
Continued belowI’m just thankful they didn’t make the Gargoyles come from France.
5. Xanatos Gambit #1
It struck me on rewatching this that the Gargoyles aren’t sceptical that a billionaire like David Xanatos would be so curious about an old legend, as to move a whole castle from Scotland to his skyscraper in New York. During their thousand-year sleep, they’ve completely missed how superstition and belief in magic has largely gone away with the advances in human science and technology, and as a result it’s completely natural they’d believe him.
Xanatos has an attack staged on his skyscraper/castle to solidify their trust: I have to wonder how many children watching this for the first time completely bought him as the Gargoyles’ human ally. Then again, they may have understood from Goliath’s claim that his trials that left him unable to trust humans completely as a sign that not everything was right with Xanatos.
Bonus thoughts:
– Aliens-style load lifters were evidently all the rage in 1994.
– If Gargoyles are underground, would they need to turn to stone during the day?
Remember to join us next week, as we look at the rest of “Awakening.”
