Glitch Productions sets the bar higher again with Knights of Guinevere, a new animated pilot from The Owl House creator Dana Terrace and writers Zach Marcus and John Bailey Owen. Glitch has been paving the way for indie animation for years now with their 3D animated series, such as the wildly popular The Amazing Digital Circus. Knights of Guinevere marks their first foray into the 2D animation space, and is great for fans of psychological thrillers, or just more adult-oriented animation in general.
The series was made by former Disney animators, and it shows. Its concept is a biting critique of the Disney corporation. A Disneyland-esque resort called “Planet Park” hovers above a trash-infested earth rife with disease and drugs, and the company behind the Park has buried its fingers deep into society. The Guinevere robots that are a symbol of the park are an amalgamation of Disney’s princesses and Mickey Mouse, with her two big circular hair buns meant to resemble the ears. It’s a critique of capitalism, and how companies pursue new endeavors for the sake of gaining money at the expense of the lower class.
Not only is the world of Knights of Guinevere interesting, but so are its main characters. The pilot follows Frankie and Andi, two childhood friends trying to get by on the surface below the Park. Andi works in the labs for the Park, but has become jaded with the company and dislikes working there. Frankie is the opposite, holding on to the joy the Park provided when she was a child and desires to work with them instead of the scrapping job she has now. She’s both a talented hacker and also hallucinates things like the space animals often.
Things start to change after Frankie finds a special, older Guinevere robot in the trash that Olivia, daughter of the creator Orville, is after. The bot may be a bit faulty on the outside, but based on what happens towards the end of the pilot, it may be stronger and more terrifying than expected. If the show gets a full season, it’s sure to get even deeper into the mysteries of the world and give a closer look into what the park itself is like.
As far as the pilot for Knights of Guinevere goes, I give it One Thumbs Up. It does a great job of bringing us into the show’s setting and establishing what exactly it’s all about. It’s tone is on the spookier side, and its robot gore may be a bit unsettling at times, but that’s exactly what it’s going for, and it does it well. Whenever the rest of the series gets made, I’ll be sure to give it a watch.
Verdict: 👍
