Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia

Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia (or simply Trollhunters) is an American computer-animated fantasy television series created for Netflix by Guillermo del Toro and produced by DreamWorks Animation and Double Dare You Productions. It follows the story of James Lake Jr., a teenage boy who finds a mysterious amulet and stumbles across a secret realm inhabited by trolls and other magical creatures. Soon afterward, he and his friends are charged with protecting our world from the dangerous monsters that lurk in the shadows of their small suburban town.

The first two episodes of the series premiered on October 8, 2016, at the New York Comic Con. The first season was released worldwide on Netflix on December 23, 2016. The second season premiered on December 15, 2017, and the third and final season premiered on May 25, 2018.

Since its release, Trollhunters has been widely praised as an ambitious and boundary-pushing animated series, with Filmink's Travis Johnson calling it "...the best children’s animation to come along since Avatar: The Last Airbender." The series was nominated for nine Daytime Emmy Awards in 2017, winning more than any other animated or live-action television program that year. In its first two seasons, it has also received or been nominated for several Annie Awards, Kidscreen Awards, and a Saturn Award. The show has also spawned several original children's books and has been adapted into a series of graphic novels by Marc Guggenheim and Richard Hamilton, released by Dark Horse.

Anton Yelchin continued to be part of the series through the first two seasons, as he had recorded enough dialogue to complete them before his sudden death. Yelchin was also able to provide a portion of dialogue for the final season, while the remaining portions of dialogue was recorded by Emile Hirsch.

Following the show's success, Guillermo del Toro announced that Trollhunters would be the first chapter in a trilogy of television series entitled Tales of Arcadia. The story was continued in a science fiction inspired follow-up series entitled 3Below: Tales of Arcadia, and the trilogy will be concluded in a third and final fantasy series entitled Wizards. It also premiered on Pop in the UK on September 3, 2018.

Part 1
After being dubbed the first human Trollhunter, James "Jim" Lake Jr., reluctantly, begins to lead a double life with best friend Tobias "Toby" Domzalski at his side, along with gaining mentors from the trolls Blinky and AAARRRGGHH!!!. Jim faces hostility and resentment not just from other trolls, but from other humans during school time as well. The adventures of Jim and Toby become interrupted when Claire Nuñez gets dragged into the life, kicking and screaming, as well.

Part 2
Jim faces repercussions for his actions by going into the Darklands. Blinky deals with old family wounds as the rest of Trollmarket deals with a possible mole among them. Things are not made easier when Steve Palchuk and Eli Pepperjack begin to stumble upon Jim's double life, on top of the pressures of high school.

Part 3
It's the end of sophomore year at Arcadia High: Jim's double life has taken its toll on his mother as Claire experiences trouble from an ancient sorceress. The final battle is looming over the trio as Jim and Claire begin to grow closer in their relationship, and graduation is upon them.

Main

 * Anton Yelchin and Emile Hirsch as James "Jim" Lake Jr. / Trollhunter, the first human Trollhunter and a reluctant hero dealing with the pressures of leading a double life. He has a talent for cooking and eventually sword-fighting, and cares deeply for his mother and friends. Yelchin provided the voice of Jim from Part 1, through portions of Part 3 before his death. Hirsch assumed the role and replaced him.
 * Charlie Saxton as Tobias "Toby" Domzalski, Jim's best friend and confidant. Dorky and excitable, he fully embraces the secret world of trolls and aids Jim in his quests. His weapon of choice is a warhammer.
 * Lexi Medrano as Claire Nuñez, Jim's girlfriend. She is a feisty, kind, jolly, sarcastic, curious, and intelligent tomboy who enjoys books and is a talented martial artist and gymnast. She obtains the Shadowstaff, a staff capable of creating portals activated by the user's emotions.
 * Jonathan Hyde as Walter Strickler, Jim's history teacher who is actually a Changeling. When Jim discovers the truth, he loses all respect for him and the two become bitter enemies. However, he remains affable toward Jim and has redeeming qualities.
 * Kelsey Grammer as Blinkous "Blinky" Galadrigal, Jim's six-eyed troll mentor. A wise and scholarly troll with a heart of gold, he serves as the brains of the Trollhunters and eventually becomes a sort of father figure to Jim.
 * Fred Tatasciore as Aarghaumont "AAARRRGGHH!!!", a burly troll and close companion of Blinky who forms a deep bond with Toby. He was kidnapped by the Gumm-Gumms as a child, which stunted his vocabulary. Tormented by the atrocities they committed, he deserted Gunmar to live a life of peace. However, he will still fight to protect those he cares about.
 * Victor Raider-Wexler as Vendel, the leader of Trollmarket. An ancient and wizened troll, Vendel is at first suspicious of Jim and often comes across as a pessimist, but shows a softer side and eventual faith in Jim. At the end of Part 2, he is killed by Usurna after she revealed herself to be working for Gunmar, but not before recording the act to warn the Trollhunters.
 * Ron Perlman as Bular, the son of Gunmar. A brutish and powerful troll warrior, he's obsessed with freeing his father from the Darklands. He holds a special disdain for Changelings, whom he considers "impure", putting him at odds with Strickler and other Changelings who seek to free Gunmar. He is killed by Jim in the first half of season 1, but later makes appearances in the season 1 episode "Where Is My Mind" and the season 2 episode "Unbecoming".
 * Amy Landecker as Barbara Lake, Jim's protective and overworked mother. Her husband left the family when Jim was five years old. Her doctor job means she's often away from home, which lets Jim pursue his Trollhunter duties.

Recurring

 * Steven Yeun as Steve Palchuk, a narcissistic bully who frequently harasses Jim. Suspicious of Jim's unusual behavior, he eventually discovers the truth and teams up with Eli Pepperjack to help Jim in Part 2.
 * Matthew Waterson as Draal, the son of previous Trollhunter, Kanjigar. He is originally jealous and suspicious of Jim but later befriends him – acting as Jim's fighting tutor. During a battle in the museum, Draal sacrifices his lower right arm while removing the Trollhunter amulet from the Killahead Bridge to close the portal, and later obtains a mechanical prosthetic. Draal explains that his father kept a distance from him as he grew up, and he had hoped to become the next Trollhunter that he might earn his father's approval.
 * Lauren Tom as Nomura, the Changeling museum curator and a colleague of Strickler. Originally an antagonist, she was pulled into the Darklands and imprisoned by Gunmar for her failures. When Jim is captured in the Darklands, the two form a connection and escape together.
 * Jimmie Wood as NotEnrique, the Changeling swapped with Claire's baby brother Enrique. While troublesome and self-serving, he isn't actively malicious and even helps the Trollhunters from time to time (usually after being bribed). He forms a rocky but brotherly connection with Claire.
 * Clancy Brown as Gunmar, the iron-fisted leader of the Gumm-Gumms who reside in the Darklands. He is powerful and ruthless, and will readily dispose of loyal minions and allies who can no longer serve him. He has no qualms about enslaving or killing his fellow trolls to accomplish his goals.
 * Tom Hiddleston and James Purefoy as Kanjigar the Courageous, Draal's father and the noble Trollhunter prior to Jim. His ghost tutors Jim, often worrying about Jim's team fighting style, believing that the Trollhunter must work alone to avoid endangering those he cares about – this leads to Jim's guilt and decision to venture into the Darklands alone. Hiddleston provided the voice acting for Kanjigar during the series premiere, while Purefoy was cast to assume the role for the rest of the series.
 * Ike Amadi as Angor Rot, an ancient troll warlock-assassin who hunts down Trollhunters and takes their souls. In medieval times, Angor made a deal with Morgana, surrendering his own soul in return for his mystical powers.
 * Rodrigo Blaas as Gnome Chompsky, a Gnome adopted by Toby. He started out as a "rogue Gnome" causing trouble, but after he was finally defeated by Jim he became friendly when he was given a dollhouse to live in and a plastic doll to be his companion. He later helped locate Enrique in the Darklands and also helped rescue Jim from the Darklands.
 * Mark Hamill as Dictatious Galadrigal, Blinky's brother. Presumed dead, he helps Gunmar in his quest to conquer the surface lands. He is blinded by Blinky during a struggle in the Darklands.
 * Anjelica Huston as Queen Usurna, the queen of the Krubera, AAARRRGGHH!!!'s race who lives in the Deep Caverns, and a member of a council of troll leaders known as the Tribunal. She initially seems to be a kind queen concerned for AAARRRGGHH!!!'s well-being. As a Tribunal member, she is strict and judgmental and leads the Tribunal to act against Jim and his friends. Late in Part 2, she reveals herself to be a traitor who works for Gunmar and helps him take over Trollmarket.
 * Cole Sand as Eli Pepperjack, a nerdy classmate of Jim who believes in the paranormal. In Part 2, he teams up with Steve Palchuk to investigate the strange creatures they both have seen and to help Jim.
 * Lena Headey as Morgana / The Pale Lady, an ancient and seemingly malevolent entity and the patron of Angor Rot.
 * Tom Kenny as Otto Scaarbach, a Changeling Polymorph who can change into the form of anyone. He is the Grand Commandant of the Janus Order, a secret society of Changelings who assist the Gumm-Gumms.
 * David Bradley as Merlin, the wizard who created the Trollhunter's amulet.
 * Colin O'Donoghue as Douxie "Big D", a charming English teen from Arcadia Oaks Academy whose band, "Ash Dispersal Pattern," is an entrant in the Battle of the Bands in Part 3.
 * Tatiana Maslany as Aja, a "foreign exchange student" from "Cantaloupia" older sister to Krel. Jim is tasked to show them around and acclimate them to Arcadia late in Part 3.
 * Diego Luna as Krel, younger brother to Aja.

Production
Initially, del Toro envisioned the idea as a live-action television series; however this was deemed impractical due to budgetary concerns, and as a result he instead turned the idea into a book. DreamWorks then planned to turn the book into an animated feature film. The feature film was going to be directed by Guillermo del Toro and Rodrigo Blaas. Eventually DreamWorks decided to instead turn it into a TV series with Netflix. Rodrigo Blaas became an Executive Producer and Supervising Director on the series.

Del Toro modeled the show's sensibilities after shows he grew up with such as Johnny Quest, identifying them as "really earnest and emotionally beautiful". To this end, he sought to make the main character of Jim "in that '70s mold," and "really a very good boy" with del Toro noting that this was a constant struggle for him to express to both writers and actors. Eventually he came across Anton Yelchin, who embodied those qualities although by del Toro's estimate it still took him a few sessions to fully understand the character.

When creating the show's narrative, del Toro noted that he wanted a "bittersweet journey" for the main character dealing with issues that most such "power fantasies" failed to address, telling indiewire "I wanted to say, 'Look, you can be in high school and you can have your problems. Then you get all these powers and then you have a different set of problems. There is not such a thing as a final, great outcome.

The show serves as one of Yelchin's final projects as he died shortly after recording most of his character's dialogue. Producer del Toro refused to replace his recordings, which del Toro noted was a challenge for the show's recording engineers. Of his decision del Toro stated that the actor "was proud of what he did, and we were so proud of how he did it." Del Toro added that his experience as a father and Yelchin's young age were also factors that led to the decision.

Release
The two-episode pilot of the series premiered on October 8, 2016 at the New York Comic Con. The first season consisted of 26 half-hour episodes which were released worldwide on Netflix on December 23, 2016. The second season, consisting of 13 episodes, was released on December 15, 2017. The third and final season, consisting of 13 episodes, was released on May 25, 2018.

Home media
The first season of Trollhunters was released on DVD on November 7, 2017.

Critical response
Trollhunters has received positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 94% approval rating with an average rating of 7.81/10 based on 16 reviews for the first season. The website's consensus reads, "Trollhunters manages to capture del Toro's enthusiasm for telling monster stories, in a youthful and more colorful fashion that may well earn him a new generation of fans." On Metacritic, the season has a normalized score of 69 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

In 2017, it received six Daytime Emmys, more than any other television program, animated or live action, that year.

On January 30, 2017, Trollhunters writers Kevin and Dan Hageman stated that the series is the most successful Netflix original show to date that is targeted at a younger audience.

The second season of Trollhunters was nominated for six 2018 Annie Awards, tied for the most nominations of any television program in 2018. It was also nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards, including Best Children's Animated Series, and won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program.

Tales of Arcadia
On November 6, 2017, show creator Guillermo del Toro announced that Trollhunters will be expanded into a trilogy of animated series known as Tales of Arcadia. The trilogy will be continued by a sci-fi animated series known as 3Below, which will center on two royal aliens and their bodyguard who escape from their home planet and crash-land on Earth in Arcadia, where Trollhunters also takes place. There, the aliens adjust to human culture and try to fix their spaceship to return and take back their home planet, which is being taken over by an evil dictator. 3Below premiered on Netflix in 2018. The trilogy will then be concluded with the animated series Wizards, which brings together the three disparate worlds of trolls, aliens and wizards who have found themselves drawn to Arcadia, "...culminating in an apocalyptic battle for the control of magic that will ultimately determine the fate of these supernatural worlds that have now converged." Wizards is scheduled to premiere on Netflix in 2019.