In our ‘Best of 2022′, I vote for something most of us ‘Critters’ (fans of Critical Role) have been waiting for since first hearing Matt Mercer’s Critical Role – a livestream of a D&D game) on Geek and Sundry seven years ago, where we were introduced to a ragtag group of mercenaries called the Vox Machina.
In March 2019, Critical Role launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a 22-minute animation called ‘Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina Animated Special’. When the Kickstarter closed the following month, a final total of $11.3M was raised. It was one of the most quickly funded campaigns in Kickstarter history and transformed the idea into a ten-episode series called The Legend of Vox Machina.
Later that year, Amazon Prime announced that they had acquired the streaming rights to The Legend of Vox Machina, and had commissioned fourteen additional episodes. The project was originally planned to be released in late 2020, however that was to be delayed until January 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The series is set in Exandria, a fictional world created by Mercer. The first two episodes depict an all-new story about the seven-member Vox Machina team on their first mission, which occurs prior to Critical Role’s first episode.
The series also adapts the Briarwood arc from the original web series, where Vox Machina avenge the murder of the rulers of the town of Whitestone by the evil Lord and Lady Briarwood. The series includes some incredible scenes from the live campaign, especially the one that many fans were hoping to see – the Sun-Tree.
The series is predominantly intended for an adult audience, as it contains strong language and mature themes. It is also incredibly funny, with some genuinely heartfelt moments and cliff-hanger endings. By the end of the 1st series viewers were left screaming at their television in anticipation of the next season.
The show has been animated by Titmouse (The Venture Bros and Star Trek: Lower Decks), along with character design by Phil Bourassa (Young Justice and Batman: The Killing Joke). The background music by Bafta-nominated Neal Acree is atmospheric, being both suspenseful and calming with the simple changes in the music.
I am a ‘critter’, so my opinion comes with a little bias, but I loved this series and cannot wait until the 20th of January for the second series. We are promised “The Chroma Conclave”, which promises to be a hell of a ride.
Don’t just take my word for it, watch it for yourself. I can promise you, by the end of the season, you’ll be a critter too.
