Redwall

I am a literary woman. I love films (animated or live-action), theatrical shorts, and TV series based on books. I was quite shocked by the negativity I heard or saw on the internet. I've watched this show, and frankly, I find it awesome! The television series captivated me, and then I discovered the "Redwall" novels.

I love the original characters they've put on the show: Wild Ivy, the spunky, gypsy knife-thrower from a circus, and Farlo and his wife Glendel, the two dormice who sell spices; her name almost sounds like 'Gwendel' to me. The series also has an excellent musical score and top-notch voice casting. Anyway, it's a great TV adaptation of the novel.

Although there is a sudden proliferation of animated series, very few of them have been incredibly impressive. This is one of them.

The plot revolves around a young mouse named Matthais, who is a novice at Redwall Abbey. He begins to hear voices from the famous hero Martin the Warrior, and must save his abbey from the evil rogue Cluny the Scourge, a rat with a blade tied to his tail. As he listens to the voices, he is drawn farther and farther towards his destiny.

Perhaps the two things which impress me the most are the maturity the show demonstrates and the quality of the animation. Redwall is not a show for younger children; there is death around the abbey, even though there is no graphic violence. And once a character dies, s/he does not come back. As for the animation, the quality is incredible. Realistic shadows are cast on the characters, and the world around Redwall Abbey is lush and green.

This is definitely worth seeing, regardless of one's age.

Redwall, based on the children's adventure novel by Brian Jacques, is set in an amazing fantasy world populated by animals. Its heroes, Matthias the mouse, Basil the hare, and Cornflower the mouse maiden, must save their abbey from the evil hordes of Cluny the Scourge, a villainous rat backed by a huge army. The plot is flowing and detailed, with Matthias' search for the sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior, political intrigue and backstabbing amongst Cluny's henchrats, and a vicious serpent that terrorizes the forest surrounding the abbey. This adder, called Asmodeus, eats creatures from both sides of the conflict, and Matthias' batte with the monster is reminiscent of timeless tales of knights slaying dragons. This epic series is highly recommended.

I don't think it is quite as strong as Redwall and Mattimeo, which were both wonderful, but this is an excellent series and like its two predecessors well worth looking out for. The animation is of very good quality, with the colours especially audacious, while the music is once again beautiful. The writing is uniformly good, and the story is superb, while like Redwall and Mattimeo the violence enhances the drama rather than distracts from it. The characters are engaging particularly the title character who is easy to relate to, while the voice work once again is outstanding from all involved. In conclusion, Martin the Warrior is excellent and worth a look. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I had never heard of Redwall nor seen it, so I gave it a go and had fun watching it.

It had a special atmosphere to it with its medieval setting filled with incidental music reminiscent of folk music from the English middle ages which helped it in creating its own identity. The little details in how many of the characters have biblical names, at least in the first season, was a clever touch since it all revolves around this abbey called Redwal.

The seasons are each based on novels in the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, and while it stays true to the source material, not all three seasons are equally strong. But that aside, it keeps a mature tone and may scare younger children, but has no graphic violence to it. The second season, Mattimeo, has the most weight to it in my opinion, because of the magnificent contribution by Tim Curry as the dispicable main villain Slagar. That season kept me in the front of my seat because of him and the interplay between the heroes and the villains in a story of courage, survival and trust. But I must adress one thing that bucked me a little: the order of the seasons seems a little odd, and you'll discover when you get to season three.

The animation was really good with its detailed backgrounds and warm colour palette even though it was inconsistent with the character designs, because their shading often disappeared making them look flat. That's the only thing on the animation.

Recomendable to all who likes the medieval setting with sword fights and all that stuff.