- Starring
- Griffin Robert Faulkner, Alkaio Thiele, Romy Fay
- Creator
- J. Chris Wall
- Rating
- TV-Y7
- Genre
- Animation, Action, Adventure, Children, Family, Fantasy
- Release date
- April 5, 2024
- Where to watch
- Angel Studios
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Rating Summary
In the enchanting world of Aerwiar, as carnivorous cows roam the forests, and colossal sea dragons glide through the skies two sentient species vie for dominance: humans and the serpent-like Fangs. Nine years prior to the events of Season 1 of The Wingfeather Saga, the villainous Fangs conquered and subjugated the human lands on the continent of Skree. Now, under their tyrannical rule, humans eke out a fearful existence in poverty and subjugation.
The Wingfeather Saga (Season 2)
The Wingfeather children, Janner, Kalmar, and Leeli, once believed they were ordinary kids. Little did they know, they carried a regal lineage: they were the Jewels of Anniera, heirs to a distant and fallen kingdom. Now, their lives are in peril as the evil Fangs seek to capture them. They must flee their familiar home, navigating treacherous Fingap Falls, twisting Strander Burrows, and the Fang-infested Dugtown. Their destination? The Ice Prairies, where the lizard-like Fangs cannot pursue. The fate of their family, and perhaps the entire realm, rests upon their young shoulders. As the second season unfolds, the world of Wingfeather expands, introducing new dangers, uncharted lands, and friendships forged in hope.
The Wingfeather Saga (S2:E1&2)
With subtle improvements to the animation, the second season of The Wingfeather Saga remains one of the most beautifully rendered animated series of the last 20+ years, with only 2001’s Samurai Jack’s unique aesthetic as serious competition. Unlike Disney’s lazy and sometimes jarring attempt to do the same with the disappointing Wish, the TWS animators have seamlessly integrated the timeless elegance and fluid motion of classic 2D animation into the more immersive and textured environments of 3D CGI.
One of our early expressed concerns with season 1 was that the voice talent, specifically that of the children, had room to grow. That fear has been allayed as the child actors exhibit vastly more confident and nuanced performances, elevating the show’s overall quality.
Unfortunately, these initial episodes sometimes suffer from the same uneven pacing and tendency to say rather than do that hampered a handful of last season’s entries. The writers certainly manage to include some particularly heavy and narratively important events. Still, they are regrettably interspersed with what feels like time-filler side adventures that are wrapped up as quickly and conveniently as they were initiated. The result is a lack of urgency in some key moments that will temporarily take older viewers out of the action.
That said, the strong family dynamic, traditional gender roles, intriguing characters, and overarching adventure are interesting enough to keep children engrossed and parents sufficiently entertained. Furthermore, season 1 should have garnered enough goodwill to keep families coming back for when this series inevitably finds its footing once again.
PARENTAL NOTES
Important Information for Parents
Our Parental Notes flag the material parents may want to know about before pressing play, including profanity, blasphemy, adult content, extreme violence, frightening intensity, hyper-stimulating sequences, and other family-content concerns.
WOKE REPORT
You're Only Getting Half the Picture.
This section is our site's secret sauce, and what truly separates us from the rest. If you don't read it, you haven't read our review.
Help us fight the Woke Mind Virus. Join today.
James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.
Such a great kids show. It’s refreshing to have new content in that arena that isn’t woke trash.
I’m a huge fan of the book series this show is based on. Yes, there was some diversity for diversity’s sake in the show (looking at YOU, Sara Cobbler), but other than that, it’s an incredible series (albeit not exactly true to the books).
Thanks for giving this underrated show a review!
If people really want racial diversity in fantasy stories, it’s easy enough to come up with a teleportation or magical portal fix where some old wizard set up something to bring the continents together. Imagine Stargate but on every continent instead of on different planets. If you don’t want it as an option in your world, you can say that they were broken some time ago, leaving people stranded.
There. A very easy fix for people who want racial diversity in everything but understand that stuff needs to make sense. I leave it offered for anyone and everyone who wants it.
You’re putting a band-aid on a much deeper woke issue. Racial diversity isn’t about showing people who live in other lands with different and interesting ways of life. It’s about forcing people with different skin colors to all live in the same place without any regard as to their cultural roots or why they would choose to move there.
I’ve been told one of the core tenets of woke philosophy is that all human beings are people who are worthy of respect. I’ve also been told that another core tenet of woke philosophy is intersectionality: those who belong in or identify with certain groups that are higher on the intersectionality scale are automatically praiseworthy and deserving of greater privilege, while those lower on the intersectionality scale are automatically deserving of scorn. In other words, not all human beings are worthy of respect, and woke philosophy is hypocritical and based entirely on lies.
A side-effect of intersectionality is that the scale doesn’t benefit everyone who belongs in a given minority group; only the ones who happen to adhere to a convenient set of stereotypes. Woke philosophy reduces entire demographics into a set of symbols, and then turns them into status symbols. The more status symbols you have, the more praise you receive. It’s why people who fake being a member of an aggrieved minority group get more sympathy than actual members of that minority group, and why people who practice woke philosophy act so condescendingly toward those who don’t perceive themselves as victims.
It takes time and effort to research how real people live. Their culture is a reflection of their history, their family background, and their environment. I understand that everyone wants to be recognized, feel valued, and have their stories told. But no one wants to be a token. Woke philosophy reduces everyone and everything into tokens, devaluing us all.
…I am sorry I wrote that. Please go back to enjoying the show.
Hi James,
Off-topic question for you. Is WioW planning to review the Knuckles series on Paramount+?
Planning.
No audience reviews yet. Be the first to leave one.