By Matthew Ilseman
As a medium, animation has unlimited potential. It can tell any type of story. Yet, in America at least, it is usually regulated to children’s programming and often poorly done children’s programming.
There are thankfully exceptions to this. One of which is Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal.
Primal is a bloody and beautiful tale of survival. It is one of the rare animated action dramas that is aimed at adults. In fact, I would recommend parents view the entirety of the series before deciding if their children should see this. It is extremely dark, violent, and horrifying. It also has moments of genuine pathos and stirring beauty.
(For the record, I tend to think kids can handle violence and dark themes better than we assume, but it should be up to their parents decide what is appropriate.)
Primal premiered October 8, 2019. It is the story of a cave man and a dinosaur’s fight for survival in a fantasy version of pre-history. Though there is no dialogue in most of the series, the ending credits list the cave man as Spear and the dinosaur as Fang. According to the internet, this is a reference to Spear and Fang, Robert E. Howard’s first published story. Creator Genndy Tartakovsky credits Howard as a major influence in numerous interviews. In fact, Howard’s spirit seems to hang over the series. It can be gut-wrenching the way Howard’s best stories were. Other influences include tales of wilderness survival such as the film The Revenant.
One can see the trailer to the first season. (Note the Byron quote.)
The series starts with Spear fishing and narrowly escaping being eaten by a dinosaur. (The setting is a fantasy version of prehistory with humans living alongside dinosaurs from various epochs and even supernatural creatures. One should not look for scientific accuracy). Afterward, he returns to his home only to see his family massacred by dinosaurs. Despairing, Spear attempts suicide only to be stopped by a vision of his family. Left alone, Spear returns to eking out an existence.
During this he encounters Fang, a Tyrannosaurus Rex. He stalks the dinosaur as an act of vengeance only to find it a mother with hatchlings. It is then that the same dinosaurs that attack Spear’s family attack Fang’s. The hatchlings are eaten in a gory scene. Together Spear and Fang slay the dinosaurs.
This is the first episode. The rest of the series chronicles Spear and Fang’s fight for survival as they learn to rely on each other. This story, less well done, could easily be ridiculous. Instead, it is visceral and gut-wrenching. There is a genuine character arc to the first few episodes as Spear and Fang learn to work together. You actually feel for the caveman and the dinosaur.
The animation is beautiful. The backgrounds are stunning. Spear seems to have stepped out of a Frank Frazetta picture. Tartakovsky chose to tell the story in a visual manner with no dialogue (except the final episode of the season). Emotion is established by closes ups of Spears face. Another influence on Tartakovsky seems to be Sergio Leone so there are a lot of close ups. There is also the same deliberate pacing that is in a Leone film.
Notable episodes include: A Cold Death in which the killing of a mammoth leads to a conflict between the protagonist and the mammoth’s heard, Terror Under The Blood Moon, which I think was influenced by Robert E. Howard’s Wings in the Night, with Spear and Fang encountering a tribe preyed on by winged monsters, and the horrifying Plague of Madness in which Spear and Fang are terrorized by a dying dinosaur. There are, however, no bad or even mediocre episodes. There was also a movie called Primal: Tales of Savagery which was made from the first four episodes.
Genndy Tartakovsky is a long time veteran of the animation industry. He is notable for creating Dexter’s Laboratory, which I enjoyed as a kid, and Samurai Jack, which I watched as a teenager. (I would also highly recommend Samurai Jack).
Primal can be seen on the HBO Max streaming service. DVDs and Blue Rays of the series can be bought. I should note that I found my local library had the DVDs so one might want to check there. A second season is planned for the summer of 2022 on Cartoon Network.
lane batot says
I’ve had several people tell me they think I’d like this series–now that it has been positively reviewed on “Frontier Partisans”, I know I can’t go wrong! Havta get a DVD copy someday…..Although not mentioned, I havta wonder if the creators were also possibly inspired by one of my comic favorites as a kid “Turok, Son Of Stone”, where a pair of Native Americans end up in a mysterious land of dinosaurs and cavemen! I heard they might have been filming a version of this old comic classic awhile back(animated? live action?), but don’t know if they ever did…..
Matthew says
I think you will like it. The DVDs seem pretty cheap. They are very no thrills though. (I personally never look at extras, though.)
I have no idea if they were inspired by Turok. There was apparently a short animated film about Turok. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turok#Animated_DVD
Ugly Hombre says
Looks like E.R.B. to me!
https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/383/548/765548383.0.x.jpg
Good stuff!
Matthew says
There are a few interviews where Tartakovsky talks about how REH influenced the show, but not ERB. I wouldn’t be surprise if it was though.
Vinny Singh says
I’ve watched the series. Its amazing how without dialogue there can be so much emotion in it. Two scenes stood out for me-when Spear is standing on a cliff’s edge after his family is killed, seemingly about to jump, and then sees a vison of his family-there is pure despair, grief and bewilderment on his face. Then in episode 3 there are the death throes of the old mammoth as Spear and Fang tear him apart-you fee lhis last gasping bloody breaths. I have to say it’s scenes like this one that make me think it may be too vivid and grim for young kids. But for adults, yes a great series to watch.
Matthew says
It is amazing how the lack of dialogue seems to heighten the emotion in it. Those are both good scenes.
I wouldn’t let young kids see it. Though you never know what disturbs kids can very. A smart teenager probably could handle it, but I wouldn’t let my four year old niece watch it, despite her love of dinosaurs.
Eccentric Cowboy says
Spot on, sir. I’m delighted that you got to watch this series. I was hooked like catfish swallowing the hook at the first trailer and was champing at the bit for the pilot. Then Adult Swim’s website and I had a battle of wills to see if I would cough up my privacy in exchange for my precious episodes. Bloody online streaming.
Thankfully God looks out for us and blessed us with a DVD version which I snapped up like it was made of gold.
I can’t overstate how much I love this series and it’s raw, undiluted savagery. It doesn’t play with kid gloves. This series shows what a real life struggle for survival is like. I can’t think of any other show worthy of a title like Primal. That one word says it all. I’ve heard that another season is on the way, and in this modern world of fear and chaos, it’s one of the few things I’m genuinely looking forward to. What better way to escape the annoyances of reality than by watching visceral top tier animation?
Matthew says
Yep.
I originally DVRed the series as it aired, but I figured that it was worth getting the DVD for.
I am looking forward to the next season too.
I think that sometimes the more intense series actually make better escapism than lighter series. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much visceral top tier animation out there. I can think of only a few adult animation shows that are comedies like the Simpsons or South Park. HOpefully, this will lead to more.
Eccentric Cowboy says
I think all kinds of things can lead to escapism, but I definitely prefer something a little more serious. If it plays with kid gloves, I feel like it’s not taking me seriously. But then they can also try too hard and actually turn me off because it’s violence without the substance behind it. A friend strongarmed me into watching an anime called Attack on Titan, and it was really brutal, but the terrible writing and world building, and banking on the violence as a selling point without understanding how to employ it correctly, punted me right out of my immersion.
I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but in this same vein I strongly recommend the movie Turok: Son of Stone. I was lucky enough to grab a DVD copy years back, and I don’t think it’s on sale anymore, but thankfully it’s up on youtube. It’s a very solid story and the violence is shocking, but accurate to the time and the themes of the setting. It’s also animated, and they use it to the best of their advantage. One of the only things I’ve ever watched with the commentary on, because it caught me off guard with how much I liked it. I’d recommend watching at least the first five minutes. It tells you what you’re in for, heh.
Slap says
Good call! Love me some dino-entertainment. Your interests have really expanded over the years.
Matthew says
Thanks.
Matthew says
For any one who cares Primal season 2 will be premiering on Cartoon Network on July 23rd.