Genndy Tartakovsky Primal is a major surprise with its storytelling and visuals. Every shot pulled off a dynamic look, from the vibrant colors and detailed backgrounds to the creative designs and expressive animation. Spear’s animation alone is astounding to watch, since you can get a sense the weight and strength of the character when he’s in action, along with his emotions.
Same goes for Fang the T. rex; even when she simply stares into the camera, you can still understand what she’s feeling, and that’s how you pull off amazing expressions. Overall, it’s an awesome show. And more importantly, considering how most dinosaur-based cartoons tend to be mediocre (i.e. Extreme Dinosaurs, Dino Squad), it’s great to know we actually have an amazing dinosaur series.
At its heart Genndy Tartakovsky Primal is a boy and his dog story, except the boy is a caveman and his dog is a T-Rex. It feels as though the series was conceptualized as the main character (whom is listed as Spear) riding on the back of a T-Rex, and the plot was filled in around it. It shouldn’t work but because the world is shown early on to be some sort of fantasy primordial earth it does.
Every episode is stand alone, but contributes subtlety to the greater whole of the series. The first episode setting up the concept, the second focuses on their relationship, the last three them working together and separately. Everything in the series is communicated without any discernible dialog, aside from occasional grunts, because of the animation though everything is understood clearly through body language and expressions.
This is definitely a show suited for those who are not squeamish and can take watching raw brutality and flying viscera, this is especially so with the latest episodes (trying to to spoil too much) and in a way the first episode is a warning for viewers what to expect because it gets dark, dark and bloody at certain moments in the series.
Genndy Tartakovsky Primal is brutal, it’s not a nonstop action fest but it’s pretty close. From the first action sequence we know the show will not hold anything back, so be warned as it only gets progressively more violent. Action sequences, with the exception of maybe one, are coherent and exceptionally well-choreographed, rarely jump cutting from the action. The series culminates in a massacre that is truly horrific, so again, be warned.
Genndy Tartakovsky might be the best purely visual storyteller working today. Because the series can’t rely on dialog everything has to be conveyed via the animation, which is absolutely beautiful. It portrays what is intended clearly while having a rough unfinished aesthetic. Character outlines are jagged but defined so you never confuse what is going on. The backgrounds and setting is deep and gives the feeling of a much wider world.
Genndy Tartakovsky Primal is beautiful, suspenseful, and violent. It displays how culture around western animation has evolved though the decades and how it’s creator Genndy Tartakovsky has evolved as a creator. The entire series is as close to perfect as it possibly can be.
What’s most interesting is that there is no spoken dialogue at all. This allows you to focus much more attention on the action and surroundings of the characters. The sound is also amazing. Since there are no words, extra emphasis has been put on every sound, from background animal noises to the grunts and roars of the main characters and the beasts they cohabit this dangerous world with.