Guillermo Del Toro has something special with the Netflix animated series Trollhunters . iDigitalTimes was in attendance of Del Toro’s panel for the show during New York Comic Con 2016. As a surprise for panel attendees, Del Toro debuted the first episode of the series, which premieres later this year.
We have to say the Trollhunters premiere episode was delightfully funny and beautifully animated. It looks like something you would see in theaters. The story follows a 15-year-old boy named Jim, voiced by the late actor Anton Yelchin, who finds a strange amulet one day under a bridge. Little did he know the amulet posses the power to become a Trollhunter, which is essentially the guardian of mankind and trolls alike. With a little encouragement from his best friend Toby, Jim decides to take on the responsibility and life will never be the same for the teen.
Jim is kind, smart and loves to cook for his mom and Toby (Charlie Saxton). Jim’s mom is a doctor and a single parent; she works long hours and Jim finds himself taking care of her. In the beginning of the episode, Jim leaves a hearty breakfast on his mother’s bedside table, cleans off her glasses and kisses her goodbye. He has a crush on a girl, but is too shy to talk to her. He’s alway daydreaming about going on adventures, but seems to find himself caring for others before putting himself first. One of his teachers takes notice of Jim’s big heart and reminds him he has a life of his own that’s worth living. Spoiler alert: that teacher turns out to be a major player in Jim’s story and not in a good way.
Then there’s Toby, Jim’s sidekick and best friend. Del Toro admitted during the Trollhunters panel Toby is very much what he was like as a kid minus the confidence. Toby will easily become the fan favorite character as he has some great one-liners and isn’t afraid to make fun of himself. There’s a part in the premiere where Toby and Jim are being chased by an evil troll. Jim tells Toby to go into a narrow alley, to which Toby responds with hesitation. “I can’t fit in there!” Toby screams. Jim reminds Toby he’s been on a diet and can easily fit. Toby believes his friend’s words of encouragement and wiggles his way through the alley. It was the funniest part of the premiere; Toby was so excited to fit in the alley.
We won’t get too spoiler-y here, but there are some familiar voices in Trollhunters . One of the first voices you’ll hear in the premiere is of Tom Hiddleston, who plays the last Trollhunter before the honor is passed to Jim. You’ll also hear Kelsey Grammer as a troll named Blinky and Ron Perlman as Bular. The Walking Dead actor Steven Yeun also voices a character named Steve, Jim’s nemesis at school. Yeun told the NYCC 2016 panel crowd he loves playing Steve because he never really gets to play the bully in live-action roles.
Del Toro confirmed during the NYCC 2016 panel all 26 episodes of Trollhunters will be released on Netflix on Dec. 23. Check out the trailer for his Netflix original series in the video above.
