The Dragon Prince
The Dragon Prince is an American fantasy computer-animated web television series created for Netflix by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond, produced by Wonderstorm and animated by Bardel Entertainment. The first season premiered on September 14, 2018. A second season was released on February 15, 2019. A third season was released on November 22, 2019.
On July 24, 2020, it was reported that the series had been renewed for four more seasons, each with nine episodes. A video game set in the same world as the series is in development.
Setting and synopsis
The series is set in a fantasy world on the continent of Xadia which is rich in magic derived from six primal elements: the Sun, Moon, Stars, Earth, Sky, and Ocean. Centuries ago, the dragons, elves, and humans of Xadia lived in peace. However, the humans, being unable to utilize magic naturally, began to use dark magic, which is fueled by the life essence of magical creatures. As a consequence, they were driven away to the west, and the continent was split in two by a massive river of lava.1,200 years later, the human king Harrow of Katolis and his advisor, the dark mage Viren, have killed the dragon king, and supposedly destroyed his heir's egg. In retaliation, elf assassins attempt to kill Harrow and his heir Ezran. Ezran, his half-brother Callum, and the assassin Rayla discover that the egg was not destroyed; they undertake to return the egg to Xadia. Viren seizes power after Harrow's assassination and sends his children Claudia and Soren to kill the princes and recover the egg. At the end of the first season, the egg hatches into the Dragon Prince, Zym.
In the second season, Viren attempts to rally the other human kingdoms to war against Xadia; he also makes a secret alliance with the mysterious, imprisoned elf mage Aaravos, with whom he communicates through a magic mirror and a caterpillar-like creature. Meanwhile, Callum becomes the first human to directly access primal magic, connecting with the Sky Arcanum. By the end of Season 2, Viren is imprisoned for treason for having illicitly used Harrow's seal, and for abusing his powers of dark magic. Ezran learns of his father's death and returns to Katolis to claim the throne.
In the third season, Ezran is manipulated into abdicating the throne amid pressure for war and rejoins Callum and Rayla to return Zym to his home, the Storm Spire. Viren, restored to power, leads the human armies against Xadia, amassing even more dark magic with the help of Aaravos. Soren defects to resist his father's evil goals. Viren's army is defeated by the elves and their allies. Rayla throws herself and Viren from the summit of the Spire, and Callum uses Sky magic to save Rayla. Zym is returned to his mother. Claudia revives Viren using dark magic, and Aaravos’s caterpillar enters metamorphosis.
Voice cast and characters
Main characters
- Callum, Ezran's 14-year-old elder half-brother and King Harrow's stepson. In the course of the series, he becomes the first human ever to wield primal magic on his own.
- Rayla, a prodigy 15-year-old Moonshadow Elf assassin who sides with Callum and Ezran in order to deliver the Dragon Prince back to his mother.
- Ezran, the 10-year-old son of King Harrow and Callum's younger half-brother who has the ability to speak with animals. Ezran starts as the crown prince but becomes king of Katolis by the start of the third season.
Humans
- Viren, King Harrow's advisor, and one of the series' primary antagonists. A practitioner of dark magic, he seeks the advancement of the human race by any means necessary.
- Claudia, 16-year-old daughter of Viren, a talented dark mage.
- Soren, 18-year-old son of Viren, a skillful and good-hearted but boastful and immature soldier.
- King Harrow of Katolis, Ezran's father and Callum's stepfather.
- Queen Sarai of Katolis, Ezran and Callum's mother who was killed by Avizandum several years before the series' beginning.
- General Amaya, the deaf maternal aunt of Callum and Ezran who communicates in sign language, and commander of a Katolian outpost at the Breach.
- Commander Gren, Amaya's deputy and interpreter.
- Corvus, one of Amaya's scouts.
- Ellis, a young mountain girl.
- Opeli, High Cleric of Katolis and a prominent member of the High Council who opposes Viren.
- Queen Aanya, the juvenile ruler of Duren who is wise beyond her years.
- Captain Villads, a blind and eccentric ex-pirate.
- Prince Kasef of Neolandia, who took the throne after his father was gravely injured by Viren's shadow assassins, and who calls for war against Xadia.
- Saleer, a Katolian councilman who turns against Ezran.
- Barius, the baker of Katolis' royal court, who is very fond of Ezran despite the young prince having stolen a lot of his jelly tarts in the past.
- Crow Master, the deputy of the ever-absent Crow Lord, the chief caretaker of the Katolian court's messenger crows.
- Ziard, the first human to use dark magic before humankind's exile to the western parts of Xadia. He was killed in battle with Sol Regem when he refused to relinquish his new-found power.
Elves
- Aaravos, a Startouch Elf and one of the primary antagonists of the series. He is a master of both primal and dark magic who is using Viren to accomplish his own goals.
- Runaan, the leader of the Moonshadow Elf assassins sent to kill King Harrow, and Rayla's surrogate father.
- Ethari, Runaan's husband and Rayla's surrogate father.
- Lujanne, a Moonshadow Elf illusionist who lives in the human realms near a focal area for primal moon magic.
- Janai, a Sunfire Elf warrior and the younger sister of their queen Khessa. Also known as the Golden Knight of Lux Aurea, the capital of the Sunfire Elves.
- Nyx, full name being "Naimi-Selari-Nykantia", is an avaricious Skywing Elf, one of the few of her kind gifted with functional wings. She wishes to profit from any chance she gets, including stealing Zym from Callum and Rayla for a reward from his mother.
- Ibis, a Skywing Elf mage.
- Lain and Tiadrin, Rayla's parents, were part of the Elven Dragonguard to Avizandum and Zubeia. For a long time, Rayla believed that they abandoned their duty when Avizandum was killed by Viren, making her feel ashamed of them, until Callum discovers the truth that they aided in saving the egg from being destroyed by Viren.
Animals and magical beasts
- Azymondias, an infant sky dragon and the titular Dragon Prince.
- Bait, Ezran's grumpy pet Glow Toad.
- Avizandum, the late King of the Dragons, archdragon of the sky, and Azymondias' father. He was referred to by the humans as "Thunder".
- Zubeia, the Queen of the Dragons, archdragon of the sky, and Azymondias' mother.
- Sol Regem, the former King of the Dragons, archdragon of the sun and guardian of the Breach after Avizandum's demise. Blinded by Ziard, he has become hateful towards humans.
- Ava, Ellis' three-legged wolf friend.
- Pip, King Harrow's pet bird of prey.
- Phoe-Phoe, Lujanne's Moon Phoenix companion.
- Berto, Villads' parrot first mate.
- Pyrrah, a female red-scaled Sun Dragon.
Production
Development
The series was first announced on July 10, 2018. It was co-created by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond. Ehasz was the head writer and co-executive producer of the animated series ', and a longtime writer and story editor for Futurama, while Richmond co-directed the video game '. Giancarlo Volpe, a former director for Avatar, is an executive producer.The Dragon Prince is produced by Wonderstorm, a multimedia production studio co-founded in 2017, by Ehasz, Richmond, and Justin Santistevan to work both on The Dragon Prince and a related video game, and animated by Canadian studio Bardel Entertainment. In November 2019, several female former employees of Riot Games and Wonderstorm accused Ehasz of asking his female employees to take care of his children without permission and not taking women's creative ideas seriously. One anonymous accuser speculated that this could affect the show's continuation.
Style
The Dragon Prince is created using three-dimensional computer animation. A reduced frame rate was applied to the first season to offset "floatiness"; the frame rate was adjusted for the second season in response to fan feedback. Backgrounds are done by a mix of 3D-modeling and hand-painting.Writing
The ending of season 2 was changed from the original plan in order to stay true to what the characters would choose. According to Ehasz, one of the creative team's fundamental goals regarding The Dragon Prince is "to portray a fantasy world that feels more diverse and representative than fantasy worlds and stories we’ve seen in the past."Release
The Dragon Prince is available on the streaming service Netflix, in all territories where the streaming service is available. The first season was released on September 14, 2018. Episodes were released simultaneously, as opposed to a serialized format, to encourage binge-watching, a format which has been successful for other Netflix original series.A trailer was released in July 2018 at the San Diego Comic-Con. The first season premiered in September 2018. A second season, announced in October 2018, was released on February 15, 2019. The third season was released on November 22, 2019. At the virtual ComicCon@Home 2020 panel "Zoom into Xadia", the continuation of the show over four more seasons was announced.
Episodes
Season 1 (2018)
Season 2 (2019)
Season 3 (2019)
Reception
website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% of 11 critics gave the first season a positive review; the average rating is 8.2 out of 10. 100% of six critics gave the second season a positive review; the average rating is 8.57 out of 10. 100% of five critics gave the third season a positive review; the average rating is 9 out of 10.In an advance review of the first episode, IGN's Aaron Prune praised the series for "comfortably exploring dark story elements while giving audiences an assortment of lovable characters to engage with" and described it as a "worthwhile animated series for audiences of all ages." Reviewing the first three episodes, Alex Barasch of Slate was also positive towards the series, saying that despite the "slightly shaky animation and some markedly shakier accents", fans of fantasy or will like it. Barasch especially praised the show's inclusivity—such as King Harrow and Ezran, who are both black—and Harrow's relationship with Viren, which he described as "most compelling aspects of the show". Also reviewing the first three episodes, Gavia Baker-Whitelaw of The Daily Dot similarly reacted positively to the show's racial inclusion, writing that it "combines goofy humor with a solid basis for longterm storytelling and character development, the character designs show a deep affection for the genre". She criticized Rayla's accent as "the worst part of the show", as well as the scarcity of female characters.
Awards and nominations
In other media
Video game
Concurrently with the series, Wonderstorm is developing a video game based on the series and expanding on its plot. The game will be a combat-based multiplayer game, but not an MMO. Players will be able to play as characters from the series. No information about supported platforms or release dates has been made available.Printed media
- A trade paperback book by Tracey West, titled Callum's Spellbook, was published by Scholastic on March 3, 2020.
- A novelization of the first season, written by Aaron and Melanie McGanney Eshaz, was published on June 2, 2020.
- The publication of a graphic novel following up on the end of the third season, titled The Dragon Prince: Through the Moon, was announced for September 15, 2020.
- A tabletop role-playing game has been announced, and will be titled Tales of Xadia. It will feature story information bridging the gap between seasons 3 and 4.