When a new animated show by the writers of Avatar: The Last Airbender was announced, comparisons between it and ATLA were inevitable. ATLA is concerned by many to be the best American cartoon ever created, and when any name associated with a title that big is involved in any project in the same medium, expectations are going to be out of this world. To be concise, The Dragon Prince on Netflix does not live up to its extremely hyped ATLA comparison, and that is OK. No rational person thought it would. It does, however, craft a wonderful story in a new fantasy world with relatable characters and enough action and wit to leave you asking, “Wait, when is there gonna be more?” by the end of its relatively short inaugural season.
The Dragon Prince–wow, it’s gonna be hard to talk about this show without spoilers when there’s only nine 20-minute episodes–is set in a fantasy world in which humans and elves are on the brink of war with each other due to a history of wrongs and crimes on both sides. After an assassination attempt by a sect of elves on the human king goes bad, a group of young adventurers are thrust into an uncertain adventure of magic, politics, and unlikely companionship in an effort to prevent a war that would tear both kingdoms apart. The show toes the line between kid-friendly cartoon and adult-oriented action show pretty well, and I personally feel no hesitation recommending it to audiences of all ages. The lore in the established universe is surprisingly deep for a Netflix cartoon, and the polish in the storytelling and world-building is something that feels quite familiar from writers Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond while still maintaining originality and separation from ATLA.
The two strongest aspects of the show in my opinion are the characters and the tone. Every character with significant screen time develops quite well over the course of the first season, and the writers do an excellent job showing the complexity one would expect from a conflict centered on war and political intrigue. Characters feel like real people, and issues like prejudice, social inclusion, and diverging friendships are handled with the skill and drama one would expect from such seasoned writers. My favorite character from season one, while I won’t spoil her appearance, is someone with a rather uncommon disability in cartoon storytelling who explodes with confidence and overall badass-ness without her disability ever becoming a crutch or plot-device. Without Ehasz and Richmond as writers, this show would be a fun little fantasy romp for kids and their parents. Instead, it is a wonderfully crafted story whose characters and lore create a show that, while not quite ATLA standards of quality, will leave audiences invested and wanting more (have I mentioned season one is only 9 episodes? Because I really need more now).
The tone is another strength that demands discussion. As someone who watches a lot of comedy, there were times that I laughed at some the Dragon Prince’s jokes for a while. Not every joke is comedy gold–some are so clearly aimed at kids that they border on cringey–but the writers do a great job of balancing serious plot with comedy-ridden dialogue so that you never feel the show is taking itself too seriously or not seriously enough. Much like with both Avatar series, I expect the show to only improve over time once it has really found its primary audience and tonal balance.
If you like ATLA or ALK, then I would 100% recommend you watch The Dragon Prince. If you’ve never really watched this funny little grey area of kid-friendly yet adult-friendly cartoons, then I would say The Dragon Prince is an excellent place to start. If you like fantasy, stories about adventure and political intrigue, or action-packed romps with funny and relatable characters, then The Dragon Prince is worth at least checking out. The episodes are 20 minutes long, so there’s no big time commitment involved in checking out a couple episodes to see if it’s for you. If it’s not, then there are other great shows to enjoy. But if it is, then not only do you get a fantastic animated series to jump into, but you also get one more excuse to procrastinate on watching season 2 of Iron Fist! Win-win!
