Science fiction shares one critical quality with fantasy. In either genre, the world surrounding the characters can be more impactful than any other element. Fantasy stories whisk the viewer away to a world of magic and sorcery. Science fiction like Scavengers Reign can transport its audience to a world as incredible as any mystical unreality. All it needs is masterful animation, brilliant designs, and an intelligent exploration of humanity's relationship with nature.
Animation has struggled on HBO Max. David Zaslav's well-publicized purge of beloved programming hit cartoons hard, killing shows like Infinity Train to save a few pennies. They're not the only ones treating this art form poorly. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and many other streamers have misused animators and their work. The medium has been considered a secondary concern for years, but many animated series have more devoted followings than their live-action counterparts.
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What is Scavengers Reign about?
In the distant future, a freight vessel called Demeter 227 is disrupted by a solar flare. The massive ship is trapped in orbit around an unincorporated planet called Vesta Minor. Four survivors and a robot board escape pods and fire themselves to the mysterious surface. Separated from each other and everyone else, the only four humans on Vesta must wander their new terrain and learn how to survive. The former crew of the Demeter aren't hunters or foresters. They aren't there to establish dominance or claim the planet's resources. Sam, a gruff cynic, sees the flora and fauna as threats or temporary allies. He's stuck with Ursula, who is amazed by Vesta's harmonious ecosystem. Far from them, Azi, a self-sufficient survivalist, builds a functioning camp with the serving robot Levi. Her chunk of the series is the most action-packed, given her motorbike and spear. The final survivor, Kamen, stumbles into the service of a powerful psychic creature. Vesta Minor is one of the most compelling fictional environments put to the screen in modern memory. Azi, Levi, Kamen, Sam, and Ursula's journeys are important, but the ecosystem is the main character.
Who animated Scavengers Reign?
Titmouse Inc. is the primary animation studio behind Scavengers Reign. Green Street Pictures is also involved after crafting the short project that served as a pilot. Chris and Shannon Prynoski founded Titmouse after Chris's years working at MTV. He created the Emmy-nominated series Downtown before leaving New York to build Titmouse with his wife. The studio has become iconic across genres, platforms, and decades. Incidentally, it's one of the industry's most consistently unionized animation companies. Anyone who grew up in or around the 2000s will be shocked by how many memorable pieces of art they contributed to.
They created the opening credits for Avatar: The Last Airbender. They animated all four seasons of Metalocalypse, reportedly after quoting series creator Brendon Small a per-episode rate one dollar lower than that of Tom Goes to the Mayor. Titmouse frequently creates animated segments or fictional video games for live-action films or TV shows, including Community, Freddy Got Fingered, Hot in Cleveland, and Her. They still provide similar work for series like Loki and Wandavision. Today, they've created some of the best available animated series. They animated The Legend of Vox Machina, a masterpiece with several seasons on the way. They lent their talents to Pantheon, the best-reviewed series on Amazon Prime last year.
What is Scavengers Reign's Rotten Tomatoes score?
With three episodes available to watch at time of writing, Scavengers Reign has a perfect 100% positive score from critics and audiences. The average rating by critics is 8.2 out of 10, while audiences offer an average of 4.9 out of 5. Currently, only seven critics and a few audience members have weighed in. More responses will likely follow as the following nine episodes air. Critics are nearly universal in their praise for the series. Most who've seen Scavengers Reign consider it the most visually inventive science fiction series in recent memory. The show presents a constant flood of living dreams realized in astonishing animation with a gorgeous score. Few praise it for its narrative, as enjoyable as the characters can be, but the immersive experience of discovering Vesta with the survivors is incomparable. The broad consensus is overwhelmingly positive for Scavengers Reign.
Scavengers Reign is unlike anything out there right now. It's eco-horror, blended effortlessly with philosophical drama, brought to life with some of the finest animation on streaming. Finding the primary audience for this show can be challenging. It's too strange for a lot of viewers. Anyone unwilling to sit back and let Titmouse and character designer Jonathan Djob Nkondo show them weird stuff will have trouble getting the full effect. Open-minded viewers must seek this show out. Scavengers Reign is one of the most unique series airing today, and far too few are discussing it. New episodes of Scavengers Reign will drop in batches of three every Thursday on Max. Travel to Vesta Minor and watch humans try to live in harmony with a nature that has never known them.