Review: The Barbarian and the Troll “Brendar the Barbarian”
Overview (Spoilers Below):
The series premiere follows Brendar, a fearless warrior who’s kicked out of the Royal Order of Warrior Princesses. She goes on a quest to avenge her mother and rescue her brother, who was captured by a demon. She later meets Evan, a bridge toll troll with a passion for singing. Evan’s on a different quest to explore the world and improve his songs. Their encounter resulted in them forming an unlikely alliance to search for a wizard.
Our Take:
Nickelodeon has been known for airing cartoons and live-action sitcoms for children for years. However, the network has rarely aired something that’s neither of those things, and that’s live-action puppetry. The last time Nickelodeon developed a show involving puppets was Mr. Meaty back in 2005, which lasted for two seasons. So it took the network at least 16 years to give this format another shot. What better way to reintroduce the world of puppets to the channel than with a fantasy series filled with barbarians, trolls, and magic?
The first episode kickstarted the action right away, with Brendar fighting a giant serpent and seeking answers to the demon’s whereabouts. However, her actions got her banned from the Royal Order, so now she’s less of a warrior and more of a barbarian. This segment immediately introduced us to a character who’s not afraid to get her puppet-like hands dirty while also providing a simple yet effective explanation of her mission. It’s a decent introduction to the show’s fierce barbarian that might be further explored in the later episodes.
The episode also introduced another main character named Evan, a troll who likes to sing. Unfortunately, his songs happened to be boring, according to the young girl and her goat. Because of this, he decides to set off to explore the world despite his father’s disapproval, hoping that it would help him improve his lyrics. I have to admit that his singing voice wasn’t too bad. He’s no Kermit the Frog, but with enough practice, he could become the next member of the Muppet team. The segment alone was formulaic at times, but Drew Massey’s amusing performance as Evan hit plenty of notes to inject some enjoyment into his character. Even Evan’s performance at the restaurant was fun to listen to.
The show should’ve taken the concept further by having the first episode focus only on Brendar and have the next one show her encounter with Evan. That way, I will gain more of an understanding of her and the Royal Order. Other than that, the first episode was suitable enough to reintroduce puppetry to the channel that couldn’t get enough of the nautical sponge.
Spencer Grammer and Drew Massey’s vocal performances were pretty decent, and the comedy brought some solid chuckles out of me in terms of the script. The puppet movements looked limited when it comes to the action, but the imaginative charm of seeing them in old-school fashion helped me look past its cheap style. As someone who has a soft spot for the Muppets, I thought the series premiere had enough fluff in its puppet-like soul to make me join Brendar quest as well.
