Skull Island – the 2023 animated series

Skull island is an animated adventure series with a graphic and narrative style inspired by Japanese anime, developed by Brian Duffield for Netflix. It is the fifth installment and first television series in the MonsterVerse franchise and the sequel to Kong: Skull Island (2017). The series was produced by Powerhouse Animation, JP and Legendary Television, with Duffield and Jacob Robinson serving as showrunners, and features the voices of Nicolas Cantu, Mae Whitman, Darren Barnet, Benjamin Bratt and Betty Gilpin as a group of characters castaways who find themselves on Skull Island in the 90s, where they encounter giant-sized prehistoric creatures, including Kong, the island's self-appointed guardian.

The series debuted on Netflix on June 22, 2023. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

With eight episodes ranging from 20 to 26 minutes, “Skull Island” stands out for its ability to blend action and adventure with mature storytelling, offering a new take on the Saturday morning cartoons of old. The series has received generally positive reviews, with an approval rating of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes and an average score of 7 out of 10. However, on Metacritic, the series has an average score of 51 out of 100, indicating mixed reviews or average.

The plot of “Skull Island” follows a group of explorers who venture into the sea to save Annie. Their mission leads them to be shipwrecked on Skull Island, where they must fight to survive the dangers of the mysterious island, home to a menagerie of gigantic and terrifying creatures.

The series fits into the broader context of the MonsterVerse, expanding the narrative universe through new adventures featuring the franchise's iconic characters. With its production extending from 2017 to the present, "Skull Island" demonstrates the vitality and capacity for renewal of the King Kong myth, offering content that ranges from television to comics, up to gaming with the video game "Pocket Mortys".

History

Two inseparable friends, Charlie and Mike, embark on an expedition to the South Pacific with their fathers, Cap and Hiro, in search of cryptids. During the journey, Charlie discovers a mysterious girl adrift in the ocean: her name is Annie and she says she escaped from another ship. Tension rises when they see a flare in the distance and the ship from which it was launched sinks under mysterious circumstances. Two mercenaries infiltrate the protagonists' ship to capture Annie, but a sudden attack by a gigantic tentacled creature, the Kraken, destroys the vessel, killing the mercenaries and most of the crew, including Hiro. Charlie and Mike find themselves stranded on Skull Island.

In a flashback, we discover that Mike and Hiro had obtained a map with the location of Skull Island from a former member of a 1973 expedition, who had warned them not to travel to the island. In the present, Mike and Charlie are attacked by giant crabs on the island's beach, but are saved by Annie. Cap wakes up on the island and meets a scientist named Irene, who leads a group of mercenaries in search of Annie. Mike is shocked to be trapped on Skull Island, even though Annie claims to be from another island. The three are then attacked by two mercenaries and a large dog-like creature.

Charlie, Mike and one of the mercenaries flee from the canine creature, which the mercenary claims is Annie's pet. The mercenary is killed by a crocodile monster, which in turn is captured and devoured by Kong. The boys reunite with Annie and her pet, which she names Dog, and discover that Cap is still alive. Meanwhile, Irene reveals to Cap that she found Annie on another nearby island and attempted to bring her back to the United States. A mercenary is kidnapped by a giant falcon, but the rest of the group reaches a safe area. Irene calls a helicopter from the mercenary ship, but it is destroyed by the Kraken. Charlie, Annie, Mike and Dog continue to explore the island, while Mike hides an injury from the others.

Annie talks about how she and Dog bonded after their fathers killed each other. Charlie is separated from Annie and Mike when he falls into a tunnel created by giant ants. Cap, Irene and the mercenaries continue their search for Annie. Cap reveals that his obsession with cryptids began when he saw a giant monster in the ocean and theorizes that Skull Island is home to a variety of creatures migrating from the “Hollow Earth.” After locating Charlie, Mike and Annie enter the tunnel to rescue him; they are attacked by a giant ant, but Dog saves them. Sensing that the mercenaries are approaching, Annie and Dog prepare to confront them, but accidentally enter the giant falcon's territory.

Annie and Dog clash with Irene and the mercenaries, but Irene hits Annie with a tranquilizer dart and Dog is carried away by the giant falcon. Mike reveals himself as a distraction for Charlie to escape, and it is revealed that Irene and Mike already know each other. Charlie meets a masked stranger, before also being kidnapped by the giant falcon. However, he and Dog are deposited, unharmed, on an ancient stone temple. Mike informs Cap that Irene had secretly funded their expedition in hopes of finding the island, before deducing that Irene is Annie's mother. Charlie manages to befriend Dog and they escape the temple after an encounter with Kong. The Kraken throws a dead whale into the middle of the island as a challenge to Kong,

Data Sheet

• Gender: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
• Based on: “Skull Island” by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper
• Developed by: Brian Duffield
• Written by: Brian Duffield
• Main entries:
  • Nicolas Cantu
  • Mae Whitman
  • Darren barnet
  • Benjamin Bratt
  • Betty gilpin
• Composers:
  • Joseph Trapani
  • Jason Lazarus
• Country of origin: United States
• Original languages: English Spanish
• Number of seasons: 1
• Number of episodes: 8
• Production:
  • Executive producers:
    • Brad Graeber
    • Jen Chambers
    • Thomas Tull
    • Jacob Robinson
    • Brian Duffield
• Duration: 20–26 minutes per episode
• Production houses:
  • Powerhouse Animation
  • JP
  • Legendary Television
• Animation studio: Mir studio
• Original release:
  • Network: Netflix
  • Exit date: June 22, 2023 - present