IR TV Review: PRIMAL [Adult Swim-S3]
The Caveman of lore in "Primal" sacrificed himself so that others might continue on. An interesting cacophony of events leads to his reincarnation in a way in Season 3. "Primal" here is beautiful because it is a story told with almost no words and yet its brutality and tenderness (as well as bloodletting and pacing) it is as cinematic as anything seen on screen. Genndy Tartakovsky is one of the best animators, especially in 2D, working out there when he is let alone to interpret what might be. I remember talking to him at Sony in his office when he was working on "Hotel Transylvania" but he and I were more ensconced talking about his plan to adapt "Popeye". It sounded like something more Fleischer-based but with Genndy's spin. I hope he returns to it because something like what was done with Sinbad with a little bit darker perspective but still PG-13 would be phenomenal. "Primal" in S3 is close to R-rating but the path of the Caveman is beautiful and sad at the same time. He is not allowed to rest and yet he must still power on. An early battle with a giant crocodile is brief but sets the tone (along with the musical and visual tone quality). Caveman does not remember and yet his path is clear. His actual (continuing existence) is not made clear but that is besides the point. It is mythic but it is about him recognizing that.
At one point, his life before the final moment is brought back to bear. We see what was left behind but also how far (realistically -- and in the metaphor of myth), someone is willing to go. A certain animal and her response to him (and her great offspring) is some of the best subtlety in animation that has been recently. Tartakovsky has these simple gestures that mean so much that are filtered through every episode. It can be a small look from a woman or a smirk from the caveman or an eye movement from a certain dinosaur. The first five episodes really want to settle the viewer into what the caveman has lost but also the dread that he has simply continuing on. As three journeys combine towards the end, the key is one recognizes what makes him as a character so powerful. He may have a brute strength but even in a different form, he knows what he is fighting for...even if it is against himself. That is why the final reckoning works, even after he sits on a thrown like Conan. The visual parallels of that first shot that John Milius did of Arnold are not lost here. "Primal" is beautiful in its simplicity because it is not simple. It is complex. It is dynamic. It is cinematic. It is the kind of animation (for those who hark back to "Heavy Metal") that is not made often anymore. Genndy made "The Clone Wars" as five minute pieces when no one knew quite how to do that. Their texture stands time as will "Primal". A
By Tim Wassberg
