Skull Island Review: This animated series gives a feel of dangerous dinosaur era with a modern ‘Mowgli’ touch

3/5

Get ready to pack your thoughts with adventures as the film, ‘Skull Island’ has arrived to take you on a thrilling ride in an imaginary world!

Story

This 8-episodic animated series on Netflix has adequate scoops of suspense, adventure, and thrill at the right time frames. At the beginning of the adventure ride, a girl named Annie is seen smartly escaping a ship of armed mercenaries right under their nose.

On the other hand, there is another ship wherein the captain of the ship, along with his son Charlie and their friend, Mike are onboard. The captain of the ship, Cap, is on a mission to find out details about mysterious sea creatures, who he believes can prove lethal for the survival of humanity.

Mike and Charlie are portrayed as young 17-year-old kids who desire to go to college instead of hunting for mythical beings in the sea. Oftentimes, Mike and Charlie try to convince Cap that they do not wish to pursue a career as a sea adventurer or as the captain of the ship. But both their efforts had been in vain.

Minutes later, Charlie spots Annie seeking help as she fears drowning in the sea. With determination in their eyes, Charlie and Mike safely rescued Annie. However, little did the boys know that their meeting with Annie could soon transform into a life-threatening adventure journey.

Both the ships get mysteriously attacked by a giant tentacle and people on board struggle for their survival. With very little time at hand, Annie advises men on her rescue-ship to swim and reach the Skull Island.

Review

Skull Island is not like any other ordinary island. It is not possible to navigate the exact location of the island on the radar. Not only this, but the place also has negligible network connectivity or humans on it. It is home to a variety of animal species like giant dinosaurs, apes, octopuses, crabs, and more.

On this island, Mike and Charlie reach safely together. Cap and the group of armed mercenaries, too, reach the island safely, but not at the exact location where Mike and Charlie are stationed. It is evident soon that their survival on the island is not easy as they are under constant threat by monstrous creatures.

Annie soon joins Mike and Charlie on their journey to the island, who considers herself to be a native of Skull Island.

Soon after a few episodes, Annie along with Mike and Charlie team up against the armed mercenaries. Later, they all team up together to fight a giant ape named King Kong and a giant tentacle in the sea. Why does Annie team up with the mercenaries? To know the answer to this mystery, you can watch the series today along with children aged above 16 years.

The compelling background music does make viewers watch the film and keep them hooked on the screens. However, there are a few drawbacks present in the film that cannot be ignored.

Firstly, in the film, Mike and Charlie are spotted teasing a species of dinosaur. This is sheerly an example of harassment and cannot be given a green signal in any way.

Secondly, Annie is often spotted hanging out with her dog named “Car” in the series. Visually, the pet animal of Annie appears more like a lion and less like a species of dog. This error on the part of visual effects cannot be neglected.

Annie is clearly like the female version of Mowgli – a fictional character and the protagonist of author Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book stories.

Surprisingly, Annie is also shown as a character who can easily talk in English throughout the series despite of not having any human interaction for years.

Verdict

The general plot feels overplayed and predictable. I fail to understand why it needs to be a series and not a 2. 5 hours long movie. Also, I cannot understand why the movie is a part of the King Kong franchise. On a good note, you can watch this series whenever you want to, even if you are unaware about the King Kong series.