''Gargoyles'' (also known as ''Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles'' for season 3) is an

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

produced by

Walt Disney Television Animation Disney Television Animation (DTVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is the television animation production arm of Disney Branded Television, a sub-division of the Disney Ge ...

, in collaboration with Jade Animation and Tama Productions for its first two seasons and

Nelvana Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...

for its final, and originally aired from October 24, 1994, to February 15, 1997. The series features a species of nocturnal creatures known as gargoyles that turn to stone during the day. After spending a thousand years in an enchanted petrified state, the gargoyles (who have been transported from

medieval Scotland Scotland in the Middle Ages concerns the history of Scotland from the departure of the Romans to the adoption of major aspects of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. From the fifth century northern Britain was divided into a series ...

) are reawakened in modern-day

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and take on roles as the city's secret night-time protectors. ''Gargoyles'' was noted for its relatively dark tone, complex

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...

s, and

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

;

character arc A character arc is the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story. If a story has a character arc, the character begins as one sort of person and gradually transforms into a different sort of person in response to ch ...

s were heavily employed throughout the series, as were

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

themes. The series also received favorable comparisons to ''Cybersix'', '' Batman: The Animated Series'', and ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

''. A video game adaptation and a spin-off comic series were released in 1995. The show's storyline continued from 2006 to 2009 in a comic book series of the same title, produced by

Slave Labor Graphics Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) is an independent American comic book publisher, well known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics. Creators associated with SLG over the years include Evan Dorkin, Roman Dirge, Sarah Dyer, Woodrow Phoenix, Jhon ...

and was again revived by

Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptation ...

in 2022.

Premise

The series features a species of nocturnal creatures known as gargoyles that turn to stone during the day, focusing on a clan led by Goliath. In 994, the clan lives in a castle in Scotland. Most are betrayed and killed by humans while petrified and the remainder are magically cursed to sleep—i.e., be frozen in stone form until the castle "rises above the clouds." A thousand years later in 1994, billionaire David Xanatos purchases the gargoyles' castle and has it reconstructed atop his New York skyscraper, the Eyrie Building, thus awakening Goliath and the remainder of his clan. While trying to adjust to their new world, they are aided by a sympathetic police officer named

Elisa Maza Elisa Maza is a fictional character and the main human character on the Disney animated television series '' Gargoyles'', voiced by American actress Salli Richardson. In the series, she is an NYPD detective who is the steadfast ally (and honor ...

and quickly come into conflict with the plotting Xanatos. In addition to dealing with the gargoyles' attempts to adjust to modern

, the series also incorporated various supernatural threats to their safety and to the world at large.

Episodes

A total of 78 half-hour episodes were produced. The first two seasons aired in the

Disney Afternoon The Disney Afternoon (later known internally as the Disney-Kellogg Alliance when unbranded), sometimes abbreviated as TDA, was a created-for-syndication two-hour programming block of animated television series. It was produced by Walt Disney Tel ...

programming block. The first season consisted of 13 episodes, including a five-part opening story. This season's episodes were almost entirely written by

Michael Reaves James Michael Reaves (born September 14, 1950) is an American writer, known for his contributions as scriptwriter and story editor to a number of 1980s and 1990s animated television series, including '' Disney's Gargoyles'' and '' Batman: The An ...

and Brynne Chandler Reaves. The second season featured 52 episodes, and a long mid-season story arc dubbed by fans as "The Gargoyles World Tour" in which four of the main characters travel the world, encountering other Gargoyles and confronting various mystical and science-fictional dangers. The writing staff was greatly expanded for season two. Following Disney's purchase of ABC in 1996, the third and final season aired during Saturday mornings on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

as ''Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles''. Behind the scenes, the animation producers and writers had almost completely changed from seasons one and two, while on-screen, the Gargoyles' relationship to the world changed considerably.

Voice cast

The voice cast featured several actors who are alumni of the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' franchise, including

Marina Sirtis Marina Sirtis (; born 29 March 1955) is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Counselor Deanna Troi on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and four ''Star Trek'' feature films, as well as other appearances ...

and

Jonathan Frakes Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Commander William Riker in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and subsequent films and series. Frakes als ...

(respectively,

Deanna Troi Deanna Troi is a main character in the science-fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and related TV series and films, portrayed by actress Marina Sirtis. Troi is half-human, half-Betazoid and has the psionic ability to s ...

and

William Riker William Thomas "Will" Riker is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' universe appearing primarily as a main character in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. Throughout the series and its accompanying films, he is the ''Enterprise''s first ...

on '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''), who were featured regularly as principal cast members. Other ''Star Trek'' actors had recurring roles on ''Gargoyles'', including

Michael Dorn Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon Worf in the '' Star Trek'' franchise. He has appeared more times as a regular cast member than any other ''Star Trek'' actor in the franchise's histo ...

(

Worf Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. He appears in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG'') and seasons four through seven of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9'') as well as t ...

on ''TNG'' and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''),

Kate Mulgrew Katherine Kiernan Maria Mulgrew (born April 29, 1955) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Captain Kathryn Janeway on '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and Red on ''Orange Is the New Black''. She first came to attention ...

(

Kathryn Janeway Kathryn Janeway is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. She was the Captain of the Starfleet starship USS ''Voyager'' (on '' Star Trek: Voyager'') while it was lost in the Delta Quadrant on the other side of the galaxy. After re ...

on '' Star Trek: Voyager''),

Nichelle Nichols Nichelle Nichols (, born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in ''Star Trek'' and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was gr ...

(

Uhura Nyota Uhura () is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. In the Star Trek: The Original Series, original television series, the character was portrayed by Nichelle Nichols, who reprised the role for the first six List of Star Trek ...

on ''

Star Trek: The Original Series ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distinguis ...

''), and

Brent Spiner Brent Jay Spiner (; born February 2, 1949) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the android Data on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', as well as four subsequent films. In 2019, he reprised the role for ...

(

Data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted ...

on ''TNG''); while

Avery Brooks Avery Franklin Brooks (born October 2, 1948) is an American actor, director, singer, narrator and educator. He is best known for his television roles as Captain Benjamin Sisko on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', as Hawk on '' Spenser: For Hire'' ...

(

Benjamin Sisko Benjamin Lafayette Sisko is a fictional character in the '' Star Trek'' franchise portrayed by Avery Brooks. He first appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9'') and became prominent on the TV show in the United ...

on ''DS9''),

Colm Meaney Colm J. Meaney (; ga, Colm Ó Maonaigh; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor known for playing Miles O'Brien in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He has guest-starred on many T ...

( Miles O'Brien on ''TNG'' and ''DS9''), and

LeVar Burton Levar Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host, best known for playing Geordi La Forge in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994). He also played Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries ''Root ...

(

Geordi La Forge Geordi La Forge ( ) is a fictional character who appeared in all seven seasons of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and its four feature films. Portrayed by LeVar Burton, he served as helmsman o ...

on ''TNG'') made guest appearances.

Development

The series bears no creator credit, though there were several people who are responsible for the show's format.

, who wrote the first six episodes and was the primary writer/story editor of the show's first two seasons has described himself in respect to ''Gargoyles'' as "in on the ground floor fcreating something iconic".

Greg Weisman Greg Weisman (born September 28, 1963) is an American novelist, writer, producer and voice actor. He is best known as the creator of the animated series '' Gargoyles'', ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' and '' Young Justice''. Early life and caree ...

also describes himself as one of the creators of ''Gargoyles''. The series' first season was almost entirely written by the husband-and-wife team of Michael Reaves and Brynne Chandler Reaves, who wrote 12 of the 13 episodes; the remaining episode was written by

Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Journey during their most commercially successful periods from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He also wrote/co ...

. All three writers were just coming off having written extensively for '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (for which Reaves won an Emmy, and Chandler Reaves an Emmy nomination). Weisman officially joined the series as a co-producer with episode 6 (though he also oversaw earlier episodes in his capacity as a Disney executive), and did not have any writing credits on the show until the third season. The first season was developed on a sliding schedule; each phase of developing the thirteen episodes, such as writing, storyboarding, and animating, was given a ten-month period, with significant overlap. After they had delivered the first thirteen episodes, the production team asked

Buena Vista Television Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,Diane Duane Diane Duane (born May 18, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author, long based in Ireland. Her works include the ''Young Wizards'' young adult fantasy series and the '' Rihannsu'' Star Trek novels. Biography Born in New York ...

and

Peter Morwood Peter Morwood (born 20 October 1956, Northern Ireland) is primarily a fantasy novelist and screenwriter, though he has also written works of science fiction; his best-known works include the ''Horse Lords'' series and the ''Tales of Old Russia'' ...

, amongst others. For this season, story editing duties were handled on a rotating basis by Reaves, Chandler Reaves, Bates and Sperling. Storylines expanded beyond the Manhattan setting and more characters were added to help creating stories to fill the episode count. Weisman said that he had discussions with Michael Eisner of using ''Gargoyles'' as a starting point for an action-oriented universe within Disney, comparing this to how

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

owned

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, and some second season episodes were used to set up potential hooks for these. The third season was reduced to thirteen episodes and moved to a Saturday morning slot. This was a result of two factors according to Weisman. The first was changes within Disney itself. Fallout from the death of Disney president

Frank Wells Franklin G. Wells (March 4, 1932 – April 3, 1994) was an American businessman who served as president of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until his death in 1994. Life and career Wells was born in Coronado, California and traced his ancestry ...

led to the divide between Eisner and

Jeffrey Katzenberg Jeffrey Katzenberg (; born December 21, 1950) is an American filmmaker, animator, and media proprietor. He became well known for his tenure as chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994. After departing Disney, he was a co-founder and CE ...

, and Katzenberg left to form

DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...

. Weisman's bosses, Gary Krisel and Bruce Cranston, that had been supportive of ''Gargolyes'', also left with Katzenberg for Dreamworks. Further, internal pressure on Eisner from

Roy E. Disney Roy Edward Disney KCSG (January 10, 1930 – December 16, 2009) was an American businessman. He was the longtime senior executive for the Walt Disney Company, which was founded by his father, Roy O. Disney, and his uncle, Walt Disney. At the ti ...

forced him to treat ''Gargoyles'' as part of the studio's older works, thus dropping the larger action universe plans, leaving the show without any support. Secondly, as the second season aired, the highly-publicized trial of O. J. Simpson drew audiences away from ''Gargoyles'' often due to preemption from the trial's coverage. By the time the trial was over, ''

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon al ...

'' had become more powerful as a brand. At this point, the show staff did not think they were likely to get a third season, but as Disney had just bought

Capital Cities A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

, the owners of the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...

(ABC) network, they needed programming for its Saturday morning block, and had the ''Gargoyles'' team develop thirteen more episodes for it, now calling the series ''The Goliath Chronicles''. Because this was on broadcast stations rather than syndication, the show had to meet different

Broadcast Standards and Practices In the United States, Standards and Practices (also referred to as Broadcast Standards and Practices or BS&P for short) is the name traditionally given to the department at a television network which is responsible for the moral, ethical, and leg ...

which Weisman stated drastically limited his creativity. While he wrote the first episode and spoke of his concerns to Disney, they had removed him from the team and assigned the rest of the show's run to

. Many Shakespearean characters and stories found their way into the show's storylines, particularly those from ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' and ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

''. The series was also influenced by medieval Scottish history, as well as television shows ranging from ''

Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears ''Adventures of the Gummi Bears'' is an American animated television series, created by Disney CEO Michael Eisner, produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, and distributed by Buena Vista Television. The series, loosely inspired by the gummy ...

'', to ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'' as well as ''The Miranda Wright era episodes of Bonkers'' (in which Weisman himself co-produced). The latter in particular inspired the ensemble format of the series and the 30-second "Previously, on ''Gargoyles''..." recap found at the beginning of later episodes. The former was an influence on the original comedy development of the show, which was subsequently made darker and more serious by first season writers Reaves, Chandler Reaves and Perry. New York artist Joe Tomasini brought a suit against Disney, claiming that his copyrighted screenplay and character designs had been copied during the development and production of ''Gargoyles''. The case was ultimately thrown out, after it was proven that Disney did not have access to Tomasini's creations. In May 2020, Weisman said in an interview, "''Gargoyles'' is still my baby. I don't own it. I don't get a dime off of it being on Disney Plus. And yet I'm so thrilled that it is, I'm thrilled that it represents a chance — even if it's a slim chance — to bring it back. I've always wanted to do more. I've got a timeline for the show that's 315 pages long. I've got notebooks and comp books full of ideas for it. Spinoff notions and all sorts of things. Literally nothing would make me happier than to go back and do more ''Gargoyles''."

Broadcast history

The first two seasons of ''Gargoyles'' aired in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

on RTE Two on weekday afternoons from January 6 to April 1997. In the United States, the series moved to

Toon Disney Toon Disney was an American multinational pay television channel owned by Disney Channels Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney-ABC Television Group. The channel's target audience was children ages 2–11, and children ages 6–13 during the Jetix ...

(and later on

Jetix Jetix (stylized as JETIX) was a children's entertainment brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The brand was for a slate of action/adventure-related programming blocks and television channels. Jetix programming mainly originated from the S ...

's lineup) and its successor

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...

where it aired until 2012.

ABC Family The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...

also aired the show for a brief time in 2004 as part of its weekday morning

block.

Home media

VHS and Laserdisc

The five-episode pilot "Awakening", edited into a single movie under the title '' Gargoyles the Movie: The Heroes Awaken'', was released on VHS and

Laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

on January 31, 1995, by

Buena Vista Home Video Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the Home video, home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films ...

DVD releases

On June 25, 2013, Volume Two of Season Two was released.

Streaming

On October 14, 2019, it was confirmed that all 3 seasons of ''Gargoyles'' will be available for streaming on the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

streaming service.

Reception

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

ranked ''Gargoyles'' 45th place on its 2009 list of top 100 animated series, stating: "A decent success at the time, ''Gargoyles'' has maintained a strong

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

since it ended more than a decade ago".

Hollywood.com Hollywood.com is an entertainment news website covering popular culture topics including movies, television, music and celebrities. Hollywood.com is principally owned by Mitchell Rubenstein and Laurie S. Silvers, who previously founded Sci-Fi Ch ...

featured it on their 2010 list of six cartoons that should be movies.

UGO.com UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States. History The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...

included it on their 2011 top list of legendary medieval and fantasy TV shows. Doug Walker, also known as the

Nostalgia Critic ''Nostalgia Critic'' is an American review comedy web series created, directed by and starring web comedian Douglas "Doug" Walker. The series initially launched on YouTube on July 3, 2007, before moving to Walker's own site, That Guy with the G ...

, praised the show: "But in secret, I would be watching every one of them, because it was just that good. I don’t know if it really changed anything in terms of kids' shows like ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'' or ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American animated comedy musical television series created by Tom Ruegger for Fox Broadcasting Company's Fox Kids block in 1993, before moving to The WB in 1995, as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block, unti ...

'', but it was certainly a welcome detour from what Disney usually did. It really stood on its own and created some really wonderful and really unique stories. ''Gargoyles'' is a blast from the past that is sure to live on in the future." Craig Tomashoff, of People Magazine, said “All the traditional, wholesome Disney elements are in place, from a Beauty and the Beast-like plot line to the gargoyles’ old-fashioned sense of nobility and morality. The result is a show that isn’t bad, with impressive animation.” Elizabeth Rayne of SyFy praised the series, stating “Gargoyles isn’t just a Gothic fairy tale. There is hidden magic where you’d least expect it to lurk in that crumbling castle and, later, the clock tower they stand sentinel at night after night, watching over the city that never sleeps… the rock-solid message about friendship and loyalty embedded into every episode is something… ndyou can’t leave the warped humor of this series in the dark, either.” The series hold a rare “100%” rating on the film critic site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. Less favorable assessments of the series came from animation producer

Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...

, who dismissed ''Gargoyles'' as "kind of namby-pamby... with all that

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

crap" in a 1999 interview and the animation blog

Cartoon Brew Cartoon Brew is an animation news website created by Amid Amidi and animation historian Jerry Beck that was launched in 2004. Cartoon Dump It also created ''Cartoon Dump'', a weekly podcast showing poorly made TV cartoons featuring ''Mystery Sc ...

, which cited the series as an example of the sort of "juvenile mediocrities" that are beloved by the

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly tec ...

community.

Film adaptation

A live action film adaptation had been discussed by Disney since the beginning of the show's run.

Todd Garner Todd Garner is an American film producer and is the founder and head of ''Broken Road Productions''. Biography Garner is a former Disney executive, and was formerly co-president of production at Disney. Other films produced by Garner are ''Ange ...

was the executive producer on a proposed project; having admired the series.

Rick Baker Richard A. Baker (born December 8, 1950), known professionally as Rick Baker, is an American retired special make-up effects creator and actor. He is mostly known for his creature designs and effects. Baker won the Academy Award for Best Makeu ...

was hired to create concept art for the characters and even made a maquette.

and

wrote a draft that adapted the five part " Awakening" pilot, but it was rejected. Disney regular

Jim Kouf Jim Kouf (born July 24, 1951) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He received the 1988 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for his work on ''Stakeout (1987 film), Stakeout'' (1987). Filmography Film *''The Boogens ...

was hired to pen a new draft that established Goliath as a Gaelic warrior named Goliath MacGrath who makes a deal with a good sorcerer to battle an evil one named Morgan. However, he and his men are cursed to "give up

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

flesh and blood and

heart will be turned to stone" and are promptly turned into gargoyles and turn to stone upon defeating Morgan. In modern day, the focus shifts to Alex Anderson, described as "Goliath’s long lost relative", who returns to New York City following the death of his father. He teams up with Detective Brenna, who is a stand-in for Elisa Maza, and meets the Gargoyles who must battle a revived Morgan. While Disney favored the script, the project was abandoned as it would have been expensive to produce and because the series had ended its run. In July 2011, David Elliot and Paul Lovett of '' G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'' were hired to pen a film adaptation of ''Gargoyles''. In June 2018, Jordan Peele pitched his own film version to Disney, but it was supposedly not picked up.

Comics

Marvel

11 issues were produced under Marvel and released between February 1995 and December 1995. All are non-canon to the TV show and its future comics. The series was canceled due to low sales and the overall plot is left unconcluded. Weisman was eventually hired to write for the comic, but Marvel cut the deal with Disney before his run could be produced. Weisman still had his unpublished script for the comic, and would eventually use it as issue #6 of the ''Gargoyles: Clan-Building'' SLG comic series.

will republish these comics in 2023.

Slave Labor Graphics

On June 21, 2006, Slave Labor Graphics, in association with CreatureComics, began producing a new ''Gargoyles'' comic written by Greg Weisman. Weisman wrote the comic book series as a direct sequel to the first and second seasons, ignoring the third season and telling his preferred story in its place. The first 2 issues are an adaptation of Weisman´s script of the first episode of The Goliath Chronicles named ''The Journey'' serving as the only link to that show. In August 2008, Greg Weisman announced that, due to Disney increasing its licensing fees, Slave Labor Graphics would not be renewing its license of Gargoyles after it ran out on August 31, 2008. The final two issues of ''Bad Guys'' and four of ''Gargoyles'' were released in the comic trades collecting both series in August 2009. Weisman also stated that SLG president Dan Vado had not given up on the ''Gargoyles'' franchise and hoped to pursue the idea of ''Gargoyles''

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

s in the future.

will republish these comics in 2023.

Joe Books

On December 24, 2015, Aaron Sparrow revealed that ''Gargoyles'' was to be adapted into a cinestory comics series published by Joe Books Inc. Originally, the first volume was intended to be released on March 30, 2016, adapting the five-part "Awakening" episodes from the first season, and second volume would have adapted the next four episodes ("The Thrill of the Hunt", "Temptation", "Deadly Force", and "Enter MacBeth") following the pilot. However, on September 29, 2017, Joe Books Inc. confirmed that the cinestory has been cancelled.

Dynamite Entertainment

On July 22, 2022, it was announced a new ongoing ''Gargoyles'' comic titled ''Gargoyles Season 4'' will be published by

. The 18 issues produced under Slave Labor Graphics remain as the canonical third season instead of ''The Goliath Chronicles''. Greg Weisman will write the comic. On October 29, 2022, Dynamite Entertainment announced they received 100,000 pre-orders of the first issue, making it Dynamite's highest selling comic of the year.

Merchandise

Various merchandise released for the series included a series of 22 five-inch action figures (along with two vehicles and a castle playset) released by

Kenner Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...

in 1995. A collectible card game, ''Gargoyles Stone Warriors Battle Card Game'', was published by

Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known by Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. Among its products wer ...

in 1994. Other licensed merchandise included numerous other toys and figures, collectible trading card and sticker series, and a wide range of clothing items, books, art supplies, kitchen and bathroom items and supplies, clocks and watches, etc. A world based on the television series was initially considered for ''

Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square (video game company), Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya ...

'', but the idea was scrapped. In 2018, various Funko Pop Vinyl figurines was released. In August 2021, Ravensburger released the ''Disney Gargoyles: Awakening'' board game. Starting in 2021, NECA began producing ''Gargoyles''-based merchandise, such a plush toys and figures of the characters. Quantum Mechanix also produced a line of Q-Fig statues of the ''Gargoyles'' characters, starting with Goliath and Demona in January 2021.

Video game

* The Handheld LCD game, titled ''Gargoyles – Night Flight'', was released by Tiger Electronics in 1995 in China. During Disney D23 in 2022, an announcement trailer for a remastered version was released. At this time, no information was shown other than that it is currently being made. *In Disney's mobile game ''Disney Heroes: Battle Mode'', Goliath and Demona appears as playable characters. *In the mobile game ''Disney Sorcerer's Arena'', Goliath, Demona, and Xanatos appears as playable characters. *In ''Disney Emoji Blitz'' app game, the characters appears as playable characters and NPCs.

Cultural impact

Demona voice actress Marina Sirtis with cosplayer Ezmeralda Von Katz

Fan community

In 1997, Weisman began answering fan questions about the series in an online forum a
Ask Greg
revealing, among other things, productions details about the series, in-universe details about the characters, and his plans for the property if it had not been cancelled or if he was able to revive it in the future. Among other revelations, Weisman has detailed spinoffs for the series that reached various stages of development, including ''Bad Guys'' (for which a

leica reel In film, specifically animation, a leica reel (also known as story reel or animatic) is a type of storyboarding device used in the production of potential series or features. Unlike actual storyboards or pitches, leica reels (when made) are used ...

and comics were produced), ''Gargoyles 2198'', ''Timedancer'', ''Pendragon'', ''Dark Ages'' and ''The New Olympians''.

Conventions

The Gathering of the Gargoyles was an annual

fan convention Fan convention (also known as con or fan meeting), a term that predates 1942, is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some ...

which began in 1997 and ended in 2009. The Gathering featured several regular guests close to the ''Gargoyles'' franchise including Greg Weisman and voice actors Keith David and Thom Adcox. The Gathering has featured several recurring special events such as a

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

where attendees audition and take speaking roles, a masquerade ball where attendees dress up as their favorite character, an art show where the many artists within the fandom can display or sell their artwork. Weisman has in the past shown the leica reel of ''Bad Guys'' at Gatherings. Footage and interviews from the 2004 Gathering appears as an extra feature on the Season 1 DVD of the show.

CONvergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen *Convergence (comics), "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that ...

2014 featured a ''Gargoyles'' related theme with many guests from the series including Greg Weisman, Thom Adcox, Marina Sirtis, C. Robert Cargill, Scott Lynch, Amy Berg, and Emma Bull. It is a four-day convention held in

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...

over the Fourth of July weekend. It was done to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary.

References in other works

As a nod to members of the voice cast who worked on both series, the 2001

Pioneer LDC (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It is primarily involved in the production and distribution of anime within Japan. The ...

English dub of the anime ''

3×3 Eyes ''3×3 Eyes'' (pronounced in Japanese) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuzo Takada. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazines ''Young Magazine Kaizokuban'' and ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1987 to 2 ...

'' contains ''Gargoyles'' homage scenes. These include a homeless man humming the ''Gargoyles'' theme and a character who wonders "What could make claw marks in solid stone?" Shared actors included Brigitte Bako,

Bill Fagerbakke William Fagerbakke ( ; born October 4, 1957) is an American actor. He voices Patrick Star in the animated series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and played Michael "Dauber" Dybinski on the sitcom ''Coach''. He also appeared in 12 episodes of the sitco ...

Thom Adcox-Hernandez Thom Adcox-Hernandez is an American voice actor, known for his roles as Brian in the prime-time soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' and the voices of Felix the Cat in ''The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat'' and Lexington on ''Gargoyles (TV series), Gargoy ...

Keith David Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as '' T ...

and

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...

. The series finale of the 2017 ''

DuckTales ''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four sea ...

'' animated series, "The Last Adventure!", features an extended ''Gargoyles'' homage. During a battle, the character Manny the Headless Man-Horse is briefly turned to stone before transforming into his "true form", which heavily resembles a gargoyle. The sequence is accompanied by an excerpt from the ''Gargoyles'' theme tune, and Manny quotes Goliath's "I live again!" during his transformation, with Keith David providing his voice. A drawing of Goliath made a cameo in the ''

Amphibia Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

'' episode " True Colors", which features David as the voice of King Andrias.Sit Down and Think With Amphibia Creator Matt Braly
/ref> Creator

Matt Braly Matthew Benjakarn Braly ( ; born November 8, 1988) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, writer, and producer. He is best known as the creator and executive producer of the Disney Channel animated series ''Amphibia (TV series)''. ...

, who has expressed his love for ''Gargoyles'', said the cameo was added in hopes of starting speculations of a multiverse of

Disney Television Animation Disney Television Animation (DTVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is the television animation production arm of Disney Branded Television, a sub-division of the Disney G ...

series, as the series is set in multiple universes. He also cited ''Gargoyles'' as an influence on ''Amphibia''s ovearching story and voice work.Talking Amphibia On Disney Channel With Matt Braly – Exclusive
/ref>

Notes

References

External links

* *

at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

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