Gargoyles

1000 Years ago...
On
December 09, 2008
"One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled. It was a time of darkness, it was a world of fear, it was the age of Gargoyles. Stone by day, warriors by night. We were betrayed by the humans we had sworn to protect. Frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years. Now we are in Manhattan. The Spell is broken, and we live again!"

Anyone growing up in the mid 90s would religiously memorize these words. In my opinion, Disney's greatest and most brilliantly created, drawn, and superbly executed animated TV show, Gargoyles.

"Gargoyles" was created by Greg Weisman and Frank Paur and it first aired October 24th 1994. Even when i was a kid watching this show, i appreciated its fine quality of drawing, its diverse and immense story line, featuring a deep and personal feeling towards each of the characters showed. The story in all its basics follows the every day, or should i say, every night adventures of 6 nocturnal creatures known as Gargoyles. And in the tradition of Law and Order, "These are their stories" *DUM DUM*

The year is 994 A.D and Scotland is under attack by the fierce and brutal Vikings. Castle Wyvern, a Scottish fort is not a exception, but with a bit of a twist, guarding this castle is more then armed swordsman and archers, Gargoyles to call this place home and they fiercely defend it. A uneasy union is kept between the Humans and Gargoyles alike who call this place home, the humans distrust the Gargoyles except for a handful, and likewise with some of the Gargoyles. But the leader of the Gargoyle Clan, Goliath, believes that both races can live in peace together, and does all he can to make sure the Humans are kept safe from attacks. But the Gargoyles are stone during the day and are defenseless, so when the captain, a Human Goliath thought was the only one he could trust, betrays them to the vikings, Goliath blindly falls into a trap and flies of to attack these Vikings, realizing that they lured him away and dawn fast approaching, it was too late and Goliath and another old Gargoyle burst to stone.



Meanwhile the Castle gets attacked by a horde of Vikings, and the Scottish, without their Gargoyle allies, get attacked in the middle of the day and destroy each of the Gargoyles while they are in stone form. Goliath and his old friend awaken to see the castle burning and all his brothers and sisters turned to rubble, with a vengeful cry him and the youngest of the Gargoyles, who were sentenced to the hatchery (A underground nest where the Gargoyles are born) for not following Goliaths orders, fly off to take vengeance on the Vikings. They also learn that the princess and her adviser, a Wizard named Meekus have been kidnapped and when the Gargoyles finally meet with the Vikings they engage them. Goliath in disbelief learns who the traitor is, but not before the Viking captain and the traitor have a fallout and fight, where they both fall of the cliff and die. Meanwhile the youngest of the Gargoyles are fighting off the Vikings and in the process, the Princess falls off a high canyon. All the vikings have been destroyed and Meekus, witnessing his beloved princess fall to her death, blames the Gargoyles and reads a spell from his book, suddenly all the Gargoyles turn to stone. Goliath returns with the princess, who was rescued by him, and seeing his brethren turned to stone at night gives that famous "What sorcery is this?". Learning what happened he requests that the Wizard performs the spell one last time on him, and so he does, turning the last remaining clan to stone for 1000 years.



Now long story short, 1000 years passed, its the modern age, and a rich billionaire by the name of David Xanatos purchases the castle and the Gargoyles and has it put on top of his own skyscraper, to test if the legend of the Gargoyles is true. "When the castle reaches the sky" Goliath and his clan are finally reunited and are in awe to the world they have woken up in to. They each give them selves names and begin their mission to protect the people of the modern world, just as they did 1000 years ago.


The Clan:



Goliath:
The noble and honorable leader of the clan. Goliath wishes nothing but for the safety of his clan, the last remaining Gargoyles. He too still wishes and hopes for peace between the Humans and Gargoyles. Goliath would do anything for his friends, as later episodes show us.



Hudson:
The old warrior of the group, Hudson has seen many battles and was the original leader of the Clan before passing the position to Goliath, who he both mentored and tutored. Hudson likes nothing but to stay in the comfort of his arm chair with his faithful friend Bronx and watch TV, but when the fight comes, Hudson is always by Goliaths side.

Brooklyn:
Brooklyn is Goliaths favourite to take over the clan when he passes, so Brooklyn must endure the toughness and responsibility of being second in command. But Brooklyn is a stern warrior, who's quick thinking and techniques have saved the Clan from near death encounters. Even though Goliath is most tough on him, deep down he is Goliaths favourite.



Broadway:
Broadway is a gentle giant who loves eating and playing detective, he has a soft spot for trusting people and that has caused some serious problems. But even though Broadway may not be the brightest of the group, he is the most humble, and will follow them no matter where.



Lexington:
The brain and computer whiz of the Clan, Lexington can hack into computers, over ride doors, and knows the inner workings of Robots and all stuff electrical. He is small but quick, his curiosity has brought problems to him and the Clan, but Lexington is always quick to figure out a solution.



Bronx:
Fierce to his enemies, but loves to be scratched by his friends, Bronx is the pooch that always wishes to fight side by side with his best friend Hudson. But without wings its difficult, and he can't be held everywhere. So these days Bronx serves as a guard to their home.



Elisa Maza:
The beautiful human cop, and the Gargoyles best friend. She would do anything for them, as they would for her. She is a good cop who gets her self caught in bad situations, but she can handle her self. She is the eyes and ears of the Gargoyles in the day, and also their protector while they are in stone. There is a deep and emotional chemistry between Elisa and Goliath.



David Xanatos:
The billionaire, Xanatos at first appeared to be the savior to the Clan, and then they soon realized that Xanatos care for no one but his own self and profit. His relationship with the Gargoyles is best described as shaky, as when the Goliath and his Clan are near fatal encounters, Xanatos comes and saves the day.



Well, that's it for me for now. I hope you enjoyed this article, i really do. Just a quick note, Hunters Moon, The Gathering, and the New Olympians. I have the whole series on DVD, so i'm glad and thankful i can still enjoy this beautiful TV show whenever i want. A Comic was also soon available straight after the series aired its final episode in 1997, following straight after, i have not read it so if anyone has, please message me if its good or not.
I really don't think their will be another animated TV show quite like this, the perfect balance of story, great design, and lovable characters turned this Disney classic, into a Disney masterpiece.

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