WondLa was a highly anticipated series of this year from Apple TV+. The series mixes genres like sci-fi and fantasy in the animated format and was created by Bobs Gannaway. It is adapted from several Tony DiTerlizzi books including The Search for WondLa.
All seven episodes of WondLa premiered on June 28th, 2024 on Apple TV+ and today we will be reviewing this show. So read on!
Spectacle over substance
WondLa looks and feels beautiful and gorgeous, but it doesn’t have the same feel as a Pixar or a Disney movie. It follows Eva (voiced by Jeanine Mason) who is a girl in her teens. Her caretaker is a robot named Muthr (Teri Hatcher) and she lives in a bunker.
Muthr fills Eva and the viewers with a backstory as to why people are living under bunkers. It’s not clear initially but just hinted that something big and horrible happened ages ago. This scene has echoes of Wall-E but the makers aren’t able to create that feeling. There are flashy scenes but they only feel surface level.
They are attacked around the time she was planning to celebrate her 16th birthday and she reaches the surface. It is on a planet named Orbona that only has some aliens covered in weird fauna stuff.
Eventually, she befriends an alien named Rovender (Gary Anthony Williams) and Otto (Brad Garrett) which is basically a tardigrade but really big. It was refreshing to see the representation of this creature as it has been missing from pop culture. Eva goes on a journey with them to find any human being on the planet as well as who she is.
Aspirations can’t match the execution
WondLa has a very promising start and the first episode manages to build intrigue in the viewers with gaps in the information provided by the robot about the bunkers. It throws several questions at the viewers as to why are they living in bunkers and if there are any humans left.
However, the makers are unable to tap into this tension for a buildup as a slog story continues with several familiar tropes.
While the main character Eva is likable, well-written, and has a nice arc that shines in the finale, the same can’t be said about the other supporting cast. Most of them feel like a caricaturish floating head and that creates an issue.
There are not enough dimensions that help in creating drama and an overall cohesive world. Despite being a nerd of sci-fi, it was hard for me to overlook these flaws because they are consistent. The only good thing is the last moments of the show that are very slick.
Conclusion
WondLa had a lot of promise since Apple TV+ shows have been mostly of good quality. Another reason was the involvement of a former Pixar person.
But these things don’t help since the show has flawed writing. It starts off on an interesting note and the animation is good throughout, but it’s all downhill from there.