Young lion prince Laval of Chima, a peaceful land for all animal kind, is set to accept his first CHI orb, “the power of nature itself.” During the ceremony, the temple is attacked. In the midst of the siege, he races through the woods after one of the conspirators. When Laval finds and does battle with the main culprit, he discovers it’s Cragger, a crocodile that was a childhood friend. The two were apart of a larger group of animal pals: Gorzan (gorilla), Rogon (rhino), Eris (eagle), Skinnet (skunk) and Worriz (wolf). A flashback shows Laval and Cragger breaking into the temple, and the croc gets the not-so-wise idea to steal a CHI orb without being prepared for such an “enlightening” experience. Thankfully, lion king Lagravis and his trusted warriors quickly track down the frantic young reptile and retrieve the CHI. The forceful seizure doesn’t sit well with Cragger’s father Crominus, leader of the crocodile tribe. A meeting between the two patriarchs that seems to initially bury the hatchet ends with the factions at odds about whose to blame for the intrusion.
Despite the stern warnings, Cragger attempts to once again obtain CHI, but this time the temple guards stop him. Threatened by another “call” to his parents, he attacks Lagravis and the guards to escape. Laval doesn’t take it sitting down, and gives chase after Cragger. When he finally catches up, he’s met by a platoon of croc troops. While Cragger attempts to explain the misunderstanding, the lions arrive with their own show of force. An intense battle ensues, which sends Cromius and his queen down a chasm. Cragger now becomes king in their absence, and wages full scale war against the noble lion kingdom, sworn protectors of all the CHI in Chima.
I’ll be honest, it’s been quite some time since I’ve watched a “cartoon” aimed at such a young audience. Especially one that is done in full CGI styling. I’d have to go back to 1996 when Beast Wars was my favorite “after school” program. In that span of time, the tech used in such animation has gotten wholly better. The anthropomorphic character models look great, and have that cool LEGO sensibility. You know, hands made in cup shapes, with flat torso pieces that have various designs “painted” upon the front and back. It’s as if the toys “come to life” on screen. Even with this sort of rigid styling, the animations are still clean with fluid movement. No odd “herky-jerky” stuff from my CG childhood favorites. Perhaps most impressive is the work done on the backdrops. Some really beautiful scenery from the woodland environment shines through with detail and artistry.
The actual narrative itself follows typical “hero’s quest” type stuff. Laval is the main protagonist, and for good/obvious reason. He’s the surrogate for children. A youth, naive to the world around him who makes more trouble for himself than he probably should, has to battle his way out of tough situations, at at the end of the episode learns some “life lesson.” Most of the time, the skirmishes are with Cragger, equivocal in age and inexperience, but on the “evil” side of the coin. Eventually, the different animal tribes pick sides, so to speak. Cragger will commission the help of the wolves and ravens, while the lions pick up assists from the gorillas and eagles. On paper, this sounds a bit convoluted, but makes sense during the course of the show. Voice acting is strong overall, with most of the cast members handling many characters. David Attar is credited with six himself, with Cragger being his biggest contribution. Bethany Brown pipes Eris, the majestic eagle as well as (my personal favorite) Crooler, the manipulative sister of Cragger that acts as the wicked tongue of persuasion in the diabolical plots of the crocs. Oddly enough, the actor for Laval is missing from the cast listing on the program’s IMDb page.