KIPO
Kipo And The Age Of Wonderbeasts amps up the incredible visuals and infectious fun
The age of Wonderbeasts is upon us in season two of this animated show.
IF YOU WANT AN EXAMPLE OF someone doing a post-apocalyptic life right, you should be watching DreamWorks Animation’s Kipo And The Age Of Wonderbeasts on Netflix.
Adapted from Radford Sechrist’s 2015 web comic Kipo, and developed by Bill Wolkoff (Star Wars Rebels), the traditionally animated series has just unveiled its second season.
Season one set up the plight of Kipo Oak (Karen Fukuhara): a teenage girl who’s grown up along with the remains of humanity in underground burrows. But then she’s thrust up, alone, into the outside world of Las Vistas. Captivated by the incredible colours, creatures and landscapes she’s never seen before, Kipo collects new friends and allies, often of the mutant monster persuasion, in her ultimate quest to get home.
“Everybody really embraced the tone of our world and the idea of this post-apocalypse that’s a wonderland,” Bill Wolkoff tells Red Alert. “Also the musical style, and how we wanted to do relationships differently than you might normally see in kids’ cartoons.”
Picking up right where the last episode of the first season left off, Wolkoff says season two sees the show only get more outrageously fantastical as Kipo’s new skills are revealed. “At the end of season one, we opened a huge Pandora’s Box as we learn Kipo is far from ordinary. And you can’t close that box back up. Season two is gonna be all about exploring the box that we opened up when that huge jaguar paw grows out of Kipo. We’ll learn a lot more about what that means.”
Kipo’s new pack of Wolf (Sydney Mikayla), Benson (Coy Stewart) and his constantly regenerating insect BFF Dave (Deon Cole), will also see a lot of personal evolution. Radford Sechrist explains, “All our storyboard teams
loved when we broke up the characters. [Doing that] you could spend more time with the acting and the personal details when you don’t have so many people to track in the scene.” They tease some great side adventures with Kipo and Dave, and Wolf and Benson.
Speaking of Benson, his character was organically revealed to be gay in season one, and that’s going to develop. “Kipo is a coming-of-age story for all of our characters, not just Kipo,” Wolkoff emphasises. “And so, we set up a story for Benson, and it was a joy to get to follow through with that.”
“It’s nice to be able to tell stories that are true to the life that you know,” Sechrist continues. “I have friends that are like Benson. In the past, you weren’t allowed to do that in children’s television. It’s nice that the culture has changed so that we can reflect a show that’s closer to what our real lives are.” Wolkoff adds, “We wanted to follow through with [Benson’s story] in a very real way, and in a way that you would see a 16-year old developing a crush against this apocalypse, and play out the real feelings that would happen, and how that would affect the other friendships. It’s probably one of the things I’m most proud of in the series.”
As for just how long Kipo’s stories can go on, Sechrist is optimistic about the show’s future: “I could see a lot of potential for spin-offs and other series,” he says. “I would have a blast doing it, but it’s dependent on what everyone else wants to do.” TB
Kipo And The Age Of Wonderbeasts season two is streaming on Netflix now.
Everybody really embraced the tone… the idea of this post-apocalypse that’s a wonderland