Costume Quest is the animated show based on the popular indie games from 2010 and 2014. It has taken many years to get the animated treatment but boy is it a treat.
The story concerns four children; Wren, the strong headed girl, Reynold, her nervous and scared-cat twin, Everett, the confident young boy, and Lucy, the shy, quiet girl, who battle against the dark forces of the nougat eating monsters that lurk in their sleepy village of Auburn Pines. To help them in their quest they use a variety of magical costumes that have transformative powers.
This set up is quite neat and each episode revolves around the group using different costumes to overcome obstacles and develop as friends.
Even though it seems to be set in modern times with mobile phones, the Internet and meme references, the whole show is bathed in the glow of 80s nostalgia. The humour is gentle and sweet and the purposely 'Charlie Brown'-esque voice work lend it that lovable naiveté that endears those jankily voiced animated short to our hearts, and so it is with this. The young voice cast is strong and deliver their lines with suitable characterisation and emotion.
The art style remains true to the game and the colour pallete is all browns, orange, dark reds and dusky colours, which gives the show a feeling of warmth which is strangely comforting.
The music is slow jazz and quite folksy sounding, which kind of reminds me of Over The Garden Wall, which is not a bad thing at all!
So far, only 7 episodes have been released and with each being about 25 minutes long, with more promised at Halloween. Whilst it is a short, breezy watch don't think of it as a silly kids show, as although it is primarily aimed at children at 4-11 years of age, the story does develop and there are moments where characters go through personal growth.
The whole show is a wonderful throwback to some of the cartoons of my youth and whilst not exceptional, the show is definitely worth a watch!
