Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Two against nature.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III June 8, 2021

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal proved to be the next logical step for an award-winning creator unafraid to step into dark animated territory. Having relaunched Samurai Jack for a more mature fifth and final season that debuted twelve years after its original finale, the warm reception of that tonal shift (which included a number of dialogue-free sequences) meant that there was very little chance of Tartakovsky returning to manic, kid-friendly fare like Dexter's Laboratory. Case in point: thematically, Primal shares almost nothing in common with Tartakovsky's pre-2017 output. It abandons technology, feudal Japanese combat, and even dialogue altogether, instead following the plight of a hulking caveman who struggles to survive in a savage land where dinosaurs and fantastical beasts dominate the food chain.

Having a T-Rex pal helps, of course. But their friendship isn't fully established yet in Primal's terrific series premiere, even though its title ("Spear and Fang") is named after the soon-to-be dynamic duo. Upon returning from a hunt, Spear sees his mate and two young children get devoured by a trio of horned Tyrannosaurs; after contemplating suicide, he instead chooses revenge. While scouring the landscape, he finds a hornless female Tyrannosaur being attacked by the same horned mob who's now after her babies. Rushing to her defense, Spear violently kills two of the predators but the babies are devoured, prompting this unlikely pair to finish the fight as a team. And while a permanent friendship isn't immediately forged, both quickly learn that shared survival is much more likely if they work together.

Spear and Fang's abilities are put to the test immediately during these 10 short but incredibly visceral episodes, many of which boil over with intensity thanks to some of the most over-the-top violence ever seen in an animated series. I'm not exactly a squeamish person but several scenes had me absolutely wincing in pain and, while I personally feel the amount of graphic bloodshed certainly feels a little gratuitous at times, overall most of it plays into the series' suitably savage background and themes of survival. As a whole, this first season follows a narrow but accessible narrative path; early episodes strongly establish the central friendship with a few interesting character beats and, by the halfway point, Primal shifts into pulpier territory with a one-two punch where a major character is almost fatally injured and slowly nursed back to health. From there it's highlight after highlight with a series of dangerous and near-deadly encounters, with sporadic rest breaks and a season finale featuring a new human character, well-placed comedy, and even the series' first recognizable words. Warner Bros.' belated but welcome Blu-ray release of this first season places all 10 episodes on a single disc, while an already-announced second season should air sometime later this year.

Episode List (~22 minutes each)

• "Spear and Fang" - A friendship forms after the separate deaths of a caveman and dinosaur's family.
• "River of Snakes" - Still wary of Spear, Fang develops a prolonged fear of snakes after a flash flood.
• "A Cold Death" - Spear and Fang encounter a herd of dangerous woolly mammoths on a snowy mountain.
• "Terror Under the Blood Moon" - Fang comes to the rescue when Spear is captured by giant red bats.
• "Rage of the Ape-Men" - An absolutely brutal one-on-one fight leaves one of our heroes near death.
• "Scent of Prey" - While the injured slowly recuperates, a pack of wild hyenas comes in for the kill.
• "Plague of Madness" - A particularly harrowing tale of peaceful dinosaurs ravaged by a deadly disease.
• "Coven of the Damned" - During their capture, Spear and Fang are aided by a sympathetic witch.
• "The Night Feeder" - In this suspenseful one-off episode, Spear and Fang fight an invisible predator.
• "Slave of the Scorpion" - Our heroes meet an escaped cavewoman and learn a few new skills.

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Beautifully animated by the Paris-based studio La Cachette, the essentially dialogue-free Primal obviously relies on its visuals to do the heavy lifting and, pound for pound, Warner Bros.' dual-layered Blu-ray seems up to the challenge. While its bit rate runs lower than most animated shows -- usually staying under 20 Mbps -- the picture stays clean and virtually problem-free thanks to its particular visual approach, which combines simple line-heavy character designs with very stylized and expressive backgrounds, often avoiding ultra-crowded compositions that could easily devour a lot of visual bandwidth. Nonetheless, Primal gives off the appearance of a detailed image with razor-sharp edges, some of which appear "scruffy" (again, part of its visual design) in select shots or during zoom-ins. Colors very are punchy and bright, from roaring red-and-yellow flames to the greenish glow of hypnotic spells and no shortage of imaginative lighting schemes that bathe main and supporting characters in a variety of bold, heavily-saturated hues.

Very slight bleeding is apparent on the boldest red tones (including blood, obviously), as are obvious signs of banding on gradients, backgrounds, and slow fades, while some of the show's deepest blacks are slightly prone to image crush. It's tough to say if some of these are baked-in problems or a result of disc compression, but only the most flagrant instances are distracting. Overall, a double-disc presentation or full UHD 4K option for Primal would've obviously been preferable, but what we get here is still well beyond most readily-available streaming versions.

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Let's be clear: Primal actually does rely on dialogue... just not recognizable words, so its sound design frequently fills in the gaps where narration and conversations might normally take place. It's an ambitious creative decision that's pulled off amazingly well at times, especially during a period when most new shows might still be finding their legs. The bulk of this DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix is dedicated to the original score by Tyler Bates and Joanne Higginbottom, who fuse distorted electronics and varied instruments to create an atmosphere that's at times fierce, serene, raw, uplifting, and brutally tragic. This score, combined with standard sound effects and the grunts and shrieks of various characters (including Spear's voice, provided by Aaron LaPlante, as well as dino roars and other creature-related noises by sound designer Joel Valentine and voice actors including Tom Kenny), moves freely about the soundstage with terrific support from the LFE channel when it's needed. Overall, this is a very intense and immersive presentation that, combined with the visual design, works wonders to bring you into Primal's unique world. And while a full-on Dolby Atmos mix would've been interesting to hear, let's just be thankful that Warner Bros.' didn't go with a lossy Dolby Digital track.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during all 10 episodes, not like you'll need them -- a grand total of two real words are spoken. French and Spanish subtitles are also included during the lone extra, which is nice.

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in an eco-friendly keepcase with a Digital Copy redemption slip and episode summary insert. True to form with most Adult Swim titles, Primal's packaging features unorthodox but very attractive design elements, with text-free wraparound artwork on on the case sleeve and a thick, glossy slipbox sporting a more traditional image. Extras are much slimmer than expected, especially considering a few more are readily available on HBO Max; this is a very disappointing recent trend for Warner Bros., and one that I hope isn't a permanent one.

• Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (10:18) - This short piece features comments from members of the creative team including creator Genndy Tartakovsky, art director Scott Wills, and sound designer Joel Valentine, who go into modest detail about the series' development, visual design, and overall production. Other highlights include vocal sessions with Aaron "Spear" LaPlante, music rehearsal with Tyler Bates and Joanne Higginbottom, and a short interview with members of the French animation studio La Cachette (in French with English subtitles). It's an enjoyable little featurette and one that easily could've been three times as long.

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal is an ambitious and very unique new animated series. It's a decidedly adults-only affair, full of brutal violence, raw emotion, and a terrific visual style that almost completely abandons recognizable dialogue. Creative gambles on this scale rarely succeed but the end result here is a tight 10-episode run that, while tough to binge-watch because of its emotional intensity, is absolutely essential viewing for anyone intrigued by the subject matter. Here's hoping its upcoming second season keeps the boulder rolling. For now, Warner Bros.' Blu-ray is at least appreciated (remember, not everything gets a physical release anymore) and, while its A/V presentation is mostly up to par, the disappointing lack of bonus features -- or at least a second disc -- turns what could have been an event release into something slimmer than it should have been. It's still Highly Recommended nonetheless.