Ark: The Animated Series

Ark: The Animated Series is an American adult animated epic science-fantasy television series based on the video game Ark: Survival Evolved. The series premiered on Paramount+ on March 21, 2024.

Premise
Helena Walker, an Australian paleontologist on 21st-century Earth, becomes a grieving widow after the death of her wife, Victoria. One night, after drowning her sorrows in pills and wine, she wakes up suddenly to find herself in the middle of a vast ocean. Escaping from a large, charging megalodon, she soon washes up ashore on a strange island. Once there, she befriends a wild dodo, only to discover it was being hunted by a human male tribe hunter named Bob. After discovering the two arrived to this world in the same manner, Bob teaches Helena the way of survival.

With this strange new world filled with dinosaurs, strange technology, and warring tribes, Helena will do what it takes to survive and hopefully find a way to return to her world, earning new allies and making new enemies along the way.

Main

 * Helena Walker (voiced by Madeleine Madden ) – An Aboriginal Australian paleontologist from the 21st century who recently woke up on the Ark. In her previous life, she has a wife named Victoria. On the Ark, she meets allies along the way, including John, Alasie, and Meiyin Li, the latter who she slowly falls in love with.
 * General Gaius Marcellus Nerva (voiced by Gerard Butler ) – A brutal despot of Ancient Rome who wants to remake the world in his image.
 * Sir Edmund Rockwell (voiced by David Tennant ) – The main series antagonist and scientist from the 19th century who is egocentric and has mysterious ambitions. Previously, he betrayed Meiyin Li and sided with General Nerva, dooming her multi-nation alliance.
 * Meiyin Li (voiced by Michelle Yeoh ) – A Chinese rebel leader from the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 3rd century who is feared throughout the Ark as the "Beast Queen", after attempting to stop General Nerva in a multi-nation alliance. She later becomes friends with Helena Walker and falls in love with her.
 * Thunder Comes Charging "John" (voiced by Zahn McClarnon ) – A Lakota warrior from the 19th century who heads a community on the Ark. He is the adopted father of Alasie.
 * Alasie (voiced by Devery Jacobs ) – A peppy Inuit teen from the 17th century who is finding out where she fits in on the Ark.
 * Henry Townsend (voiced by Jeffrey Wright ) – A spy for the Patriots in the American Revolutionary War and an American watchmaker from the 18th century.

Supporting

 * Bob (voiced by Karl Urban ) – A recent arrival to the Ark, was a US Army Ranger who fought in Normandy during Operation Overlord in World War II.
 * Victoria Walker (voiced by Elliot Page ) – Helena's wife, in her previous life, and a humanitarian aid worker who was very idealistic. At the beginning of the series, she went missing in an unnamed country and was assumed to be dead.
 * Deborah Walker (voiced by Deborah Mailman ) – The mother of Helena and an activist for Aboriginal Australians in the 21st century. She passed away before the events of the series.
 * Chava (voiced by Juliet Mills ) – A member of John's village council and healer with much wisdom.
 * The Gladiatrix (voiced by Cissy Jones ) – A commander in an army, led by Nerva, who is said to be formidable. Her real name is Octavia.
 * Kor the Prophet (voiced by Russell Crowe ) – An eccentric character who comes from before recorded history and claims to be a "dino-whisperer".
 * Han Li (voiced by Ron Yuan ) – A Chinese rebel leader from the 3rd century who is Meiyin's brother.

Additionally, Dee Bradley Baker provides vocalizations for various creatures on the Ark, most notably a dodo and Scary, a Parasaurolophus, who are Helena's animal companions.
 * Senator Lucius Cassius Virilis (voiced by Malcolm McDowell ) – A conniving aristocrat during the reign of Augustus Caesar.
 * Queen Sigrid (voiced by Ragga Ragnars ) – A Viking warlord from the 10th century who is very bellicose.
 * The Captain (voiced by Alan Tudyk ) – A buccaneer who makes a hefty profit as he sails around the Ark.
 * Santiago (voiced by Vin Diesel ) – A Mek pilot from the 24th century and freedom fighter.
 * Cassia Virila (voiced by Monica Bellucci )

Production
In December 2020, the series was announced with a trailer during the 2020 Video Game Awards, along with the cast that included Gerard Butler, David Tennant, Michelle Yeoh, Jeffrey Wright, Zahn McClarnon, Elliot Page, Karl Urban, Malcolm McDowell, Alan Tudyk, Russell Crowe, and Vin Diesel, who will also serve as an executive producer.

The creators of the Ark: Survival Evolved video game, Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak, are the series creators, while Marguerite Bennett and Kendall Deacon Davis are series writers. In 2020 it was announced that Jay Oliva will direct the series, which was set to consist of 14 thirty-minute episodes that develop the game's world, and that two seasons were in production. In June 2022, the series entered post-production, with Monica Bellucci and Dee Bradley Baker added to the voice cast. In December 2022, with the release of a new trailer, it was revealed Butler and Crowe would also be executive producers.

Gareth Coker is the composer for the series. Oliva was also confirmed as showrunner for Ark: The Animated Series, while Kendall Deacon Davis was noted a lead writer of the series.

In an interview with Paste in early April 2024, Stieglitz said that series began to be developed in 2019, and that he worked with co-creator Jesse Rapczak to develop a "budget and an outline for the show they wanted to make" but that it was delayed by the Coronavirus pandemic. Stieglitz said that hand-drawn animation ages better that they made the series 2D so it was not visually confused with the video games and didn't use the same game models, and said that writers Marguerite Bennett and Kendall Deacon Davis ensured that the series was driven by characters than only action, adding that Bennett made, among other aspects, "the character of Helena feel completely authentic," describing her as an "academically trained historian," noting he was a history buff that that cultural consultants were brought in during the episodes "about indigenous cultures...with some of the plot aspects with the flashbacks of those cultures...and the language as well.” Stieglitz also said that that Part 2 would have "emotional closure for audiences," including with description of Helena's backstory and stated that the second part would feature Russell Crowe in a bigger role than in Part 2.

In late April 2024, Stieglitz was interviewed by Gamerant and noted the history behind Vin Diesel joining the series cast, the mix of timeliness and wish-casting which played a role in the series casting, the show's creative team getting "who they wanted" for the show's characters, including Michelle Yeoh. Stieglitz also said the show's creative team aimed to make Helena Walker the series "throughline character," themes like war, "love, regret, guilt, [and] trauma," as part of the show since the beginning, including the "theory of mind...[and] what it means to be human."

Release
The show was initially set to be released sometime in 2022, with "14 half-hour episodes", but the second trailer revealed that the series was planned for a release in 2023. In December 2023, IGN wrote that the series was "due out at some point in 2024." The first six episodes were released on Paramount+ on March 21, 2024, in a surprise drop. The remaining seven episodes of the season set to premiere at a later date, with Paramount+ only licensing the series, rather than co-producing it.

Reception
The series received a mixed reception from critics. Neerja Choudhuri of Midgird Times was more critical, giving the series a rating of 6 out of 10, saying that while is pulls you in at first, with dynamic characters and a vibrant world, it "struggles to maintain its momentum," criticizing it having a lackluster plot, and is an extension of the video game "instead of a series," but has a "glimmer of potential waiting to be realized." Joshua Kristian McCoy of GameRant said that although the series "isn't groundbreaking, it remains compelling through its visual storytelling," called the narrative straightforward but compelling, said it won't be a favorite of everyone but might become "the best introduction to the hit survival game ever produced" and compared it to other adaptations of video games like Castlevania, and live-action adaptions such as Super Mario Bros., Double Dragon, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and Assassin's Creed.

Aidan Kelley of Collider described the premiere of the six episodes as a "pleasant surprise" but said that its unexpected drop "misses out on some crucial marketing." Kelley also called the series "technically" a prequel to Ark: Survival Evolved, praised the concept as fascinating, and has amazing presentation, although it isn't perfect. Rafael Motamayor of IGN called the series a combination of Predators and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, said it was unfortunate it dropped "unceremoniously" on Paramount+ because it adds to a "recent wave of great animated video game adaptations", compared it to Primal by noting that the series "uses its creatures to their maximum potential," with enough "cool elements" to sustain its six-episode arc, has an "impressive cast" which he criticized as "a bit distracting," and called the series a "mightly impressive production". Motamayor also said that the series looks similar to the "video game it adapts", but criticized it for not offering a "fresh...experience" but praised the show's score, fluid action, and an intriguing world which makes "for a thrilling season of TV."

Tara Bennett of Paste said that the series gives non-players and players of Ark: Survival Evolved, a "serialized, hard sci-fi story to dive into, with more episodes on the way later this year."