Pythe In the strange and foggy No Man's Land of children's literature betwixt R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series and J.K. Rowling's phenomenal Harry Potter novels, K.A. Applegate reigned supreme. Pound for pound, I daresay Animorphs was every bit as intriguing (and probably better written) than Harry Potter, and leaps and bounds more mature than Goosebumps; and while the series developed problems after a few years (an over complicated, meandering mythology, inferior ghostwriting), I contend that the first spate of books are masterpieces in their own right, leveling an often profound gaze at the effects of war and savagery on formerly untroubled minds.When I, a fresh-faced young lad of 11, first learned that a television show was in the works to bring my favorite books to life on the small screen, I was elated. I admit my heart sank a bit when I heard it was to be produced by Nickelodeon, who by the late '90s had shifted their focus from the preteen and teen market to a demographic exclusively in the 8-12 range; but realistically, what other network would air such an adaptation? The books were too violent and dark to air on a children's network, but no adult was going to watch a show about high school students turning into animals and fighting aliens. Perhaps it could have worked on the WB, following the success of high-school themed shows like Buffy, but alas, that was not the way things worked out.Apart from the censorship, the biggest problem a Nickelodeon adaptation would run into was budgetary. The books played out on a grand scale, every installation featuring aliens, spaceships, guerrilla warfare, shapeshifting, and occasionally, entirely different planets. Those elements were either scaled back or dropped entirely for the television series. The alien prosthetics were unconvincing, Applegate's concepts being much more ambitious than the average "wrinkly forehead" aliens featured on the average Star Trek episode. I remember my disappointment at the introduction of Elfangor and the Hork Bajir in the pilot episode. They were underwhelming, to say the least.When I discovered the show was available on Netflix, I watched it on a whim, in the background, with all the preconceptions of my high expectations dissipated in the course of time. The first few episodes are still pretty abysmal, with lackluster writing and facile direction. There just wasn't enough money or creative freedom to accomplish what Applegate did in the books.As the series progresses, however, it comes into its own, crafting an identity as its own entity separate from the prose. The characters become more three-dimensional on their own terms; the acting improves; the budgetary limitations are circumvented. True, sometimes (oftentimes) the villains are incredibly stupid and the action sequences don't hold up all that well; the psychological and physical effects of a full-fledged war are neutered by the network mandate to remain "kid-friendly", which means no death or serious trauma can ever really befall the characters. But the basic human interaction, the relationships, improve, and the storytelling finds firmer footing. If you allow yourself to forget the source material, Animorphs stands as a worthy piece of family entertainment.It's also fun to see a "before-they-were-famous" Shawn Ashmore and Paulo Costanzo, who have since achieved mainstream success via the X-Men franchise and the popular USA comedy/drama "Royal Pains", respectively. Maybe this is through glasses tinted with hindsight, but they are easily the strongest members of the cast (and I'm including the adults in that), with Ashmore growing into his own as conflicted "I didn't ask for this" leader Jake, and Costanzo stealing the show as fish-out-of-water alien-posing-as-human Aximili, who turns a simple cab ride into a comedy of errors.

Torgo_Approves ...and in this series, I've been reduced to an annoying jock with a gay hairstyle. Remember my friend Marco, who got all the good lines in the books? Well, in this series his one-liners put Mr. Freeze to shame. Remember our uber-evil nemesis Visser Three? He's a bald guy with inane catchphrases. Remember Rachel, "Xena, the Warrior Princess", and Cassie, my sensitive and caring love interest? They've been turned into mindless bimbos by the 10 (!) writers who decided the original characters weren't cool enough for TV. Remember the awesome extra-terrestial Ax, who was cool, intelligent, and really, really liked cinnamon buns? In this series he's the Token Alien with an extremely annoying voice. Remember the witty banter our team had in the books? In this series our dialogue is so dreary and stupid it's obvious the writers were pandering to the lowest common denominator.So forget everything you thought you knew about the Animorphs! It was Cassie who became allergic to morphing, not Rachel, thought-speak is *supposed* to echo, and Visser Three and Ax, rarely, if ever, appeared as Andalites (no, it has nothing to do with the budget!). I'm not crazy. And I'm not lying. The jerks are all around us. And if you're unlucky, one of them might adapt one of your favourite books, or series, or graphic novels, into a really awful TV show. You've been warned."Finally... television worth watching." ~ (the very bald) Visser Three(r#91)

gamemaster988 I'm sorry i missed this T.V. show. I loved the books. I read them all, I think. Heck my friends and I played Animorphs on the playground. Anyone know where I can get the DVD's? E-mail gamemaster988@gmail.com if you know where. Animorphs were the greatest and i would really like to see the show. Even if there was only one episode. I hope that this final random rant fills the ten line quota.. but in all seriousness, I wanna see this T.V. show. I grew up on the original Power Rangers, Goosebumps, Animorphs, and G.I. Joe. I want this to be part of my child hood flashback. E-mail me if you know where to get the series DVD. gamemaster988@gmail.com

Terryfan Animorphs was a cool show. This show were come on when I went to work, I would ask my mom and dad to record the show for me. As a Animorphs fan, I enjoy both the books and the show. The acting was good and the story-telling was good. The music was good too. All in all, I thought Animorphs was a very enjoyable show. I would to get the show on DVD.The whole idea of teenagers having the power to Transform into animals sounded cool. I own only two of the books. Animorphs was one of my favorite books and shows because I love Animals and I'm an animal lover. Animorphs has an cool idea for a book that would get it own TV show. I thought all the Animorphs books were cool and I thought the show was good for fans of the books. Animorphs books had so much details into the five teenagers that why they need to trust nobody and watch their back. Because they never knew who side anybody was on. The show rare had parts that was from the books, take the first show for examlpe, Note: I never had the first book. The show and books were different. Animorphs was a good show for the fans, Animoprhs ROCKS!