[Update: As of this writing, the campaign, which was asking for $750,000, is currently funded at $4.4+ million and rising. That's almost $1.5 million past their most expensive stretch goal. Now, the animated series will go from a 22-minute special to an 88-minute epic, along with three Critical Role one-shots. That's the power of fandom!]
If you're a fan of Critical Role, the weekly live broadcast of a stylized Dungeons & Dragons campaign starring some of the most talented actors in the voice-acting biz, then you've probably thought to yourself, "This story would make a great animated series." Well it turns out you were right and that day has finally arrived. The team has launched a new Kickstarter campaign to bring The Legend of Vox Machina to life as an animated series, expected to debut in Fall 2020.
The show will be co-written by the Critical Role team along with TV writer Jennifer Muro (Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, Spider-Man, Justice League: Action). Handling the animation will be Chris Prynoski's Titmouse, the Emmy award-winning animation production company behind the hits Big Mouth, The Venture Bros., Metalocalypse, Niko and the Sword of Light and Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures. Voice actors Matthew Mercer, Liam O'Brien, Taliesin Jaffe, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey and Ashley Johnson will voice their fan-favorite characters, bringing their experience on such shows as Teen Titans Go!, Ben 10, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Attack on Titan, Dragon Ball Z, Sofia the First, Avengers Assemble, DuckTales, Transformers, and many, many more to bear.
There will be prizes for backers like personalized portraits by the animators, limited edition plushies, dice, playing cards, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for super-fans and high-rollers. But of course, the real prize is that we'll get to see this epic tale brought to life in animation for the first time ever! You can find more details below:
Here's the official Kickstarter page, which includes a breakdown of everything you can expect from The Legend of Vox Machina and what kinds of swag you can get for your contribution:
Critical Role is a weekly live-streamed Dungeons & Dragons game featuring a group of prominent voice actors, who happen to be best friends. Each week, veteran Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer leads the cast through epic adventures set in the world of Exandria! Trust us — it’s rad.
Our original storyline centered on a group of heroes known as Vox Machina — Pike Trickfoot (gnome cleric, Ashley Johnson), Keyleth (half-elf druid, Marisha Ray), Percival “Percy” Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III (human gunslinger, Taliesin Jaffe), Grog Strongjaw (goliath barbarian, Travis Willingham), Scanlan Shorthalt (gnome bard, Sam Riegel), Vex’ahlia (half-elf ranger, Laura Bailey), and Vax’ildan (half-elf rogue, Liam O’Brien) — as they battled the forces of evil and learned to work as a team. Their epic tale concluded in November, 2017 after 115 episodes and 373 hours of gameplay.
The show is still going strong, now over 50 episodes in to our second season, which tracks the misfits known as the Mighty Nein. Critical Role reaches a wide, international audience called Critters, who are just about the greatest fans in history.
