The good:
This is definitely not a typical kids' cartoon. It has a plot, and generally sticks with it from episode to episode. Like Star Trek: Enterprise, you could watch any few episodes individually OK, but you need to watch the series in order (see Wikipedia for order) to get the most out of it.
The bad:
Return to the Planet of the Apes isn't really an appropriate title for this series. Only the viewer is returning (assuming they saw the films or live action series).
It doesn't fit well within the Planet of the Apes timeline, unless you allow for multiple timelines branching off from the 20th century. Earth was supposed to be destroyed, or at least rendered uninhabitable, by Taylor in the 2nd film. (I haven't seen the other series, so maybe they explain there how it is inhabited later, but this animated series gives no explanation).
The series seems to be a remake or reboot of the first two films, plus some unfortunate additions, most notably in the forms of a giant living ape god Kigor, and a ridiculous "monster bird", which is where this series jumps the shark. If it was ever up for renewal, this concept probably sunk it.
The animation is stunningly bad. Often, objects will change color for no apparent reason. Other times objects will move that should not move (and further will move exactly the same way as other objects on the screen). One scene in particular in "Screaming Wings" has Bill operating a crane connected to a train, and it looks like it was drawn by a toddler. And I challenge anyone not to burst out laughing when the humans start to run, like QWOP. And while the jazz/experimental score is sort of interesting at first, it's often out of step with the visuals, and it grates on you as a you go along. You begin to grit your teeth every time the descending bell noise happens.
This series is only for the most desperate of Planet of the Apes fans, perhaps the incarcerated or institutionalized. That's a shame, because it could have been good.
This is definitely not a typical kids' cartoon. It has a plot, and generally sticks with it from episode to episode. Like Star Trek: Enterprise, you could watch any few episodes individually OK, but you need to watch the series in order (see Wikipedia for order) to get the most out of it.
The bad:
Return to the Planet of the Apes isn't really an appropriate title for this series. Only the viewer is returning (assuming they saw the films or live action series).
It doesn't fit well within the Planet of the Apes timeline, unless you allow for multiple timelines branching off from the 20th century. Earth was supposed to be destroyed, or at least rendered uninhabitable, by Taylor in the 2nd film. (I haven't seen the other series, so maybe they explain there how it is inhabited later, but this animated series gives no explanation).
The series seems to be a remake or reboot of the first two films, plus some unfortunate additions, most notably in the forms of a giant living ape god Kigor, and a ridiculous "monster bird", which is where this series jumps the shark. If it was ever up for renewal, this concept probably sunk it.
The animation is stunningly bad. Often, objects will change color for no apparent reason. Other times objects will move that should not move (and further will move exactly the same way as other objects on the screen). One scene in particular in "Screaming Wings" has Bill operating a crane connected to a train, and it looks like it was drawn by a toddler. And I challenge anyone not to burst out laughing when the humans start to run, like QWOP. And while the jazz/experimental score is sort of interesting at first, it's often out of step with the visuals, and it grates on you as a you go along. You begin to grit your teeth every time the descending bell noise happens.
This series is only for the most desperate of Planet of the Apes fans, perhaps the incarcerated or institutionalized. That's a shame, because it could have been good.