Max Driver goes interstellar with his review of RTÉ animation Holt.
The universe is mind-bogglingly vast, and even that is putting it mildly. If you set off right now, traveling at the speed of light, it would take you a very long time to travel the 93 billion light-years to the other side. So count yourself lucky that you’re already perfectly situated to enjoy what producer/director Trevor Courtney describes as “the greatest animation show in the universe!”
I spoke with Trevor at the Dublin premiere of Holt, where he reminisced about childhood Saturday mornings spent eating cereal and watching cartoons like He-Man, Dungeons & Dragons, and Transformers. In a world where YouTube Shorts are vying for our eyeballs, Trevor and the team at Igloo Animations are trying to carve out space for something a little more traditional, but still very, very fun.
Holt is an homage to the 1980s cartoons that Trevor loves to this day. Premiering this April on RTÉ2, this 26-episode fantasy adventure (ages 8 and upwards) is bursting with monsters, magic, and intergalactic mayhem.
With creative and comfortingly familiar animation, perfectly cast voice actors, and a deep but accessible plot, this show packs a real punch. “Monsters having fights were our favourite thing”, said Trevor when asked about what inspired him to make Holt. When I sat down in a packed Lighthouse cinema to watch a bunch of back-to-back episodes, I was transported to another world of awesomeness, and monster fights!
The throwback soundtrack from composer Paul Dowling sets the scene as Roo, Umba, and Metric join forces to transform into a super-being — Holt! and make their way back to their home planet after a school trip spaceship mishap. Oh, and they have to save the universe along the way. With just the right amount of Irishness sprinkled in so that we can all relate, Holt has something for both young and old.
Holt premiered on 7th April with double-bill episodes on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Kids.
Max Driver is a young actor and writer who lives in Kilkenny with his family and two miniature poodles. He has been in the arts since a very young age, previously a vocalist, performing in the Kings Theatre and the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City, and is currently studying acting at the Lir Academy in Dublin. A keen cinephile, Max runs a monthly movie review newsletter for friends and family, and is otherwise obsessing over his top four on Letterboxd.
