Carlos Ferrer has adapted Disney’s 1990s animated series Gargoyles into a short live-action fan film. The original Gargoyles focused on a group of the titular nocturnal creatures, led by the noble Goliath, who wake up in modern day New York after a thousand years of slumber. Though only active at night, the Gargoyles become the protectors of their new city and must balance fighting crime with adjusting to their new surroundings. Along the way, the Gargoyles earn the trust of a young police detective named Eliza who helps facilitate their night-time activities.
Running for a total of 78 episodes, Gargoyles proved to be a hit with kids and remains a cult favorite to this day. Despite being a cartoon, the series dealt with some relatively mature themes and utilized a surprisingly dark tone at times, which combined with sophisticated storytelling and historical influences to create a show that has lived on in the memory since its conclusion in 1997. Reports of the Mouse House developing a live-action movie adaptation of Gargoyles have popped up repeatedly over the years but unfortunately, nothing has ever come of the rumors.
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In the absence of an official cinematic outing for Gargoyles, Carlos Ferrer has made his own live-action interpretation of the franchise in the form of a fan film. The clip, which runs for around four and a half minutes, provides an epic Peter Jackson-esque introduction into the backstory of the Gargoyles before whipping the action over to modern day where police are chasing a violent criminal. The titular creatures awaken and Goliath swoops down to effortlessly deal with the evildoer. The film ends with the arrival of Eliza in her first Gargoyle encounter.
Due to improvements in filming technology, editing software and special effects, as well as websites like YouTube providing a free and easy-to-use distribution platform, the quality of fan-made movies has skyrocketed in recent years and Ferrer’s take on Gargoyles certainly continues this pattern. The location shots create an expansive sense of scale and the film’s animation and effects are very impressive, particularly for a fan-made effort. Of course, the most important component to nail is the look of Goliath and certainly, the visual appearance and feel of the protagonist is spot-on.
This Gargoyles fan film will surely only increase calls from the franchise’s loyal fanbase for Disney to revive the property and the clip proves that a live-action version of the cartoon could work if executed correctly. However, given that such a project has seemingly been stuck in development hell for the best part of twenty years, short films such as this may be the best Gargoyles fans can hope for.
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