City of Ghosts, created by Elizabeth Ito, follows the members of the Ghost Club i.e. Zelda (August Nuñez), Thomas (Blue Chapman), Eva (Kikiour S'hai Muldrow), Peter (Michael Ren), and Jordan (Angel Chipagua), as they go through Los Angeles solving various supernatural encounters. And it’s through that process, they learn and teach us about the history associated with the physical and metaphysical elements of that place. It’s undoubtedly an education on building a sense of community while respecting every culture that resides within a society that’s presented in a very edible format. But more importantly, it’s one of the most soul-soothing shows in existence.
Oh my goodness! I cannot emphasise enough how much I needed City of Ghosts. I was on this marathon of watching movies and TV shows over the weekend. Some were good. Some were bad. But then there was WandaVision which absolutely crumbled me from the inside and left me wanting for some hugs, something that’s impossible now due to the damned pandemic. So, I had this Netflix animated show on my watchlist and I was wondering if this is the right time to watch after going through weeks of emotional and physical trauma. Spoiler alert! Yes, yes, it was the most accurate thing that I needed and as the title of this review suggests, it really did feel like a warm, sunny, and soft hug to the soul. Now, I can end the review here and just tell you to go watch it but I am going to spend some time gushing over it!
City of Ghosts is created by Elizabeth Ito. It’s directed by Elizabeth Ito, Ako Castuera, Bob Logan, Pendleton Ward, Luis Grane, and written by Ito, Joanne Shen, Logan, Ward, and Grane. The story is by Ito, Shen, Seo Kim, Castuera, Jesse Flint, Jenny Yang, Suzie Vlcek, Alex Cline, and Chloe Hsu. The storyboarding is by Ito, Castuera, Monica Ekabutr, Kim Lucyola Langi, Patrick McHale, Adam Muto, and Hsu. It’s executive produced by Ito, co-executive produced by Shen, line produced by Dayla Kennedy, along with associate producer Katie le Dain, and development producer Carolyn Bates. The photography is by Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin, music by Michael Andrews and Alex Thompson, casting by Linda Lamontagne, editing by Hugo Morales, art direction and production services by Chromosphere and TeamTO. It features the voices of August Nuñez as Zelda, Blue Chapman as Thomas, Kikiour S'hai Muldrow as Eva, Michael Ren as Peter, Angel Chipagua as Jordan, and more. Please sit through the credits!
City of Ghosts effortlessly talks about culture, history, and the importance of unity through the perspective of kids.
I think the term “meant for kids” has been misused to a great extent. Now, it means dumbing down things to such a level that there’s no connection between what’s happening on screen and what’s happening out there in the real world. Because the adults decided at some point that in order to protect kids from the horrors of the world i.e. discrimination, cultural appropriation, gentrification, erasure of history, they shouldn’t be exposed to it at all. When they become adults, they can handle it. And that’s so wrong because when all those “horrors of the world” hits you all at once, things get too overwhelming to handle, thereby leading to anxiety, confusion, and depression. So, it’s better to simplify the aforementioned topics and educate them for early age so that the urge to learn grows, which is something that the writers of the City of Ghosts clearly understand.
They don’t beat around the bush and make it clear and in the show’s reality, ghosts do exist. But their hauntings have so much more meaning than their peers in the genre. Without giving away any spoilers, one ghost is passionate about skating parks, another ghost is strict about food, and some other ghost is afraid that a language is going to go extinct because of modernisation. And the Ghost Club kind of creates this bridge between those who have passed away and those who inhabit their places and help them reach a middle ground where the history and the present can co-exist for the sake of a better and more inclusive future. I know I’m making this sound very serious and profound, which it is. However, it’s written very wittily, humourously, and when you heart it, you’ll feel that all of it is coming from a place of honesty.
Every single meticulously placed piece in City of Ghosts is so calming and smooth and did I mention calming?
I have not seen any behind-the-scenes footage of the show. What I am going to say is pure speculation. I think that the style that Ito and her team have chosen is an amalgamation of real-life footage and animated footage that has been hand-drawn on top of the real footage. Why? The rack of flip-flops in the episode titled Venice and the grass in the episode titled Tovaangar looked too real to be CGI and when the animation is added to it, you can notice the difference and the collage-esque vibe. But that’s not the only cool part. It serves a narrative purpose as well because one of the main motives of the show is to not detach the viewer from reality too much. So, the real elements preserve the essence of the places that viewers might have a connection with while also allowing them to enjoy the quirkiness of the animation.
The overall pacing of City of Ghosts is slow. But it’s very deliberate. I don’t use this term a lot but I have to break it out for this one. It almost feels like it slows down time. That too in a good way. Every episode is 20 minutes long but you feel like you’ve been basking in its sunny glow for an eternity and you just don’t want it to be over. From the sound design to the score, the camerawork, the animation style, everything adds to that feeling of serenity. And I cannot thank the makers enough for choosing to take this route because my-oh-my did I need it and I think that the world needs it too. We constantly keep talking about evolution and moving forward. However, after watching this, I am sure I won’t be the only one considering the move to strip things down, go back to our roots, and restart with the building blocks of our society
The voice acting in City of Ghosts is diverse in nature and so adorable that it’ll put a wholesome smile on your face!
If your heart doesn’t just melt at the sound of the voices of August Nuñez as Zelda, Blue Chapman as Thomas, Kikiour S'hai Muldrow as Eva, Michael Ren as Peter, and Angel Chipagua as Jordan, I very much doubt that you even have a heart. They sound so adorable that I was actually shedding tears for some reason. They were happy tears. Don’t worry. And that was the case not because they were being so naturally cute but also because they were saying such educational stuff while being so cute. Usually, when adults try to make kids talk about universal topics such as gentrification, racism, etc., it seems like they are being puppeteered. Do you know what I mean? However, here it feels like what they’re saying is coming out organically. There’s no doubt that a lot of that credit goes to the writers, but the voice actors deserve a lot more attention for simply being so genuine.
Here are some of the other voice actors who are in City of Ghosts: Isa Fabro, Judy Hayashi, Kuniko Yagi, Sandra Equihua, Daewon Song, Joash 'Bagel' Klassman, John Pham, Joanne Shen, Robert Logan, Gage Fensler, Teagan Meza, Darryl Moore, Barbara Morrison, Tomeicko Hawkins, Alex Bonifer, Honor Calderon, Craig Torres, Mercedes Dorame, Megan Dorame, L. Frank Manrique, Nancy Sekizawa, Zen Sekizawa, Eric De La Cruz, Adam Muto, Yulissa Maqueos, Felipe Lopez, Gala Porras-Kim, Kyung Soon Cho, and Michelle Paek. In my incredibly honest opinion, all of them are brilliant! I still haven’t figured out how animators make it seem like they’ve added in the stuttering and stammering as the characters are thinking like the actors, but it’s there. And that sense of spontaneity adds to the overall appeal of the show. Also, big props to the casting director for hiring the diverse cast to promote representation instead of opting for big names to boost the popularity of the show.
Final verdict.
I want Netflix to order 100,000 more seasons of City of Ghosts. Right now! If I am given the choice to live with one show for the rest of my goddamn life, it will be City of Ghosts. It’s the best show, in my opinion, and this is coming from someone who has just watched WandaVision and is a big fan of Dark. I think City of Ghosts is going to be my go-to IP whenever I am in need of a warm hug to my soul. This is the best! This is just the best. Please, do yourselves a favour and watch City of Ghosts and give it and its cast and crew the love, appreciation, and hugs that it rightfully deserves.
Cover artwork by Bhavya Poonia/Mashable India
