Daniel Radcliffe and 3 Other Reasons Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special Is a Masterpiece
Haven’t watched The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special? You are missing out, and here’s why.
If you're a fan of The Walking Dead, then you've likely seen or at least heard about The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special, released in 2017. Let's break down why it's so fantastically good.
A nod to Dale and Andrea's relationship
Remember those two from the early Walking Dead days? In the special, there's a nod to their relationship where Dale daydreams about their life together while he's being gnawed on by walkers.
In the TV series, Dale and Andrea never became a thing. But in the comics, they were a couple until Dale bought the farm. The creators gave us a nice little twist on that relationship in the special, a tip of the hat to the comics.
The original actors lent their voices for the special
What makes this special even more incredible is the voiceover work. A ton of the actual actors from The Walking Dead hopped in the recording booth to lend their voices to their animated counterparts.
We're talking about big names like Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, and Norman Reedus, just to name a few.
Some actors even pulled double duty. Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, and Steven Yeun voiced both their original characters and others. For example, Reedus voiced both Daryl and Dale.
The fun doesn't stop there, though. At the end of the special, there's this hilarious skit with Robert Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple, and Chris Hardwick. They're all voicing animated versions of themselves in a goofy Talking Dead parody.
The most surprising actor who made an appearance was none other than Daniel Radcliffe, who voiced Gareth, the leader of the Terminus cannibals, in a song-and-dance routine.
Adult Swim’s anime reference
Last but not least, there's a recurring gag throughout the special that's just too good not to mention. It revolves around Negan and Carl, particularly Negan's fascination with Carl's missing eye.
In one hilarious scene, Negan even uses Carl's empty eye socket as a golf hole. There's also a shout-out to the anime Inuyasha when Carl unveils his missing eye, and a powerful gust of wind reminiscent of Miroku's Wind Tunnel starts to pull in Negan and his trusty bat Lucille.