An animated series of the entire franchise that does not in any way, shape, or form sugar coat just how bloody these stories got. I would watch it on loop.
I'd rather see them skip Redwall, Mattimeo, and Martin if it's gonna be a "well if it's a success we'll make more" kind of thing. Rather have a 4th book adapted once than have the first adapted twice.
Shame that we didn’t get Don Bluth to work on it. Maybe most animation executives (Fox at least) wanted to tone down darker and maybe wanted to be closer to Disney Renaissance rather than filling a niche after finishing Rats of NIMH.
As I've gotten into my 30s now, I realized Brian Jacques was in the same frame of mind as 1980s Don Bluth in that you don't speak down to kids nor do you try to sugar coat how dark and mean and harsh the world is. And when a character dies, they stay dead.
I'd guess this is why his stories always tend not to be far off in my mind. A kid reading about characters that could manipulate or cheat their way to victory or how some ended up dead unceremoniously. For Salamandastron!
One of the things I like about Jacques, from reading the man's own words in interviews and such, is that he makes no apologies for what he wrote. Like that one quote you showed, his good guys are good and his bad guys are bad, because that's the kind of story he wanted to write. He wasn't deconstructing the genre, or subverting it, or anything like that. He wanted to write a story of good triumphing over evil, so he did, and if you want something else, there are other books.
When i read books, thats all i want to read...i have TV and movies for other types of stories...when I get a book gimme a good guy and a bad guy and world for them to fight in
My uncle was in a folk band with Brian Jacques. They were called The Fishermen. This was before Redwall and my uncle was amazed when I told him how well known and regarded Jacques is now. Jacques used to write the lyrics and as you can tell by the name of the band he was particularly interested in water, the nautical, and, by extension England, its class relations, peril, and musicality - seems that are all over Redwall. As a kid, it felt like one of those things that only I knew about and it’s wonderful to see it so celebrated today
The Redwall series is one of the most underrated things I've ever seen. For how successful the books were in their day, hardly anyone I've met knows anything about the series. I didn't grow up with the series, but I have read all the books. I thought that the series overall was rather clunky, not a true, continous story nor an anthology, and not every single book lands quite well, but there is some fantastic stuff here. Mattimeo in particular is one of my favorite books that ive ever read. Like in the top 3.
It's interesting I think Mattimeo tends to always be up there as far as favorites in the series! I think as far as popularity redwall is super intersting because it's not like a giant harry potter but it's had pretty huge influence over the years, it's more popular than people realize I think!
I read almost all of them and yeah, a lot of them are really well done but he never really escaped the formula of the first 11 of them so after that you're getting into samey territory. Marlfox is the last one I'd consider good and not basically a reskin of previous stories. But those first 11 are great!
@@exitsexamined i can definitely agree with that. When you have a franchise that becomes so popular like Harry Potter, the marketing and surrounding products often obscure the original message. But with a thing like Redwall, it almost felt like a time capsule when reading it. Thats why I really love classic and older books, because they aren't chasing trends.
@@erikgilson1687 i can agree with you to an extent. I felt that Brian Jacques formula was already pretty much set early on, but there's a difference between formulaic and generic. Those early books would follow a basic recipe of young heroes, dangerous quests, and treacherous villains, but they would always add some spice to it. The later books not so much. Mind you, I dont hate the later books (except for rogue crew) and a few of them I really did like (Rakkety Tam), but most of them just felt stale, like I had eaten the same sandwich for 100th time. But yeah, those first 11 were the peak of gaming.
@@spenserwhite4603 That first question has a simple answer. The first Redwall book published (where the horses appear) was not initially intended to be published, and was written and published BEFORE he solidified the finer details of the Redwall world (thus why monks in Redwall initially couldn't marry at all, which gets ignored in later books, among other details).
Violence has a place in children's literature. Look at all the children's books that have lived on and endured. They never shy away from violence. People remember things that treat them with honesty and respect as real people. Trying to shield kids from violence never ends well. There's a time and a place for it and kids are more than capable of being taught that lesson.
I feel like kids books that shy away from violence, as long as it feels like it would have a place there and feel natural, but doesn't have it, are going for the dumb lesson that is so common that violence is never the answer and it never solves anything. Many times it isn't the answer but it absolutely has a place. That's how the world works, you cannot diplomacy your way out of every problem, sometimes somebody is going to bring violence to you and the only way that you can defend yourself from that and solve the problem is to meet it in kind. There are people who are violent and it is impossible to talk with them and reason them out of it. Look at world war II for example, were the allies supposed to just diplomacy their way out of that? No.
I found Redwall in my school library in 3rd grade. Being into animals and anything medieval it was a no brainer. I remember the librarian saying it was above my grade level but I proceeded to DEVOUR those massive books. Staying up too late to get in another 2-3 chapters, finishing and starting right over, bringing them on beach vacations - the softcovers that were my first purchases are basically taped up pulp now. I ended up collecting all the hardcovers as they came out for many of the following years and probably read them into early highschool. Cannot wait to introduce them to my kids.
This sounds so similar to my own story!! Only I was in fifth grade. To this day I keep those books in a prominent place on my bookshelf. It’s been 14 years since I read them but I still think about them almost daily. They’re a part of me!
The huge success of Bloomburrow, Magic the Gatherings recent set, shows how much love there still is for anthropomorphic animals for all ages. Redwall was fantastic to read as a kid and inspired me to write my own stories of brave mice fighting vicious beasts. Mouse Guard (gorgeous graphic novels) channels the same energy too. Long live the medieval micemen!
True. When I saw the spoilers for that set I was thinking, 'this is just Redwall with the wrong animals" I think I only got through 2, maybe 4 Redwall books and Redwall and Salamandastron were good but Martin the Warrior was at the cusp of when I was growing out of it and I don't think I finished the fourth if I had cracked one open. I dont' remember anything about it.
Great video essay! I'm a lifelong Redwall fan, and the now-retired former head admin for the official Redwall forum. Your love for the series is obvious! Each aspect of the series gets a moment to shine, and the entirety of the franchise is conveyed well. There are a number of Redwall podcasts out there, that you might be interested in. Full disclosure, I'm a regular contributor on Recorder on the Wall, the first Redwall podcast, but I think all of them have merit and are worth listening to. Thanks for helping to keep the fandom afloat!
Hey thanks so much for the kind words and your work too within the fandom! I can try linking some of the podcasts you mentioned in the description since I sadly didn't mention any! Any others aside from Recorder on the Wall?
@@exitsexamined Sure. There are two that are currently active: Abbey Archives and Books & Badgers. There's also Re:Redwall although they haven't posted anything in over a year.
Eulalia! As a kid I remember finding and loving the show on PBS and it being one of the first ones that really stuck with me for it’s deeper story and art style, and being really sad as it was one of the first shows I knew and cared about that got canceled. But then we found the books! I always struggled with literacy in school but Redwall was one of the few series I could never put down and wanted to read more. Then on long trips we would borrow the audiobook tapes and cds from our library so I had something to do in the car, starting my life long love of audiobooks. Brian Jacques is still one of my favorite narrators & authors (and cook, recently got the official cookbook and it’s amazing!) It really makes me happy that the fandom is still going strong and sharing the love and adventure of the Redwall world along with inspiring future artists and writers. (Side note; I was able to track down the “Songs of Redwall” cd awhile ago and I love it as bardcore background work music)
One of the greats, who will take his place among Peter Pan and Black Beauty and Watership Down. I cried when he died. He is, for the love of got, NOT a sex monster. He was a radio performer good at improvising songs, who started to write the amazing Redwall stories because he worked at a school for the blind. A world treasure. Mr. Jacques, thank you for so much for writing that is lyrical and rhythmic as well as intelligent.
I also shed tears when Jacques died. Certainly one of the undersung authors of my generation, probably because his books were never compellingly translated to another medium like film.
The Redwall animated series was my gateway to the books, with the Matthias and Martin books being my favourites, so the animated adaptation of the first book is particularly nostalgic to me. That being said, on rewatch it is cosy and earnest but didn’t quite capture the earthy, yet gritty atmosphere of the first book. Finding out the fandom has kept the franchise alive in so many ways is really heartwarming.
Great video! Loved the Redwall books growing up. I think Jacques' concept of what a "Warrior" is is one of those things that really stuck with me. In the Redwall books, being a "Warrior" does not mean being the strongest, looking for fights, or always winning. For Jacques', a Warrior is someone who, for most of their life, chooses to live in peace. They are gentle, compassionate, and try to solve problems with diplomacy and intelligence rather than violence. But they are also someone who is willing to take up the sword when negotiations fail and fight with courage for justice, freedom, and the well-being of others. I think, in media, where action heroes aren't always the most noble or praiseworthy individuals, having role models like Matthias and Martin was important for a youth growing up.
Recently listened to Taggerung again for the first time in probably fifteen years, and still cried at the end lol. Really cannot recommend the audiobooks enough. I think what resonates with ppl about Redwall in particular, is the sense of community and loyalty that all these disparate creatures have in comparison to the bleakness and isolation of modern real life.
The Long Patrol and Taggerung were two of the most important books of my childhood. Few things can make me tear up on command as hearing a leaf/grass whistle. I was telling my boyfriend how impactful the series was for me and went into vague, no-spoiler summary of the bench scene. Yes, I was crying. I often explain Redwall as "Game of Thrones with woodland critters, written for kids." Good will triumph, but it's never easy nor clean. You have to fight for it, and not all escape unharmed.
I'm quite surprised that russian redwall fandom is so famous haha! I've browsed the website for quite some time, but mostly the text role playing sections. Honestly I was sure that foreigners' websites must have been as devoted as ours! Cool to hear that our people got famous because of the quality content, 🥰 Btw as a woman (a girl, then) my favourite book in the series was always Marielle of Redwall! Though te Long Guard is probably my second favourite because of all the dramatic self sacrifices of the hares. Beautiful series, I still keep the books so close to my heart, they definitely nade me the person I am today.
I was super surprised to find the russian site as well, but I think it's just goes to show how universal the series is. And agree it was great that Jacques wrote Marielle, I think many fans count it as one of the best in the series!
On the topic of villains in this series, consider that all the 'bad' animals are real world predators of the 'good' animals. Because of the clear divide in the natural world, Jacques' simply carried it over into his stories. Love this video, and I am looking forward to reading these to my sons in the next year or so!
That's an interesting point! Do rats and ferrets eat mice and hedgehogs though? I'm genuinely curious, I always felt so bad for the rats and ferrets because they are really cute in there own way (irl not in the books haha) Thanks for bringing Redwall to a new generation!
@@exitsexamined Ferrets, yes. Rats...hmm...I don't think mouse would be their first choice, but they do eat each other when desperate. Regardless, this video made me very happy.
Eh, rats will eat about anything and will hunt to feed. What about the badgers tho? That was my thought process on the whole thing too, but I always wondered why badgers were the "good" predators/vermin
And why are mice always good guys? Real mice are a plague that eats all your stuff and poops on it as a final insult. Anyone who tried to store birdseed or extra blankets in their garage knows what I mean.
God I want a true to books adaptation so bad. This was my first fantasy series ever and it's still my happy place. I love this world, these characters, these stories. Please Netflix, don't dumb it down. I listened to the first audiobook when I was 9 years old and the brutal and scary moments only made me love it more. It's truly one of the most unique series I've ever read. Whimsical, childlike, but still bloody and at times horrific. How many authors can achieve that? RIP Brian Jacques. I cried when I heard you had passed. Thank you for leaving this enduring, amd endearing legacy for us. 🙏💓
Oh man this warms my Redwall-loving heart, these books were such a big part of my childhood! I remember my mom being impressed that I could read the mole speech 😂 Thank you for the video!!
I was introduced to the works of Brian Jacques from a friend of mine during high school. At that time, Christopher Paolini, author of Eragon, was one of my favorite authors and one of my biggest literary influences then as now, but after high school, I discovered that Jacques was one of Paolini's influences on Eragon so I finally decided to give Redwall a try. I was especially sold at the prospect that he'd narrated the audiobook with a full cast and loved his performance and immediately fell in love with the Mossflower series so much so that Brian Jacques has become not only one of my favorite authors but also one of my literary influences. He really knew how to paint a picture with words as he put it and I have not only all 22 of the Redwall books, but also his Castaways of the Flying Dutchman Trilogy. I would describe Brian Jacques as the middle ground between J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis in terms of styles and themes.
Redwall hooked me with the animated series when I was 3. I later rediscovered it in first grade when exploring my school library. I was immediately hooked, and I've been obsessed ever since. I'm currently rereading Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker. I'm determined to own the entire series so I have it available for my own children. Brian Jacques created a true masterpiece series of children's literature.
i read probably a dozen redwall books as a kid. i took in all the big series; h potter, narnia, fellowship, but nothing made my heart sing like redwall. brian really understands what makes a good person want to be strong. to protect their loved ones and the good times and the places that contain them.
@@exitsexamined for my dollar taggerung is one of the best hero's journey tales in history, although it doesnt get as much love being apart from the main narrative time wise
Yeah. That series was redwall for me. I saw a full page ad for Martin the warrior in analog magazine in the 90s and fell immediately in love. Found it at my scholastic book Fair and never looked back
This series absolutely slaps. I remember reading these in early middle school, and then my parents discovered them. We were scouring the local library sites and then arguing/making deals over who got to read which book first.
Speaking of Redwall fan projects, I distinctly remember way back when that there was actually a group of fans (the same ones behind the short-lived Redwall Abridged Series) who wanted to, at first, make an entirely fab made Season 4 of the Redwall cartoon, adapting Mossflower. Then they decided instead to go for a fanfilm, and then I think at some point wanted to make it an entirely original story set in the Redwall world. And I know this, because I was actually once cast to do the vocal noises for The Gloomer, the feral water-rat from Mossflower, as well as various background characters. Sadly as far as I know nothing ever came of it.
I discovered Redwall in my teens in the mid-90s. I was up to the 5th book, by the time I had my first kid. And I read the books to her when she was a baby. Many years later I got to meet Brian Jaques. He was in L.A. doing a book reading/signing at a children's book store. He was soooooo sweet and kind. He actually took the time out from talking to all the kids and parents, to give me some great feedback on my own anthro series I was working on. RIP. This is a great overview of the franchise!
Thank you for featuring Redwall! It's such a nostalgic series and universe for me. We've got lively communities, adjacent projects, and wonderful fans still! Having worked on the Lost Legends Games, and doing my own Redwall-esque projects, it has made a huge impact on my life!
@@exitsexamined My contribution was pretty small because I was also attending university at the same time as development. I did some tapestry art that is seen towards the end of the Anthology and other bits here and there scattered throughout, so not a ton, but it was really fun to contribute to something "official" of a fandom that was so near and dear to me. I love the people I got to work with on it, and really, I just want to continue making Redwall games, though because Netflix has the rights now, I'm not sure of the future of Redwall games. Otherwise, I hope to make some Redwall-adjacent games that fans of the series might enjoy. Nowadays, I make tapestries inspired by the series as a side gig.
I never had the chance to read these books as a kid. Couldn’t afford them, and they were always checked out at the library. I’m glad the series was as big of a deal as I thought
I fell in love with Redwall in Kindergarten (around age 6). We got to check out books from our school library, and one day I decided to find the biggest, hardest book on the shelves to read. I came upon Mariel of Redwall, and with its relatively small print and hundreds of pages, it seemed like a real challenge. I had to return and recheck it out several times, but I made it through, and the story of the mouse maiden who overcame so much with a knotted rope lodged itself into my brain. I read every Redwall book I could get my hands on for the next decade. A truly formative series for me.
Ahh I see...With the arrival of autumn, it's time to return to those stone walls of the Abbey and enjoy a pint of October Ale once more. But in all seriousness, this book series was my childhood and remains as one of my favorites to this day, which inspired my love of writing! Time to dust off the old volumes and take up my role as Recorder!
I randomly started watching the whole season 1 of redwall here in youtube and this video showed up on my feed. I started watching it, sounds pretty good. Then I went to check your other videos... samurai champloo... outlaw star... the warriors... dude... This feels like Christmas to me lol subbed.
I’m so glad I stumbled across this video. Redwall was my MCU/Harry Potter in terms of how passionate about it, second only to Star Wars. It remains one of my favorite series to this day, glad to hear someone else talking about it and sharing memories of this excellent series.
Honestly just so cool to find other people out there who had this incredible series be as formative experience as it was to me, thank you for being you!
I read Redwall and Mossflower in middle school. I've never been good about waiting for books in series to come out, so I kind of petered out after Mattimeo. I'm excited to restart the series at 50 because my daughter is in 4th grade and would totally dig them.
Oh that's so awesome, you're in for a treat, there are some good ones in there after Mattimeo! If you have time let me know how the series feels on a reread, must be interesting to come back to the series after awhile
@@exitsexamined Well, holy smokes, that's 35 years ago I last read them....? Ugh. Lol. I'll try to remember to come back. But I subscribed after looking at your video history (shocker, I'm a grognard D&D nerd), so hopefully releases will help me remember this is the channel that reminded me about Brian Jacques! Now do all my other childhood middle grade loves! (Dark is Rising, think you've already done Earthsea, The Tripods trilogy, the Elfquest comics, The Lone Wolf adventure path books, and then all the David Eddings and Piers Anthony you can stomach - I've heard unfortunately those last two didn't hold up so great). Unless I can also interest you in newer stuff that I recommend to my students now. (Ugh, and most of that is 10-15 years old at this point!)
Redwall was also a significant part of my childhood. The audiobooks were fantastic, and I'll say it's because of the actors' commitment to the roles. Necessary for children's books, and they nailed it!
I had a hard time getting into reading when I was younger, but I found this series when I was in middle school. I found and read Marlfox first as part of a book report thing I had to do. I started trying to convince my parents to let me buy the rest over the next few years. Triss was the most current one when I started, and I snagged it and the original Redwall book at one of those school book fare things. I read all but Bellmaker by the time I stopped, with Rackety Tam being the final book I read. I was a teenager by then, and I sort of fell off the books. You mention in the video how simple they are, and that was honestly a lot of the reason, but it was a fun three or so year kick to read them.
Oh man, I used to LOVE Redwall as a kid. I haven’t thought about it in years, but this brought back a flood of good memories. I might have to get a copy of Redwall and get back into it!
Read all of these books 3 or 4 times a piece. I stumbled upon my first one on my brother's bookshelf after he moved out, it was a hard back with no pictures on it, just the name on the binding written in gold. I'll forever remember Taggerung, as my Introduction into the book series. My favorite book being Rackety Tam, this book series stirs a lot of emotion and memories.
One thing I remember was how tight knit the Deviantart Redwall community was in the late 2000s and early 2010s. We had a lot of talented artists, writers, and creators, and were actually in the process of creating a fan-made Mossflower movie adaptation, though this was eventually shut down after Jacques' death at the request of his family's estate. Still good memories from the time, even if many of us have since grown and moved on to other projects and fandoms. Glad to see elements of the community are still trucking along! Won't ever forget finding Triss in the library and falling in love with the series from then on :)
Redwall has always been one of those series where I was more aware of its influence than I was of the books themselves. When Magic the Gathering released its Bloomburrow set, it reawakened my love for the “little woodland creatures on an adventure” fascination, and I FINALLY sat down to read the original Redwall. I loved it, of course, and I intend to read more, but what I really want is a small exploration RPG set in Mossflower. Something like a small scale Skyrim.
I think a ton of people are getting back into these type of books and Bloomburrow is a big reason why. I haven't played Magic in a while but maybe I'll check it out. How is it?
@@exitsexamined Honestly, Bloomburrow got me to pick up Magic again after years of ignoring it. Didn’t like the direction Wizards and Hasbro was taking with the rate of new sets. BUT, Bloomburrow has been excellent, and the more experienced players I’ve talked to have all confirmed that Bloomburrow is an excellent set to get reacquainted with the game again.
Redwall is a phase we all went through and eventually outgrew. As we aged through our idealism and onto our cynicism we left behind the simple stories of our childhood. Hopefully we took the lessons Jacques was trying to teach and integrated them into our lives. I’ve kept my collection for more than 30 years and my kids will be available to them when they hit the appropriate age. Truly foundational western literature.
I saw one of my friends reading it in middle school one day and checked one of the books out of the library the next day. I'm 31 and own every single book of the series and I cannot wait to show them to my 5 year old son when gets older. He is my favorite author and I did many projects on him in school. I'll forever miss him and hope that legend is resting in peace 💚
Never thought in all my years I’d see a Redwall TH-cam retrospective 😮 I read the books all through elementary and middle school, and Brian was still actively writing at the time. I also read the first two Flying Dutchman books he came out with (I believe it ended up being a trilogy if I’m not mistaken). Then I remember finding out in my early 20’s that he’d passed away some time while I was in high school, and I’d never realized it. I’m just settling in to the vid; hopefully this will be a good watch 👍
I got into it because of the 90s serie, and loved it. I found it was the best show I have watched as a kid. It was serious and dramatic, with many beloved characters dying in gruesome ways while keeping child thems so that you never knew what would happen. The villain was scary and you really wanted him to fail, and Matthias was a fantastic character.
This is a series I sadly didn't get into as a kid but wish I did. And now with children of my own, I have another chance to do so! But will say I'd love for there to be an awesome animated series of all the books.
At a book fair in the 90s, I was drawn to the Salmandastron book cover so I took a risk and bought. The rest, as they say, is history. I was a die hard fan from there on and loved every minute of reading those books. True treasures.
My brother and I had the build your abbey kit. My brother also started a (now defunct) chat-based Redwall fan RPG when he was in high school called The Fortress of Rivenwood and it did see a small but loyal following in its heyday.
If anyone were to ever make a Redwall game, there was never a more perfect match than Vanillaware. Seeing shops run by bunnies, a 3-way fight between the player, Wolves, and Bears, with the place all being after each other because of a Rat gave me insane Redwall vibes in Unicorn Overlord. Was a very bizarre "holy crap, I remember" moment there.
I don't want to get you hyped up for nothing, but just the other week I saw a trailer for a game called "Hawthorn" that was basically Redwall. It even had October ale.
I just wanted to say- your videos are excellent and you deserve way more subs. Seems like we read most of the same series growing up and these videos have been amazing!
Hey thank you so much for the kind words I really appreciate it. Honestly just super cool to find so many people who read the same books as me growing up haha making up for all the times in school people had no idea what I was talking about haha
I collected these books religiously, I was drawn to it by the animals and the aesthetic of the world on the covers and I absolutely loved these books. I was the only person who knew about them and I never met anyone who knew about them. I remember even in school we got asked to give a presentation on our favourite author and book and I chose Brian Jacques and Redwall, made me really sad when I found out he was dead while doing research on him. This video is heartwarming though, never knew so many others loved this series growing up as well. The idea of Redwall was always a warm image in my mind growing up, a peaceful and fair place. I remember very little of the details of the stories but I remember how they felt.
It's been a long time since I've returned to Redwall. I was probably in my preteen ages when I discovered these books. I could not get enough of the writing style. I loved the depiction of animals in a medieval fantasy setting unlike anything I'd encountered before. He put so much description into the foods the characters ate and the riddles and songs shared. For Brian Jacques to have imagined such rich realms as Redwall and its surrounding countries, I think his books would probably flourish again during this period of unrest and civil distrust. The Redwall books respected my intelligence as a kid to comprehend the many themes it had and the characters who represented them. Peace co-existed with the battles between characters' morality and literal fights to the death. There are heroes to believe in, even if they're fictional. There are bad animals whose motives are clear cut and terrible to see played out, but they all the more contrast the good animals who show children it's not impossible to win against evil. The world has become more jaded over time while these time capsules of stories remain as they are and ready to invite anyone to a world where animals form communities and look out for one another. That was something I thought was cool as a kid that there was an abbey where regardless of who you were, you were welcome to come there, feast, rest, recover, and prepare for the best and worst of times. Thanks for making this video essay. :)
These were my favorite books as a kid. I found it though the animated series. I woke my parents up early every Saturday (sorry mom and dad) to watch it. I was distraught when Brian Jacques died. I still love them even though I don't read them as often as I once did. Marlfox, Mariel of Redwall, and Mossflower are my favorite.
I loved the Redwall books as a child, I loved pouring over the cover art and in universe maps. I had an audiotape of Redwall read by Jacques himself and the work was completely brought to life by his warm scouse accent, I’ll never forget him speaking in the Mole dialect and all the feasting descriptions!! Can’t wait to show them my own son when he is old enough.
I loved this! Fellow badger simp here 😂 and wildcat fan! I grew up on Redwall and eventually fell off because of the formulaic format of the books, but still have so much fondness for the series and even got into Mouse Guard because they reminded me of Redwall. I'm super interested in seeing what you uncover if you decide to do an iceberg video!
Cluny "The Scourge" is just an awesome villain, plus he has such a cool design. Probably the best villain of the series, Slagar "the Cruel" being second best. I have to say Redwall introduced what I like to call "Redwall Moments" where characters sit down & eat where the food has a good amount of detail/festivities are described/characters purposefully sit down to enjoy downtime
It's wild how dark this series got despite being literally the most cozy series ever written PTSD, flaying alive, torture, slavery, death (LOTS of death, some of it spontaneous and merciless, unfair even)
I think it was cool that Jacques didn't shy away from that stuff, I mean in children's books sometimes it can be a little too fluffy and personally I appreciated how the characters had to fight not without sacrifices for their little slice of redwall peace
I discovered this series in my early 20s and read all of them. I still have the books. I read Redwall and Mattimeo as bedtime stories to my daughter when she was 8. I'm hoping it will be a series she picks up when she finishes up Harry Potter.
I had to read Redwall for extra credit for middle school English class and I loved it so much I started reading the rest of the series. The Long Patrol is hands down my favorite.
I remember this game called overgrowth with a humanoid animals that fought. And on the website it had a couple of short comics that were kinda graphic but had a good story and each displayed the different species that were in the game. As a kid it was so damn awesome and I wished it didn’t die off like it did. You should definitely check them out
My first book was Martin the Warrior, someone lost it at my workplace, and after a year they were gonna toss it out and I claimed it and, well, had to read more.
I heard the audiobook for Mossflower first, when I was about nine. I was instantly in love. There is such a great blend of humor and comfort and heroic, bloody battle in each book. I'm re-reading them now, and looking forward to the last three books, which I haven't read.
@exitsexamined Last Christmas, I was gifted the entire set, plus the cookbook. Hands down my favorite gift of the year. I've made it to Marlfox, so I'm nearly on the back half!
These books were my middle school. Legend of Luke was my favorite. My dear friend and I would read them together, and I amassed a collection of ALL but the last book, the Rogue Crew. I sadly don't know where those book went, but they were beloved. We even bought the cookbook and made a Redwall feast for our bookclub! We went to an author talk of his at a Barnes and Noble and it was fantastic. I asked him how he chose his Vermin, as I was always fond of ferrets and weasels and wanted to see them be good. Unfortunately, these are considered pest creatures on farms in the UK, so they were Vermin. Mr. Jacques was a major influence on me as a writer, and while I'm not anything other than an amateur, the fact that so many of his books had the same form- of different POV characters converging upon a great battle- it was a fantastic lesson in how to structure a story. I guess I did "outgrow" his books in a fashion, seized as I was by other fantasy books such as the Hobbit, Children of Hurin, and the Silmarllion (Yeah, I skipped LotR for the Children of fucking Hurin). But Redwall is still some of the best work I have had the pleasure of reading, and it is great to return to that space if only for a little while.
While not the first series that I was really into. . . Redwall absolutely WAS the first series that made me want to be a writer and started me down the path that I'm on today. Also, I can never read/reread a Redwall book without a chunk of bread, hunk of cheese and sausage, and a big old glass of some sort of fruit juice to pretend to be Straw'bee Cordial!
every single day i think about redwall. every single day. thank you for making this video edit: watched the whole video and i loved it! i was first introduced to redwall as a little kid when my brother and i rented some of the animated show from our local library. I only really got into the books when i was 10. My brother unexpectedly passed from leukemia. I was at a low point and my school’s librarian recommended it to me. I fell in love with the series! Would take my copy of mattiemeo with me everywhere! Give em blood and vinegar!!! (also please make an ice berg PLEASE!!)
I love Redwall! Grew up reading many of the books, my personal favorite has to be Marlfox. I would say it definitely influenced me in the way I run my TTRPG's, the kinds of games, shows and media I enjoy and more or less the way I write scenarios and stories.
I read the entirety of Redwall from end of 5th grade through 6th, or at least, what had been published through 2001 😅 kept me pretty busy! My teacher was like, "maybe you should diversify?" And I was like, "NO." 😂 the love I still hold for this series is real. Plus, MtW was the first piece of fiction to break my heart, and tbh I've never wholly forgiven Brian Jacques for that one **cries in Laterose**
This and LoTR were my favorite things when I was young. But my favorite part about Redwall was the audio books. The full cast narration and music are amazing! I still listen to them on audible today!
My first book is special to me. Growing up, I had a very difficult time reading, but the special teacher I had helping me introduced me to the hobbit. Ever since that day, I became an avid reader. When I heard she had passed away, I said a little prayer and thanked her.
Love Redwall. I'll never forget one time in 7th grade during SSR (sustained silent reading - designated 30 minutes where the entire school was... reading silently). I was reading a Redwall book, and got to a funny line that I just couldn't stop laughing at. And then it became one of those things where you're not even laughing because it's funny, you're laughing because you're extremely embarrassed about the fact that you can't stop laughing, and you want to die. The line was "Yurn be rosty nose!" Iirc the character meant to say "You must be Rose!" Don't know why it got me so bad.
I was too old for Redwall, but I loved reading Watership Down, Duncton Wood and the VERY dark Dr Rat 🐀 back in the late 70s. Even the book version of Fantastic Mr Fox has this vibe. I have since discovered Redwall and am going to read it ASAP.
This was my childhood. The tv show got me into the books and my parents were happy to get me each new book as it got me to read. I can’t think of another series that was better at world building. I loved these books (and now will get the audiobooks now that I know Brian did some of them). As an adult in today’s world, thank you for doing this video.
It's honestly my pleasure, just so cool to find other people into Redwall, my 6th grade self who had ZERO friends who knew what this series was about is finally revenged
Never read these but used to watch the movie a bunch at my grandparents house, i had completely forgotten about it! Having Dr. Frank N. Furter voice one of these characters wouldve been so cool.
In 1st-5th grades, my school had the Accelerated Reading computer program. You read a book, took a quiz on the book, and were assigned points. The more points you got, the more prizes or grades you received. I HATED this. All I wanted to read were the Eyewitness picture books and this one giant tome about the Vietnam War. None of these were on AR, so my grades suffered, and I was relegated to a dumb kid with ADD. Then we moved to another state. In 6th grade, I picked up the Redwall series and fell in love. I remembered the animated show on PBS, so it was easy for me to follow the story as I already knew what was coming. I soon read as many of them as I could. I took AR tests on all of them and scored 100% every time. I was finally engaged in reading! We were a religious family, and my dad insisted I read the Bible in the King James' Anglish. This prepared me to read far above my reading level so long as it was knights, medieval, and swords. RIP Bryan Jaqcues, the realest one
An animated series of the entire franchise that does not in any way, shape, or form sugar coat just how bloody these stories got. I would watch it on loop.
Now I'm thinking of like an anime version haha
I'd rather see them skip Redwall, Mattimeo, and Martin if it's gonna be a "well if it's a success we'll make more" kind of thing. Rather have a 4th book adapted once than have the first adapted twice.
Redwall: The Anime would be insane. I'm imagining something with the exaggerated medieval combat of Vinland Saga told over multiple seasons.
Shame that we didn’t get Don Bluth to work on it.
Maybe most animation executives (Fox at least) wanted to tone down darker and maybe wanted to be closer to Disney Renaissance rather than filling a niche after finishing Rats of NIMH.
Watership down?
As I've gotten into my 30s now, I realized Brian Jacques was in the same frame of mind as 1980s Don Bluth in that you don't speak down to kids nor do you try to sugar coat how dark and mean and harsh the world is. And when a character dies, they stay dead.
facts
I'd guess this is why his stories always tend not to be far off in my mind. A kid reading about characters that could manipulate or cheat their way to victory or how some ended up dead unceremoniously. For Salamandastron!
Very well put.
@@thorinhannahs4614EUILLAAA!!
I didn't even realize how much this book probably shaped how I look at the world.
One of the things I like about Jacques, from reading the man's own words in interviews and such, is that he makes no apologies for what he wrote. Like that one quote you showed, his good guys are good and his bad guys are bad, because that's the kind of story he wanted to write. He wasn't deconstructing the genre, or subverting it, or anything like that. He wanted to write a story of good triumphing over evil, so he did, and if you want something else, there are other books.
and the pendulum has swung so far into the edgy that thats now refreshing and counter culture 😂 wild ride
When i read books, thats all i want to read...i have TV and movies for other types of stories...when I get a book gimme a good guy and a bad guy and world for them to fight in
For RedWall! One of the most prominent writers of our age. Brian Jacques was an absolute treasure.
My uncle was in a folk band with Brian Jacques. They were called The Fishermen. This was before Redwall and my uncle was amazed when I told him how well known and regarded Jacques is now. Jacques used to write the lyrics and as you can tell by the name of the band he was particularly interested in water, the nautical, and, by extension England, its class relations, peril, and musicality - seems that are all over Redwall.
As a kid, it felt like one of those things that only I knew about and it’s wonderful to see it so celebrated today
Oh cool! What did Jacques play?
@ vocals! I have some song lyrics and poems he wrote that my uncle gave me which I doubt have seen much light of day
The Redwall series is one of the most underrated things I've ever seen. For how successful the books were in their day, hardly anyone I've met knows anything about the series. I didn't grow up with the series, but I have read all the books. I thought that the series overall was rather clunky, not a true, continous story nor an anthology, and not every single book lands quite well, but there is some fantastic stuff here. Mattimeo in particular is one of my favorite books that ive ever read. Like in the top 3.
It's interesting I think Mattimeo tends to always be up there as far as favorites in the series! I think as far as popularity redwall is super intersting because it's not like a giant harry potter but it's had pretty huge influence over the years, it's more popular than people realize I think!
I read almost all of them and yeah, a lot of them are really well done but he never really escaped the formula of the first 11 of them so after that you're getting into samey territory. Marlfox is the last one I'd consider good and not basically a reskin of previous stories. But those first 11 are great!
For me it was the How to Train your Dragon Books
@@exitsexamined i can definitely agree with that. When you have a franchise that becomes so popular like Harry Potter, the marketing and surrounding products often obscure the original message. But with a thing like Redwall, it almost felt like a time capsule when reading it. Thats why I really love classic and older books, because they aren't chasing trends.
@@erikgilson1687 i can agree with you to an extent. I felt that Brian Jacques formula was already pretty much set early on, but there's a difference between formulaic and generic. Those early books would follow a basic recipe of young heroes, dangerous quests, and treacherous villains, but they would always add some spice to it. The later books not so much. Mind you, I dont hate the later books (except for rogue crew) and a few of them I really did like (Rakkety Tam), but most of them just felt stale, like I had eaten the same sandwich for 100th time. But yeah, those first 11 were the peak of gaming.
I would kill for a Redwall Iceberg video
Honestly would be so much fun to make! I might do it I'll let you know!
Why do horses appear only once?
What happened to the bats?
Where do the dairy products come from?
Why do horses appear only once?
What happened to the bats?
Where do the dairy products come from?
Horses in book 1 only@@spenserwhite4603because it wqs basically a One off story
@@spenserwhite4603 That first question has a simple answer. The first Redwall book published (where the horses appear) was not initially intended to be published, and was written and published BEFORE he solidified the finer details of the Redwall world (thus why monks in Redwall initially couldn't marry at all, which gets ignored in later books, among other details).
Violence has a place in children's literature. Look at all the children's books that have lived on and endured. They never shy away from violence. People remember things that treat them with honesty and respect as real people. Trying to shield kids from violence never ends well. There's a time and a place for it and kids are more than capable of being taught that lesson.
The first battle I read about in a fantasy book was the battle of the five armies and that’s after Smaug the dragon burns lake town.
Reading about a rat lieutenant getting skewered in his boss' tent goes so hard when you're 9 years old.
I feel like kids books that shy away from violence, as long as it feels like it would have a place there and feel natural, but doesn't have it, are going for the dumb lesson that is so common that violence is never the answer and it never solves anything. Many times it isn't the answer but it absolutely has a place. That's how the world works, you cannot diplomacy your way out of every problem, sometimes somebody is going to bring violence to you and the only way that you can defend yourself from that and solve the problem is to meet it in kind. There are people who are violent and it is impossible to talk with them and reason them out of it. Look at world war II for example, were the allies supposed to just diplomacy their way out of that? No.
@@nobody2021 The Allies could have easily diplomacied their way out of that. I'd recommend the book Human Smoke as a starting place
@@kabuki7038 Germany maybe, Japan not a chance
Love all the positive redwall videos coming out lately
Oh what else has there been? Would love to check it out!
Hopefully it means a movie or a series of some sort in the future.
I the bloomburrow set from mtg may be helping it resurface.
I found Redwall in my school library in 3rd grade. Being into animals and anything medieval it was a no brainer. I remember the librarian saying it was above my grade level but I proceeded to DEVOUR those massive books. Staying up too late to get in another 2-3 chapters, finishing and starting right over, bringing them on beach vacations - the softcovers that were my first purchases are basically taped up pulp now. I ended up collecting all the hardcovers as they came out for many of the following years and probably read them into early highschool. Cannot wait to introduce them to my kids.
This sounds so similar to my own story!! Only I was in fifth grade. To this day I keep those books in a prominent place on my bookshelf. It’s been 14 years since I read them but I still think about them almost daily. They’re a part of me!
The huge success of Bloomburrow, Magic the Gatherings recent set, shows how much love there still is for anthropomorphic animals for all ages. Redwall was fantastic to read as a kid and inspired me to write my own stories of brave mice fighting vicious beasts. Mouse Guard (gorgeous graphic novels) channels the same energy too. Long live the medieval micemen!
There's also a board game I'd like to mention that gives off a similar fantasy vibe, Root. Definitely recommend checking it out.
True. When I saw the spoilers for that set I was thinking, 'this is just Redwall with the wrong animals" I think I only got through 2, maybe 4 Redwall books and Redwall and Salamandastron were good but Martin the Warrior was at the cusp of when I was growing out of it and I don't think I finished the fourth if I had cracked one open. I dont' remember anything about it.
Mice and Mystics is a good one too
Great video essay! I'm a lifelong Redwall fan, and the now-retired former head admin for the official Redwall forum. Your love for the series is obvious! Each aspect of the series gets a moment to shine, and the entirety of the franchise is conveyed well.
There are a number of Redwall podcasts out there, that you might be interested in. Full disclosure, I'm a regular contributor on Recorder on the Wall, the first Redwall podcast, but I think all of them have merit and are worth listening to.
Thanks for helping to keep the fandom afloat!
Hey thanks so much for the kind words and your work too within the fandom! I can try linking some of the podcasts you mentioned in the description since I sadly didn't mention any!
Any others aside from Recorder on the Wall?
@@exitsexamined Sure. There are two that are currently active: Abbey Archives and Books & Badgers. There's also Re:Redwall although they haven't posted anything in over a year.
Eulalia! As a kid I remember finding and loving the show on PBS and it being one of the first ones that really stuck with me for it’s deeper story and art style, and being really sad as it was one of the first shows I knew and cared about that got canceled. But then we found the books! I always struggled with literacy in school but Redwall was one of the few series I could never put down and wanted to read more. Then on long trips we would borrow the audiobook tapes and cds from our library so I had something to do in the car, starting my life long love of audiobooks. Brian Jacques is still one of my favorite narrators & authors (and cook, recently got the official cookbook and it’s amazing!) It really makes me happy that the fandom is still going strong and sharing the love and adventure of the Redwall world along with inspiring future artists and writers. (Side note; I was able to track down the “Songs of Redwall” cd awhile ago and I love it as bardcore background work music)
Eulalia!
F in the chat for Rockjaw Grang.
"EEEEUUUUULLLLAAAALLLLIIIIAAAA!"
@@18Hongo "Even in sight of Dark Forest gates, Rockjaw Grang was a perilous hare."
One of the greats, who will take his place among Peter Pan and Black Beauty and Watership Down. I cried when he died. He is, for the love of got, NOT a sex monster. He was a radio performer good at improvising songs, who started to write the amazing Redwall stories because he worked at a school for the blind.
A world treasure. Mr. Jacques, thank you for so much for writing that is lyrical and rhythmic as well as intelligent.
I also shed tears when Jacques died. Certainly one of the undersung authors of my generation, probably because his books were never compellingly translated to another medium like film.
The Redwall animated series was my gateway to the books, with the Matthias and Martin books being my favourites, so the animated adaptation of the first book is particularly nostalgic to me.
That being said, on rewatch it is cosy and earnest but didn’t quite capture the earthy, yet gritty atmosphere of the first book. Finding out the fandom has kept the franchise alive in so many ways is really heartwarming.
I absolutely loved the long patrol. It’s what got me hooked
Great video! Loved the Redwall books growing up. I think Jacques' concept of what a "Warrior" is is one of those things that really stuck with me. In the Redwall books, being a "Warrior" does not mean being the strongest, looking for fights, or always winning. For Jacques', a Warrior is someone who, for most of their life, chooses to live in peace. They are gentle, compassionate, and try to solve problems with diplomacy and intelligence rather than violence. But they are also someone who is willing to take up the sword when negotiations fail and fight with courage for justice, freedom, and the well-being of others. I think, in media, where action heroes aren't always the most noble or praiseworthy individuals, having role models like Matthias and Martin was important for a youth growing up.
Recently listened to Taggerung again for the first time in probably fifteen years, and still cried at the end lol. Really cannot recommend the audiobooks enough. I think what resonates with ppl about Redwall in particular, is the sense of community and loyalty that all these disparate creatures have in comparison to the bleakness and isolation of modern real life.
Taggerung was my favorite then and certainly still hard to forget now.
The Long Patrol and Taggerung were two of the most important books of my childhood. Few things can make me tear up on command as hearing a leaf/grass whistle. I was telling my boyfriend how impactful the series was for me and went into vague, no-spoiler summary of the bench scene. Yes, I was crying.
I often explain Redwall as "Game of Thrones with woodland critters, written for kids." Good will triumph, but it's never easy nor clean. You have to fight for it, and not all escape unharmed.
I'm quite surprised that russian redwall fandom is so famous haha! I've browsed the website for quite some time, but mostly the text role playing sections. Honestly I was sure that foreigners' websites must have been as devoted as ours! Cool to hear that our people got famous because of the quality content, 🥰
Btw as a woman (a girl, then) my favourite book in the series was always Marielle of Redwall! Though te Long Guard is probably my second favourite because of all the dramatic self sacrifices of the hares. Beautiful series, I still keep the books so close to my heart, they definitely nade me the person I am today.
I was super surprised to find the russian site as well, but I think it's just goes to show how universal the series is. And agree it was great that Jacques wrote Marielle, I think many fans count it as one of the best in the series!
I see Martin the Warrior, I click! For Redwall!!!
Redwall is legit on Harry Potter level of importance for my childhood
Harry ain't got nothing on Martin and Mathius
@@nicklaserbeam Martin beat real rats, Harry can't even beat fake one pretending to be his friend's pet
Redwall wins cause the author ain't a TERF.
On the topic of villains in this series, consider that all the 'bad' animals are real world predators of the 'good' animals. Because of the clear divide in the natural world, Jacques' simply carried it over into his stories. Love this video, and I am looking forward to reading these to my sons in the next year or so!
That's an interesting point! Do rats and ferrets eat mice and hedgehogs though? I'm genuinely curious, I always felt so bad for the rats and ferrets because they are really cute in there own way (irl not in the books haha) Thanks for bringing Redwall to a new generation!
@@exitsexamined Ferrets, yes. Rats...hmm...I don't think mouse would be their first choice, but they do eat each other when desperate. Regardless, this video made me very happy.
Eh, rats will eat about anything and will hunt to feed.
What about the badgers tho? That was my thought process on the whole thing too, but I always wondered why badgers were the "good" predators/vermin
And why are mice always good guys? Real mice are a plague that eats all your stuff and poops on it as a final insult. Anyone who tried to store birdseed or extra blankets in their garage knows what I mean.
Badgerlords of Salamandastron are lords because they eat everyone. A badger will predate a fox but mostly tolerate eachother.
YOOOOOOOOO REDWALL VIDEO LETS GO I WAS HOPING FOR THIS SO MUCH WOOO YAY
God I want a true to books adaptation so bad. This was my first fantasy series ever and it's still my happy place. I love this world, these characters, these stories. Please Netflix, don't dumb it down. I listened to the first audiobook when I was 9 years old and the brutal and scary moments only made me love it more. It's truly one of the most unique series I've ever read. Whimsical, childlike, but still bloody and at times horrific. How many authors can achieve that? RIP Brian Jacques. I cried when I heard you had passed. Thank you for leaving this enduring, amd endearing legacy for us. 🙏💓
We can hope one day it goes to people who really care about the setting and make an adaptation that we deserve!
@@exitsexamined I absolutely believe it will! The series is too special to not be given it's dues and fantasy is huge right now! 🙏💓🤞
Oh man this warms my Redwall-loving heart, these books were such a big part of my childhood! I remember my mom being impressed that I could read the mole speech 😂 Thank you for the video!!
I was introduced to the works of Brian Jacques from a friend of mine during high school. At that time, Christopher Paolini, author of Eragon, was one of my favorite authors and one of my biggest literary influences then as now, but after high school, I discovered that Jacques was one of Paolini's influences on Eragon so I finally decided to give Redwall a try. I was especially sold at the prospect that he'd narrated the audiobook with a full cast and loved his performance and immediately fell in love with the Mossflower series so much so that Brian Jacques has become not only one of my favorite authors but also one of my literary influences. He really knew how to paint a picture with words as he put it and I have not only all 22 of the Redwall books, but also his Castaways of the Flying Dutchman Trilogy. I would describe Brian Jacques as the middle ground between J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis in terms of styles and themes.
I plucked one of these off of the pile of books my library was cycling out and it blew me away.
Cycling OUT? To replace with what?
Jacques' Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series is also fantastic.
Redwall hooked me with the animated series when I was 3. I later rediscovered it in first grade when exploring my school library. I was immediately hooked, and I've been obsessed ever since. I'm currently rereading Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker. I'm determined to own the entire series so I have it available for my own children. Brian Jacques created a true masterpiece series of children's literature.
i read probably a dozen redwall books as a kid. i took in all the big series; h potter, narnia, fellowship, but nothing made my heart sing like redwall. brian really understands what makes a good person want to be strong. to protect their loved ones and the good times and the places that contain them.
So cool to find other fans of the series on this channel! What was your favorite book?
@@exitsexamined for my dollar taggerung is one of the best hero's journey tales in history, although it doesnt get as much love being apart from the main narrative time wise
Yeah. That series was redwall for me. I saw a full page ad for Martin the warrior in analog magazine in the 90s and fell immediately in love. Found it at my scholastic book Fair and never looked back
Whoa I'd love to see that ad! Was it the book cover? Super curious
This series absolutely slaps. I remember reading these in early middle school, and then my parents discovered them. We were scouring the local library sites and then arguing/making deals over who got to read which book first.
Haha love that youur parents liked them so much they argued with you about who got to read them first
@@exitsexamined to this day, they refer to soup as "Zoop". The moles have had an impact 🤣
Speaking of Redwall fan projects, I distinctly remember way back when that there was actually a group of fans (the same ones behind the short-lived Redwall Abridged Series) who wanted to, at first, make an entirely fab made Season 4 of the Redwall cartoon, adapting Mossflower. Then they decided instead to go for a fanfilm, and then I think at some point wanted to make it an entirely original story set in the Redwall world. And I know this, because I was actually once cast to do the vocal noises for The Gloomer, the feral water-rat from Mossflower, as well as various background characters. Sadly as far as I know nothing ever came of it.
I discovered Redwall in my teens in the mid-90s. I was up to the 5th book, by the time I had my first kid. And I read the books to her when she was a baby. Many years later I got to meet Brian Jaques. He was in L.A. doing a book reading/signing at a children's book store. He was soooooo sweet and kind. He actually took the time out from talking to all the kids and parents, to give me some great feedback on my own anthro series I was working on. RIP. This is a great overview of the franchise!
These books taught me to love reading. Thank you Mr Jacques.
Thank you for featuring Redwall! It's such a nostalgic series and universe for me. We've got lively communities, adjacent projects, and wonderful fans still! Having worked on the Lost Legends Games, and doing my own Redwall-esque projects, it has made a huge impact on my life!
Oh that's so cool you worked on the games and projects! How was that experience?
@@exitsexamined My contribution was pretty small because I was also attending university at the same time as development. I did some tapestry art that is seen towards the end of the Anthology and other bits here and there scattered throughout, so not a ton, but it was really fun to contribute to something "official" of a fandom that was so near and dear to me. I love the people I got to work with on it, and really, I just want to continue making Redwall games, though because Netflix has the rights now, I'm not sure of the future of Redwall games. Otherwise, I hope to make some Redwall-adjacent games that fans of the series might enjoy. Nowadays, I make tapestries inspired by the series as a side gig.
I never had the chance to read these books as a kid. Couldn’t afford them, and they were always checked out at the library. I’m glad the series was as big of a deal as I thought
I fell in love with Redwall in Kindergarten (around age 6). We got to check out books from our school library, and one day I decided to find the biggest, hardest book on the shelves to read. I came upon Mariel of Redwall, and with its relatively small print and hundreds of pages, it seemed like a real challenge. I had to return and recheck it out several times, but I made it through, and the story of the mouse maiden who overcame so much with a knotted rope lodged itself into my brain. I read every Redwall book I could get my hands on for the next decade. A truly formative series for me.
0:33 For me it was Jeff smith's BONE comics
oh never checked it out. I might cover it in depth one day on the channel though!
@@exitsexamined You should their very good 👍
Bro I was on the Stone Rabbit comics
@@ERROR-uk9uc I feel like I've heard of that series before could you elaborate?
Ahh I see...With the arrival of autumn, it's time to return to those stone walls of the Abbey and enjoy a pint of October Ale once more. But in all seriousness, this book series was my childhood and remains as one of my favorites to this day, which inspired my love of writing! Time to dust off the old volumes and take up my role as Recorder!
Oh what type of writing do you do? If you have any books to share I'll check them out and maybe will cover it on the channel one day!
I randomly started watching the whole season 1 of redwall here in youtube and this video showed up on my feed. I started watching it, sounds pretty good. Then I went to check your other videos... samurai champloo... outlaw star... the warriors... dude... This feels like Christmas to me lol subbed.
I’m so glad I stumbled across this video.
Redwall was my MCU/Harry Potter in terms of how passionate about it, second only to Star Wars. It remains one of my favorite series to this day, glad to hear someone else talking about it and sharing memories of this excellent series.
Honestly just so cool to find other people out there who had this incredible series be as formative experience as it was to me, thank you for being you!
@@exitsexamined😊
I read Redwall and Mossflower in middle school. I've never been good about waiting for books in series to come out, so I kind of petered out after Mattimeo. I'm excited to restart the series at 50 because my daughter is in 4th grade and would totally dig them.
Oh that's so awesome, you're in for a treat, there are some good ones in there after Mattimeo! If you have time let me know how the series feels on a reread, must be interesting to come back to the series after awhile
@@exitsexamined Well, holy smokes, that's 35 years ago I last read them....? Ugh. Lol. I'll try to remember to come back. But I subscribed after looking at your video history (shocker, I'm a grognard D&D nerd), so hopefully releases will help me remember this is the channel that reminded me about Brian Jacques!
Now do all my other childhood middle grade loves! (Dark is Rising, think you've already done Earthsea, The Tripods trilogy, the Elfquest comics, The Lone Wolf adventure path books, and then all the David Eddings and Piers Anthony you can stomach - I've heard unfortunately those last two didn't hold up so great). Unless I can also interest you in newer stuff that I recommend to my students now. (Ugh, and most of that is 10-15 years old at this point!)
Redwall was also a significant part of my childhood. The audiobooks were fantastic, and I'll say it's because of the actors' commitment to the roles. Necessary for children's books, and they nailed it!
I had a hard time getting into reading when I was younger, but I found this series when I was in middle school. I found and read Marlfox first as part of a book report thing I had to do. I started trying to convince my parents to let me buy the rest over the next few years. Triss was the most current one when I started, and I snagged it and the original Redwall book at one of those school book fare things. I read all but Bellmaker by the time I stopped, with Rackety Tam being the final book I read. I was a teenager by then, and I sort of fell off the books. You mention in the video how simple they are, and that was honestly a lot of the reason, but it was a fun three or so year kick to read them.
Oh man, I used to LOVE Redwall as a kid. I haven’t thought about it in years, but this brought back a flood of good memories. I might have to get a copy of Redwall and get back into it!
Read all of these books 3 or 4 times a piece. I stumbled upon my first one on my brother's bookshelf after he moved out, it was a hard back with no pictures on it, just the name on the binding written in gold. I'll forever remember Taggerung, as my Introduction into the book series. My favorite book being Rackety Tam, this book series stirs a lot of emotion and memories.
One thing I remember was how tight knit the Deviantart Redwall community was in the late 2000s and early 2010s. We had a lot of talented artists, writers, and creators, and were actually in the process of creating a fan-made Mossflower movie adaptation, though this was eventually shut down after Jacques' death at the request of his family's estate. Still good memories from the time, even if many of us have since grown and moved on to other projects and fandoms. Glad to see elements of the community are still trucking along! Won't ever forget finding Triss in the library and falling in love with the series from then on :)
I read these a million times in grade school. I think they were some of my first "chapter books" too, and I was so proud of their length.
Hey these were some seriously big books as a kid so hats off haha
Redwall has always been one of those series where I was more aware of its influence than I was of the books themselves. When Magic the Gathering released its Bloomburrow set, it reawakened my love for the “little woodland creatures on an adventure” fascination, and I FINALLY sat down to read the original Redwall. I loved it, of course, and I intend to read more, but what I really want is a small exploration RPG set in Mossflower. Something like a small scale Skyrim.
I think a ton of people are getting back into these type of books and Bloomburrow is a big reason why. I haven't played Magic in a while but maybe I'll check it out. How is it?
@@exitsexamined
Honestly, Bloomburrow got me to pick up Magic again after years of ignoring it. Didn’t like the direction Wizards and Hasbro was taking with the rate of new sets. BUT, Bloomburrow has been excellent, and the more experienced players I’ve talked to have all confirmed that Bloomburrow is an excellent set to get reacquainted with the game again.
This series made me into a bookworm. The MOMENT I read mossflower for the first time in 6th grade I was hooked.
So cool to find someone who had a similar 6th grade to me haha
I completely forgot this series existed and that I loved it decades ago, until I saw a meme featuring Skaven.
Now I can never think of it the same.
Started reading this series in middle school and it's one of my all-time favorites.
Do you still read it?
@exitsexamined I only have the original at this time. The rest I read from the school library.
Redwall is a phase we all went through and eventually outgrew. As we aged through our idealism and onto our cynicism we left behind the simple stories of our childhood. Hopefully we took the lessons Jacques was trying to teach and integrated them into our lives. I’ve kept my collection for more than 30 years and my kids will be available to them when they hit the appropriate age. Truly foundational western literature.
I saw one of my friends reading it in middle school one day and checked one of the books out of the library the next day. I'm 31 and own every single book of the series and I cannot wait to show them to my 5 year old son when gets older. He is my favorite author and I did many projects on him in school. I'll forever miss him and hope that legend is resting in peace 💚
Never thought in all my years I’d see a Redwall TH-cam retrospective 😮 I read the books all through elementary and middle school, and Brian was still actively writing at the time. I also read the first two Flying Dutchman books he came out with (I believe it ended up being a trilogy if I’m not mistaken). Then I remember finding out in my early 20’s that he’d passed away some time while I was in high school, and I’d never realized it. I’m just settling in to the vid; hopefully this will be a good watch 👍
I got into it because of the 90s serie, and loved it. I found it was the best show I have watched as a kid. It was serious and dramatic, with many beloved characters dying in gruesome ways while keeping child thems so that you never knew what would happen.
The villain was scary and you really wanted him to fail, and Matthias was a fantastic character.
This video got me to look up the 2002 show. Please do an iceberg or even lore videos.
Become the Redwall channel you are meant to be! Haha
I remember picking uo a Redwall book, thinking nothing of it, and was absolutely floored at how good it was.
This is a series I sadly didn't get into as a kid but wish I did.
And now with children of my own, I have another chance to do so!
But will say I'd love for there to be an awesome animated series of all the books.
At a book fair in the 90s, I was drawn to the Salmandastron book cover so I took a risk and bought. The rest, as they say, is history. I was a die hard fan from there on and loved every minute of reading those books. True treasures.
Nice! I think Salmandastron was my first or second too! Did you read all of them?
My brother and I had the build your abbey kit. My brother also started a (now defunct) chat-based Redwall fan RPG when he was in high school called The Fortress of Rivenwood and it did see a small but loyal following in its heyday.
My childhood, without this book and Italian mythology I would have never been a fantasy nerd!
If anyone were to ever make a Redwall game, there was never a more perfect match than Vanillaware. Seeing shops run by bunnies, a 3-way fight between the player, Wolves, and Bears, with the place all being after each other because of a Rat gave me insane Redwall vibes in Unicorn Overlord. Was a very bizarre "holy crap, I remember" moment there.
I don't want to get you hyped up for nothing, but just the other week I saw a trailer for a game called "Hawthorn" that was basically Redwall. It even had October ale.
@18Hongo Hmm.... 🤔
There are Redwall video games! Check out The Lost Legends of Redwall!
@redwallwiki But I want Vanillaware to make one.
Loved this video, loved this series. Drowning in nostalgia atm.
I just wanted to say- your videos are excellent and you deserve way more subs. Seems like we read most of the same series growing up and these videos have been amazing!
Hey thank you so much for the kind words I really appreciate it. Honestly just super cool to find so many people who read the same books as me growing up haha making up for all the times in school people had no idea what I was talking about haha
About time i saw a real look at the Redwall series! Redwall was incredibly mature for such a young reading age.
The first big book series for me was the Edge Chronicles with Rook, Twig and Quint❤
But Redwall was my first favorite animation series in my live.
I never read the books but I LOVED coming home from school just in time to watch the tv show, great memories
My mom would read these as bedtime stories, and would have voices for all the races. Some of my favorite foods she made, came from the books.
I collected these books religiously, I was drawn to it by the animals and the aesthetic of the world on the covers and I absolutely loved these books.
I was the only person who knew about them and I never met anyone who knew about them. I remember even in school we got asked to give a presentation on our favourite author and book and I chose Brian Jacques and Redwall, made me really sad when I found out he was dead while doing research on him.
This video is heartwarming though, never knew so many others loved this series growing up as well. The idea of Redwall was always a warm image in my mind growing up, a peaceful and fair place. I remember very little of the details of the stories but I remember how they felt.
It's been a long time since I've returned to Redwall. I was probably in my preteen ages when I discovered these books. I could not get enough of the writing style. I loved the depiction of animals in a medieval fantasy setting unlike anything I'd encountered before. He put so much description into the foods the characters ate and the riddles and songs shared.
For Brian Jacques to have imagined such rich realms as Redwall and its surrounding countries, I think his books would probably flourish again during this period of unrest and civil distrust. The Redwall books respected my intelligence as a kid to comprehend the many themes it had and the characters who represented them. Peace co-existed with the battles between characters' morality and literal fights to the death. There are heroes to believe in, even if they're fictional. There are bad animals whose motives are clear cut and terrible to see played out, but they all the more contrast the good animals who show children it's not impossible to win against evil.
The world has become more jaded over time while these time capsules of stories remain as they are and ready to invite anyone to a world where animals form communities and look out for one another. That was something I thought was cool as a kid that there was an abbey where regardless of who you were, you were welcome to come there, feast, rest, recover, and prepare for the best and worst of times.
Thanks for making this video essay. :)
These were my favorite books as a kid. I found it though the animated series. I woke my parents up early every Saturday (sorry mom and dad) to watch it. I was distraught when Brian Jacques died. I still love them even though I don't read them as often as I once did. Marlfox, Mariel of Redwall, and Mossflower are my favorite.
I loved the Redwall books as a child, I loved pouring over the cover art and in universe maps. I had an audiotape of Redwall read by Jacques himself and the work was completely brought to life by his warm scouse accent, I’ll never forget him speaking in the Mole dialect and all the feasting descriptions!! Can’t wait to show them my own son when he is old enough.
I loved this! Fellow badger simp here 😂 and wildcat fan! I grew up on Redwall and eventually fell off because of the formulaic format of the books, but still have so much fondness for the series and even got into Mouse Guard because they reminded me of Redwall. I'm super interested in seeing what you uncover if you decide to do an iceberg video!
Literally would read as many of these books as I could get from the library as a kid. They got me through some tough times!
Cluny "The Scourge" is just an awesome villain, plus he has such a cool design. Probably the best villain of the series, Slagar "the Cruel" being second best.
I have to say Redwall introduced what I like to call "Redwall Moments" where characters sit down & eat where the food has a good amount of detail/festivities are described/characters purposefully sit down to enjoy downtime
Totally agree! What other series or books have the redwall moments? I'm always looking for more series to cover!
I just remembered reading these books, all my school library had in elementary school, at least. Brought back 20 year old vauge memories.
I use to watch this show and read a few of the books. PBS use to play them with Brian doing a talk
It's wild how dark this series got despite being literally the most cozy series ever written
PTSD, flaying alive, torture, slavery, death (LOTS of death, some of it spontaneous and merciless, unfair even)
I think it was cool that Jacques didn't shy away from that stuff, I mean in children's books sometimes it can be a little too fluffy and personally I appreciated how the characters had to fight not without sacrifices for their little slice of redwall peace
The Redwall, 'seasons equalling human years' makes it easy for legendary references...
Back in the late 90s I was hooked on this series from 3rd grade to 5th. Can no longer find them in school libraries these days.
I discovered this series in my early 20s and read all of them. I still have the books. I read Redwall and Mattimeo as bedtime stories to my daughter when she was 8. I'm hoping it will be a series she picks up when she finishes up Harry Potter.
I had to read Redwall for extra credit for middle school English class and I loved it so much I started reading the rest of the series. The Long Patrol is hands down my favorite.
The Keys to the Kingdom and The Edge Chronicles were two wonderful series as well, but Redwall will always hold a special place in my heart.
I remember this game called overgrowth with a humanoid animals that fought. And on the website it had a couple of short comics that were kinda graphic but had a good story and each displayed the different species that were in the game. As a kid it was so damn awesome and I wished it didn’t die off like it did. You should definitely check them out
Not too dissimilar to redwall just less fleshed out as it was more of a game than a universe
My first book was Martin the Warrior, someone lost it at my workplace, and after a year they were gonna toss it out and I claimed it and, well, had to read more.
Sounds like a great workplace if your coworkers are reading redwall haha
I heard the audiobook for Mossflower first, when I was about nine. I was instantly in love. There is such a great blend of humor and comfort and heroic, bloody battle in each book. I'm re-reading them now, and looking forward to the last three books, which I haven't read.
Wow so you read almost all the books impressive! Do you own them all?
@exitsexamined Last Christmas, I was gifted the entire set, plus the cookbook. Hands down my favorite gift of the year. I've made it to Marlfox, so I'm nearly on the back half!
These books were my middle school. Legend of Luke was my favorite. My dear friend and I would read them together, and I amassed a collection of ALL but the last book, the Rogue Crew. I sadly don't know where those book went, but they were beloved. We even bought the cookbook and made a Redwall feast for our bookclub!
We went to an author talk of his at a Barnes and Noble and it was fantastic. I asked him how he chose his Vermin, as I was always fond of ferrets and weasels and wanted to see them be good. Unfortunately, these are considered pest creatures on farms in the UK, so they were Vermin.
Mr. Jacques was a major influence on me as a writer, and while I'm not anything other than an amateur, the fact that so many of his books had the same form- of different POV characters converging upon a great battle- it was a fantastic lesson in how to structure a story. I guess I did "outgrow" his books in a fashion, seized as I was by other fantasy books such as the Hobbit, Children of Hurin, and the Silmarllion (Yeah, I skipped LotR for the Children of fucking Hurin). But Redwall is still some of the best work I have had the pleasure of reading, and it is great to return to that space if only for a little while.
While not the first series that I was really into. . . Redwall absolutely WAS the first series that made me want to be a writer and started me down the path that I'm on today. Also, I can never read/reread a Redwall book without a chunk of bread, hunk of cheese and sausage, and a big old glass of some sort of fruit juice to pretend to be Straw'bee Cordial!
every single day i think about redwall. every single day. thank you for making this video
edit: watched the whole video and i loved it! i was first introduced to redwall as a little kid when my brother and i rented some of the animated show from our local library. I only really got into the books when i was 10. My brother unexpectedly passed from leukemia. I was at a low point and my school’s librarian recommended it to me. I fell in love with the series! Would take my copy of mattiemeo with me everywhere! Give em blood and vinegar!!! (also please make an ice berg PLEASE!!)
While I did come into Redwall only when I was an adult, what I have read is really damn good. Also we got a Redwall game a few years back
I love Redwall! Grew up reading many of the books, my personal favorite has to be Marlfox. I would say it definitely influenced me in the way I run my TTRPG's, the kinds of games, shows and media I enjoy and more or less the way I write scenarios and stories.
I read the entirety of Redwall from end of 5th grade through 6th, or at least, what had been published through 2001 😅 kept me pretty busy! My teacher was like, "maybe you should diversify?" And I was like, "NO." 😂 the love I still hold for this series is real.
Plus, MtW was the first piece of fiction to break my heart, and tbh I've never wholly forgiven Brian Jacques for that one **cries in Laterose**
This and LoTR were my favorite things when I was young. But my favorite part about Redwall was the audio books. The full cast narration and music are amazing! I still listen to them on audible today!
My first book is special to me. Growing up, I had a very difficult time reading, but the special teacher I had helping me introduced me to the hobbit. Ever since that day, I became an avid reader. When I heard she had passed away, I said a little prayer and thanked her.
Love Redwall. I'll never forget one time in 7th grade during SSR (sustained silent reading - designated 30 minutes where the entire school was... reading silently). I was reading a Redwall book, and got to a funny line that I just couldn't stop laughing at. And then it became one of those things where you're not even laughing because it's funny, you're laughing because you're extremely embarrassed about the fact that you can't stop laughing, and you want to die.
The line was "Yurn be rosty nose!" Iirc the character meant to say "You must be Rose!" Don't know why it got me so bad.
I was too old for Redwall, but I loved reading Watership Down, Duncton Wood and the VERY dark Dr Rat 🐀 back in the late 70s. Even the book version of Fantastic Mr Fox has this vibe. I have since discovered Redwall and am going to read it ASAP.
This was my childhood. The tv show got me into the books and my parents were happy to get me each new book as it got me to read. I can’t think of another series that was better at world building. I loved these books (and now will get the audiobooks now that I know Brian did some of them). As an adult in today’s world, thank you for doing this video.
It's honestly my pleasure, just so cool to find other people into Redwall, my 6th grade self who had ZERO friends who knew what this series was about is finally revenged
@@exitsexamined completely agree. The best part of getting older is seeing our interests had impacts on others. And getting to enjoy it with them.
Never read these but used to watch the movie a bunch at my grandparents house, i had completely forgotten about it! Having Dr. Frank N. Furter voice one of these characters wouldve been so cool.
In 1st-5th grades, my school had the Accelerated Reading computer program. You read a book, took a quiz on the book, and were assigned points. The more points you got, the more prizes or grades you received. I HATED this. All I wanted to read were the Eyewitness picture books and this one giant tome about the Vietnam War. None of these were on AR, so my grades suffered, and I was relegated to a dumb kid with ADD.
Then we moved to another state. In 6th grade, I picked up the Redwall series and fell in love. I remembered the animated show on PBS, so it was easy for me to follow the story as I already knew what was coming. I soon read as many of them as I could. I took AR tests on all of them and scored 100% every time. I was finally engaged in reading!
We were a religious family, and my dad insisted I read the Bible in the King James' Anglish. This prepared me to read far above my reading level so long as it was knights, medieval, and swords.
RIP Bryan Jaqcues, the realest one