Tron: Uprising

Synopsis

Beck is a young, anthropomorphized computer program who becomes involved in a revolution inside computer world of the Grid against the villainous Clu 2.0 and his henchmen. Beck adopts the persona of legendary warrior Tron and becomes the enemy of General Tesler. Subsequently, he is trained by the actual Tron, who also mentors him to grow into a courageous and powerful leader.

Characters

Main

Beck (voiced by Elijah Wood) is a young program who leads a revolution against Clu. He is referred to by the public as "Tron" and "the Renegade".

Tron (voiced by Bruce Boxleitner) is the original protector of the Grid who was supposedly killed by Clu. Unable to protect the Grid due to his injuries, Tron sought out a new protector and found Beck whom he trains.

Mara (voiced by Mandy Moore) is a co-worker and friend of Beck.

Zed (voiced Nate Corddry) is a co-worker and friend of Beck.

General Tesler (voiced by Lance Henriksen) is Clu 2.0's henchman and the main antagonist of the series.

Paige (voiced by Emmanuelle Chriqui) is one of Tesler's field commanders.

Pavel (voiced by Paul Reubens) is Tesler's second-in-command.

Able (voiced by Reginald VelJohnson) is the owner of the eponymous garage and Beck's, Mara's, and Zed's boss.

The Grid (voiced by Tricia Helfer) is the narrator.

Recurring

Clu 2.0 (voiced by Fred Tatasciore; previously portrayed by Jeff Bridges in the live action movies) is an A.I. program created by Kevin Flynn in his own image who has goals of creating the perfect world. Clu betrayed Flynn and Tron, then took over the Grid.

Tatasciore also voices Kevin Flynn in the episode "Scars".

Bartik (voiced by Donald Faison) is a program who joined a task force formed by Paige to hunt down the Renegade.

Hopper (voiced by Paul Scheer) is a program who joined a task force formed by Paige to hunt down the Renegade.

Dyson (voiced by John Glover) is a former member of Tron's squadron.

Perl (voiced by Kate Mara) is a member of a criminal gang.

Cyrus (voiced by Aaron Paul) is Tron's former apprentice.

Keller (voiced by Marcia Gay Harden) is a scientific program employed by Tesler.

Cutler (voiced by Lance Reddick) is a veteran of the Isomorphic Algorithm (ISO) wars.

Quorra (voiced by Olivia Wilde) is an ISO. Wilde reprised her role from Tron: Legacy.

Link (voiced by David Arquette) is a resident of Argon.

Gorn (voiced by Kathryn Hunter) is a technician specializing in disc manipulation.

Production

Design

The series features an animation style that mixes 2D animation and CGI animation. The look of the series was inspired by Star Wars: The Clone Wars, ThunderCats, and Aeon Flux.

Director Charlie Bean explained "the idea was to create a distinct style for the CG show not seen elsewhere on television or in film." He worked closely with art director Alberto Mielgo, character designer Robert Valley (animation artist for the Gorillaz music videos) and lead vehicle designer Daniel Simon, who was previously responsible for many vehicle designs in the Tron: Legacy feature film, including the light cycles. Mielgo won the Primetime Emmy Award for his art direction in 2013.

Casting

In December 2010, it was announced that Elijah Wood, Bruce Boxleitner, Lance Henriksen, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Mandy Moore, Paul Reubens, Nate Corddry and Reginald VelJohnson would voice characters in a television series based on the Tron franchise, titled Tron: Uprising.

Cancellation

On January 14, 2013, producer Edward Kitsis responded to rumors of cancellation by stating, "I don't know what the future [of Tron: Uprising] is now. I know at the present, I can say we need more viewers."

Disney XD moved the program in the broadcast schedule to Monday mornings at 12:00 AM Eastern until the first season episodes finished airing on January 28, 2013.

Release

Marketing

A trailer for the series, with a voice-over by Bruce Boxleitner, was released online in May 2012 (2012-05). and on the home video releases of Tron: Legacy, on April 5, 2011 (2011-04-05). Disney XD presented CGI models of characters, concept art, and the original trailer that was with the home releases of Tron: Legacy at San Diego Comic-Con in 2011. Disney released the first, pre-season episode on May 18, 2012 (2012-05-18), in which the full 31-minute episode was featured on Disney XD on Demand, YouTube, Facebook, iTunes a week earlier. The prelude episode was broadcast only on Disney Channel, and was originally going to be a 10-part miniseries.

Streaming

On May 9, 2013, it was announced that Disney had reached an agreement with Netflix wherein Tron: Uprising would appear on the streaming service, however it was removed one year later. The full series was later added for streaming on Disney+, which was released in November 2019.

Music

The series is scored by Joseph Trapanese, who arranged Daft Punk's score for Tron: Legacy. A soundtrack album for the score was released digitally and manufacture on demand CD by Walt Disney Records on January 8, 2013 (2013-01-08). Trapanese later digitally released two extended plays for the show featuring additional tracks not heard on the initial product: Tron: Uprising - Hero EP in 2015 and Tron: Uprising - Occupied EP in 2020.

Reception

Critical response

The series premiere earned mostly positive reviews. IGN gave the episode "Beck's Beginning" a ranking of 8 out of 10. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 5 critics' reviews for the first season are positive.

Over time, the series developed a cult following among fans of the Tron franchise, with many praising its animation style, darker tone, and world-building.