Critical Role’s Animated Special Kickstarter Reaches 7.3 Million

Critical Role burst onto the scene in 2015 and has continued to grow at an exceptional rate. When they launched a Kickstarter to begin funding for a highly requested animated special based on the first campaign, fondly known as the Legend of Vox Machina, the Critical Role cast and crew sought $750,000 to take on the project themselves after reaching out to numerous amination studios to find someone to help head their project.

 

They couldn’t find the right fit, so they decided to go it alone. What they received was over $7 million (at the time of writing) to help make their project a reality. Oh, and they still have 34 days left for the campaign.

 

If you haven’t heard of Critical Role, it’s a group of insanely talented voice actors, headed by the equally gifted Matthew Mercer, in an epic Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Players consist of Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey, Marisha Ray, Sam Regal, Ashley Johnson, Talisen Jaffe, and Liam O’Brien.

 

Don’t dismiss it so quickly– this group is incredibly talented and engaging, allowing Critters (Critical Role fans) to stay engaged for the sometimes over 4-hour weekly streams of their games on both Twitch and YouTube.

 

They’re hilarious, snarky, and everything moves at the speed of their dice, leading to some hilarious antics. Mercer does an excellent job creating a world to explore and get lost in for his players. This show was many peoples’ introduction into the tabletop RPG gameplay.

 

The campaign was launched on March 4th, along with a hilarious video announcing their Kickstarter to their YouTube channel

Within an hour, the Critical Role Kickstarter broke records by exceeding their goal in an hour. On their page, since the increasing support since the launch of the campaign, the special has been expanded to include a series, animated by Titmouse, the award-winning animated production company and written by Jessica Muro who worked on “Star Wars Forces of Destiny.”

 

Their backers have a range of rewards from stickers, plushies, prints, song downloads, and even access to the Legend of Vox Machina premiere. Most of the pledges over $1,000 have already been bought up.

 

The Legend of Vox Machina trailer already dropped and you can check it out here

 

It’s slated for release in Fall of 2020, but they have yet to announce a full distribution plan, but the backers will get the first look at the project.