Another Wow cinematic... heck yeah! Become a Guerrilla Filmmaker with 15% off using code "CCL91": www.guerrilla-filmmaker.com

That's the thing about Blizzard. You can say about that company what you want but they KNOW how to do cinematics.

Graphically, this is perhaps the best video game cinematic ever made. I have never seen CGI look this good. Their ability to capture micro expressions elevates it to another level of realism. Incredible work from the WoW cinematic team.

According to Chris Metzen, this was all hand animated. No motion capture was used and real people performing the shots were only used as a reference.

The lich king pose, the look in his eyes, the music, the way the trembling hand/sword gets steadied by pressing into his chest Masterpiece

It's incredible how the cinematic team at blizzard has yet again achieved to produce something that is basically years ahead of whatever is the current standard in terms CGI and especially character animation.

14:40 - "Let me know what he's done" Anduin was always a very Holy, rightous, noble and just generally "the good guy". It's him we see create that dome of holy light in the Battle for Azeroth cinematic (the first Warcraft Cinematic you watched on this channel). He's holy and good enough that he managed to assist in the resurrection of a person, something which lorewise in the game is not an easy feat. In the previous expansion, Shadowlands, he was captured and mindcontrolled the antagonist and last boss of the expansion. He was basically turned into the new Lich King against his will and in that state was forced to kill and order the army of the bad guy to do nasty stuff. Near the end of that expansion they released a short cinematic where Andiun speaks to Sylvanas (who's been captured and sentenced to find all the souls in the Maw, their version of Hell, so that they can have a second assessment if they are worthy of a second chance), and he ask her how it feels to be Undead, how it felt to her when Arthas (the dude in the Warth of the Lich King cinematic) dominated her mind and forced her to do bad stuff and how she's managed to accept the evil she was firced to do and live with it. He eventually reveals that deep down he realized that he enjoyed doing all that. He always thought he was a holy person, rightous and good. But now he realized that there's a massive shadow in him as well. He enjoyed inflicting pain and suffering and nw he's scared of what he actually is and what he will become, and if he will eventually start doing all that bad stuff on his own, by his own free choice instead of being dominated into doing it. Since the power of the Light comes from Conviction and Determination he is now afraid what will happen if he tries. Has the Holy Light left him? Is he now an actually bad person because of his feelings? In short a huuuge chunk of selfdoubt made Anduin hide and wallow in selfpity for several years (I think canonically there'll be 5-7 years since his talk with Sylvanas to the start of The War Within)

The main thing to know about the lore for this cinematic is that Anduin, the human protagonist here, kinda turned to the dark side (was forced to) in the last expansion, and almost caused the end of everything, then he was able to come back. But of course this was very heavy on him. The pose he does holding the sword calls back to the cinematic for Wrath of the Litch King where Arthas, who fully turned to the dark side on his own will, did the same. But Anduin is not Arthas.

My favorite part of the cinematic was the symbolism of Thrall stepping forward and pressing himself against Anduin's sword. In the closeup shot you see the blade moving sporadically bc Anduin's hand is trembling, and they established that w that other closeup of his hand and the hilt and how Thrall noticed he was shaking. But in the shot where he walks forward, his chest presses against the sword and stops it from trembling. It represents his trust, his friendship, stabilizing Anduin, just as he stops the blade from shaking. Such a beautiful and simple shot that says so much.

What absolutely blows my mind about this cinematic is the fact that it ISN'T motion capture! They tried motion capture with the BfA cinematics, but for this one, they went back to their old method of having actors do reference shots and then hand animating everything themselves.

"Being in the shadow rather then the light" such a great observation. Actually ties in to what Anduin has been through

"But time by itself heals nothing" paired with the rising strings is incredible.

Also worth a mention that touching his shoulder triggered PTSD and it was the same as his ghost father touched him to bring out of mind control, reminding him all bad stuff he made while being under Jailer's control.

I've read somewhere, that according to Chris Metzen, there was no mocap used in this cinematic. They just had 2 actors played out the scene and used that as reference for animations. But I know nothing about these things and can't find the source right now, so take it with a grain of salt.

What is interesting in this cinematic is that they used the same phrases that were used in the BFA cinematics (e. g. "We don't get to hide.", "What I've seen, what I've done..."). They also used similar pose with the sword as in the WotLK cinematic. And they actually referenced a community created joke "What sword?" by using the phrase "That sword". So not only it was perfectly animated, but also very cleverly written, especially for long time fans. Also I found randomly this video that basically explains what happened to Anduin to end up like he is in this cinematic, so have a look, if you are interested: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/atqffrKDuZevfqM.htmlsi=3-Rs9Wjg2crfToWz

Every time you look at the camera to say something you missed key details lol. Like the sword shaking in his hand then thrall stilling the sword when he approaches it etc. I was like STOP LOOKING AWAY!! 😂

to me this cinematic is an art piece, i even think this is my favorite now

you noticed that detail, when anduin points his sword towards thrall, he's trembling a lot and as soon as he touches thrall's chest where his heart is, it becomes calm and steady

2:16 is my favorite part. that animation of his mouth and headshake. as a lot say thats probably the best cinematic from a technical standpoint ever made. imo they jumped over the uncanny valley with this. thats the teaser for War Within. i look forward for the real trailer

The team made this has stated that no motion capture was used, this was all CGI done by hand.

There's a really cool detail in the scene where Anduin is pointing his sword at Thrall that a lot of people miss the first time. Notice how badly Anduin's hand/sword is shaking, but the second Thrall moves close enough to where the tip of the sword touches his chest, the shaking stops. Tells you a lot about these two's relationship, connecting physically with Thrall calmed him down somewhat after his emotional and hurt outburst. Absolutely beautiful.

"That sword was aimed at someone" is such a powerful and scary line man, you seriously have no idea what expects us deep inside the heart of Azeroth.

Another lore-related touch. The circular hole in the middle of Anduin's sword has always had a glowing orb in the middle showing the wielder's power or life force. The sword having no glow is a visual represenaton of how empty Anduin has become after getting his mind taken over and being forced to do horrible things.

Would be sick if we got another short film out of this sprinkled throughout the xpac(s). The Saurfang movie from BFA was already top notch quality. Hoping for something like this again.

Damn this is the one reaction I've been waiting for!!

Notice the subtle dimple in the leather when Anduin's blade touches Thrall's strap. Such attention to detail is what made me get into animation.

When Anduin pulls his sword it's the EXACT same pose as the LIch King did in his cinematic. Gave me chills.

Anduins theme is just so good I can always remember it.

Would love to see a live action recreation of this!

Fun Fact: one of the directors said that there was no mocap used in the making of this, they had actors act out the scenes as a reference and then the artists used that to kind of guide them when making the cinematic.

not only facial expression, but it also connects with Arthas story, the pose him holding the sword

I've been watching your channel off and on for a couple years now and I'm surprised your channel isn't massive. Your reactions are pretty on point and the production quality and editing you put in are really well done. On top of that the original Works to do with CGI special effects are really incredible. It's kind of shocking that your channel isn't 5x bigger. Great content bro hope you enjoy making the content

If you remember the last WoW cinematic (the one will Sylvanas shattering the sky by destroying the helm) you will quickly understand why Anduin is acting like this. Sylvanas by her actions opened the way into the realm of death (Shadowlands) and was serving the Jailer (someone who was supposed to judge souls entering Shadowlands), but he betreyed his brothers and sisters and wanted to recreate the reality and for this he was banished to the Maw (the worst place soul can be put in after death a.k.a the hell). Sylvanas kidnapped Anduin (and some other important characters) and was convincing him to join the Jailer, he refused and was forced to do his, Jailer mind controlled him, forced him to kill many innocent and released him from the prison (because Jailer by himself couldn't espace the Maw) and basically Anduin became Jailer's weapon to achive his goals. Anduin with the help of heroes (us, players) and his father (the ghostly flashback where his father put a hand on his shoulder and talked to him) menaged to break out from being mind controlled and we stopped the Jailer. But Anduin was not the same after all of this and he was wandering alone for many years trying to recover from what happened to him

As you asked in the video, our protagonist right now, named 'Anduin' got mind-controled by the "Final" enemy of one of the last expansions called "The jailer" getting him against his own allies and in his culture they are so strict about whats nice or whats wrong, so, for him is like betray all the people who is around him, now he is free of that mind-control with the aid of the "hero's" ( the players) becouse they stopped him before it wents worst and defeating "The Jailer". PS: Sorry if my english isnt the best im not native, hope you caught what i wanted to say hehe.

the trembling sword being steadied when thrall makes contact with it is so beautiful

I am genuinely surprised how close Anduin got to passing the uncanny valley barrier. I wasn't expecting Blizzard of all people to achieve this. Bravo

From what I understand and have been hearing, no mocap was used, which makes the complex facial expressions all that much more incredible. Masterpiece.

Its insane how real this looks

Just a little background story: That sword you saw at the end, got there 3 expansions ago, at the last raid of Legion, Antorus, when we defeated Sargeras one of the titans, who at his last moments, put that sword aimed at our beloved world Azeroth. And we got no story since then, BFA had some stories to do with it but nothing major, Shadowlands and Dragonflight did nothing with it, but now something is happening. And as for Anduin, got corrupted by Sylvanas and the Jailer, since then, he was never the same.

The best thing is no they didn't use mocap, it's all keyframed animations which makes the video even more insane🤩

This cinematic is all about portraying trauma and the result of losing body autonomy, it's crazy good. You can even see the the reflection of the sword in Anduins eyes, it's not even something youd notice or need to have reflected, but it's there just to be amazing.

I saw someone say on twitter that this was the first time a CGI person didn't trigger any uncanny valley feelings in them, and that's gotta be a high compliment, right?

The quality is 11/10. I bet you show Anduin to multiple and they won't 100% tell its CG. Knowing its CG and making me question it. I always expect Blizzard to making good setting and moods for all there full rendered spots but his FAR exceeded there previous ones. His beard, his facial expressions and the scars showing, man has been though some stuff. Also this VA. Whoever did his voice, man needs a raise.

One thing shook me first, the fact that Shalamayne, the sword of defunct Varian and now in hand of his son Anduin, has lost it's light. It show how Anduin is in despair. Then... well... everything is perfect here, lip sync, texture, sound Design, music, animation (the facial expression is stunning). ALL of this without Mocap, hand made... omg it's another lesson from Blizzard. They have made HUGE mistakes thoses past years but holly crap they are still godlike on cinematics. 11/10

This is a powerful mix of emotions, technique and epic. Lots of Dune movie vibes with the colors and music, and a little bit of StarWars, Lord of the Rings.

2:17 bruh you can literally see his lips kinda stick together from them being dry, the level of detail is actually unreal

Word is they didn't use mo-cap and instead had actors act out the scene and used that as a reference for animating it by hand. Absurd.

Let me be the first to tell you that this cinematic is Hand Drawn... Not Motion Capture. 😊 I Have grown up with both of these characters for 20 years..... This Cinematic is def a fan service.

Glad to see you're alive! That's a very OK thing lol

The first WoW cinematic I've seen in 2005 was so great that I wanted to buy and play the game, 19 years later I'm still playing it 😁 great game, has all I'm looking for...

I believe Blizz use a combo of MoCap and cgi....if you watch the "behind the scenes of Battle for Azaroth"..the have the actors all dotted up int hte 360 dome...then the animators take that film and "fiddle" with it :D In that they took a young actor called Goerdie Holibar (I don't think he's done it since) for Anduin and mixed in some VA Josh Keaton...this one I think is JUST Josh

I never watched your videos before but it was very cool to see you react to this cinematic. It really seemed to inspire you! Great passion.

Most of us players had only seen Anduin as a child or young teen. After this came out, a lot of people called him "Manduin" 😊

Opening shot would be a perfect wide screen screenshot

Same feeling as well. When I first saw it, I thought I am seeing a live action scene in the first seconds. The quality is crazy.

I was waiting on your reaction 😂

I had the same reaction to this animation, and for a few seconds, I doubted whether it was CGI.

From interviews we know they didnt use ANY mocap

man the second monitor by side thingy was so original :(

ALWAYS excited when a WoW cinematic reaction drops,you taught me filmmaker stuff and now I follow your analysis with no problem,I understand everything you say and point out

IIRC, correct me if i'm wrong, there is no mo-cap tech used. They shot a reference footage with real actors, but then proceeded to animate it the old school way.

Anduin what he did was, he was dominated/mind controlled by death magic by this dude and was forced to kill and torture people. But he can remember all of it and he remembers the thrill and rush of that power.

Its getting real close to real life now 😮

To use Harry Potter references: He was put under the Imperius Curse, while aware of what he did, forced to do horrible things that went against his whole believe as a priest of the Light ("I have no Light"). There's also lots of small indications for the people who know more of the lore. - Thrall touching the sand, communication with the earth elements with his shamanic powers. - The light of the sword (1:25 the whole in the middle is empty and is usually filled with his light) - 3:46 The pose that is almost iconic of Arthas the Lich King. Which suffered the same fate as Anduin. (If you watch the WOTLK cinematic he does the same pose) - "I trust you" - Anduin doubting himself, who could ever trust him again after what happened - since he can't even trust himself anymore. Just a feast this one. I love it

It's been confirmed by Blizzard that no mo-cap was used for this. Entirely done by their graphics experts and artists :)

Did you spot the teardrops forming in Anduin's eyes after Thrall said "I trust you" ?

they definately used percap for some of this, i see people say they use performances as reference, which I think confirms my suspicions, percap is a newer tech that is taking over mo-cap because the face of thrall is so similar to Chris Metzen's that it has to be involved at some level, there was an expression from thrall's face right near the end when Anduin asks him who it is where thrall has suspicions but does not know who it is that are straight from metzen's performance. They say they hand animated it; and they probably did; but the faces at least had to come from some form of capture, the emotion in the eyes are too on point if they were using performance capture and painted on top of it, that would make a ton of sense, from their own answer on how this was made.

"Not after what I've done" refers to in a previous expansion where he was kidnapped by, for all intents and purposes, the devil and mind controlled. Well, a leveled up mind control that basically changed how he himself perceived things and his alignment from good to evil. Then he was pitted up against his friends and other heroes and tried to kill them. Think of the player as someone he knows and him, in essence, slaughtering groups of heroes (He was a boss). After he came to his senses from help by his deceased father and deceased honorable (Which may have just been in his mind), he questioned himself. He admitted that while under the mind control, he was both horrified and exhilarated while not knowing if that was entirely his own feelings or not. He decided in that moment to step away from the throne (King of a human kingdom). As a hybrid Priest/Paladin, he was empowered by "The Light" which is basically light-aligned deities powering up his spells and abilities. He wasn't sure if he was worthy of that anymore afterwards, if he were to call on The Light, if it would answer.

I both feel incredibly sorry for Anduin going down such a painful road and also have deep respect for that awesome character writing/development of his! :D

To add to what some others have said, the expansion name has a double meaning. The War Within is called that mainly because the planet is like an egg and has a soul inside that is growing into a Titan. (A planet sized being of incredible power that different forces in the cosmos want to corrupt and turn to their side). So she is the orange orb you hear briefly talking or giving to or giving visions to the characters. She needs help, so we will be going to the center of the planet to save her. Most of the expansion is under ground. The War Within. The other meaning, is that Anduin the MC is having a War within his own mind as well, and we will also help him deal with his trauma and PTSD, and hopefully help him find his light again.

Always happy to see you back doing reactions.

The second I saw that cinematic I was excited for this react video

I read 20-30 comments and didn't see this yet. But WoW takes place in a world called "Azeroth" which most people think of as just a name. But it was revealed 3 exp ago (Legion) that there is actually a BEING ... a physical entity ... ++INSIDE++ of the planet!!! That being is named "Azeroth." The premise is that this "being" has been asleep and/or akin to the planet being its womb. And that "Azeroth" is waking up. The millisecond cutscenes you see (nightmare clips) are this being, Azeroth, trying to reach out and talk to Anduin and Thrall. That voice .. is Azeroth. The fantastical sword you see at the end, was thrust into the planet to try and kill Azeroth. There are A LOT of unknowns about this, even after 6 years since her reveal. But this is the future of the game. This is largely what this cinematic is about. The present is the dynamic between Anduin and Thrall. The future ... is Azeroth.

Finally! I was waiting for your reaction since the trailer came out. 🙌🏽 Way too crazy that cinematic. 😮‍💨

Absolut peak graphics in gaming cinematics!

Chris metzen, the OG wow maker, is the voice of Thrall (green guy)

Thrall voice such amazing. so epic!

I haven't followed the storyline much at all in the past years, but its just crazy impressive how drawn in and dramatic they can make this cinematic, just two people talking, that it holds it own with the most action packed examples of the past. Even without having any context, the emotion and severity of the situation immediately draws me back into the lore and has me invested in what is happening. Only a Blizzard cinematic could ever tempt me to come back to this game, almost two decades after its release, but it has me seriously considering it given the direction they're going in.

Not sure if someone already mentioned this, but the voice calling out is the Titan Azeroth, buried within the core of the planet. Everything points to it. It's quite obvious actually, just pointing this out for (non-warcraft nerds) and Mr. Connor, not any avid Warcraft fans who saw this and it clicked instantly.

Anduin looks like Stephen Amell- Arrow

Fast Lore: First thing to know is this reaches all the way back to Arthas spirit being cast into The Maw at the end of Wrath of the Lich KIng. This is the point the The Jailer was able to capture Arthas' soul. Fast forward to Shadowlands. Anduin as a Priest is healing when the Jailer sees him and says, now I have all I need. Anduin then gets captured by Sylvanas causing Shalamayne (Anduin's sword) to be reforged, with domination magic, into a rune blade with Arthas's soul and called Kingsmourne. Sylvanas then uses Kingsmourne to dominate Anduin and turns him into a Deathknight under the Jailers control. At this point, Anduin still knows what is happening, but is not in control and is being forced. With this "domination", Anduin is forced to kill the Archon with Kingsmourne allowing all souls to be sent to The Maw for the Jailers use. Anduin then uses Kingsmourne to dominate the Oracle to opening a portal to the Sepulcher of the First Ones. He used Kingsmourne to separate heroes spirits from their bodies, in turn allowing the heroes to find the source of the Domination. The Jailer then forces Anduin to plunge Kingsmourne into the ground casting a fog/smoke around them. This action is also draining Anduins soul from his body. At this moment in time, is when Anduin's father Varian and Saurfang come to Anduins aide, (You see the beginning of this in the War Within cinematic flashback) letting him know the blade was forged in Valor and Honor, not darkness. Then with their help, Anduin is given the power to split the sword in half releasing Arthas soul from the blade and freeing Anduin of the Domination Magic and bringing him back to the light. So how does this impact Anduin in the Cinematic? First, notice that Shalamayne does not have the light. Shalamayne is imbued with the power of which the wielder possesses. That means the light is not with Anduin. Either Anduin is not accepting the light, or the light is not helping Anduin. I would guess the former and here is why. Anduin knows that the jailer used Anduins power against him and his allies. Anduin is deeply hurt and traumatized from this, that is obvious in the cinematic. But at the same time, it changed him... hardened him (hopefully the last of uncertain Anduin). Anduin needed Thrall to show up and show him trust, because time by itself heals nothing. You need others to heal. Lastly, the sword. At the end of Legion, Sargeras stabbed Azeroth with his sword as he was being sucked into his prison. Though not a killing blow to our world soul, certainly a wound. I don't want to dive into the lore of Sargeras right now, but just know that Sargeras was willing to destroy all life in the pursuit of the end of The Void and Old Gods. That said, and confirmed by Chris Metzen, a showdown between the Shadow and the Light is coming. Sorry if long winded, and I apologize if I made any lore errors. Hope it helps

No matter what else happens in WoW the art team always delivers hard on the trailer and cutscenes.

When the World soul of Azeroth is asking for help, some serious things are about to happen.

so chris us nerds have noticed it obviously but have you noticed how he looks very similar to Arthas in lich king cinematic when he draws his sword? I mean posture of course the way he stands.

this was crazy

The ONE thing practically all blizzard fans agree on, the cinematics are god tier. Even if blizzard screws up their favourite game, the cinematics never disappoint.

All the subtle movement in the eyes, the twitching eyelids and so much more just make them feel more alive than anything I've seen before, they really paid attention to the little details in this CGI short.

The things he done: Nothing actually but this is his problem. He became king very young and he wants to be diplomatic. But basicly everyone else wanted war so he feels like its his fault that he wasnt able to prevent it. Later he gets mindcontroled and did bad things (He was still seeing it from inside) but he blames himself for it even, or because he couldnt fight it. After this he took some time of, wandering the world alone, thinking till this cinematic.

imagine a full movie/animation with this team....

I don't know if you noticed, but you could literally see the little hairs on Thrall's face.

oh man i've waited for your reaction :D btw what is the watch you're wearing? it's beatiful!

14:46 He was an unwilling skin suit for warcrafts Thanos

I think it was actually Live Action. It's totally possible to make Thrall as a live action, but Anduin, everything I just saw screams an actual person. An actual person suffering from PTSD, but still an actual person.

Here is an overview of what you are seeing in this cinematic, Chris. As a dedicated Warcraft enthusiast, I possess an extensive collection of characters, races, and skills within the game. One significant character is King Anduin Wrynn, who, in the latest expansion pack, experienced a harrowing takeover by the Jailor, compelling him to commit heinous acts-reminiscent of Ner'zhul's possession of Arthas, transforming him into the Lich King. The cinematic serves as a poignant reintegration of the King into the narrative, revealing the enduring impact of his past on his countenance. Despite grappling with the weight of his actions, King Anduin recognizes the indispensable role he plays for the people of Stormwind and his allies in Azeroth. His dual role as a Priest imbues him with a unique ability to "feel" things that elude other characters. Within this cinematic, the luminous sphere is perceived as the Heart of Azeroth, symbolizing the very planet they inhabit. Personally moved by this cinematic, I found it emotionally resonant, evoking genuine tears. While I engage with both the Horde and Alliance factions, my allegiance tilts towards the Alliance, particularly drawn by the theme of "The Light."

I would like you to react to other types of Wow cinematics like the Tomb of Sargeras from Legion or Wow miniseries like Warbringers from Battle for Azeroth

Yeah, only movie that escapes the uncanny valley and fully makes me believe in what I’m looking at was the second avatar. There were a couple times in this cinematic where and in talking had that too-smooth animation to it that didn’t look perfectly real, but I can’t fathom what it takes to overcome that.

No uncanny Valley effect here, incredible and amazing from Blizzards part, because that is very very hard to pull off.

the cinematics has come a long way, you could really feel the raw emotion of Anduin in this trailer, Blizzard outdid themselves again :)

So Anduin was mind controlled to do terrible unspeakable things. He was rescued but the pain of what he did has hit him hard.

Anduin level of details is so high in this cinematic , his beard , eyes and his look, his scratched skin of his face (but maybe problematic : There were many years passed from shadowlands ! It can't been scratch from the fight at the last shadowlands raid tiers ! Maybe 3-4 years have passed and maybe more ! And Anduin is a young men too : From were Anduin doing that on his face ? Not with Sylvanas during her sentence we know Anduin leave her but they have passed some months together ... From were you scratched your face like that Anduin ? You have to shit in bramble bush ?