Parents' Guide to

Primal

By Ayize Everett, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

A caveman, a dinosaur, and a violent journey of forgiveness.

TV Adult Swim Action 2019
Primal Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Levi A.
Levi A. Parent of 14 and 15-year-old
March 29, 2023
age 13+
JVF0
JVF0 Adult
September 20, 2022
age 17+

Too much graphic violence for a 14+

Given that CSM removed my review from public viewing, I'll try to make a more constructive review. This website gives this show a 14+ rating, and includes a warning to take it seriously, which is unusual. Violence here is usually pervasive, bloody and sometimes extreme and sadistic, with some scenes scary even for an adult. There is an episode where a dinosaur is infected by a virus, its skin starts melting, acts erratically and becomes very violent. Season 2 contains violence towards humans, with episodes where humans become very aggressive and kill other humans in very brutal and gory ways. Many episodes are rated TV-MA for a good reason, and even the TV-14 ones can get very intense. The show has no dialogue, although one episode actually features understandable language and uses "bastard" once. Season 2 also has a very brief "sex" scene (consent is not very clear though). In my opinion, this show has little substance apart from bloody violence and shock value, even storywise. I can't recommend it to anyone under 17.

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In PRIMAL, a nameless caveman who communicates through grunts travels through his world as a beta predator, as much prey as hunter, trying to find food for his family. But he returns to his home just in time to see them devoured by a family of dinosaurs. Distraught, he contemplates suicide, only to decide on revenge instead. But when he catches up to the dinos, he finds the one who ate his children has children of her own. Just as compassion begins to well, larger dinosaurs attack the baby dinosaurs and their mother. Moving forward, both parents will have to learn to join together if they're going to survive -- all they have to get past is their grief.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (5 ):

This is a great show for teens with some patience and love of animation as an art form. The art, while not complicated, is simply gorgeous; each minute feels like a study in animation. There's also something about Primal not using dialogue that forces the viewer to pay close attention to the visuals. While the soundtrack is amazing, you could watch it with the volume off and get 90% of the story.

The premise is truly in the title -- the caveman and the dinosaur live in a primal world in which natural disasters, larger predators, and starvation are constant threats. To survive both must kill. And while the scenes of death can be jarring, the violence doesn't feel superfluous. The caveman is also able to demonstrate complex levels of grief and sadness at the death he both inflicts and must endure. As the plot moves forward, he also has an emotional reckoning with the dinosaur who killed his family, and encounters the grief of Mastodons as well. Families who enjoy animation with depth should find a powerful story in Primal.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about grief and what it drives some people to do. What does grief cause the characters in Primal to do?

  • What motivates someone to forgive? Have you ever had to forgive a person for something they did or said that hurt you? Was it difficult?

TV Details

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