Given his acne, nightmares and surges of aggression, Lorcan might seem like any other kid grappling with puberty. But Lorcan is also a Minotaur — a Greek mythological creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man — living among humans on the fictional island Bryony, off the coast of Ireland. This is the fish-out-of-water setup of Apple TV’s charming new animated series “My Brother the Minotaur,” debuting on Friday.
Produced by Dog Ears and the Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon, which made “The Secret of Kells,” the series follows the 12-year-old Lorcan (voiced by Ely Solan), who was adopted as a baby by the McCreadys, a loving, tight-knit, multigenerational family. That family consists of Lorcan’s inquisitive younger brother, Charlie (Billy Jenkins); his parents, Clara (Orla Fitzgerald) and Archie (Blake Harrison); and his grandparents, Olivia (Anna Healy) and George (Brian Cox), who belong to the Elders, a group tasked with protecting the island’s secrets, including a gateway between our world and the Other Side.
When the series begins, Lorcan is deep in the throes of a nightmare — pursued by a man-sized rabbit with glowing eyes. This is a Pooka (Paul Kaye), a shape-shifting demon from Irish mythology, who soon appears on the island to wreak all manner of mischief.
Meanwhile, Charlie, a budding detective, has linked his brother’s dreams to the lunar cycle, and he recruits his friends Dana (Billie Boullet) and Harper (Luciana Akpobaro) to help uncover their origins. The gang’s dynamic is familiar — the resourceful Dana unearths clues while the brash Harper leads the charge — but it fits neatly inside the show’s larger preoccupation with chosen bonds. Nipping at their heels is Mr. Craignelder (played with oily charm by Michael Sheen), a hotel proprietor who tries to turn the islanders against Lorcan, whose presence on Bryony they had all agreed to keep secret, effectively closing off the island to tourism.
Like other Cartoon Saloon productions, “My Brother the Minotaur” is visually stunning, leaning into the natural splendor of its wild, rustic setting with a painterliness that recalls traditional Celtic art and illuminated medieval manuscripts. In an early bicycle chase through the woods, layers of shadow and trees unfurl beneath the light of a full moon, glowing in beautiful shades of green, blue and gray.
Despite its fantastical premise, “My Brother the Minotaur” is grounded in earthbound concerns — what it means to belong, how to reconcile dueling identities, whether the love of the family that chose you can replace that of the one that let you go.
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