Arms Outstretched - The Adventure Zone Animatic 

See this is one of the hardest hitting moments in the show because it’s the time Magnus was the one who needed protecting, the time Taako was entirely selfless, and the time Merle was perfectly competent, with a grasp of what he needed to do to help his friends.

And just like that, they bypassed an entire arc through the astral plane

Of course the dad is gonna save his boys though

Love that Griffin fully intended to kill someone off but everyone went “actually fuck this”. It was such a good moment that despite knowing Merle’s spell wasn’t supposed to work like that, and despite knowing he’d have to scrap his partially fleshed out idea for an entirely different arch, Griffin was 10000% on board for the direction the end of the Wonderland arch was now hurtling towards

Absolutely love the touch that Merle straight up turns his back on the enemy to save his friends

That moment when you realize that Taako and Merle basically just did necromancy.

"Magnus, you landed on skull in the last round, didn't you?" "Yes." "𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘬."

Y’all think that when Taako saw Magnus’ body suddenly gone, somewhere deep in his mind he thought “I can’t lose him. Not another one. Not again”

merle: *slam dunks magnus' soul into a mannequin*

The way you drew Taako’s expression when he sees Kravitz destroyed me

"I cast Planar Ally!" I cast Crying My Eyes Out 😭

When Merle clearly breaks the rules of his spell but finally gets away with it and results in one of the best moments of TAZ history. I cried when this happened. Great animation on Edward and Lydia!

Merle is the true MVP of this whole thing, and honestly, I rarely see people give him his due in his moment of awesome here during the Wonderland arc. Exceptionally well done. Definitely gonna be sitting in my Favorites from here on.

How is it that every single thing related to TAZ gives me chills without fail?

"Because you're dying." Mnf, chef kiss. One of the overlooked lines of the series for how it was delivered. Astounding job with how this scene was handled, with the moment of Magnus' soul being so beautifully shot with sudden monochrome and blackness along with the titlecard, and the flashing descriptions of the scene, mmnf, all of it is tasty.

as much as i love this moment, i'm still kinda sad we didn't see magnus and kravitz team up...

It's even more hard hitting because there aren't any words. Excellent job.

Your expressions and mannerisms are spot-on. I didn't even think what this would've looked like for Merle at the beginning, but you showed him being worried when Taako suddenly fell to the ground. The way you showed the differences between the planes was beautiful. The arms that Merle made? Stunning. Your art is so good, and I loved it all as both a consumer of art and an artist.

This is two years late, but the shot of Merle with his arms literally outstretched as he casts Planar Ally is frigging AMAZING

This was awesome! This is one of the most touching scenes in the show, right after when they restarted the bond engine, because it really shows despite all of the teasing and sometimes downright cruel remarks they make to each other, they really are super good friends.

I have yet to see an animatic of this scene that gave me the same visceral response as listening to it the first time did. Until this one. I got chills, teared up, and was grinning ear to ear. Like frick you nailed it.

Magnus and Taako die: Merle: *"n0t t0day-"*

Anyone who makes any form of Arms Outstretched animatic is blessed by Pan, Istus, and the Raven Queen.

When they all say “word of mouth” in unison I got CHILLS-

I love the look Merle gives the twins when they're grinning at him. Annoyed but also like he kind of pities them.

God I love Merle in this scene what a DAD

Despite all of the teasing, between this and "Are we friends?" Merle has some of the most amazing moments in the show

HOLY FUCKKK What really gets me every time during this scene is Merle casting planar ally, because I already died when taako went to help but seeing the two of them working together to rescue their best friend gets me every damn time. The three of them working together and being so competent then for each other makes me wanna cry and the song captures it so well. God this was done really well thank you

God. How the sound just drops out when the song starts gives me chills every time. The text flashing across the screen really gives me a Monogatari vibe. Just in general you really well captured the feelings of this moment. The linework and colors are so nice I even forget it's an animatic completely. Love your Taako btw. What a good lookin young lad. I like it when male characters have braids.

this is the first time that an Arms Outstretched animatic with no dialogue has given me goosebumps. Griffin's narration is definitely a huge factor at making this scene so chilling but u made do with just the soundtrack and ur incredible art and direction. ur freaking awesome. excuse me as i watch this about 20 more times again

I like the animation of Merle scooping them up way more than them grabbing on to an astral hand for him to pull them.

not gonna lie, this is the best Taako i've seen yet :D also this is really great, thanks for posting it

I love how at 2:37 Magnus is clearly Edward because he has the same smile as Lydia. Such a great detail! This is awesome.

That "Bad luck" spooks me every time. I love the editing you did on this video. The text narration and the music transition were perfect. I got chills.

-Smashes that like button. Adds to favourites. Subscribes- Aaaand I'm crying again. This was, this is...brilliant. Beyond words brilliant with everything you did. Aaaaaaa.

This is absolutely stunning. The love you put behind every single frame of this masterpiece is self evident. I hope you're incredibly proud of this piece because you really, really should be. It brought me to tears all over again, especially the look on Merle's face right before he cast planar ally. Gorgeous, incredible work. Two thumbs so far up they're through the ceiling.

I've seen pretty much no one else taking this approach to animatics - just drawing the events instead of using the podcast audio - and I'm now all in for it. Love Merle's look of screw-you-elves determination when he casts Planar Ally, and the way his hands cradle them as he brings them back in.

I remember listening to this scene, feeling like my heart had dropped into my stomach. I was so tense I was almost breathless. This animation perfectly captures that. Well done!!!!!!

Dang. When Taako stood up, just...dang!

Does anyone else notice how Merle’s spell just cradles them gently to bring them back? Well done my friend nice detail

that shot of merle turning around to cast gets me EVERY TIME. i cry EVERY TIME. god bless the adventure zone

dang these visuals made it like hearing this scene for the first time all over again .. chills

This is one of my favourite animatics of this scene because you very clearly included the part about Merle turning his back on the liches to reach out to his friends (2:43) and that to me has always been one of the most impactful parts of this scene and one of my favourite moments in the show. Awesome job!

This is hands down the coolest portrayal of arms outstretched I’ve seen, it was gorgeous

Arms Outstretched is one of the best moments not in TAZ but in DnD history overall It captures the spirit of freedom, imagination, comradery and fantasy and I LOVE IT

arms outstretched will always be my favorite part of the podcast, along with "i saw seven birds", lup's return and taako's speech to barry during stolen century. god tier.

It's funny because I've been holding off on watching this, because I haven't actually listened to the moment in the podcast. Well, I just finished and raced over here and I've never been so happy to watch something. This's so amazing and well done

This animation was so beautiful it made me cry. I just finished balance and listening to TTAZZ and finding out this wasn't how this scene was supposed to play out and yet these characters' willingness to sacrifice for each other was awesome. You captured this BEAUTIFULLY (and probably my favorite depictions of the tres horny bois I've ever seen)

Not sure why i decided to watch this in a cafe since i'm now having to try so hard not to cry in public. amazing work, the colours, the expressions, the timing....

I love this and especially the facial expressions?? Even tho it's music playing I can practically HEAR them shout Also the colors are fab and I love how you made the astral plane colorless :D

This is the best rendition of this scene I have found thus far! I just finished the Balance arc today, and bar none, this has to be my favorite moment in the podcast. The danger that Magnus was in felt so real, and you present that wonderfully. I felt like I was listening to this scene all over again, on the edge of my seat. The visuals lined up with how I imagined it, the white creatures and Kraavitz and the mannequin. And the detail! Magnus' armor, Lydia's dress, and the contrast between the grey scale and color environments, which I didn't even catch onto until when Merle was casting Planar Ally. And the way he cups them! When he pulls them back in! Just!! This is absolutely stunning!!

I love the blithely menacing expressions of Lydia and Edward, especially Edward-as-Magnus. Really amazing.

Holy crap this is great. I love how you only took the music and not the rest of the podcast audio, it is so dope!

This is so rad. Gave me the chills. The character designs? Lovely.

You can bet your ass I'm crying. This is so amazing to see one of the most emotional scenes in taz so beautifully animated with so few of the words that originally partnered it. Just the music to guide the absolutely fucking *stunning* just unbelievably *amazing* art

The most incredible moment in a podcast full of incredible moments, and like most of them it's elevated by Griffin's constantly flawless musical choices.

God DAMMIT this is good. Your characters are so expressive -- grinning, possessed Magnus is just chilling. I love it!

I absolutely love all of this! But the moment that made me like and comment was when Merle looked at the situation and his expression dropped into a "done with this shit" and he turned his back to perform his most MVP moment ever! Thanks for making such an amazing version of this scene!

poor Kravitz in the back

This is wonderful! The timing of the music to the visuals was perfect. Thank you so much for giving focus to Merle!! Like, 2:50, with the lights dancing softly behind him?? Stunning. He always seems to get left behind in animatics for this scene even though it's, without question, one of his most defining actions in the entire campaign, so I really appreciate seeing him get some love too 🌱❤️

this is an INCREDIBLE animatic. usually I prefer ones that keep all the talk in, but this? this is made more powerful because they say *nothing*. because, in the show, they don't have to say anything, it's the first time they're so perfectly in-sync. the colors are vibrant, the expressions are perfect (special mention to Taako's face when he sees Kravitz, and then closing his eyes as he focuses on Magnus, what's right in front of him, what he can do now). Merle locking gazes with Edward and Lydia before he turns his back on them and saves his friends. the way Magnus and Taako's faces light up when they see Merle's soul hands. you capture the power in this moment so incredibly well.

Holy shit this made me cry so much, thank you. This is amazing.

Omg I love the way you pictured Merle’s arms 😭😭 it makes the scene so much cooler

This is hands down my favorite rendition of this moment. The art is gorgeous, I love Taako's design, the whole thing is beautiful

You even gave the mannequin a little eye scar ahhhh that's so amazing!!!!!!

Love the depiction of Cravitz, he looks so badass!

I was hoping there was an animatic for this scene. This scene, when listening to the podcast, gave me CHILLS as I listened, and what went through my head as I did looked almost exactly like this. Tres Horny Boys are epic as hell when they aren't goofing off, and even then, they still somehow manage to be clumsy badasses and I love them all the more for it.

This is amazing! The synchronization of the animation/music timing, the use of color vs. B&W, the scar on the mannequin... I could go on. Beautiful art and brilliant video.

Ugh. This is obviously the most emotional scene in my opinion. How dare you add animation to make me cry

HOLY FUCK!!! WHAT WAS THAT??!! That was AMAZING!! I thought this would be a regular animatic but then you cut the voices and everything is just BEAUTIFULLY illustrated, and we see what is happening ourselves without the narration. And the expressions, HOLY FUCK the expressions. I am just here in awe. Thank you for making this.

god im getting chills. ur artstyle is beautiful and i love how u synchronized the scenes with the music. the music slowly reaching towards a crescendo as merle stares the twins down and then casts planar ally. its so breathtaking

So great. That moment was so powerful and emotional that I can't describe it in less than one thosand words.

I don't think I've ever seen a video with so many likes not have a single dislike before (as of writing this comment anyway). But you deserve it--amazing work.

This is years old, but I just want to say what a brilliant choice it was to make the Ethereal plane void of color

This, has to be, the best thing ever. The art is really well made, awesome alongside the lack of sound giving an even greater sense of power, not forgetting the amazing music which really adds to the feeling of struggle and wonder. Thank you for this wonderful video.

Seriously, I just keep coming back every so often to watch this because I love it so much

This keeps being my favourite animatic of arms outstretched, by a wide margin, because you actually took the time to very carefully sync up the sequence of events with the emotional beats of the song. And by virtue of doing so, this is also the only animatic I've found that gives Merle enough credit for his part in this.

Moment of appreciation for how fucking cool you made Kravitz.

I didn't even think about the fact that for a moment there, poor merle was left completely alone

this is so good. I love how you just show what's happening over the music without the narration

oh my GOSH THIS IS SO GOOD the facial expressions! especially those relieved smiles! - kravitz! - the mannequins!

HOLY SHIT THIS IS AMAZING!!!! I love your character designs, I love how well you timed the whole thing, I love the colours you used, I love your overall art style, I just!!! love this!!! so much???? Fuck me up. This scene hit me hard the first time I heard it and this animatic really does it justice.

So this animation, which I randomly happened to see on youtube, is what made me decide to start listening to TAZ (and the McElroys in general). Months later, I finally caught up to this part in The Adventure Zone and came back to watch it again. :) Thanks for the ride.

jesus fucking christ this is breathtaking. I love the coloring, and your Taako design is the best thing I've ever seen, thank you so much for creating this!

Hi I’m crying at how you made the hands that Merle cast just cup taako and Magnus so tenderly and gently 🥺🥺 that moment was so beautiful

This is awesome!!! I love your character design!

this made me cry more than listening to the actual moment jesus christ good job my dude

how have I not come across this in all these years, it's so good!!

this is really fucking good... merles determined face when the beat dropped gave me chills

Something about how fed up Magnus looks at the start is hilarious to me. Thank you

Listening through TAZ Balance at work and somehow kept it together enough through this moment today without visibly crying but I found this animation of yours and welp... I needed a good cry. Fantastically done. 10/10 across the board. ❤

The drawing in this cartoon is excellent. It's a perfect example of how cartoons can bridge gaps between fantasy and reality.

I know I'm late to the party, but I'm relistening to Balance and I just got to this part and I swear I got so emotional and I looked it up and found this and now I'm even MORE emotional like holy hell you really nailed down everything without even using words.

oooooh I've got shivers. This is so good. It's one of my absolute favorite moments of the podcast, and you captured it so well. I love that you didn't have the audio over it (not that the audio isn't good!) but you let the art speak for itself and tell the story. This was so good!!!!

this brought tears to my eyes, awesome job animating this scene! I'm so hyped for my re-listening

when Merle casted that spell it was just a moment of "I hope to *Pan* this works"

I have watched this four times in a row. I’m concerned that I might just ugly cry forever now

Best TAZ animatic I've seen and I've watched the whole playlist twice

I have watched this moment, so, so, many times and every-time I get teared up. Wonderful video!

The music in this brings me to tears