A Sequel Series to Voltron: Defender of the Universe, Voltron: The Third Dimension was an All-CGI Cartoon that was produced by Netter Digital Entertainment and aired in syndication from 1998 to 2000.
It has been years after the defeat of Lotor and King Zarkon. Voltron has been retired, Lotor is in prison, and King Zarkon has reformed, now an important figure in the Galaxy Alliance. However, when Lotor escapes from prison and teams up with the witch Haggar, Voltron must come together once again to stop his reign of evil.
Shares a Character Sheet with Voltron: Defender of the Universe and Voltron Force.
Tropes in this series:
- 24-Hour Armor: The pilots are never seen without their shiny armored pilot suits.
- All-CGI Cartoon: The Third Dimension in the title alludes to the fact that show is done completely in CG allowing for full 3D models.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: The rest of the team doubt Allura was talking to the ghost of Queen Ariella, despite this series and the original making heavy use of magic and featuring the occasional appearance of Alfor's ghost.
- Becoming the Mask: Played with but ultimately subverted. Zarkon specifically mentioned he enjoyed being good and being adored by the people as a peacemaker. The problem is he enjoyed being an evil conqueror more.
- Bittersweet Ending: "The Voltron Force Strikes Back" resolves the cliffhanger's most immediate problems, as Lotor is driven off, Voltron is back in action, and the team is safe on Arus. However, Zarkon is firmly in control of the Alliance and has declared the team as wanted fugitives to be hunted wherever they go.
- The Cameo: Sportscaster Bob Costas appears as an air show announcer in "Escape from Bastille-12."
- Cliffhanger: Season 1 ends with Zarkon achieving his takeover of the Galactic Alliance, the Lions still destroyed, Arus under threat from Lotor, and the rest of the Voltron Force on the run.
- Clip Show: Two.
- "The Trial of Voltron": Amalgamous calls for the team to be disbanded once and for all, while Coran argues on their behalf. Both sides cite previous events, with the Alliance getting to vote on the outcome.
- "Biography: The Voltron Force": reporter Ueep Ueep sits down with Amalgamous for a new special to talk about each member of the team and their recent exploits. Meanwhile, Lotor intends to attack the station for not portraying him positively and for giving his enemies the spotlight.Amalgamous: Where on Earth did you get that footage?
- Co-Dragons: Queeque and Lafitte are this to Lotor and Haggar,who in turn are this to Zarkon.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Unlike the original Voltron, this time the colours of the pilots' outfits match their lions.
- Cyborg: After a climactic battle prior to the start of the series, Lotor was badly injured and had to be rebuilt as a cyborg.
- Does Not Like Magic: Reflecting on the original war, Zarkon feels he lost because he relied too much on Haggar's magic instead of technology. He cautions Lotor not to make the same mistake, much to Haggar's annoyance.
- Enemy Mine: Stopping Dracotron the first time around requires the Voltron Force and Lotor to work together. Haggar sees it as a pragmatic necessity, but Lotor can't stand having to do this. Allura is also a bit disappointed it's a one-time deal instead of a chance for change.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: As obsessed as he is with her, Lotor does actually love Allura and prefers keeping her alive while killing the others. Lance exploits this in "Gladiators" to win the shooting range challenge; the targets are made to look like the Voltron Force, and he knows Lotor will hesitate to fire on the Allura one, which gives him the win.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Lotor thought he could get Allura to marry him if he simply looked like his old self. He is floored when she still refuses; she says it's on what on the inside that counts and that that (not his cyborg face) is what's so twisted about him.
- Evil Counterpart: One recurring antagonist for Voltron is Dracotron, five robotic dragons that can combine into a giant robot just like Voltron.
- Good Feels Good: Keith and Allura's Mirror Universe counterparts aren't evil, but they focus on reckless fun rather than their responsibilities. When the chance to become heroic arises, they admit it's rather infectious.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Averted. Each of the five Voltron pilots wear lion shaped helmets. The helmets cover their mouths but not the rest of their faces.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: In Season 2, the Voltron Force gets demonized as outlaws that attacked Galaxy Garrison.
- Idiot Ball: Amalgamous is a highly sophisticated robot that often reaches downright ridiculous conclusions and tries multiple times to disband the Voltron Force. Justified because Zarkon altered his programming.
- Job-Stealing Robot: In one episode, Amalgamous grounds the Voltron Force and replaces them with drones he can interface with directly. However, because said drones lack the ability to connect with the Lions on a spiritual level, they are unable to form Voltron and must be forcibly removed.
- Amalgamous himself is an aversion, as he is supposed to present and interpret the amalgamated opinions of the (never shown onscreen) Galaxy Alliance officials rather than act on his own.
- Large Ham: Lotor hams it up in every scene he's present in. His Large Ham tendencies are actually a plot point in the pilot. When Lotor is completely silent and sullen looking, it doesn't take long for Allura to realize that the imprisoned 'Lotor' is a hologram and the real deal had escaped.
- Limited Wardrobe: As noted under 24-Hour Armor. Unsurprisingly for a CG cartoon on a low budget, all of the characters get exactly one costume.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: In the "What Do They Fear?" Episode, Haggar's spider monster webs up everyone but Hunk and infects them with nightmare venom, forcing them to experience their worst fears.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: Early in the second season Voltron travels to another dimension and transforms into Stealth Voltron. It isn't a permanent upgrade however as Voltron returns to normal when returning to its home dimension. Ultimately subverted: beyond adding "Stealth" to the names of all of its attacks, it never demonstrates any advantage over its normal counterpart.
- Mirror Universe: "Consider the Alternatives" takes the team and Lotor to one. Coran is pretty much like his mainstream counterpart, if unkempt from years on the run. Almost everything else is different: Keith is a fun-loving slacker who cares nothing about the rules, Lance is a cautious leader, Allura is a party girl and brazen flirt, Pidge is a clueless idiot, and Hunk is a genius. Meanwhile, Lotor is still a villain, but he's soft-spoken, passive, and controls both the Castle of Lions and Voltron. Haggar is also still a villain, but also attractive and loving.Allura: [observing her counterpart] I think I'm gonna be sick.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Hunk remarks that fear gives him bad vibes that keep him focused and alert.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Zarkon's entire coup falls apart because Queeque and Lafitte tried to sell Amalgamous for spare parts. The Voltron Force took advantage to get Amalgamous back, reprogram him, and rally the Alliance back to their side.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Amalgamous. Justified as Zarkon had reprogrammed him to further his own agenda.
- Previously on…: "Queen Ariella" recaps "The Troika Moons" by having a TV reporter narrate the clips.
- Princesses Prefer Pink: Allura normally averts this (due to both Limited Wardrobe and to match Blue Lion), but a few episodes during the latter half of the run do show her in a pink dress when not on duty.
- Properly Paranoid: None of the team particularly like the reformed Zarkon, but Lance repeatedly questions his allegiance. He's right.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: In contrast to Amalgamous, Zarkon is endlessly reasonable and polite about everything. It's all an act to further his agenda, though Lotor admits he played the part surprisingly well.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: In one episode, the team gets tricked into fighting Lotor's forces at a mining facility and cause a good bit of collateral damage. Amalgamous demotes them to mining detail to clean up the mess they made. It's all a scheme to leave them trapped on a planet with mutated bugs and the Castle of Lions unprotected.
- Rhymes on a Dime: The Hunter constantly speaks in rhyme.
- Rocket Punch: The Lion Head attack. It's used a lot more often in this series than the original.
- Sadistic Choice: Lotor threatens to use his fleet to annihilate the Troika Moons (some of the most heavily and densely populated areas in the galaxy); he says he will spare the moons and surrender, but only if the Alliance destroys the Lions. Coran notes Lotor picked the perfect spot for this, saying Voltron would barely be able to save one moon and leave two others open to attack while doing so. Since the Lions belong to Arus, it's up to Allura to decide. She opts to sacrifice the Lions to save civilians. The the rest of the team support her, except for Lance, who gets arrested trying to save Red Lion.
- Save the Villain: With Dracotron on the rampage and after him and Haggar, Lotor calls Allura for help. Lance is willing to leave them to get pounded into paste, but he knows the others won't agree.
- Ship Tease: It doesn't come up that often, but Keith and Allura. His greatest fear is having to watch her marry Lotor. She also finds the idea of their Mirror Universe counterparts being an item interesting.
- Space Pirate: Queequeg and Lafitte.
- Stalker with a Crush: Lotor still wants to marry Allura, but it's downplayed compared to Voltron: Defender of the Universe.
- Sympathy for the Devil: Allura loathes Lotor for the things he's done and his attempts to force her to marry him, but she admits at the end of "Bride Of The Monster" that she pities him for being such a twisted, unhappy person.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Lotor and Haggar routinely insult each other, regardless of the situation. Father and son don't get along any better.
- Time Skip: Set five years after the original series.
- Villain Ball: The contest between Lance and Lotor in "Gladiators" was all a distraction for Zarkon to obtain a powerful resource in another dimension. However, his attempt to get it threatened to break the dimensional wall and endanger all existence. Lance was willing to leave with the others to stop him, but Lotor angrily wanted to keep fighting, despite the stakes. To add insult to injury, Lance was willing to forfeit outright, but Lotor kept attacking him rather than take the easy win, so Lance beat him soundly in self-defense.
- "What Do They Fear?" Episode: In the final episode Voltron Force is attacked by a spider whose venom sends the victim into a coma where they live out their worst fears.
- Why Are You Not My Son?: A running thread in later episodes is Zarkon regarding the robot Igor as a more worthy son than Lotor. It enrages Lotor to no end, and he frequently lashes out against Igor.
- A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Turns out Zarkon isn't really reformed at all, he's just earning the trust of the Galaxy Alliance to make it that much easier to conquer the galaxy.
- Woman Scorned: Alfor rejected Haggar, which turned her to evil. She manages to capture his spirit in "Dark Heart" and transform him into a new Robeast.
