''3Below: Tales of Arcadia'' (or simply ''3Below'') is an American animated

science fantasy file:Warhammer40kcosplay.jpg, Cosplay of a character from the ''Warhammer 40,000'' tabletop game; one critic has characterized the game's setting as "action-oriented science-fantasy." Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction ...

television series produced by

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...

, and is the second installment of

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

's '' Tales of Arcadia'' trilogy. The series was announced on December 12, 2017 by Netflix and DreamWorks. On October 5, 2018, the premiere date was announced and the first teaser was released. The 13-episode first season was released on December 21, 2018 on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, set during the third season of '' Trollhunters''. The series concluded with the release of the second season that serves as a sequel to ''Trollhunters'', and was released on July 12, 2019. A third and final installment of ''Tales of Arcadia'', titled '' Wizards'', was released on August 7, 2020. The full-length feature film, '' Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans'' was released on

on July 21, 2021.

Plot

Two royal extraterrestrial siblings, Crown Princess Aja and Crown Prince Krel of House Tarron, their dog-like pet named Luug, and their

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

, Varvatos Vex, escape from their home planet of Akiridion-5 after a coup and crash-land on Earth, specifically in the city of Arcadia Oaks, California. There, the aliens adjust to human culture and try to fix their spaceship (as well as to restore their nearly-dead parents King Fialkov and Queen Coranda) to return and take back Akiridion-5, which is being taken over by an evil

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

known as General Val Morando, who has already sent out a team of intergalactic

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for a bail bondsman who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as a bail enforcement agent or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated ...

s, called the Zeron Brotherhood, to find and catch the alien prince and princess. After investigating a way to stop Val Morando and find the hiding place of Aja and Krel, Zadra, one of the noble protectors of the royals from Akiridion-5, arrives on Earth. Meanwhile, after learning of his involvement in Morando's coup, Aja and Krel decide to exile Vex. During his exile, Vex is captured by the Zeron Brotherhood and imprisoned at a bounty hunter outpost located on Earth's moon. In Season 2, Aja and Krel learn of his capture and launch a rescue mission. Soon after the rescue, however the gang discovers that Morando is heading for Earth. After successfully defeating him, Aja (now Queen), Vex, Zadra, Luug and the rest finally return home, joined by Eli, who has volunteered to be Earth's ambassador on Akiridion 5. Crown Prince Krel decides that Earth has become his home, and decides to stay with his new human best friends.

Voice cast

Extra Terrestrial Life

* Tatiana Maslany as: ** Aja Tarron ** Coranda Tarron *

Diego Luna Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer, best known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in ''Rogue One, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016) and the Disney+ series ''Andor (TV series), ...

as Krel Tarron *

Nick Offerman Nicholas David Offerman (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor. He became widely known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015), for which he received the Television Critics Association Award fo ...

as Varvatos Vex *

Glenn Close Glenda Veronica Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. In a career spanning over five decades on Glenn Close on screen and stage, screen and stage, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Glenn Close, numerous ac ...

as the Mothership * Frank Welker as Luug * Alon Aboutboul as Val Morando * Andy Garcia as Fialkov Tarron *

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He has been voicing SpongeBob SquarePants (character), the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media since its debut in 1999. Kenny has voice ...

as Dadblank *

Cheryl Hines Cheryl Ruth Hines (born September 21, 1965) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her role as Cheryl David on HBO's ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' (2000–2024), earning two Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She also ...

as Momblank *

Nick Frost Nicholas John Frost (born 28 March 1972) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He has appeared in the '' Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of '' Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), and '' The World's ...

as Stuart * Darin De Paul as Zeron Alpha * Ann Dowd as Zeron Omega * Hayley Atwell as Zadra * Jennifer Hale as Izita * Chris Obi as Loth Saborian *

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo (, ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. Known for his Danny Trejo filmography, large body of work as a character actor, films in which he has appeared in have grossed over $3.7 billion worldwide. A native of Los Angeles, Tr ...

as Tronos Madu * Fred Tatasciore as: ** Neb ** Magmatron * Fiona Shaw as Birdie / Halcon *

Kathleen Turner Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. Known for her distinctive deep husky voice, she is the recipient of two Golden Globes, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy, and two Tony Awards. After debuting ...

as Gwendolyn

Earthlings

Uzo Aduba Uzoamaka Nwanneka "Uzo" Aduba () (; born February 10, 1981) is an American actress. She gained wide recognition for her role as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren on the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she w ...

as Colonel Kubritz * Oscar Nuñez as Sergeant Costas *

Cole Sand Cole Sand (born May 24, 2003) is an American actor. He played Nelson in the Disney Channel show ''Austin & Ally'' and Jensen in the NBC comedy-drama '' Parenthood'' and is the voice of Eli Pepperjack in DreamWorks' '' Tales of Arcadia''. His t ...

as Eli Pepperjack *

Steven Yeun Sang-yeop Yeun (; born December 21, 1983), known professionally as Steven Yeun ( ), is an American actor. His accolades include two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Br ...

as Steve Palchuk * J.B. Smoove as Phil * Reginald VelJohnson as Jerry * Tom Wilson as Coach Lawrence * Charlie Saxton as Toby Domzalski * Fred Tatasciore as: ** AAARRRGGHH!!! ** Senior Uhl *

Emile Hirsch Emile Davenport Hirsch (born March 13, 1985) is an American actor. His portrayal of Chris McCandless in '' Into the Wild'' (2007) earned him acclaim and multiple award nominations. Other notable roles include '' The Girl Next Door'' (2004), '' ...

as Jim Lake Jr. * Lexi Medrano as Claire Nuñez *

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained fame for his role as the psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984–1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993–2004, and again F ...

as Blinky *

Jonathan Hyde Jonathan Stephen Geoffrey King (born 21 May 1948), known professionally as Jonathan Hyde, is an Australian actor. Hyde is perhaps best known for roles as Herbert Arthur Runcible Cadbury in the comedy film '' Richie Rich'' (1994), Samuel Parrish ...

as Stricklander * Laraine Newman as: ** Nancy Domzalski / Nana ** Ms. Janeth * Jimmie Wood as NotEnrique * Steve Alterman as Seamus Johnson * Alfred Molina as Archie *

Lauren Tom Lauren Tom (born August 4, 1961) is an American actress. She began her career on stage, winning an Obie Award, and gained recognition for her role in '' The Joy Luck Club'' (1993). On television, she is known for her roles in the NBC sitcom ''Fri ...

as Mary Wang *

Yara Shahidi Yara Sayeh Shahidi (born February 10, 2000) is an American actress and producer. She began her career as a child, appearing in the films ''Imagine That (film), Imagine That'' (2009), ''Butter (2011 film), Butter'' (2011), and ''Alex Cross (film ...

as Darci Scott * Bebe Wood as Shannon * James Purefoy as Kanjigar the Courageous *

Victor Raider-Wexler Victor Raider-Wexler is an American film and television actor, best known for roles as Stan in the sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (1996–2004), the dual roles of Mr. Kaplan and Mr. Kaufman in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (2001–2007), ...

as Vendel *

Clancy Brown Clarence James Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. His film roles include Rawhide in ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Ban ...

as Gunmar * Matthew Waterson as Mr. Johnson * Ike Amadi as Detetive Scott *

as Dr. Muelas * Rodrigo Blaas as Gnome Chompsky * Andrea Navedo as Mrs. Nuñez *

as Officer Brennen *

Colin O'Donoghue Colin O'Donoghue (born 26 January 1981) is an Irish actor and musician, best known for portraying Captain Hook, Captain Killian "Hook" Jones on the ABC TV show ''Once Upon a Time (TV series), Once Upon a Time''. He appeared in the horror film, ...

as Douxie "Big D" Princess Aja and Prince Krel also appeared in the '' Trollhunters'' episodes "In Good Hands" and "The Eternal Knight, Part 1" in their borrowed human forms.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2 (2019)

Reception

Critical response

The series currently holds a 100% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

. It has been praised for its depiction of

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

through a sci-fi lens, with Dave Trumbore of '' Collider'' writing, "... the subtext here, which is hard to miss even for younger viewers, is that Aja, Krel, and Vex are stand-ins for immigrants, refugees, and "illegal aliens" ... the show is re-examining the actions of the anti-immigrant government agents and the aliens' allies alike."

Accolades

References

External links

* *
3Below: Tales of Arcadia
' at

* {{Netflix original animated series and films 2010s American children's television series 2010s American LGBTQ-related animated television series 2018 American animated television series debuts 2019 American television series endings American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated science fantasy television series American computer-animated television series Animated television series about extraterrestrial life Netflix children's programming Tales of Arcadia American teen animated television series Television series by DreamWorks Animation Television series by Universal Television Television series about princes Animated television series about princesses Animated television series about siblings Fictional extraterrestrial–human hybrids Fictional shapeshifters Works by Guillermo del Toro American English-language television shows