''StarBeam'' is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

television series created for

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 ...

by Loris Lunsford and Jason Netter. The show follows Zoey (voiced by Nahanni Mitchell), a young girl who is a

. The first season of the series premiered on Netflix on April 3, 2020, followed by a second season on September 8, 2020. A third season debuted on a March 9, 2021 release. Season 4 debuted on June 29, 2021, introducing a new format in the last few episodes. A Halloween special, ''StarBeam: Halloween Hero,'' was released on October 6, 2020. A New Years' special, ''StarBeam: Beaming in the New Year,'' was released on December 14, 2021.

Synopsis

The show is based on Zoey, a girl in second grade. StarBeam, a superhero with unusual powers, including super-speed, super-strength, flight, high-velocity wind breathing, and the power to build force fields with bubbles, is Zoey's alter-ego. With her catchphrase, "It's time to shine!" Zoey turns into StarBeam. Zoey inherited her superpowers from her superhero mother, WonderBeam, and follows the theme of family superheroes. Only a few people are aware of her hidden existence in Zoey's world. These individuals include her "Gramps" non-superpower grandfather; her closest friend, Henry, a "Boost" superhero who invents devices that strengthen his superhero abilities; and a friend who gives moral encouragement, their seagull sidekick, "Kipper." Gramps, Boost, and Kipper, together, always assist Zoey to save the day.

Characters

Main

* Zoey/StarBeam (voiced by Nahanni Mitchell) is the main heroine. Typically energetic and strong-willed, Zoey is very playful and excitable. StarBeam's powers are

bubble Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying fundame ...

-based, though she also has super breath in addition to flight, super strength, and super speed. StarBeam's suit has also changed appearances depending on the mission, from manifesting as a

spacesuit A space suit (or spacesuit) is an environmental suit used for protection from the harsh Space environment, environment of outer space, mainly from its Vacuum (outer space), vacuum as a highly specialized pressure suit, but also its temperatu ...

to giving her a

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

tail for underwater missions. * Henry Blumenshine/Boost (voiced by Dean Petriw) is Zoey's best friend. Henry is the son of Mayor Blumenshine, who is unaware of his superhero identity as much as Zoey's. Henry is relatively more scientific and down to earth than Zoey, but he does enjoy much of the same activities that she likes. Unlike StarBeam, Boost lacks natural superpowers, including super strength and flight, and instead uses a menagerie of high-tech

gadget A gadget is a machine, mechanical device or any ingenious article. Gadgets are sometimes referred to as ''wikt:gizmo, gizmos''. History The etymology of the word is disputed. The word first appears as reference to an 18th-century tool in Glass ...

s and inventions to assist any way he can. * Gramps/AlphaBeam (voiced by

Terry Klassen Terry Klassen is a Canadian voice actor, ADR director and writer. Before animation, Klassen worked in radio in Winnipeg (CITI-FM), Toronto (Q107), Calgary (CFAC), Portage la Prairie (CFRY) and part-time at CFOX and CFMI. In animation, he is best ...

) is Zoey's grandfather and the father of WonderBeam. Gramps lacks any superpowers compared to Zoey and her mom, but his main role is

mission control A mission control center (MCC, sometimes called a flight control center or operations center) is a facility that manages space flights, usually from the point of launch until landing or the end of the mission. It is part of the ground segment ...

; he works in Beam Control at the lighthouse to watch for villains and other emergencies. Gramps has a calming presence, and gives Zoey words of wisdom when things get hairy in a mission. In his downtime, he enjoys

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

at the dock outside. Although he lacks natural superpowers, like Boost he makes use of a high-tech suit as a superhero, first doing so in the New Years' special. * Kipper (voiced by Sam Vincent) is Zoey's pet

seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

and accompanies her on her missions. Kipper is notably food-minded, as his primary motive, aside from helping StarBeam, is to constantly snack on miscellaneous foodstuffs, which can get him and/or the mission in big trouble. * Zoey's Mom/WonderBeam (voiced by

Diana Kaarina Diana Kaarina (born March 17, 1975) is a Canadian actress based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is known for her voice acting work in animation and video games, notably as the voice of Barbie in the eponymous film series between 2010 and 2 ...

) is Zoey's mother as well as Gramps' daughter. Zoey's mom cares very much about her family, but like Zoey, she is dedicated to her duty as a superheroine. She shares StarBeam's powers of super strength, super speed and flight, but she uses more

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

-derived superpowers in contrast to StarBeam's bubbles, including a laser cage that renders all superpowers unusable.

Villains

* Captain Fishbeard (voiced by Sam Vincent) is an overweight

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

who, much like a few species of birds, kleptomaniacally takes whatever shiny objects he sees, no matter how worthless much of them are. Fishbeard captains a flying pirate ship known as the ''Delores'', and he has a

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...

named Leonard instead of a

parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

as with most pirates. Rather than a typical pirate accent, he uses a hoarse American accent whenever he speaks. * Miserable Marla (voiced by

Maryke Hendrikse Marÿke Hendrikse ( ; born February 23, 1979) is a Canadian voice actress. She has played several roles in anime, most notably Revy in '' Black Lagoon'' and Lunamaria Hawke in '' Gundam Seed Destiny''. She is also known for her roles as Susan ...

) is a blue-skinned girl with freckles and generally drab clothing. True to her name, Marla acts miserable when others are enjoying themselves, and she delights in spreading misery to the citizens of Summersette. Marla can levitate in mid-air, and while capable of generating wind, she primarily controls cloud-based weather, namely

rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

as well as static electricity. She is sometimes accompanied by a number of sentient storm clouds, but she otherwise goes solo in her schemes. * Cosmic Crusher (voiced by Vincent Tong) is a large muscular man. Crusher is highly arrogant and believes himself to be the best dancer in all of Summersette, usually arriving to a

captive audience Captive audience may refer to: Law * Captive audience meeting, a mandatory meeting used by employers to oppose unionization * A legal concept in: ** '' Rowan v. United States Post Office Department'', 1970, in which the United States Supreme C ...

. Twice however, his defeat comes from his overconfidence, which allows StarBeam and Boost to outsmart and defeat him. Cosmic Crusher has super strength and advanced dance moves, but his ego often hampers his performance. * Goop (voiced by Sam Vincent) is a green and purple three-eyed alien-like being who appeared sporadically throughout the series (mostly under the servitude of his master Todd). He is idiotically ditzy and partially go-lucky, but he is loyal and enjoys helping his boss, though he is a bit of a coward. Goop is able to transform his body into many different forms, though a focused beam of light can force him back into his true shape. * Todd (voiced by Sam Vincent) is a short purple being in a black and yellow outfit whole is widely known to Zoey's family as the most troublesome villain in all of Summersette's knowledge. Todd is extremely mad and dramatic, though while he is malicious, he is always foiled due to some of his drawbacks, abusing his servant Goop being among them. Todd's primary (and seemingly only) superpower is his ability to grow at will, though he can often get arrogant when doing so. He only appeared via mentions or through communication windows between him and Goop, but debuted in person during the Season 3 premiere. * Tricksy the Pixie (voiced by

) is a mischievous

fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

who enjoys causing problems around Summersette. Tricksy has

arachnophobia Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions and ticks. The word "arachnophobia" comes from the Greek words arachne and phobia. Signs and symptoms People with arachnophobia tend to feel uneasy in any area they b ...

but delights in playing pranks in peaceful environments, ranging from switching trail signs to swapping a hot dog for a snail. She often revels in her tricks, but has shown sympathy in her debut. She affectionately refers to her magic wand as "Wanda", and often leaves with a good laugh. Tricksy only reverses the effects of her pranks after somebody pranks her back. She was introduced in Season 3. * Mystery Villain (voiced by

Shannon Chan-Kent Shannon Chan-Kent (born September 23, 1988) is a Canadian voice and stage actress. She is known for her roles as Silver Spoon and Smolder and the singing voice of Pinkie Pie in ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', Misa Amane in the Englis ...

) is an unknown character who hired Cosmic Crusher, Fishbeard, and Miserable Marla to sabotage the New Year.

Others

* Ms. Winkleman (voiced by Laara Sadiq) is a teacher at the school where Henry and Zoey attend. * Mayor Blumenshine (voiced by Rhona Rees) is the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Summersette and the mother of Henry/Boost. As with much of the other characters, Blumenshine is unaware of Henry and Zoey's superhero identities, but she does appreciate their help to a great extent. Her name is a pun on the words "bloom and shine". * Luna Diaz (voiced by Sarah Almonte Peguero) is an astronaut who works for an unknown space program in Summersette. Diaz was a local hero of the Summersette citizens, and she researched the possibilities of growing plants in outer space. * Ms. Fawkes is a photographer who takes pictures for the local school. * Stella (voiced by Abigail Journey Oliver) is a young redhead girl with glasses, pigtails and braces who is one of Zoey and Henry's classmates and friends. Stella is known to everyone else as a huge StarBeam superfan, even crafting herself a costume based on StarBeam's uniform. * Greta and Gunther (voiced by Jaeda Lily Miller and Zion Simpson respectively) are Zoey and Henry's twin classmates. * Zak (voiced by Orlando Lucas) is Zoey and Henry's

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

classmate. * Zara/EchoBeam (voiced by Kyla Blackmore) is Zoey's cousin. Like Gramps and Boost, her superhero identity uses a high-tech suit and her guitar she also has music power.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2020)

Season 2 (2020)

Halloween Special

Season 3 (2021)

Season 4 (2021)

StarBeam Shorts (2021)

Unusually, instead of being uploaded to the Netflix Jr. YouTube channel, the shorts are instead placed as episodes 9-16 of Season 4. The first seven shorts are depicted as

home movies A home movie is a short amateur film or video typically made just to preserve a visual record of family activities, a vacation, or a special event, and intended for viewing at home by family and friends. Originally, home movies were made on ph ...

made by Stella, a local of Summersettete known as a StarBeam Superfan to everyone else. The last short is a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

featuring an extended version of the StarBeam theme song, previously uploaded to YouTube as a form of promotion for the series. * Gonzo for Gadgets * Meeting Marla * A Day on the Delores * Tricking Like Tricksy * StarBeam Style * Kipper Cam * Family Pictures * Time to Shine

New Year Special

Release

''StarBeam'' was released on April 3, 2020. The series aired on

References

External links

* {{Netflix original current series 2020 American animated television series debuts 2021 American television series endings 2020s American animated television series 2020s American children's television series 2020s Canadian animated television series 2020s Canadian children's television series 2020 Canadian television series debuts 2021 Canadian television series endings American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated science fantasy television series American children's animated superhero television series American computer-animated television series American preschool education television series Canadian children's animated action television series Canadian children's animated adventure television series Canadian children's animated science fantasy television series Canadian children's animated superhero television series Canadian computer-animated television series Canadian preschool education television series Animated television series about children Canadian English-language television shows Netflix children's programming Animated television series by Netflix Animated preschool education television series 2020s preschool education television series