''3Below: Tales of Arcadia'' (or simply ''3Below'') is an American computer-animated science fantasy

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

produced by DreamWorks Animation, and is the second installment of Guillermo del Toro's ''

Tales of Arcadia ''Tales of Arcadia'' is a trilogy of computer-animated science fantasy television series created for Netflix by Guillermo del Toro and produced by DreamWorks Animation and Double Dare You. The series comprising the trilogy follows the inhabit ...

'' 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, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

. The series concluded with the release of the second season 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 Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

Aja and

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

Krel of House Tarron, their

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

like pet named Luug, and their bodyguard, Varvatos Vex, escape from their home planet of Akiridion-5 after a coup and crash-land on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, specifically in the city of Arcadia Oaks,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. There, the aliens adjust to

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

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. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...

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 bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...

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 The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. 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

Tatiana Maslany Tatiana Gabriele Maslany ( ; born September 22, 1985) is a Canadian actress. She rose to prominence for playing multiple characters in the science fiction thriller television series ''Orphan Black'' (2013–2017), which won her a Primetime Emmy ...

as Queen Coranda Akrium-Tarron and Crown Princess Aja Tarron *

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

as Crown Prince Krel Tarron * Nick Offerman as Varvatos Vex *

Glenn Close Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...

as the Mothership * Frank Welker as Luug *

Alon Aboutboul Alon Moni Abutbul (or Aboutboul, he, אלון מוני אבוטבול; born 28 May 1965) is an Israeli actor. He won the IFFI Best Actor Award (Male) at the 44th International Film Festival of India. Early life Abutbul was born in Kiryat Ata, ...

as Val Morando *

Uzo Aduba Uzoamaka Nwanneka 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 won an E ...

as Colonel Kubritz *

Oscar Nuñez Oscar Nunez (born November 18, 1958), sometimes credited as Oscar Nuñez, is a Cuban-American actor. He is best known for his role as the Dunder Mifflin accountant Oscar Martinez on NBC's ''The Office''. He was a member of The Groundlings and l ...

as Sergeant Costas *

Andy Garcia Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and piano ...

as King Fialkov Ventus-Tarron *

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in '' ...

as Dadblank *

Cheryl Hines Cheryl Ruth Hines (born September 21, 1965) is an American actress and director, best known for playing the role of Larry David's wife, Cheryl, on HBO's ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', for which she has been nominated for two Emmy Awards. She also s ...

as Momblank *

Nick Frost Nicholas Jonathan Frost (born 28 March 1972) is a British actor, author, comedian, painter, producer and screenwriter. He has appeared in the ''Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz ...

as Stuart *

Darin De Paul Darin De Paul is an American voice actor known for his video game performances as Dr. Samuel Hayden / Seraphim in ''Doom'' and '' Doom Eternal'', Reinhardt in ''Overwatch'', Ardyn Izunia in ''Final Fantasy XV is an action role-playing game ...

as Zeron Alpha *

Ann Dowd Ann Dowd (born January 30, 1956) is an American actress. She has played supporting roles in numerous films, including ''Green Card'' (1990), ''Lorenzo's Oil'' (1992), ''Philadelphia'' (1993), '' Garden State'' (2004), '' The Manchurian Candidate' ...

as Zeron Omega *

Hayley Atwell Hayley Elizabeth Atwell (born 5 April 1982) is a British and American actress. Born and raised in London, Atwell studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and made her stage debut in a 2005 production of James Kerr's translation ...

as Zadra *

Jennifer Hale Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-American voice actress. She is best known for her work in video game franchises such as ''Baldur's Gate'', '' Mass Effect'', '' Metal Gear Solid'', '' BioShock Infinite'', '' Metroid Prime'', ''Overwatch'', and '' Sta ...

as Izita * Chris Obi as Loth Saborian *

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo ( ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. He has appeared in films including ''Desperado'', ''Heat'', and the ''From Dusk Till Dawn'' film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed ...

as Tronos *

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 ...

as Eli Pepperjack * Steven Yeun as Steve Palchuk *

J.B. Smoove Jerry Angelo Brooks (born December 16, 1965), commonly known by his stage name J. B. Smoove, is an American actor, comedian and writer. After beginning his career in 1995 on ''Def Comedy Jam'', he was a writer and performer on NBC's ''Saturday N ...

as Phil * Tom Wilson as Coach Lawrence *

Charlie Saxton Charles Saxton (born November 7, 1989, in Bristol, Pennsylvania) is an American film, television and voice actor. He had a supporting role as Bug, one of the band members, in ''Bandslam''. He was featured in ''Hung'', an HBO comedy-drama ser ...

as Toby *

Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy in various DC ...

as AAARRRGGHH!!!, Senior Uhl, Neb, Magmatron * Matthew Waterson as Mr. Johnson *

Emile Hirsch Emile Davenport Hirsch (born March 13, 1985) is an American actor. He played Chris McCandless in '' Into the Wild'' (2007). Other notable film roles include '' The Girl Next Door'' (2004), ''Lords of Dogtown'' (2005), ''Alpha Dog'' (2006), ''Spe ...

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 notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...

as Blinky *

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

as Stricklander *

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...

as Archie *

Yara Shahidi Yara Sayeh Shahidi (born February 10, 2000) is an American actress and model. She gained recognition for her starring role as the oldest daughter Zoey Johnson on the sitcom ''Black-ish'' (2014–2022) and its spin-off series '' Grown-ish'' (2018 ...

as Darci Scott *

Colin O'Donoghue Colin Arthur O'Donoghue (born 26 January 1981) is an Irish actor and musician, best known for portraying Captain Killian "Hook" Jones on the ABC TV show '' Once Upon a Time''. He appeared in the 2011 horror thriller film '' The Rite'' (2011 ...

as Douxie "Big D" Princess Aja and Crown Prince Krel also appeared in the ''

Trollhunters Trollhunters may refer to: *Trollhunters, an installment of the Tales of Arcadia trilogy ** Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, 2016-2018 animated series ** Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, 2021 film finale **Trollhunters: The Adventure Begins, (2017 ...

'' episodes "In Good Hands", and "The Eternal Knight Pt. 1" in their borrowed human forms.

Episodes

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2 (2019)

Reception

Critical response

The series currently holds a 100% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American 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, and Stephen Wang ...

. 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 natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

through a sci-fi lens, with Dave Trumbore of ''

Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators. Colliders are used as a research tool in particl ...

'' 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 animated television series 2018 American 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 2010s American LGBT-related animated television series Netflix children's programming Tales of Arcadia Television series by DreamWorks Animation Television series by Universal Television Television series about royalty Fictional extraterrestrial–human hybrids Fictional shapeshifters Works by Guillermo del Toro Animated television series about teenagers English-language Netflix original programming