| Creator: | Guillermo del Toro |
| Director: | Rodrigo Blaas |
| Theme Music Composer: | The Crystal Method |
| Opentheme: | "3 Below" |
| Composer: | Jeff Danna |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 2 |
| Num Episodes: | 26 |
| List Episodes: |
|
| Runtime: | 24 minutes |
| Network: | Netflix |
3Below: Tales of Arcadia (or simply 3Below) is an American animated science fantasy television series produced by DreamWorks Animation, and is the second installment of Guillermo del Toro's Tales of Arcadia trilogy.[1]
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 served as a interquel and was released on December 21, 2018 on Netflix. The series concluded with the release of the second season that serves as a sequel to Trollhunters, and was released on July 12, 2019.[2] [3]
A third and final installment of Tales of Arcadia, titled Wizards, was released on August 7, 2020. The full-length feature film, was released on Netflix on July 21, 2021.[4]
Two royal extraterrestrial siblings, Crown Princess Aja and Crown Prince Krel of House Tarron, their dog-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, 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 known as General Val Morando, who has already sent out a team of intergalactic bounty hunters, called the Zeron Brotherhood, to find and catch the alien prince and princess.[5]
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.
See main article: List of Tales of Arcadia characters. Princess Aja and Crown Prince Krel also appeared in the Trollhunters episodes "In Good Hands" and "The Eternal Knight, Part 1" in their borrowed human forms.
The series currently holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.[6] It has been praised for its depiction of immigration 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."[7]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Guillermo del Toro and Rodrigo Blaas, "Terra Incognita, Part 1" | |
| Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | John Laus, Graham Fisher, "Terra Incognita, Part 1" | |||
| Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Main Title and Graphic Design for an Animated Program | Rodrigo Blaas, Michael Smukavic, Alfonso Blaas, Brandon Tyra, Greg Lev, Igor Lodeiro, John Laus | ||
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for an Animated Program | Carlos Sanches, Aran Tanchum | |||
| Outstanding Sound Editing for an Animated Program | Otis Van Osten, James Miller, Jason Oliver, Vincent Guisetti | |||
| 2020 | Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production | Greg Lev, Igor Lodeiro, Chen Ling, Brandon Tyra | |
| Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Children | Guillermo del Toro, Rodrigo Blaas, Chad Hammes, Marc Guggenheim | |||
| Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Sound Editing for an Animated Program | Otis Van Osten, Jason Oliver, Carlos Sanchez, Tommy Sarioglou, Aran Tanchum, Vincent Guisetti, James Miller | ||
| Golden Reel Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Animation Short Form | Supervising Sound Editor: Otis Van Osten, Foley Editor: Tommy Sarioglou, Dialogue Editors: Carlos Sanches, Jason Oliver, Foley Artist: Aran Tanchum, Vincent Guisetti, "3Below: Tales of Arcadia" |