Hero Elementary Explained
Hero Elementary should not be confused with Hero Academy.
| Creator: | Christine Ferraro
Carol-Lynn Parente |
| Director: | Paul Hunt |
| Country: | United States
Canada |
| Language: | English |
| Opentheme: | "(You Belong at) Hero Elementary", performed by Divine Brown and Cal Dodd |
| Endtheme: | "(You Belong at) Hero Elementary" (instrumental) (End Credits Version) |
| Composer: | Lorenzo Castelli |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 40 (80 segments) |
| Executive Producer: | Carol-Lynn Parente
Lisa Olfman
Joy Rosen
Joann Freese
Christine Ferraro |
| Producer: | Trent Locke |
| Company: | Portfolio Entertainment
Twin Cities PBS |
| Network: | TVOKids (Canada)
PBS Kids (U.S.) |
Hero Elementary is a children's animated television series created and produced by Portfolio Entertainment and Twin Cities PBS.[1] The series premiered on June 1, 2020, on PBS Kids. The series was created by co-creators Carol-Lynn Parente and Christine Ferraro, who previously worked on Sesame Street.[2] The series involves the students of "The Sparks' Crew"—Lucita Sky, AJ Gadgets, Sara Snap and Benny Bubbles—who are trained in superheroics by their quirky and enthusiastic teacher, Mr. Sparks. Together the students work as a team, using their own unique superpowers, as well as the "Superpowers of Science" to help people, solve problems, and try to make the world a better place. The series has 40 half-hour episodes, each of them containing two segments.[3]
Premise
The series involves "The Sparks' Crew", a quartet group of students from Hero Elementary: AJ Gadgets, Lucita Sky, Benny Bubbles, & Sara Snap, their excited teacher, Mr. Sparks, and class pet Fur Blur, also known as "Sparks' Crew Hamster".
Characters
Main
- Lucita Sky (voiced by Veronica Hortiguela) is a good-natured and caring Hispanic-American girl who inherited the power of flight from her grandmother. She serves as the leader of the Sparks' Crew. Because she can fly, Lucita can often be seen hovering off the ground. Ironically, she is acrophobic and appears to also suffer from vertigo; when flying high, Lucita always inadvertently looks down and she must be rescued herself.
- AJ Gadgets (voiced by Jadiel Dowlin) is a brilliant autistic African-American boy who has the power of thought projection, meaning he can project pictures of his own thoughts in front of others, and also enjoys inventing all kinds of gadgets. He has a backpack that contains all his super inventions and doubles as a jetpack for transportation.
- Sara Snap (voiced by Stephany Seki) is a tomboyish Japanese-American girl who has both the power of super strength and teleportation. At times, Sara's teleportation can malfunction and take her to the wrong places. She is also allergic to coconuts, which temporarily remove her powers.
- Benny Bubbles (voiced by Stacey DePass) is a cheerful and good-natured Greek-American boy able to create bubbles (that only he can pop) for various purposes. He is also an avid animal lover, particularly jumping in to rescue abused or frightened animals during missions. He very often provides comic relief throughout the series, cracking jokes/puns and making flashy introductions.
- Mr. Enrique Sparks (voiced by Carlos Díaz) is the students' teacher who guides them through their superhero training, Mr. Sparks is the narrator of the episodes and also the mentor of the Sparks' Crew. Mr. Sparks is fluent in Italian. He also occasionally drives the Sparks' Crew Van for when the students have missions elsewhere.
- Fur Blur is a hamster who's the class pet and also runs really fast, Fur Blur's thoughts are exposed in large clouds. And it's clear through her emojis that she'll be as bright as the Sparks Crew one day. She can often be seen on the heads and shoulders of Mr. Sparks and the other students. Fur Blur often drives around in a red toy car while inside her hamster ball.
Other
- Heidi (voiced by Denise Oliver) wears a pink shirt, green overalls, white socks, and purple shoes.
- Jada (voiced by Barbara Mamabolo) wears a pink flower, a pink dress, orange leggings, and purple flats.
- Freeze Louise (voiced by Denise Oliver) and Petie Heat (voiced by Cory Doran) are twin siblings who make up "Team Tornado", and possess ice and fire abilities respectively.
- The Amazing Memory Kid (voiced by Stephany Seki) is a student in "The Mighty Brights" class who wears a blue memory helmet. Despite his name, he doesn't have a very good memory.
- "Turbo" Tina (voiced by Ana Sani) is a student in "The Mighty Brights" class who runs really fast.
- "Rubberband" Robbie (voiced by Jonathan E. Gordon) is a student in "The Mighty Brights" class who can stretch to great lengths with his elastic body.
- Dr. Inventorman (Martin Roach) is a hero inventor.
- Hail Caesar (Cory Doran) is a weather-related superhero.
- Athletica (Kristin Fairlie) is an athletic superheroine that the students idolize.
- Captain Bounceback (Alexa Hazael) is a superheroine who has the ability to bounce.
- Mrs. Mangia (Julie Lemieux) is the school's cafeteria supervisor.
Broadcast
The series first premiered on PBS Kids in the United States on June 1, 2020, then it premiered on TVOKids and Knowledge Network in Canada on July 7, 2020,[4] and premiered on Discovery Kids in Latin America and IRIB TV2 Persian in 2022.[5]
Reception
Polly Conway said "helpful friends use skills and science to solve problems"[6]
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: PBS KIDS to Premiere 'Hero Elementary' in Summer 2020. Animation Magazine. October 1, 2019.
- Web site: PBS KIDS Suits Up with 'Hero Elementary' Premiering June 1. Animation Magazine. January 29, 2020.
- Web site: Hero Elementary.
- Web site: Hero Elementary (@HeroElementary) Twitter. twitter.com. en. 2020-07-07.
- Web site: Deals of the Week: Portfolio, Genius, Babyfirst. kidscreen.com. 2021-03-05.
- Web site: Parents' Guide to Hero Elementary. Common Sense Media.com.
