Slugterra is a Canadian animated series created by Asaph Fipke and produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment, later part of DHX Media and now WildBrain. It premiered on Disney XD Canada on September 3, 2012 and reached the United States the following month, and over its four-year run it produced six seasons, six feature-length films and 63 episodes of twenty minutes each. It is a show built to sell things. It is also, more often than it had to be, good.
Trailer, via Slugterra – WildBrain.
Eli Shane
After his father’s death, 15-year-old Eli Shane, voiced by Sam Vincent, follows in his footsteps to a secret underground world called Slugterra, where he means to become the greatest slugslinger of them all. Slugslinging is the show’s invention: small creatures called slugs are fired from blasters and transform mid-flight into powerful forms, and the whole series is built around collecting, training and duelling with them.
The Gang
Trixie, voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent, is the sharp one with the camera. Kord, voiced by Andrew Francis, is the cave troll mechanic. Pronto, voiced by Lee Tockar, is the molenoid tracker and the comic relief, and the show gets a lot of mileage out of his vanity. Brian Drummond, Michael Dobson and Trevor Devall voice a rotating cast of villains and rivals. The team is the show’s warmth, and the writing gives each member a job that matters in a fight.
Why It Works
The slug system is a genuinely clever bit of design, and the series takes it seriously. Different slugs have different powers, they can be lost and corrupted, and the show’s best episodes are about the relationship between a slinger and his slugs rather than the fights. The underground world is inventive, with caverns that function as separate ecosystems, and the animation is clean and bright.
The Reach
The series streamed on Netflix from 2016 to 2018 and moved to other platforms like The Roku Channel afterward, and the six films extend the story in ways the episodes do not have room for.
Where It Falls Short
It is a merchandising vehicle and never pretends otherwise. New slugs arrive on a schedule, the dueling structure repeats, and the plots exist to introduce the next thing to collect. The villains are broad. The emotional beats, particularly around Eli’s father, are handled lightly when they could have carried real weight. And 63 episodes plus six films is more Slugterra than most viewers need.
The Verdict
Slugterra is a bright, well-built action cartoon with one excellent idea and a business model that keeps it from following that idea very far. Kids loved it for good reason. Adults watching alongside will find more to like than they expect.
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