‘Spirit Rangers’ Review

 

This last May, a lot of Netflix cartoons were scrapped because they don’t give two shits about animation (except for The Boss Baby, that is). Having been looking forward to Spirit Rangers since its announcement, I was worried that it was also canned, but luckily it survived and is finally here. 

The series centers on three Native American siblings named Kodi, Summer, and Eddy, who are the rangers of Spirit Park and can also transform into animals. It is a preschool show, but is enjoyable for all ages. 

The animation is stylized and beautiful. There are a lot of vibrant colors and gorgeous character designs, especially on the animals. 

Our three heroes are likable and realistic kids who overcome their flaws to save the day. They’re not perfect, but they work hard to be heroes. Their animal friends are also enjoyable and memorable, especially Coyote with his hilarious egotism. Lizard, by the way is voiced by legendary voice actress Cree Summer, who is part of the Plains Cree First Nations, hence her name. 

Episode 3a also has an interesting twist on the typical “helping others” moral. In it, our three heroes try to help a caterpillar named ‘Ayatu, who repeatedly rejects their help. You’d expect ‘Ayatu to realize she needs their help, but she really didn’t. When people don’t need your help, they just don’t, and you should be there to celebrate their victories and listen to them. There need to be more episodes like this in media.

Speaking of which, all of the writers and voice actors are themselves Indigenous, which helps make the show feel authentic. I’m not going to make anyone watch the show, since it is for little kids, but I just hope that all little Indigenous kids out there enjoy the show as much as I did. 

10/10