Lucas Slice
Lucas the Spider (voice)
Overview
Follow the adventures of Lucas the Spider!
Seasons
- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 3 seasons
- Episodes
- 44 episodes
- First aired
- Nov 6, 2017
Cast
Reviews
5 min readThe Web of Small Wonders
I’ll admit it: I wasn’t prepared to care about a spider. Not in the way I ended up caring, at least. Lucas the Spider is a series that does something deceptively simple—it takes a creature most of us have spent our lives swatting away or screaming at and turns it into a tiny, wide-eyed protagonist. And yet, within that simplicity lies something quietly radical.
This isn’t just a show about a spider; it’s a show about how we decide what deserves our attention, our affection, even our empathy. And it does it all in under three minutes per episode.
The premise is straightforward: Lucas, a jumping spider with oversized eyes and a voice that sounds like it was recorded in a pillow fort, navigates the world of a suburban home with the curiosity of a child and the boundless energy of a puppy. He sings. He dances.
He befriends a fly named Fly Guy (who, in a stroke of genius, is just a fly with no dialogue, because of course he is). He occasionally startles the family cat, who reacts with the dignified horror of someone who has just realized they’ve been sharing their home with a tiny, sentient arachnid this whole time. There’s no villain, no grand conflict—just the gentle, episodic rhythm of a creature discovering the world one leaf, one shadow, one misplaced sock at a time.
What’s striking about Lucas the Spider is how it refuses to talk down to its audience. The humor isn’t the kind that relies on slapstick or gross-out gags (though there’s a little of that, because kids love gross-out gags). Instead, it’s the humor of recognition—the way Lucas’s tiny brain tries to make sense of human-sized objects, or how he reacts to the mundane with the awe of someone seeing it for the first time.
In one episode, he watches a ceiling fan spin and becomes convinced it’s a portal to another dimension. In another, he tries to ride a remote-controlled car like a bucking bronco. These aren’t just cute moments; they’re little windows into how a child’s mind works, how everything is new and therefore everything is magic.
Audience Opinions
Broad evidence
Audience 8.2/10
"A charming animated series that makes spiders lovable for all ages."
Lucas the Spider's gentle curiosity makes his adventures endearing and well suited to young children and families. The series is credited with easing arachnophobia and has a comforting, wholesome feel. The simplicity and very short episodes draw some complaints, but the sweet, low-stakes storytelling wins out.
What viewers praise
- Adorable and lovable character Lucas’s innocent, curious personality makes him a favorite with kids and adults alike.
- Helps with arachnophobia Many credit the series with helping them or their children get over a fear of spiders by presenting them as cute and non-threatening.
- Wholesome and comforting Its gentle, feel-good tone suits relaxation or bedtime viewing.
- Catchy and memorable music The theme song and background music are simple but infectious.
- Great for young kids Parents like the short, simple episodes that hold children’s attention without overstimulating them.
Common complaints
- Very short episodes The episodes are brief enough to leave you wanting more per installment.
- Limited depth The simple storytelling may not hold older viewers or anyone after complex narratives.
- Repetitive format Episodes follow a similar structure that gets predictable over time.
Recommended for
Parents of young children Fans of cute animations People with arachnophobia Lovers of wholesome content Bedtime story seekers Short-form animation fans
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsHe introduced himself in 21 seconds and YouTube lost its mind.
"Hi, my name's Lucas. I have too many eyeballs." Then he ran to his web and said bye. Joshua Slice uploaded that animation test on November 5, 2017. He did the design, modeling, rigging, animation, lighting, and rendering himself. The voice was his nephew, also named Lucas. Laughing Squid ran it two days later. Polygon later put the first clip over 21 million views and said it sat on YouTube's trending list for days. Slice told Animation World Network the first couple of days were shocking. The channel picked up 10,000 subscribers in a week. He figured he should make more.,,
This is the original YouTube run, not the later Cartoonito show. Slice is a working animator with Pixar, Disney, and Blue Sky credits on Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and Epic. The spider came from a photo of a jumping spider in a leaf. He wanted a believable bug that was also cute, a dare at people who flinch at eight legs. The set was his own house. Tom McGillis at Fresh TV later called that look almost National Geographic. The clips ran 19 to 85 seconds. Slice tried to post every three weeks so subscribers would know when to look. By March 2018 he had six shorts, about 66 million views, and 1.5 million subscribers.,,,
Fresh TV bought exclusive rights on March 21, 2018. Price undisclosed. McGillis and the other three partners got Slice on a phone and poured it out, talking about the nephew's voice as the thing that closed them. Slice said he had not imagined the internet star the character would become, and thanked them for seeing past the 30-second YouTube hits. The Toronto shop behind Total Drama wanted series and a feature. The YouTube channel kept going anyway. Wikipedia lists 24 original shorts through December 20, 2019, titles like Captured, Musical Spider, Polar Bear, Don't Eat Me. In December 2018 the spider showed up in YouTube Rewind, still with the nephew's voice.,,,
The merch beat the network. Polygon reported a talking Teespring plush on pace for more than $1.2 million, more than 40,000 units in ten days. Slice said the money would go toward a college fund for the nephew who first said the lines, plus charities. "The fact that Lucas can also provide a future for my nephew, the original Lucas, as well as charities we support is really rewarding," he said in the release. Then the well went dry. 2020 had no new YouTube episodes. Slice told Instagram commenters the team was hard at work on the TV show. A July 29, 2021 upload, Fun with Findley, is the hinge. After that the character belongs to Cartoonito. The spider people still remember is the one in Slice's house, saying he has too many eyeballs.,,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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