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Action Pack is a preschool action cartoon that came out on Netflix on January 4, 2022. The series is created by Shea Fontana and William Harper, produced by OddBot Animation, and animated by Icon Creative Studio.

The series is about four super powered kids named Treena (voiced by Sydney Thomas), Wren (voiced by Julieta Cortes), Clay (voiced by Nevin Kar), and Watts (voiced by Oscar Reyes) who go around helping others and being trained at Action Academy by their teacher Mr. Ernesto (voiced by Giancarlo Sabogal) and his robotic dog Plunky. Each episode is about the kids learning what it means to be a hero and learning a lesson in the end.

This show contains the following tropes:

• Adaptational Badass: Santa in the series is also a superhero that can do just about anything with help from his staff.
• And I Must Scream:
  • Downplayed during the episode "All that Llama Drama," where Watts gets glued to a wall and cannot move after he triggers a glue cannon, Treena gets caught in a cage, and Clay ends up trapped in a glass cage when he steps on a Big Red Button, though they are still able to communicate. They are all freed after Wren saves the llama that Dinah Rex lured into the tunnel where the episode takes place.
  • During the episode "The Cool Kid," Teddy von Taker captures most of the Action Pack with his Robo-Raven, trapping them in eggs. Watts and Cold Snap free them when they team up.
  • During the episode "Gaming the System," a villain called the Gamer Girl traps those who lose in her games in a cage while she steals the poor schmuck's powers, as she explains when Watts uses his Super-Speed to zip to the first key only for a Splat to off him right there. Clay enters the game when his friends fall victim to this, and ends up freeing them.
• An Ice Person: Cold Snap has the power to freeze things.
• Animal Lover: Wren has a very strong love for animals of all kinds.
• Animal-Themed Superbeing: Wren fits this trope perfectly. Her entire hero identity is built around animals—her name, her powers, and even her costume reflect that theme. She doesn't just love animals. She becomes them, fights alongside them, and draws strength from them. Whether she's soaring like a hawk, galloping like a gazelle, or borrowing the camouflage of a chameleon, Wren proves time and time again that animal powers make for one wild superhero.
• Animorphism: Wren’s power involves turning into different animals or turning parts of her bodies into animal parts.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Sky does love genuinely love her older brother Clay, but she can sometimes act a bit bratty and annoying when she doesn't get her way.
• Artistic License: "Action Pack Saves Christmas" features something very notably inaccurate. The Action Pack is having a Christmas party with Mr. Ernesto at the Action Academy on Christmas Eve. Whenever classes, and schools in general, have Christmas parties, the latest is usually December 23, not the actual Christmas holiday. In addition, during Teddy Von Taker's flashback to the last Christmas, Santa is shown delivering the team's presents to the Action Academy, not their houses.
• Artistic License – Paleontology: Why would a professional paleontologist allow kids to work on a real digsite? Also, why is she moving artifacts from the museum's archaeology department?
• Art Shift:
  • Mr. Ernesto's mission briefings are animated in an 8-Bit style reminiscent of classic video games. The "A Netflix Original Series" title card uses the same style.
  • In "The Rakhi Rundown", Clay, Sky, and their mother explain what Rakhi is through a cuter looking 2D visualization.
  • In "Gaming The System", when Gamer Girl sends the characters into her game, they're shown in a cel shaded art style.
• Ascended Extra: Nellie is a minor recurring character, but she gets a bigger role in "Once In A Blue Noon" as she helps Treena come to terms with being a hero.
• Back to School: In "The Crimson Cape Returns", an adult former student of Action Academy is forced by the superintended to retake the classes regarding teamwork, since he never passed them and thus had his badge taken away.
• Badass Adorable: The titular Action Pack are cute and endearing kids that are also great at being heroes that kick villain butt.
• Barrier Warrior: One of Clay’s powers allows him to create spherical forcefields he calls “invinci-balls”. He can also generate a forcefield in front of him and ram his opponent, as seen when he fights the Gamer Girl.
• Bespectacled Cutie: Clay is a rare male example of this, but he's a cute, young boy that wears glasses.
• Birthday Episode: "Action Packed Birthday" takes place on Clay's birthday. Mr. Villainman acts as the party host so that he can get a chance to have a good birthday party.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: "Cookie Chaos" shows how Pepper presents herself as a sweet young woman to Phil The Baker, but she's the villainous Baker Bandit that wants to be the best through dishonest means.
• Blowing a Raspberry: "Once In A Blue Noon" has Watts stick his tongue out at the ashmina as he tells it to catch him, which Treena isn't cool with since she's fond of plants.
• Blue Is Heroic: Watts wears blue both as a hero, and a civilian, and her part of the titular team.
• Braids of Action: Treena wears her hair in braids, and she's the most headstrong of the group.
• Christmas Episode: “The Action Pack Saves Christmas” focuses on the team trying to save Christmas when Teddy Von Taker takes all the gifts for himself and takes away everyone's cheer.
• Color-Coded Characters: Treena is associated with green. Wren is associated with yellow. Clay is associated with red. Watts is associated with blue.
• Combo Platter Powers: Clay can shapeshift… and create spherical forcefields he calls “invinci-balls”. He has X-Ray Vision too.
• Competition Freak: Treena shows quite a bit of this in "Trophy Trouble", where she's so focused on getting a trophy from the superintendent that she doesn't focus enough on trying to work with her friends or help others.
• Continuity: Surprisingly for a preschool show, there are tightly-knit story arcs and Character Development that actually sticks, such as Cold Snap's reform.
• Cool Big Bro: Clay is a supportive older brother towards his younger sister Sky.
• Cool Car: The Mega Van is the Action Pack's stylish and high-tech ride that helps them zoom into action. This isn't your average minivan—it's equipped with all sorts of superhero modifications like retractable gadgets, voice command features, and enough space to carry all four heroes, plus a few rescued civilians if needed. Whether they're racing to the scene or launching into their next mission, the Mega Van is always road-ready.
• Cool Plane: The Mega Plane fits into this trope since it has the ability to split into separate smaller aircrafts and can channel its pilot's powers.
• Cool Teacher: Mr. Ernesto is an encouraging teacher who prefers morals and good values to trophies.
• Creator Cameo: Callie C. Miller , the show's script coordinator, voices one of Teleportanya's mothers in "Power Nap".
• Darker and Edgier: The specials for the series keep the same lighthearted time the show usually has, but aren't afraid to get a little more intense. "A Good Day To Dino" has Dinah Rex unleashing a giant dinosaur onto the town while Watts deals with his insecurities over trying to be a tough hero. "Once In A Blue Noon" deals with a giant plant menacing the town as Treena deals with insecurities over thinking she can't be a hero without her Awesomer Blossomer. "Action Pack Saves Christmas" deals with the team trying to stop Teddy Von Taker from stealing the Christmas cheer.
• Deadpan Snarker: Within the trio of Abby, Gabby, and Maddie, it's Maddie who is the most sarcastic and most willing to voice her discomfort or dislike of something.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: The episode "Power Nap" introduces "Fizzles", a disease that can be spread when you get close to an infected person, which quickly takes over the town. Based on the time the show was produced, only one thing comes to mind.
• Exact Words: In "Gaming The System", Clay wins Gamer Girl's challenge, but she won't release his friends. As she puts it, she would only release whoever won her game, which he did, but not his friends.
• Exploiting the Fourth Wall: In "The Action Pack Saves Christmas" special, Mr. Ernesto leans over the barrier of a Split-Screen Phone Call.
• Expressive Accessory: The ears on Wren's hoodie droop when she is sad.
• Expy: Each of the four main heroes share similar character archetypes to heroes from DC Super Hero Girls, which Shea Fontana also worked on:
  • Treena shares a love for plants much like Ivy from that series. Her studiousness and ambition to succeed bring to mind that show's version of Wonder Woman.
  • Wren's animal shape shifting abilities make her similar to Beast Boy, with her role as comic relief being similar to Harley.
  • Clay's more introverted, but sweet personality combined with plasma bubble transformation makes him similar to Ms. Martian.
  • Watts' main power being speed makes him similar to The Flash while his electricity powers bring to mind Thunder and Lightning.
• Fast as Lightning: Watts can use his electric powers for Super-Speed.
• Fiery Redhead: Watts has orange red hair, and he's the most impulsive, stubborn member on the team.
• Five-Token Band: Watts is Jewish^note He is revealed to celebrate Hanukkah in the Christmas special, Treena is African-American, Wren is Hispanic, Clay is Indian, and Mr. Ernesto is Black/Hispanic.
• Formula-Breaking Episode: Most episodes follow the general idea of some kind of problem happening at the school, and the team having to defeat some kind of villain. However, a few episodes stand out for breaking from this formula:
  • "Cookie Chaos" stands out for taking place on the weekend, and not during a school day. In addition, Treena, Clay, and Watts fall Out of Focus due to not showing up until the second half, the only time this had ever happened to any of the heroes.
  • "Chores Galore/Play Time" stands out for having No Antagonist . The former is about the team helping Mr. Grumpman complete his chores. The latter is about Watts wanting to extend playtime by freezing time.
  • "Once In A Blue Noon" stands out for having an agricultural antagonist, the giant ashmina, instead of an antagonist that's somewhat human.
• "Freaky Friday" Flip: "The Importance Of Being Ernesto" has Mr. Ernesto and Plunky accidentally switch bodies when they fall into the teleportation machine.
• Gamer Chick: The Baker Bandit likes playing video games.
• Gender-Equal Ensemble: Treena and Wren are girls while Clay and Watts are boys.
• Genki Girl: Wren is incredibly energetic and hyperactive.
• Gentle Giant: "Trophy Trouble" introduces Iris the giant yeti, who's pretty friendly.
• Girlish Pigtails: Wren wears her hair in pigtails.
• Green Aesop: "Once In A Blue Noon" can be considered this given how the plot kicks off when Abby, Gabby, and Maddy take some of the ashmina flower petals, and it's only resolved when Treena helps coordinate everyone to save the day nonviolently towards the environment.
• Green Thumb: Treena has the power to control nature.
• Heel–Face Turn: Except for Teddy Von Taker and Gamer Girl, most of the villains, such as Dinah Rex, Mr. Villainman, and Pepper/The Baker Bandit, stop being antagonists.
• Knew It All Along: "The Importance Of Being Ernesto" has The Superintendent tell Treena that she knew that Mr. Ernesto and Plunky accidentally switched bodies, and was just testing her to see if she'd tell the truth.
• Large Ham: Mr. Villainman is a comical villain voiced by Rhys Darby. Unsurprisingly, he's pretty egotistical and over the top.
• Leeroy Jenkins: During the episode "Gaming the System," Watts charges forward with his Super-Speed, but gets taken out by a Splat just before he can reach the key.
• Mishmash Museum: Despite being called the town's “Natural History Museum,” the place is anything but traditional. Alongside the usual dinosaur fossils and rock samples, visitors can also find ancient superhero relics, holographic time portals, and oddly enough, an interactive exhibit about time travel. In one episode, Clay and Watts even stumble upon a staff that turns out to belong to a legendary ancient superhero, complete with its own AI guide. It's less a museum and more a superhero warehouse with a few fossils thrown in for fun.
• Muggle with a Degree in Magic: Mr. Ernesto is just a regular, non-superpowered man but he serves as the Action Pack's mentor and has a lot of usefull knowledge about heroes and superpowers.
• Nature Lover: This definitely describes Treena given how she has a deep love and appreciation for plants.
• No Antagonist: The episode pairing of "Chores Galore/Play Time" doesn't have any villains, with the conflicts mainly coming from the team's mistakes.
• No Name Given: "Play Time" introduces Eon's mother, but she's not named.
• Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Iris from "Trophy Trouble" isn't intentionally trying to cause trouble. It's just that she can't see properly due to her fur covering her eyes.
• Objectshifting: Clay has the ability to turn into inanimate objects. Supposedly this is an extension of his Rubber Man powers, but that doesn’t explain how he can transform into things like electrical devices that work.
• Out of Focus:
  • "Cookie Chaos" is the only episode to give a smaller role to some of the other heroes. In this case, it's Treena, Clay, and Watts, who don't show up until the second half of the episode.
  • "Once In A Blue Noon" along with the aforementioned "Cookie Chaos" give a smaller role to Mr. Ernesto, who only makes brief cameos.
  • Dinah Rex appears prominently for the first 5 episodes. After the events of "A Good Day To Dino", where she pulls a Heel–Face Turn , she only appears in "Pterodactyl Problems".
• The Perfectionist: Treena often strives to be the best, and won't accept anything less.
• Picture Day: In "Picture Perfect", the four young heroes are about to have their class photo taken for Action Academy's gallery, and Treena is determined to make sure they look like the strongest team ever. Things almost go south when Wren doesn't take things seriously and gets stuck in a polar bear form for most of the episode. She returns to normal just in time, and Treena decides they should all be just theirselves in the photo.
• Playing Sick: "The Cool Kid" has Watts pretending to feel sick due to his confidence issues with Cold Snap. His teacher sees right through Watts' ruse and guesses that it's because Watts is worried about his spot being taken.
• Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The first segment of the first episode is called "Fright at the Museum".
• Pungeon Master: The heroes make puns based on their superpowers/themes, such as Treena saying "Great Gladiolas".
• Punny Name: Almost every character in the show has a name that’s a pun, a nod to their powers, personality, or job. Treena sounds like “tree,” and she controls plants. Wren is both an animal and her name—perfect for a shape-shifter with a love of wildlife. Cold Snap, unsurprisingly, has ice powers. Then there’s Mr. Villainman, a name so blunt it circles back to being hilarious. Even minor characters like Phil Donut (a baker, of course) and Pepper (aka the Baker Bandit) follow the same playful naming convention. It’s like the writers never met a pun they didn’t like—and we love them for it.
• Reality Warper: Anyone who obtains the Wonderful Wand of Wizardry can control reality. "Meet Mr. Villainman" shows this with how the titular character obtains the wand, and turns the weapons room info virtual space.
• Reformed, but Not Tamed: "Pterodactyl Troubles" shows that Dinah Rex can still be somewhat of a jerk even after her Heel–Face Turn given how stubborn she is in wanting to do what she wants instead of thinking about what she and Terrance can do together.
• Roundabout Shot: When Wren gets forcibly turned into a full polar bear in "Picture Perfect", Treena spins her around as a way to make her happy, and turn her back to normal.
• Rubber Man: One of Clay’s many abilities is to stretch, bend, and contort his body like it’s made of rubber. He can flatten himself to slip under doors, twist into bizarre shapes to dodge attacks, and even bounce around like a living superball. This elasticity comes in handy for squeezing out of tight spots—or turning himself into a bouncy human shield when his forcefield powers aren’t enough.
• Same Language Dub: There are both American and British versions of the show, with different voice casts tailored to each region. While the animation remains the same, the dub swaps out accents, slang, and sometimes even idioms to better suit local audiences. For example, the U.S. version might say “soccer,” while the U.K. version says “football.” It’s a neat way to localize the experience without changing the visuals—especially helpful for young viewers.
• Saving Christmas: Unsurprisingly, the episode called "The Action Pack Saves Christmas" is all about this. In this case, it's about trying to stop Teddy Von Taker from sucking up the Christmas cheer and using a robot penguin army so that he can keep Santa's toys for himself.
• Schizo Tech: The town museum proudly displays what it claims to be a staff from an “ancient superhero,” but this isn't some dusty old relic. The staff comes with a sleek, futuristic holographic user guide that explains its powers and history. It’s the kind of wildly inconsistent mix of ancient and sci-fi that makes you question whether this world runs on history, magic, or some weird futuristic-retro hybrid. One minute it’s prehistoric bones, the next it’s augmented reality.
• Scout-Out: Abby, Gabby, and Maddy are part of the Critter Scouts.
• Shock and Awe: Watts's powers involve making electricity while going super fast.
• Siblings Wanted: "Rahki Rundown" shows that Wren is the only one in the Action Pack to not have a sibling, and she wants to know what that feeling is like. She then comes to see her friends as siblings at the end.
• Silent Snarker: Santa's reindeer Striker shows this in "The Action Pack Saves Christmas". When Santa eats Teddy Von Taker's plate of milk and cookies even though he's not supposed, he just snarks in annoyance about how he could fall for something so obviously bad.
• Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: The show is pretty idealistic given the emphasis on doing the right thing and caring for others.
• Speaks Fluent Animal: Downplayed as she can't speak with all animals, but Wren can talk with dogs, cats, birds and platypuses.
• Sticky Situation: "Once In A Blue Noon" has Wren, Clay, and Watts get trapped in purple slime thanks to the giant ashmina plant. Wren even calls this a "sticky icky situation".
• Superhero Speciation: All four members of the Action Pack have distinct powers and abilities not shared with any of their teammates.
• Sweet Baker: Phil Donut is shown to be a great baker and a pretty nice guy. He even dotes over fellow baker Pepper as if she's related to him. He also doesn't take it too hard that Pepper kidnapped him given how she did apologize for her actions after learning to properly bake.
• Talking to Plants: In "Once In A Blue Noon", one of Treena's new powers is that she can talk to plants.
• Technopath: Rom, one of the Action Pack’s allies, has the unique power to communicate with and control technology. Whether he’s hacking a villain’s drone mid-flight, calming down a rogue robot, or reprogramming a gadget gone haywire, Rom is the team’s go-to tech wizard. He doesn’t need keyboards or wires—just a hand wave and a bit of focus. Think Wi-Fi meets wizardry.
• Theme Tune Roll Call: The heroes say their name in the theme song.
• Time Stands Still: "Play Time" introduces the character of Eon. She has powers that allow her to pause time. Watts asks her to pause time so that they can all play recess together a little longer.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Dinah Rex loves dinos, has a punk aesthetic, and is a pretty tough person even after her Heel–Face Turn. She also wears a tutu, and likes having tea parties.
• Took a Level in Badass: In "Once In A Blue Noon", Treena discovers that she had special powers inside her. Once she levels up, she's able to save her friends with a hurricane force wind gust of flowers from her Awesomer Blossomer. Talk about awesome.
• Transformation Sequence: Once per episode, the heroes transfrom from their civlian identities to their superhero costumes by putting on special jackets with hoods that then morph into their costumes.
• Twin Theme Naming: Abby, Gabby, and Maddy—three energetic Critter Scouts—are a classic example of Rhyme Theme Naming. Their identical cadence makes them sound like a chorus whenever they speak in unison (which happens a lot). The naming convention helps solidify them as a trio, and their rhyming names are a fun, memorable way to tell them apart… well, at least by name. Good luck figuring out who’s who without their color-coded outfits.
• Two Shorts: Most episodes are composed of 2 11 minute segments.
• Vague Age: It's a bit hard to tell how old Pepper/The Baker Bandit is. She's old enough to own her own business, and her voice actress, Brennley Brown, was in her early 20s when the show came out. At the same time, she also has the immaturity of a rebellious teenager given how she kidnaps Phil Donut, and just expects him to bake for her while she plays video games.
• Watch Out for That Tree!: During the episode Power Nap, Wren bashes her noggin on a tree chasing Tella-Portanya.
• Wasteful Wishing: In "Action Packed Birthday", Mr. Villainman plans to use Clay's magical birthday hat to give himself the special bike he's always wanted as a kid. However, when the Action Pack continually intervenes, he accidentally wastes his wish by wishing for them to go away.
• X-Ray Vision: One of Clay's powers is "plasma-vision", which he uses often.
• Yellow Is Cheerful: Wren is definitely this given how she wears a yellow outfit (both as a superhero and as a civilian) and is the most cheerful of the group.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: In "Once In A Blue Noon", Treena thinks that she's only a good hero as is because of her Awesomer Blossomer. Nellie then tells her that she's already a great hero as is.