Disney XD has announced that Billy Dilley’s Super-Duper Subterranean Summer will debut with multiple airings on Saturday, June 3 (at 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. EDT). The all-new animated comedy series is created, executive produced and featuring the voice of Aaron Springer, an Emmy-winning director of the Mickey Mouse shorts series.
The show centers on eccentric, science-obsessed seventh grader Billy Dilley and his lab partners Zeke and Marsha, whose summer break takes an unexpected turn when they get stuck in a bizarre other world beneath the Earth’s surface. Their only way out is to to repair Billy’s science fair project, “The Cheeserator.” As the trio work together to get back to the world above, Billy’s boundless curiosity leads them into all sorts of wild adventures in this subterranean playground, where he will make the most important scientific discovery of all: friendship.
Following the premiere, new episodes of Billy Dilley will continue to roll out daily on Disney XD through to Thursday, June 15. The first 10 episodes of the series will be available on the Disney XD app and VOD platforms on June 3.
Springer stars as the voice of Billy, with Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) as Zeke and YouTube star Catherine Wayne (Animalist) as Marsha. Billy Dilley’s Super-Duper Subterranean Summer is a production of Disney Television Animation.
My, this show looks rather fantastic so far, Disney seem to be having a gamble that’s starting to pay off. It’s a shame that, in an age where every cartoon is intended to be on the same, high-concept level as Game of Thrones or something, it will probably end up being written off as yet another zany, overly surreal acid trip with no real substance or plot, where the intro shows that there’s a rather captivating premise (a group of kids get stranded at the centre of the earth and have to adjust to this new world) which justifies a lot of the strangeness.
Obviously, some of the colours and Billy’s design will take a lot of getting used to (very Uncle Grandpa-like, but he is however meant to represent that nerdy, oddball kid from junior high), but having been an avid follower of Aaron Springer since the SpongeBob days (not to mention his incredible Korgoth pilot and Periwinkle shorts, which are really lovely and funny), and knowing how capable of a gagman and storyteller he is, I feel confident we will be in safe hands here. Plus, the theme song is catchy as hell!