Just an ordinary kid
Never thought he'd be The Chosen One
And now he is!
Ollie's Pack is a Canadian animated series from Nelvana that was co-created by Brazilian animator Pedro Eboli (creator of Cartoon Network Brazil's Oswaldo, Netflix's Cupcake & Dino: General Services, and Discovery Kids' Ba Da Bean) and Canadian animator Graham Peterson. It premiered in Canada after some delay on September 5, 2020 on YTV (it even aired in multiple other countries earlier, including the United States, which premiered the show on April 6, 2020 on Nickelodeon).
The show is about Ollie Allen, an ordinary 13-year-old boy from the town of Portshill who is almost never seen without his red-and-orange backpack on his shoulders. However, Ollie's pack is no ordinary schoolbag, but rather a powerful artifact that contains inside of it the Monsterverse, an alternate dimension populated by monsters, aliens, and other strange creatures. This magical backpack, known as the Monster Pack, was entrusted to Ollie by Captain Wowski, a small, purple, cat-like Monsterverse denizen who has given Ollie the title of The Chosen One and trains him in using the Pack's power. With the help of his two best friends, Cleo Badette and Bernie Alves, Ollie must protect the Monster Pack from falling into the wrong hands and send escaped Monsterverse inhabitants back into the Pack before they can cause trouble on Earth, while also using the Monster Pack's power in his everyday life to deal with typical middle-schooler problems.
Pedro Eboli and Graham Peterson originally created the concept of Ollie's Pack and early versions of its characters for a 2013 animated short called Monster Pack
that was pitched to Nickelodeon as one of numerous pilots made for the Nickelodeon Animated Shorts Program. Nickelodeon declined to pick the pilot up for a full series, but the creators continued to shop their idea until it eventually came to the attention of Nelvana, who greenlit the project and now own the rights to the work.
The final episodes of the show's first season aired in early May 2021 on Nicktoons. Pedro Eboli would later state on his Twitter that he had not been contacted about the possibility of creating any new seasons of Ollie's Pack. And while he said that was ultimately very happy with what he had made, he has confirmed that he since moved onto other projects, leaving the show a one-season wonder.
Tropes:
- Always Someone Better: Turner Fledge is this to Ollie at virtually everything, which is why Ollie cannot stand him.
- Ambiguously Brown: Cleo has darker skin than either Ollie or Bernie, but her ethnicity is never stated. Making things even more ambiguous is that she has blue hair.
- Another Dimension: The Monsterverse is this, an entire alien galaxy populated by all manner of strange creatures both intelligent and non-intelligent. All of the show's non-human characters hail from the Monsterverse.
- Arc Symbol: The eye symbol on the Monster Pack. Ollie discovers a patch with it among his Disappeared Dad's belongings in the attic, and in the Grand Finale, its revealed that Portshill is built in the shape of that very symbol. Additionally, a picture of one of Ollie's ancestors hidden underneath the town statue has the exact same symbol hidden in the painting.
- Author Appeal:
- Bernie having a Brazilian father is one for co-creator Pedro Eboli, who himself was from Brazil and has a penchant for sneaking nods to his home country in his North American shows.
- Like the title protagonist of Eboli's previous show Oswaldo, Bernie wears his hoodie in a way that conceals almost his entire head.
- Badass Adorable:
- Major Snooch is a little pug monster with a British accent who also happens to be a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Chosen One Affairs.
- Ollie, Cleo, and Bernie are a trio of endearing and lovable kids who protect a magic backpack containing an entire dimension within it and handle the monsters and aliens that come out of or after the bag.
- Bag of Holding: The Monster Pack contains an entire alien galaxy inside of it.
- Big Brother Instinct: Ollie shows this for his sister Pyper in "Sister Save Me", as he tries to discourage her from assuming the role of substitute chosen one out of concern for her safety.
- The Bore: Bernie is sometimes seen as this by his friends due to his interests in less wild activities compared to Ollie and Cleo.
- Bounty Hunter: Ollie occasionally deals with a pair named Andre and Bev, who seek to use the Monster Pack to hunt down every being that comes out of it.
- Camping Episode: "Camp Magna" sees Ollie and his pals attend a survivalist camp led by their vice principal VP Magna, only for things to derail when Ollie loses the Monster Pack, consequently attracting the attention of Andre and Bev.
- The Chosen One: Ollie is literally referred by this title, being the latest in a long line of people who have been tasked by Captain Wowski with protecting the Monster Pack and dealing with the monsters that come out of it.
- Chromatic Arrangement: Ollie, Cleo, and Bernie's respective primary colors are red (Ollie's shirt and hair), blue (Cleo's jacket and hair), and green (Bernie's hoodie).
- Cliffhanger: The series ends on Ollie deciding to finally reveal to his mother the existence of the Monster Pack and the Monsterverse and that he is the Chosen One.
- Cool Big Bro: Duncan, one of Cleo's brothers. In "Cleo for President", he tells Cleo that she doesn't need to be serious to make something of herself, just do what she does best.
- Courtroom Episode: In "The Monsters V. Ollie Allen", Ollie's friends put him in a courtroom simulation in an attempt to teach him a lesson about misusing the Monster Pack.
- Disappeared Dad: Ollie's father is absent from the picture. What happened to him isn't explained, but he apparently had some connection with the Monster Pack before Ollie did. The Grand Finale reveals a little more about him, but ultimately also leaves several open ends as part of its setup for Season 2. Furthermore, its hinted that he's still alive.
- Grand Finale: "Back to the Pack". Ollie accidentally damages the Monster Pack, threatening the very existence of the Monsterverse and Earth and forcing Ollie and his friends to go directly into the Monsterverse to save everything. The episode is absolutely crammed with continuity callbacks, but also sets up a lot of questions for a potential second season.
- Gratuitous French: Ollie occasionally peppers his speech with brief French phrases, possibly as a nod to the show's Canadian origins.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: Cleo creates one with a Time Looper monster in the episode "Time Warp" when she tries to get a redo on her opening joke for her science class presentation.
- Heist Episode: "The Great Grade Grab", in which Ollie, Cleo, and Bernie (with the help of the Monster of the Week) try to sneak into the school to change Bernie's grades when they learn he will be sent away to a gifted academy
- Kid Hero: Ollie and his friends are three ordinary middle school students who deal with the monsters that escape from Ollie's Bag of Holding when not doing average kid things.
- Lady in a Power Suit: Courtney Poweredge from "Cleo for President" wears a pantsuit with wide shoulders. Lampshaded when Cleo ridicules her fashion sense, despite wearing an identical pantsuit herself.
- Living Shadow: The Monster of the Week in "Ollie's Shadow" is one of these, a little devil-like creature of shadow that grows stronger from the negativity of others.
- Master Actor: Lucius Van Horn. He's such a great actor that he can perfectly impersonate others right down to their physical appearance.
- Mega Meal Challenge: "King Swelly Belly" involves Ollie trying to complete such a challenge at a diner - eating a five-pound burger called the Belly Sweller to win a free t-shirt.
- Mentor Archetype: Captain Wowski, who not only trains Ollie in his role of Chosen One and protector of the Monster Pack, but occasionally dispenses advice for Ollie and his friends. However, his approach is very lackadaisical, which he himself acknowledges and tries to improve on.
- Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds: In "Slice of Life", Ollie is horrified to learn that the junk he throws into his backpack (like a slice of pizza) causes mass destruction on unfortunate Monsterverse worlds.
- Monster of the Week: Many episodes involve Ollie and co. having to deal with the different creatures that come out from his pack. Not all of them are inherently dangerous, but they always present different kinds of conflicts or problems for Ollie and co. to solve.
- Non-Human Sidekick: Captain Wowski, although he sometimes assumes the role of mentor for Ollie, since he was the one who gave Ollie the Monster Pack in the first place.
- One of the Boys: Cleo. Both of her best friends are guys and she's the only girl among her family's many brothers.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: All three main characters. Ollie is short for Oliver; Bernie is short for Bernardo; and Cleo is short for Cleopatra.
- Overly-Long Tongue: Ollie and Captain Wowski surf on a fish monster's super long tongue in "Major Snooch".
- Potty Emergency: Bernie suffers from this in "Race to Sploosh Mountain" due to drinking too much water throughout the road trip.
- Pounds Are Animal Prisons: In "Cool Hand Wowski", Captain Wowski ends up in an animal pound, and his stay there plays out similarly to a prison story, with C.W. befriending his inmates and planning a jailbreak.
- Prim and Proper Bun: Cleo in "Cleo for President", combined with wearing glasses while also wearing a pantsuit.
- Pungeon Master: While all the characters occasionally crack puns, Cleo does this the most frequently and with great pride (usually cuing a groan from her friends).
- Red-Headed Hero: Ollie has redhair and is The Chosen One tasked with protecting the Monster Pack.
- Secret-Keeper: Cleo, Bernie, and Pyper are the only people who know about Ollie's duty as The Chosen One and protector of the Monster Pack.
- Shout-Out:
- The episode "The Ollie Files" features a pair of secret agents who are obvious parodies of Scully and Mulder.
- "Inspector Ollie Allen" is a Whole-Plot Reference to Scooby-Doo, with Ollie being a fan of a Scooby-Doo parody called Inspector Whale and trying to act out a stock Scooby-Doo plot when searching for the Monster of the Week.
- Sticky Fingers: Rance, a petty thief monster in utter denial about his boldfaced stealing.
- Two Guys and a Girl: Ollie, Bernie, and Cleo, respectively.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Ollie is afraid of geese due to being attacked by some when he was three.
