Do you remember the sheer exuberance of Sony’s Into the Spider-Verse? The riotous color, the graffiti art animation, and the brilliant use of music added depth to every pivotal moment. Because series creators Jeffrey Howard, Kate Kondell, and Steve Loter do. Clearly inspired by Spider-Verse and Disney+’s own Ms. Marvel, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is perfect for the preteen crowd and fun enough for their parents.

Lunella Lafayette is a young Black genius living in New York City. Her neighborhood is going through tough times, with frequent power outages that make it impossible for local businesses to function. Lunella’s family owns a roller rink on the verge of financial collapse, and the precocious girl takes it upon herself to save the neighborhood after her Mimi scathingly points out the Avengers never make it below 14th Street. Fortunately, Lunella has a secret lab and brains to rival Tony Stark. After a botched energy source experiment rips a hole in space-time and lets in a red T-Rex immediately dubbed Devil, Lunella builds herself a super suit, and the two face off against Aftershock (Alison Brie), energy thief and gentrifier.

This is a very dry summary of a cartoon that’s anything but. It’s difficult to do justice to a show that turns every fight scene into a music video brimming with color and great beats. Lunella (Diamond White) is a young creator brimming with confidence, buoyed up by a loving and supportive family, and who happens to have a 10-ton Tyrranasaurus as backup. Devil (Fred Tatasciore) is an intelligent and endearing example of his breed who acts more like a puppy than a killing machine, similar in attitude and behavior to How to Train Your Dragon’s Toothless. Moon Girl’s super suit includes roller skates, launchable boxing gloves, and a bubble gun perfect for catching villains. The supporting cast, including Sasheer Zamata, Libe Barer, and the incomparable Laurence Fishburne, is clearly having fun in their roles. The storylines are topical but never preachy. Gentrification, online bullying, self-acceptance, and putting others before yourself all come up without ever spelling things out for the audience. It’s a series big on girl power but not exclusionary; my young son found all 6 episodes currently available highly entertaining.

Joyous, heartfelt, and filled with fantastic tunes guaranteed to get your toe tapping, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur’s creators understand what makes the best Marvel properties work. It addresses real-world issues rather than vague, multiverse-level threats. Lunella’s brash confidence is backed up by a good heart and supportive family structure rarely seen in comic book entertainment these days. Sure, it’s intended for a younger audience than most. But that doesn’t detract from the show’s warmth, fresh style, and genuine humor. Spider-Verse fans will find a great deal to like here, and so will parents who need a change from their kids’ current obsession. Moon Girl and Devil are ready to be the next big thing.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur premiered on the Disney Channel and is available to stream on Disney+.