Parents' Guide to

Bakugan: Battle Planet

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Marketing tie-ins overwhelm in violent franchise reboot.

TV Cartoon Network Kids' Animation 2019
Bakugan: Battle Planet Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

  • Bakugan: Battle Planet TV Series: Scene #1
  • Bakugan: Battle Planet TV Series: Scene #2
  • Bakugan: Battle Planet TV Series: Scene #3

Community Reviews

See all
age 2+

Based on 1 parent review

Holly R.
Holly R. Parent of 1-year-old
February 18, 2019
age 2+

Not as good as the original but still awesome in my opinion

I was already grown when the first wave of Bakugan came out over a decade ago but I still found myself enjoying the 1st season of the original Bakugan Battle Brawlers. Fast forward to this past holiday season with the Bakugan Battle Planet reboot. The characters are mostly different with a different boy sporting the same name as the original Dan character and also having a Dragonoid nicknamed Drago. The other Bakugan characters don't have anything in common with the previous series but they are likable enough. The episodes are shorter at only 15 minutes which is the shows biggest issue as it makes it harder to do a proper development of the characters and makes it just another Steven Universe format victim where it's a good story but it takes forever to get to "know" the characters. Hopefully there won't be too many hiatuses and it will get to the point quickly because I would hate for this to be another Steven Universe format. And it's also too early to pass judgement just yet so I'm giving it a perfect score and will update my review once there's enough episodes to work out a better assessment. And also for the record almost every cartoon has some type of consumerism and merchandising going on whether it be a "toy game" like Bakugan or just DVD releases and T-shirts like the old Nicklodeon cartoons have (think Hey Arnold! Ren and Stimpy, and Rocko's Modern Life). You're going to find some sort of merchandising for anything that becomes popular. I wish CSM wasn't so biased about anything Japanese anime related that isn't Studio Ghibli... Edit: The newer series is more comedy based than the original one and it isn't nearly as dark. This series is definitely aimed at a much younger crowd than the original.
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

In BAKUGAN: BATTLE PLANET, three kids find themselves at the heart of an epic planetary discovery when they uncover alien creatures called Bakugan and unite with them to battle other teams and nefarious enemies. Dan (voiced by Jonah Wineberg), Wynton (Devon Mac), and Lia (Margarita Valderrama) join forces with their respective Bakugan guardians, Dragonoind (Jason Deline), Gorthion (Hayden Finkelshtain), and Trox (Ucal Shillingford), learning to work together with them and with each other to protect Bakugan from the control of those who mean them harm.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (3):

The Bakugan saga reboot begins with this action-packed origin story that reintroduces the popular TV series/transforming-toy franchise. In addition to the exciting brawls initiated by the humans and fought by the Bakugan, Bakugan: Battle Planet focuses on the developing relationships among the humans and their new alien friends. As they progress through matches and face off with more sinister enemies, this team -- self-dubbed "The Awesome Ones" -- develops teamwork and interdependence.

Viewers who know how these marketing conglomerates work (ahem, parents) will find the advertising tie-ins predictably obvious, but they do their job. If your kids are susceptible to this type of consumerism, then know that Bakugan toys will be all the more enticing after watching Battle Planet.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the merchandising relationship between entertainment and toys like Bakugan. Does seeing the characters in action in a series like this one make the toys and other products more enticing? Are marketing tie-ins always problematic?

  • What character strengths do Dan, Lia, and Wynton bring to the team? Kids: What challenges have you encountered while working with other people? How do you find common ground with those who seem very different from you?

  • Is the violence in this show less impactful because it mostly involves the Bakugan rather than human characters? Is any of it scary? Does the action make up for content that's otherwise lacking, or does it serve a valuable purpose in this story?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended tv lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate