The Papillon Sisters

The Mariposa Sisters is an American-French animated television series by Nelvana and MCA Television that first aired on ABC on February 27, 1988, until 1997 and on Gingo until 2003. The show's pilot episode aired on HBO in 1985. The series revolves around three crime-fighting insect sisters- Slimy (a 6-year old slime who's revealed to be an egg without the shell), Chenille (a 16-year old Caterpillar) and, Uvemvane (a 19-year old Butterfly) and their adventures in Spideropolis.

The series was a success. As it gained a cult following (mostly by Teenagers and young adults) following its debut. The series also significantly got darker starting in season 6 (1997) as it slowly became more of a teen-oriented show. The series also aired on Toonami (from 1998 until 2001) and Discovery Kids (from 2006 until 2009) as well. The show also got a movie in 1999 by Universal Studios (20th Century Fox in Europe). The entire series is currently available on Peacock and FilmRise Kids. The series currently has an anime-influenced reboot for Sci-Fi since 2018.

The series is also known for winning an award: An award for Outstanding Daytime Programming and was nominated Teen Choice awards as well (during its run on Discovery Kids).

Setting
The series takes place in a city named "Spideropolis". A futuristic dystopian town full of rebels and has an extreme crime rate. The town also contains a secret hideout where the villains communicate with each other. The three sisters also live deep underground in a lair hidden away from the public.

Protagonists

 * Slimy - A 6-year old slime. She is a white egg yolk who has a hyperactive personality. While small, she is known for having loud outbursts.
 * Chenille - A 16-year old caterpillar. She's the smart one in the group. She loves apples and often is there to calm slimy down. Her name is French for Caterpillar. She is revealed to be autistic.
 * Uvemvane - A 19-year old butterfly. She is the oldest as well as the leader of the three. While bossy in the first season, she later becomes a serious crime-fighter who wants to keep the Superhero name. Her name is Zulu for Butterfly.

Antagonists

 * Queen Parasite - The main antagonist of the show. She is a sinister queen hornet whose motive is to take over Spideropolis by infecting the city's people with her parasitic larvae.
 * Kid Antlion - An antlion larva who likes to create booby traps for her victims. In season 5 (1996), she turns to Madame Antlion.
 * Lord Termite - An evil Termite "King" who runs his own part of Spideropolis. His personality appears to be an inspiration for the Red's Adventure antagonist Terrible Termite.
 * Invader Aphid - An alien who wants to take the town's food supply. She uses high-tech weapons to stun her only weakness: Ladybugs.
 * Master Roach - A cockroach who loves to invade homes. He often gets his head cut off (especially during the later seasons) and survives.
 * The Parasite Kids - Queen Parasite's children. 3 boys and 4 girls. They love to cause destruction and go as far as even killing their victims.

Side cast

 * Lepke - The ruler of Spideropolis. She is a rather cowardly moth who is even afraid of the dark. Her name is Hungarian for Moth.
 * Greeny - Chenille's boyfriend. He is a green ladybug larva who loves to feast on Invader Aphid's clones. In season 8 (1998) he turns into a Pupa. Despite the transformation, he can still communicate with her with no issue.
 * Pipien - Chenille's rival. She is a mosquito larva who is excellent at swimming. Her name is from Culex pipiens or the scientific name for Mosquito.

Production
The show's production can be dated as early as 1983 with a short called "Butterfly Girl". The short aired on NBC. Following the short's creation, the people behind Nelvana decided to work on a full-on TV series for Saturday Morning. The Mariposa sister's name was trademarked by Nelvana (and MCA) in 1985. The first special was animated by Studio Ghibli and premiered on HBO.

Broadcast
The series first aired on HBO in the form of a pilot episode in 1986. The series didn't make its true debut until 1988 on ABC through the Saturday Morning lineup. Following ABC replacing their lineup with Disney's One Saturday Morning, the show moved to Gingo for a short period until moving to Toonami until 2001. The series' final two seasons aired on Gingo. Shortly after the cancelation, it also aired on Discovery Kids until 2009.