YouTube sensation 'Lucas the Spider' challenges fears of arachnids

With his big eyes and child voice, he's so cute he just might be able to cure even the worst case of arachnophobia.

His name is Lucas. And he's a spider.

He'll have you at "Hi!"

"Lucas the Spider" is the creation of Joshua Slice , who has worked on movies including " Big Hero 6 " and " Zootopia ." His 5-year-old nephew, also Lucas, provides the voice for his animated counterpart.

In an interview with "The Dodo," Slice said he was inspired to create Lucas when he saw a cute meme of a jumping spider wrapped in a leaf.

Slice said he wanted people who were afraid of spiders to look at Lucas and say "awww."

Since debuting in November, Slice's YouTube channel for Lucas the Spider has grown to more than 1.2 million subscribers. It currently features five short videos, for all of 127 seconds, which combined have more than 50 million views.

The videos include Lucas being captured under a glass while trying to play hide-and-seek, playing in a sink, and singing a song that includes the plea, "If you see me, please don't squish me."

What's next for Lucas? Toys? A feature film? A cameo in the next Spider-Man movie?

With so many eyes, maybe Lucas will see first.

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@tribweb.com or on Twitter @BCRittmeyer.