Captain Planet and the Planeteers @ The Cartoon Scrapbook

Prod. Notes:

September 1990 - May 1996, TBS

DIC (seasons 1-3), Hanna-Barbera (seasons 4-6)

Cast:

Captain Planet ....................................................................... David Coburn

Kwame ....................................................................................... Levar Burton

Wheeler ....................................................................................... Joey Dedio

Gi ............................................................................................ Janice Kawaye

Linka ............................................................................................ Kath Soucie

Ma-Ti ...................................................................................... Scott Menville

Sushi the Monkey ................................................................ Frank Welker

Gaia ................................................................................... Whoopi Goldberg

Gaia ........................................................................................ Margot Kidder

Argos Bleak ...................................................................... S. Scott Bullock

Commander Clash ............................................................ Louis Gosset Jr.

Dr. Blight ........................................................................................ Meg Ryan

Dr. Blight ...................................................................... Mark Kay Bergman

Duke Nukem ....................................................................... Dean Stockwell

Duke Nukem ................................................................. Maurice LaMarche

Hoggish Greedly ........................................................................... Ed Asner

Hoggish Greedly Jr. ..................................................... Charlie Schlater

Jane Goodair .......................................................................... Phyllis Diller

Looten Plunder .................................................................... James Coburn

MAL .................................................................................................. Tim Curry

MAL ..................................................................................... David Rappaport

Ooze .............................................................................................. Cam Clarke

Rigger ........................................................................... John Ratzenberger

Sly Sludge .............................................................................. Martin Sheen

Verminous Skumm ............................................................. Jeff Goldblum

Verminous Skumm ...................................................... Maurice LaMarche

Zarm .......................................................................................................... Sting

Zarm ........................................................................................ David Warner

Synopsis:

Striking a blow for ecology, fighting “polluting perpetrators” wherever they were found, Captain Planet and the Planeteers brought the environmental movement to the cartoon world. The series came from an original idea by media mogul Ted Turner, who developed the program for his TBS Superstation cable network.

As the opening narration explained, earth spirit Gaia needed to purge the earth of greedy polluters like Hoggish Greedly, Looten Plunder, Dr. Blight, and Verminous Skumm. To help her cause, Gaia recruited five youngsters from around the globe, giving each an elemental power. African Kwame was given the power of “Earth.” North American Wheeler held “Fire.” Asian Gi controlled “Water.” From the Soviet Union, Linka represented “Wind.” Rounding out the group was South American Ma-Ti, who wielded the power of “Heart.” Naturally, there was a funny animal, a monkey named Sushi.

Gaia gave each Planeteer a special ring, in which the elemental powers were held. When all five rings were united, the Planeteers could conjure up the earth’s most powerful defender, the blue-skinned Captain Planet. The Captain had enough special abilities to foil the show’s eco-unfriendly villains, but as he constantly reminded the kids at home, “The Power Is Yours!” To that end, each episode of Captain Planet and the Planeteers ended with a 30-second “Planeteers Alert,” which taught kids lessons on recycling, vegetarian diets, and other planetary protection measures.

The DIC-produced series debuted simultaneously on TBS and in wide syndication in 1990. In addition to the marketing might of Turner himself, the show gained additional support from several Hollywood stars, who lent their voices to the show’s heroes and villains. Whoopi Goldberg, Ed Asner, Sting, Elizabeth Taylor, and too many more to mention all pitched in for the cause, working as cheaply as guild regulations would allow.

Despite its talent roster and good intentions, Captain Planet and the Planeteers would never have succeeded if the kids didn’t watch. They did, and the show became one of the top-rated cartoons of the early 90’s.

After three seasons, Hanna-Barbera took over animation duties, and the show was retitled The New Adventures of Captain Planet. The retooled show came complete with a new theme song, which described its star as, “The Mega Mack Daddy of Ecology.” New episodes continued until 1996, when the show moved its reruns over to the Turner-owned Cartoon Network.

Episodes:

Season 1

A Hero For Earth

Rain Of Terror

Beast Of The Temple

Skumm Lord

Deadly Ransom

The Conqueror

The Last Of Her Kind

The Dead Seas

Tree Of Life

Volcano's Wrath

Littlest Planeteer

A World Below Us

Plunder Dam

Meltdown Syndrome

Smog Hog

Polluting By Computer

Don't Drink The Water

Kwame's Crisis

The Ozone Hole

The Ultimate Pollution

Population Bomb

Mission To Save Earth, Part 1

Mission To Save Earth, Part 2

Two Futures, Part 1

Two Futures, Part 2

Heat Wave

Season 2

Mind Pollution

The Garbage Strikes

Domes Of Doom

Send In The Clones

The Predator

The Ark

Isle Of Solar Energy

The Coral Killer

The Big Clam-Up

An Inside Job

The Fine Print

Off Road Hog

Trouble On The Half Shell

Stardust

The Blue Car Line

Birds Of A Feather

Summit To Save Earth, Part 1

Summit To Save Earth, Part 2

Losing Game

A Twist Of Fate

The Great Tree Heist

Scorched Earth

Hate Canal

Radiant Amazon

Fare Thee Whale

Utopia

Season 3

Greenhouse Planet

A Creep From The Deep

The Deadly Glow

A Perfect World

The Dream Machine

Bitter Waters

The Guinea Pigs

Ok At The Gunfight Corral

Canned Hunt

Hog Tide

A Formula For Hate

If It's Doomsday, This Must Be Belfast

The Night Of The Wolf

Season 4 ("The New Adventures of Captain Planet")

A Mine Is A Terrible Thing To Waste, Part 1

A Mine Is A Terrible Thing To Waste, Part 2

I Just Want To Be Your Teddy Bear

Missing Linka

The Unbearable Blightness Of Being

Wheeler's Ark

Sea No Evil

Future Shock

I've Lost My Mayan

Talkin' Trash

The Energy Vampire

Bottom Line Green

Gorillas Will Be Missed

Bug Off

You Bet Your Planet

Going Bats, Man

Jail House Flock

High Steaks

Planeteers Under Glass

Orangu-Tangle

No Horsing Around

'Teers In The 'Hood

Season 5

Twilight Ozone

Hollywaste

The Ghost Of Porkaloin Past

Disoriented Express

Horns A' Plenty

A River Ran Through It

No Place Like Home

Little Crop Of Horrors

In Zarm's Way

No Small Problem

Numbers Game

Nothing's Sacred

Who's Running The Show?

Season 6

An Eye For An Eye

Whoo Gives A Hoot?

Frog Day Afternoon

5 Ring Panda-Monium

A Good Bomb Is Hard To Find

Dirty Politics

Old Ma River

One Of The Gang

Twelve Angry Animals

Never The Twain Shall Meet

Delta Gone

Greed Is The Word

101 Mutations