Insektors
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| Insektors | |
|---|---|
 The front cover to an Insektors DVD. |
|
| Format | Animated series |
| Created by | Studio Fantome |
| Country of origin | France, Canada, UK |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 12 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | YTV, Channel 4 |
| Original run | 1994 – 1995 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Insektors was a 1994 animated TV series about a conflict between two tribes of anthropomorphic insects, the Joyces (an airborne, brightly coloured race) and the Yuks (a dank, dark race fixated on keeping their furnaces burning in order to survive). Made in a small studio, Fantome, in France, it was the 1994 recipient of a "Children and Young People" Emmy Award. It was directed by Georges LaCroix and Renato, and written by Eric Rondeaux, Véronique Herbaut and Marc Perrier.
Created in 1993 and aired in the early 1994 in France, it is the first completely computer-animated TV series. It was then dubbed into two English language releases; one for North America, and one for the UK.
The North American version was faithful to its original French roots; using the original names and dialogue. It was first aired on Canadian television on YTV.
The UK version, however, was completely different. The original script was re-written; characters had different names, and different dialogue was used. References and jokes were added in for those who are familiar with England. For example in Koa The Frog/Frogbucket the line "Back to base" became "Now time for home and cheesy toasties!". This less-serious air pervaded almost all diologue in the UK version.
Other versions of the show are being reported, as well, two of them being Spanish and Portuguese. A German version has also been reported.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
| French/North American Name | British Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Joyces | Verigreens | The protagonists of the series - these colorful, cheerful insects are offshoots of the Yuk/Krud civilization who broke away from their dark cousins upon the arrival of the Great Prism which nourished the site where it landed, resulting in the creation of Flower City. The Joyces/Verigreens are a peaceful people who devote their lives to merrymaking and protecting the Great Prism from harm. |
| Fulgor | Flynn | Born a Yuk/Krud, Fulgor/Flynn was adopted by the Joyces/Verigreens from a young age. Armed with the mighty Kolour Guitar/Musical Colour Gun - an electric guitar that fires blasts of colorful pollens - he is the brave, and sometimes reckless, champion in the fight against the Yuks/Kruds. |
| Aelia | Alex | A butterfly. She is the daughter of the Joyce/Verigreen leader, and adopted sister to Fulgor/Flynn. She tends to the Great Prism and assists her father in his scientific explorations. She is voiced by Caroline Bliss in the UK dub. |
| The Great Pyro | Godfrey | A butterfly. The slightly eccentric leader of the Joyces/Verigreens, and is the biological father of Aelia/Alex and adoptive father to Fulgor/Flynn. He is talented as a scientist and mystic. |
| Daltonio | Bentley | A greenfly. The Great Pyro's/Godfrey's main assistant. |
| Gallopus | Peg | A mechanical equine robot. Fleet of foot (and flight), he was originally created by Eurekas/Magus. He is Fulgor's/Flynn's steed and close confidante, but unable to speak outside of honks and squeaks. In the UK dub, Peg is female. |
| Spotty | Elmo | Another machine like Gallopus/Peg, he is a small flier. He has a large spotlight in his stomach to illuminate dark areas, similar to the role of a firefly. |
| Beurks/Yuks | Kruds |
 |
| Queen Bakrakra | Queen Catheter | A praying mantis. She is the fearsome ruler of the Yuks/Kruds, and a descendent of the tyrannical King Bakrakro/Catheter the First. She is so cold-hearted that she must spend much of her time in a massive warming furnace in order to survive - and it is this furnace that the Yuks/Kruds must find lumber to feed. Though she despises the Joyces/Verigreens as much as her minions do, she does seem to have a greater degree of honour and fairness, having once allowed Fulgor/Flynn to stand trial rather than execute him outright as wished by Krabo/Draffsack. In the UK dub, she has a whispering voice, reminiscent of her deathlike name and nature. |
| Prince Acylius | Prince Maximillian | A mantis. The son of Queen Bakrakra/Catheter, and heir to the Yuk/Krud throne. He longs to join the Joyces/Verigreens, and thus acts as an informant to tip them off on Krabo's/Draffsack's schemes. As a result of contact with the Joyces/Verigreens, he is the only Yuk/Krud to make use of his wings. He has a turbulent relationship with his mother - due to her often-frustrated expectations of him - as well as soft spot for Aelia/Alex. He has an English accent in the US and UK dub, although his voice in the UK dub is similar to that of Ringo Starr. |
| Lord Krabo | Lord Draffsack | A cockroach. Grouchy, stressed, power-hungry, egotistical and something of a coward, the Prime Minister of the Yuks/Kruds has enough on his hands in trying to educate the young Prince in the ways of Yukdom/Kruddom, defeating the Joyces/Verigreens, attempting (and often failing) to please Queen Bakrakra/Catheter, and secretly planning toward the day when he can overthrow her. |
| Teknocratus | Synapse | A weevil. The constantly-relaxed chief engineer of the Yuks/Kruds, he admits in the UK dub "it's a tough life for a genius." He tirelessly creates contraptions to further their cause, or reverse the unfortunate effects of Joyce/Verigreen counter-attacks. |
| Kretinus | Fugg | A weevil. He is Lord Krabo/Draffsack and General Lukanus's/Wasabi's clumsy and slow-witted assistant, constantly trying to please his superiors. In the UK dub, he has a Welsh accent. |
| General Lukanus | General Wasabi | A stag beetle. He is the arrogant commander of the Yuk/Krud army, carrying out the schemes of Krabo/Draffsack and Teknocratus/Synapse, although his greatest loyalty is to Queen Bakrakra/Catheter, who displays some measure of favour towards him. In the UK dub, he has a Japanese accent and habits, and often speaks in third person. |
| Generals Krabouic and Kaboche | Captain Roderick Drumsturdy and Corporal Stanley Greeb | The twin heads of security, test pilots, and commandos. Krabouic/Drumsturdy is taller and more headstrong, while Kaboche/Greeb is shorter, more cowardly, and has a tendency to stutter (USA version) or remenisce on a childhood experience (UK version). |
| The Guards | The Methane Brothers (Miff and Eric) | The two rhinoceros beetles who guard the main entrance into the Yuk/Krud castle. They are generally slow-witted, easily distracted, and quite eccentric. In the UK dub they speak with West Country accents. |
| Protokol | Kopius | A cockchafer. He is the aloof Yuk/Krud herald who announces each character's entrance (often unnecessarily). He uses what limited chances to speak he has to throw barbs at his superiors. |
| Eurekas | Magus | Introduced in the last episode of the first season, he is the biological father of Fulgor/Flynn and formerly Teknocratus's/Synapse's predecessor/colleague. He disappeared, disgusted by the war-like ways of his fellow Yuks/Kruds. He and Fulgor/Flynn were reunited in the final episode. |
[edit] Technology
| French/North American Name | British Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Joyces | Verigreens | |
| The Great Prism | The Great Prism |
|
| Kolour Guitar | Musical Colour Gun | A handheld contraption used by Fulgor/Flynn. Though outwardly it resembles and plays like a guitar, violent plucking of its strings will cause it to fire blasts of coloured pollen. The blasts have no effect on Joyces/Verigreens, though they entice Yuks/Kruds into fits of laughter. Strangely, a few Yuks/Kruds - such as Acylius/Maximillian, Krabo/Draffsack and probably Queen Bakrakra/Catheter - are not affected by them. |
| ??? | Dragonfly Squadron | The Joyce's/Verigreen's main line of defence, these mechanical dragonflies fire blasts of pollen similair to those of the colour guitar from their abdomens. |
| Yuks | Kruds | |
| Koa | Frogbuckets (also called simply 'Frogs') |
|
[edit] Story
The series takes place on the planet Karbon/Krud, though the UK dub does include references to locations on Earth. Episode 6; Planet Karbon /The Black Planet reveals that Karbon/Krud was originally a dark, colourless rock inhabited by a single race of insects; the Yuks/Kruds. The Yuks/Kruds survived the planet's hostile environment by burrowing deep into it for coal. At one point, a Prism shaped meteor hit the planet and nourished the site on which it landed with colour and energy, resulting in a flower filled paradise. A few of the Yuks/Kruds colonised the area and evolved colours of their own, renaming themselves Joyces/Verigreens. They venerated the Prism and built a high altar upon it. The Yuks/Kruds who chose to stick to their original lives continued mining for coal till they gradually exhausted their supplies. The animosity between the two insect civilizations began when a violent Yuk/Krud known as King Bakrako/Catheter the First came up with the solution of using the Joyce's/Verigreen's flower stalks as substitute fuel sources. Gradually, all memory of the two civilizations once being the same people was lost, and ever since they have been enemies.
[edit] Episode List
Episodes are listed below with the original French title, North American title and the British title.
- Season 1
- La guitare à Kouleurs / The Kolour Guitar / The Musical Color Gun
- Des fleurs pour BaKraKra / Flowers for Bakrakra / Flowers for Catheter
- Koa la grenouille / Koa the Frog / Frogbucket
- Au feu les jonKilles / Daffodil Kraze / The Rescue
- EsKapade / The Eskape / The Escape
- Planète Karbone / Planet Karbon / The Black Planet
- Koléoptère / The Koleopter / The Daffodil Collector
- Katerpilar / Katerpillar / The Mechanical Digger
- Troglodyte Rock / Troglodyte Rock / The Prince of Rock
- Les Detrakeurs du Ciel / The Sky Breakers / The Weather Forecast
- La Nuit Elektrik / Electrik Night / Close Encounters
- Le Pont de la Konkorde / Konkord Bridge / The Diplomatic Bridge
- Les Sekrets du Grand Artificier / Great Pyro's Sekrets / Godfrey's Secret
- Season 2
- Grosse Kolere / Fulgore's Kwest / Krud Confessions
- Koup de Kafard / Krabo's Kase / Sick at Heart
- Kui-Kui / Bird Kalls / If Chickens Could Fly
- Le Kadeau / Lukanus' Koncert / The Cage
- La Kourse / Katch Me If You Kan / Athletics
- Kataklysme / Kataklysm / Comet
- Suksession / Sukcession / Ruling Classes
- Koupable / Kourt Kase / Accused
- Kontagion / It's Katching / Epidemic
- Rekolte / The Kure / The Cure
- Kalkulator / Kalkulator / Sparkie and Co
- Spektre / Spektre / A Spectre Calls
- Katakombs / Katakombs / The Cave
[edit] Known Cast
[edit] French version
- Christian Alers
- Daniel Lafourcade
- Pierre Baton
- Jacques Brunnet
- Alexandre Gillet
- Raphaelle Moutier
- Jean-Claude Sachot
- Lucienne Troka
[edit] UK version
- Caroline Bliss - Queen Catheter / Alex
- Andy Secombe - Flynn / Kopius
- Lee Cornes - Lord Draffsack
- Tim McInnerny - Prince Maximillian
- Ron Moody - General Wasabi
- Teddy Kempner - Fugg
- Neil McCaul - Godfrey / Sinapse
- Anthony Jackson - Peg
[edit] NA version
- Karen Strassman
- Bela Grushka
- David Gasman
- Christian Ericson
- Paul Bandey
- Edouard Marcus
