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| Insektors | |
|---|---|
 The front cover to an Insektors DVD. |
|
| Genre | Animated, Family, Comedy |
| Format | Animated series |
| Created by | Studio Fantome |
| Written by | Eric Rondeaux Véronique Herbaut |
| Directed by | Georges LaCroix Renato |
| Country of origin | France, Canada, UK |
| Language(s) | French, English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 12 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | YTV, Channel 4 |
| Original run | 1994 – 1995 |
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.
Contents |
Production and dubbing
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. Jokes and references to British/English culture were also used. 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 dialogue in the UK version which also varied its characters by giving them accents which ranged from southern England to Scotland and Wales — and included what could be deemed as politically incorrect insults to go with them: Captain Drumsturdy (originally "Krabouic") was described as a "Hebridian windbag", while Fugg (aka "Kretinus") is called "the Welsh wonder", an ironic reference to his bungling incompetence.
Other versions of the show are being reported, as well, two of them being Spanish and Portuguese. German and Italian versions have also been reported.
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 | A ant? 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. |
| Le Grand Artificier/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. In the UK dub, he sounds distinctly older and carries a northern accent. |
| 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 |
|
| Reine/Queen Bakrakra | Queen Katheter | A praying mantis. Queen Bakrakra/Katheter the Third is the fearsome ruler of the Yuks/Kruds, and a descendent of the tyrannical King Bakrakro/Katheter 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, somewhat metallic voice, reminiscent of her deathlike nature. |
| Prince Acylius | Prince Maximillian | A mantis. The son of Queen Bakrakra/Katheter, and heir to the Yuk/Krud throne. He longs to join the Joyces/Verigreens and keeps digging tunnels in a effort to reach their side of the pond. He also 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 a 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, while the US version bears a more aristocratic lilt. |
| 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/Katheter, and secretly planning toward the day when he can overthrow her. Whereas colour and pollen makes most of the Yuks/Kruds happy, cheerful and generally act crazy, Krabo/Draffsack simply catches hay fever. |
| Lord Teknocratus | Lord Synapse | A weevil. The constantly-relaxed chief engineer of the Yuks/Kruds who tirelessly creates contraptions to further their cause, or reverse the unfortunate effects of Joyce/Verigreen counter-attacks. Krabo/Draffsack is always blaming him when his inventions fail to deliver the desired results, leading him to remark in the UK dub that "it's a tough life for a genius." |
| Lord Kretinus | Lord 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/Katheter - indeed, he seems to be the one person she has respect for. In the UK dub, he often speaks in the third person and has a Japanese accent and habits — but shows little in the way of Japanese efficiency. In the episode "The Cage", it is revealed that even he has some (relatively vague) aspirations for the throne. |
| Generals Krabouic and Kaboche | Captain Roderick Drumsturdy and Corporal Stanley Greeb | The twin heads of security, test pilots, and commandos. Krabouic/Drumsturdy (who possesses a Scottish accent in the UK dub) is taller and more headstrong, while Kaboche/Greeb is shorter, more cowardly, and has a tendency to stutter (USA version) or reminisce 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, and was allegedly crushed by an earthquake when he tried to escape. He and Fulgor/Flynn were reunited in the final episode, where it is revealed that, far from dying in the accident, Eurekas/Magus had been excavating a fortified laboratory where he could "conduct (his) scientific investigations without interference." He is persuaded by his son to leave for the world of the Joyces/Verigreens with the knowledge that Krabo/Draffsack is seeking to arrest him for sabotage and the chance to fulfil his dream of seeing the Yuks/Kruds and the Joyces/Verigreens finally make peace. |
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/Katheter - are not affected by them. |
| ??? | Dragonfly Squadron | The Joyce's/Verigreen's main line of defence, these mechanical dragonflies fire blasts of pollen similar to those of the colour guitar from their abdomens. |
| Yuks | Kruds | |
| The Dark Box | Krud'o'Pod | The Krud'o'Pod is a machine that undoes the effect of the Kolour Guitar/Musical Colour Gun, reverting affected Yuks/Kruds back into their normal selves. More info about the Krud'o'Pod was in 'Ruling Classes.' |
| Hoverbikes | Bikes | Hoverbikes that are mostly used by Krabouic/Drumsturdy and Kaboche/Greeb. |
| Koa | Frogbuckets (also called simply 'Frogs') |
|
| The Koleopter | The Hovermower | Resembling a giant flying Beetle, it is a two pilot airborne resource gathering machine with a rotating blade for cutting flower stems.
It has 'Fightermites' for defence against the 'Dragonflies'. It can load and unload many goods and can also act as a vacuum cleaner when collecting nectar. Teknocratus/Synapse insists its proper name is the 'Anti-Gravity Daffodil Collector'. |
| ??? | Cloud Clearer | A huge laser cannon that is only seen in 'The Weather Forecast,' which was designed to cause a drought, but when tested during rain, it created snow instead of drought. It ending up being ripped apart, even after it created hot snow. A similar Cloud Clearer was seen in 'Comet' which is a fusion of Yuk/Krud and Joyce/Verigreen technology. This machine almost destroyed The Flower City. |
| "Tweet-Tweet" | Chicken | Only used in 'If Chickens Could Fly,' the "Chicken" is Bird-shaped, and was sent to steal The Great Prism. The Chicken was an airborne war machine controlled by two pilots. The first design, which flew with small propellers, crashed into a moat during a trial run. The second design was with bigger propellers, but that too crashed. The third design was with a jet engine on top of the fuselage, which landed it safely, though with a broken engine. It was the Fourth design which had become an Ornithopter that really took off to steal The Great Prism, but after fighting off the Joyces/Verigreens, it was sliced down the middle when it got a hold of The Great Prism. It made an appearance in one of the episodes 'A Spectre Calls.' |
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/Katheter 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.
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 Kolor Gun
- Des fleurs pour BaKraKra / Flowers for Bakrakra / Flowers for Katheter
- Koa la grenouille / Koa the Frog / Frogbucket
- Au feu les jonKilles / Daffodil Kraze / The Reskue
- EsKapade / The Eskape / The Eskape
- Planète Karbone / Planet Karbon / The Blakk Planet
- Koléoptère / The Koleopter / The Daffodil Kollector
- Katerpilar / Katerpillar / The Mekhanical Digger
- Troglodyte Rock / Troglodyte Rock / The Prince of Rokk
- Les Detrakeurs du Ciel / The Sky Breakers / The Weather Forekast
- La Nuit Elektrik / Electrik Night / Klose Encounters
- Le Pont de la Konkorde / Konkord Bridge / The Diplomatik Bridge
- Les Sekrets du Grand Artificier / Great Pyro's Sekrets / Godfrey's Sekret
- Season 2
- Grosse Kolere / Fulgore's Kwest / Krud Konfessions
- Koup de Kafard / Krabo's Kase / Sikk at Heart
- Kui-Kui / Bird Kalls / If Chickens Kould Fly
- Le Kadeau / Lukanus' Koncert / The Kage
- La Kourse / Katch Me If You Kan / Athletiks
- Kataklysme / Kataklysm / Komet
- Suksession / Sukcession / Ruling Klasses
- Koupable / Kourt Kase / Akkused
- Kontagion / It's Katching / Epidemik
- Rekolte / The Kure / The Kure
- Kalkulator / Kalkulator / Sparkie and Ko
- Spektre / Spektre / A Spektre Kalls
- Katakombs / Katakombs / The Kave
Known Cast
French version
- Christian Alers
- Daniel Lafourcade
- Pierre Baton
- Jacques Brunnet
- Alexandre Gillet
- Raphaelle Moutier
- Jean-Claude Sachot
- Lucienne Troka
UK version
- Caroline Bliss - Alex
- Andy Secombe - Queen Katheter/ Fugg /Godfrey
- Teddy Kempner -Flynn/Kopius
- Neil McCaul - Sinapse/Lord Draffsack/General Wasabi
NA version
- Karen Strassman
- Bela Grushka
- David Gasman
- Christian Ericson
- Paul Bandey
- Edouard Marcus
External links
- Insektors at the Internet Movie Database
- Insektors at TV.com
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