Kidd Video

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Kidd Video was a Saturday morning cartoon airing on NBC (CTV, in Canada) from 1984 to 1986 created by DiC Entertainment in association with Saban Entertainment. The title sequence explained the plot; Kidd Video and his band (played by live-action performers in the first half of the title sequence) were kidnapped by a villain named Master Blaster, and transported to Master Blaster's home dimension, a cartoon world called The Flipside. They were rescued by a fairy named Glitter, and subsequently spent each episode of the series either helping to free the denizens of the Flipside from Master Blaster's rule, or trying to find a way back to the "real world". Master Blaster flew around the sky in a giant jukebox, and his henchmen were a group of anthropomorphic cats called The Copycats.

The show was dominated by a MTV-esque, music video theme. Each episode featured at least one action sequence set to a popular song, and the heroes would often distract their enemies by showing current music videos, and sneak off while the enemies were entranced. Each episode also ended with a live-action music video by Kidd Video and his band (the band was also called "Kidd Video"). Other pop cultural current events featured heavily in the show as well: the characters often break danced to relax, rode on skateboards, and one episode was devoted entirely to video games. The visual style of the cartoon itself was heavily influenced by the more surreal videos showing on MTV, and by album artwork of the era, by artists like Roger Dean.

The band itself was composed of:

Kidd Video: Lead singer and guitarist
Carla: The latina drummer, who begins most sentences with the phrase "Ay Yi Yi!"
Whiz: The nerdy guitar and keyboard player, who had a pet robot toolbox named "Toolbot" in the second season
Ash: The clumsy keyboardist also plays bass and saxophone

The band was created specifically for the show, they perform their own songs and they provided the voices for their cartoon counterparts.

1 Main cast
2 Miscellany
3 Credits
4 External links

[edit] Main cast

Bryan Scott ... Kidd Video (voice)
Steve Alterman ... Ash (voice)
Robbie Rist ... Whiz (voice)
Gabrielle Bennett ... Carla (voice)
Peter Reneday ... Master Blaster (voice)
Robert Towers ... Cool Kitty (voice)
Marshall Efron ... Fat Cat (voice)
Susan Silo ... She-Lion (voice)
Hal Rayle ... Toolbot (voice)
Cathy Cavadini ... Glitter the fairy

[edit] Miscellany

Whiz's Subaru Brat was sucked into the Flipside along with the band and transformed into a giant yellow vehicle (reminiscent of the Beatles' Yellow Submarine) called the Kiddmobile when the band members turned into cartoons.

Glitter, the fairy who saved the band members when they first arrived in the Flipside and serves as their guide, gains temporary super-strength and super-speed whenever she sneezes. Most episodes, at some point, involve the band getting stuck somewhere and having to find pepper, pollen, chalk dust, or some other kind of powder to make Glitter sneeze so she can use her super-strength to save them.

In a handful of episodes, Master Blaster attempts to capture other musicians from Earth to exploit their music, but only one (Lionel Richie) is referred to by name.

Although most of the songs that Kidd Video performed were written by the show's creators, "A Little TLC" was co-written by Lynsey De Paul and Terry Britten.

In very early episodes it seems as if the band is exploring the Flipside for the fun of it and they can leave whenever they feel like it. Soon, they are portrayed as being trapped there and in constant search for some way back home.

In later episodes a music video usually plays in the middle of a show, often as a ploy by the band to distract someone so they can escape, reminiscent of the "musical chase scenes" that originated in the classic animated series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?.

When the series was re-run in syndication in later years, all the music videos had to be removed to avoid paying royalties. The pop music that played in the background during certain animated sequences was replaced using original songs played by the band.

[edit] Credits

Executive Producers: Haim Saban, Jean Chalopin, Andy Heyward
Supervising Director: Bernard Deyries
Director of Live Action: Bud Schaetzle
Creative Supervisor: Jean Chalopin
Assisted by: Lori Crawford, Rita Rokisky
Production Executive: Thierry P. Laurin
Associate Producer: Rudy J. Zamora
Production Coordinator: Barbara Stoddard
Written and Story Edited by: Jim Carlson, Terrence McDonnell
Casting and Voice Directors: Howard Morris, Michael Bell, Marsha Goodman, Ginny McSwain
Recorded at: L.A. Recording, Buzzy's Studio, Dennis Harris, Village/MRI, Sound Connection Studio
Storyboard Supervisor: Eddie Fitzgerald
Storyboard Artists: Michael Swanigan, Kevin Altieri, Victor Dal Chele, Gary Payn, Tom Marnick
Background Designers: Richard Raynis, Marek Buchwald
Assistant Background Designer: Charles Payne
Character Designers: Tim Gula, Barbara Pizinger
Layout Supervisor: Jim Simmon
Timing Director: Carol Beers
Animation Timer: Becky Bristow
Timing and Checking Supervisor: Myrna Bushman
Live Action Segments by: High Five Productions
Produced by: Bud Schaetzle, Martin Fischer
Production Manager: Bret Wolcott
Directors of Photography: Tom Ackerman, Daryn Okada
Assistant Director: Rabia Dockray
Assistant to the Producers: Alison Dockray
Live Action Casting: Meg Lieberman Casting, Irene Cagen
Writers: Jeff Book, Kevin Clyne, Carole Markin, Don McGlynn, Bud Schaetzle, Martin Wiley
Art Directors: Kathe Klopp, Priscilla Beroud, Christina Essmana
Editors: Michael Soloman, Craig Matthewson, Scott Wollin, Steve Purcell
Costumes: Nanci Grossi
Makeup: Cervantes Lab
Hair: Manny Montoya, Alex Garza
Production Assistants: Jerry Simer, Andrew Dimitroff, Theresa Abrook, Lisa Wolfson, Rick Phillips, Allen Posten, Ned Truslow
Music Engineer: Nick Carr
Music by: Shuki Levy, Haim Saban
Music Coordinator: Noam Kaniel
Post Production Executive: W.R. Kowalchuk Jr.
Post Production Services by: Animation City Editorial Services Inc.
Editorial Supervisor: Robert S. Birchard
Videotape Supervisor: Patty Hayes
Music Supervisor: Marty Wereski
Re-Recorded at: B&B Sound Studios
Effects Editors: Virginia Ellsworth, Karen Doulac, Bruce D. Fortune
Music Editor: Marty Wereski
Associate Supervising Editor: Jon Johnson
Sound Engineer: Michael Cochran
Assistant Editor: Adrianna Cohen
Editorial Coordinator: Alison Cobb
Format Editor: James Briley
Produced by: Haim Saban, Jean Chalopin, Andy Heyward, Shuki Levy