Skunk Fu!

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Skunk Fu!
Format Animated
Created by Aidan Harte and Hyun Ho Khang
Starring Jules de Jongh, Paul Tylack, Tony Acworth, Patricia Rodriguez and Rod Goodwell[1]
Country of origin Ireland[2]
No. of episodes 52 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 12 min
Broadcast
Original channel ABC Rollercoaster / BBC / TG4 / Kids' WB (2007-2008) The CW4Kids (2008) / Cartoon Network (2008-present)
Original run September 22, 2007 – present

Skunk Fu! is an IFTA award winning animated children's television series featuring the adventures of personified animals battling evil using martial arts.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Long time ago, Dragon protected the valley
But was punished by Heaven for his arrogance.
He blamed us!
Now trapped in his icy prison, he plots to destroy us all.
Our only hope might be my pupil, Skunk. - Panda

The series surrounds the story of Skunk and his friends, who are in combat with the evil Dragon. Skunk must learn the ways of Kung Fu, whilst also learning to control himself and avoid getting into trouble. Skunk Fu! is set in a fictional world which is mainly divided into two locations, The Valley (home to Skunk and his friends) and The Mountains (consisting of Dragon's volcano lair and home to his minions). [3]

[edit] Characters

There are two main groups of protagonists and antagonists featured in the cartoon. [3]

[edit] Protagonists

  • Skunk (Jules de Jongh) - Wants to be a Kung Fu master, but first must control his energy and impulisveness.
  • Panda (Paul Tylack) - Is the leader of The Valley's animals and Skunk's martial arts teacher. He happens to know the backstory of Dragon.
  • Rabbit (Paul Tylack) - A rough and tough animal who is always on the lookout for conflict. He has a secret crush on Fox (in one episode, that is, "The Art of Hospitality", a picture of Fox is shown which embarrasses Rabbit). He had also once said while sleeping in the woods on patrol, "What Fox? You want to be my date for the Rabbit Awards?" in the episode "The Art of Darkness". He commonly refers to Skunk as "squirt", and is good at poetry (though he'd never admit it). His arrogance sometimes gets Skunk into trouble. He also tricks Skunk and Tiger and hates pumpkins.
  • Fox (Patricia Rodriguez) - Like an older sister to Skunk, she helps him with her sound advice, and is very levelheaded.She hates it when Rabbit says he is better than she is. Underneath her feminine, demure appearance however, she has a fiery temper and a warrior's spirit.
  • Dr. Turtle (Tony Acworth) - A wise old Kung Fu master, he is the doctor of the valley and helps to teach Skunk.He sometimes calls Panda and Duck youngsters.
  • Ox and Bird (Tony Acworth) - Bird is the brains of the duo. They both like nothing better than to relax. Ox does not think a lot and does not do anything, but in Art of No Mind Ox, it was this that made him a hero.
  • Tiger (Rod Goodwell) - An old friend of Panda's. He claims to be a great warrior and once fought Dragon, but since that apparently disastrous battle, he has been a tremendous coward.
  • Pig (Tony Acworth) - A simple minded character who spends all of his time bathing in mud. The scent of truffles can send him into a wild, unstoppable berzerker rage.
  • Killer Bees (Tony Acworth) - A full nest of bees who tend to be extremely short tempered and will attack anyone - regardless of whether they are friend or foe! They talk in a "hip-hop" style of dialogue.
  • Duck (Jules de Jongh) - A wise old bird with a few moves up her feathers. Like Panda, she knows the backstory of Dragon. She also is gifted at making dim sum.
  • Crane (Jules de Jongh) - General town gossip.
  • Pray Mantis - (Tony Acworth) The valley's lookout bug. Very brave in spite of his small size, he frequently challenges opponents much larger then himself.... with predictable results. He speaks distinctly like the actor Christopher Walken.
  • Snake - Valley spy.
  • Frog - The master of jumping.
  • Mr. Fish - He's the head honcho of underwater.

[edit] Antagonists

  • Dragon (Rod Goodwell) - The main villain of the series. Heaven made Dragon a Guardian Animal to protect the animals of the Valley. In order to keep his natural Fire in balance, Heaven gave Dragon power over Water. To test Dragon's loyalty, Heaven sent a drought to the Valley. Dragon asked Heaven if he could use his power over Water to end the drought, but Heaven remained silent. Despite Panda's warnings, Dragon went ahead and used his Water powers anyway. As punishment for his impulsive actions and apparent disobedience, Heaven stripped Dragon of his ability to fly, as well as making his once beautiful, golden scales dark and blackened. Horrified by his punishment, Dragon swore revenge. Flying into a great rage he chased the Animals from the mountaintop with his Fire. However, during his rampage, Dragon burnt the mysterious Lotus Flower, a blossom which somehow connected Heaven and Earth. With this act Dragon lost his powers over Water, the only thing that was keeping his Fire in check. Dragon was severely burned because of this, forcing him to retreat into the freezing waters of a subterranean lake in the mountain to sooth his burns. Now he must constantly be immersed in water, or his Fire will reach unbearable levels. Twisted and embittered by pain and seemingly doomed to stay forever in the icy lake, Dragon plans his revenge against those whom he believes are the cause of his predicament. In his evil, bitter mind, Dragon blames the Animals of the Valley for his fate, and devotes much of his energies to destroying them. Despite his hatred for all of the Animals, Dragon seems to respect Panda for his intelligence and Kung Fu skills.
  • Baboon (Paul McLoone) - The head of Dragon's army and the one dispatched to carry out most of his evil plots. He is very dominant over the Ninja Monkeys, but is still somewhat of a lacky to Dragon.
  • Ninja Monkeys (Tony Acworth) - Dragon's soldiers, who are usually dimwitted and ineffectual.

[edit] Broadcast and Production

The series is currently showing on ABC Rollercoaster in Australia and BBC in the UK. Cartoon Network Asia and Canal J in France are also set to broadcast the series, along with TG4 which will broadcast Skunk Fu! in Irish."[4] The series made its US debut September 22, 2007 and on the the Kids' WB! block on The CW and on Cartoon Network on May 27, 2008.

Skunk Fu! is a co-production between Hoek, Line and Thinker in the Netherlands and Irish production companies Telegael and Cartoon Saloon. The final amount of 52 episodes in the series is set to be complete by September 2007. The theme music is written and performed by rapper Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan. [4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Skunk Fu!" (2007) - Full cast and crew
  2. ^ "Skunk Fu!" (2007)
  3. ^ a b http://www.cakeentertainment.com/pdfs/Skunk%20Fu%20Presenter.pdf
  4. ^ a b CARTOON SALOON STUFF » Blog Archive » SKUNK FU! Blasts Off on the BBC in July!

[edit] External links