Skunk Fu!
Skunk Fu! is an Irish animated television series and IFTA award winning[3] children's television series featuring the fables of anthropomorphic animals protecting their valley using martial arts. The show chronicles the adventures of young Skunk, training with his Kung Fu master, Panda, with support of Rabbit, Fox, Turtle and others, who directly, or inadvertently, also help Skunk grow.[4]
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.
- Our only hope just might be my pupil, Skunk. - Panda
Skunk and the other valley animals, led by Panda, thwart Dragon's efforts to overtake their valley with his Ninja Monkey minions. Historically Dragon and Panda were friends, but since Dragon became trapped, he perceives the valley residents as the reason for his downfall, displacing the responsibility of his own actions, and seeks to destroy them. Panda sees Skunk as crucial to saving the valley and endeavors to teach Skunk, who often tries to circumvent laborious Kung Fu training, only to learn the value of the initial lesson from the consequences of his actions.
Characters
Protagonists
- Skunk (Jules de Jongh) - 10 years old. The main character of the series. Skunk is the youngest of the valley dwellers and wants to be a Kung Fu master, but he has to learn his kung fu moves with Panda first. He is very eager to become a master fighter, but he is often unwilling to work towards his goal. Skunk can sometimes be lazy and impatient. However, when he puts his mind to it, Skunk can accomplish a lot, going through a lot to achieve the goal he is set. Skunk is very trusting of his friends, even Rabbit, who doesn't always treat Skunk with respect. Rather than concentrating on his lessons, Skunk tries to find the "easy way out". However, these plans usually backfire, forcing Skunk to figure a way out of his problem, learning the lesson he was initially trying to avoid. Despite being lazy, and sometimes mischievous, Skunk is an overall good individual who cares about his friends and usually tries to do the right thing. He also has a unique defense mechanism in which he sprays a green and smelly gas as an actual skunk would. This usually happens when he is embarrassed, scared, or suddenly surprised. Though it is effective, Skunk himself is greatly embarrassed by this power. He has also stated that he's incapable of doing it at will, unlike real skunks. Sometimes Skunk goes on mission that doesn't need him, which causes disaster. Skunk is Pig's best friend. He usually calls himself Skunkzilla (a reference to Godzilla) when he is bigger than his enemies or when on a large contraption. He was given to Panda by Heaven when Panda asked for help against Dragon, hinting he has a larger destiny than he's aware of. He also seems to be the only one aware of Rabbit's crush on Fox. He is a striped skunk.
- Panda (Paul Tylack) - 70 or 80 years old. Panda is a very wise leader who spends his time training Skunk in the various arts. He was Dragon's best friend before Dragon was punished by Heaven and became evil. When he asked the heavens for help, Skunk came down and the old ursine raised Skunk in the way of kung fu. He and Dragon still respect each other despite Dragon having turned evil.
- Rabbit (Paul Tylack impersonating Diedrich Bader) - 20 years old. A violent, ill-tempered, egotistical, smart-alec lagomorph who is always on the lookout for conflict. He has a major crush on Fox, but will go great lengths to hide this. Sometimes Rabbit has dreams of her. He calls his fist Mr. Fisty and he considers himself the strongest animal in the Valley. He sometimes fights with Panda about it. He also desires to become leader so he can fight Dragon right away instead of waiting like Panda orders. He creates plans to attack the ninja monkeys, but it always backfires. He has a soft spot for Skunk, calling him "squirt". He also enjoys picking on Skunk and often takes advantage of him. He even taught Skunk the art of attitude, which Panda said was an art Skunk was not ready for.
- Fox (Patricia Rodriguez) - 18 years old. An effective, graceful fighter, Fox is the pretty, leading lady of the story and the only dog family member in the Vally resistance. Like an older sister to Skunk, she helps him with her sound advice, and is very level-headed. She loves Skunk like a little brother and is often protective of him like getting mad at Rabbit and repeatedly smacking him behind the forehead when he made fun of the young skunk while he was playing with ants in "The Art of Small Victories". Beneath her demure exterior, she has a hot temper and a warrior's spirit which drives Rabbit wild. Although it's unclear whether Fox is annoyed or flattered by Rabbit's affections, she is attracted to Rabbit, although she does consider him too much of a pest. Like Rabbit, she also gives Skunk pet names like "squirt", "little man", or simply "kid". She often uses her allure to escape enemies (especially Baboon). She also mastered the art of Fan-Fan, and did the four winds attack with Crane, Duck and Skunk. Compared to the other animals in the show, she is the most humanoid character in Skunk Fu, due to her slender figure, tiny waist, slitted eyes and prominent chest. She bears some resemblance to Zorori, although she is female, has green eyes, red fur, lacking whiskers and no clothing. Her voice is similar to Belle from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
- Dr. Turtle (Tony Acworth) - A wise old Kung Fu master, he is the doctor of the valley and helps to teach Skunk. Dr. Turtle is always happy to help Panda and Tiger. He also is a talented kite flyer and performs a kite display every New Year.
- Ox and Bird (Tony Acworth) - Bird is the brains of the duo. They both like nothing better than to relax and accept the fact that they are "nobodies". Ox once was considered a huge hero since he could perform the art of "No Mind" allowing him to see invisible Ninja Monkeys. Ox can understand and speak Ninja Monkey while Bird often considers himself to be great.
- Tiger (Rod Goodwell) - An old friend of Panda's. He claims to be a great warrior and once fought Dragon. Since that apparently disastrous battle, he has been a tremendous coward, though he fights ferociously if he is angered. He is like a Skunk Fu equivalent of Bagherra from Jungle Book and appears to be a White South China Tiger.
- Pig (Tony Acworth impersonating Bob Goldthwait) - Despite his name, he is in fact a wild boar. Pig is a simple minded character who spends all of his time bathing in mud often presented as stupid and lacking much memory. Pig is Skunk's best friend. While he rarely helps in battle, he assists in the battle against Dragon in other ways, such as eating all of the truffles during the Year of the Pig so that Dragon can't use them for a spell to break free. While Pig is a mostly likable character but is easily influenced by Rabbit to mirror his thoughts. However, he is shown to be a great warrior, such as when he was convinced he was a ninja monkey. He was easily able to defeat Skunk, Rabbit, and Mantis at the same time. Pig wishes to be treated like a grown pig.
- 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 dialog. Working together they can form into different shapes such as nunchucks.
- Ms. Duck (Jules de Jongh) - A wise old bird with a few moves up her feathers. Like Panda, she knows the back story of Dragon. She also is gifted at making food and dim sum fu. She seems to have a horrible singing voice. She, Fox, and Crane taught Skunk the art of using fans.
- Crane (Jules de Jongh) - General town gossip. Crane is often used for aerial missions, and was part of the Fan-Fan quartet with Fox, Duck, and the newly anointed Skunk.
- Praying Mantis (Tony Acworth impersonating Christopher Walken) - The valley's lookout bug. When he speaks, he makes brief pauses every few words (A nod to Mr. Walken). He seems to be a masochist constantly looking to put himself in harm's way, in hopes of a tragic outcome. He even expresses disappointment when a battle is going favorably. Despite his desire to see himself harmed, he is noted to put up an honest fight, though much to his delight, he often just ends up being squashed and left aside.
- Snake - He enjoys inflicting pain (especially on ninja monkeys) and is the valley spy. He speaks in an Australian accent (even though cobras are not found in the continent).
- Frog - The master of jumping. Frog appears to be a silly character who likes making people laugh. In "The Art of Giggling", he even helps Skunk conquer a case of the giggles by forcing the young warrior to play leapfrog every time he chuckled.
- Mr. Fish - He's the head honcho of underwater and has feelings for Ms. Duck, asking Skunk to make him a statue of her. He teaches Skunk the "Art of No Lung Fu" (underwater fighting) and carries a fish bowl whenever he needs to travel out of water. He appears to be a type of catfish.
- Blinky the Firefly - In "The Art of Responsibility", Blinky was Skunk's friend and his pet in the past, though the fireflies view it as Skunk being his pet. He cannot talk, like mature fireflies, so he communicates with a series of beeps, which Skunk used to his advantage in games. He helped end the monkey's night raids by lighting up the Valley as defense. He made cameo appearances in later episodes.
Antagonists
- Dragon (Rod Goodwell) - The main antagonist of the series though he was once a protagonist. He is the only mythical character in Skunk Fu. Many years ago, 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. Back then, Dragon was kind-hearted and was a great friend of Panda. 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, believing there could be no harm in using his powers to help, went ahead and used his Water powers anyway. As punishment for his impulsive actions and apparent disobedience (both referred in the opening as his 'arrogance'), 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 Lung 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 abilities, and possibly still for the friendship they once had. He is quite powerful, in addition to his Fire, he has knowledge of many powerful spells. In "The Art of Dream Control", he hates blueberries. Despite being the main villain of the series, Dragon is a tragic character, as the events that made him evil came from him being punished for doing something he believed in his heart to be right. There is a strong possibility he will turn good in the end.
- Baboon (Paul McLoone) - The head of Dragon's army and the one dispatched to carry out most of his evil plots. He is also the villain of the TV show. He is very dominant over the Ninja Monkeys, but is still somewhat of a lackey to Dragon. He might be afraid of Dragon, as well as being loyal to him. He is in love with Fox but she does not feel the same way, though she is more than willing to use Baboon's crush against him. He is a capable fighter but his and his minion's stupidity often results in his defeat. His catchphrase is "Wasabi!"
- Ninja Monkeys (Tony Acworth) - Dragon's soldiers, who are usually dim-witted and ineffectual. There is a potion that can make Ninja Monkeys become invisible, but only someone with the No-Mind skill can see them. Panda says the ninja monkeys are funny to watch, which is often true. Ninja Monkeys, though well trained, are easily defeated, but what they make up for lack of skill, they make up for with numbers and a large group of them could even take down Panda. Even though they are usually shorter than most of the Valley dwellers, they were shown to be the same height as Fox in "The Art of Hospitality".
Minor characters
- Eepie - A slightly smarter ninja monkey with whom Skunk once accidentally gained a crush on in "The Art of Monkey Love" when Baboon dressed her up like a female skunk.
- Blinky's Mom & Dad - Blinky, as shown in "The Art of Responsibility", has a big family. Two of his family members are his Mom & Dad.
- Master Rooster - A rooster who existed when Panda and Dragon were younger. Rabbit claimed he was a Kung Fu Master, but he made it up to scare Skunk. Tiger and Skunk later donned a disguise of Master Rooster to scare Rabbit, but at the end of the episode, it was hinted that he really exists. He also appeared in "The Art of Destiny Swapping".
Episodes
Broadcast and production
The series was shown on ABC Rollercoaster in Australia and BBC and S4C in the UK (S4C under the Welsh title, Drewgi) and Super RTL in Germany. Cartoon Network Asia and Canal J in France have also shown the series, along with TG4 which broadcasted Skunk Fu! in Irish."[5] The series made its US debut 22 September 2007 on the Kids' WB! block on The CW, and on Cartoon Network on 27 May 2008. It returned to The CW as part of The CW4Kids line-up on 13 September 2008[6] in reruns. On 25 October 2008, it was replaced by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, while the series continued to air in reruns on Cartoon Network until early April 2009. CW4kids brought the show back through 29 May 2010- 10 July 2010 for a limited return.
Skunk Fu! is a co-production between Hoek, Line and Thinker in the Netherlands and Irish production companies Telegael and Cartoon Saloon.
Possible Feature film
Cartoon Saloon was working on a feature film based on the show after the Irish Film Board supported increase in production of Irish Programming.[7] However, it never saw the light of day. The page for it on Cartoon Saloon's website has since been removed.
See also
References
External links