Super 4 (TV series)

Super 4
Genre	Comedy Action Animation
Created by	Hans Beck (Playmobil)
Based on	Playmobil  by Hans Beck
Written by	Hervé Benedetti Guillaume Enard Nicholas Robin Cyril Tysz
Directed by	Cyril Adam Arnaud Bouron[1]
Voices of	Billy Bob Thompson Veronica Taylor Jordan Carlos Sarah Natochenny
Theme music composer	Ingo Frenzel Lars Löhn Felix Raffel
Country of origin	France
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	52
Production
Producer(s)	Carsten Kieckbush Tom Kubishchik Cédric Pilot Aton Soumache Axel Von Maydell Alexis Vonarb
Running time	11 minutes
Production company(s)	Method Animation Vision Globale Morgen Studios
Release
Original network	CITV (UK) Netflix (Worldwide)
Original release	August 1, 2014[2] – Present

Super 4^[3] is a CGI animated comedy adventure TV series that began in 2014, marking the 40th anniversary of the Playmobil toys that inspired it. It features a band of heroes who protect the inhabitants of the disparate worlds of Kingsland, the Enchanted Island, and the City of Technopolis, against calamities and enemies. It was commissioned by France Télévisions^[4] and co-produced by Method Animation, Vision Globale and Morgen Studios. It began airing August 2014 in French; English dubbing was done later. The series has been broadcast by several channels worldwide,^[5] such as CITV in the United Kingdom.^[6]

Synopsis

Super 4 is essentially a crossover story which combines disparate Playmobil toy worlds of fairies, pirates, medieval knights, scientists, robots, dinosaurs and aliens, by depicting them as inhabiting neighbouring islands in an amorphous ocean. The titular “Super 4” are Ruby, a pirate, Twinkle, a fairy, Gene, a scientist, and Alex, a medieval prince, who along with Alien, an alien creature, are united in being exiles from their respective worlds who have banded together to have adventures, fight villains and save their worlds from calamities.

The series starts with the heroes already established as a team of adventurers who travel about in Gene's shape-shifting vehicle, the Chameleon, with their exploits related in an episodic story style. Later their back-stories are revealed via a series of 4-part origins stories. The first of these story arcs, Ruby Queen of the Seas, relates how Ruby ran away from the pirate world of Gunpowder Island after being told that as a girl she couldn't be a pirate. The second origins story arc, Gene Techno Explorer, shows how Gene escaped from the authoritarian city of Technopolis, populated by scientists and robots, to explore the outside world in defiance of claims that it was toxic and uninhabitable. Finally the Origins arc tells of how Alex ran away from Kingsland because he felt stifled by his schooling, and went on to meet the diminuitive Alien, a refugee from a lost world, and later the fairy Twinkle who was fleeing the Enchanted Island of fairies, witches and trolls after accidentally turning the Fairy Queen into a frog.

Characters

The heroes^[1]

Note: Kingsland is called Médiévalia in the original French version and occasionally in the English version too.^[7]

Other characters

Note: Doctor X is referred to as “Professor X” in some episodes, whilst the Black Baron is frequently called “the Dark Baron” or simply “the Baron”.

Episodes

The first 13 episodes have an instrumental theme tune, whilst episodes 14-52 have a theme song with English lyrics.

Season 1 (2014-15)

1. Cleaning Day 

The Four introduce themselves as they arrive at Technopolis to get the Chameleon's cloaking system repaired. Whilst there they learn that Doctor X has created a giant cleaning robot, Clean-O, which is promptly hijacked by Sharkbeard so he can clean the world of his enemies.

2. Dragonraiders 

Dragons seem to be attacking King Kendrick's castle but on following them back to the volcano on Gunpowder Island, Gene, Ruby and Alex discover they're pirates riding baby pterosaurs armed with flame throwers. Meanwhile Twinkle tries to galvanize the defenders of the castle, not helped by Alien who keeps fainting with fright.

3. I'm the King 

Wizard Fourchesac uses a magic potion to switch identities with the King and, after setting a knight on Twinkle and Ruby, realises that the knights will do anything he commands, so he decides to use them to invade Enchanted Island and destroy the fairy kingdom. He is foiled when Alex releases the real king from the dungeon.

4. Gene's Four 

When the Chameleon's fuel tank is ruptured, the four need to steal some alphaperonium fuel from Dr X's Alpha Tower in Technopolis. But it is guarded by infra-red laser beams, robot guards, and security cameras, and Gene discovers that his medieval friends don't even know what lasers, robots, or cameras are!

5. MindNet 

Dr.X's "perfect" Mindnet computer is given control of Technopolis and tasked with eliminating inefficiencies promptly expels all humans from the city. But it's forced to admit it doesn't know everything when, like Gene, it is unable to answer Twinkle's question: Why is a sunrise is so beautiful?

6. Princely Wedding 

Princess Leonora decides to marry the Baron, but it turns out she had been bewitched by a charm made by Baba Cara.

7. The Great Gonk 

In a homage to King Kong, a monkey kidnapped by Dr. X for a Technopolis zoo uses Twinkle's wand to grow enormous and then carries her off to the top of a tower.

8. Baby Dragon 

The four prevent the Dark Baron stealing a dragon egg, but it hatches and the baby dragon imprints on Gene.

9. A Colossal Challenge 

The Baron tries to win a jousting tournament by turning himself into a giant warrior whilst shrinking Alex to the size of a doll. But Alex proves that skill matters more than size.

10. Go Ruby 

Gene has entered a vehicle in the Technopolis Bot Run (robot race) but Ruby decides to take the place of his robot pilot. When the race turns out to have been rigged by Dr. X the others realise her life is in danger.

11. The Song of the Stork 

Fourchesac is making a love potion to cause Princess Leonora to fall in love with the Baron, but being out of a required ingredient, Stork Song, he uses Crow Song instead. The resultant potion turns the whole castle into lovestruck zombies, leaving Ruby to try and save them by persuading a real stork to sing!

12. Haunted Castle 

Doctor X visits Kingsland on a dark and stormy night and uses a robotic ghost to try and steal Kingsland’s largest diamond from Princess Leonora.

13. Tower Trouble 

The four attack the Baron's castle in the mistaken belief that Princess Leonora has been kidnapped by him.

14. Fog Over Kingsland 

The pirates pretend to be ghosts with the help of a fog generator and kidnap some knights during a tournament. But the four turn the tables on them.

15. Ruby, Queen of the Seas - Part 1 

Four part story about Ruby's childhood. Baby Ruby is washed up on Gunpowder Island in a basket. She aspires to become a pirate herself but her adoptive father ends up Sharkbeard's prisoner.

16. Ruby, Queen of the Seas - Part 2 

To ransom her adoptive father, Ruby tries to solve a maze of puzzles which supposedly protect Kingsland's treasure

17. Ruby, Queen of the Seas - Part 3 

Ruby becomes a trainee knight of Kingsland under Sir Ulf.

18. Ruby, Queen of the Seas - Part 4 

Ruby flees Kingsland on a dragon to rescue her adoptive father.

19. Saving Prince Alexander 

Baba Cara kidnaps Alex, and the others must steal the sacred golden teapot to ransom him.

20. Convoy of Honour 

A mystical Crystal Sword must be brought to the King for a ceremony, but the Baron steals it.

21. Operation Swashbuckler 

Baron kidnaps the 4 but finds he has captured Sharkbeard instead of Alex. Alex must team up with the pirates to rescue everyone.

22. Sleeping Buddy 

Twinkle accidentally puts Alex to sleep whilst he's fighting an attacking dragon. The only way to wake him is to carry him to Enchanted Island to be kissed by a frog.

23. Outlaws of Gravity 

King Kendrick unwittingly creates discord amongst the four when he announces he wants to give their leader a gold medal. Suddenly they all want to be leader and have a race to settle the dispute, which Twinkle wins. Meanwhile Dr X has made an antigravity machine which goes haywire so that Technopolis is at risk of floating away into space. Only “Captain” Twinkle has the power to save everyone, but she has been demoralised after losing first her gold medal (which in fact has been stolen by Ruby) and then her wand.

24. The Siege 

Everyone in Kingsland castle is imprisoned in some magical tapestries by Fourchesac so the Baron can seize it. In trying to free everyone from the tapestry, Twinkle manages to get herself, Alien and Gene trapped too, but once inside realises that the tapestries are actually a sort of medieval platform game: they need to defeat the big boss and gather a set of keys. Meanwhile Alex and Ruby are fighting a losing battle as the Baron besieges the castle.

25. Appetite for Destruction 

Baron ransoms the 4 by telling the king they've been imprisoned by a troll, but then a troll catches them for real and decides to cook and eat them.

26. The Metal Age 

Dr X has made a robotic medieval theme world, Techvalia, but his programming is so good that the robots really believe themselves to be medieval knights, and their ruler Queen Robotia imprisons the population of Technopolis, believing them to be evil wizards.

27. Your Wish is My Command 

A grateful elf, Floppy, rescued by the four from Baba Cara, grants their every wish with disastrous results.

28. The Golden Wand 

Twinkle enters a magic contest and turns the frog queen back into a fairy, but the queen's response is wholly vindictive.

29. The Final Countdown 

Sharkbeard causes Gunpowder Island to blow up. Using one of Gene's inventions, Alex travels back in time to prevent the catastrophe, but finds he has to try over and over, Groundhog Day style, as things keep going wrong.

30. Spell Book in Danger 

Twinkle is awaiting a replacement wand when a dragon eats the Grand Fairy's spellbook, which she was supposed to be guarding

31. Turnips and Old Lace 

Ruby finds a treasure map for a golden carrot which is buried in the garden of two fairies who turn out to be witches who turn any visitors into rabbits.

32. Silence of the Statues 

In an episode which is related like a fairy tale, a statue of the fairy queen comes alive and turns everyone to stone with its petrifying gaze after Sharkbeard tries to steal it. As the last person left unpretrified, it is down to Twinkle to save everyone by figuring out how to get the statue to look at its own reflection so that it petrifies itself.

33. The Prophecy 

An alien tribe on the Lost Island make Ruby their queen because she looks like a person depicted in a cave painting of an ancient prophecy, but it turns out the prophecy also calls for her to be sacrificed.

34. A Pirate's Honour 

When Ruby is falsely accused of stealing the Fairy Queen's necklace (which serves as a key to a Lost Island treasure trove), she is dismayed to realise that even her friends think she is guilty. So she steals the Chameleon and sets off by herself to clear her own name.

35. The White Rabbit 

Wizard Fourchesac seems to have turned Alex into a rabbit. The others take it to the fairies for help, unaware that it is actually a trojan horse intended to destroy the fairy kingdom. Luckily Alien isn't fooled and frees the real Alex in time.

36. The Hen with the Golden Eggs 

After Ruby touches a magic apple she develops a Midas touch, and everything she touches turns to gold. She thinks the pirates will adore her for this but instead they enslave her.

37. Gene, Techno Explorer - Part 1 

Four part back-story about Gene. Agent Gene lives in Technopolis, a futuristic domed city sealed off from the outside world and controlled by the autocratic Computer Supreme. After detecting signs of life in the supposedly uninhabitable world beyond the dome, Gene designs a vehicle, the Chameleon, for exploring the world outside. His plan is opposed by Computer Supreme and its puppet ruler Doctor X, who don’t want anyone to leave the city.

38. Gene, Techno Explorer - Part 2 

Gene escapes Technopolis with help from crotchety robot Lenny, and arriving in Kingsland, helps King Kendrick's folk repel a dragon attack which had been provoked by Fourchesac (then the king's wizard) hiding a dragon egg in the castle dungeon. Gene discovers a map of the known world in the castle and decides to cross Enchanted Island and try to reach the possibly mythical Lost Island.

39. Gene, Techno Explorer - Part 3 

When the Chameleon runs out of fuel on Enchanted Island, Gene meets the fairy Alba and some elves. Despite being scornful of her claim to have magical powers, he and Lenny help her retrieve her wand from a troll whereupon he discovers to his shock that her magic is real when she defeats a fearsome Technopolis robot with a simple wave of her wand and then transforms the Chameleon into a flower-power chariot.

40. Gene, Techno Explorer - Part 4 

After a plea from Doctor X, Gene returns to Technopolis to save its scientist population from Computer Supreme which has decided to "archive" (cryogenically freeze) everyone to stop them following Gene’s example and leaving the city.

41. Rage of the Dragon 

Ruby is turned into a dragon by the witch Baba Cara, meanwhile the Baron is looking for a dragon to enslave....

42. Negative 

Doctor X has made a cloning machine but it makes negative copies of the 4 who are as evil as the originals are noble. Their evil doppelgangers set about making a clone army to take over the world.

43. All That Glitters 

Ruby seeks a hoard of pirate treasure in a boobytrapped cave on Gunpowder Island whose door is unlocked by the last ray of the setting sun, like the door on the Lonely Mountain in The Hobbit.

44. Some Like it Magical 

Twinkle starts to float away after being injured by Baba Cara. To cure her weightlessness the others need to dupe the fairies into letting them have some magical honey.

45. The Furious Elf 

Baba Cara has turned an elf into an evil gnome and sent him forth to drain the Enchanted Island of colour, causing the fairies to become so depressed they lose their powers.

46. Unicorn Lady 

A fairy's boyfriend was turned into unicorn by a love-hating witch, but Alex realises she just needs a friend.

47. A Robot At the Fairies 

When Twinkle makes a mess of decorating the Queen Fairy's palace on the queen's birthday, the four try to use Clean-O (from ep.1) to fix it, with disastrous results.

48. Origins - Part 1 

Four part story about how the Super 4 met up. Prince Alex rebels against his tutor and runs away from Kingsland in search of adventure. He meets a telepathic Alien who has fled his own country after it was attacked by a monster. They team up to return to Kingsland Castle and save King Kendrick from the Black Baron. Alex realises that a map in the castle shows a lost island inhabited by creatures that look like Alien and realises this is where he comes from.

49. Origins - Part 2 

Determined to reach Lost Island to help Alien's people, Alex sets out again with Alien. Cautiously travelling through Enchanted Island they encounter the fairy Twinkle, who has turned her Queen into a frog. Fleeing the vengeful Queen, they end up on board a passing ship sailed by Ruby.

50. Origins - Part 3 

Ruby gets captured by Sharkbeard's pirates, so Alex and Twinkle disguise themselves as pirates too and go rescue her. Escaping on Sharkbeard's ship, they end up shipwrecked on Lost Island.

51. Origins - Part 4 

On Alien's homeland, Lost Island, Alex, Ruby and Twinkle meet Gene, and save Alien's tribe from attacking dinosaurs. At the end the five decide to team up to have adventures in the Chameleon.

52. The Truce 

Twinkle has a premonition that the Baron, Fourchesac & Baba Cara have made an alliance to defeat the Fairies. When the 4 try to stop the plot, Fourchesac & Baba Cara imprison them in the fairy's dungeon, but Alien leads Baba Cara on a merry dance leading to her capture.^[9]

Season 2 (2016)

A second season has been announced and will air on CITV in 2016.^[10]

Reception

Common Sense Media gave the series a generally positive writeup, decribing it as “an entertaining CGI series ... multiple settings and themed characters make for some fun crossover plots.” They also felt it offered positive role models: “Friendship and a common goal unite the heroes despite their very different personalities ... the heroes stand up to villains at every opportunity, putting themselves in harm's way for others.” However they also had some criticisms, notably that “some female characters (including one of the heroes) come off as fairly dim at times” and cautioned that “Parents need to know that Super 4 ... doubles as a lengthy commercial for Playmobil toys”. Regarding the target demographic they said “parents ... will enjoy the show nearly as much (as their children), thanks to witty writing.”^[11]

Writing for the website Geek Dad, Jamie Greene said “My kids (3 and 6) were riveted to the screener episode we were sent.” However, like the Common Sense Media reviewer he had misgivings about the portrayal of female characters: “Alex the Knight is a brave knight. Twinkle the Fairy is a brainless dope. ... notice anything troubling in those gender portrayals?” Despite this, he finished his review by saying “I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be watching more.”^[12]

In The Globe and Mail, Kate Taylor looked at the very concept of making TV series about toys. Initially she contrasted Playmobil's ethos with that of Lego in a favourable way, writing: “In the highly segregated world of children’s toys, Playmobil gets better marks for battling sexual stereotypes as (its) male and female figures can play a variety of roles. With Lego, you get the predetermined sexual stereotypes of the movies.” However, she went on to criticise Playmobil's decision to follow Lego's example in turning their toys into a TV series: “Will naming Playmobil figures and identifying them with on-screen characters in TV and film help children play better? No.” ... “It’s a sad day for those of us who ... still believe that children can invent their own stories.”^[13]

Playmobil sets

In 2015, the following Playmobil sets associated with the TV series were released.^[14]

• Sharkbeard Play Set - Includes Sharkbeard. Released on June 4, 2015.
• Skyjet Play Set - Includes a Technopolis technician. Released on June 4, 2015.
• Pirate Cave Play Set - Includes a pirate. Released on June 4, 2015.
• Black Colossus Play Set - Includes Black Colossus. Released on June 4, 2015.
• Cleano Robot Play Set - Includes Cleano Robot and Sharkbeard. Released on August 4, 2015.
• Royal Guard Sir Ulf Play Set - Includes Royal Guard Sir Ulf. Released on August 4, 2015.
• Jousting Rypan Guardian of The Black Baron Play Set - Includes Jousting Rypan, Guardian of the Black Baron and a horse. Released on August 4, 2015.
• Lost Island with Alien Raptor Play Set - Includes an explorer, a raptor and an alien. Released on August 4, 2015.
• Doctor X Play Set - Includes Doctor X. Released on August 4, 2015.
• Musical Flower Tower with Twinkle Play Set - Includes Twinkle, a fairy and a Unicorn. Released on September 21, 2015.
• Take Along Black Baron's Castle Play Set - Includes 3 knights and a horse. Released on September 21, 2015.
• Camouflage Pirate Fort Play Set - Includes Ruby and a pirate. Released on September 21, 2015.
• Chameleon Command Vehicle Play Set - Includes Gene. Released on September 21, 2015.
• Royal Tribune with Alex Play Set - Includes the King, Alex and a knight. Released on September 21, 2015.

Possible feature film

There is a possibility for a feature film in 2016.^[15]

Home media

In the UK ITV Studios Global Entertainment released episodes on DVD.

References

1. 1 2 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3949728/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm
2. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3956352/?ref_=ttep_ep1
3. ↑ In french title is a pun that can be understood as "super fort"("super strong")
4. ↑ PGS Secures Raft of Global Sales for Playmobil Series ‘SUPER 4’ published 15 July 2014 by Jennifer Wolfe of Animation World Network
5. ↑ PGS Makes More ‘Super 4’ Sales published 17 July 2014 in LicenseMag
6. ↑ Int’l nets play with Playmobil toon by Nico Franks on C21 Media published 16 July 2014
7. 1 2 3 https://tuauraslesyeuxcarres.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/super-4-un-joyeux-melange-des-genres/
8. 1 2 3 https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/super-4/series-1/episode-44-some-like-it-magical
9. ↑ http://www.radiotimes.com/programme/c4hs85/super-4/episodeguide/series-1
10. ↑ http://www.awn.com/news/itv-studios-unveils-ble-2015-presentation-slate
11. ↑ www.commonsensemedia.org TV Reviews Super-4 Retrieved 2 Feb 2016
12. ↑ Playmobil Comes to Netflix With ‘Super 4’ Retrieved 8 Feb 2016
13. ↑ Playmobil follows Lego’s lead into the movies – and that can’t be good for kids by Kate Taylor in The Globe and Mail Retrieved 8 Feb 2016
14. ↑ http://www.playmodb.org/cgi-bin/sets.pl?theme=Super+4&sortby=setnum&focus=all
15. ↑ http://kidscreen.com/content/pdf/51638.pdf?182df3

External links

• Profile at morgenstudios.com
• Profile at PGSentertainment.com
• Super 4 at the Internet Movie Database