Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers
| Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers | |
|---|---|
| Written by |
Ray Boseley Robert Greenberg John Armstrong Kevin Nemeth Pepe Trevor Cameron Clarke |
| Directed by |
Peter Viska Jan Van Rijsselberge Robbert Smit |
| Starring |
Stig Wemyss Kylie Belling Marg Downey Bill Ten Eyck Michael Veitch Lynda Gibson David Cotter |
| Country of origin |
France Australia |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Christian Davin Dr. Patricia Edgar |
| Producer(s) |
Suise Campbell Patricia Edgar |
| Editor(s) |
Ralph Strasser Cliff Hayes Damian Harland |
| Running time | 26 - 24 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC Television |
| Original release | 6 March 1997 – 14 April 1998 |
Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers is a French-Australian animated television series produced by the ABC. The story follows a group of children and their adventures in outback Australia.
The title character of the series is "Lil' Elvis". The opening sequence and music reveal that he was thrown out of a Gold Cadillac in a guitar case, hinting that he is the illegitimate child of Elvis Presley. He is raised by foster parents, Grace and Len, who are fervent fans of Elvis Presley. Lil' Elvis is musically talented, singing and playing the guitar and his foster mother is convinced he is the son of Elvis Presley.
Lil' Elvis and his two friends, Lionel and Janet, form the band "The Truckstoppers", and the series follows their adventures in the outback town Little Memphis/Wanapoo. Lionel is an Indigenous Australian who plays the didgeridoo, and has a penchant for exclaiming "deadly" while Janet is a beret wearing Asian Australian girl who plays the drums standing up, similar to The Velvet Underground's drummer Maureen Tucker.
The Truckstoppers' recurring enemy is the businessman W.C. Moore, who wants to become their manager to exploit them commercially, turning Lil' Memphis into a tourist attraction. He is also obsessed with finding deposits of the mysterious mineral Berkonium. He has a Berkonium marble, which he uses to beat children at the game of marbles, their major recreational activity. He also frequently electrically zaps his hapless limousine driver.
Characters
Main
- Li'l Elvis Jones (voiced by Stig Wemyss)
- Li'l Elvis Jones singing voice (voiced by Wendy Stapleton)
- Lionel Dexter (voiced by Kylie Belling)
- Janet Rig (voiced by Marg Downey)
- W. C. Moore (voiced by Bill Ten Eyck)
- Duncan (voiced by Michael Veitch)
- Grace Jones (voiced by Lynda Gibson)
- Len Jones (voiced by David Cotter)
Others
- Spike is a juvenile delinquent who picks on Elvis and is mostly on Moore's side.
Episodes
Season 1: 1997
- 1 - Caught in a Trap
- 2 - Boggled
- 3 - Memphis P.T.D
- 4 - Wandering Star
- 5 - I Hate My Own Birthday
- 6 - You Can't Buy the Playground
- 7 - Goondianna Smith, The Wonder Years
- 8 - Monkey Sea, Monkey Do
- 9 - Bearing All
- 10 - It's a Dog's Life
- 11 - D.I.V.O.R.C.E.
- 12 - Duncan's Big Day Out
- 13 - Fun In Acapulcolypse Now
Season 2: 1998
- 14 - Kidnapped
- 15 - Good Boy, Cruel World
- 16 - Space Junk
- 17 - RoboPop
- 18 - Hopping Mad
- 19 - Big Top Brouhaha - Haha
- 20 - Billionairiosis
- 21 - Cardaholic
- 22 - Know All
- 23 - The Good, The Bad and the Hanky
- 24 - Schmiko
- 25 - Minors in the Mine
- 26 - The Meanie From Down Under