Sidekick (TV series)

Sidekick
Genre	Comedy Action/Adventure Fantasy[1]
Created by	Todd Kauffman Joey So
Directed by	Joey So (Season 1–2) Kerry Sargent (Season 2–3)
Voices of	Miklos Perlus Christian Potenza Denise Oliver Stephanie Anne Mills Ron Pardo Tony Daniels
Theme music composer	William Kevin Anderson
Composer(s)	Don Breithaupt Anthony Vanderburgh
Country of origin	Canada
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	52 (104 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Joey So Todd Kauffman Doug Murphy (Season 1–2) Colin Bohm (Season 3) Irene Weibel (Season 3)
Producer(s)	Michael Décsi
Running time	22 minutes (2 11-minute segments)
Production company(s)	Nelvana
Release
Original network	YTV
Picture format	1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Audio format	Dolby Digital
Original release	September 3, 2010 (2010-09-03) – September 14, 2013 (2013-09-14)
External links
Website	www.ytv.com/sidekick

Sidekick is a Canadian animated television comedy series created by Todd Kauffman (former co-director of Total Drama, and later co-creator of Grojband and Looped) and Joey So. The series first aired in Canada on September 3, 2010 on YTV. The series is based on the original shorts originally titled The Not-So-Superheroic Adventures of Sidekick aired as part of the 2005 TV series, Funpak. The first two seasons of series aired on Cartoon Network in the United States from June 13, 2011 to October 8, 2012. The series ended on September 14, 2013 and YTV ceased reruns on December 30, 2016, but reruns still air on YouTube.

Plot

The series is about an orphan boy named Eric, with his best friend Trevor and his two female friends, Vana and Kitty, who are training to become sidekicks at the Academy for Aspiring Sidekicks in the city of Splittsboro. While dealing with intense sidekick training, Eric must also contend with his strict guardian Maxum Brain, his grumpy teacher Professor Pamplemoose, the evil Master Xox and keeping secret the disappearance of his superhero mentor Maxum Man from the city.^[2]

Characters

Main characters

• Eric Needles (voiced by Miklos Perlus) - The main protagonist of the series. Eric is 13 years old. Eric was adopted as the sidekick to Maxum Man, the greatest superhero of all time (before he disappeared). He also has a huge crush on Vana, but he later seems to be more infatuated with Mandy Struction. He grew up in an orphanage because he has no known parents. He was adopted by Maxum Brain. Eric always wears a T-shirt with a skull on it. He and Trevor always get into trouble and they don't have common sense. He and his friends are often forced to clean up the messes they caused. In the Funpak shorts, he was voiced by Peter Oldring.
• Trevor Troublemeyer (voiced by Christian Potenza) - Aged 14 years old, he is Eric's best friend and partner-in-shenanigans, Trevor always ropes Eric into all sorts of hijinks. His father is Master XOX but he, along with everyone else, is completely unaware of this.
• Kitty Ko (voiced by Denise Oliver) - An energetic 11-year-old heroine who, despite being a bit strange, gives the rest of the group advice, and is somewhat a good hacker and fixer. She has a huge crush on Eric and has a bit of a stalker-like obsession towards him. She literally has two left feet revealed in "Trip Van Twinkle Toes". In the Funpak shorts, she was voiced by Stephanie Beard.
• Vana Glama (voiced by Stephanie Anne Mills) - A 12-year-old self-absorbed, narcissistic, hyper-ambitious prima donna who is not easily impressed and is extremely shallow. Eric has a huge crush on her. She often tortures Eric and hates him for no apparent reason, but eventually comes to view Eric somewhat affectionately. In the Funpak shorts, she was also voiced by Stephanie Beard.
• Maxum Brain (voiced by Tony Daniels) - Eric's guardian due to the fact that Maxum Man is missing. He is a computer with lots of gadgets and acted as Maxum Man's assistant before his disappearance. He is strict about following rules and keeping the mansion clean and speaks with an East Indian accent.
• Maxum Man (voiced by Ron Pardo) - Eric's favorite superhero, before Eric became his current sidekick, with Superman-like powers. After he goes missing, Eric and Maxum Brain do everything for him to make it seem like he never left. It seems that Maxum Man always makes his own enemies purely by accident.

Recurring characters

• Martin Troublemeyer (a.k.a. Master XOX) - Trevor's dad. All he wants is what is best for Trevor and for him to be a good boy, which is why Trevor can't stand him. He tries to stay calm because of his short temper. The only time Trevor likes him is when he gets angry. However, when Trevor is not looking, his dad becomes the super villain known as Master XOX. When he is Mr. Troublemeyer, he is voiced by Scott McCord and when he is Master XOX, he is voiced by Ron Rubin. He is the main antagonist of the series and he also Maxum Man's arch-nemesis.
• Professor Pamplemoose - The cruel Headmaster at the Sidekick Academy and Eric's grumpy teacher, Pampelmoose is a strict disciplinarian who runs the school like it was prison camp. He has devoted his life to turning worthless students into worthless Sidekicks. He is voiced by Patrick McKenna. In the Funpak shorts, he was voiced by Alex Nussbaum.
• Golly Gee Kid - Golly Gee Kid was Maxum Man's sidekick in the old days, often seen in Maxum Man's Sidekick Academy training films. While a sidekick, it seemed that his primary job was to perform chores around the mansion. He is now the school's janitor. He is voiced by Ron Pederson.
• Mandy Struction - A student at the henchman school and Eric's new crush. She is 15 years old. She has seismic boots that can cause tremors in the floor whenever she stomps down. She is much taller than the other kids, suggesting she might be older than them. She also has a crush on Eric, which is why Kitty hates her. She appeared in the episodes "Match Dot Con", "Henchman for a Day", "Mandy-O and Eric-Et", "Oh Trevor, Where Art Thou?" and "Walter Ego Presents: Vapo House". She is voiced by Stacey DePass.
• Allan Amazing - Allan is a handsome student who is popular with the female students. Although he acts nice and sensible, he has an immense hatred for Eric and is a narcissist who will do anything to best anyone, especially Eric. He is voiced by Scott McCord.
• Kid Ruthless - A big tough student who seems to be a bully, as he tortures Eric for stealing his Sidekick Identity Name. He was popular with the students for his music. He was nice to Eric after Eric defeated him in a DJ Battle. He appeared in the episodes "Identity Crisis" and "Drop The Needles".
• Mayor Swift - The Senior Mayor of Splittsboro, all he wants to do is to see Maxum Man, which happened once in "Ain't No Party Like a Maxum Brain Party". He also has a hatred on a fired Super Hero, Static Clint, as shown in "The Spark is Gone". Swift also appeared in the Episode "The Maxum Switcheroo".
• Maxum Mom - Maxum Man's Mother, who has an intense dislike of Master XOX. She is tough like her son, and has visited and cared for Eric a couple of times in the Maxum Mansion. She has appeared in the episodes "Maxum Mom", "Shopping Spree", "Family Fun Day" and Eric poses as her in the Episode "The Maxum Switcheroo" to expose the fake Maxum Man.
• Maxum Mel - Maxum Man's older brother. He is tough like his brother and visited the Maxum Mansion one time. He has a sidekick named Mouse Boy. He appeared in "Of Mouse and Mel".
• Joshua Sideburns - A movie star with whom Kitty is obsessed. He visits Splittsburo to act in upcoming movies. He appeared in the episodes "Comic Book Zombies", "Teenage Mummies in Love" and "Maxum Method".
• Opossum Man - Another Superhero in Splittsburo who is a parody of Batman and always wants to make crime and criminals play dead like real opossums do. He also has a sidekick named Boy Vermin. He appears in "Opposum Man".
• Boy Vermin - Eric's old friend from the orphanage and Opossum Man's sidekick dressed as a rodent who is a parody of Robin and he always assists Opossum Man. His real name is Glenn. He appears in "Opposum Man".

Episodes

Broadcast

In the United States, the series premiered on Cartoon Network alongside Almost Naked Animals on June 13, 2011. As of March 27, 2017, the series is currently airing on Qubo^[3].

In the UK and Ireland, the series premiered on CBBC on September 2014.

See also

• My Hero Academia - A manga by Kōhei Horikoshi with a similar concept.

References

External links

• Official website
• Sidekick on IMDb