Toad Patrol

Toad Patrol

Toad Patrol logo
Genre Adventure, Fantasy
Created by George Sarson
Peggy Sarson
Developed by Rob Hudnut
Thomas LaPierre
Funbag Animation Studios
Edward Sarson Productions
Written by Patricia Lewis
Clive Endersby
Directed by Nelson Shin (season one)
Jerry Popowich
Voices of Dawn Ford
Terrence Scammell
Sonja Ball
Nancy Neilson
Neil Shee
Rick Jones
Bryn McAuley
Brady Moffatt
Michael O'Reilly
Long John Baldry
Composer(s) Ian Tamblyn
Country of origin Canada
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Peggy Sarson
George Sarson
Firdaus Kharas
Producer(s) Rick Morrison
Production company(s) Toadbag Productions,
Edward Sarson Productions,
Vision Entertainment,
Funbag Animation Studios,
Helix Animation,
Universal Pictures International (season one)
AKOM (season one)
RME LLC. (season two)
Distributor Portfolio Entertainment
Vision Entertainment
Release
Original network Teletoon (Canada)
Toon Disney (USA)
Original release October 2, 1999 (1999-10-02)[1] – November 24, 2002 (2002-11-24)[1]

Toad Patrol is a Canadian animated series which first aired in 1999 on Teletoon. It was created by George Sarson and his wife Peggy. Although it is primarily aimed at young children, it found a following among pre-teens to young adults because despite the fairly young and lighthearted appearance of the show, it had some rather dark undertones beneath the surface. The show's story was being unofficially developed as early as 1985 and was in the official development stage as the creators started selling Mistle Toad chocolates and cream pops to raise money. The show was animated by Korea, AKOM (First Season) and India, UTV Toons (Second Season), although much in-betweening was done in Canada at Funbag and Helix studios. It is currently airing on the UniMás Spanish-language network as Patrulla de Sapitos.

Story

The story is about a group of eight young "Toadlet" siblings and their struggle for survival in The Great Forest.

The Ancients are quite powerful and knowledgeable in shamanistic like magic. According to legend; they had created Toad Hollow, left many symbols of their existence behind and had eventually disappeared. Now, due to unknown reasons, the Toads have to abandon the forest and migrate to Toad Hollow. Toad Hollow is basically a giant haven, home to many Toads. The only way to enter Toad Hollow is a gateway known as the Fairy Ring. Or at least, this is the only way that will prevent one from becoming a Toadstool after the ring closes. This portal of sorts opens and closes in random areas of the forest annually, and any who miss the Ring end up stranded or turn into a toadstool.

The main characters are late born Toadlets who missed the great migration. Unable to figure out what to do, they are greeted by a wandering Toad sage named Mistle Toad. He tells them about the Fairy Ring and how to find it. It's not known exactly where it is because the location changes every year. It is revealed shortly after that the youngest of the eight toadlets, Panther Cap, has the ability to hear what certain "Lightning Oaks" (called Thunder Trees by the toadlets) are saying, and can also home in on these trees telepathically with the use of an acorn.

Along their journey, every member of the group develops a special skill which they use to contribute to the group's survival. They also meet Earth Star, a young Toadlet musician who was part of a previous group of Toadlets who failed to find the Fairy Ring in time and all turned into Toadstools.

The series lasted two seasons, 13 episodes each. The first follows the Toadlets as they find the Fairy Ring. In the second season, when in Toad Hollow, Panther Cap hears Mistle Toad calling out for help. Eventually after telling the others, they set out to find and rescue him.

Production notes

This series was first realized by George and Peggy Sarson in 1985. He created the character of Mistle Toad back then, and penned a series of short stories about Toad Tunnels, tunnels dug in some areas of the world for groups of toads who migrate. The tunnels act as a way to give the Toads a safe passageway past freeways and roads, as this had been known to destroy whole groups of migrating toads before the invention of the tunnels. George found the perilous journey of the toads fascinating and created a story about it which eventually was noticed by Teletoon. It was eventually animated in a full animated series in 1999. It was moderately popular, and eventually even managed to finish itself neatly with a dramatic conclusion to the series in the second season. After this the series was moved to a rather poor timeslot and its ratings dropped, but ironically at this timeslot early in the morning the show gathered a quiet but dedicated cult following. Years later, after going off air, it continues to hold on to quite a few of its followers.

A show sponsor page had stated that 13 episodes of the series are currently in production. However, this has not been confirmed by Teletoon. After 15 years without an original episode and no further news of any additional planned broadcasts, the possibility of additional episodes of the series remains doubtful at best.

Nine episodes of the series are available on DVD.

Characters

Main Characters

Chapters

Toad Patrol consisted of two seasons, spanning a total of 26 episodes.

DVD releases

Three DVDs were released in 2005, each one containing three episodes.

Name Release Date Episodes Contains
The World of Toad Patrol April 26, 2005 1 - 3 "One For All"
"The Giver of Names"
"The Fire"
Toad Patrol: The Crystal Caverns July 26, 2005 4 - 6 "The Crystal Caverns"
"Scooped"
"The Stay Away Place"
Toad Patrol: Toadlets to the Rescue December 6, 2005 7 - 9 "Trojan Duck"
"Night Fright"
"Trapped"

Differences

The first season was produced by AKOM Production Company while the second season was produced by RME Animation Studios. Slippery Jack is voiced by Brady Moffatt in the first season and not the second season because he is uncredited.

References

  1. 1 2 "Television Program Logs". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. March 2, 2016. Archived from the original on May 16, 2016.
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