Captain Planet and the Planeteers

Captain Planet and the Planeteers is a popular animated series created by Ted Turner and produced by Jane Fonda to promote environmentalism in children. The series were developed and animated by TBS Productions and DiC. It ran from September 10, 1990 until 1996 and continues in syndication. It was continued by Hanna-Barbera with the series The New Adventures of Captain Planet (1993 - 1996).

Characters

The main characters, called the Planeteers, are summoned by Gaia, a modern rendition of the ancient Greek goddess of fertility and the Earth, to defend the world from polluting criminals and natural disasters. The five teenagers, who each come from a different region and represent several major ethnic groups, are each given rings that allow them to temporarily control the four classical elements Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water, as well as a fifth one, Heart, that represents love and communication and enables telepathy. The Planeteers are, in left-to-right order in the title screen above:

Related Topics:
Gaia - Ethnic group - Classical element - Love - Telepathy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the first two seasons (1990-91), Linka is mentioned to come from the Soviet Union. Later, the intro was changed to "From Eastern Europe, Linka, with the power of wind!" when the Soviet Union's downfall occurred on December 25, 1991.

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - Eastern Europe - December 25 - 1991

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As a final twist, if all of the Planeteers are present the powers of the rings can be combined to summon a flying humanoid creature of the earth called Captain Planet. Captain Planet has superhuman strength, the ability to fly, and a seemingly endless supply of puns and cliches. He resolves most conflicts, but is vulnerable to pollution and can only act within his jurisdiction, which ends in the stratosphere. The rings can not be used while he is active, and when he is done he returns to the earth to restore his quickly expended power. Whenever he is summoned, he always utters the catch phrase, "By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!" Conversely, before returning to the earth, his last words are always, "The power is yours!", echoing the message of the series.

Related Topics:
Captain Planet - Pun - Cliche - Jurisdiction - Stratosphere - Catch phrase

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A small group of villains, usually referred to as the "eco-villains", make appearances repeatedly in most episodes. Due to conflict among them due to their varying self-serving interests and backgrounds, they tend to each work alone most of the time. These include Looten Plunder, a wealthy poacher; Duke Nukem, a radioactive mutant who represents the dangers of nuclear power; Dr. Blight, a mad scientist who represents the dangers of uncontrolled technology; Sly Sludge, an unscrupulous garbage collector; Verminous Skumm, a half-man, half-rat who represents the dangers of poor sanitation and urban sprawl; Hoggish Greedly, a cross between man and pig who represents the dangers of unchecked industrialization and greed; and Zarm, a malicious spirit that is Gaia's evil counterpart, also representing human expansionism.

Related Topics:
Villain - Poacher - Mutant - Nuclear power - Mad scientist - Sanitation - Urban sprawl - Hoggish Greedly - Industrialization - Greed - Expansionism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A polluting counterpart to Captain Planet named Captain Pollution appears in the two-part episode "Mission to Save Earth" when Dr. Blight steals the Planeteer's rings, creates polluting duplicates of them, and distributes the duplicates to the other eco-villains. She gives Plunder a Deforestation Ring (opposite of Earth), Nukem a Radiation Ring (opposite of Fire), Sludge a Smog Ring (Wind), Skumm a Toxics Ring (Water), and keeps the Hate Ring (Heart) for herself.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Captain Pollution also appeared in the two-part series premiere of The New Adventures of Captain Planet.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Planeteers, who on principle can't cause any pollution themselves, prefer to travel the world in a flying solar-powered vehicle.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many famous actors voiced some of the characters, including, LeVar Burton (Kwame), Whoopi Goldberg (Gaia), Edward Asner (Hoggish Greedly), James Coburn (Looten Plunder), Meg Ryan (Dr. Blight), Jeff Goldblum (Verminous Skumm), Janice Kawaye (Gi) and Sting (Zarm).

Related Topics:
LeVar Burton - Whoopi Goldberg - Edward Asner - James Coburn - Meg Ryan - Jeff Goldblum - Janice Kawaye - Sting

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~