Animal Mechanicals Explained
| Creator: | Jeff Rosen |
| Developer: | CBC |
| Director: | Gilly Fogg |
| Theme Music Composer: | Blain Morris |
| Opentheme: | "We Animal Mechanical Can!" |
| Endtheme: | "We Animal Mechanical Can!" (Instrumental) |
| Composer: | Blain Morris |
| Country: | Canada |
| Num Seasons: | 3 |
| Num Episodes: | 73 |
| List Episodes: | List of Animal Mechanicals episodes |
| Producer: | Katrina Walsh |
| Runtime: | 11 minutes |
| Company: | Halifax Film |
| Network: | CBC Television |
Animal Mechanicals (French: '''Les Super Mécanimaux''') is a Canadian animated preschool television series created by Jeff Rosen. Produced by Halifax Film, in association with the CBC and distributed by Decode Entertainment, the series premiered in Canada on CBC Television as part of the Kids' CBC on September 1, 2008. In the United States, it premiered on The Hub on October 11, 2010.
The French-Canadian version of Animal Mechanicals is called; Les Super Mécanimaux; it aired on the French-language free-to-air television network Ici Radio-Canada Télé; starring French-Canadian voice actors Nicolas Charbonneaux-Collombet as Rex, Éveline Gélinas as Unicorn/Licorne, François Caffiaux as Komodo, Catherine Brunet as Mouse/Petite Souris, Denis Roy as Sasquatch, and Marika Lhoumeau as Island Owl/Petite chouette de l'île.[1]
In 2019, the series was revived through the release of new nonverbal webshorts produced by WildBrain Spark Studios, a subsidiary of WildBrain that produces original content for the WildBrain Spark network.[2] Alexander Tol provides the occasional vocal noises for the male characters, while the females are performed by Rae Reilly.
Characters
- Rex (voiced by Jim Fowler) is a green Mechana-tyrannosaurus. His ability is Mechana-Strong. Often, when utilizing this ability, Unicorn refers to him as being "strong like a titanium Tyrannosaurus" which, with his name and bipedal shape, would indicate that he is a robotic Tyrannosaurus rex. He is the leader of the Animal Mechanicals when they are on their journey to their mission. When he transforms, he becomes a cross between a truck, a forklift, a tractor, and a digger. He also has an obsession with food.
- Unicorn (voiced by Leah Ostry) is a pink Mechana-unicorn. Her ability is Mechana-Fly, which is when she appears two wings on her back and her hooves turn into rocket boosters. The horn on her head can be made to blink like a beacon, allowing other creatures to follow her while she is flying. It can also do magic, make a whirlwind, throw lightning and light up. When flying, her legs are bent backwards and her hooves become rocket boosters, propelling her through the air. Her wings are folded inside her back, except when in use, where they provide direction and speed control. She is the only Animal Mechanical who does not walk on two legs. She is the Animal Mechanical used in the most episodes, with 51 in total.
- Komodo (voiced by Shannon Lynch) is a red Mechana-Komodo dragon who walks on two legs and has big, squared-off blue glasses. His ability is Mechana-Gizmo. He can change his tail into a selection of tools and gadgets, such as a wrench, a saw, a hammer or a screwdriver. Often, when utilizing this ability, Unicorn refers to him as being "handy dandy tool time." This does, however, involve him working backwards to the line of the problem, forcing him to bend almost in half in order to see what he is doing. He is shown to be very smart, often figuring out the small details of the problem in hand. He tends to act like a martial arts expert. In a few episodes, he reveals that he has a sensitive stomach and legs. He often has to warn Sasquatch about "traps", and is the only Animal Mechanical to have more than one stock footage sequence. As a running gag for whenever he uses his powers, something random would be picked by mistake, including a rubber duck, a submarine sandwich, and a teddy bear among others.
- Mouse (voiced by Abigail Gordon) is a yellow Mechana-mouse who is the youngest in the group and runs about on two pumps instead of her back feet. Her ability is Mechana-Fast, which is increased by lying flat, with her front paws on the ground, which also have wheels on them, and flattening her ears to the side of her head and extending exhaust pipes which help to propel her forwards. Her ears act like satellite dishes to catch sounds. For some reason, she laughs and giggles before Sasquatch transforms and can fit in tight places her friends cannot. Whenever Sasquatch is afraid or impatient, she always comes to hold his hand. But when she is scared, Sasquatch is always there to hold her hand. She also has the ability to understand creatures.
- Sasquatch (voiced by Ian MacDougall) is a blue Mechana-Bigfoot. His ability is Mechana-Stretchy. Each of his limbs extend to an incredible length. When stretched, his arms and legs are long, however his joints do not alter and bend as usual. In the episode, "Baboon Balloon Island", it was stated that he is allergic to air pears and in this same episode and "Mechana Skee Ball Island", he has anxiety and a fear of heights. He has referred to himself several times as the Mighty Sasquatch. Whenever Sasquatch is scared, Mouse always comes to hold his hand (as seen in "Jigsaw Shark Puzzle" and "Chugboat Island"), but whenever he's scared or impatient (as seen in "Dino Mountain Island" and "Snail's Pace Race"), Mouse always comes to hold his hand. Sasquatch often disrespects Komodo's warnings. He is also revealed to be acrophobic in "Dino Mountain Island".
- Island Owl (voiced by Lenore Zann) is a red Mechana-owl and the team's commander that only appears at the beginning of each episode, giving the team's their mission. Her head resembles a television set, which begins briefly showing her face, then changes to show a representation of the island to which the Animal Mechanicals are to be sent. She does not accompany the Animal Mechanicals, after they have left to go on their mission as she is not heard from or seen again and looks after the Animal Mechanicals' home; however she is mentioned by Komodo whenever someone breaks a rule.
Episodes
See main article: List of Animal Mechanicals episodes.
Broadcast
Animal Mechanicals is broadcast in Canada on CBC Television[3] in the Kids' CBC programming block, weekdays at 7:30 am. It was also broadcast on Playhouse Disney, later Disney Junior in the United Kingdom and Italy. In Latin America, it was broadcast in Discovery Kids and Discovery Familia on January 19, 2009 until early 2013, the digital cable channels owned by Discovery Networks, and Discovery, Inc., in a Spanish or Portuguese (in Brazil) dubbed version and are called Mecanimales (Spanish) or Mecanimais (Portuguese). It is dubbed in Irish on Cúla 4 ná nóg, the children's portion of TG4 in Ireland. The series premiered in the United States on October 11, 2010 on The Hub. In Israel it was broadcast on Hop! Channel in 2011, in a Hebrew-dubbed version. In the Arab world it was broadcast on Baraem in 2009, in an Arabic-dubbed version.
Notes and References
- http://film.ns.ca/files/userfiles/file/2007-2008%20Production%20Catalogue.pdf "That's a Wrap" Film Nova Scotia, Production Catalogue 2007–2008, p. 18.
- WildBrainKids . 1134442108117553152 . May 31, 2019 . The brand new and reimagined 'Animal Mechanicals' is back in 3D! The new series is launching this Saturday. This robot slapstick comedy is perfect for kids between the ages of 3 and 7. Watch tomorrow on our channel!.
- Web site: CBC.ca – Program Guide . 2008-10-09 . 2008-12-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081218033730/http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/program/animal_mechanicals_hd . dead .
