Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart explained

Creator:	Parker Simmons
Director:	Michael Moloney
Voices:	Parker Simmons Griffith Kimmins Lika Leong Christopher McCulloch Debra Wilson Tommy Blacha
Theme Music Composer:	Mint Potion Studios
Opentheme:	"I Love You Mao Mao"
Composer:	Mint Potion Studios
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Num Seasons:	1
Num Episodes:	40
Executive Producer:	Parker Simmons Chris Prynoski Shannon Prynoski Jennifer Pelphrey Tramm Wigzell Brian A. Miller Rob Sorcher
Producer:	Laura Allen
Editor:	Todd Raleigh
Runtime:	11 minutes
Company:	Titmouse, Inc. Cartoon Network Studios
Channel:	Cartoon Network

Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart is an American animated television series created by Parker Simmons for Cartoon Network. A co-production between Cartoon Network Studios and Titmouse, it premiered on July 1, 2019.^{[1] [2] [3]}

The show is based on the independent teaser short I Love You Mao Mao, which Simmons had initially produced for the annual Titmouse Inc. "5-Second Day" on February 21, 2014, and subsequently posted on Newgrounds.^[4]

Plot

Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart centers on its coming-of-age story, with the title character, Mao Mao, a daring cat who has high intentions for action and adventure. During one of his adventures, he gets stuck in a cute and cuddly town called Pure Heart Valley with his co-hero Badgerclops, a cyborg-armed badger, and meets Adorabat, a cute little bat. Together, the three go on adventures to protect the citizens of Pure Heart Valley from the forces of evil while they find a way to fix the Ruby Pure Heart to its original state.

Characters

Main characters

• Mao Mao (full name Mao Mao Mao) (voiced by Parker Simmons), a righteous yet uptight cat who gets stuck in Pure Heart Valley, where he spends time helping the citizens while also finding a way to fix the Ruby Pure Heart which he inadvertently broke in the first place.
  • Colleen Clinkenbeard voices a young Mao Mao.
• Badgerclops (voiced by Griffith Kimmins), a sassy cyborg badger with a robotic arm and an eyepatch, and Mao Mao's co-hero and partner.
• Adorabat (voiced by Lika Leong), a cute, blue, five-year-old bat with a yellow heart symbol and peg leg in place of her right leg.

Villains

Sky Pirates

• Orangusnake (voiced by Christopher McCulloch), an orangutan-snake hybrid pirate captain who wants to steal the Ruby Pure Heart to take over the world. He is actually a criminal duo named Coby (snake) and Tanner (orangutan) who after a fateful encounter with Mao Mao and Bao Bao decided to combine themselves to become the greatest villain in the world.
• Ramaraffe (voiced by Debra Wilson), a female cybernetic giraffe pirate with the ability to stretch her neck. She is shown to be good at thinking of plans.
• Boss Hosstrich (voiced by Christopher McCulloch), a cybernetic ostrich pirate with a southern accent and attire. He has the ability to shoot eggs from a cannon on his chest and is quite a gentleman. He got into a manners battle with King Snugglemagne.
• Ratarang (voiced by Parker Simmons), a small rat pirate that can turn into a boomerang, who often talks about his mama.
• Beef Master, a large water buffalo with a necklace made of bones. Fell off the ship.
• Thunder Fist, a gorilla that can produce electricity from his hands. Fell off the ship.
• Steel Wing (voiced by Tommy Blacha), a wyvern with literal metal wings. Fell off the ship due to his wings being too heavy for flight.

Thicket Thieves

• Tiny Toad (voiced by Mark Sheppard), the leader who is a cyborg frog with a monocle and a heavy English accent.
• Bullmozer (voiced by Simmons), a mole with cybernetic arms and glasses.
• Ratracer (voiced by Lisa O'Hare), a female rat with a wheel instead of legs.

Others

• Rufus (voiced by Julian Barratt), a sly and cunning fox who swindles the Sweetypies of Pure Heart Valley.
• Reggie (voiced by Rich Fulcher), a raccoon and Rufus' sidekick.

Supporting characters

Pure Heart Valley Residents

• King Snugglemagne the 25th (voiced by Parker Simmons), the foppish lion king of Pure Heart Valley. He is vain and effeminate, but can be very manipulative and is shown to have a scandalous side to him as well.
• Scoops (voiced by Debra Wilson), a small donkey that runs the news in Pure Heart Valley.
• Camille (voiced by Debra Wilson), a chameleon and royal magic-user to Pure Heart Valley.
• Honey, a flying squirrel and Camille's silent apprentice.
• Chef Rhett (voiced by Tommy Blacha), the royal chef of Pure Heart Valley.
• Pinky (voiced by Griffith Kimmins), a small pink rhinoceros who is considered disturbing by the residents of Pure Heart Valley.
• Ketchup (voiced by Debra Wilson), a pink fluffy gopher with strange interests.
• Kevin (voiced by Griffith Kimmins), a small blue porcupine with no fingers. He is afraid of everything.
• Chubbum (voiced by Tommy Blacha), a frog who is very friendly. His father sounds exactly like Mao Mao.
• Lucky (voiced by Tommy Blacha), a green hamster with glasses.
• Gary (voiced by Tommy Blacha), a crocodile who works as a cameraman.
• Cluckins (voiced by Christopher McCulloch), a chicken. Despite his appearance, he is 30 years old.
• Slim Pigguns (voiced by Parker Simmons), a yellow pig who works as a pizza delivery man. He drives a monster truck.
• Chester Nutz (voiced by Griffith Kimmins), a tall brown porcupine. He is Kevin's older brother.
• Mail Mole (voiced by Chris Prynoski), a mole who is eager to get the job done.
• Ol' Blue (voiced by Tommy Blacha), a blue dog who is a citizen of Pure Heart Valley. He is also a therapist and not easily impressed.
• Marion (voiced by Debra Wilson), a horse in Pure Heart Valley who is always working out.
• Benny (voiced by Christopher McCulloch), a yellow dog who is a citizen of Pure Heart Valley and Penny's husband.
• Penny (voiced by Lika Leong), a pink dog who is a citizen of Pure Heart Valley and Benny's wife.
• Farmer Bun (voiced by Parker Simmons), a pink rabbit with a big orange hat in Pure Heart Valley. He works at a farm.
• Muffins (voiced by Debra Wilson), a mouse in Pure Heart Valley who bakes muffins. Adorabat does not like her.
• Silly Billy (voiced by Tommy Blacha), a violet elephant who is a news anchor in Pure Heart Valley.
• Clark Lockjaw (voiced by Lika Leong) a tiny blue seal who is a news reporter in Pure Heart Valley.
• Teacher (voiced by Andy Daly), the teacher at Adorabat's school in Pure Heart Valley.

Mao Mao's family

• Shin Mao (voiced by Clancy Brown), Mao Mao's father, has a strained relationship with him. He gifted Mao Mao his golden sword while giving his sisters more impressive weapons. It is revealed that he is small like Mao Mao and ultimately learns to be more appreciative of his son.
• Brunhilde Mao, a large knight with a golden spear that can pierce anything.
• Amala, a ninja with a golden scarf that grants the wearer supersonic flight.
• Minori, a monk with a golden hat that can store infinite items.
• A martial artist with golden bangles that grant impenetrable defense.
• A sorcerer with golden eye contact that offers incredible sight.
• Mao Mao's mother, who once informed her son that his father was visiting.
• Uncle Jim Jim (voiced by Parker Simmons), Mao Mao's uncle who, despite being a spirit, is still technically alive and possibly a barbarian.
• Aunt Gloria, Mao Mao's aunt and a secondary character who appears in "Lonely Kid".
• Great-Great Paternal Grandfather Twig (voiced by Griffith Kimmins), Mao Mao's grandfather who was a sumo warrior.
• Great-Great Aunt Blackbeard (voiced by Colleen Clinkenbeard), Mao Mao's aunt who was a pirate warrior.

Others

• Bao Bao (voiced by Chris Prynoski), Mao Mao's original partner, a common dog with a sword that does amazing tricks. Mao Mao is apparently unaware of the fact that he is capable of free-thinking as he "betrayed" (actually just got distracted by a butterfly) and left him. Mao Mao eventually accepts that he has a mind of his own.
• Bobo Chan (voiced by Debra Wilson), a young female monster that Badgerclops adopts after seeing her hatch from an egg. She quickly grows to full size after Badgerclops had to leave her in the wild and later on comes to the rescue when the Sky Pirates threaten to murder the heroes by tossing them off a cliff.
• Tanya Keys (voiced by Ming-Na Wen), a female tanuki and former lover of Mao Mao's who makes a living as a bounty hunter. She loves to mess with him, but wants him to be more carefree like her, despite Mao Mao's disgust of her being a vigilante rather than a hero. Just like in legends, she has the ability to transform herself and leaves into people and objects.
• Meditatin' Melvin (voiced by Dana Snyder), a meditating monkey who achieved the ability to astral project simply to get out of going to the dentist.
• Eugene (voiced by Randall Park), Adorabat's father who had a strained relationship with his daughter ever since his wife was murdered by a cave dragon before the events of the series.
• Sonara, Adorabat's deceased mother. A cave dragon from Pure Heart Valley attacked and killed her before the events of the series.

Episodes

Season 1 (2019–20)

Production

Cartoon Network announced on May 20, 2019 that they greenlit Mao Mao up for a full series alongside Tig n' Seek (originally titled Tiggle Winks). Eight new episodes were released on June 28, on the Cartoon Network app, website, and VOD.^{[5] [6] [7]}

A second season was confirmed to be in production at the Cartoon Network Studios First Look Panel during the Comic-Con at Home event on July 23, 2020.^{[8] [9]}

Animation

The series was animated by Titmouse, Inc. with additional animation from Inspidea in Malaysia and used Adobe Animate along with After Effects for compositing.^[10]

Broadcast

The show debuted on Cartoon Network in the United States on July 1, 2019.^{[11] [12] [13]} The series had also premiered in Belgium on March 2, 2020.^[14]

On September 1, 2020, the first 30 episodes of the show were added to the HBO Max.^{[15] [16] [17] [18]} The last 10 episodes of the first season added on January 1, 2021.^{[19] [20]}

In August 2022 the show was removed from the HBO Max, as a result of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.^{[21] [22]} Cartoon Network subsequently removed all references to the show from their official websites, YouTube channels, and Twitter feeds.^[23]

Reception

Critical reception

The series was well received from critics. Emily Ashby of common sense media gave the show 4 out of 5 stars; wrote that "Action scenes are loud and flashy, involving swords and axes, laser blasts, light beams that resemble bullets, lots of impact and overall a lot of violence. Death is implied in some cases, but the heroes always emerge unscathed." and that "The intensity of this show's action makes it a better choice for tweens than for younger kids, but the sharp writing and appealing heroes give the show cross-generational appeal."^[24]

Dave Trumbore of the website Collider gave the show 3 out of 5 stars; (Good) saying that: "He'll be cautiously optimistic with this one. It's got a good start and great heart, it just remains to be seen how much original mythology will make its way into the narrative. Just like Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and OK K.O.! took some time to build up the behind-the-scenes drama, Mao Mao could benefit from a deeper storytelling well in the long run".^[25]

Nick Valdez gave it 5 out of 5 stars; of ComicBook.com wrote: "Show has the potential to become a massive success for Cartoon Network".^[26]

Awards and nominations

!Year!Award!Category!Nominee(s) !Episode!Result!Ref.

2020	A Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program	Parker Simmons		Nominated	^[27] ^[28] ^[29]
		Outstanding Editing	Doug Vito, Todd Raleigh, Jocelyn Barkenhagen, Haley Gansert		Nominated
	47th Annie Awards	Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production	Khang Le, Chris Fisher, Gael Bertrand, Deodato Pangandoyon, Howard Chen	Ultraclops	Nominated	^[30] ^[31] ^[32]
2021	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program	Parker Simmons		Nominated	^[33] ^[34] ^[35]
	48th Annie Awards	Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for role as: Mao Mao	Parker Simmons		Won	^[36] ^[37]
	Annie Award	Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television/Media Production	Michael Moloney	Mao Mao's Nakey	Nominated

Notes and References

1. News: Cartoon Network Unveils Adventure Comedies 'Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart' And 'Tig N' Seek'. Bennett. Anita. May 20, 2019. Deadline.com.
2. News: Cartoon Network Adds Adventure Comedies 'Mao Mao,' 'Tig 'N' Seek'. Nordyke. Kimberly . May 20, 2019. The Hollywood Reporter.
3. News: Cartoon Network Adds New Adventure Comedies 'Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart' and 'Tig N' Seek'. Nissen. Dano. May 20, 2019. Variety.
4. Web site: I Love You Mao Mao. Newgrounds.com.
5. News: Bennett . Anita . May 20, 2019 . Cartoon Network Unveils Adventure Comedies 'Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart' And 'Tig N' Seek' . Deadline.com.
6. News: Nordyke . Kimberly . May 20, 2019 . Cartoon Network Adds Adventure Comedies 'Mao Mao,' 'Tig 'N' Seek' . The Hollywood Reporter.
7. Web site: Breaking News - Cartoon Network Grows Programming Slate with New Adventure Comedies "Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart" and "Tig N' Seek" TheFutonCritic.com . 2024-11-23 . www.thefutoncritic.com.
8. Web site: 2020-07-28 . SDCC: Cartoon Network's Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart Release S2 Animatic . 2024-10-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200728145740/https://www.cbr.com/sdcc-cartoon-network-mao-mao-heroes-of-pure-heart-s2/ . 2020-07-28 .
9. Web site: Milligan . Mercedes . 2020-07-24 . Cartoon Network Makes Virtual Memories for Fans with Comic-Con@Home . 2024-12-03 . en-US.
10. Web site: 2024-09-14 . 'Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart': Parker Simmons' Loveable Trio Hits the Road Animation Magazine . 2024-09-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240914143903/https://www.animationmagazine.net/2019/06/mao-mao-heroes-of-pure-heart-parker-simmons-loveable-trio-hits-the-road/ . 2024-09-14 .
11. Web site: Zahed . Ramin . 2019-05-20 . 'Mao Mao' and 'Tig N' Seek' Join Cartoon Network Lineup . 2024-10-13 . en-US.
12. Web site: Aguilar . Carlos . 2019-06-03 . TV Roundup: 'Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart,' 'Tig N' Seek,' 'Deathstroke,' 'Briko' . 2024-10-19 . Cartoon Brew . en-US.
13. Web site: Milligan . Kaitlin . Cartoon Network Grows Programming Slate with MAO MAO, HEROES OF PURE HEART, TIG N' SEEK . 2024-10-27 . BroadwayWorld.com . en.
14. Web site: 2020-02-24 . Cartoon Network introduceert Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart! . 2024-10-19 . nl-BE.
15. Web site: 2020-09-01 . What's Streaming on HBO Max in September 2020 . 2024-10-19 . Consequence . en.
16. Web site: Singer . Matt. 2020-08-26 . Everything New on HBO Max in September . 2024-10-19 . ScreenCrush . en.
17. Web site: Hedash . Kara . 2020-08-26 . HBO Max: Here's Every Movie & TV Show Coming In September 2020 . 2024-10-19 . ScreenRant . en.
18. Web site: Siegal . Jacob . 2020-08-21 . HBO Max in September: Everything coming and going . 2024-10-19 . BGR . en-US.
19. Web site: Milligan . Mercedes . 2020-12-24 . HBO Max Rings in 2021 with CN Classics, New 'Looney Tunes Cartoons' & More . 2024-10-19 . en-US.
20. Web site: Oganesyan . Natalie . 2020-12-30 . What's Coming to HBO Max in January 2021 . 2024-10-19 . Variety . en-US.
21. Web site: White . Peter . August 17, 2022 . 'Ellen's Next Great Designer', 'The Not-Too-Late Show With Elmo' & 'My Mom, Your Dad' Among Unscripted & Animated Titles Pulled From HBO Max . August 17, 2022 . Deadline Hollywood.
22. Web site: Leston . Ryan . 2022-08-18 . HBO Max to Remove 36 Titles from Streaming, Seemingly to Save on Residual Payouts . 2022-08-18 . IGN . en.
23. Web site: Radulovic . Petrana . 2022-08-19 . Infinity Train, Summer Camp Island, and other shows wiped from HBO Max . 2024-10-19 . Polygon . en-US.
24. Web site: Movie & TV reviews for parents . Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart TV Review Common Sense Media . 2024-09-01 . www.commonsensemedia.org . en.
25. Web site: Trumbore . Dave . 2019-07-01 . Mao Mao Review: Cartoon Network's Newest Action Show Is Pure of Heart . 2024-08-17 . Collider . en.
26. Web site: Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart Review: Pure Bliss . 2024-08-17 . TV Shows . en.
27. Web site: 2 of our toons were nominated for @DaytimeEmmys! @PrimeVideoKids #NikoandtheSwordofLight for Outstanding Children's Animated Program & @cartoonnetwork's #maomaoheroesofpureheart for Outstanding Performer @parkerrsimmons & Outstanding Editing. Congrats all! .
28. Web site: It's absolutely real and I can't believe it. I don't know what to say for once. .
29. News: Daytime Emmy Awards: 'General Hospital' Tops Nominations . https://web.archive.org/web/20200609064506/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/daytime-emmy-awards-2020-full-list-nominees-1289414/item/outstanding-performer-an-animated-program-1289445 . 2020-06-09 .
30. Web site: 47th Annual Annie Award Nominations Announced . 2024-10-27 . Animation World Network . en.
31. Web site: 'Klaus,' 'I Lost My Body,' and 'Love, Death & Robots' Big Winners at 47th Annie Awards . 2024-10-27 . Animation World Network . en.
32. Web site: Wit . Alex Dudok de . 2021-07-20 . 2021 Daytime Emmys: 'Paddington,' 'Hilda,' 'Animaniacs' Win Big . 2024-10-27 . Cartoon Brew . en-US.
33. Web site: Perkins . Chris . 2021 Daytime Emmys Animation Winners Announced . 2024-10-27 . AFA: Animation For Adults : Animation News, Reviews, Articles, Podcasts and More.
34. Web site: Milligan . Mercedes . 2021-07-18 . Daytime Emmys: Top Toon Prizes for 'Paddington,' 'Hilda' as 'Animaniacs' Snags 4 Awards . 2024-10-27 . en-US.
35. Web site: Schneider . Michael . 2021-07-18 . Lupita Nyong'o, Mark Hamill Among Daytime Emmy Children's and Animation Winners . 2024-10-27 . Variety . en-US.
36. Web site: 18 July 2021 . Daytime Emmys: Zac Efron, 'Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time' Among Winners . The Hollywood Reporter.
37. Web site: The #DaytimeEmmys Award for Outstanding Performer in a Daytime Animated Program goes to @parkersimmons as Mao Mao, King Snugglemagne, Slim Pigguns & Guard in @cartoonnetwork 's Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart. .