Wild Grinders Explained

Genre:	Comedy
Creator:	Rob Dyrdek
Developer:	Christian Duguay
Voices:	Rob Dyrdek Sterling "Steelo" Brim Kel Mitchell Cam Clarke Yuri Lowenthal Chelsea Chanel Dudley Erin Fitzgerald Lee Harrell
Theme Music Composer:	Jaco Caraco Todd M. Schultz Bill Schultz
Composer:	Anna M. Rice
Country:	United States Canada Ireland Hong Kong (season 1) Philippines (season 2)
Language:	English
Num Seasons:	2
Num Episodes:	52 (101 segments)
List Episodes:	List of Wild Grinders episodes
Executive Producer:	Rob Dyrdek Tracy Tubera Bill Schultz Paul Cummins Jeremy Larner Steven Ching (season 1) Nicolas Atlan (season 1) Mike Young (season 1) Paul Rigg (season 1) Wayne Dearing (season 2) Geoffrey Taylor (season 2)
Runtime:	22 minutes (2 11-minute segments)
Company:	Home Plate Entertainment Telegael Four Down Productions (season 1) Agogo Media (season 1) Copernicus Studios (season 1) Superjacket Productions (season 2) Top Draw Animation (season 2) Big Jump Entertainment (season 2)
Producer:	Ruth Vincent Juan Cruz Baldassarre (season 1) Siobhán Ní Ghadhra (season 1) Rick Morrison (season 2) Enda Boner (season 2) Stella Dearing (season 2)
Channel:	Nicktoons Kabillion (shorts)

Rob Dyrdek's Wild Grinders, also known simply as Wild Grinders, is an animated television series created by, produced by and loosely based on the life of professional skateboarder and reality TV star Rob Dyrdek. It started out as a series of shorts produced by MoonScoop Entertainment in 2009^[1] and aired on Kabillion and NickToons which were adapted into a toy-line from Mattel that released in 2010.^{[2] [3]}

Following the shorts and merchandise line, a full series of 22-minute episodes was distributed by MoonScoop Entertainment and aired on the Nicktoons channel in 2012.^[4] The show made its second broadcast on U.S. television on April 27, 2012.^[5] During this time, content featuring the Wild Grinders characters continued to be seen on Kabillion, a video on demand channel and streaming video website partially owned by MoonScoop.

On August 1, 2013, Rob Dyrdek confirmed a second season with 26 episodes which premiered on Nicktoons on December 23, 2013.^[6]

Rob Dyrdek partnered with Teletoon to create a two-parter Halloween special, titled "Texas Skateboard Horrorland Zombie Activity 3", which aired on October 24, 2013 on Teletoon in Canada.

Synopsis

This skateboard themed series features the crazy hijinks and shenanigans of an energetic and thrill-seeking skateboarding pre-teen Lil' Rob (based on the series creator) and his best friends: Meaty, a bulldog with a hip edge (based on Meaty, a dog that the real Rob Dyrdek owns); Goggles, Rob's nerdy but loyal and kind-hearted best friend; and a host of other zany kids from the neighborhood, as well as Lil' Rob's majestic parents and older teenage sister.^[7]

Characters

Main

• Lil' Rob (voiced by Rob Dyrdek) – Lil' Rob is the titular character and the leader of the Wild Grinders. He is an upbeat pre-adolescent with an adventurous personality.
• Meaty (voiced by Sterling "Steelo" Brim (season 1), Lee Harrell (season 2)) – Lil' Rob's anthropomorphic British bulldog.
• Goggles (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, credited as Jimmy Benedict) – Lil' Rob's nerdy and loyal friend.
• Emo Crys (voiced by Cam Clarke, Charlie Schlatter in pilot episodes (uncredited)) – The poetic and sensitive of the Wild Grinders.
• Jay Jay (voiced by Kel Mitchell) – An intelligent hipster. He was portrayed to have mysophobia. He's the Backside Grinders' keyboard player.
• Jack Knife (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) – A dull kid with a big heart. He plays electric guitar in the band which he initially used as a saxophone.
• Spitball (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) – The silent type and dubbed as Street Ninja. He's the Backside bass player.
• Stubford Hucksterball (voiced by Erin Fitzgerald) – The main antagonist of the entire series. He is a child with a short height, but summons his mechanical stalls to make him taller than the Grinders.
• Flipz (voiced by Chanel West Coast) – The only female skater in the Wild Grinders.

Recurring

• Denise (voiced by Erin Fitzgerald) – Lil' Rob's older sister.
• Lackey (Yuri Lowenthal) or Officer Lackowski, as he prefers, is Stubford's rent-a-cop sidekick hired by Track to keep Stubford out of his hair.
• Gene (voiced by Rob Dyrdek) – Lil' Rob's father.
• Patty (voiced by Erin Fitzgerald) – Lil' Rob's mother. She is also secretly a secret agent called Agent Capricorn.
• Track Hucksterball (voiced by Cam Clarke) – Stubford's wealthy, money-grubbing and neglectful father and also Gene's boss.
• Chip Fligginton (voiced by Kel Mitchell) – A famous web personality.
• Queen of Moronico (voiced by Kel Mitchell) – She is the queen of the fictional country of Moronico.
• Prince of Moronico (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) – The prince of Moronico.
• Jankins (voiced by Cam Clarke) – The royal butler to the royal family.
• Freddie (voiced by Cam Clarke) – The desire of Denise's affection and also runs the Taco truck.
• Captain Grindstar (voiced by Tracy Tubera) – Goggles' superhero idol.
• Agents 1 and Agent 2- Two black ops agents who work for Area 52 they often conspire take over or destroy the world.
• Mr. Sprinkles (unknown) is Flips' pet wiener dog and Meaty's rival in pawjitsu.
• Squeak (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) is a character who debuted in "Emo's Mystery Girl".

Production

Wild Grinders is produced by Home Plate Entertainment and Telegael Teoranta, who co-own copyright to the series. Four Down Productions, Agogo Media and Copernicus Studios co-produced the first season, while Superjacket Productions, Top Draw Animation and Big Jump Entertainment co-produced the second season.

Episodes

See main article: List of Wild Grinders episodes.

Mobile game

In June 2014, it was announced that a Wild Grinders mobile game was being developed for iPhone, iPad and Android by Bubble Gum Interactive. The game was slated to launch in September 2014, but instead was launched on February 11, 2015. The mobile game was titled Wild Grinders Downhill Grind.^[8]

Reception

Wild Grinders received generally negative reviews from critics. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series 2 out of 5 stars. In her review, Ashby praised the racial divides and the good messages about friendship, but criticized the stereotypes surrounding skateboarding culture, the name calling and the main character's disrespect towards adults.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Web site: MoonScoop Signs Up Dyrdek's Wild Grinders. Tom. McLean. Animationmagazine.net. 11 August 2009. 10 May 2022. June 24, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200333/https://www.animationmagazine.net/licensing/moonscoop-signs-up-dyrdeks-wild-grinders/. live.
2. Web site: Dyrdek gets green light from Nicktoons . Keith Hamm . ESPN . Aug 8, 2011 . February 29, 2020 . February 29, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200229190123/https://www.espn.com/action/skateboarding/story/_/id/6844892/rob-dyrdek-takes-wild-grinders-toy-line-television . live .
3. Web site: TOYS ARE FUN?! ROB DYRDEK'S WILD GRINDERS . Jason Stephens . MTV . April 18, 2011 . February 29, 2020 . February 29, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200229190123/http://www.mtv.com/news/2621349/toys-are-fun-rob-dyrdeks-wild-grinders/ . dead .
4. Book: Crump . William D. . Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film . 2019 . McFarland & Co . 9781476672939 . 339.
5. Web site: Wild Grinders. Facebook.com. 10 May 2022. May 10, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220510174610/https://www.facebook.com/wildgrinders/. live.
6. Web site: Toon Zone - Shows - Current Schedule . 2013-12-15 . 2013-12-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131219000252/http://www.toonzone.net/schedule/episode.php?ID=26773#.Uq05KyqF-7M . dead .
7. Web site: TV Distribution - Moonscoop . 2022-05-10 . 2013-05-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130512024839/http://www.moonscoop.com/distribution-54.html . dead .
8. Web site: Bubble Gum Interactive rolls out Wild Grinders app. Fisher, Daniela. KidScreen.com. June 12, 2014. June 12, 2014.
9. Web site: Wild Grinders review . 27 April 2012 . Ashby, Emily . . May 17, 2019 . May 17, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190517233314/https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/wild-grinders . live .