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Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Format	Animated television series Edutainment
Created by	Ted Turner(a.k.a. R.E. Turner)
Developed by	Phil Harnage
Voices of	LeVar Burton Kath Soucie Janice Kawaye Whoopi Goldberg Scott Menville David Coburn Joey Dedio
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	113 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Andy Heyward Robby London, Barbara Pyle, Nick Boxer
Running time	25 mins
Broadcast
Original channel	TBS
Original run	September 15, 1990 – May 11, 1996
Chronology
Followed by	The New Adventures of Captain Planet (1993-1996)
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Captain Planet and the Planeteers is an American animated environmentalist television program, based on an idea by Ted Turner and produced by Andy Heyward, Robby London, Barbara Pyle and Nicholas Boxer. The series was developed and co-produced by Turner Broadcasting System and DiC Entertainment and ran new episodes from September 10, 1990 until 1993. A sequel series, The New Adventures of Captain Planet, ran from 1993–1996 and was produced by Turner Broadcasting and then-corporate sibling Hanna-Barbera Productions. Both programs continue today in syndication.

Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, is awakened from a long sleep by human activity destroying the planet. Realizing that the damage is extensive, Gaia creates five magic rings, each with the power to control an element of nature and one controlling the extra element, heart. Gaia sends the rings to five chosen youths across the globe: Kwame, Wheeler, Linka, Gi, and Ma-Ti.

These five are dubbed the Planeteers and given the task of defending the Earth in the case of the greatest of disasters and doing their part to keep others from happening. Gaia uses her "Planet Vision" to discover where the most devastating destruction is occurring and sends the planeteers to help solve the problem. The Planeteers use transportation based on solar power in order to avoid causing pollution themselves. The origin of these vehicles is never explained — conjecture exists that the vehicles may have been sent from the future, given the rampant use of time travel in later seasons.

In situations that the Planeteers cannot handle on their own, they can combine and magnify their powers to summon Captain Planet, who possesses all of their powers magnified, symbolizing that the combined efforts of a team are stronger than its individual parts. Captain Planet only appears in his Captain Planet garb. These are not clothes but elements of the Earth that are integral to his composition. He is able to rearrange his molecular structure to transform himself into the various powers and elements of nature. Captain Planet's outfit does not represent a specific culture. He has grass-green hair, sky-blue skin, earthy brown eyes, a fire-red chest, gloves and boots, and a sun-yellow globe insignia. In a manner similar to the early Superman, Planet has seemingly godlike superhuman powers, and seems to gain more to deal with whatever the situation requires. However, he is weak to pollutants which sap his strength, from smog to nuclear radiation. The Planeteers also cannot use their individual powers while Captain Planet is "active".

Despite his vulnerability to pollution, Captain Planet is a formidable and valiant hero. Once his work is done, Captain Planet returns to the Earth, restoring the Planeteers' powers. When he does this, Captain Planet reminds viewers of the message of the series with his catchphrase, "The power is yours!"

The series is also notable in that it used elements similar to Japanese Sentai series years before shows such as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Sailor Moon came to the US, especially in the manner of a team of five gifted with powers by a mentor, who will call upon something to defeat the villain. Unlike Sentai, however, there are no secret identities for the team, no transformation sequences, and the practice of heavily recycled footage is never used (even the calling sequence would often be re-animated and re-recorded for each episode). The concept of five individual heroes summoning a champion from various devices has its roots in DC Comics' Forever People. It is unknown if Ted Turner was referencing them or the Infinity Man when creating Captain Planet.

The Planeteers. Clockwise from left top: Gi, Kwame, Linka, Ma-Ti, Wheeler

The Planeteers are summoned by Gaia, a modern rendition of the Ancient Greek goddess of the Earth, to defend the world from pollution, criminals, and natural disasters. The five teenagers, who each come from a different region of the world and who together represent several major ethnic groups, are each given a ring which allows them to temporarily control one of the four classical elements — Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water — as well as a fifth element, Heart, which represents love and communication and enables telepathy. In order to summon Captain Planet, the Planeteers must activate their powers in a specific order, preceded by the phrase "Let our powers combine;"(and followed by all of the Planeteers cheering "GO PLANET!". The Planeteers' rings are, like Captain Planet himself susceptible to weakening when in the presence of toxic waste and pollution to the point that they can no longer use their powers or summon Captain Planet. The five Planeteers are:

It should be noted that this representation of Gaia was depicted not as a Hellenic Greek, but as a mix of the three primary racial ethnicities: dark brown skin, prominent cheekbones and wavy black hair, and blue eyes.

The only ally of the Planeteers, who appeared more than once in the series, was former cold war soldier Commander Clash. He helped the Planeteers to defeat Captain Pollution as well as Zarm.

The evil Eco-Villains united in Summit to Save Earth, Part 1. Clockwise from left: Dr. Blight, Verminous Skumm, Duke Nukem, Hoggish Greedly, Zarm, Looten Plunder, and Sly Sludge.

A small group of villains, usually referred to as the eco-villains, make appearances repeatedly in most episodes. Due to conflict among them from their varying self-serving interests and backgrounds, they tend to work alone most of the time. These include:

• Verminous Skumm - A part man, part rat who represents the evils of poor sanitation and urban sprawl.
• Hoggish Greedly - A pig-like human who represents the dangers of unchecked industrialization and greed.
• Looten Plunder - A wealthy poacher and greedy businessman who represents the dangers of uncontrolled capitalism.
• Sly Sludge - An unscrupulous garbage collector who represents apathy and the dangers of short-term thinking.
• Duke Nukem - A radioactive mutant who represents the evils of nuclear power.
• Dr. Blight - A mad scientist who represents the dangers of uncontrolled technology and unethical scientific experimentation.
• Zarm - The former spirit of the earth who left Gaia in search of other lands and ended up laying other populous planets to ruin. All seven joined forces only once, under Zarm's leadership, in the two-part "Summit to Save Earth" episode.

A polluting counterpart to Captain Planet named Captain Pollution appears in the two-part episode Mission to Save Earth when Dr. Blight steals the Planeteers’ rings, creates polluting duplicates of them, and distributes the duplicates to most of the other eco-villains (Greedly and Zarm were absent from this gathering). Each villain received a specific ring:

• Plunder a Deforestation Ring (counterpart of Earth)
• Nukem a Super Radiation Ring (...Fire)
• Sludge a Smog Ring (...Wind)
• Skumm a Toxics Ring (...Water)
• Dr. Blight keeps the Hate Ring (...Heart) for herself.

They summoned Captain Pollution with a slight variance in order from their opposite planeteers; with Nukem (fire's counterpart) leading the way, followed by Plunder, Sludge, Skumm, and Blight.

In the later two-part episode A Mine is a Terrible Thing to Waste, Captain Pollution is brought back to life by toxics that seep into the earth. If Captain Planet could be considered to be a nod to Nereus, then Captain Pollution could be considered a nod to Typhon, one of Gaia’s final children, a monster of great evil who spewed toxic smoke.

Later seasons also featured the Slaughter family, led by their mother, Mame Slaughter. They were a family of poachers, often in direct monetary competition with Looten Plunder. Various other one-time villains were also used.

Main article: List of Captain Planet episodes

A memorable feature of the show is every episode’s ending with a pair of 30-second clips (known as Planeteer Alerts) in which the characters inform the viewers on ways that they can help the environment, by joining organizations or writing government officials to voice their opinions on specific issues.

The clips contained moral messages directed at the viewer, delivered by characters from the show (often Captain Planet or Gaia). Similar messages and delivery styles were used in other cartoon shows from the same era, though the practice has fallen out of use in recent years (excluding certain shows, such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe).

Much like the morality of the show itself, the clips contained information and advice on how to help protect the environment, prevent pollution, save animals, form good relationships with people, and how to keep yourself physically and mentally healthy. One episode even dealt with prejudice against people infected with AIDS-HIV. While informative, these clips tend to be the thing that those who dislike the show use to mock it.

The ending credits theme (maintained by both DIC and Hanna-Barbera’s versions) is also considered one of the most memorable parts of the series due to its catchy main chorus and rock track ("Captain Planet, he’s our hero, gonna take pollution down to zero").

The series was the second longest running cartoon of the 1990s, producing 113 episodes. It lasted for three seasons under the name Captain Planet and the Planeteers (produced by TBS Productions and DiC), before many of the voice actors quit or were replaced and much licensing occurred, changing the title to The New Adventures of Captain Planet (produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, which was acquired by Turner in 1991). Currently, Captain Planet (both series) runs on Boomerang and TBS Superstation in the United States and on many other television stations around the world.

Following Turner’s acquisition of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons in 1991, the series transferred production from DiC Entertainment to Hanna-Barbera and the show was renamed The New Adventures of Captain Planet, which ran from 1993 to 1996. The voice actors for some characters were changed, including Margot Kidder replacing Whoopi Goldberg as Gaia. Now the two series are often considered to be one and are usually distributed in the same package (most notably on Cartoon Network) though in some territories, they are broadcast and distributed as two separate shows.

This series had noticeable differences from the original, such as episodes revealing more of the past of each of the characters. This series doesn’t directly contradict the first but expands on it dramatically. Gi tells the story of her pet dolphin, while Linka is revealed to have a mining family who used canaries to detect lethal gases in the mines, and her opening sequence generalizes her birthplace as Eastern Europe to avoid confusion in viewers born after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991 (which would place her canonical birthplace among one of the countries that gained their independence when the Soviet Union collapsed). Dr. Blight, with a new voice actor, is revealed to have a sister who is a famous movie actress; they are possibly identical twins as Dr. Blight in a wig is able to pass as her sister without anyone noticing.

Other changes were also noticeable, most significantly the animation style. While the character models from the DiC episodes were retained (and the original DiC opening sequence used) the new animation relied less on shading and was slightly more colorful. Many of the characters had refurbished outfits. The sound effects utilized when the Planeteers used their rings were changed and the echo in Captain Planet’s voice when he emerged was also gone. Also gone was the DIC season's use of a specific synth rock soundtrack, these tracks were replaced by a large number of orchestral pieces, although the famous end credits theme was retained, now showcasing footage from the Hanna-Barbera episodes. A small number of cast changes occurred, affecting Gaia and most of the eco-villains; similarly, the opening narration was voiced by David Coburn (Captain Planet) rather than LeVar Burton (Kwame), and was eventually replaced by a rap by Fred Schneider of The B-52's.

As with many popular cartoons, Captain Planet had a toy line. Released by Tiger Toys in 1991, the line ran for several years, long enough to tie into the New Adventures series. The toys were repackaged and sold by Grand Toys in Canada and Kenner throughout Europe. The toys were of average poseability, with the common five points — neck, shoulders, and hips.

Finding a comprehensive list of what was released is difficult, since not all toys shown in the initial retailer catalog were even released. The collector’s market is small, the toys being somewhat rare on eBay. The Captain Planet Foundation still sells a small number of them online, however. There may have also been further foreign variations of certain toys which may be even more difficult to catalog. Various toys from the New Adventures waves are also likely to be less well-known.

All five Planeteers, five Eco-Villains, Commander Clash, and several versions of Captain Planet, each with a different gimmick or paint scheme, were released, along with several vehicles. Four small vehicles were also sold through a Burger King promotion.

Marvel Comics published a short-run comic series to tie in to the show; however, the comics were a separate continuity. While not effectively part of the Marvel Universe, Marvel Comics dragon character Fin Fang Foom did appear in issue #2. The issue #4 cover was also a parody of the cover to Fantastic Four issue #1.

Five different Captain Planet video games exist.

1. A video game based on the series was produced for the NES by Mindscape called Captain Planet. The game received poor reviews from game critics and thus a Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) version of the game was canceled.
2. A separate side-scrolling game was developed by Novalogic for the Mega Drive/Genesis, but only saw release in Europe and Australia.
3. David Perry and Nick Bruty developed a ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC game using the license, a 3-level shoot 'em up.
4. A game was also released for the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST, written by Tony Crowther. This was a platform game, and was briefly bundled with the Amiga 500 "Cartoon Classics" pack released in 1991.
5. A Commodore 64 game, probably based on either of the 2 above, was in development but never released.
6. Tiger Toys, owners of the action figure license, also created an LCD hand-held game.

A script, by Michael Reaves, was written for a film adaptation called Planet based on the series. It was darker than the series, and was set in a post-apocalyptic time period. The script was met with acceptance, but "got lost in the shuffle when Turner and Warner Bros. merged."^[1]

• Captain Planet - David Coburn
• Gaia - Whoopi Goldberg/Margot Kidder
• Kwame - LeVar Burton
• Wheeler - Joey Dedio
• Linka - Kath Soucie
• Gi - Janice Kawaye
• Ma-Ti - Scott Menville

• Hoggish Greedly - Ed Asner
• Looten Plunder - Ed Gilbert
• Dr. Blight - Meg Ryan (1990-1991), Mary Kay Bergman (1991-1996)
• Sly Sludge - Martin Sheen (1990-1993), Jim Cummings (1993)
• Duke Nukem Dean Stockwell (1990-1992), Maurice LaMarche (1990-1993)
• Verminous Skumm - Jeff Goldblum (1990), Maurice LaMarche (1990-1993)
• Zarm - Sting (Season 1-2), David Warner (Season 3), Malcolm McDowell (Season 4)
• Captain Pollution - David Coburn

Richard Gere was originally slated to voice one of the villain characters,but backed out for unknown reasons.

• Rigger (Hoggish Greedly's henchman) - John Ratzenberger)
• Argos Bleak (Looten Plunder's main soldier) - S. Scott Bullock)
• MAL (Dr. Blight's evil high-intellectual supercomputer) - David Rappaport/Tim Curry
• Ooze (Sly Sludge's dumpster friend) - Cam Clarke/Banjō Ginga)
• Leadsuit (Duke Nukem's lead-covered cowardly accomplice) - Frank Welker

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Captain Planet is the first DiC program to be a part of Boomerang’s programming lineup.
• The show was nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards, and also won awards for excellence in children’s television.
• The 2006 computer game Guild Wars Nightfall contains a skill named after Captain Planet's famous catchphrase: "The Power is Yours!"
• The theme song played in the End Credits sequence takes from New Kids on the Block's hit song, Step by Step. Coincidentally, David Coburn & Scott Menville also voiced characters on New Kids on The Block cartoon. Coburn was Nikko & Donnie Wahlberg while Menville was Joe McIntyre.
• Captain Planet was also parodied in a Robot Chicken sketch, featuring a deranged Ted Turner and his attempts to "clean" up the environment. In the course of the sketch, Turner disguises himself as Planet by donning a similar costume and painting him self blue, than proceeds to murderously attack the executives of a company dumping oil into the ocean, threatening to drop the CEO out of a window if he does not sign an agreement to stop the dumping (Turner non-nonchalantly drops him anyway after the paper is signed). The sketch ends with a close up on Turner's blue painted face against a colorful back ground as he warns viewers to: "Protect the environment, or I'll fucking kill you."
• At the beginning of the Fairly OddParents episode "The Good Old Days", Timmy Turner is seen watching a show that is a parody of Captain Planet and the Planeteers.

Voices will be supplied by a surprising cast that includes Tom Cruise as the good Captain, Whoopi Goldberg as Earth spirit Gaia,and guest villains Richard Gere and Ed Asner.,^[2]

• Captain Planet Foundation
• Virtual Toy Chest’s Captain Planet page with pictures
• Captain Planet Foundation online store