¡Mucha Lucha! | |
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Also known as | ¡Mucha Lucha!: Gigante (season 3) |
Genre | Animation Comedy Slapstick Sports Action |
Created by | Eddie Mort Lili Chin |
Directed by | Alfred Gimeno (season 1) Ken Kessel (seasons 2-3) Collette Sunderman (voice director) |
Voices of | Carlos Alazraqui Kimberly Brooks Candi Milo Kathleen Barr Garry Chalk Michael Donovan Terry Klassen Cusse Mankuma Scott McNeil Lee Tockar |
Theme music composer | Chicos de Barrio |
Opening theme | ¡Mucha Lucha! by Chicos de Barrio |
Composers |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 52 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Sander Schwartz |
Producers |
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Running time | 22 minutes |
Production companies | Warner Bros. Animation Bardel Entertainment |
Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
Original release | |
Network | Kids' WB |
Release | August 17, 2002 February 26, 2005 | –
¡Mucha Lucha! (known as ¡Mucha Lucha!: Gigante during its third season) is an American animated television series that premiered on Kids' WB, Teletoon, and Canal 5 on August 17, 2002.[1] It was created by Eddie Mort and Lili Chin and produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Bardel Entertainment. It is the first animated television series intended for children created with Adobe Flash, a program which became widely used as a medium for animation in the years following until its closure in 2020.[2]
On October 5, 2004, the direct-to-video feature film ¡Mucha Lucha!: The Return of El Maléfico was produced from the series. The show also features music by Michael Tavera, who recently made music for Cartoon Network's Time Squad.
Premise[]
The show is set in Luchaville, a fictional town in Southern California centered on lucha libre where nearly everyone in that town wears a mask (which they are never seen without) and costume and a well-known move. The series mainly centers on three friends, Rikochet, Buena Girl, and the Flea, as they struggle through the Foremost World-Renowned International School of Lucha, where they study.
Episodes[]
List of ¡Mucha Lucha! episodes
Characters[]
- Rikochet (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui)– A young wrestler who is the protagonist. He considers himself the bravest of the group, but sometimes leaps before he finds.
- Buena Girl (Kimberly Brooks)– A smart, young female wrestler who always plays by the rules. She can also be very arrogant and obnoxious at times.
- The Flea (voiced by Candi Milo)– A friend of Rikochet and Buena Girl who is always dirty and refers to himself in the third person. As well as having a few disgusting habits, he is also the most nervous but often proves to be a useful ally.
- El Rey (voiced by Michael Donovan)– An action figure which represents Rikochet's conscience. He carries a backpack but can move and talk on his own as if he were alive. It is stated that this action figure is just part of a large merchandising euphoria related to a supreme undefeated Mexican wrestler with the same name (an allusion to Santo). Alongside the series, several other El Rey toys appear and often causes trouble with Rikochet.
Broadcast[]
The show was also seen on Kids' WB in the United States, Teletoon in Canada, and Canal 5 in Mexico from August 17, 2002, until February 26, 2005.
Home media[]
In Region 1, Warner Home Video has released one compilation that contained the first six segment-episodes from season one, titled Heart of Lucha, on August 23, 2003. The direct-to-video movie The Return of El Maléfico, was released on October 5, 2004, exclusively at Walmart, while other retailers released it on January 4, 2005, during the third and final season.
In 2019, ¡Mucha Lucha! was available remastered for the first time in High Definition for home viewers and became available on demand through Amazon Prime.
Merchandise[]
A toy line based on the show was released by Jakks Pacific in 2004.[3] In this toy line included "Mix-a-Lot" action figures; these had removable body parts that could be placed on the bodies of other action figures in the series. "Signature Move" action figures were also put out, along with a toy wrestling ring. However, the second series of the toy line was canceled.
During the summer of 2003, DC Comics published a three-issue mini-series of comic books based on ¡Mucha Lucha! All three of the stories featured in these comic books were written by Eddie Mort, and have even been occasionally referenced in the TV series.
- El Rey, Come Home!
- It's All Buena!
- Limbo of the Lost Luchadores!
The show was licensed for a Game Boy Advance video game, Mascaritas of the Lost Code, in late 2003, and also a Sony PlayStation 2 video game, Mysterioso Grande, was slated for release, but was cancelled around 2004 as the creators could not find a publisher.[4]
Proposed revival[]
In 2014, a revival called ¡Mucha Lucha! Para Siempre was proposed which would have centered on Rikochet, Buena Girl, and the Flea as teenagers.[5][6][7]
See also[]
- Lucha libre (Mexican wrestling)
- El Santo
- Chicos de Barrio
References[]
- ↑ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 568–569. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ↑ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American-Canadian-Mexican Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 409–410. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- ↑ DeMott, Rick (2003-10-17). "JAKKS Pacific Lands Mucha Lucha Toy License". Animation World Network. http://www.awn.com/news/jakks-pacific-lands-mucha-lucha-toy-license.
- ↑ "Mucha Lucha [PS2 – Cancelled] – Unseen64". Unseen64: Beta, Cancelled & Unseen Videogames!. April 15, 2008.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjAXpxv4joo
- ↑ https://muchalucha-art.tumblr.com/post/122013214348/will-there-be-more-mucha-lucha-well-were-still
- ↑ https://muchalucha-art.tumblr.com/page/3
External links[]
Template:¡Mucha Lucha!
Warner Bros. Animation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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See also | List of Warner Bros. Animation productions • Warner Animation Group • Warner Bros. Feature Animation • Warner Bros. Cartoons • Warner Bros. Family Entertainment • Hanna-Barbera • Cartoon Network Productions (Cartoon Network Studios • Williams Street • Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe) • Unproduced projects • List of Warner Bros. theatrical animated feature films |