Insektors

Insektors

The front cover to an Insektors DVD.
Genre Animated, Family, Comedy
Created by Studio Fantome
Written by Eric Rondeaux
Véronique Herbaut
Directed by Georges LaCroix
Renato LaCroix
Country of origin France
Original language(s) French, English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 26
Production
Running time 12 minutes
Release
Original network Canal+, YTV, Channel 4 and Nickelodeon UK (2000)
Original release 1994 – 1995

Insektors is a 1994 French animated TV series about a conflict between two tribes of anthropomorphic insects: the Joyces (an airborne, brightly coloured race) and the Yuks (a dank, dark race fixated on keeping their furnaces burning in order to survive). Made in a small studio, Fantome, in France, it was the 1994 recipient of a "Children and Young People" Emmy Award. It was directed by Georges LaCroix and Renato LaCroix, and written by Eric Rondeaux, Véronique Herbaut and Marc Perrier.

Production and dubbing

Created in 1993 and aired in the early 1994 in France, it is the first completely computer-animated TV series. It was then dubbed into two English language releases; one for North America, and one for the UK.

The North American version was recorded in Paris, and was thus much more faithful to its original French roots, even using the original names and dialogue. It was first aired on Canadian television on YTV. However, unlike the French and UK versions, the flying "K" visual effect (covering up and replacing the "C" letters) is absent from the episode title cards at the beginning of the episodes. The voices in this version are appreciated for their "classic" fantasy appeal.

The UK version, however, was completely different. The original script was re-written; characters had different names, and different dialogue was used. Jokes and references specific to British/English culture were also used. For example, in Koa The Frog/Frogbucket the line "Back to base" became "Now time for home and cheesy toasties!". This less-serious air pervaded almost all dialogue in the UK version which also varied its characters by giving them accents which ranged from southern England to Scotland and Wales — and included what could be deemed as politically incorrect insults to go with them: Captain Drumsturdy (originally "Krabouic") was described as a "Hebridian windbag", while Fugg (aka "Kretinus") is called "the Welsh wonder", an ironic reference to his bungling incompetence. Lord Krabo's catchphrase "I will have my revenge!" is absent from the UK version, instead giving Draffsack an affinity for using the word 'rotten' in regard to everything. In the North American version, Fulgor sounds young and heroic, and perhaps a bit naive. Whereas in the UK version, he has a modern working class accent, and is sarcastic and wry.

Aside from the original French version and English versions, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Japanese and Russian versions of the show have been reported.

Characters

The French name is given first followed by the British name in brackets, if there is an alternate North American name this is indicated by a slash.

Joyces

Joyces (Verigreens) are colorful, cheerful insects are offshoots of the Yuk/Krud civilization who broke away from their dark cousins upon the arrival of the Great Prism which nourished the site where it landed, resulting in the creation of Flower City. They are a peaceful people who devote their lives to merrymaking and protecting the Great Prism from harm. Joyce citizens who are not main characters resemble bees.

Fulgor (Flynn)

Original Voice: David Gasman

Teddy Kempner (UK dub)

A walking stick born a Yuk/Krud, Fulgor/Flynn was adopted from a young age. Armed with the mighty Kolour Guitar/Musical Colour Gun - an electric guitar that fires blasts of colorful pollens - he is the brave, and sometimes reckless, champion in the fight against the Yuks/Kruds.

Aelia (Alex)

Original Voice: Karen Strassman

Caroline Bliss (UK dub)

A butterfly. She is the daughter of the Joyce/Verigreen leader, and adopted sister to Fulgor/Flynn. She tends to the Great Prism and assists her father in his scientific explorations.

Le Grand Artificier/The Great Pyro (Godfrey)

Original Voice: Christian Erickson

Andy Secombe (UK dub)

A butterfly. The slightly eccentric leader of the Joyces/Verigreens, descendent to his Great Great Grandfather who was mentioned in Planet Karbon/The Black Planet, and is the biological father of Aelia/Alex and adoptive father to Fulgor/Flynn. He is talented as a scientist and mystic.

Daltonio (Bentley)

A greenfly. The Great Pyro's/Godfrey's main assistant. In the UK dub, he sounds distinctly older and carries a northern accent.

Gallopus (Peg)

A mechanical equine robot. Fleet of foot (and flight), he was originally created by Eurekas/Magus. He is Fulgor's/Flynn's steed and close confidante, but unable to speak outside of honks and squeaks. In the UK dub, Peg is female.

Spotty (Elmo)

Another machine like Gallopus/Peg, he is a small flier. He has a large spotlight in his stomach to illuminate dark areas, similar to the role of a firefly.

Beurks/Yuks

Beurks/Yuks (Kruds) are monochromatic insects that live in a rotting tree stump in a swamp - they continually try to conquer the Flower City in the name of their Queen, namely for the fuel source the flowers provide. Exposure to brightly coloured substances (pollen, juices from mushrooms) causes them to enter states of uninhibited laughter. Yuk soldiers that are not main characters resemble crickets, whereas Yuk citizens that are main characters are beetles.

A few Yuks/Kruds. (From left) Lukanus/Wasabi, Kretinus/Fugg and two Yuk/Krud footsoldiers

Reine/Queen Bakrakra (Queen Katheter the Third)

Voiced by: Andy Secombe (UK dub)
A praying mantis. Queen Bakrakra/Katheter the Third is the fearsome ruler of the Yuks/Kruds, and a descendent of the tyrannical King Bakrakro/Katheter the First. She is so cold-hearted that she must spend much of her time in a massive warming furnace. In the UK dub, she has a whispering, somewhat metallic voice, reminiscent of her deathlike nature.

Prince Acylius (Prince Maximillian)

Voiced by: Teddy Kempner (UK dub)
A mantis. The son of Queen Bakrakra/Katheter, and heir to the Yuk/Krud throne. He has an English accent in the US and UK dub, although his voice in the UK dub is similar to that of Ringo Starr, while the US version bears a more aristocratic lilt.

Lord Krabo (Lord Draffsack)

Original Voice: Paul Bandey

Neil McCaul (UK dub)

A cockroach. Grouchy, stressed, power-hungry, egotistical and something of a coward, the Prime Minister of the Yuks/Kruds.

Lord Teknocratus (Lord Synapse)

Voiced by: Neil McCaul (UK dub)
A weevil. The constantly relaxed chief engineer of the Yuks/Kruds who tirelessly creates contraptions to further their cause, or reverse the unfortunate effects of Joyce/Verigreen counter-attacks. Krabo/Draffsack is always blaming him when his inventions fail to deliver the desired results, leading him to remark in the UK dub that "it's a tough life for a genius."

Lord Kretinus (Lord Fugg)

Original Voice: David Gasman

Andy Secombe (UK dub)

A weevil. He is Lord Krabo/Draffsack and General Lukanus's/Wasabi's clumsy and slow-witted assistant, constantly trying to please his superiors. In the UK dub, he has a Welsh accent.

General Lukanus (General Wasabi )

Original Voice: Edward Marcus

Neil McCaul (UK dub)

A stag beetle. He is the arrogant commander of the Yuk/Krud army, carrying out the schemes of Krabo/Draffsack and Teknocratus/Synapse, although his greatest loyalty is to Queen Bakrakra/Katheter -In the UK dub, he often speaks in the third person and has a Japanese accent and habits — but shows little in the way of Japanese efficiency.

Captain Krabouic and Lieutenant Kaboche (Captain Roderick Drumsturdy and Corporal Stanley Greeb)

The twin heads of security, test pilots, and commandos. Krabouic/Drumsturdy (who possesses a Scottish accent in the UK dub) is taller and more headstrong, while Kaboche/Greeb is shorter, more cowardly(has a voice similar to Rick Buckley in the UK Dub), and has a tendency to stutter (USA version) or reminisce on a childhood experience (UK version).

The Guards (The Methane Brothers (Miff and Eric))

The two rhinoceros beetles who guard the main entrance into the Yuk/Krud castle. They are generally slow-witted, easily distracted, and quite eccentric. In the UK dub they speak with West Country accents.

Protokol (Kopius)

Original Voice: David Gasman

Teddy Kempner (UK dub)

A cockchafer. He is the aloof Yuk/Krud herald who announces each character's entrance (often unnecessarily). He uses what limited chances to speak he has to throw barbs at his superiors.

Eurekas (Magus)

A walking stick. Introduced in the last episode of the first season, he is the biological father of Fulgor/Flynn and formerly Teknocratus's/Synapse's predecessor/colleague.

Technology

The French name is given first followed by the British name in brackets, if there is an alternate North American name this is indicated by a slash.

Joyces

The Great Prism (The Great Prism)

The Great Prism
A glowing multicoloured cube that resides in a high tower. The Great Prism is the energy source of the Joyces/Verigreens which keeps their flower city alive. The Prism seems to be a living organism that can communicate vocally and through image projections. It is kept functioning by bathing it in the nectar of a water plant that grows in Yuk/Krud territory. It can die if it is not maintained properly.

Kolour Guitar (Musical Colour Gun)

A handheld contraption used by Fulgor/Flynn. Though outwardly it resembles and plays like a guitar, violent plucking of its strings will cause it to fire blasts of coloured pollen. The blasts have no effect on Joyces/Verigreens, though they entice Yuks/Kruds into fits of laughter. Strangely, a few Yuks/Kruds - such as Acylius/Maximillian, Krabo/Draffsack and probably Queen Bakrakra/Katheter - are not affected by them.

Dragonfly Squadron

The Joyce's main line of defence, these mechanical dragonflies fire blasts of pollen similar to those of the colour guitar from their abdomens.

Flower Konnons

The Joyce's new weapons that only appeared in No Presents for Khristmas and shoots like the colour guiter.

Kolour Dynamites

Colourful Explosions used by Fulgor/Flynn. When the Yuks/Kurds are harvesting flowers for heat, The dynamite explodes with multiple colours that make the Yuks/Kurds laugh.

Yuks

The Hotsy Totsy (Hypertherm)

The Hotsy Totsy is a fireplace that keeps the queen warm when the Yuks/Kurds cuts down the flowers and made logs or carry sticks for heat. It also keeps the water from flooding they city and powers up The Dark Box.

The Dark Box (Krud'o'Pod)

The Krud'o'Pod is a machine that undoes the effect of the Kolour Guitar/Musical Colour Gun, reverting affected Yuks/Kruds back into their normal selves. It is implied by Lord Krabo that the Dark Box may turn Joyces into Yuks. More info about the Krud'o'Pod was in 'Ruling Classes.'

Hoverbikes (Bikes)

Hoverbikes that are mostly used by Krabouic/Drumsturdy and Kaboche/Greeb.

Koa (Frogbuckets)

Koa/Frogbuckets
Giant frog-like war machines, the Koa/Frogbuckets act as both the Yuks'/Kruds' heavy fighting forces and as material collectors. Usually controlled by two pilots, they are fully amphibious and their hulls are completely immune to Joyce/Verigreen pollen blasts. Teknocratus/Synapse insists the proper name for the machines is 'Hydroscopic Amphibious Personal Relocation Units'.

The Koleopter (The Hovermower)

Resembling a giant flying Beetle, it is a two pilot airborne resource gathering machine with a rotating blade for cutting flower stems. It has 'Fightermites' for defence against the 'Dragonflies'. It can load and unload many goods and can also act as a vacuum cleaner when collecting nectar. Teknocratus/Synapse insists its proper name is the 'Anti-Gravity Daffodil Collector'.

Sky Breaker (Cloud Clearer)

A huge laser cannon that is only seen in 'The Weather ForeKast,' and 'No Presents for Khristmas,' which was designed to cause a drought, but when tested during rain, it created snow instead of drought. Annoyed, Krabo/Draffsack ended up ripping it apart, even after it created hot snow. A similar Cloud Clearer was seen in 'Katiklysme/Comet' which is a fusion of Yuk/Krud and Joyce/Verigreen technology. This machine almost destroyed The Flower City.

"Tweet-Tweet" (Chicken)

Only used in 'If Chickens Could Fly,' the "Chicken" is Bird-shaped, and was sent to steal The Great Prism. The Chicken was an airborne war machine controlled by two pilots. The first design, which flew with small propellers, crashed into a moat during a trial run. The second design was with bigger propellers, but that too crashed. The third design was with a jet engine on top of the fuselage, which landed it safely, though with a broken engine. It was the Fourth design which had become an Ornithopter that really took off to steal The Great Prism, but after fighting off the Joyces/Verigreens, it was sliced down the middle when it got a hold of The Great Prism. It made other appearances in two episodes, 'A Spectre Kalls,' and 'No Presents for Khristmas.'

"Kalkulator" (Sparky)

A supercomputer used in the episode of the same name. Built by Synapse the computer mechanized Krud city, all inhabitants received a door operating PIN, Verigreen detectors and automated defenses were placed. Draffsack himself had problems with the design, seeing as he chose the PIN 1,999,999,999. However the main feature of the computer was its Auto-mated Lumberjacks. To stop the latter Flynn sneaked into the city in a Hold of one of the lumberjacks and evaded capture as only Synapse knew a B12 alert meant a verigreen was in the city. (Greeb: Good thing you know it, I don't have to look it up in a codebook. Drum-sturdy: There's a codebook?).The system was corrupted by a colored data card which had been hit by Flynn's color gun. After Krud city went mad Draffsack ordered the scrapping of sparky.

"Auto-mated lumberjacks"

Minions of Sparky, these machines were virtually indestructible to verigreen technology and able to decimate the flower forest. A unique feature was a color detector which enabled them to home in and attack verigreen technology. This was exploited by the verigreens who used color sprays to lure the machines over a cliff. However during the night they righted themselves and resurfaced out of the water. They were ultimately defeated with the downfall of sparky despite their incredible success. As of the events in 'No Presents for Khristmas' they were still seen working on a small scale during Krud raids. Mainly to stop verigreens hiding in their holds.

Koal Juice Guns

The Yuk equal of the Kolour Guitar. Being hit by koal juice causes depression in Joyces, which may be cured by the energies of the prism. Most Yuk soldiers, and most vehicles, are armed with the weapons. Yuks appeared immune to Koal juice, but it still becomes stuck to them, like it does with Joyces. Koal juice itself it a dull green substance.

Vokalizers

An walkie talkie like microphone that the Yuks/Kruds used after their voices were effected. It only appeared in a two parter Its Katching/Epidemik and The Kure. A similar Vokaliser was seen on Fulgor's Kwest/Krud Konfession possibly a prototype.

Story

The series takes place on the planet Karbon/Krud, though the UK dub does include references to locations on Earth. Episode 6; Planet Karbon /The Black Planet reveals that Karbon/Krud was originally a dark, colourless rock inhabited by a single race of insects; the Yuks/Kruds. The Yuks/Kruds survived the planet's hostile environment by burrowing deep into it for coal. At one point, a Prism shaped meteor hit the planet and nourished the site on which it landed with colour and energy, resulting in a flower filled paradise. A few of the Yuks/Kruds colonised the area and evolved colours of their own, renaming themselves Joyces/Verigreens. They venerated the Prism and built a high altar upon it. The Yuks/Kruds who chose to stick to their original lives continued mining for coal till they gradually exhausted their supplies. The animosity between the two insect civilizations began when a violent Yuk/Krud known as King Bakrako/Katheter the First came up with the solution of using the Joyce's/Verigreen's flower stalks as substitute fuel sources. Gradually, all memory of the two civilizations once being the same people was lost, and ever since they have been enemies.

Episode list

Main article: List of Insektors episodes

Known cast

French version

NA version

UK version

External links

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