Zig & Sharko

Zig & Sharko
Created by	Olivier Jean-Marie
Directed by	Olivier Jean-Marie
Country of origin	France
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	156 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Marc du Pontavice
Producer(s)	Marc du Pontavice
Running time	7 mins
Production company(s)	Xilam Canal+ (season 1) TF1 (season 1) Gulli (season 2–) Super RTL (season 2–)
Release
Original network	Canal+
Original release	December 21, 2010

Zig & Sharko is a French animated series of 156 episodes of 7 minutes that is created and directed by Olivier Jean-Marie and produced and executive produced by Xilam Animation, known for their animated series A Kind of Magic, Ratz, Space Goofs and Oggy and the Cockroaches. The series was broadcast from December 21, 2010 on Canal+, and is available in the United States of America on Netflix and was formerly on ToonsTV. In the original French as well as in most foreign versions, none of the characters speak apart from unintelligible vocalizations, instead resorting to gestures and other forms of nonverbal communication, including the occasional use of pictograms in speech balloons. The exception is the Hindi version broadcast in India, in which dialogue is dubbed over the original animation.

Main characters

Zig is a brown hyena living on a lone volcanic island who tries to capture and eat Marina. Often with the help of Bernie, Zig attempts to catch Marina using a number of overly complicated schemes reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote. However, Zig's schemes routinely end in failure, foiled by Sharko, bad luck, or both, often with grievous bodily injury. Zig is the only main character apparently incapable of functioning both on land and in the water unassisted, as he needs some sort of breathing apparatus (usually a snorkel) if in the water for an extended period.

Sharko is a large great white shark, Sharko is both Marina's bodyguard and love interest, protecting her from Zig and other threats. Sharko despises Zig and generally pummels him every chance he gets, even in instances when Zig is not an imminent threat to Marina. Sharko is intensely loyal to Marina, routinely going out of his way to appease her and her sometimes frivolous requests. He is a fan of table tennis and is often seen playing it with Marina or a minor character (often an octopus).

Marina is a beautiful mermaid who often sits on a rock in the lagoon near Zig's island. Generally good-natured although quite naïve, Marina maintains a good relationship with most of the other characters, even Zig, as she seems to be oblivious to the fact he wants to eat her. Unlike almost many other mermaid characters, Marina is able to function out of the ocean without difficulty, using her flippers as feet. In addition to her rock Marina has a house presumably nearby on the sea floor, which she shares with Sharko. Marina enjoys singing, which Sharko dislikes. Nevertheless, her singing is popular with the local marine life and often has a Siren effect on passing ships. In the episode "A Tale of Two Legs," it is strongly implied Marina was born on Zig's island to a mermaid mother, human father and a baby mermaid son.

Bernie is an intelligent male hermit crab who lives on the island with Zig. Bernie and Zig are best friends, and repeatedly collaborate in schemes to capture Marina. Despite this Bernie doesn't seem to hold any particular grudge against Marina or Sharko, and indeed even saves Marina on several occasions when she is threatened by someone other than Zig.

Other characters

• Island animals. Several animals live on the island with Zig and Bernie, including monkeys, snakes, a gorilla and a pair of elephant seals. These animals often wind up as unwitting pawns in Zig's ongoing conflict with Sharko.
• Aquatic animals. Various unnamed fish, octopi and other marine animals serve as minor characters throughout the series. They are often used as tools by the main characters in a manner similar to The Flintstones. For example, sawfishes double as power saws.
• King Neptune, king of the sea. He is depicted as a vain, muscular merman assisted by numerous killer whale henchmen. Neptune is smitten with Marina, although he is one of the few characters she dislikes. He is known as Mutton Ki Dukan on Nickelodeon India. He frequently comes into conflict with Zig, Bernie and Sharko.
• The Narrator, who is exclusively in the Hindi version.
• Insane Dolphin, an insane dolphin who appears in two episodes - "Waterski Hit" and "The Return of the Crazy Dolphin," both times assisting Zig in his schemes with disastrous results. Among other things, the Crazy Dolphin repeatedly mistakes passing cargo ships for enemy aircraft carriers, which he attempts to blow up with the mines always on his person. At the end of both episodes, he blows the island up with his mines.
• Survivor, a caveman who appears in the episode "A Lovesick Survivor." He had a crush on Marina, but he also had a fear of Sharko and he was a rival of Zig. He also had cameo appearances in the episodes "At Your Service" and "The Tiny Tyrant".
• Fisherman, a man who wants to have Marina join his show and is the enemy of Sharko. He appeared in the episode "Liberate Marina".
• The Manic Mermaid, a blonde mermaid who tries to steal Sharko away from Marina. The color of her tail is the same as King Neptune's.
• Sharko's Rival, a manta ray who kisses Marina in the episode "The Challengers."
• Adult Seal, the assistant of the fisherman in the episode "Liberate Marina."
• The Coach, a tiger who attempts to coach Zig in his quest to capture Marina.
• Jellyfish, a creature who steals Zig's eyes in "Magical Jellyfish".
• A nearsighted seaman, who in a running gag repeatedly crashes his cargo ship onto the island. In several episodes Zig uses items found in the cargo hold, such as toys and construction sets, in his ongoing efforts to capture Marina.

Episode list

Season 1:

1. Fishy Story (pilot episode) - Zig finds some ways to eat Marina.
2. Desert Island Drought - Zig accidentally evaporates all the water in the ocean, so Sharko and Marina find some ways to cope with the situation.
3. King Neptune's Court - King Neptune tries to woo Marina, so Zig and Sharko must work together to bring her back.
4. The Slick - An oil spill makes the lagoon slick and slimy, so Bernie finds a way to get rid of all the oil in the water.
5. Treasure Island Tricks - Sharko discovers buried treasure and builds a luxury mansion with the proceeds, only to be visited by the treasure's angry pirate owner afterwards.
6. Cold Snap - Zig battles a polar bear after the water freezes.
7. Mermaid's Pup - Marina wants a pet, so she adopts Bernie much to Sharko's dismay. During this episode Zig first learns about Marina and Sharko's underwater house.
8. Work in Progress - Under duress, Zig helps Sharko rebuild Marina's house after it's destroyed by Sharko's carelessness.
9. Cruising - Zig builds some ships in order to eat Marina.
10. The Mermaid in the Sky - Marina dreams of being a flight attendant.
11. A Lovesick Survivor - A human male castaway competes with both Zig and Sharko to earn Marina's attention.
12. Digging Deep - Zig digs a tunnel to grab Marina so he can eat her, but he discovers interesting things along the way.
13. Waterski Hit - Marina decides to water ski with Sharko as her "boat," so Zig decides to follow suit with the Crazy Dolphin's help so he can grab Marina. However, the Crazy Dolphin has other ideas.
14. Nurse Marina - After one of Zig's many injuries, Marina becomes obsessed with nursing him back to health.
15. Hundreds of Kids and Counting - Bernie becomes a surrogate father to dozens of lost baby crabs.
16. The Submarine - Zig and Bernie disguise an old submarine as a female shark, almost tearing Sharko away from Marina.
17. A Tale of Two Legs - Zig and Bernie discover a mannequin in an abandoned building on the island, while Marina discovers something much more profound.
18. Little Shrimp Buddy - A shrimp competes with Bernie for his job as Zig's assistant.
19. The Horribly Hungry Hyena - Zig decides to sabotage Sharko and Marina's dinner date.
20. Volcano Turbo - Zig uses the active volcano to at Marina, but it doesn't turn out as well as he thought.
21. Lighthouse
22. Bamboozled
23. Blown Up!
24. Silly Builders - Zig uses building blocks that resemble LEGO bricks to build some boats to get to Marina.
25. The Manic Mermaid - Marina competes with another mermaid who wants Sharko.
26. Aqua Golf
27. The Island Tour - Zig holds a go-cart race in order to eat Marina.
28. Moby Zig
29. Santa Zig
30. Saving Mermaid Marina - Marina gets trapped in Zig's swimming pool, and Sharko must get her out, but they discover Zig's lair is by his pool.
31. Silly Sleight of Hand - Zig and Bernie discover a magician's powerful hat and cane.
32. Hammerhead Cousin
33. Sharko Hunting
34. The Challengers - Sharko competes with a manta ray, as the manta ray wants Marina.
35. Birthday Party - It's Marina's birthday and Zig and Sharko are invited to her party.
36. The Coach
37. Frozen Island
38. At Your Service
39. Freedom for Marina!
40. Marina's New Friend - Marina is lonely, so Sharko dresses Zig up as a mermaid so Marina would mistake him for another mermaid and he would become her friend.
41. The Fan - A piranha befriends Sharko and Marina, but soon reveals his plans to turn Marina into sushi.
42. The Ghastly Ghost
43. Sea's Up - Zig copes with a flood, and Marina accidentally loses Sharko while playing on the island.
44. Fairground Follies!
45. Zig's Jumbo Friend - Zig surprise elephant
46. Bottom's Bottom - Zig and Sharko find a strange and mysterious place at the bottom of the sea.
47. Babysitting - Marina babysits a baby octopus, but it is harder for Marina than she thinks.
48. Caution, Genius at Work! - Zig uses a book of inventions created by Leonardo Da Vinci to try and get Marina.
49. Goin' Home - Zig goes back to Africa to live among his fellow hyenas, but quickly finds he doesn't fit in.
50. Sharko and His Folks - Sharko gets an unexpected visit from his parents, who are none too pleased to find him in a relationship with a mermaid.
51. Camping Calamity - Marina and Sharko go camping, but Zig and Bernie aren't far behind.
52. Magical Jellyfish
53. Boo..... Hoo! - When Sharko gets hiccups, Zig decides to scare him to get rid of them.
54. Super Zig
55. The Tiny Tyrant
56. Coral Reef Cowboys
57. The King's Highway - Neptune attempts to build a road to his tennis court through Marina and Sharko's house.
58. Fancy Footwork - Marina wishes she had legs, and her wish comes true overnight. But there are a few problems that result from the wish.
59. Origami - Zig and Bernie attempt to catch Marina using a variety of origami creations made from the Cargo Ship Captain's freight of paper.
60. Marina,s Love
61. Me, Myself and I - Zig and Sharko switch consciousnesses after they get shocked by an electric eel.
62. War of the Clones - Zig makes robot clones of himself to get Marina, but soon, the clones start to act crazy.
63. Save the Hyena! - Marina becomes a lifeguard, so Zig decides to pretend to drown in order to get her attention.
64. Bristlebeard's Adventure - A group of pirates attempts to capture Marina.
65. The Noble Knight of the Lagoon - Zig challenges Sharko to a medieval-style tournament, but gets more than he bargained for.
66. Troublemakers
67. Marina Superstar - King Neptune enjoys Marina's singing so much, that he decides to make her a music star, but Sharko misses Marina, so he and Zig decide to team up to get her back. This is the only episode to include spoken dialogue in the US in the form of backup vocals to Marina's songs.
68. The Were-yena - In a "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" style, Zig temporarily transforms into a monster after he eats bananas but fails to realize the significance.
69. Loony Cruise - A cruise ship visits Zig's island. Marina and Sharko pose as passengers, but are still pursued by Zig.
70. Lightning Love - Zig gets amnesia and starts acting like a baby after he gets struck by lightning.
71. Bernie Moves House - After having a bitter argument with Zig, Bernie runs away from the island and moves to a new island that just rose from the sea, and he invites Sharko and Marina to his new house for a party. But Zig misses Bernie, so he decides to get him back so they can make up after fighting.
72. Hair Story - Sharko tries to fix Marina's bad haircut before that night's opera.
73. Space Fruits - Zig and Sharko fight each other with the aid of extraterrestrial fruit juices possessing strange powers.
74. Zig Taxi-Driver - Zig attempts to take advantage of Marina's shopping addiction by posing as a cab driver.
75. Cop Duty - Marina convinces Sharko to join the police force.
76. Goofy Astronauts - Marina and the rest of the cast climb aboard a rocket and are inadvertently shot into orbit, where they meet a deranged astronaut on a space station.
77. Fisherman's Catch
78. The Return of the Crazy Dolphin
79. Toys Attack!

Season 2:

Nominations and awards

The episode titled Birthday Party is part of the official selection at the Annecy Animation Festival 2011 in the category 'TV Shows'.

External links

• (English) Page devoted to the series on the site of Xilam
• Zig & Sharko at the Internet Movie Database