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Tak and the Power of Juju (TV series)
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Tak and the Power of Juju is an all CGI-based animated television series that premiered on Nickelodeon on August 31, 2007 and on Nicktoons Network on September 1, 2007. It has been showing on Nicktoons in the UK on 5th July 2008. Based on the video game of the same name, the show consists of two eleven minute stories per half hour episode. It is Nickelodeon's first all-CGI series (produced in house) and the company's 29th Nicktoon. The series was produced by Nick Jennings and directed, among others, by Mark Risley, Jim Schumann, and Heiko Drengenberg.
Plot
- See also: List of Tak and the Power of Juju episodes
Characters
Main characters
| Character |
Voice Actor |
Description |
| Tak |
Hal Sparks |
The main character, he has the ability to summon a magic power, which the Jujus (Magical creatures) bestowed upon him to serve as a link between his and their realms. Tak is 14 years old and about 5'5"citation needed. Tak tends to be the smarter of the group, but has his mishaps when it comes to practicing his Juju power. Whenever Lok gets himself into trouble Tak is the first one on the scene to save him. He will marry the future chief of the Pupununu as predicted by Psychic Juju (some people think that Jeera will be the one, because Psychic Juju said that Zaria will not be Tak's wife which he was freaked out about). He is Jibolba's nephew and apprentice. He lives with Jibolba. Nothing is known about Tak's parents. It is hinted that he may have a crush on Jeera, his best friend. |
| The Chief |
Maurice LaMarche |
He is the leader of the Pupununu and father of Jeera and Zaria. He constantly gets furious at Tak due to his mistakes in the use of his Juju power yet constantly wants Tak to use his powers to help the village (but mainly to help him). He loves his tribe and is very fat. His wife has not appeared in the show so far. His real name is never mentioned. |
| Drum-Beating Orangutan |
– |
An orangutan that communicates by playing the drums. His first appearance is in the theme song, and his second appearance was in "Woodiefest." He also had a 3rd appearance in "The Three Chiefs." |
| Lok |
Patrick Warburton |
The resident warrior of the village, Lok is more talk than action and, in fact, his cowardice usually gets the better of him. He'd rather make up a story to save face than do the actual dangerous deed. He often refers to himself in third person,citation needed Lok's plans is to brainwash the Pupununu and get rid of his rival (Tak) for good. |
| Jeera |
Kari Wahlgren |
She is Tak's fun loving best friend. She is the same age as Tak and around 5'3"citation needed. Jeera is the Chief's daughter and has an older sister named Zaria, who is next in line for the throne and never lets her younger sister forget it. Jeera is a tomboy and will often punch Tak as a sign of endearment. It is hinted she may be in love with Tak; especially when she threatened to beat up his new best friend to get him back if he was to move to another village in the episode "Testing Jibolba." |
| Keeko |
John DiMaggio |
Careless, laid back, and a dreamer, Keeko is best friends with Tak and Jeera. |
| Banutu Steven Jibolba |
Lloyd Sherr |
Tak's uncle and mentor is the shaman of the Pupununu tribe. He may very well be over a hundred years old. |
| Zaria |
Dannah Feinglass |
Jeera's 18 year old bossy sister. She is the next one to inherit the throne and won't let Jeera forget it. Psychic Juju hinted that she might not be the future chief. |
| Log Hermit |
Maurice LaMarche |
An old hermit who wears a log for clothes. His real name is unknown. He bet Masked Guy that Jeera secretly loved Tak as seen in the episode "Love Hurts". |
| Masked Guy |
Lloyd Sherr |
A sheepherder who's always seen wearing a mask. He communicates by mumbling although everybody in the tribe is able to understand him. His real name is unknown. |
| Slog |
Megan Cavanagh |
A heavyset woman who is incredibly strong. She has a big crush on Lok. "citation neededSlog joined Lok's evil group to destroy Tak & Jeera. |
| Blod and Bleeta Oongatchaka |
Rene Mujica (Blod)
Kari Wahlgren (Bleeta) |
The spoiled twins are the chidren of the tribe's richest and most snooty family, the Oongachakas. Blod and Bleeta are known to cause trouble for Tak and Jeera because they covet Tak's ability to summon the power of Juju and are constantly plotting ways to take his powers from him. |
| Chaka and Oonga Oongachaka |
Mindy Sterling (Chaka)
Lloyd Sherr (Oonga) |
They are the parents of Blod and Bleeta. |
| Chief Zogsnob |
Jeff Bennett |
He is one of the Chief's rivals and childhood friends. He is the chief of the Swollen River People. |
| Chief Tina-Tina |
Melanie Chartoff |
She is one of the Chief's rivals and childhood friends. |
| Donna and Linda |
April Winchell (Donna)
Dannah Feinglass (Linda) |
These two talking sheep are part of the herd that's under the care of Masked Guy. They gained the power of speech from Tak on one occasion. "citation needed |
| Navis |
Kari Wahlgren |
Jeera's pet Gratch. She obtains it in "The Littlest Gratch" and can be seen again in "Girls Only", "Mofather", and "Testing Jibolba". |
R2, L2, Up, Down, X, R2, L2, R1, L1
Jujus
Jujus are very odd magical creatures that Tak calls upon whenever he's in need of them. Each of the Jujus reside in their own part of the Juju Realm. Among the Jujus featured in this series are:
- Belly Juju (Maurice LaMarche) - A hungry juju that has a mouth on his stomach. The stomach controls the body because the head has no brain.
- Big Boss Juju - A fiery rock monster who is the mightiest Juju in the Juju Realm. It is so powerful, even other Jujus fear him. A long-forgotten Juju tradition has the Pupununu Chief fighting the Big Boss Juju as a way of evading world annihilation. It will target whoever is wearing the crown during the fight.
- Bug Juju (Wayne Knight) - A small Juju that resembles a beetle. He has command over insects and loves to write autobiographical musicals.
- Bulldrafish Juju (Maurice LaMarche as Henry/George; Dannah Feinglass as Doris; Rob Paulsen as Gillbert) - A Juju that has three heads (an aggressive bull head named Henry/George, a female dragon head named Doris who can breath blue fire, and a fish head named Gillbert), a dragon-like body, and a fish tail. It is the pet of Judge Juju.
- Caged Juju - A cranky, horned Juju that lives in a cage and would dearly love to eat Tak. Or anyone else, for that matter.
- Dinky Juju (Maurice LaMarche) - A short-tempered Juju with powerful magic. He is an adult, but many confuse him for a baby because of his small size.
- Feet Juju - A pair of large, blue feet (and legs) that likes to dance. They seem to be recolored versions of the Giant Misunderstanding Juju.
- Gremlin Juju (Jeff Bennett) - There is an assortment of these short anglerfish-faced Jujus. Some of them serve as the law enforcement of the Jujus. One named Tiny worked as a bailiff in the Juju Court.
- Guess Who Juju (Hal Sparks) - An imaginary Juju that is really Tak just wearing the most clever of disguises.
- Head Juju - A green floating head with arms that has a southern accent. He lives in the Realm of Scrolls and is the coach of the professional Gratchball team in the Juju realm.
- Judge Juju (Rob Paulsen) - A corn Juju dressed as a judge. Despite sounding like a man, Judge Juju is actually a woman.
- Killjoy Juju (Mary Birdsong) - A one-eyed Juju known for stopping parties. She is the girlfriend of Party Juju.
- Love Juju (Danielle Schneider) - A short, floating, mermaid Juju that wears an inner tube and wields a snorkel as if it was her wand. The Pupununu always throw a festival in her honor. She one time left a hole in the Chief's stomach when she ended up displeased in one of the earlier festivals.
- Party Juju (Rob Paulsen) - Also known as Dead Juju, Party Juju is a skeleton Juju who is known to start parties and even enjoys parties. Only the powers of his girlfriend, Killjoy Juju can undo the effects of his powers.
- Psychic Juju (S. Scott Bullock) - Also known as Mind-Reader Juju, Psychic Juju is a large-headed genie-like Juju with psychic powers and precognition abilities. He always demands "Silence" when he doesn't want to be interrupted when he is givivng his latest precognition.
- Pugnacious Juju (Kirk Ward) - A three-armed retired boxer Juju. He tried to helped Chief into training him to fight the Big Boss Juju.
- Really, Really, Revolting Juju (Hal Sparks) - A gross-looking Juju. She is the sister of Repugnant Juju and Repulsive Juju.
- Repugnant Juju (Dannah Feinglass) - A gross-looking Juju. She is the sister of Repulsive Juju and Really, Really Revolting Juju.
- Repulsive Juju (John DiMaggio) - A gross-looking Juju. He is the younger brother of Repugnant Juju and Really, Really, Revolting Juju. Like his sibblings he resembles an obese dinosaur covered with holes that blow disgusting gasses. He also has a large head and large eyestalks. He seems to be the friendliest JuJu and is the most common JuJu to appear. He and Tak are friends.
- Roadkill Juju (John DiMaggio) - A Juju that loves being run over by J-Runners.
- Spider Juju (Maurice LaMarche) - A spider Juju with a French accent who's diet seems to consist mainly of human beings. On one occasion, Tak summoned him to get rid of Zaria when she was in charge during the Chief's vacation.
- Vendor Juju (Nick Jennings) - An orange octopus/jar-like Juju that can sell anything from within its body. He is where Tak and Jeera got the Motiki from.
Discontinuty?
In July 2008, Nickelodeon has released Sizzlin' Summer on it's TV channel and Nick.com. At Nick.com, it shows the schedule for what's new in July and August 2008. At the end of August 2008, Nickelodeon planned for airing new Tak and the Power of Juju episodes through the week of August 18, 2008 to August 22, 2008. But on August 10, 2008, Nickelodeon has removed this premiere week from its Sizzlin' Summer schedule in August. This could be the series is canceled and can't be still on hiatus. Unannounced for lost episodes to aired on Nicktoons Network or not.
Crew
Directors:
- Heiko Drengenberg
- Nick Jennings
- Lane Lueras
- Mark Risley
- Jim Schumann
Voice Directors:
Supervising director:
Creative Director, CG Department
Writing credits
- Brandon Auman
- Nicole Dubuc
- Reid Harrison
- Tom Krajewski
- Gene Laufenberg
- Mitch Watson (Head writer)
Producers
- Nick Jennings (executive producer)
- Audu Paden (supervising producer)
- Mitch Watson (co-producer (2007))
Sound department
- Michael Petak (sound editor)
Story artists
Story editor
Production companies
Distributors
Based on the games published by THQ and Nick Games and developed by Avalanche Software
DVDs
Volume 1: The Trouble with Magic
Release Date: June 24, 2008
Episodes:
Volume 2: Magic Is Where It Is
Release Date: TBA
KCA preview
During the Nickelodeon 2007 Kids' Choice Awards, hosted by Justin Timberlake, a preview was shown of the new show and the website is now available at Nick.com. The site includes the preview, a character page and a story page minimally different from the game.
Differences from the games
- Jason Marsden does not reprise Tak from the video game. Instead, Hal Sparks voices him. Patrick Warburton reprises his role of Lok from the video game (until he sings, yells, & star in season 2). Lloyd Sherr voices Jibolba who was previously voiced by John Kassir in the video game.
- Preview commercials on Nickelodeon clearly display the name of Tak's tribe. For the series, it is written "Pupununu". In the series of video games, it was "Pupanunu".
- In the television series, Dead Juju is instead called Party Juju with Rob Paulsen reprising the role. Also, Mind-Reader Juju is called Psychic Juju here with S. Scott Bullock voicing him instead of Rob Paulsen.
- Tlaloc, the antagonist in the video games, is named Traloc in the show. Rob Paulsen doesn't voice him in the series, Jeff Bennett does.
External links
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