Captain Planet & the Planeteers Legacy

Captain Planet & the Planeteers was a cartoon show produced by Ted Turner & Barbara Pyle and which aired from 1990-1996. ... Though it has been off the air for ... Skiptocontent CaptainPlanet&thePlaneteers CaptainPlanet&thePlaneteerswasacartoonshowproducedbyTedTurner&BarbaraPyleandwhichairedfrom1990-1996.Intheshow,Gaia,thespiritoftheplanet,assemblesateamoffiveyoung“planeteers”fromnationsaroundtheworld,whocansummonCaptainPlanettohelpthemsolveecologicalandotherglobalproblems“bytheirpowerscombined.”Theshowwaswidelyacclaimedforitstreatmentdifficultissuessuchaspollution,poaching,deforestation,aswellasmoresocialissuesincludingdrugaddiction,HIV/AIDS,andbullyinginawaythateducated,entertained,butalsoactivateditsyoungaudience.Thoughithasbeenofftheairformorethantwodecades,CaptainPlanetlivesoninthemindsofmanyreal-world“Planeteers”asasymbolofbecomingasuperheroforplanetEarth. TheCaptainPlanetFoundationwasfirstestablishedasacorporatefoundationtosupportyouth-ledeffortsinspiredbytheshow.Theorganizationbecameanindependentnonprofitorganizationin2001. ShowMythology Inthe originalmythologyoftheshowasimaginedbyPyle,CaptainPlanetwasintendedtorepresentmoreofametaphorofwhatispossiblewhenkidsworktogethertosolveproblems.Theshowwasn’taboutcallingupasavior.Itwasaboutempoweringchildrentousetheirownabilities. Characters CaptainPlanet CaptainPlanet (voicedby DavidCoburn)isthe titlecharacteroftheseries.Inthebeginningoftheseries,Gaiaassemblesamodern-dayteamof“Planeteers”fromseveralnations.Whenthemodern-dayPlaneteerscombinetheirpowerstosummontheelementalwarrior,thisincarnationtakesontheappearanceofasuperhero,whotakesonthesuperhero-likenameof“CaptainPlanet.”CaptainPlanetdisplaysawrysenseofhumorandoftenusespunswhiletauntingtheshow’scastofvillains.Hisonlyweaknessiswhenhecomesintocontactwithsourcesofpollution. Gaia ThebeautifulspiritofEarth,Gaiaistheprotectoroftheplanet.Shefeelsanguishwheneverdamageisdonetotheworld,itsseas,itsatmosphere,ortoanylivingcreature.Whendamageoccurs,GaiaspursthePlaneteersintoaction–kindofan“Eco-AlertEarlyWarningSystem.” ThearchetypalEarthmother,gaiaisasourceofwisdomandadviceforbothCaptainPlanetandthePlaneteers.Shehelpstheidentifyenvironmentalproblemsviaaseriesofcrystallinescreenslocatedonherhomebase,HopeIsland.These“monitors”tracktheeventsofthepresentandcanpredicttheiroutcomeifleftunchecked.Butnomatterwhathappens,GaialovesEarth’schildrenunconditionally.Thoughsorrowbywhatthey’vedoneandworriedaboutthefuture,sheiseternallyhopefulthatallwillturnoutforthebest. Kwame This16-year-oldconservationistdoeseverythinginhispowertosavetheworld’sendangeredspecies.RaisedbyeldersinaremoteAfricanvillage,Kwameissomewhatnaive–oftenwithcomicresults,Quietbutfirm,hehasthegreatestintegrityofanyofthePlaneteers.Buthisnaiveidealism,combinedwithhisconvictions,sometimesleavehimdisillusionedwithhumannature. Withhisgreenthumb,Kwamecangrowanything.Thoughfundamentallyserious,hehasanimpishsenseofhumor,andcanoftendeliveroff-the-wallcommentsperfectlydeadpan.HisearthywisdomprovidesafirmfoundationforthePlaneteers. Kwame’selementisEARTH.Hecancreatesmall,localizedearthquakes,movesrocks,causesholesorfurrowstoappearinthedirt,andturnmudtosolidground. Gi This15-year-oldAsiangirlisamixtureofrefinedcultureandhigh-tech,highstyle.She’sarock’n’rollfanwho’sanaturallinguist.Bright,sophisticated,stylish,andtrendy,GiisthemostflexiblePlaneteer.Amonghercompanions,sheoftenassumestheleadershiprole.AlthoughGicanbeimpetuous,she’susuallyateamplayer. Gi’salsoanathlete–herfavoritesportissurfing–andastudentofmarinebiology.Shehasastrongscientificunderstandingofthevariousoceanecosystems.Athomewiththeseaandanyofitscreatures,Gihasaparticularfondnessfordolphins.Shehasevenlearnedhowtocommunicatewiththem. Gi’selementisWATER.Shecancontrolanywatersourceandmakeitdoherbidding. Linka Ahardworking,far-too-serious16-year-oldwho’sstraightfromeasternEurope,Linka’sthemostconservativePlaneteer.Herideaofagoodtimeistocurlupwiththelatestissueof“AdvancedEcology.:Hottemperedandfeisty,sheisneverthelessamasteroflogicaldeduction.Sheeventendstoover-analyzethings.Heranalyticalapproachtoproblem-solvingsometimesannoysherotherteammates–especiallyWheeler.SparksflywhenheandLinkaaretogether.Butinspiteoftheirdifferences,thetwoteammatesgenuinelycareforeachother. Quickofthought,Linka’selementisWIND.Shecancommandittoswirlorgust,orcreatesmalltornadoes. Wheeler Thistough,street-wise17-year-oldgrewuponthemeanstreetsofBrooklyn.There,helearnedtothinkfast-butactfaster.TheoldestPlaneteer,Wheelerisalsothemostimpulsive,andhefrequentlyactswithoutthinking.Asaresult,he’spronetomakingmistakes.Wheeler’sbiggestchallengeistobecomemoresensitivetoothersandtolearnthattheenddoesn’tjustifythemeans.Alwaysreadywithaglibremark,hesometimesspeaksupatinopportunetimes. Wheelermebeimpetuous,buthehasagoodheart,andintheend,heusuallymakesthingsright. Wheeler’selementisFIRE.Hecancreateanddirectsmallfiresorbeamsofflame. Ma-Ti This13-year-oldSouthAmericanmaybetheyoungestPlaneteer,butheoftenseemswisest.RaisedbyKayapoIndians,Ma-Ticansurviveinthewildestjungle.He’snostrangertothebigcityeither,andheknowsalotabouttheworldoutsidetheAmazonbasin.Ma-Tihasanintuitivegraspofecologicalprinciples.Andhe’swillingtogiveofhimselfforthebenefitofthewhole. Theessenceofcaringandconcern,Ma-TiservesasthePlaneteers’emotionallinktotheEarthandhumankind.He’salsotheclosestofthegrouptoGaia,andtriestokeepthePlaneteersfocusedonthespiritofherteachings.Ma-Tioftenactsasacohesiveforce,workingtopromotePlaneteerunity. Ma-Ti’selementisHEART,whichenableshimtocommunicatetelepathicallywithotherPlaneteersandwithGaia.Hecanalsocommunicatewithanimals,andhisempatheticabilitiesallowhimtofeelemotionsthatprovidevaluablecluesduringthePlaneteersadventures. Episodes In1990CaptainPlanetandthePlaneteerslaunchestoworldwideacclaim.The113-episodeseriesrocketstothetopofthechartsastheworld’sfirsteveredutainment‘eco-toon.’Syndicatedinover220U.S.marketsandinover100countriesworldwide,itconsistentlyranksNo.1inNielsenratings. AHeroForEarth/Season1,Episode15 Gaia,thespiritoftheEarth,summonsfourteenagersandayoungboynamedMa-Tifromfivedifferentcornersoftheworldtohelpherinthebattletosavetheplanet.Fortheirfirstassignment,thePlaneteersbattleHoggishGreedly,whoseoilrigoperationisjeopardizingthecoastline. MoreEpisodes ×