The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack

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The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
Flapjack logo 02.png
Flapjack logo
Genre Animated cartoon
Adventure
Comedy
Fantasy
Surreal humor
Created by Thurop Van Orman
Written by Thurop Van Orman
J.G. Quintel
Kent Osborne
Steve Little
Jackie Buscarino
Directed by J.G Quintel
John Infantino
Starring Thurop Van Orman
Brian Doyle-Murray
Roz Ryan
Jeff Bennett
Steve Little
Daran Norris
Richard McGonagle
Kevin Michael Richardson
Jackie Buscarino
S. Scott Bullock
Cree Summer
Country of origin  United States
No. of seasons 2 (3rd in production)
No. of episodes 31 aired (46 announced) (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 22 minutes approx.
Production company(s) Cartoon Network Studios, Saerom Animation, Inc (animation production), Screen Novelties, LLC (stop motion segments)
Broadcast
Original channel Cartoon Network
Original run June 5, 2008 – present
External links
Official website

The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack is an American animated television series produced for Cartoon Network that premiered on June 5, 2008.[1] The show was created by cartoonist Mark "Thurop" Van Orman, who has worked as a writer and storyboard artist on Camp Lazlo and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.[2]

Contents

[edit] Overview

Flapjack is a young boy raised by a talking whale named Bubbie. He leads a peaceful life until the duo rescue a pirate by the name of Captain K'nuckles, who tells Flapjack of an island called Candied Island, which is supposedly made completely of candy, and the sea around it is lemonade. Inspired by the adventurous pirate, Flapjack, Captain K'nuckles and Bubbie get into strange predicaments and "misadventures" in search of Candied Island and the coveted title of "Adventurer". The three spend most of their time in Stormalong Harbor, where they eat candy and get into mischief.

[edit] Production

Van Orman attempted to pitch the concept to Cartoon Network in 2001. He created a short and incorporated many childhood favorites, with visual inspiration from older adventure novels. His first pitch was rejected, but he received a lot of feedback and re-pitched the concept in 2003.[2]

The series works with Screen Novelties to produce the stop-motion and title card portions of the show.[2]

Paul Reubens was originally selected to be the voice of Flapjack, but when Reubens did not show up on the day of recording, Van Orman himself decided to voice Flapjack.[2]

The opening theme song is sung to a tune that is similar to the tune of the 1930 folk song "Big Rock Candy Mountain", with some similar lyrics, to help support K'nuckles' description of "Candied Island".

[edit] Creative influences

As a child, show creator Van Orman spent three years living near a bayou, where he was forbidden to socialize with a local fisherman. Disobeying his parents, Van Orman would visit the fisherman, who would tell tales of the sea. When he was 13, his family moved to Utah, but he was able to convince his parents to allow him to go back to Panama City Beach, Florida and stay with some family friends. During this time, Van Orman found a boat and took it out in the middle of the night. Eventually getting lost, it took him three days to finally return. He was saddened by his apparent failure as an adventurer. But when he related these stories to his friends, they were more entertained by all the things that went wrong (the misadventures) than what went right.[2] After trying to live in the jungles of Mexico and eating out of dumpsters, Van Orman just chalked all these bad circumstances up as "part of the adventure".[2]

[edit] Characters

[edit] Primary characters

The lead characters, Captain K'nuckles and Flapjack
Flapjack
An excitable, adventure-loving boy who was found and raised by Bubbie, the talking whale. Flapjack is very naive and oblivious to danger,[2] thus he's easily caught up in perilous situations. He is also extremely friendly and is often upset when someone does not respect a friendship. Spellbound by K'nuckles' stories of his days of adventure, he sets his sights on becoming a real adventurer just like his role-model K'nuckles. He is gullible enough to believe anything that will help him on his set goal, even if it makes no sense and is completely irrelevant. Flapjack believes that everyone in Stormalong is a friend and often takes them calling him various names and insults as compliments, often leading people (mostly K'nuckles) to believe that he has mental problems. He admires K'nuckles and considers him to be a good friend, though K'nuckles tends to lie to and manipulate him. His catchphrases are "Adventure!" (said whenever he gets excited), "What is going on here?" (said whenever something that he doesn't expect happens), and "Cannonballs!" (said whenever something does not go right). Voiced by series creator Thurop Van Orman.
Captain K'nuckles
A washed-up and childish old sailor who claims to be the greatest adventurer the world has ever known. Nowadays, he prefers to nap and drink maple syrup, while telling outrageous tales of past adventures and getting Flapjack wrapped up in his high seas hi-jinks. In reality, his stories are either completely false, or nowhere near as adventurous or amazing as he leads Flapjack to believe. He is a candy addict; he will do whatever it takes to get his hands on candy. Because of this, he is incredibly selfish, putting the well-being of himself and the acquisition of candy above all else. Because of his often selfish, rude, and openly villainous behavior, K'nuckles has earned the open hostility and disrespect of nearly everybody in Stormalong. Though he has a habit of taking advantage of Flapjack for his own needs, he is actually quite fond of him and will often attempt to get him out of trouble when a scheme of theirs goes too far, he also defends Flapjack when others try to deceive him, something that he does on a regular basis. Most of his body is composed of wood: his hands are wooden hands based on the best hand ever made, his legs are pegs, and his buttocks (his "sittin' muscle", as he calls it) is a wooden board. Because of his artificial body, he makes mechanical noises when he moves. K'nuckles spends most of the adventures with Flapjack trying to find Candied Island. Flapjack often has to defend him when he is in trouble. Voiced by Brian Doyle-Murray.
Bubbie 
A talking whale who acts as a doting mother[2] to Flapjack and gives him a lot of advice that he rarely follows and she, at times, doesn't follow either. She claims that she found Flapjack wrapped in seaweed. She prefers the "safety" of Stormalong to the dangers of the open seas. Regardless of how much trouble K'nuckles and Flapjack get into, she will always look out for Flapjack and wait for him at the shore or docks. She's also confirmed as the fastest whale in the sea, but she doesn't like to brag. She also acts as K'nuckles' ship, as well as his and Flapjack's 'house', though they live in her mouth. Bubbie is generally hostile to K'nuckles, though this is quite justified, as he tends to dupe Flapjack into doing things that she does not approve of. But more often than not, she seems to eventually forgive him, as she normally ends up allowing him to come back to live with her and Flapjack. Voiced by Roz Ryan.

[edit] Secondary characters

Peppermint Larry 
The owner of the Candy Barrel who supplies candy to Flapjack, K'nuckles and the rest of Stormalong. Larry is married to his beloved candy-wife; a "woman" made entirely out of candy. On several occasions he displays a strong dislike of pickles. Peppermint Larry is voiced by Jeff Bennett.
Doctor Barber
The resident doctor and barber of Stormalong Harbor. Dr. Barber often comes off as having malicious intentions, though he usually means well. He is voiced by Steve Little.
Dock Hag
A woman who is regarded as mean and ugly by the Stormalong residents who is in charge of the day to day happenings and maintenance of Stormalong. She is voiced by Daran Norris.
Lolly Poopdeck
A mysterious man who wanders around Stormalong carrying two buckets of water; one in each hand. Captain K'nuckles claims the water to be Poopdeck's own tears. He is also voiced by Steve Little.
Eight-Armed Willy
A gigantic, evil octopus, feared by everybody in Stormalong. He wears an eyepatch and is so large, he wears a galleon as a hat. He is despised by Flapjack and K'nuckles. Voiced by Richard McGonagle.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack episodes

[edit] Other Media

[edit] DVD

A volume 1 DVD was released on October 10, 2009. It contained the first five episodes, four bonus features, and the series pilot short, "Captain and ToeNeil." A volume 2 DVD was announced shortly after the first DVD was released because of it's good sales. It will include the next five episodes and more special features. It is set for a Spring 2010 release.

[edit] Video Game

Main Article: The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack: The Video Game

A video game was announced by the series creator, Thurop Van Orman. It is going to be released for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and Xbox 360 systems for a planned 2010 release.

[edit] Reviews

 This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (October 2009)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Zeus, Maxie (2008-04-04). "CN Upfront 2008: "Misadventures of Flapjack" Coming This Summer". Toon Zone. http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=22718. Retrieved 2008-04-05. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Zahed, Ramin (2008-07-07). "Thurop Van Orman, Creator Cartoon Network's The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack". Animation Magazine. http://www.animationmagazine.net/article/8567. Retrieved 2009-08-27. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marvelous_Misadventures_of_Flapjack"