Wild Kratts

Wild Kratts
Genre	Adventure Comedy
Created by	Martin Kratt and Chris Kratt
Written by	Eva Almos, Chris Kratt, Martin Kratt, Chris Roy
Directed by	Luc Chamberland ("Polar Bears Don't Dance"); Eva Almos, Chris Kratt, Martin Kratt (all others)
Starring	Chris Kratt (as himself), Martin Kratt (as himself)
Voices of	Eva Almos, Heather Bambrick, Zach Bennette, Cory Duran, Athena Karkanis, Chris Kratt, Martin Kratt, Johnathen Malen
Theme music composer	Pure West
Opening theme	Gonna Go Wild Kratts
Ending theme	Gonna Go Wild Kratts (instrumental)
Country of origin	USA, Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	40
Production
Executive producers	Martin Kratt, Vince Comisso, Steven Jarosz
Producers	Eva Almos, Chris Kratt, Martin Kratt
Running time	22 Minutes
Production company	Kratt Brothers Company
Original release
Release	January 3, 2011 (most stations)
Related
Kratt's Creatures, Zoboomafoo

Wild Kratts is a children's animated series created by the Chris Kratt and Martin Kratt. It is produced by Kratt Brothers Company and 9 Story Entertainment. It is presented by PBS in the United States, and TVOntario, Tele-Quebec, and Knowledge Network in Canada. The show's aim is to educate children aged 6-11 about biology and ecology, and teaches kids small ways to make big impacts (such as building bat houses), while entertaining them with the Kratt's usual antics.

The show makes use of comedic devices such as slapstick comedy as per their previous kid's shows (Kratt's Creatures and Zoboomafoo). Wild Kratts debuted on January 3, 2011 on most PBS stations and has currently been signed for a second season with both PBS and TVOntario. The series currently has 40 episodes, of which not all have been shown. Season 2 started with episode "Ker-Honk", which was aired on December 30, 2011 on most stations.

The show features a donut sequence that asks "What If?", that sets up the cartoon segment and introduces the focus animal (or focus trait/behaviour if more than one animal is the focus); the principle cartoon show; and a concluding live action segment that sums up the cartoon. The last segment is then followed by additional clips about other animals that somehow relate to the focus animal. International rights were signed by 9 Story in September 2010.

The show is broadcast in the US, Canada, South America, Middle East, Israel, Spain, and Ireland.

Plot

The basic plot of the series is usually to save the animals from various situations, be it villains, general human influence, or confusion on a baby animal's part. Most episodes focus on villains, but those that do not usually focus on some real world problem, either directly (as seen in "Stuck On Sharks" where Gourmand captured a shark for making shark fin soup) or indirectly through allegory ("Build It Beaver" had the beaver's dam destroyed repeatedly through various means; an allegory for deforestation). Still, some episodes aim to change the way a creature is seen- creatures that are usually considered frightening, such as bats and alligators.

To foil the villains, one brother usually acts as a distraction while the other saves the animals. Other episodes have them outsmarting the villains in some way. Sometimes the plot deals with one brother being captured by the villain (usually with the element of surprise on the villain's part; but sometimes due to poorly thought out plans by the brothers themselves), and the other has to rescue him. So far, none of the other crew members have been captured by the villains without one of the Kratts present.

There are only three villains in the show, the most prominent villain being Zachary Varmitech. Donita Donata and her henchman Dabio are the second most recurring villain, with Gaston Gourmand being featured in the least amount of episodes. Regardless, there are some episodes that none of the villains feature in, and the primary focus is on either the wildlife, its habitat, or its behaviour. They also occasionally enlist the help of the Wild Kratts Kids, children who help the Wild Kratts from their home however they can, whether it is moving animals or helping rebuild habitats.

Usually, they travel the world using high-tech gadgets, but some episodes focus on Canada or North America. When travelling globally, they use the Tortuga, which is a turtle-shaped aircraft that provides the team temporary shelter while away. It also serves as their base camp and laboratory. It uses solar power as its main energy source. Otherwise, they use creature power (the animals' innate abilities), the Createrra (a jeep like vehicle with James Bond style transformations), buzz bikes (motorcycles that hover instead of travel on wheels), or other means.

The device most often used is the Creature Power Suit, that take Creature Power Discs modeled after a creature. On the disc, the creature's DNA is coded onto the disc, and the disc is inserted into a slot just behind the activation button. An actual DNA sample is required from the animal to activate; the source of the DNA is not important and has varied. Simply touching the animal is enough; they do not have to gather materials from the animal (such as hair or feathers). When activated, the Creature Power Suit transforms the user into a clone of that animal, allowing the Kratts access to the animal's abilities (but also their disadvantages). To turn off the Creature Power Suits, they need only to press the button again, and they will return to human form (unless the button is jammed or inaccessible). The button is arranged in the form of a three toed paw, with the activation button being the main paw pad, and three smaller buttons being the toe pads. They are shaped like vests and slip on over the Kratts' usual clothing. The vests themselves are black, but the buttons are colored- Martin's are blue and Chris' are green, keeping with tradition from the Kratts' older shows (Martin has always worn blue, and Chris has always worn green).

There has been an inconsistency with the way the power suits work, as they have been shown to activate with and without discs (or with a disc from a creature somewhat related to another, such activating the Gharial Crocodile disc with Austrailian Crocodile DNA), with a button (standard) or vocally (happened once), and with primary DNA (from the physical animal) or secondary DNA (from one activated power suit to another). Also, it doesn't matter how the button gets pressed, and the buttons are very sensitive. This has been played for laughs in some episodes- Chris tripped over a walrus and fell on the activation button, causing the suit to transform; once accidentally leaned on his activation button and a pigeon pecked his nose, causing the suit to activate; Gourmand once deactivated Chris' suit by hitting the button with a ball of pastry dough; a Tasmanian Devil bit the button to his suit, causing it to activate without a disc, and causing a malfunction where he uncontrollably transformed between a Tasmanian Devil form and his human form; and a Blue Jay once pecked Martin's activation button while he was holding an acorn, causing a malfunction where he turned into an acorn, was buried, and grew into a tree.

They also use the Miniaturizer to shrink themselves and some vehicles to creature size in order to travel with the animal directly, although the power suits usually "creature size" (automatically shrink or enlarge the user to the target animal's size) the brothers. There is also a portable Miniaturizer that shrinks small enough to fit in one's pocket when not in use, and expands to full size when needed.

Along the way, viewers learn about the animals and their lives as the Kratt brothers and the Wild Kratts gang (consisting of the Kratts themselves, Aviva Corcovado, Koki, and Jimmy Z) figure out ways to either right wrongs or or get out of the strange (and always amusing) situations they are in. It was stated in an interview that the villains don't learn about the animals and this is why they are always unsuccessful.

Some of their adventures have put them in grave danger or even brought them seconds away from death. In these episodes, it can be just the nature of the mission, or it can be the cause of a villain. Although in only one case ("Platypus Café") did the villain (Gaston Gourmand) actually intend to cause harm to one of the brothers; in the other episodes, the villain had not thought it through (Zach in "Mystery of the Weird Looking Walrus"), or was not aware of the medical risks involved.

Background and production

Wild Kratts is a rework of the lesser-received Be the Creature. Chris is listed as the Executive Producer, and Martin is listed as the Executive Director. It is written by either the Kratts themselves, Eva Almos (who also plays Donita Donata), or Chris Roy. It is mostly filmed in Canada and North America, but some creatures in the live segments have been from other countries. It is not known if they actually went to those countries to film or not. PBS dedicated nearly $500,000 to developing the series.

Foreign countries seem to get future episodes before US and Canadian watchers. The episode "Caracal Minton" was shown in South America, but has not yet aired in an English speaking country. On December 30th, 2011, the SCETV channels 29.1 and 49.1 replaced the original airing of "Ker-Honk" with an episode of "Riverbanks Round-Up". The episode was not shown until Sunday, January 1st, 2012. PBS shows the episodes out of order. The episode "Polar Bears Don't Dance", being the pilot episode, features a different animation style than the rest of the episodes, and was omitted from the first DVD release. It is also directed by Luc Chamberland, who did not direct any subsequent episodes.

Cast

The cast is listed in alphabetical order by the character's last name (when applicable).

Heroes

Aviva

Athena Karkanis: Aviva Corcovado

Features: Brown hair, gray eyes. Always wears a yellow jacket over a gray shirt and blue jeans. In the pilot episode "Polar Bears Don't Dance", her ears were pierced and she skated everywhere using Wheelies-type tennis shoes, but lost these traits in subsequent episodes. She keeps her hair back in a ponytail. She's Spanish and often code switched, using Spanish exclamations, but did so less and less throughout the show that to the point that in some episodes, her lines are entirely in English.

Aviva is the leader of the Tortuga gang, second in command to Chris and Martin. She designs all of the inventions the Kratts use. She is an engineer and inventor. Aviva tries to prove to the Kratt brothers that she knows all about creatures, but she is often corrected by the Kratts. She can be overconfident, hot-headed, and standoffish, but she's normally outgoing, friendly, and cheerful.

Once she has made up her mind, it takes appealing to her emotions and overwhelming evidence to change it. She's also competitive, rivaling Zach in invention contests, the Kratts, and even nature itself (most notably in "Cheetah Racer" where she bet that she could invent a land vehicle that was faster than a cheetah). At times, her negative traits have gotten her into sticky situations, but she manages to correct her mistakes by the end of the episode.

Chris

Chris Kratt (as himself)

Features: Brown hair, brown eyes. Always wears a green sweater over a white shirt and khaki shorts. He keeps his bangs spiked. He's younger than his brother Martin by four years.

Chris is the exact opposite of his brother, and more methodical brother of the Kratts. Unlike Martin, he likes to take his time and test out the animals' DNA so the Wild Kratts crew can understand the animals better and save them from the villains. Chris is organized, intellectual, and calm, and considered the nerd of the team. Chris is an experienced climber, although in one episode, he falls from a tree and develops acrophobia that later subsides. After this episode, there is a running gag that he falls from a tree unharmed.

Martin

Martin Kratt (as himself)

Features: Blond hair, blue eyes. Always wears a blue sweater over a white shirt and khaki shorts.

Martin likes to give the animals they find various names, allowing the audience to bond with the animal. Martin is more of the jokester of the two. He is also often rushing and impulsive, unlike his younger brother, Chris. Martin is disorganized, emotional, and excited, but knows when to be serious. In contrast to his brother Chris’ climbing skills, Martin is a more experienced swimmer.

Jimmy

Jonathen Malen: Jimmy Z

Features: Red hair, blue eyes. Always wears a gray, short sleeved shirt with a video game character emblazoned on the front over a long sleeved shirt and plaid shorts. He also wears a green baseball cap backwards. He has a sparse goatee growing in, reminiscent of Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

Jimmy is the pilot of Tortuga HQ. Though young, Jimmy is an experienced pilot. Jimmy Z is often unsure about animals, so he asks the rest of the Wild Kratts crew about them. He is shown to be nervous and highly anxietic, especially about losing his joystick controller. He uses it to teleport items to the Kratts when they are away, and also for playing video games. He most often helps Aviva invent by handing her the items she needs as she works. He's most often seen eating or sleeping, and worries about the nutrition of others (such as teleporting the Kratts sandwiches in "Mom of a Croc", and attempting to give Aviva a pizza slice in another episode).

Koki

Heather Bambrick: Koki

Features: Black hair, brown eyes. She is African American. She keeps her afro pushed back with a hair band. She wears a purple shirt with black sleeves that has a yellow star emblazoned on the front and khaki jeans. She also has multiple ear piercings.

Koki works on the computer database of the Tortuga HQ, researching animals for the brothers, and often uses the computer to track the villains via satellite. Also, Koki manages the communications system of the Tortuga, keeping in touch with Chris and Martin throughout their missions. She also sometimes receives signals from other people who want to communicate with the Wild Kratts, and intercepts signals sent by the villains to one another. She is not afraid to speak her mind and tell the truth as she sees it.

Villains

Dabio

Cory Doran: Dabio

Features: Blond hair, bluish green eyes. He wears a sea green shirt and khaki jeans. He's very muscular and his hair falls around his shoulders. He is a parody of Fabio.

Dabio is Donita's henchman. He is treated like a servant, and fails in the simplest of tasks. He is shown to be unintelligent to the point that he cannot function alone. He does whatever Donita tells him to do. He hardly ever speaks, and when he does, he comes across as child-like. He tries to help Donita design her fashions, but she is unsatisfied with his suggestions. Due to his low intelligence, he is extremely patient and cheerful, even under Donita's dictating ways.

Donita

Eva Almos: Donita Donata

Features: Purple hair, golden eyes. She wears a red, button up shirt with various colored dots adorning it and 70's style waist-high pants. She keeps her hair styled.

Donita Donata is a fashionista, and is always setting trends. She travels in a pink jumbo jet, and is never without the best comforts life can afford. Her main purpose is her clothing line, "Donita Donata's Live Jewelry of Nature". She uses a paralyzing beam to freezes animals alive and sell them as jewelry or clothing. Some viewers have raised the point that the animals are still fully conscious while paralyzed.

She has dated Zach Varmitech, but shows no further interest in him unless he can make her rich. In contrast to Dabio, Donita is impatient, and easily angered and frustrated.

Gourmand

Zachary Bennett: Gaston Gourmand

Features: Shaved head, green eyes. He always wears the typical chef outfit (black pants, white button up jacket, puffy white hat).

Gourmand is a specialty chef with a heavy Southern accent. He cooks and serves only endangered animals, which has caused him to lose his chef's license. He can pair up foods with the perfect spices by smell alone. He travels in a camper that features a fold-out restaurant, accessed by pulling a wire. When it folds out, it reveals an outdoor restaurant on a deck complete with full kitchen, at least one table, and chairs. He prefers to cook his patron's meals in front of them, and charges a heavy price for it.

Zach

Zachary Bennett: Zachary Varmitech

Features: Black hair, green eyes. He always wears a black turtleneck sweater and gray jeans. He has a small goatee. He also has extremely pale skin. In a flashback to his childhood, he was seen with a normal skin tone and freckles. In "Polar Bears Don't Dance", his eyes were shown to be a lighter green than in subsequent episodes.

Zach is a robotics inventor who has a rivalry with both Aviva and the Kratt brothers. He grew up alongside the Kratts and met Aviva at summer camp. He claims to be the world's greatest mind. He tries to develop hotels and vacation spots all over the world by controlling creatures' minds and using them as workers. However, his plans are always foiled by the Kratt Brothers. He always screams when he sees an animal, hinting that he has a fear of all animals.

Chris and Martin’s rivalry with Zach is surprisingly friendly and comedic, due to the Kratt brothers’ forgiving nature, even though Zach has tried to kill them several times throughout the series. He is always designing robots, usually around animals. His most frequently seen invention is the Zachbot. Although he has a house in a neighborhood, he also has a skyscraper located in a city reminiscent of New York City. This skyscraper is where the Zachbots are produced. When travelling long distances, he uses his jet. Otherwise, he usually rides on the shoulders of a Zachbot.

Zachbots

Zachary Bennett: Zachbots ("Polar Bears Don't Dance" only)

Features: Dome shaped heads and concentric bodies. They normally have pincers on the end of their arms, but have an array of other attachments hidden. The Zachbots hover.

The Zachbots are somewhat sentient bots that act as Zach's henchmen. He usually has at least three, but can produce dozens more in short notice. The Zachbots are literal minded to the point they do exactly what he says, but not necessarily what he meant. They have even taken idiomatic expressions out of context (such as when Zach exclaimed "Somebody pinch me!" and a Zachbot pinched him, prompting a sharp "I didn't mean literally!" from Zach).

They are usually sent to gather information, supplies, or animals for him. They can also transform into a humanoid form, which Zach once used to his advantage to kidnap Chris and fool Martin ("Let the Rhinos Roll!"), even though the impostor was wearing a red jacket as opposed to Chris' normally green jacket. There was only one episode in which a Zachbot spoke, but they have not done so in subsequent episodes.

List of episodes

Main article: List of Wild Kratts episodes

DVD releases

On April 5, 2011, PBS released the first home video of the series, only four months after the new series premiered, featuring the first ten episodes of the first season. However, the 2-disc set excluded episode 7, "Polar Bears Don't Dance", for unknown reasons.

On March 20, 2012, PBS released the second home video of the series, featuring the Wild Kratts Predator Week episodes: "Stuck On Sharks", "Mimic", "Little Howler", and "Raptor Roundup".