Little Shop
| Little Shop | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Frank Oz |
| Starring | Jana Lexxa Jennie Kwan Harvey Atkin Terry McGee Mark Ryan |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 min. |
| Original release | |
| Network | FOX |
| Release | September 7, 1991 – November 30, 1991 |
Little Shop was a 1991 animated television series about a teenager and a giant talking plant that ate everything in sight. Little Shop was based on the off-broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors, which was based on the 1960 Roger Corman film The Little Shop of Horrors. Despite the gruesome themes of murder and abuse presented in previous versions of the story, Little Shop was toned down for children.
Synopsis
The series followed self-proclaimed nerd Seymour Krelborn, an adolescent boy who worked in a flower shop where he kept his pet plant, a Venus Flytrap named Junior. The unusual thing about Junior was that he sprouted from a 200 million year-old seed and had the ability to talk... and rap! While Seymour was well aware of Junior's vocal abilities, no one else seemed to know. The flower shop was owned by stodgy Mr. Mushnik, whose daughter Audrey was the object of Seymour's affections. Audrey, however, would show no indications of feeling the same towards him. Also seen was buck-toothed Paine Driller, a neighborhood bully who continuously targeted Seymour. Episodes focused on the pubescent exploits of the leads and frequently featured a heavy-handed moral.
The series was a musical, like the 1986 film, and featured a couple of musical numbers per episode. In keeping with the "urban" persona of the carnivorous plant in the musical film, Audrey Junior in the series rapped during his numbers, and spoke with a more modern, hip-hop dialect. Also featured were a trio of singing flowers which were reminiscent of Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon, the three chorus girls in the film.
Differences between the films and cartoon
Junior (the plant known as "Audrey, Junior" in the 1960 film and "Audrey II" in the musical) is a kind-hearted and helpful plant, not a "mean, green mother from outer space" who, unlike his live-action counterparts, has eyeballs. In the first episode, it's revealed that Junior was hatched from a prehistoric Earth plant that had been dormant for over 200 million years. Although Junior has a voracious appetite, this version of the plant does not feast on human blood. There was, however, a running gag which involved Audrey Junior eating the piano teacher in every episode in which the teacher appeared, and then belching out the teacher's scarf. While based mainly on the 1986 film, the plant did retain its ability to hypnotize people, as it did in the 1960 original, as well as the ability to telekinetically manipulate meat - an ability he dubbed his "vegetable magnetism." Audrey Junior was also no longer a potty mouthed, trash-talking psycho-plant. He was on Seymour's side, though more often than not, would aid without Seymour's knowledge (often because its actions were generally cheating—sometimes by using its hypnotic abilities). However, he did insult Seymour more often sometimes, like 'meathead' or 'pest' and said he'd "rather be talking to a termite."
Brace-faced neighborhood bully Paine Driller replaces the characters of Dr. Farb/Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.
Audrey, who was a blond in the 1986 movie, was now a black-haired bow-wearing brunette who was always thinking about what job she wanted when she grew up. The other most notable change is that she became the daughter of Mr. Mushnik in this incarnation.
Production
Following the success of the 1986 theatrical film, Frank Oz developed an idea for a prequel with Seymour as a junior high school student.[1] After Warner Brothers turned down the concept, the idea was made into an animated children's cartoon.
Cast
- Jana Lexxa as Seymour Krelborn
- Jennie Kwan as Audrey Mushnik
- Harvey Atkin as Mr. Mushnik
- Terry McGee as Audrey Junior
- Mark Ryan as Paine Driller
Episodes
| # | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "Bad Seed" | September 7, 1991 |
| 1-2 | "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche" | September 14, 1991 |
| 1-3 | "Back to the Fuschia" | September 21, 1991 |
| 1-4 | "Unfair Science" | September 28, 1991 |
| 1-5 | "Stage Blight" | October 5, 1991 |
| 1-6 | "I Loathe a Parade" | October 12, 1991 |
| 1-7 | "Air Junior" | October 19, 1991 |
| 1-8 | "Halloween Story" | October 26, 1991 |
| 1-9 | "It's a Wonderful Leaf" | November 2, 1991 |
| 1-10 | "Tooth or Consequence" | November 9, 1991 |
| 1-11 | "Walk Like a Nerd" | November 16, 1991 |
| 1-12 | "Pulp Fiction" | November 23, 1991 |
| 1-13 | "Married to the Mush" | November 30, 1991 |
Musical Trivia
- Special Songs performed by Rachelle Cano
References
- ^ ""Little Shop" (1991) Trivia". imdb.com. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
External links
- Little Shop at IMDb