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Little Shop

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For other uses, see Little Shop of Horrors.
Little Shop
Developed byMarvel Productions Ltd.
Saban International N.V.
Concorde / New Horizon Communications
StarringJana Lexxa
Jennie Kwan
Michael Rawl
Terry McGee
Mark Ryan
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Running time30 min.
Production companiesMarvel Productions
Saban International
Fox Children's Productions
Original release
NetworkFOX
La Cinq
ReleaseSeptember 7 –
November 30, 1991

Little Shop is a 1991 American animated fantasy comedy television series that aired on Saturday mornings on the Fox Kids TV network in 1991, about a teenager and a giant talking plant. Little Shop was based on the 1960 Roger Corman film The Little Shop of Horrors; Corman served as a consultant. The concept of the adaptation is credited to Ellen Levy and Mark Edward Edens, and the series was produced by Tom Tataranowicz. The horror elements in previous versions of the story, in which characters are eaten by the plant, are toned down for children in this series.

Synopsis

Self-proclaimed nerd Seymour Krelborn, an adolescent boy who works in a flower shop, keeps a pet Venus flytrap named Junior. Junior sprouts from a 200-million-year-old seed and has the ability to talk and hypnotize people. Only Seymour is aware of Junior's abilities. The flower shop is owned by stodgy Mr. Mushnik, whose daughter Audrey is the object of Seymour's affections. Audrey, however, does not seem to reciprocate his feelings. Buck-toothed Paine Driller, a neighborhood bully, continuously targets Seymour.

Episodes focus on the pubescent exploits of the leads and frequently feature a moral. They also feature a couple of musical numbers per episode. Consistent with the "urban" persona of the plant in the musical, Audrey Junior raps in the series during his numbers, and speaks in a hip-hop dialect. Also featured are a trio of singing flowers reminiscent of Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon (the three chorus girls in the musical).

Differences between the film and the cartoon

The young and human characters are 13-years-old, and there are musical segments in each episode. Junior is a kind-hearted and helpful plant, rather than a man-eating alien. He hatches from a prehistoric Earth plant that has been dormant for over 200 million years. Although Junior has a voracious appetite, this version of the plant does not feast on human blood but he does eat other types of meat. There is, however, a running gag which involves Junior eating the piano teacher in every episode in which the teacher appears, and then belching out the teacher's scarf. The plant retains its ability to hypnotize people, as it did in the film, as well as the ability to telekinetically manipulate meat - an ability he dubbed his "vegetable magnetism." Junior sometimes aids Seymour without his knowledge, sometimes by using his hypnotic abilities. However, he does insult Seymour from time to time, for example, calling him a 'meathead' or 'pest,' and saying he'd "rather be talking to a termite."

Brace-faced neighborhood bully Paine Driller replaces the character of Orin Scrivello, the dentist. Audrey, Seymour's love interest, is a bow-wearing brunette who is always thinking about what job she wants when she grows up. She is the daughter of Mr. Mushnik in this version.

Episodes

Episode number Title Air date
1"Bad Seed"September 7, 1991 (1991-09-07)
Seymour finds a seed from 200 million years ago and helps it grow into the plant known as Junior. The plant tries to return home but, upon finding that he can't, stays with Seymour and helps Mr. Mushnik's flowers grow.
2"Real Men Aren't Made of Quiche"September 14, 1991 (1991-09-14)
Seymour joins a home economics class where he and Junior conspire to make a human–plant hybrid a la Frankenstein. Meanwhile, Audrey falls in love with a refrigerator.
3"Back to the Fuchsia"September 21, 1991 (1991-09-21)
A trip to the Skid Row Museum of Uninteresting History inspires Junior to travel in time to warn plants about the rise of the dinosaurs and keep his place in the food chain.
4"Unfair Science"September 28, 1991 (1991-09-28)
Seymour's science project, which was made by Junior, wins a science fair and attention from Seymour's favorite celebrity. However, the scientist wants to steal Seymour's project and use it for himself.
5"Stage Blight"October 5, 1991 (1991-10-05)
Failed playwright Thespian Chinless produces Junior's play "Flower Town" and Seymour finds himself as the romantic lead. Meanwhile Mr. Mushnik becomes a stage-dad.
6"I Loathe a Parade"October 12, 1991 (1991-10-12)
Seymour brings home a female Venus flytrap, which Junior falls in love with.
7"Air Junior"October 19, 1991 (1991-10-19)
Junior persuades Seymour to buy a new pair of shoes and makes them fly.
8"Untitled Halloween Story"October 26, 1991 (1991-10-26)
Infuriated by the tradition of Jack-O-Lantern carving, Junior joins Seymour and Audrey's trick or treating to steal them back via his vegetable magnetism abilities.
9"It's a Wonderful Leaf"November 2, 1991 (1991-11-02)
10"Tooth or Consequences"November 9, 1991 (1991-11-09)
Seymour and Junior learn the hard way about lies when Mrs. Krelborn's low fat ice cream disappears.
11"Walk Like a Nerd"November 16, 1991 (1991-11-16)
Weary of the limitations that come with having roots, Junior tries to give himself legs and inadvertently winds up sharing a body with Seymour.
12"Pulp Fiction"November 23, 1991 (1991-11-23)
Junior watches in horror as the oldest tree in the world is turned into paper and leads a revolt composed of used paper products that swamps Skid Row.
13"Married to the Mush"November 30, 1991 (1991-11-30)
Paine's Aunt starts to date Mr. Mushnik under the delusion that he is a rich dude. Dismayed from the news, the usually career-oriented Audrey expresses her desire to become a housewife.

Cast

Speaking voices

Singing voices

  • Jana Lexxa as Seymour Krelborn
  • Jennie Kwan as Audrey Mushnik
  • Michael Rawl as Mr. Mushnik
  • Terry McGee as Audrey Junior
  • Mark Ryan as Paine Driller

Additional voices

Crew

References

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