Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Series, 1990, Syndication, Set in Hope Island
Captain Planet and the Planeteers is #10 of 28 in release order and #10 of 28 in chronological order in the Saturday Morning Cartoons.
The story
Eco-villains beware: Captain Planet is here to save the day! With the guidance of Gaia, five Planeteers - representing Earth, Fire, Water, Wind and Heart - come together to defend our planet from environmental destruction. With their powers combined, the team becomes the solution to pollution!
Captain Planet and the Planeteers recap
Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, wakes from a long sleep to find the planet badly damaged by humans. She gives five magic rings to five young people from around the world: Kwame from Africa (earth), Wheeler from North America (fire), Linka from the Soviet Union (wind), Gi from Asia (water) and Ma-Ti from South America (heart). Living on Hope Island with Gaia, the Planeteers travel the world to stop environmental disasters. When a problem is too big, they combine their rings to summon Captain Planet, a blue-skinned superhero with a green mullet who is weakened by pollution. Each villain stands for a kind of damage: Hoggish Greedly for overconsumption, Verminous Skumm for urban decay, Duke Nukem for radiation, Dr. Blight for reckless science, Looten Plunder for poaching and Sly Sludge for waste. Episodes end with short tips for viewers. The original run, from 1990 to 1992, was followed by The New Adventures of Captain Planet from 1993 to 1996, with new voices and a slightly more serious tone.
Captain Planet and the Planeteers ending explained
Captain Planet has no story finale. Each episode is a self-contained mission, and the series simply ended in May 1996 after six seasons and 113 episodes, without a closing arc for Gaia or the Planeteers. The Eco-Villains are never finally defeated, and the team is still on Hope Island when it stops. A live-action film has been talked about over the years, but nothing has continued the cartoon.
Where to watch Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Captain Planet and the Planeteers isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.7/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Bobby's World, before Tiny Toon Adventures.
- Chronological order: after Bobby's World, before Tiny Toon Adventures.
Cast
- Joey Dedio as Wheeler (voice)
- LeVar Burton as Kwame (voice)
- Kath Soucie as Linka (voice)
- Scott Menville as Ma-Ti (voice)
- Janice Kawaye as Gi (voice)
- David Coburn as Captain Planet (voice)
- Whoopi Goldberg as Gaia (voice)
- Ed Asner as Hoggish Greedly (voice)
- James Coburn as Looten Plunder (voice)
- Mary Kay Bergman as Dr. Blight (voice)
- Frank Welker as Dokey / Hippo / Elephant / Wildebeast (voice)
- Martin Sheen as Sly Sludge (voice)
Created by Ted Turner.