Animorphs (TV series)
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Animorphs (also known under the promotional title AniTV and the working title The Changelings) is a 26-episode adaptation made by Nickelodeon of the Scholastic book series of the same name. The series was broadcast from September 1998 to March 2000 in the United States and Canada. The episodes lasted about 30 minutes (including commercials), had stereo sound, and closed captions.
Like the other popular children's book series of the 1990s, Goosebumps, Animorphs also became a television series. Unlike Goosebumps, which aired on the Fox Network in the United States, Animorphs was aired on the cable network, Nickelodeon.
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[edit] Cast
- Shawn Ashmore as Jake Berenson
- Brooke Nevin as Rachel
- Boris Cabrera as Marco
- Nadia-Leigh Nascimento as Cassie
- Christopher Ralph as Tobias
Frequent regulars on the show included:
- Paulo Costanzo as Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill
- Eugene Lipinsky as Visser Three/Victor Trent
- Dov Tiefenbach as Erek
- Allegra Fulton as Eva / Visser One
- Joshua Peace as Tom Berenson
- Terra Vanessa Kowalyk as Melissa Chapman
- Richard Sali as Principal Chapman
- Diego Matamoros as Elfangor
[edit] Shawn Ashmore
At the time, a relatively unknown Shawn Ashmore stepped into the shoes of the Animorphs' reluctant leader, Jake Berenson. Since Animorphs, Ashmore has starred in the Disney Channel series In a Heartbeat alongside Animorphs co-star Christopher Ralph, as well as the sci-fi miniseries Legend of Earthsea, the feature film Underclassman with Nick Cannon and Roselyn Sanchez, and the three X-Men films alongside Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, and Anna Paquin.
[edit] Boris Cabrera
Before landing the role of the sarcastic and analytical Marco, Boris Cabrera had a recurring role on Walker, Texas Ranger, which starred Chuck Norris. He also had a small role in the movie August Fires, which starred Billy Zane. Cabrera appeared as himself in several episodes of the Nickelodeon game show Figure It Out during Animorphs' three-year run on the network. Since Animorphs, he has starred in the TV movie She's No Angel alongside Tracey Gold, and in the independent film, East L.A. King. However, after this movie, Cabrera has quit show business and became a fitness trainer for the Executive Service Group Professional Club.
[edit] Nadia Nascimento
Nadia Leigh Nascimento, as she's sometimes credited, guest-starred on The Outer Limits and other shows before landing the role of the sensitive and pacifistic Cassie. During the run of Animorphs, Nascimento guest-starred on an episode of the popular Disney Channel series So Weird in 1999. After Animorphs ended, she landed more adult roles in movies such as Hill Street Blues, which stars Allen Payne. Nascimento also starred in the TV movie Seventeen Again alongside Tia and Tamera Mowry, Tahj Mowry, and Maia Campbell.
[edit] Brooke Nevin
Before landing the role of the fiery and reckless Rachel on Animorphs, Brooke Nevin had already guest-starred on the popular kids' TV shows Goosebumps, Real Kids, Real Adventures, and Are You Afraid of the Dark?. During the show's run, she also guest-starred on the popular Disney Channel series The Famous Jett Jackson. After Animorphs ended, Nevin guest-starred on an episode of the Disney Channel's In a Heartbeat and reunited with her former Animorphs co-stars, Shawn Ashmore and Christopher Ralph. Since then, she has landed guest-starring roles in popular TV series such as Charmed, Everwood, Smallville, Supernatural, and My Boys, as well as a recurring role in the USA television series The 4400.
[edit] Christopher Ralph
The thoughtful loner, Tobias, on Animorphs was Christopher Ralph's first-ever television role, and since the show ended, he has starred alongside Animorphs co-star Shawn Ashmore in the Disney Channel series In a Heartbeat. He also starred in the movie The Skulls II alongside Robin Dunne, Lindy Booth, and Shawn Ashmore's twin brother, Aaron Ashmore. Ralph also guest-starred in series such as Queer As Folk, Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye, and Instant Star. He also had a recurring role on 1-800-Missing alongside series star Caterina Scorsone.
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Season 1
| Ep. title | Original Canada air date | Original US air date | Collected on | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "My Name is Jake" Part 1 | September 15, 1998 | September 4, 1998 | The Invasion Begins |
| 1-2 | "My Name is Jake" Part 2 | September 15, 1998 | September 11, 1998 | The Invasion Begins |
| 1-3 | "The Underground" | September 22, 1998 | September 18, 1998 | The Invasion Begins |
| 1-4 | "On the Run" | September 29, 1998 | September 25, 1998 | |
| 1-5 | "Between Friends" | October 6, 1998 | October 2, 1998 | Nowhere to Run |
| 1-6 | "The Message" | October 13, 1998 | October 9, 1998 | Nowhere to Run |
| 1-7 | "The Escape" | October 20, 1998 | October 16, 1998 | |
| 1-8 | "The Alien" | October 27, 1998 | October 23, 1998 | |
| 1-9 | "The Reaction" | November 17, 1998 | November 6, 1998 | Nowhere to Run |
| 1-10 | "The Stranger" | November 24, 1998 | November 13, 1998 | The Enemy Among Us |
| 1-11 | "The Forgotten" | December 1, 1998 | November 20, 1998 | |
| 1-12 | "The Capture" Part 1 | November 3, 1998 | January 10, 1999 | The Legacy Survives |
| 1-13 | "The Capture" Part 2 | November 10, 1998 | January 10, 1999 | The Legacy Survives |
| 1-14 | "Tobias" | January 19, 1999 | January 17, 1999 | |
| 1-15 | "Not My Problem" | January 26, 1999 | January 24, 1999 | The Legacy Survives |
| 1-16 | "The Leader" Part 1 | January 5, 1999 | February 7, 1999 | The Enemy Among Us |
| 1-17 | "The Leader" Part 2 | January 12, 1999 | February 14, 1999 | The Enemy Among Us |
| 1-18 | "The Release" | February 2, 1999 | February 21, 1999 | |
| 1-19 | "Face Off" Part 1 | February 9, 1999 | February 28, 1999 | |
| 1-20 | "Face Off" Part 2 | February 16, 1999 | March 7, 1999 |
[edit] Season 2
| Ep. title | Original Canada air date | Original US air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-1 | "Face Off" Part 3 | September 3, 1999 | February 20, 2000 |
| 2-2 | "My Name is Erek" | September 10, 1999 | February 20, 2000 |
| 2-3 | "Changes" Part 1 | September 17, 1999 | April 9, 2000 |
| 2-4 | "Changes" Part 2 | September 24, 1999 | April 16, 2000 |
| 2-5 | "Changes" Part 3 | October 1, 1999 | April 23, 2000 |
| 2-6 | "The Front" | October 8, 1999 |
[edit] Videos
As of 2003, Nickelodeon has released four videos, collecting episodes from the series:
- The Invasion Begins
- Nowhere to Run
- The Enemy Among Us
- The Legacy Survives
[edit] Fan Reaction / Differences From The Books
The show failed to gain widespread acceptance from the book's fan base, who were highly critical of its poor scripting, acting, and production values. Many critical aspects of the books, such as morphing speeds and the ability to morph all types of clothing, were also either omitted or dramatically altered. Many fans of the Animorphs book series felt that the television series strayed too far from the storylines that Animorphs fans around the world had become very familiar with, which may have led to the show's cancellation after just two seasons.
One of the show's main storylines, about a mysterious disc given to the Animorphs by Elfangor, was invented for the television series and was never a part of the book series.
Many of the animals that the main characters could morph were changed for the book series. For example: Jake's main morph in the books is a Siberian tiger, but in the TV show, he morphs a white Bengal tiger. In the books, Rachel's signature morphs are a male African elephant and a grizzly bear, but in the TV series, she only morphed a bear once, and never morphed an elephant; her signature morph in the show was a lion. Marco, in the book series, often morphed a male silverback gorilla, but in the TV series, his battle morph was a wolf. Cassie, who in the books used a wolf as her battle morph, only morphed a horse in the TV series.
The aliens in the television series were rarely shown. The Andalites and Hork-Bajir, who play such a large role in the books, were replaced with mostly humans in the television series. Visser Three and Ax, both of whom have Andalite bodies, mainly appeared in their human morphs. In the books, Ax and Visser Three appear in human morph only a handful of times, and for only short periods of time. The Taxxons, another alien race that was very prominent in the book series, was nonexistent in the television series.
Some fans felt that since the television show aired on Nickelodeon, a lot of themes, battles, problems, and issues raised in the books were either downplayed or completely eliminated so that the show could be considered G-Rated instead of PG or PG-13. Nickelodeon's other shows at the time, which included the kid-friendly shows Kenan & Kel, The Journey of Allen Strange, All That, Figure It Out, and Cousin Skeeter, were all very non-controversial. Many of the themes common in the Animorphs books, including morality, slavery, and death, simply did not fit in with those of other Nickelodeon shows.
Despite the obvious changes that diehard Animorphs fans picked up on right away, many were impressed by the special effects used on the show, particularly the morphing.
[edit] Trivia
- One episode required two Jakes, one of which was the real Jake and the other of which was someone morphed into Jake. This part was played by Shawn Ashmore's (who plays Jake) identical twin brother, Aaron Ashmore.
- In the very first episode, you can see the main characters actually playing a Beast Wars video game, which shares some similarities with this series.
[edit] External links
- Epguides: Animorphs
- Animorphs (TV series) at the Internet Movie Database
- Animorphs at the Open Directory Project (suggest site)
- Nickelodeon: Animorphs
Categories: 1990s American television series | 1990s Nickelodeon shows | 1998 television program debuts | 2000s American television series | 2000s Nickelodeon shows | American children's television series | Animorphs | Science fiction television series | Teen dramas | Television programs based on children's books | Nickelodeon shows
