Tak and the Power of Juju (TV series)

Tak and the Power of Juju
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Genre	Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy
Developed by	Nick Jennings Jed Spingarn Mitch Watson
Directed by	Heiko Drengenberg Lane Lueras Mark Risley Jim Schumann
Starring	Hal Sparks Lloyd Sherr Patrick Warburton Kari Wahlgren John DiMaggio Dannah Feinglass Rob Paulsen S. Scott Bullock Maurice LaMarche
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	21 minutes
Production company(s)	THQ Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Release
Original network	Nickelodeon
Original release	August 31, 2007 (2007-08-31) – January 24, 2009 (2009-01-24)
External links
Website

Tak and the Power of Juju is an American CGI-based animated series that premiered on Nickelodeon on August 31, 2007. Based on the video game of the same name, the show consists of two eleven minute stories per half hour episode. It is Nickelodeon's first all-CGI series (produced in house) and the company's 30th Nicktoons. The series was produced by Nick Jennings and directed, among others, by Mark Risley, Jim Schumann, and Heiko Drengenberg. The show struggled to gain an audience, received many negative reviews and ended up being cancelled on January 24, 2009 after 26 episodes.

Episodes

Further information: List of Tak and the Power of Juju episodes

Characters

Main characters

• Tak (voiced by Hal Sparks) - Tak has the ability to summon a magic power, which the Jujus (Magical creatures) bestowed upon him to serve as a link between his and their realms (after Tak saved the Jujus from Darkness Juju). Tak tends to be the smarter of the group, but has his mishaps when it comes to practicing his Juju power. Whenever Lok gets himself into trouble Tak is the first one on the scene to save him. He is Jibolba's 14-year-old nephew and apprentice. He lives with Jibolba. Little is known about Tak's parents except his mother was Aurora Juju and his father was a Pupununu. It was foretold by Psychic Juju that he would marry the future Chief of the Pupununu whom is to be Jeera.

• The Chief (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - He is the leader of the Pupununu and father of Jeera and Zaria. A bumbling but ultimately harmless figurehead, he constantly gets furious at Tak due to his mistakes in the use of his Juju power yet often asks Tak to use his powers to help the village (but mainly to help him). He is mainly cheerful, and kind of a scatterbrain. He loves his tribe and is very fat. His real name is never mentioned.

• Jeera (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) - She is Tak's fun loving best friend. She is the same age as Tak. Jeera is the Chief's daughter and has an older sister named Zaria, who is next in line for the throne and never lets her younger sister forget it. Jeera is a tomboy and will often punch Tak as a sign of endearment or annoyance. It is hinted that she may be in love with Tak; especially when she threatened to beat up his new best friend in a hypothetical situation to get him back if he was to move to another village in the episode "Testing Jibolba." In "Love Hurts" she openly admits that she does, and will always love him, which may have been a lie so he wouldn't be punished by Love Juju. In "To Zaria with Love" she asks Tak if he wanted to marry Zaria, then quickly saying that she didn't care, but the way she said it proves that she was lying about that. Psychic Juju hinted that Zaria might not be the next chief of the Pupununu, so it might be Jeera instead. When Zaria read her diary, it is highly suggested that she does have feelings for Tak, as she commented how her bad day was brightened up by his presence. It is also highly believed by some of the members of the tribe that they do like each other, such as the Log Hermit betting Mask guy. Sometimes she can be seen as more of a jerk than a friend to Tak, such as in "Shrink a Dink", when she keeps saying his greatest fear, or another example in "Tak's Monster". She laughs about his nightmares, says he never uses his brain, tried to smack him upside the head, and later said smacking him on the head still sounded like a good idea.Until"To Zaria With Love" it is reveled that she will become the future Chief of the Pupununu and ultimately Tak's wife. So far, the only game she appears in is Tak & The Guardians of Gross.

• Linda The Sheep - A talking, bright sheep who walks on 2 legs, and at other times on all 4's, who is a very loyal and close friend of Tak (her only friend) to whom her heart is open to, as well as soft spot for. She is often ridiculed by her family for standing on two legs, instead of on all fours, but is never ridiculed by Tak. She has great interest in dancing.

• Keeko (voiced by John DiMaggio) - Careless, laid back, and a dreamer, Keeko is best friends with Tak and Jeera. He has no parents and lives in a cave. His only memories of his parents is the song he whistles. He creates multiple inventions in the series and some of them rarely work.

• Banutu Jibolba (voiced by Lloyd Sherr) - Tak's uncle, guardian and mentor is the shaman of the Pupununu tribe. He is 177 years old.

• Zaria (voiced by Dannah Feinglass) - Jeera's 18-year-old sister. She is the next one to inherit the throne and won't let Jeera forget it. She is a preppy, girly, spoiled, bossy fashionista and has the largest feet in the village. She constantly brags that she is the most beautiful in all the tribe (and claims she has the most beautiful feet in the world), but Jeera and Tak think she's full of herself and just plain mean. Psychic Juju reveled that she will not be the future chief. Zaria is based on Paris Hilton.

• Lok (voiced by Patrick Warburton) - The resident warrior of the village, Lok is more talk than action and, in fact, his cowardice usually gets the better of him. He'd rather make up a story (mostly from stating it was him and not Tak who saved the village) to save face than do the actual dangerous deed. He often refers to himself in third person.

• Slog - A heavyset woman who is incredibly strong. She has a "man-lady" voice. She has a big crush on Lok.

• Blod and Bleeta Oongatchaka (voiced by Greg Cipes & Moria Quirk) - The children of the tribe's wealthiest family, the Oongachakas. Blod and Bleeta are known to assist Tak & Jeera in their adventures. Blod is a hot-headed oddball & likes to brag about his wealth & has taken a romantic liking to Zaria, but she hates him. Bleeta is quite the opposite, always optimistic & curious about the world outside of her lifestyle & is Jeera's female best friend. They are commonly in the form of blue sheep, as seen in one episode.

• Chaka and Oonga Oongachaka - They are the parents of Blod and Bleeta & friends of the Chief.

• Navis - Jeera's pet Gratch. She obtains it in "The Littlest Gratch" and can be seen again in "Girls Only", "Mofather", "Double Tak", "Break This" and "Testing Jibolba".

• The Pupununu Tribe - Mindless follower of Chief and Lok who play a similar role to Shy Guys and Waddle Dees in the show.

Jujus

Jujus are very odd magical creatures that Tak calls upon whenever he's in need of them. Each of the Jujus reside in their own part of the Juju Realm. Among the Jujus featured in this series are:

• Aurora Juju - She is Tak's mom and she created the crystal that powers Tak's staff. She was Darkness Juju's fiance but left him and married a man from the Pupununu tribe. Not much is to be known of her, though it hinted in "Destiny Schmestiny" that she might still be alive and in hiding as Darkness Juju stated that she had 'returned' to him thought it proven not to be her. She appears to be some sort of bug Juju.

• Belly Juju - A hungry Juju whose belly button has taken over for his natural mouth. The stomach controls the body because the head has no brain.

• Big Boss Juju - A fiery rock monster who is the mightiest Juju in the Juju Realm. It is so powerful, even other Jujus fear him. A long-forgotten Juju tradition has the Pupununu Chief fighting the Big Boss Juju as a way of evading world annihilation. It will target whoever is wearing the crown during the fight.

• Bug Juju - A small Juju that resembles a beetle. He has command over insects and loves to write autobiographical musicals.

• Bulldrafish - A monster that has three heads (an aggressive bull head named Henry/George, a female dragon head named Doris who can breathe blue fire, and a fish head named Gillbert), a dragon-like body, and a fish tail. It is the pet of Judge Juju and serves as one of her enforcers of the law. It is also referred to in the credits as the Drykopf.

• Caged Juju - A cranky, horned Juju that lives in a cage and would dearly love to eat Tak. Or anyone else, for that matter.

• Darkness Juju - A Juju that looks a bit like an obese version of the Devil, who sought the power of the crystal that came into Tak's possession. He was Aurora Juju's fiance until she ran off with a man from the Pupununu tribe and had Tak.

• Dinky Juju - A short-tempered Juju with powerful magic. Unlike the game, he is restored with a deep voice. He is an adult, but many confuse him for a baby because of his small size.

• Devour Brothers - They star in the episode "Sans Sheriff". They're causing trouble in the Juju Realm. They are the brothers of Caged Juju.

• Feet Juju - A pair of large, blue feet (and legs) that likes to dance. They seem to be recolored versions of the Giant Misunderstanding Juju.

• Gremlin Juju - There is an assortment of these short anglerfish-faced creatures. Some of them serve as the law enforcement of the Jujus.

• Guess Who Juju - An imaginary Juju that is really Tak just wearing the most clever of disguises.

• Head Juju - A green floating head with arms that has a southern accent. He lives in the Realm of Scrolls and is the coach of the professional Gratchball team in the Juju realm.

• Judge Juju - A corn Juju dressed as a judge. Despite sounding like a man, Judge Juju is actually a woman.

• Killjoy Juju - A one-eyed Juju known for stopping parties. She is the wife of Party Juju. She often mistakes Tak for a girl.

• Love Juju - A short, floating, mermaid Juju that wears an inner tube and wields a snorkel as if it was her wand. The Pupununu always throw a festival in her honor. She one time left a hole in the Chief's stomach when she ended up displeased in one of the earlier festivals.

• Mayhem Juju - A cute but mischievous little creature that Tak and Jeera take home as a pet in the episode "New Pet". It has three musical horns on its head that sound off when it summons a magical power. Mayhem JuJu also has the power to disappear and reappear at any time.

• Party Juju (voiced by Rob Paulsen) - Also known as Dead Juju, Party Juju is a skeleton Juju who is known to start parties and even enjoys parties. Only the powers of his wife, Killjoy Juju can undo the effects of his powers.

• Phobia Juju - A floating brain Juju that helps the Pupununu tribe every year to overcome their fears. He appears in the episode "Shrink A Dink".

• Psychic Juju (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) - Also known as Mind-Reader Juju, Psychic Juju is a large-headed genie-like Juju with psychic powers and precognition abilities. He always demands "Silence" when he doesn't want to be interrupted when he is giving his latest precognition. He claims to know everything, and "even if I don't know the answer, how would you know?"

• Pugnacious Juju - A three-armed retired boxer Juju. He tried to helped Chief into training him to fight the Big Boss Juju.

• Really, Really, Revolting Juju - A gross-looking Juju. She is the sister of Repugnant Juju and Repulsive Juju.

• Repugnant Juju - A gross-looking Juju. She is the sister of Repulsive Juju and Really, Really Revolting Juju.

• Repulsive Juju - A gross-looking Juju. He is the younger brother of Repugnant Juju and Really, Really, Revolting Juju. Like his siblings he resembles an obese dinosaur covered with holes that blow disgusting gasses. He also has a large head and large eyestalks. He seems to be the friendliest JuJu and is the most common JuJu to appear. He and Tak are friends. He later evolves and becomes grosser, fatter, and very blob-like.

• Roadkill Juju - A short peg-legged Juju that loves being run over by J-Runners.

• Spider Juju - A spider Juju with a French accent who's diet seems to consist mainly of human beings. On one occasion, Tak summoned him to get rid of Zaria when she was in charge during the Chief's vacation.

• Vendor Juju - An orange octopus/jar-like Juju that can sell anything from within its body. He is where Tak and Jeera got the Motiki from.

Crew

Directors:

• Heiko Drengenberg
• Nick Jennings
• Lane Lueras
• Mark Risley
• Jim Schumann

Voice Directors:

• Mitch Watson
• Nick Jennings
• Ginny McSwain

Supervising director:

• Jim Schumann

Creative Director, CG Department

• Josh Book

Writing credits

• Brandon Auman
• Nicole Dubuc
• Reid Harrison
• Tom Krajewski
• Gene Laufenberg
• Mitch Watson (Head writer)

Producers

• Nick Jennings (executive producer)
• Audu Paden (supervising producer)
• Mitch Watson (co-producer (2007))

Sound department

• Michael Petak (sound editor)

Story artists

• Al Zegler
• Mike Mullen
• Linda Miller
• Bert Ring
• Doug McCarthy
• Adam Henry
• Michael Daedalus Kenny
• Robert Griffith
• Alex Mann
• Gary Perkovac

Story editor

• Mitch Watson

Production companies

• Nicktoons Studios

Distributors

• Nickelodeon (2007) (USA) (TV)
• Viacom (2007) (USA) (TV)

Based on the games published by THQ and developed by Avalanche Software

DVDs

Volume 1: The Trouble with Magic

Release Date: June 24, 2008

Episodes:

• Woodiefest

• Loser

• A Shaman's Shaman

• The Gift

• The Three Chiefs

• The Party

• The Beast

• To Zaria with Love

• Girls Only

• Secession

Tak and the Power of Juju: Season 1

Released through Amazon

Contains all 26 episodes of season one.

KCA preview

During the Nickelodeon 2007 Kids' Choice Awards, hosted by Justin Timberlake, a preview was shown of the new show and the website is now available at Nick.com. The site includes the preview, a character page and a story page minimally different from the game.

Reception

The series was not well received by TV critics nor the public, which played a part in its cancellation.

Differences from the games

• Jason Marsden does not reprise Tak from the video games possibly due to him being busy voicing Chester in The Fairly OddParents, so he was replaced by Hal Sparks.
• Lloyd Sherr voices Jibolba, who was previously voiced by John Kassir in the video game.
• Patrick Warburton is the only cast member from the games to reprise his role of Lok from the video game.
• In the series, Tak has brown hair with a middle parting, while in the games his hair is black and in a bowl cut.
• Preview commercials on Nickelodeon clearly display the name of Tak's tribe. For the series, it is written "Pupununu". In the series of video games, it was "Pupanunu".
• In the television series, Dead Juju is instead called Party Juju with Rob Paulsen reprising the role. Also, Mind-Reader Juju is called Psychic Juju here with S. Scott Bullock voicing him instead of Rob Paulsen.
• Tlaloc, the antagonist in the video games, is named Traloc in the show. Rob Paulsen doesn't voice him in the series, Jeff Bennett does.
• So far the only Jujus and characters from the original games that haven't appeared are Two-Headed Juju, Moon Juju, Fauna and Flora, and Tlaloc's minions Pins and Needles.
• The canonicity of the game series and television series with respect to one another is ambiguous.

See also

• Tak and the Power of Juju

External links

• Official Site
• Advanced Review: AnimationInsider.net
• Tak and the Power of Juju at IMDb
• Tak and the Power of Juju at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Tak and the Power of Juju at TV.com