Produced by
|
Frederator Studios
Hawaii Film Partners Project 51 Productions Showcase Entertainment |
Director |
Karl Toerge
|
Writers |
Mike Bell, Niki Yang, Adam Muto, Don Dougherty, Doug TenNapel, Karl Toerge, Andrew Dickman, Dave Cunningham, Mike Gray, Chad Coyle, Sam Henderson, Chris McDonnell, Kenny Pittenger, Ross Kolde
|
Episodes |
38
|
Transcripts |
Ape Escape is a series of cartoon shorts developed by Frederator Studios, Hawaii Film Partners, Project 51 Productions and Showcase Entertainment which aired on Nicktoons in 2009. It is based on Sony Computer Entertainment's Ape Escape video game franchise, with characters and designs based on Ape Escape 2 in particular, and focuses around Specter's attempts to take over the world with his monkey army, while Jimmy, Natalie, and the Professor try their best to stop him.
Synopsis[]
"Evil monkey-genius Specter is plotting to take over the world by controlling his monkey minions through mind-controlling “pipo helmets”. Luckily for us, there exists twelve-year-old Jimmy, his best friend Natalie, and Natalie’s grandfather, the Professor, who are out to thwart the super villain at all costs. (Of course, it doesn’t hurt our heroes that Specter’s legion of apes is only slightly brighter than a box of bricks.)"[1]
Development[]
Frederator first announced that they have obtained the cartoon rights to Ape Escape on May 31, 2007.[2] Various talents were brought in to help including Doug TenNapel and Andrew Dickman. The character designs are based on Ape Escape 2, with Jimmy as the protagonist. The animations are primarily animated using Adobe Flash. The shorts were completed in 2008 and were sent to Nicktoons in 2009.[3] The shorts were released on DVD in the United Kingdom by Lions Gate Home Entertainment on February 18, 2013.[4] Cartoon Hangover, and by extension VRV currently have the streaming rights to the series in 2020.
Voice Actors[]
Voice Actor | Role |
---|---|
Annie Mumolo | Jimmy, Natalie |
Greg Ellis | Specter |
Eric Bauza | Professor, Pipo Monkeys |
List of Shorts[]
Episodes in bold are shared between the two.
TV release [1] | DVD release [4] |
---|---|
1. I Scream
|
1. I Scream
|
Gallery[]
Characters[]
Artwork[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- The end credits of each cartoon read "Based on the Playstation 2 game "APE ESCAPE"". This is a typo, as Ape Escape released on the PS1, and Ape Escape 2 on the PS2.
- Apart from the number of episodes, the TV and DVD releases actually have slightly different versions of the same cartoons. Here are some notable differences between them:
- In the TV version of "Baby Monkey", Monkey wears red pants. In the DVD version, he wears yellow.
- More subtle color differences such as the nurse's hair in "Baby Monkey" being orange instead of red, or the lizard being light green instead of dark green.
- In the TV version of "Jimmy Makes a Specter of Himself", Specter's name is misspelled "Spector". This was fixed for the DVD.
- "Law and Odor" is spelled "Law and Oder" on Frederator.com.[1]
- "Baby Monkey" and "Jimmy Needs a Helmet" feature monkeys wearing red pants, but without the boxing gloves or angry eyes of the red pants monkeys from the games.
- A red pants monkey with boxing gloves appears in "Smile", but without the eyes.
- "Jimmy Needs a Helmet" is one of the few instances in the entire franchise where a Pipo Helmet turns green. In the case of Jimmy, the Pipo Helmet only turns green when he puts it on. Unlike Dr. Tomoki, the helmet has the opposite effect on Jimmy, giving him monkey intelligence and vocabulary.
- This should be taken with a grain of salt, however, as Pipo Helmets in the show do not follow Ape Escape 2's rules on helmet lights, making red the standard color regardless of emotional state.
- Green helmets also appear in the prototype Simian Cinema and Super Monkey Throw Stadium menu screens for Ape Escape 3.
- "Make a Burger" features 2 Pipo Monkeys playing on a PlayStation 2 Slim.
- The background music at the 0:44 mark of "A Brain Is A Terrible Thing To Taste" is a reference to Thriller by Michael Jackson.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Description and Episode List from Frederator website https://frederator.com/series/ape-escape/
- ↑ "Frederator goes Ape" - Frederator blog https://web.archive.org/web/20080905200024/http://frederatorblogs.com/ape/2007/05/
- ↑ "Hawaii-made cartoon debuts" - The Honolulu Advertiser https://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Jul/05/il/hawaii907050317.html
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Amazon listing for Ape Escape DVD https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ape-Escape-DVD/dp/B00AGGIUKK
Characters | Casi · Jake · Natalie · Professor · Specter · Spike |
---|---|
Gadgets | Dash Hoop · Magic Punch · Monkey Radar · R.C. Car · Sky Flyer · Slingback Shooter · Stun Club · Time Net · Water Net |
Prehistoric Era/ The Lost Land | Fossil Field · Primordial Ooze · Molten Lava |
Cenozoic Era/ Mysterious Age | Thick Jungle · Dark Ruins · Cryptic Relics |
Dimension/Dimension X | Stadium Attack |
Primitive Age/Oceana | Crabby beach · Coral Cave · Dexter's Island |
Ice age/New Freezeland | Snowy Mammoth · Frosty Retreat · Hot Springs |
Dimension/Dimension X | Gladiator Attack |
Recent Past/Medieval Mayhem | Sushi Temple · Wabi Sabi Wall · Crumbling Castle |
Present-Day/Futurama | City Park · Specter's Factory · TV Tower |
Present-Day 2/Specter Land | Monkey Madness |
Dimension/Dimension X | Peak Point Matrix |
Characters | Haru · Hero · Specter · Tohko · Tsukushi |
---|---|
Gadgets | Ape Vacuum · Banannerizer · Monkey Net · Slingback Shooter · Smasher |
Levels | Wobbly Home · Mysterious Ruins · Monkey Carousel · Monkey Road · The Hot Springs · Dinosaur Glacier · Haunted House · Asian Town · Spa Gardens · Food City · Skull Volcano · Monkeyland · Steam Castle · Battery Tower · Monkey Station |