Rocket Power

Rocket Power
From left to right: Otto, Reggie, Sam, Twister
Created by	Arlene Klasky Gabor Csupo
Developed by	Victor Wilson Eryk Casemiro Michael Bloom Andy McElfresh
Directed by	Darius DeShawn Price
Voices of	Joseph Ashton Shayna Fox Sam Saletta (Season 1) Gary LeRoi Gray (Season 2-3) Sean Marquette (Season 4) Ulysses Cuadra (Season 1-3) Gilbert Leal (Season 4)
Opening theme	"Rocket Power Theme" by The Wipeouters
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	71 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Gabor Csupo Arlene Klasky
Running time	24 minutes
Production company(s)	Klasky Csupo Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Release
Original network	Nickelodeon
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Original release	August 16, 1999 – July 30, 2004

Rocket Power is an American animated television series. The series debuted on Nickelodeon on August 16, 1999. The series ended on July 30, 2004 after four seasons.^[1] The show mainly revolves around four friends and their daily lives of playing extreme sports, surfing, and getting into situations.

Premise

Rocket Power involves the daily situations of a group of friends, named Otto Rocket, Regina "Reggie" Rocket, Sam "Squid" Dullard, and Maurice "Twister" Rodriguez, as they spend their free time playing extreme sports, such as surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and more. Otto and Reggie live with their dad, Ray, who along with his business partner, Tito Makani, runs a snack bar called Shore Shack, where the kids usually hang out. In most episodes, they get involved in competitions, but end up learning that their friendship is more important than winning. The series is set in the fictional California town of Ocean Shores.

Characters

Main protagonists

• Otto Rocket (Joseph Ashton): a 9-year-old, vain athlete, whose arrogant attitude, hot temperament and short-sighted judgment often gets him into trouble, though he always manages to make things right in the end. He was the leader of The Rocket Power Team. Otto is usually seen to be the most driven and intense in skateboarding and surfing.
• Regina "Reggie" Rocket (Shayna Fox): Otto's defensive, kind-hearted 10-year-old sister, Reggie is an aspiring publisher who, while no less competitive and skillful as an athlete, is of calmer disposition and sensibility, and of greater maturity than her brother. Reggie is most noted for her "magazine" (dubbed "The 'Zine").^[2]
• Sam "Squid" Dullard (Gary LeRoi Gray (Season 1-3); Sean Marquette (Season 4)): The fourth member of the Rocket Power team, and like Otto and Twister, is also 9 years old. He joins the group after he and his mother move to Ocean Shores from Kansas following his parents' divorce. While not as athletically gifted as the others, he has found a niche as the brains and conscience of the group and also as a "rock-solid" goalie when they play hockey ("New Squid in Town", "Power Play"). Squid's reputation of being the smartest member of the group is, at times, one of his flaws. The character of Squid is based on the series' creator. Squid's mom is over-protective, and she once forced Squid to skip the fifth grade. Squid was originally the least athletic character, but eventually developed an expert level of surfing and decent abilities in other sports. The "N" on his shirt stands for New York,^[3] since it was originally Squid's home state during character development, this was later changed to Kansas, but the N on his shirt still remained. Squid is the only member of the "gang" who uses a long surfboard, given to him by Tito Makani, rather than a hard-to-ride shorter board. Squid is sometimes called Sam or Sammy.
• Maurice "Twister" Rodriguez (Ulysses Cuadra (Season 1-3); Gilbert Leal (Season 4)): Otto's Mexican American 9-year-old best friend, a "daredevil" on wheels, aspiring videographer, is known for exhibiting a notable lack of intelligence. Twister does not like being called by his real name, Maurice. He is often seen being teased by his jealous older brother, Lars. Twister has proven to be clever despite his sometimes absent-mindedness.

Secondary main characters

• Raymond "Ray" Rocket (John Kassir): Otto and Reggie's strict but loved father and owner of the Shore Shack and Rocket Boards. Usually called Raymundo. Ray is a widower, and a surfer of some renown. He drives a "vintage Woodie," a 1962 Mercury. In "The Big Day", Ray and Tito's cousin, Noelani, get married, allowing Reggie and Otto to have a step mother. Ray is afraid of dogs.
• Tito Makani Jr. (Ray Bumatai): a Hawaiian surfer and self-styled philosopher who helps his best friend Ray run the business. He also cooks hamburgers and french fries. He is the proud inventor of the Hot-Durger, hamburger bun, but all hot dog meat. He has a young nephew who occasionally visits from the islands, named Keoni Makani.
• Lars Rodriguez (Lombardo Boyar): Twister's older brother and the show's main antagonist, who routinely teases him and the kids. When his group, the Lasers, competes against the Rockets, they usually lose. However, he has occasionally shown that he does care for his brother. Deep down Lars is jealous of Twister.

Secondary characters

• Edward "Eddie" Valentine (Jordan Warkol): The self-styled "Prince of the Netherworld," he occasionally participates in the Rockets' activities and is a frequent target of Lars' bullying. The son of a magician couple, he favors an outfit of a hooded cloak and a "scary" mask.
• Oliver Van Rossum (David Gallagher): At first Sam's main rival in intelligence, he later became a close friend to the gang along with Eddie. He never participated in sports and was only into academics until he met Sam. In the episode in which Oliver met Sam, it was made clear that he would rather watch a documentary of a "dung beetle rolling dung balls" than participate in physical activity.
• Officer Shirley (C. C. H. Pounder): One of the only police officers in Ocean Shores, as the only other time other police officers are shown is during the television film "Reggie's Big Break." Officer Shirley does what she can to keep the peace. A minor character, a relationship between her and Raymundo is implied numerous times in the show, usually by means of pet names. She refers to Raymundo as "Big Ray."
• Trish and Sherry (both voiced by Lauren Tom): Reggie's best friends, surfers, and members of the state volleyball team. Both had peripheral importance to the plots and appeared in a handful of stories.
• Mackenzie Benders (Rosslynn Taylor): The 5 year old ankle-biter who frequently annoys and torments the members of "the gang", but has a crush on Twister.
• Conroy Blanc (Obba Babatundé): Owner of the skate park, Madtown, he later becomes Otto and Twister's teacher at their school. Conroy's parents were apparently vindictive, as shown in one episode, when Conroy was intent on finding the person(s) responsible for ruining a newly poured cement skate ramp in Madtown Skate Park. Conroy is originally from Jamaica.
• Merv and Violet Stimpleton (Henry Gibson and Edie McClurg): The Rockets' neighbors. Merv tries to live a life of leisure, but becomes easily frustrated with many, especially the Rocket gang. Because of this, he has the Madtown Skate Park opened so that the kids can skate without bothering anyone. Merv is a retired electrical engineer and Korean War veteran who is usually depicted as angry and somewhat eccentric, although he does have a friendly side, particularly towards his wife. Violet is quite the opposite, always smiling and cheerful. Her pride and joy is growing violets in her garden. She is also a prolific cook, though her food is not always edible.
• Clio Rodriguez (Jamie Maria Cronin): Twister and Lars's cousin, Clio is about Reggie's age and has the same physique as Reggie. She is the opposite of Reggie in a way that she seems more "girly" than Reggie, but can be just as athletic as anyone else, even Otto. Otto seems to have a little bit of a romantic interest in her in the episode "The Return of Clio."
• Douglas "Doug" Dullard (Gregg Berger): Sam's estranged father and Paula's ex-husband who works in the corporate industry. It is implied that he is always working, which clouds his better judgment. He tries to be the "cool dad" by including Sam's friends in their plans, but it ends up with him talking on his cell phone and ignoring Sam. Though he may seem neglectful, he has good intentions. His nickname for Sam is "The Little Guy" while Sam often calls him "The Big Guy".
• Paula Dullard (Jennifer Hale): Sam's overprotective mother and Doug's ex-wife. Paula and Sam move to Ocean Shores after she and Doug divorce.
• Noelani Makani Rocket (Kim Mai Guest): Tito's cousin, Ray's new wife, and Reggie and Otto's step-mom. She is introduced in Rocket Power: Island of the Menehune. She is cautious because Ray's first wife Danni, Noelani's best friend, was killed in a surfing accident when Reggie and Otto were little. Noelani and Ray get married in Rocket Power: The Big Day.
• Lt. "Tice" Ryan (Dale Dye): Coast Guardsman and lifeguard who has appeared in several episodes. Known to be a buzz kill on the group's activities. Enjoys enforcing rules with an iron fist and, in essence, runs the beach.
• Pi, Sputz, and Animal: Lars' best friends who make up the Lasers and assist him in his bullying. Animal was created later in the series as a new role for Sam Saletta, when his voice changed so much that he could no longer voice Sam Dullard.^[4]
• Tony Hawk (Tony Hawk): Professional skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. The Rocket Power gang skates and snowboards with him in the one episode wherein he appears.
• Keoni Kaloa Herbert Makani Jr.: Tito's nephew from Hawaii, he visits Ocean Shores for a surf competition and after a day of making Otto feel less important, apologizes and admits he just wanted to fit in.^[5]

Episodes

DVDs

DVD	Release Date	Episodes
Island of the Menehune	July 27, 2004 [6]	"Island of the Menehune", "Tito's Lucky Shell", "Welcome to Ottoworld", "Follow the Leader"
The Complete First Season	May 21, 2014 [7]	Disc 1: "New Squid on the Block/Down the Drain", "Secret Spot/Ice Queens", "Otto 3000/Night Prowler", "Happy Luau to You-Au/Rocket Rescue", "Twister's Cuz/Big Thursday", "Rocket Girls/Father's Day Off", "Powergirl Surfers/Twisted Cinema" Disc 2: "Blader Bowl/Total Luger", "D is for Dad/Banned on the Run", "Super Mcvarial 900/Loss of Squid", "Rainy Days & Sundaes/Zine Dreams", "Hawaii Blues/Lost & Find", "The Night Before/Violet's Violet", "Fall & Rise of Sam/Typhoid Sam" Disc 3: "The Wrath of Don/Safety Patrol Sam", "Reggie and a Net/The Great Sandcastle Race", "Escape from Lars Mountain/It Was a Dark and Stormy Day", "Aloha Kid/Ottomobile", "The Big Air Dare/Otto's Big Break", "Snow Day/Welcome to the Club"
The Complete Second Season	June 13, 2014 [8]	Disc 1: "All About Sam/Half Twister", "Twisting Away/Spot Remover", "Rocket Repairs/Say Hello to Cement Head", "Shark Bait/A Shot in the Park", "Radical New Equipment/Tito's Lucky Shell", "The Longest Day/Ottoman and the Sea", "Mr. B Is in the House/Earnest Otto" Disc 2: "What's That Smell?/The Good Housekeeping Seal", "Legends & Their Falls/Welcome to Ottoworld", "Bruised Man's Curve/Pool's Out Forever", "Back Bowl/Game Day", "It Came From Planet Merv/Netherworld Night", "Here's the Twist/Sam, King of Kickball", "Tito Time/The Return of Clio" Disc 3: "That Old Skateboard/Follow the Leader", "Channel Surfing/Outta My Pit", "Capture the Flag/The Jinx", "Hurricane Maurice/Reggie's Choice", "Losers Weepers/Reggie: The Movie", "Double-O Twistervision/Womp Race 2000"
The Complete Third Season	October 2, 2014 [9]	Disc 1: "The Lingos/Shack Attack, To Be", "Otto Not To Be / Reggie/Regina", "Reggie's Pen Is Mightier/Kayaks Amok", "Tito-Sitting/There's Something About Breezy", "Beach Boyz & a Girl/X-treme Ideas", "Less Than Full Otto/Card Sharked", "Home Sweet Home/What a Tangled Web We Ski" Disc 2: "Enter the Hawk-trix/Vert vs. Street", "Twister's Hat/Tito-Thon", "Rad Rover Come Over/Extreme Nerd", "Cinco De Twisto/Saving Lt. Ryan", "Summer Breezy/Sammy's Fortune", Major Scrummage/Snow Bounders Disc 3: Merv Links to Otto/Big Air, Missile Crisis/Falsely Alarmed, Twisting Places/Power Play, "Sim Sammy/Otto Hangs 11", "Race Across New Zealand" (TV movie)
The Complete Fourth Season	June 23, 2014 [10]	Disc 1: "Twist of Fate", "A Rocket X-Mas", "Reggie's Big (Beach) Break" (TV movie) Disc 2: "New Girl on the Block/After Shocked", "Island of the Menehune" (TV movie), "The Big Day" (TV movie)

Other episodes were on other Nickelodeon DVDs such as Nicktoons Christmas, Nicktoons Halloween, and Nickstravaganza 2.

VHS

A VHS tape entitled Maxing Out was released and contains 5 episodes: "Bruised Man's Curve", "Super McVarial 900", "Big Thursday", "The Big Air Dare", and "Otto's Big Break".

Airing history

Rocket Power originally aired on Nickelodeon on August 16, 1999, and its final episode (a television movie called "The Big Day") aired on July 30, 2004. As part of the Nick on CBS block, it aired on CBS from 2002 to 2005. Nicktoons aired the series from May 1, 2002 to June 18, 2010. Nick GAS also aired the series from 2003 until October 31, 2005. Though it premiered only five months before 2000, it was announced to air on TeenNick's block "The '90s Are All That", since renamed The Splat. The show began airing on The '90s Are All That on June 7, 2014.

Other projects

Other projects related to Rocket Power and developed under the aegis of Klasky-Csupo and/or Nickelodeon have included Rocket Power: Beach Bandits, and Maximum Rocket Power Live: The Battle for Madtown Park, a live-action extreme-sports dramatic arena play that briefly toured the U.S. Midwest in spring 2002, before being canceled over low ticket sales (it had originally been scheduled to tour about 40 cities all over the U.S., all the way into the fall). Even with the moderate success of the show, there is no spin-off planned.

Soundtrack

Rocket Power Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by various bands
Released	February 6, 2002
Recorded	1999-2002
Genre	Soundtrack, ska, punk rock, electronic rock
Label	Nick Records Jive Records Zomba Recording Corporation

The soundtrack album to Rocket Power was released on February 6, 2002. It is officially the soundtrack to the television film Rocket Power: Race Across New Zealand.

Track listing

1. "Rocket Power Theme Song" by The Wipeouters
2. "Individuality" by Area-7
3. "99 Red Balloons" by Goldfinger
4. "Valentino" by Bowling for Soup
5. "I'm Cool" by Reel Big Fish

See also

• Rugrats
• Wild Grinders

References

1. Rodman, Sarah (3 October 2011). "Rocket' is a blast - Creators of 'Rugrats' give 'Power' and responsibility to older kids". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
2. "Rocket Power TV Show in Fully Nick at Nickelodeon Australia". Nickelodeon.com.au. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
3. . IMDb.com [Power (1999–2004) : Trivia Power (1999–2004) : Trivia] Check |url= value (help). Retrieved 2013-11-24. Missing or empty |title= (help)
4. "The Other Kids". Hey Arnold!. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
5. "Nickelodeon & Klasky-Csupo's "Rocket Power"". Rugratonline.com. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
6. "Rocket Power: Island Of The Menehune". DVDEmpire. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
7. "Rocket Power: The Complete First Season". Retrieved 12 September 2015.
8. "Amazon.com: Rocket Power: The Complete Second Season: Joseph Ashton, Shayna Fox, Ulysses Caudra, Gary LeRoi Gray, Sam Saletta, Dave Fontana, Jeff Scott, Arlene Klasky, Gabor Csupo, David Rosenberg, Adam Beechen: Movies & TV". Retrieved 12 September 2015.
9. "Rocket Power: The Complete Third Season". Retrieved 12 September 2015.
10. "Rocket Power: The Complete Fourth Season". Retrieved 12 September 2015.

External links

• Webpage at Klasky Csupo
• Rocket Power at the Internet Movie Database
• Rocket Power at TV.com
• Rocket Power at the Big Cartoon DataBase