Rocket Monkeys

Rocket Monkeys
Genre	Comedy Adventure Animation
Created by	Dan Abdo Jason Patterson
Developed by	Alex Galatis Mark Evestaff
Written by	Alex Galatis Seán Cullen Mark Edwards Greg Lawrence Betsy Walters Mark Evestaff Shawn Kalb Alan Resnick Jenn Engels Craig Martin Josh Saltzman
Directed by	J Falconer
Creative director(s)	Mark Evestaff
Voices of	Seán Cullen Mark Edwards David Berni Jamie Watson
Opening theme	"Rocket Monkeys" performed by Tony Daniels
Ending theme	"Rocket Monkeys" performed by David Berni (as YAY-OK)
Composer(s)	Eggplant LF Steve D'Angelo Terry Tompkins Jeffrey Morrow
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	English French
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	65 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Ira Levy Peter Williamson Joan Lambur For Hornet Films: Dan Abdo Michael Feder Jason Patterson For Atomic Cartoons: Trevor Bentley Mauro Casalese Rob Davies Rob Simmons For Teletoon: Alan Gregg Athena Georgaklis Hugues Dufour
Producer(s)	Mark Evestaff
Running time	22 minutes (11 minutes per segment)
Production company(s)	Breakthrough Entertainment Atomic Cartoons Hornet Films Teletoon Original Production
Distributor	4Licensing Corporation
Release
Original network	Teletoon (Canada) Nickelodeon (U.S.)
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Audio format	Surround
Original release	January 10, 2013 (2013-01-10) – present
External links
Website
Production website

Rocket Monkeys is a Canadian animated television series that was created by Dan Abdo and Jason Patterson and premiered on Teletoon in Canada on January 10, 2013.^[1] The series premiered on Nickelodeon in the United States on March 4, 2013. The series is produced by Breakthrough Entertainment in association with Teletoon Canada Inc., Atomic Cartoons and Hornet Films.

Plot

Brothers Gus and Wally are monkey astronauts. They're not the brightest or coolest astronauts, but since they're the only ones around, they are called upon to go into space and carry out different kinds of important missions—including battling rogue black holes and vengeful aliens. Other members of the brothers' crew include bossy astrophysicist Dr. Chimpsky, who gives the monkeys their assignments; YAY-OK, a devoted robot that is slightly outdated and is the brothers' only hope to help keep them on course; and Inky, a space octopus and artist who communicates through his ink drawings.

Characters

• Gus Monkey (voiced by Seán Cullen) is Wally's older brother. He wants nothing more than to be a hero, but he can't always put aside his monkey instincts. The closest thing the ship has to a captain, he takes being a GASI cadet very seriously -- well, when he feels like it.^[2]
• Wally Monkey (voiced by Mark Edwards) is Gus's monkey partner and brother, and is considered the sillier of the two. Poorly-groomed yet somehow adorable, Wally would rather be playing Banana Blasters or organizing his expired pudding collection than jetting off on some crazy expedition. If there's one thing Wally's good at, it's being a monkey -- he can howl and fling with the best of them.^[3]
• Yay-OK (voiced by David Berni) is Wally and Gus' robot companion that helps them on their adventures through space. There's nothing this robot wouldn't do for his beloved monkeys -- after all, he's programmed that way. He's quite the charmer, too -- from the fridge to the blender to the vending machine, there isn't a ladybot on board whose circuits he hasn't made beep a little faster.^[4]
• Dr. Chimpsky (voiced by Jamie Watson) is the leader of GASI headquarters. He assigns the Monkeys their highly important missions (which sometimes include getting him more ice when his drink gets too warm) and does his best to keep them on track when they get distracted.^[5]
• Inky is a space octopus and an artist who communicates through his incredible ink drawings. Whether he's a member of the crew or just unbearably cute, is anybody's guess. But either way, his artistic talents make him super fun to have around.^[6]

Episodes

Online games

Rocket Monkeys Online blasts kids into outer space with Gus and Wally in a series of three online games:^[8]

• Monkeys vs Gorillas: Red Alert: The Monkeys get a distress call from Dr. Chimpsky—Lord Peel is attacking GASI! The monkeys are six planets away and their arch rivals the Space Gorillas are already en route! Gus and Wally are determined to beat those no-good ‘rillas in this race, get there first and save the day.
• Monkey Business: Uh oh! The Rocket Monkeys have racked up an enormous bill at the G.A.S.I Cafe and since they have no money, Dr. Chimpsky insists that they’ll have to work off their debt or they will lose their rocket! Gus is on diner duty while Wally is in the kitchen as they try to earn as much dough as they can.
• Monkeys on a Mission: Gus and Wally have secured a case of ice from the Planet Brrr and are heading back to headquarters when they run into trouble! Piloting the rocket ship every asteroid, rogue planet, and space villain has to be avoided or shot down before the Monkeys can make it safely back to G.A.S.I.

Home media

Episodes of Rocket Monkeys are available for digital download through the iTunes Music Store.^[9][10][11]

Broadcast

Rocket Monkeys has been broadcast in Canada on its original channel, Teletoon, since January 10, 2013.^[12]

On February 21, 2013, Nickelodeon announced that they have acquired the global rights to the series including the U.S.^[13] The series premiered on March 4, 2013 on Nickelodeon in the United States, and also premiered on April 19, 2013 on Nicktoons. It was unexpectedly removed from Nickelodeon's schedule on June 7, 2013. The series returned to Nicktoons' schedule on March 18, 2014, but was removed from that schedule on May 2, 2014. It is currently unknown if the second season of Rocket Monkeys will premiere in the US.

References