Captain Flamingo

Captain Flamingo
Fans of Atomic Betty wouldn't know this.
Genre: Fantasy Comedy Children Running Time: 22 minutes Country: Canada Philippines Release Date: February 7, 2006 – December 19, 2010 Network(s): YTV (Canada) GMA Network (Philippines) Created by: Suzanne Bolch John May Distributed by: Atomic Cartoons Breakthrough Films & Television Heroic Film Company Philippine Animation Studio Inc. Starring: Tabitha St. Germain Melanie Tonello Scott Beaudin Peter Keleghan Seasons: 3 Episodes: 52

Captain Flamingo is a Canadian-Philippine animated series produced by a co-production between Breakthrough Films & Television, Heroic Film Company, Atomic Cartoons and animated by PASI Animation Studios and premiered on YTV on February 7, 2006, and ended on December 19, 2010.

Plot

Milo Powell is an ordinary young Japanese-Canadian boy, living in Halverston-in-Area (a fictional neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario) until a kid is in trouble. Any time a kid yells "Uh-oh! Flamingo!", Milo transforms into Captain Flamingo, whose mission is to help little kids who need assistance. Captain Flamingo is aided in his missions by his best friend Lizbeth Amanda Zaragoza, who apparently has a not-so-secret crush on him. CF also has a little brother named Thor.

Quite often, when called upon to carry out a mission, Captain Flamingo is busily engaged with something else, a personal goal or problem (such as waiting in line to buy an ice cream before the truck leaves or runs out of ice cream, but someone calls to him, needing his help); like a true hero, he must, and usually does, put aside his own needs to help others (although, quite often, his actions in successfully aiding the person in distress lead to a successful outcome for his personal goals). Captain Flamingo seldom successfully solves a problem on his first try; in fact, it is not uncommon for his initial attempts to make things worse. In trying to solve the simple problems of other little kids he encounters (such as, say, a lost pencil or a missing sock), Captain Flamingo often gets into tight spots. He has, in various episodes, gotten trapped in a bubble with a full bladder, gone underwater to battle an eel, and got trapped in a deadly matrix of bouncing superballs. Despite this, he never gives up and meets every failure or setback with a new attempt. He eventually gets out of these situations by using his "Bird Brain"; this can be his own instincts, but it usually is Lizbeth. A random thought he speaks aloud might be picked up on by Lizbeth and elaborated into an actual, detailed plan (which Lizbeth will assume was what Captain Flamingo planned to do all along), or he can assume that a suggestion spoken aloud by Lizbeth is his "Bird Brain" speaking to him (although he usually misinterprets her suggestion; however, his misinterpretation usually works). In the end, Captain Flamingo always seems to stumble upon a solution either through Lizbeth's cleverness, persistent refusal to give up, and constantly trying new novelty items and plans until he succeeds, or sheer luck (or, quite often, some combination of the three).

Bad Qualities

1. Most of the characters are bland and generic.
   • Milo Powell/Captain Flamingo is an immature and idiotic protagonist as he does terrible things much like Eliot Kid.
   • Thor Powell is a stupid Milo's baby brother with some gross-out humor.
   • Margerie and David Ignacius Powell aren't good Milo's parents as they're sometimes blaming her older son.
   • Wendel Howell is Milo's cousin and a generic bully to him.
   • Kirsten McBradden is a stalker to Milo.
   • Tabitha is a freak-out chronically over-scheduled overachiever
   • Ruth-Ann is just a bland mean popular girl stereotype.
   • Most of the troubled kids are typical. They include Owen-Only, Rutger, Max Roderick, Avi, Tabitha, Sanjay, Otto, Kristen McBradden, and Ruth-Ann.
     • Max, Kirsten, and Tabitha's voices can be annoying.
   • Warrior Monkey is a generic and pathetic villain.
   • Lizbeth, while likable, she's an all-too-obvious crush on Milo.
2. Pointless and unnecessary writing and humor. even the formularic plots.
3. Many character designs are weird and ugly.
4. Lackluster voice acting. Especially from Tabitha St. Germain, Isabel de Carteret, Rebecca Brenner, and Stephanie Beard that these voices make it annoying.
5. The narrator played by Peter Keleghan while sounded great, it feels like a rip-off of that narrator from The Powerpuff Girls.
6. While the art style is good, the animation is looking stiff.
7. Overuse of gross-out moments. Like in the episodes:
   • "Beyond the Thundermonkey Dome"
   • "Water You Worried About?"
   • "Talking to Ralph on the Big Porcelain Phone"
   • "Thor All Over"
   • "Missed Manners"
   • "Pasta Your Bedtime"
   • "Under There Underwear"
   • "Knot in My Backyard"
   • "Ready to Swear"
8. This show takes ideas from other superhero kid cartoons like The Powerpuff Girls.
9. The "Bird Brain" running gag can be awkward.
10. Like Sidekick, this show constantly recycles same character models like other children.

Good Qualities

1. Some characters are tolerable including Lizbeth, Max, Thrasher (introduced in "Face the Music"), and Milo (at times).
2. The concept about a boy dressed as a superhero to help little kids in a mission was clever, but excecutes poorly.
3. Despite being stiff, the animation can look pretty nice at times, even the art style and the background.
4. The character designs are also look decent, despite many characters look mediocre.
5. While Tabitha St. Germain did a poor job voicing Milo, some of the voice acting are passable like Melanie Tonello.
6. There's a few funny and heartwarming moments.
7. The series improves in the later seasons.

Reception

It currently holds 4.4/10 on IMDb

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