Space Goofs
| ♥ | This article is dedicated to Jean-Yves Raimbaud (February 27, 1958-June 28, 1998 from lung cancer) and Olivier Jean-Marie (November 19, 1960-May 13, 2021 from cancer). |
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 Lalalalalalalala we like monster men
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Space Goofs (French: Les Zinzins de l'Espace) is a French animated series created by Jean-Yves Raimbaud and Philippe Traversat that was produced by Gaumont Multimédia for its first season and Xilam for its second season, produced for France 3, and broadcast on that network from September 6, 1997 to May 12, 2006. It also debuted in the same year in Germany on ProSieben and aired in Canada on Teletoon. In the UK, the first season premiered on Channel 4 in 1998 under the show's original title Home to Rent and the second season premiered under the series' final name on Nicktoons UK on November 5, 2005 at 9:30 am. Furthermore, it aired as part of the Fox Kids lineup on Fox in the United States.
The series also served as the basis of an adventure game titled Stupid Invaders.
Plot
Five extraterrestrials from the planet Zigma B, Candy, Etno, Gorgeous, Stereo, and Bud go on a picnic together in space. However, their spaceship crashes into an asteroid, and they fall to planet Earth. They realize that if any human finds out that they're aliens, they could be captured and experimented on, so they take shelter in a house for rent.
The aliens have two goals: return to their home planet and chase anybody away who tries to establish themselves in the house.
To remain unknown to humans, they use a device called the SMTV that lets the aliens transform into almost any entity of their choosing. It often doesn't work on the first try, leading to some wacky transformations.
Why We Like Monster Men
- Great animation, provided by Sunwoo and Big Star (the latter also worked in Xilam's Oggy and the Cockroaches and Ratz) and looking like similar to Ren and Stimpy, which by the way, some of the people who worked in Ren and Stimpy like Bob Camp, Bob Jaques and Kelly Armstrong also worked in this show, but only in season 1, except for Jim Gomez who worked in both seasons (in the case of season 2, only in the direction of the American dub and voicing Bud).
- Great voice acting by the talents of: Jeff Bennett (the titular character of Johnny Bravo), Maurice LaMarche (Yosemite Sam from Looney Tunes), Charlie Adler (Cow, Chicken, The Red Guy and I.R. Baboon from Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel), Danny Mann, Michael Sicoly and Jim Gomez.
- Funny slapstick and jokes that are based on golden age cartoons like the Tex Avery cartoon shorts.
- Good characters like Candy (who deeply cares much about their friends and is a careful and sweet alien who cleans and decorates), Etno (the genius alien who created the SMTV and the leader), Bud, and Gorgious.
- Very interesting concept about aliens sheltering in a house for rent who try to return to their home and evict the tenants who try to settle in the house.
- The episodes have interesting plots.
- Catchy soundtrack made by Hervé Lavandier and Ramon Pipin.
- The show's theme song "Monster Men" is rocking and awesome and is very well sung by Iggy Pop.
- It has heartwarming moments such as Candy making a wish for their mother to come to Earth in the episode "Mother from Another Planet".
Bad Qualities
- Season 1's animation quality provided by Sunwoo and Anivision was sloppy, though it did improve in season 2.
- Stereo Monovici wasn't that relevant despite being one of the main protagonists in season 1, which explains why he didn't appear in season 2, with exceptions being the episodes "Other World Champs" and "UFO", with the latter being Stereo's final appearance in the show.
- He could've been a lot more fleshed out.
- Some characters like Candy and Gorgious became more of the series' butt monkey and is prone to being abused the most in the case of the first and the latter became more of a jerk in season 2.
- Season 2 would also include some racist stereotypes towards African-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Indian-Americans, and Native Americans.
- There's some bad episodes, such as "Toy Trouble".
Trivia
- Originally at Jean-Yves Raimbaud's suggestion, David Bowie was going to sing the show's theme song, but because Bowie was very busy, Iggy Pop ended up singing and recording the theme song instead after being contacted by the creator and the series' producer Marc du Pontavice.[1]
- It was confirmed by Marc du Pontavice himself in a 2022 interview with Konbini that Candy is non-binary.
- Marc du Pontavice's wife, Alix de Maistre worked in the series, only in season 1 as a post-production supervisor. The widow of the late Olivier Jean-Marie, Agnes worked in season 2 in the season's model sheets.
- The series premiered on the same day (September 6, 1997) in France on France 3 and in the USA on Fox Kids.[2]
- The series' original English title was Home to Rent (which was kept in the UK for the first season), but was changed at the last minute before its US premiere to Space Goofs, which became better known as the series' international name.[3]
Videos
References
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