Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars!

Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars! (also known as Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Menace in Canada and Bucky O'Hare in the United Kingdom) is an animated series created by Sunbow Productions, Abrams/Gentile Entertainment, Continuity Comics and the French company IDDH, co-produced by Marvel Productions and distributed by Hasbro's subsidiary Claster Television.^[1] It was based on the cult comic Bucky O'Hare,^[2] and animated by AKOM.^[3]

It debuted in 1991 in the United States, and 1992 in the UK on the BBC.^[4]

The show was made with the intention of promoting the new Bucky O'Hare themed toy line. When plans for that fell through, the series was abruptly cancelled after only 13 episodes.

Differences from the comics

Most of the ideas from the comic book were used for the cartoon, with several major differences. The parallel universe the story takes place in is named the "Aniverse". Willy DuWitt can travel freely between Earth and the Aniverse instead of being stranded there. Bruce is transported into another dimension instead of killed. The Toad Empire are willingly following KOMPLEX instead of brainwashed. Deadeye has a Southern accent instead of a Scottish accent. The nigh-omnipotent mouse is nowhere to be seen. Jenny reveals her psionic powers to Willy DuWitt.

The cartoon explored more of the Aniverse and followed a loose unifying arc, with Bucky's home planet of Warren being captured by the toads in the season premiere and liberated in the finale (which was co-written by Neal Adams).

Characters

Bucky and his crew are members of the S.P.A.C.E. organization, which stands for Sentient Protoplasm Against Colonial Encroachment.

Bucky O'Hare (Jason Michas) – a green hare, captains an S.P.A.C.E. frigate named The Righteous Indignation. His crew consists of:
Jenny (Margot Pinvidic) – first mate and pilot, a cat from the planet Aldebaran with mysterious magical and psionic powers common to the females of her species. They include telepathy, astral projection, energy blasts, and healing. Because of the sacred precepts of Alderbaran, she keeps these powers secret from the other members of the crew, with the exception of Willy, for whom she has overt Maternal affections.^[5]^[6]
Bruce (Dale Wilson) – Bruiser's older brother, a Betelgeusian Berserker Baboon who served as the Righteous Indignation's engineer. He vanished into another dimension when the ship's photon accelerator malfunctioned during battle.
Willy DuWitt (Shane Meier) – engineer, a pre-teen human from San Francisco who enters the Aniverse via a portal between the ship's photon accelerator and his own accelerator at home. He replaced Bruce, the former engineer, who was killed (or in the franchise's terms, had "attained oneness with the Aniverse"). Later, Willy became stranded in the Aniverse when his parents turned off the photon accelerator back in his room. Bucky and his crew decide to keep Willy a secret from the S.P.A.C.E organization and the Toads.
Dead-Eye Duck (Scott McNeil) – gunner, a four-armed former space pirate duck from Kanopis III. He is missing an eye, and is impatient and violent, preferring to let his four laser pistols do the talking for him. Unlike the comics where he has a Scottish accent, he has an American accent.
AFC Blinky (Sam Khouth) – an advanced AFC ("Android" First Class). It has only one eye and uses the phrase "Calamity and woe!" to identify problem situations for Bucky and his crew-mates.

The members of the Toad Empire introduced are as follows:

KOMPLEX (Long John Baldry) – the undisputed ruler of the Toad Empire. This computer program was designed to run the consumerist toad culture but instead took it over and militarized it. Its name, in toad language, is an anagram for 'Feed me'.
Toad Air Marshall (Jay Brazeau) – one of KOMPLEX's foremost commanders, with a uniform adorned with medals and a face covered in warts.
Toad Borg (Richard Newman) – a large, purple cyborg second-in-command under KOMPLEX.
Storm Toads – the mindless toad soldiers who serve as the primary attack force for the Empire.

Characters only in the animated series

Almost all the characters listed above are both from the comic book and the cartoon. Most of the new ones that were introduced are listed below.

Bruiser (Dale Wilson) – Bruce's younger brother, a Betelgeusian Berserker Baboon who joins Bucky's team as space marine on the Righteous Indignation. He, like all berserker baboons, scares the toads out of their wits and loves to beat them up. He is dimwitted but well-meaning, and has great respect for Willy.
Commander Dogstar (Garry Chalk) – Bucky's ally, captain of The Indefatigable, another frigate fighting against the toads.
Mimi LaFloo (Margot Pinvidic) – a fox (so to speak) originally a captive of the toads, Mimi is rescued by Bucky and goes on to command her own mammal frigate, The Screaming Mimi.
Frix and Frax – the Air Marshal's two bumbling subordinates, voiced by Terry Klassen and Scott McNeil respectively.
Al Negator (Garry Chalk) – a sleazasaur (bipedal crocodile) spy and mercenary frequently hired by the Air Marshal, though he is always demanding large payments in Simoleans (the Aniverse's currency) for his services. He dresses and speaks in a manner consistent to the cajun people.

Episode list

Home media releases

Sometime after its initial television airing, Family Home Entertainment released all thirteen episodes of the show on six VHS cassettes in North America. In the United Kingdom, BBC Video released twelve out of the thirteen episodes across six VHS tapes, then Metrodome Entertainment released all thirteen episodes on a Region 2 DVD set, as well as a single volume DVD, both of which are now out of print.

References

^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 97. ISBN 978-1538103739.
^ Kogan, Rick (5 January 1992). "Getting into Bucky O'Hare". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
^ "Bucky O'Hare - Closing Theme". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. AKOM Production Co. at :29, IDDH at :33, Marvel Productions is at :37-:40 Sunbow at :56.
^ Phil De Semlyen; Ali Plumb; Helen O'hara; James Dyer (9 October 2015). "Classic Kids' TV Shows That Still Rock Our World, Feature | Movies - Empire". Empireonline.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

The Bucky O'Hare Fan Fiction & Information Site
Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars! at IMDb