Ben 10 (2005 TV series)

Last updated

Ben 10
Ben 10 logo.svg
Also known asClassic Ben 10
Genre
Created by Man of Action
Voices of
Theme music composer Andy Sturmer
Opening theme"Ben 10", performed by Moxy
Ending theme"Ben 10" (instrumental)
ComposerAndy Sturmer
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes49 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Kelly Crews (season 1)
  • Donna Smith (seasons 2–4)
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network Cartoon Network
ReleaseDecember 27, 2005 (2005-12-27) –
April 15, 2008 (2008-04-15)
Related

Ben 10 (retroactively known as Classic Ben 10) is an American animated series created by Man of Action, produced by Cartoon Network Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series is about a 10-year-old boy named Ben Tennyson who gets a watch-style alien device called the "Omnitrix". Attached to his wrist, it allows him to transform into 10 different alien creatures with different abilities, allowing him to fight evil from Earth and space with his cousin Gwen and grandfather Max. The series first aired on Cartoon Network as a sneak peek on December 27, 2005, as part of "Sneak Peek Week", airing alongside other shows, including My Gym Partner's a Monkey , Robotboy and Zixx . It later became a full series airing from January 13, 2006, to April 15, 2008.

Contents

The series gradually became popular and was nominated for two Emmy Awards, winning one for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation". The show spawned a franchise: three continuations were released respectively as Ben 10: Alien Force , Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and Ben 10: Omniverse ; as well as a reboot of the series in 2016. [2] [3]

Premise

The series centers around Ben Tennyson (Tara Strong), a ten-year-old boy on a cross-country summer vacation, with his cousin Gwen (Meagan Smith) and their grandfather Max (Paul Eiding). On their first night camping in their grandfather's RV affectionately named the "Rustbucket," Ben finds an alien pod with a mysterious watch-style device named the Omnitrix. The device then permanently attaches itself to his wrist giving him the ability to transform into a variety of alien life-forms each with its own unique skills and powers. With his newfound superpowers Ben has to learn the responsibilities of being a hero. During their vacation, the Tennysons are attacked by various enemies ranging from space aliens to supernatural entities.

Characters

Ben is a cocky, immature boy, who is not above enjoying attention and enjoys making jokes even during fights. Though his immaturity makes a bad impression on some people, Ben is good-hearted, noble and loyal, and his actions are motivated above all by a strong and sincere will to help and save others in need. He will stop at nothing to protect his family or anyone in danger whether human or alien. Ben proves to be resourceful, intelligent (Ben has been known to have an eidetic memory), shrewd and cunning when needed, which saved him from many situations, especially when the Omnitrix cannot activate or doesn't provide him with the alien he originally wanted.
Gwen is Ben's cousin and is depicted as a kind and intelligent girl, very skilled with computers and possessing a level of martial arts skills. She is also very independent but is very organized, sometimes to the point of compulsive, but can be a light-hearted schemer and immature as Ben. Overall, her most notable skill is her innate, if latent, ability at magic, first shown in "Tough Luck" when She was able to use Hex's staff, which can only be used by a master magician, to defeat Charmcaster. She later obtains Charmcaster's spellbook in "Change of Face" and begins improving her magic.
Ben and Gwen's grandfather, who takes the two on a cross-country road trip for summer vacation. In "Truth" Max reveals he was a part of the Plumbers (an intergalactic police force) and handled many extraterrestrial encounters in the past. His history as a plumber has given him knowledge, training, and equipment for fighting aliens as well as an unconventional taste in food, much to the dismay of his grandchildren. In "The Visitor," an old alien acquaintance of Max's called Xylene reveals that Max was the intended recipient of the Omnitrix.

Main villains

Voice cast

Main

Additional

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 13December 27, 2005 (2005-12-27)March 25, 2006 (2006-03-25)
2 13May 29, 2006 (2006-05-29)October 9, 2006 (2006-10-09)
3 13November 25, 2006 (2006-11-25)April 21, 2007 (2007-04-21)
4 10July 14, 2007 (2007-07-14)April 15, 2008 (2008-04-15)

Production

Steve E. Gordon's original concepts for Ben 10, in which a red-haired Ben Tennyson uses the Omnitrix to transform into ten human superheroes. Ben 10 Original Concept.jpg
Steve E. Gordon's original concepts for Ben 10, in which a red-haired Ben Tennyson uses the Omnitrix to transform into ten human superheroes.

Development

Ben 10 was created by "Man of Action" and was produced by Cartoon Network Studios. Man of Action is a group consisting of comic book creators Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle. The group worked on Ben 10's concept roughly 3 years before Cartoon Network picked up the series. Dave Johnson designed the first two seasons of the show.

Early on in development, it was decided that a villain would be within the Omnitrix. After Ghostfreak was created the creators added dialogue into the first season to hint to the audience that there was something more to the character. [4] Originally Cannonbolt, the 11th alien transformation in the series, was going to be in the original set of aliens, but was replaced with Ghostfreak. [4]

When doing test animations for the series the first alien transformation to be tested was Four Arms. It was the most popular transformation out of all the aliens for "Man of Action". [4] Many of the unused designs for Upchuck were recycled in the episode "Ben 10,000" as two of Ben's aliens "Spitter" and "Articguana", and as villain Sploot.

Steven E. Gordon worked on an early version of the show. His concept work reveals that Ben Tennyson was originally going to be a red-headed young boy. Gordon also has early designs of the Omnitrix which look more like a watch than the final version, as well as different designs and names for the alien transformations. [5] Some of the early names for the transformations were "StrongGuy", "Inferno", "RazorJaws", "Dragonfly", "Plantguy", and "Digger". Some of the early designs for the aliens are more human and superheroic, similar to Dial H for Hero . [5]

Sunmin Image Pictures, Dong Woo Animation and Lotto Animation, Inc. contributed some of the animation for this series.

Theme song

The theme song for the series was written by Andy Sturmer and sung by Mz. Moxy. [6] The main title were created by Renegade Animation, who was well known for Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi , which was created by Ben 10's executive producer Sam Register. The flash animated sequence during the main title was designed to let the audience know that the show is going to be fun and not just an action show. [7] The opening credits were altered in the third season and beyond to reflect that Ghostfreak was no longer to be used, and was replaced by Cannonbolt as the ninth alien.

Casting

Kris Zimmerman was in charge of casting and was the voice director. Tara Strong voices the title character Ben Tennyson, Upgrade, Benwolf, Lucy Mann-Tennyson, Ken Tennyson, and Sandra Tennyson. She also voices Future Gwen and Buzzshock in "Ben 10,000". Meagan Smith voices Ben's cousin Gwen Tennyson, and Paul Eiding voices Grandpa Max and his version of Upgrade.

Steven Blum voices Ben's alien transformations Heatblast and Ghostfreak, as well as the series' main villain Vilgax. Dee Bradley Baker voices Ben's transformations Stinkfly, Eye Guy, and Wildmutt, Baker also voices Ben's school bully/friend Cash Murray, and many of his enemies such as The Limax, SixSix, Acid Breath, and the character Elsgood. Baker is also notable for voicing various characters and aliens. Richard Steven Horvitz voices Ben's Grey Matter transformation and the villain Sublimino. Richard McGonagle voices Ben's Four Arms transformation, and the villain Exo-Skull. Fred Tatasciore voices Ben's aliens Ripjaws, Cannonbolt, and Way Big, Tatasciore also voices a future version of Ben in "Ben 10,000". And Jim Ward voices the transformations Diamondhead, XLR8, and Wildvine, and the character Gordon Tennyson.

Films, sequels, and spin-offs

TV films

Two Ben 10 films have been released at different times during 2007 and 2008. The first is a regular animated feature called Secret of the Omnitrix , in which the Omnitrix is accidentally set to self-destruct and Ben must track down its creator to stop it. A trailer of the film was released with the film Billy & Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen , and it aired August 10, 2007. Michael Ouweleen described the film's villain, which was actually Vilgax, as "like Darth Vader without the sense of humor." [8] A different version of Secrets of the Omnitrix, which introduced a different alien (Eye Guy) to the one in the original (Heatblast), aired on September 1, 2007. A third version (in which XLR8 was featured) aired on October 20, 2007. It was stated during the premiere of Alien Force that Secret of the Omnitrix was intended to be the chronological finale of Ben 10, even though it was broadcast long before the last episode, which was not canon.

A CGI movie titled Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens was first released on March 11, 2012, in Asia [9] and on March 23, 2012 [10] [11] in the US. The movie focuses on a 10-year-old Ben returning to school after the summer. [12] [13] The movie was released in 2 different versions on Asia. The Filipino viewers heard the Philippine winners while the rest of Southeast Asia heard the Malaysian kids. [14]

Ben 10: Race Against Time is the first film in the series. It revolves around Ben (Graham Phillips), Gwen (Haley Ramm) and Grandpa Max (Lee Majors) returning to their hometown of Bellwood and attempting to adjust to being ‘normal’ again. Unfortunately, their lives are once again disrupted by a mysterious alien known as Eon (Christien Anholt), who has an unexpected connection to the Omnitrix.

Sequel series

Ben 10: Alien Force is the sequel to the show set five years after the original series. As an indirect result, this series is darker in tone compared to its predecessor. The series premiered on Cartoon Network on April 18, 2008, and ended on March 26, 2010. It has since been premiered in Canada, on Teletoon. [15] A video game of the show is now out for the Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. [16]

Another sequel series, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien , premiered on April 23, 2010, and takes place 3–4 weeks after the finale of Alien Force. [17]

Protector of Earth

Ben 10: Protector of Earth is the first Ben 10 video game, released in autumn 2007.

Following the success of the Ben 10 animated TV series and films, various Ben 10 merchandise has been released for general sale. These items include Ben 10 books, action figures, card games such as Top Trumps, toys, video games – notably Ben 10: Protector of Earth , bedding, and footwear.

FusionFall

Ben 10 appears in Cartoon Network's online MMO FusionFall. The character design for Ben Tennyson was changed when the original Ben 10 series ended and was replaced by Ben 10: Alien Force. In the game, he serves as a "Player Guide" offering guide-based missions and special items that can only be used with certain guides.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwen Tennyson</span> Character from the Ben 10 franchise

Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson, occasionally known as Lucky Girl, is a fictional character that appears in Cartoon Network's Ben 10 franchise, created by Man of Action. The paternal first cousin and best friend of title protagonist Ben Tennyson, Gwen is a core member of Ben's team who frequently aids him in his various adventures to defeat villains and criminals and protect and save earth and the universe. A highly intelligent and strong martial artist, Gwen later develops magic abilities that are eventually revealed to be alien in nature, having inherited it from her alien paternal grandmother, Verdona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Tennyson</span> Fictional character

Benjamin Kirby "Ben" Tennyson, commonly known as Ben 10, is a fictional superhero and the titular protagonist of the Ben 10 franchise owned by Cartoon Network. In the original series, Ben started the franchise as a 10-year-old boy on summer vacation with his family, during which he found the Omnitrix, a watch-like device of alien origin, in a forest. It permanently latched itself onto his wrist and allowed him to transform into a multitude of alien species. Supported by his cousin Gwen and grandfather Max, he fights common criminals but is quickly drawn into fighting more advanced foes such as Vilgax, Dr. Animo, and The Forever Knights. A year after the original series, Ben retires and removes the Omnitrix for unspecified reasons. He resumes a normal life for the next four years until he is forced out of retirement by his grandfather's sudden disappearance.

<i>Ben 10: Protector of Earth</i> 2007 video game

Ben 10: Protector of Earth is an action-adventure video game developed by High Voltage Software and published by D3 Publisher and is based on the animated television series Ben 10. This is the second Ben 10 game following the HyperScan game, is the first official game in the franchise, and it was released for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii in late 2007.

<i>Ben 10: Race Against Time</i> 2007 television film directed by Alex Winter

Ben 10: Race Against Time is a 2007 American superhero film based on the animated television series Ben 10, created by Man of Action.

<i>Ben 10: Alien Force</i> American animated television series

Ben 10: Alien Force is an American animated television series created by team Man of Action, and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It is the sequel to Ben 10 (2005–2008), set five years later and taking a darker turn than its predecessor.

<i>Ben 10: Alien Force</i> (video game) 2008 video game

Ben 10: Alien Force is an action-adventure video game based on the American animated television series of the same name. The game was released in North America on October 28, 2008 and February 2009 in the United Kingdom.

<i>Ben 10: Alien Swarm</i> 2009 television film directed by Alex Winter

Ben 10: Alien Swarm is a 2009 American science fiction film directed by Alex Winter and written by John Turman and James Krieg. It is based on the Cartoon Network's animated series Ben 10: Alien Force and is a standalone sequel to 2007 film Ben 10: Race Against Time. It stars Ryan Kelley, Galadriel Stineman, Nathan Keyes, Alyssa Diaz, Herbert Siguenza, and Barry Corbin. The film's events take place between the second season's finale and the first episode of the third season of Ben 10: Alien Force.

<i>Ben 10: Ultimate Alien</i> American animated television series

Ben 10: Ultimate Alien is an American animated television series created by the team Man of Action, produced by Cartoon Network Studios, and distributed By Warner Bros. Domestic Television. It is the direct sequel to Ben 10: Alien Force (2008–2010), serving as the third series in the Ben 10 franchise. The series premiered on April 23, 2010, on Cartoon Network in the US. In India and Latin America, it premiered on October 10, 2010. In Canada, the series started airing on September 12, 2010, on Teletoon.

<i>Ben 10: Alien Force – Vilgax Attacks</i> 2009 video game

Ben 10: Alien Force – Vilgax Attacks is the third game in the Ben 10 video game series, and the second game to be based on the Ben 10: Alien Force series. The first game was based on the first two seasons of series; while Vilgax Attacks is based on the third and final season of the series. It was released on October 27, 2009.

<i>Generator Rex</i> American animated television science fiction series

Generator Rex is an American animated science fiction television series created by Man of Action for Cartoon Network, with John Fang of Cartoon Network Studios as supervising producer. It was inspired by the comic M. Rex, created by Aaron Sowd, Joe Kelly and Duncan Rouleau, and published by Image Comics in 1999. The series premiered in the United States on April 23, 2010, on Cartoon Network, and concluded on January 3, 2013, with a total of 60 episodes, plus two episodes remained unaired.

<i>Ben 10</i> Long-running American animation based media franchise

Ben 10 is an American media franchise conceived by Man of Action, produced by Cartoon Network Studios, and owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment. The franchise revolves around a young boy named Ben Tennyson, who discovers the Omnitrix — a high-tech, extraterrestrial device shaped like a wristwatch. This remarkable gadget contains the DNA of various alien species, allowing Ben to transform into them at will. Initially, the Omnitrix features ten alien transformations, but over time, Ben gains the ability to unlock additional species.

<i>Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion</i> 2011 crossover fighting video game

Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion is a 2011 crossover fighting video game developed by Papaya Studio and published by Crave Games, for the Nintendo 3DS. It features characters from various Cartoon Network programs battling against one another. The game was released in June 2011 in North America and in April 2012 in Europe. An upgraded port, Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL, was released for the Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 less than a year later.

<i>Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens</i> 2012 television film directed by Victor Cook

Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens is a 2012 animated science fiction television film that premiered on Cartoon Network Asia on March 11, 2012, and in the United States on Cartoon Network March 23, 2012, as part of "Ben 10 Week" which ran from March 19, 2012 – March 24, 2012. The events of the film take place after the final episode of the series. It was officially unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con in 2011. This is Cartoon Network Asia's first film in collaboration with Cartoon Network Studios. It is considered the official three-part finale of the 2005 animated series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes United</span> Crossover episode between Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and Generator Rex

"Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes United" is an extended crossover special between Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and Generator Rex. Taking the form of an extended episode of Generator Rex, with it having an appearance of Ben Tennyson from Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and it being written by Man of Action, the creator of both shows. Heroes United aired on November 25, 2011, on Cartoon Network, taking up a one-hour time block.

<i>Ben 10: Omniverse</i> American animated television series

Ben 10: Omniverse is an American animated television series which serves as the sequel to Ben 10: Ultimate Alien (2010–2012) and the fourth series in the Ben 10 franchise, as well as the final series to be set in the Classic Continuity. The series aired on Cartoon Network from September 22, 2012, to November 14, 2014, in the United States, across eight 10-episode serialised "story arcs" instead of a season-based episode release structure. Man of Action Studios, consisting of Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle, created the franchise.

<i>Ben 10</i> (2016 TV series) American animated television series

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<i>Ben 10 Versus the Universe: The Movie</i> American animated television film

Ben 10 Versus the Universe: The Movie is a 2020 American animated science fiction television film based on the 2016 TV series Ben 10, which serves as a reboot of the 2005 TV series of the same name created by Man of Action. Directed by Henrique Jardim and John McIntyre and written by Benjamin Lane, Chelsea McAlarney, Johnny Vu, André LaMilza, John Martinez, Josh Kim, Sarah Visel, Benjamin P. Carow, and Kelly Turnbull, it stars Tara Strong, Montserrat Hernandez, David Kaye, John DiMaggio, Greg Cipes, and Yuri Lowenthal. The events of the film take place after the final episode of the series. In this film, Ben travels around space to stop a new threat that can lead Earth to total destruction.

References

  1. ↑ "Ben 10". Metacritic .
  2. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (June 8, 2015). "Cartoon Network to Revive 'Ben 10'". Variety .
  3. ↑ Confirmation of 5th Ben 10 Series by Official Twitter Page of CN PR
  4. 1 2 3 The Complete Second Season: Commentary for "Ghostfreak Out" (DVD). Warner Bros Entertainment.
  5. 1 2 "Steven E. Gordon". Archived from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Moxy Music". Archived from the original on 16 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
  7. ↑ The Complete First Season: Commentary for "Secrets" (DVD). Warner Bros Entertainment.
  8. ↑ "CN Upfront: "Ben 10" Live Action and Animated Movies In Production-UPDATED". Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
  9. ↑ "Coming Up In March – Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens". Cartoon Network. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  10. ↑ Zahed, Ramin (5 March 2012). "'Ben 10' Movie to Premiere on March 23". Animation Magazine. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Ben 10 Week – New Movie Destroy All Aliens!". Cartoon Network – Coming Soon. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Cartoon Networks Set CG 'Ben 10' TV Movie for 2012". 25 July 2011.
  13. ↑ http://www.toonzone.net/news/articles/38225/sdcc2011-ben-10-destroy-all-aliens-trailer-released%5B%5D
  14. ↑ Pulumbarit, Oliver M. (2 February 2012). "Filipino kids' voices in 'Ben 10'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Ben 10: Omniverse – Free Videos and Online Games – Cartoon Network". Archived from the original on June 13, 2006.
  16. ↑ "Ben 10: Alien Force Game at GameSpot". Archived from the original on June 28, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Toon Zone - Your Source for Toon News!". Archived from the original on March 28, 2009.
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