Production
In January 2018, DreamWorks Animation filed trademark applications for the show to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. [29] Since then, DreamWorks has filed for four extensions on their trademark for Cleopatra in Space, two times in 2019, and two times in 2020, all of which were granted.
Mike Maihack said that the series is in retroactive continuity to his comics because Cleo is a teenager and there is time travel. [30] This differs from his comic book series which is "rooted from stories and research of the actual Cleopatra." He also may have been influenced by Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts , [31] Avatar: The Last Airbender , Star Trek: The Next Generation , Buffy the Vampire Slayer , and Legends of Tomorrow . [32] In an interview with Charles C. Dowd on I Heart Webcomics on July 22, Maihack said that he consulted in the early stages of the show, letting DreamWorks know the upcoming details of his book and remained supportive, admitting he did not want "a direct adaption of the novels." [33] He further said that he saw the animated series as an opportunity to work on the Cleo in Space concept in another way who had worked on Ben 10: Omniverse and DuckTales , noting that while it was clear that those working on the series understood "the core components of the story," he stepped back, letting the "amazingly talented folks" involved in the show do their work.
In an interview with Jackson Murphy of Animation Scoop, showrunner Doug Langdale said the story lends itself to "serialized storytelling" rather than an animated feature film, and that developing the show has been a "pretty involved process." [1] He also stated that the different uniforms at the Academy are "different colors for different divisions in the school and emblems," that they used common science-fiction tropes, that the show is not lesson-based but is just entertainment, and that Mike Maihack was ok with deviating from the original graphic novels, so they could create something that fans would enjoy. Langdale expanded on this in an interview with Screen Rant where he noted that they found Maihack's books, noted that DreamWorks had been trying to create a feature film about it, which was abandoned so they could do a series. [2] He further described the differences between the books and the series, which are on a "day-to-day basis," with the series not following the books closely at all, even as they used the "same set up, [and] many of the same characters." Langdale explained how Egyptian history was an inspiration for many character names, sometimes by coincidence, and how Lilimar Herendez was the choice for the main role of Cleopatra from the beginning, while stating how Sendhil Ramamurthy, Jorge Diaz, and Katie Crown influenced the show through their voice acting. He finally told the interview that the show ended up with a "predominantly female cast," with DreamWorks seeing this as a "good time to make a show with a female lead," and explained that the "first 12 episodes take place within a few months."
In an interview with CBR, Langdale said that he enjoyed Maihack's books, and agreed with DreamWorks to create the show, using Maihack's characters as a starting point, but then "went off in some different directions." [10] He again reiterated that the episodes track the characters on a day-to-day basis, and differed from the original books because Brian and Akila are humans, rather than a cyborg and an alien, with the voice actors shaping their characters. At the same time, he sidestepped the historical debate over her origins.
In an August 6, 2020 interview with ComicBook, Langdale further explained the development of the show. He said that they didn't "literally translate the books," but took the characters Mike Maihack created, some character bits, and did their "our own thing." [34] He added that they wanted to show a "day-to-day story about the characters," different from the books, tried to work in "some ancient Egyptian motifs" and said some inspiration could have drawn from 1970s French comic books, and three divisions in the school: "command, combat, and science." He stated he didn't think about the age range DreamWorks gave him for the show, rather aiming to make an enjoyable show which is "pretty serialized."
Music
The music of the series is composed by Jay Vincent and Ryan Lofty. [35] It was described by Courtney Lofty, the score production manager, as "an epic cocktail of electronic beats, Egyptian melodies, and orchestral dramatics," with other melodies, with "an extreme amount of time" researching for the music, which references Paramore, M.I.A., and the score of The Prince of Egypt. [35] The music was attuned to the specific scenes in each episode.
The series opening theme song was sung by Lilimar Hernandez, the voice actress for Cleopatra. [36] Additionally, Matt Barrios worked on the main title. [37] Jackson Murphy of Animation Scoop described the song as making it clear that Cleo's story is about "meaning, purpose and destiny." [1] In an August 13, 2020 interview with Sergio Burstein of the Los Angeles Times , Lilimar describes the show as the first thing she has done in the animation field, and was surprised to by their proposal for her to sing the title song. [38] While she admitted she was nervous to sing the song at first, because she hadn't "done anything with music in ten years," she said that working on the show helped her regain her "voice as a singer," while encouraging her to do things out of her "comfort zone," and remained grateful of the positive responses on Twitter. She said something similar in an interview with a Spanish language publication, Siempre Mujer [39] and an interview with a Spanish-language YouTuber, saying the project surprised her because she never expected to sing the theme song and that working on the show was a learning experience. [40] On August 21, in an interview with Alfonso Díaz of RCN Nuestra Tele Internacional, Lilimar called working on the show a "very nice experience," noted that the show was her second job for DreamWorks (her first was Spirit Riding Free ), and how she sometimes recorded the lines for the show alone, while other times she did it with the rest of the cast. [41] She also explained the struggles with recording lines, how this show is the first time she has had such a big role, and its relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic with the main cast having to work together under extraordinary circumstances.
In an interview with CBR in January 2021, she said that singing the opening theme was nowhere in her contract and they called her saying they'd like her to sing the song. [15] She decided to do so, even though she was "not in a confident place" with her singing, and didn't think much of it. She wasn't told they were going to use it, then they had a premiere for those on the team, and she brought her mom along, who pointed out it was her. She said that the fact that they used her voice meant "they liked it" and called it "really cool" that she sang the opening.
Design
According to Langdale, the drawn-out visual development of the show allowed them to have a style close to Mailhack's original graphic novels. [11] He added that the show's crew wanted a visual style which "was going to be fun to look at," with the Academy divided into "three areas of specialization...identified by color" which is not directly noted in the show. He further pointed out that one challenge was with the digital 2D animation and they received help from the animators. In a later interview he said that the show's animation sometimes mirrored the scenes in the graphic novels. [2]
Character design
On September 16, 2020, Bertrand Todesco, the series' character designer, was interviewed by VoyageLA. In the interview, he described how he imagines the "shapes and colors of the characters based on the descriptions" he reads in a script or other document, saying that in draw something differently depending on the age of the audience, and the excitement of working collaboratively with others on various animated shows. [42] He also talked about developing the show's main characters and that with the help of DreamWorks, and others like Angela Mueller, Art Director for the show, his O-1 visa [p] was approved, allowing him to stay in Los Angeles. According to Langdale, Todesco came up with Akila as a "fish-based character" while they went back-and-forth as to whether Brian would be a human or a cyborg, and that they shaped Cleopatra's character by what "someone with a passing familiarity" of her might think she was as a person. [10]
Storytelling
In early January 2021, Wei Li, who storyboarded eight episodes for the show, [q] shared an animatic from an episode he storyboarded, titled "My Pharaoh Lady," adding that the "show never took off." [43] He later explained what he meant was that the series did not get the "proper distribution," said that he personally thought "the story could be a lot better," and argued the original comic deals with subjects with more seriousness, stated that, "it seems like they radically changed Cleo's personality" from the comics. [43] He later explained that personally, if he could, he would change the episodes "where Cleo supposedly learns from her mistakes," so that the viewers see a "change in her from that lesson in the episodes afterward".
Voice acting
In an exclusive interview with CBR , Lilimar Hernandez said that this was the first show where she had a major role and that she used her "natural voice" when voicing Cleopatra. [15] She described trying to found out what that voice was and attempting to be as consistent as possible with that voice. She tried her best to keep her "fun-loving nature" and called the voice acting a "cool journey." Furthermore, she said that the team she worked with, like Doug Langdale, and a voice director Sirena Irwin, made her feel excited and comfortable, as she explored the character and the world of the show. In the same interview, she said that the experience was "nice," even as a new person to voice acting, adding that working with people who more skilled in the industry inspired and motivated her. She later said that it was cool "tapping into the fanbase from the books themselves," that she received a lot of "really, really cool feedback" and noted that the production schedule was consistent. She described the group sessions as having the highest energy, with everyone having fun "seeing each other become the characters," with none of it seen as draining.
Release
In the United States, NBCUniversal's advertisement sales website previously suggested that Cleopatra in Space would be broadcast on Universal Kids. [73] Later, it emerged in January 2020 that the series would instead be included in the launch line-up of Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming service on April 15, 2020 to Xfinity customers, and July 15 to all customers nationwide. [6] [4]
Prior to the scheduled release in the United States, the series premiered on November 25, 2019 on DreamWorks Channel, which is available in Southeast Asia and select other areas of Asia Pacific (specifically, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, the Philippines, Pakistan, Singapore, and Taiwan). [74] 19 episodes have since aired on the channel. The series also premiered in Poland on Teletoon+ on February 15, 2020 [75] [76] with a Polish dub. [77] The series was also available in South Africa on Showmax, [78] including all episodes in season one by February 23, 2020. [79] By June 9, 2020, all 26 episodes of the show's first season were made available on the Viaplay service in Scandinavia because of an agreement between NBCUniversal and the Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group). [80] [81] [82] [83]
On May 1, 2020, the entire first season of Cleopatra in Space was released on Globoplay, a Brazilian service and subsidiary of Grupo Globo, with the name Cleópatra no Espaço. [84] [85]
On July 15, 2020, the show premiered on Peacock, with episodes 1–5 and 7–13 of the first season made available to viewers who subscribed to "Peacock Premium", and a more limited selection for those who chose a free plan. [86] [2] [87] [r] It was one of the three animated Peacock Originals streaming on the platform, [11] [88] with the other two being season 13 of Curious George and season 2 of Where's Waldo? . The show can only be watched using the streaming service's premium plan. [89]
On July 15, when the show premiered on Peacock to all those in the United States, Mike Maihack praised the show's release and all the hard work put in, giving it his endorsement. [90] At the same time, he called the release of only 12 episodes "disappointing," [91] and lamented the absence of the sixth episode, "Quarantine," which "deals with a zombie-like flu and the consequences of Cleo avoiding quarantine," saying that it is something the whole world should "be able to see right now." [92] Two days later, when a fan asked about the missing sixth episode and the misspelled title of one of the episodes, an official Peacock account responded, saying they had corrected the episode title, but that for episode 6, "this content is temporarily unavailable on the platform" and that they appreciated the feedback, saying they "will pass it along to the proper team." [93] Later the same day, the same account said that there was "no news on that at the moment." [94] A few months later, on September 1, another fan asked about the episode, and an official Peacock account stated that the episode is "not actively on Peacock" but gave no further explanation as to why that was the case. [95] The episode was eventually released on June 25, 2021. [50]
On August 27, Bertrand Todesco called on Netflix France, and their main office in the United States, to broadcast the show outside the U.S., noting that "international fans" are asking about it every day, and that they could negotiate the rights with DreamWorks. [96] [97] The same day, Todesco thanked the fans of the show, saying he had seen "a lot of incredible" fan art from "all over the web." [98]
In September 2020, the show began airing on the Disney Channel in Russia with the name Клеопатра в космосе. [99]
In October, in the UK, the show began airing on Sky One as part of a partnership with NBCUniversal. [100] [101] In a tweet, Mike Maihack hoped it was "good news" for fans of the show in the United Kingdom who have wanted to watch the show. [102] Currently, the Sky One website allows subscribers to their Sky Go service to watch 25 episodes, but not episode 6, "Quarantine". [103] When asked about this, Sky UK stated that this was not included because of the "licensing on the episode." [104]
On November 19, 2020, Season 2 [s] premiered on Peacock. [105] [106] [107] In November, a new poster for Season 2 was released, as was a summary for the season, saying it would focus on Cleo and her friends "embarking on a mission to search the galaxy for an ancient artifact that could defeat Octavian for good," and a preview video. [108] On November 19, 2020, Season 2, premiered on Peacock. [105]
On January 9, 2021, in Canada, the series started airing on Family CHRGD (now WildBrainTV). [109] Then on January 14, 2021, Season 3 was released on Peacock. [17]
On January 14, 2021, Season 3 was released on Peacock. [17] [110] On July 14, 2021, all three seasons were added to Hulu. [111]
On July 14, 2021, the "Complete First Season" of the series, along with the Spanish version, Cleopatra en el Espacio, was released on Hulu, consisting of all three seasons which were released on Peacock. [111]
Reception
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction contributor Steven Pearce gave a short positive review of the show, though was critical about the show's writing and Cleopatra's personality, saying it is "very much your feisty American teen." The entry praises the "nice background details" and calls the series fun, amusing, "brightly animated and engaging." [112] Courtney Lofty described the series as being about "badass women, talking cats, [and] space," noting that the overall vibe is a "classic Saturday morning cartoon, with extremely quotable moments" which is like Invader Zim . [35] Cheryl Eddy on Gizmodo described the show as one aimed at children, but "looks like a fun ride for geeky grown-ups", [113] while Karen Han and Petrana Radulovic in Polygon [114] and Sam Stone on CBR [115] reviewed it positively. Additionally, others described the show as "a fun take on the original Cleopatra story" [116] and a "comedic adventure" which focuses on Cleopatra's teenage years, where she is transported into the future "to an Egyptian-themed planet...ruled by talking cats" while dealing with the pressures of being "a teenager in high school" as she tries to fit in even as Octavian tries to kill her. [117] Later, Petrana Radulovic wrote a positive review of the show. She described the series as wacky and vibrant, using its "zany concept effectively," having interesting adventures, and has main characters who have "typical stock cartoon personalities." [3] At the same time, she compared the impulsive and cocky behavior of Cleo to Lance in Voltron: Legendary Defender and Ben in Ben 10 . She further contrasted Cleopatra to Korra in The Legend of Korra and Adora in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power in that she is not ready to accept her destiny but will have to "confront her own laziness," remaining as a "carefree, imperfect heroine" in the meantime. Radulovic also said that the "electronic-infused Egyptian melodies of the score" make it stand out, as do the outfits of the characters, while noting that the show is episodic like Gravity Falls rather than something like She-Ra and the Princesses of Power .
There were a number of other reviews of the show. In an episode of Tooned Up on the Renegade Pop Culture Podcast, one of the guests described the show as having a stellar voice cast, sharp writing, which is "almost too self aware," while saying that they wished that the animation budget "was a little bit higher." The same guest said that the show skews to those "a little bit younger" and said that the show takes a "few episodes to find its stride," but once it does that, it is "one of the easiest shows to binge." [118] Another reviewer took a different tack, focusing on themes of libraries in the show, writing in the ALA's I Love Libraries , writing that the library at Cleopatra's futuristic high school contains information saved from the show's villain, who destroyed most of recorded knowledge, and noting that the library's section on Ancient Egypt, would, if in a real library, "be housed in a library's special collections." [119] In contrast, Ashley Moulton on Common Sense Media rated the series 3 out of 5, noting that there is "a lot of fantasy violence," while saying that Cleopatra is a "fearless female lead," with her potential as a role model "offset by the fact that she can be impulsive, impatient, overconfident, and not so dedicated to her schoolwork," adding that there is "mild language...and flirtation," saying that the show isn't educational even though it "features a historical character." [120] Rather it is, in Moulton's view, focused on entertainment "in the vein of '80s Saturday morning cartoons," and she describes the series as "light, fun tween sci-fi" animation which explores the past and future, while praising the "interesting alien species, exciting fight scenes, and fun gadgets like robots and hover boards," and the world they live in as "pretty cool." Even so, she argued that the characters are flat, while the characters "gleefully engage in moderately violent fight scenes" to defeat villains, and calling the characters "disappointing".
