Mona the Vampire | |
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Genre | |
Based on | |
Developed by |
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Directed by | Louis Piché |
Starring | Emma Taylor-Isherwood Justin Bradley (S1–3) Carrie Finlay Tia Caroleo Marcel Jeannin Carole Jeghers Evan Smirnow (S4) |
Theme music composer | Judy Henderson & Judy Rothman |
Opening theme | "Mona the Vampire" (performed by Lulu Hughes) |
Ending theme | "Mona the Vampire" (instrumental) |
Composer | Mark Giannetti |
Country of origin | Canada France Hong Kong (S3) |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 65 (130 segments) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Editor | Natalie Rossin |
Running time | 24 minutes (12 minutes per segment) |
Production companies | Alphanim CINAR Corporation Animation Services (S3) Farnham Film Company |
Original release | |
Network | YTV (Canada) France 3 (France, S1–2) Canal J (France, S1) Tiji (France, S3–4) |
Release | September 13, 1999 – February 22, 2006 |
Mona the Vampire is an animated children's television series based on the children's book of the same name written and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman (itself adapted to the novel series, itself illustrated by Holleyman and written by Hiawyn Oram). The series aired in Canada on YTV from September 13, 1999, to February 22, 2006; in France, it first aired on France 3 on October 30, 2000.
Mona the Vampire was co-produced by the CINAR Corporation, Alphanim, Animation Services (in Hong Kong; season 3) and YTV in co-production with France 3 (seasons 1 and 2), Canal J (seasons 1) and Tiji (seasons 3 and 4), with the participation of the Independent Production Fund, the Shaw Children's Programming Initiative and Telefilm Canada.
The series follows the adventures of Mona Parker, who refers to herself as "Mona the Vampire", as well as her two best friends, Lily Duncan ("Princess Giant") and Charley Bones ("Zapman"), and her pet cat, Fang, as they imagine themselves confronting a new supernatural foe, or solving a supernatural mystery, in every episode. There are always rational explanations for what they see.
There are a total of 65 full episodes of Mona the Vampire. Each episode is approximately 22 minutes long, and each full episode contains two 11-minute episodes. Four seasons of Mona the Vampire were produced. The first season contains 26 full episodes, while seasons 2, 3, and 4 each contains 13 full episodes.
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by [Note 1] | Storyboard by [Note 1] | Original release date [3] [4] [5] |
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1 | 1 | "Attack Of the Living Scarecrow" "The Robot Babysitter" | Gerald Lewis & Joseph Mallozzi Joseph Mallozzi | Éric Bergeron Jeremy O'Neil | September 13, 1999 |
2 | 2 | "Von Kreepsula Runs Amok" "The Nefarious Computer Virus" | Joseph Mallozzi Gerald Lewis | Olivier Poirette Roberto Curilli | September 18, 1999 |
3 | 3 | "The Miserable Phantom Dog" "Jurassic Parking Lot" | Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz Gerald Lewis | Éric Bergeron Gerry Capelle | September 20, 1999 |
4 | 4 | "The Whirling Void" "There's No Place Like Gnome" | Joseph Mallozzi | Roberto Curilli Mitsuho Sato | September 25, 1999 |
5 | 5 | "The Dreaded Human Spider" "The Living Mannequin" | Kim Segal Thomas LaPierre | Gerry Capelle Éric Bergeron | September 27, 1999 |
6 | 6 | "The X-Change Student" "Red Moon Monsters" | Gerald Lewis Ian Lewis | Roberto Curilli Mitsuho Sato | October 2, 1999 |
7 | 7 | "The Skeleton Cowboy" "The Men in Darksuits" | Jacques Bouchard Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz | Gerry Capelle Éric Bergeron | October 25, 1999 |
8 | 8 | "The Vampire Hunter" "The Sounds of Sirens" | Joseph Mallozzi Jesse Prupas | Mitsuho Sato Roberto Curilli | November 1, 1999 |
9 | 9 | "The Book of the Slimy" "The Sam'n Ella Infiltration" | Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz Gerald Lewis | Gerry Capelle Éric Bergeron | November 8, 1999 |
10 | 10 | "Curse of the Mummy's Tomb" "Freaky the Snowman" | Joseph Mallozzi Gerald Lewis | Mitsuho Sato Roberto Curilli | November 15, 1999 |
11 | 11 | "The Dastardly Dr. Voodoo" "Dancing Underpants Ghoulie" | Amy Jo Cooper Joseph Mallozzi | Gerry Capelle Éric Bergeron | November 22, 1999 |
12 | 12 | "Miss Gotto's Haunted House" "Cry of the Swamp Thing" | Joseph Mallozzi Kim Segal | Mitsuho Sato Stefan Vermullen | November 29, 1999 |
13 | 13 | "Spirit of the Woods" "The Bogeyman Cometh" | Ian Lewis Terry Saltsman | Gerry Capelle Éric Bergeron | December 6, 1999 |
14 | 14 | "The Man with Nine Lives" "Yak of the Yammering Yam" | Gerald Lewis Anthony Guadagno | Roberto Curilli Stefan Vermullen | August 15, 2000 |
15 | 15 | "Small Town" "The Devious Doppelganger" | Jacques Bouchard Gerald Lewis | Zoran Vanjaka Éric Bergeron | August 22, 2000 |
16 | 16 | "Creature from the Depths" "Mona and the Werewolf" | S.M. Molitor Ian Lewis | Roberto Curelli Stefan Vermullen | August 29, 2000 |
17 | 17 | "Garage Sale Genie" "Ghouls and Dolls" | Daniel Baldassi Maureen Neilson & Hugh Neilson | Éric Bergeron Zoran Vanjaka | September 13, 2000 |
18 | 18 | "Flea Circus of Horrors" "Shadow of a Doubt" | S.M. Molitor Natalie Dumoulin | Stefan Vermullen Roberto Curilli | September 20, 2000 |
19 | 19 | "The Fortune Cookie" "Pixies" | Sarah Musgrave & Jason Bogdaneris Amy Jo Cooper | Éric Bergeron Zoran Vanjaka | September 27, 2000 |
20 | 20 | "The Billabong Bunyip" "The Subhuman Substitutes" | Gerald Lewis Jacques Bouchard | Roberto Curilli Stefan Vermullen | October 4, 2000 |
21 | 21 | "Cupid's Mark" "The Lost Pirates" | Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz Lydia Eugene | Zoran Vanjaka Éric Bergeron | February 14, 2001 |
22 | 22 | "Hex of a Dancer" "The Two Magicians" | Ken Ross Ian Lewis | Roberto Curilli Stefan Vermullen | October 11, 2000 |
23 | 23 | "Time Shift" "Timeout" | Kristine Van Dusen Jacques Bouchard | Éric Bergeron Zoran Vanjaka | October 18, 2000 |
24 | 24 | "Bird Boy" "Flower Power" | Gerald Lewis Jacques Bouchard | Stefan Vermullen | October 25, 2000 |
25 | 25 | "Spitting Image" "Fourth Dementia Funhouse" | Jacques Bouchard Gerald Lewis | Zoran Vanjaka Éric Bergeron | November 1, 2000 |
26 | 26 | "Brainwash Boogie" "Von Kreepsula's Return" | Kristine Van Dusen | Éric Bergeron Denis Banville | November 8, 2000 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date [6] [7] |
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27 | 1 | "Dr. Java & Mr. Hyde" "Miss Dewey's Dismal System" | September 15, 2001 |
28 | 2 | "Polyester Power Suit" "The Droll Troll" | September 22, 2001 |
29 | 3 | "Ventrillo-Creeps" "Limo to Loserville" | September 29, 2001 |
30 | 4 | "The Columbus Triangle" "Soccer Sasquatch" | October 7, 2001 |
31 | 5 | "Cyborg Phantas" "Kitten of the Sea" | October 14, 2001 |
32 | 6 | "Witch Watch" "The Hexed Mansion of Agatha Misty" | October 28, 2001 |
33 | 7 | "Sun Worshippers" "Heat Wave" | October 21, 2001 |
34 | 8 | "The Ninja's Curse" "Hal T. Neander" | November 4, 2001 |
35 | 9 | "Shame on the Shaman" "Programmed Pioneers" | November 11, 2001 |
36 | 10 | "Flu-topia" "Chain Letter" | November 18, 2001 |
37 | 11 | "The Baby Charmer" "Monster Trash" | November 25, 2001 |
38 | 12 | "Granite Goliath" "Intergalactic Space Campers" | December 2, 2001 |
39 | 13 | "Potato Fish Creepers" "It's All Relative" | December 9, 2001 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date [8] [9] |
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40 | 1 | "The Black Hole" "Waxing Nostalgic" | February 28, 2002 |
41 | 2 | "Lil' Freddy Frosty" "Attack of the Bratty Vamp Pack" | March 1, 2002 |
42 | 3 | "The Transformation of Frank Stein" "Taking the Cake" | March 4, 2002 |
43 | 4 | "Terror in Toon Town" "Ghost in the Knight" | March 5, 2002 |
44 | 5 | "All in a Day's Work" "Interchange Intrigue" | March 6, 2002 |
45 | 6 | "Jack Out of the Box" "Crazy Crop Circles" | March 7, 2002 |
46 | 7 | "Toys Are Us" "The Hair Scare" | March 8, 2002 |
47 | 8 | "Mona vs. Ms. Marvelous" "Spelling Bee" | April 5, 2002 |
48 | 9 | "The Horned Horror" "The Legend of Caboose Malloy" | April 8, 2002 |
49 | 10 | "The Cat Lady's Meow" "The Wereclown" | April 9, 2002 |
50 | 11 | "Ghouls Rule!" "The Transylvanian Twist" | May 7, 2002 |
51 | 12 | "Terminate Her" "18 Holes to Oblivion" | May 8, 2002 |
52 | 13 | "The Case of the Moll Troll" "The Alien Magician" | June 14, 2002 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by [Note 1] | Storyboard by | Original release date [10] [11] [12] |
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53 | 1 | "Ghastly Gargoyle Galore" "Monkey Sea, Monkey Do" | Kim Segal Jacques Bouchard | TBA | March 15, 2004 |
54 | 2 | "The Wrath of Thor" "The Pied Piper" | Gerald Lewis Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz | TBA | August 25, 2004 |
55 | 3 | "Horrorscope" "The Rescue of Queen Mab" | Kim Segal & Travis M. Williams Gerald Lewis | TBA | August 25, 2004 |
56 | 4 | "The Sharkman Goeth" "Dr. Purrman's Secret Recipe" | Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz Kristine Van Dusen | TBA | Unaired [Note 2] |
57 | 5 | "Atlantis at Last" "Invasion of the Shadflies" | Jacques Bouchard Jason Bogdaneris | TBA | August 26, 2004 |
58 | 6 | "Gotto Robotto" "The Laser Wizard" | Kristine Van Dusen Gerald Lewis | TBA | January 26, 2004 |
59 | 7 | "The Ghost of the Flying Trapeze" "Bowling Gremlins" | Gerald Lewis Kim Segal & Travis M. Williams | TBA | August 27, 2004 |
60 | 8 | "Aliens 1-2-3" "Zapman, Myself and I" | Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz Jacques Bouchard | TBA | May 10, 2004 |
61 | 9 | "Would You Like Fries with That?" "The Haunted School Bus" | Michael F. Hamill Kristine Vau Dusen | TBA | February 21, 2006 |
62 | 10 | "Nickelodeon Nightmare" "Ready Steady Yeti" | Jason Bogdaneris Gerald Lewis | TBA | February 22, 2006 |
63 | 11 | "The Sandman" "Von Kreepsula's Day Off" | Kim Segal & Travis M. Williams Gerald Lewis & Kristine Van Dusen | TBA | March 26, 2004 |
64 | 12 | "Rockin' Reptile Roundup" "The Suck-O-5000" | Jason Bogdaneris Sarah Musgrave | TBA | March 10, 2004 |
65 | 13 | "Medusa's Revenge" "The Fearsome Forecasts" | Michael F. Hamill Gerald Lewis | TBA | March 30, 2004 |
Mona the Vampire is based on a children's book of the same name that was published in the United Kingdom by Orchard Books in 1990 and was written and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman. The book was the first in a Mona children's book series. Holleyman's original idea of Mona, as represented in the original Mona books, led more towards a girl with a great imagination who, like many children, likes to experiment with multiple different obsessions.
The concept would be retooled in 1995 with the release of a series of Mona the Vampire novels, this time written by Hiawyn Oram, with Holleyman still illustrating. In these books, Mona is now solely infatuated with her vampire superheroine persona. Four novels would be published from the mid-to-late 1990s, and would serve as the basis for the television series.
The series started development in the mid-1990s. It was originally pitched around to various British networks, but after no success, Ian Lewis, along with his production company, The Farnham Film Company, took the project to Canada, where it was picked up by the CINAR corporation. [13] The series entered development in 1997, and it would soon be greenlit for 26 half-hour episodes in early 1998. Production would officially begin that June; it was the second series to be co-produced by CINAR and Alphanim, following Animal Crackers . [14] [15] [16] [17]
The theme song score was composed by Judy Henderson, who had also helped compose the theme for Arthur, another CINAR production. The lyrics were written by Judy Rothman, though for unknown reasons, she was uncredited. The theme was performed by Quebecoise singer Lulu Hughes. Like Rothman, she was not credited in the actual show, but on the show's official website, she was credited as Loulou Hughes. Her contribution was confirmed by Henderson in 2022. [18]
The series was renewed for a second season containing 13 half-hour episodes in early 2000. Due to the then-ongoing CINAR scandal, Telefilm Canada and the Canadian Television Fund had suspended business with the company. This affected funding for the second season, although Peter Moss, then-president of CINAR, stated that the funding was "not a very high percentage of the budget." [19] [20]
A third season, containing an additional 13 half-hour episodes, was greenlit in 2001. After production of the third season wrapped up in spring 2002, [21] production on the series went on a hiatus, before the series was eventually renewed for a fourth season, once again containing 13 half-hour episodes, that fall. [22] Production wrapped up in early 2004.
In a retrospective review from The Arcade, Luka Costello was positive about the show, stating that despite the young demographic, "the show was never too preachy. It had witty dialogue and the simple animation is still admirable. It was definitely the humble origins of my love for the supernatural and that theme song was catchy as hell." [23]
The series was originally premiered in Canada on YTV on September 13, 1999, and later in France on France 3 on October 30, 2000. For Seasons 3 and 4, the series moved to Tiji. In the United Kingdom, the series aired on Nickelodeon, CBBC, and later on Pop for a brief period.
Despite its success in other territories, the series was never broadcast in the U.S. during its original run, though attempts were made in the early 2000s. [24] In 2009, Cookie Jar launched Jaroo, a streaming service that housed a majority of their animated properties, including the DIC library, which they had acquired the previous year. Mona was available to stream on Jaroo, being advertised as having its U.S premiere on the platform. [25] The streaming service has since been discontinued.
It wouldn't be until 2011 when the series would finally make its U.S. broadcast premiere on This TV, as part of the Cookie Jar Toons children's programming block. The series would premiere on September 26, 2011, and would run until October 27, 2013. The block was discontinued four days later. [26] [27]
Currently, the first season is available to stream for free on Tubi. The entire series in full is also available on iTunes, Vudu, and Google Play.
During and after the show's run, several DVDs containing select episodes of the series were released, especially by Cookie Jar Entertainment. These DVDs sometimes included extra features, such as episode and language selection settings and voiced character descriptions by child voice actors. The complete first season was later released in North America by Mill Creek Entertainment, which featured select episodes from various Cookie Jar shows, including episodes from Busytown Mysteries , Horseland , Wimzie's House , Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings , Happy Castle and The Wombles .
In the UK, VHS and DVD releases were handled by Abbey Home Media and Direct Source Products. [28]
In 2000, Alphanim, Tiji, and CINAR created a bilingual Adobe Flash-based website under the domain name monathevampire.com. This website featured several games and activities that included characters and settings from the series. The domain had been deactivated by 2016, but archived versions of the site still exist. Due to the discontinuation of the Adobe Flash Player at the end of 2020, archived versions of the website may be inaccessible.