The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Thurop Van Orman |
Directed by | Thurop Van Orman |
Creative directors |
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Voices of | |
Opening theme | "The Misadventures of Flapjack" (written by Thurop Van Orman & Dan Cantrell; performed by the cast) |
Composer | Dan Cantrell |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 46 (90 segments) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Pernelle Hayes |
Editor | Robert Gibis |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production company | Cartoon Network Studios |
Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network | Cartoon Network |
Original release | June 5, 2008 – August 31, 2010 |
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (also known as The Misadventures of Flapjack, or simply Flapjack) is an American animated television series created by Thurop Van Orman for Cartoon Network. It premiered in the United States on June 5, 2008. [1] It stars Van Orman as the voice of Flapjack, a naive young boy who was raised by a whale named Bubbie and is mentored by a crusty old pirate named Captain K'nuckles. Together the trio spend their days in Stormalong Harbor, where most of the show takes place, whilst getting into mishaps on the search for the elusive Candied Island. [2]
Van Orman, who pitched the idea to Cartoon Network as early as 2001, incorporated his own dreams of marine adventures, acquired while living in Florida as a boy, into the series. After three seasons and 46 episodes, the series ended on August 31, 2010. During its run, Flapjack received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, two Annie Award nominations, and one Golden Reel Award nomination.
Most characters live in the fictional city of Stormalong Harbor. The city is built on a series of docks in the middle of the ocean with little surrounding land. It is possible to actually swim underneath the city, which is often done by Bubbie. The wealthier citizens live on more elevated piers which have vegetation-growing land attached to it, while the lower class lives lower in the city. Stormalong also has a sewer system and a series of tunnels. Most inhabitants are sailors of some sort, and sailors and/or pirates are constantly visiting from other lands. Stormalong has a great variety of (often bizarre) shops, including a bar that serves candy instead of alcohol (The Candy Barrel). The city appears quite dystopian, having a high level of crime and loitering, and the only forms of law enforcement are the Dock Hag and a small police force.
The series revolves around three main characters: Flapjack, Captain K'nuckles, and Bubbie. Flapjack is a young man who was raised by a talking whale named Bubbie. Flapjack and Bubbie lead a peaceful life until the duo rescue a pirate by the name of Captain K'nuckles, who tells Flapjack of a place called Candied Island, an island made entirely of candy. Inspired by the adventurous pirate, Flapjack, Captain K'nuckles, and Bubbie get into strange predicaments and "misadventures" in search of candy, Candied Island, and the coveted title of "Adventurer". The three spend most of their time in Stormalong Harbor, their place of residence and home to many strange characters.
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
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First aired | Last aired | |||
Pilot | 2 | May 7, 2007 | ||
Shorts | 5 | July 27, 2007 | August 24, 2007 | |
1 | 20 | June 5, 2008 | July 23, 2009 | |
2 | 20 | July 30, 2009 | June 28, 2010 | |
3 | 6 | July 5, 2010 | August 31, 2010 |
As a child, show creator Van Orman lived in Panama City, Florida, and "used to fantasize about living near the dock and having adventures all the time." When he was 13, his family moved to Utah, but Van Orman still dreamed of adventure. He worked after school as a janitor, saving money for a plane ticket back to Florida. There, he packed some rice and potatoes, and paddled a surfboard to Shell Island. He planned to live off sea urchins and "even speared a manta ray," but things soon went sour. Eventually he became badly sunburned and began to starve. He returned to the mainland, but later tried again: he "went to Mexico and lived in the jungles and found [himself] eating out of dumpsters." Orman took his failures in stride, chalking all these bad circumstances up as "part of the adventure". [3]
Many of Van Orman's influences included the likes of Gary Larson, Jim Henson, Stephen Hillenburg, and even his old boss Craig McCracken. Van Orman was well known for his work on other Cartoon Network shows, such as The Powerpuff Girls , The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy , and Camp Lazlo .
The original extended theme song for the show was used only once, for a musical special titled 'All Hands On Deck'. Modest Mouse singer Isaac Brock, a fan of the series, provided vocals for the version in the special.
Van Orman attempted to pitch the concept to Cartoon Network in 2001. He created a short and incorporated many childhood favorites, with visual inspiration from older adventure novels. His first pitch was rejected, but he received a lot of feedback and re-pitched the concept in 2003. [3]
The series works with Screen Novelties to produce the stop-motion and title card portions of the show. [3]
Paul Reubens was originally selected to be the voice of Flapjack, but when Reubens did not show up to any recording sessions, Van Orman himself decided to voice Flapjack. [3]
The series ended on August 31, 2010, after 3 seasons, 46 half-hour episodes, and 91 episode segments. The final episode, entitled "Fish Out of Water", focused on Flapjack and K'nuckles turning into fish due to eating too much candy and, at the end of the episode, featured an appearance by creator Thurop Van Orman and his son Leif Van Orman, who played live action versions of Flapjack and K'nuckles after they once again eat too much candy. A live action version of Bubbie also appeared.
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack: Volume 1 Region 1 DVD was released on September 15, 2009, and contains the first ten episodes along with four bonus featurettes. [4]
A Flapjack video game was confirmed by series creator Thurop Van Orman in Spring 2010 for the Nintendo DS system. When the show was cancelled, the game was cancelled with it.[ citation needed ] Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles appeared as playable characters in Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion ; Peppermint Larry and Candy Wife acted as assist characters, while one of the stages is set within Bubbie's Mouth. Eight-Armed Willy appears as part of Flapjack's Punch Time Explosion and appeared as Ben 10's transformation in Crossover Nexus .
In his book The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows, David Perlmutter regarded Flapjack as "a cleverly produced and amusing series that never completely got the exposure or respect it deserved. Creator Van Orman combined his life-long affection for the sea with a uniquely designed steampunk-type universe that brought to mind the technology and the moral ambigiuity inherent in 19th century media, as reflected in many fictional narratives from that time."
Journalist Melissa C. from Game Rant praised the show, stating, "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack was creative, funny, and aesthetically pleasing. It should have at least gotten a few more seasons. Its legacy lives on because of the shows it inspired. If new episodes were made today, possibly with more live action elements, it would rival any show it was up against." [5]
Several former storyboard artists and production crew members who worked on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack have gone on to create their own series, incorporating many of the humor and surrealism of the aforementioned series. [5] These included Pendleton Ward (a former writer and storyboard artist who went on to create Adventure Time ), [6] J. G. Quintel (a former creative director and storyboard artist who went on to create Regular Show ), [7] Alex Hirsch (a former writer and storyboard artist who went on to create Gravity Falls ), [8] and Patrick McHale (a former writer and storyboard artist who went on to create Over the Garden Wall ). [9] These shows also had crew members who went on to make their own shows as well, creating what many refer to as the Flapjack family of cartoons.
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Refs |
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2009 | Golden Reel Awards | Best Sound Editing – Television Animation | Nominated | [10] | |
2009 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Chris Roszak (for "Sea Legs") | Won | [11] |
2010 | Annie Awards | Best Animated Television Production for Children | Nominated | [12] | |
Best Directing in a Television Production | John Infantino & J. G. Quintel (for "Candy Cassanova") | Nominated | [12] | ||
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Short Form Animated Program | For "Tee Hee Tummy Tums" | Nominated |
Brian Murray, known professionally by his stage name as Brian Doyle-Murray, is an American actor, voice-actor and screenwriter. He has appeared with his younger brother, actor/comedian Bill Murray, in several movies, including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, Groundhog Day, and The Razor's Edge. He co-starred on the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son, where he played the foul-mouthed Hank Murphy. He also appeared in the Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants as The Flying Dutchman, the Cartoon Network original animated series My Gym Partner's a Monkey as Coach Tiffany Gills, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack as Captain K'nuckles, a recurring role as Don Ehlert on the ABC sitcom The Middle, and Bob Kruger in the AMC dramedy Lodge 49.
"The Big Rock Candy Mountains", first recorded by Harry McClintock in 1928, is a country folk song about a hobo's idea of paradise, a modern version of the medieval concept of Cockaigne. It is a place where "hens lay soft-boiled eggs" and there are "cigarette trees". McClintock said that he wrote the song in 1895, based on tales from his youth hoboing through the United States while working for the railroad as a brakeman. It is catalogued as Roud Folk Song Index No. 6696.
Steve Little is an American actor, comedian and writer, best known for his roles on the shows Camp Lazlo, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Eastbound & Down, Adventure Time, The Grinder, and Haters Back Off. He also used to co-star on the Adult Swim series Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter.
Ward Taylor Pendleton Johnston, known professionally as Pendleton Ward or simply Pen Ward, is an American animator, screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actor who has worked for Cartoon Network Studios, Frederator Studios, and Netflix Animation. He created the Emmy Award-winning series Adventure Time, the Internet series Bravest Warriors, and the adult animated interview series The Midnight Gospel.
Roz Ryan is an American actress, singer, and comedian who has worked for productions in film, television, and Broadway theatre for over 40 years. Ryan's first role on Broadway was in Ain't Misbehavin', a Fats Waller-influenced musical revue that debuted in 1978. She is well known for her part in the television show, Amen, for her character Amelia Hetebrink, for being the voice of Thalia, the Muse of Comedy in the 1997 Disney animated film, Hercules, and for guest starring on the Disney Channel sitcom, K.C. Undercover as Grandma Gayle.
Mark "Thurop" Ashton Van Orman is an American cartoonist, animator, voice actor, television writer, producer and director best known for being the creator of Cartoon Network's The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, in which he voices the title character.
James Garland Quintel is an American animator, voice actor, director, writer, producer, and storyboard artist. He is best known as the creator of the Cartoon Network series Regular Show (2010–2017), in which he voiced Mordecai and High Five Ghost, and the HBO Max series Close Enough (2020–2022), in which he voices Josh.
Peter Browngardt is an American animator, storyboard artist, voice actor, writer and producer currently working as executive producer and creative director behind Looney Tunes Cartoons. He is perhaps best known for being the creator of Cartoon Network's Uncle Grandpa, in which he also voices the title character, a spin-off of the earlier Secret Mountain Fort Awesome. Browngardt has had prior experience working on shows such as Futurama, The Venture Bros., Chowder and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. His main contribution to the Adventure Time series is storyboarding and writing the episode "Wizard".
Kent Matthew Osborne is an American screenwriter, actor, animator, producer, and director. He has worked for such animated television shows as SpongeBob SquarePants, Camp Lazlo, Phineas and Ferb, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Adventure Time, Regular Show and The Amazing World of Gumball, he has received multiple Emmy Award nominations and has won twice for Adventure Time. He is currently the head writer for Cartoon Network's animated series Summer Camp Island, which premiered in 2018. He has also starred in several mumblecore films, including Hannah Takes the Stairs, Nights and Weekends, All the Light in the Sky and Uncle Kent. His brother is the director Mark Osborne. Osborne had replaced Walt Dohrn as a storyboard director and writer after Dohrn left SpongeBob to work on more DreamWorks films in 2002.
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The second season of Adventure Time, an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward, premiered on Cartoon Network on October 11, 2010 and concluded on May 2, 2011, and was produced by Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios. The season follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the other main characters of the show: Princess Bubblegum, The Ice King, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Lumpy Space Princess, and BMO.
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Cole Phillip Sanchez is an American artist, voice actor, writer, storyboard artist, director, and producer who is best known for being a writer, storyboard artist and director on the animated television series Adventure Time. Sanchez first rose to prominence when he became a storyboard artist of the Cartoon Network series The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. Formerly, he was a supervising director on Long Live the Royals, and has since returned to Adventure Time to direct the last two seasons. He is currently supervising producer on the series Summer Camp Island.
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Daniel James Bandit, better known as Ghostshrimp, is an American graphic artist, animator and illustrator. His illustration work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and on many album covers, including the MF DOOM and Bishop Nehru collaboration NehruvianDoom. He is the former lead background designer for the Cartoon Network series Adventure Time. He left midway through production of the fourth season to return to his freelance career, although he later temporarily returned to design backgrounds for the seventh season miniseries Stakes and several subsequent ninth and tenth-season episodes. Finally, for the same channel he created in 2013 the pilot Mars Safari!, which was released online as part of Cartoon Network Studios' shorts development program.
Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh is an American 2D animated television series produced by DreamWorks Animation and animated by Titmouse, which debuted on July 29, 2016, as a Netflix original series. It was developed by Ryan Crego and Thurop Van Orman, the latter of whom is the creator of Cartoon Network's The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. The series is based on the 2015 DreamWorks animated film Home, which in turn was based on the 2007 novel The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. With the exception of Matt Jones, who returned as the voice of Kyle, none of the original cast reprised their roles.
Jacqueline "Jackie" Buscarino is an American voice actress, writer and producer. She has contributed voice-over work to animated series such as The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Adventure Time and Gravity Falls. In 2010, she wrote and directed the short film Go Tell Ricky Scrotum. In 2013, she is the producer of the Cartoon Network series Steven Universe and its sequel Steven Universe Future, where she also voices the character of Vidalia. Buscarino also starred in the lead role as Jackie in the 2003 independent live action film My Life with Morrissey.
Moore's Delicatessen, or Moore's Deli, was a restaurant located at 271 E Orange Grove Ave in Burbank, California. It served deli sandwiches, burgers, and other deli fare, along with breakfast foods, soups, and salads, as well as coffee and craft beer. The restaurant, located near Cartoon Network Studios, Nickelodeon Animation Studio, and Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, was known for its back room where animators, illustrators, and other artists from the aforementioned studios would draw on the walls.
Bottom Line: Feisty and funny animated series that kids will fall for hook, line and sinker.[ dead link ]