Van-Pires

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Van-Pires
Van-Pires title card.png
Created byJohn Gentile
Anthony Gentile
Developed byRon Kaehler
Directed byJohn Gentile and Anthony Gentile
StarringMarc Schwarz
Garikayi Mutambirwa
Melissa Marsala
Jason Hayes
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producersBrandon Pender, AGE Inc.
Running timeapprox. 30 minutes
Production companies Abrams/Gentile Entertainment
MSH Entertainment Corporation
Original release
Network First-run Syndication
ReleaseSeptember 14 (1997-09-14) 
December 7, 1997 (1997-12-07)

Van-Pires is a 1997 animated children's television series with live-action segments. [1] It was produced by Abrams/Gentile (New York), with CGI animation being produced under MSH (San Francisco). [2] The show was syndicated by The Summit Media Group.

Contents

Van-Pires also had portions of its soundtrack written and performed by John Entwistle of the rock band The Who and Steve Luongo, Entwistle's long-time friend, producer, and drummer in The John Entwistle Band with Noam Kaniel. [3]

Van-Pires centers on a group of human teenagers who protect and defend the world from evil anthropomorphic junkyard vans and vehicles known as the "Van-Pires" by transforming into robotic anthropomorphic cars, calling themselves the "Motor-Vaters". [4]

"When a mysterious meteor crashes into a lonely junkyard, derelict vans and cars take on human-like life. The Van-Pires suck the gas from innocent cars to feed their need for speed and drain the planet of all its fuel. Only four teenagers transformed by the meteor stand between the Van-Pires and a world sucked dry and running on empty. Part teen, part car, all hero. The Motor-Vaters must fight the night to save the day so check your fear and get in gear, the Van-Pires are here!"

- opening narration

Characters

Motor-Vaters

Four ordinary teens were accidentally caught in the path of a falling meteor. The meteor transformed them into heroic robotic guardians to protect the night from the evil forces of Tracula (a reference to "Dracula") and the rest of the Van-Pires. Each Motor-Vater has the ability to fly and they also share the same weaknesses as their enemies; like the Van-Pires, the Motor-Vaters require gas to sustain themselves and must avoid the sun at all costs. To transform, each hero gets into the driver's seat of his or her Carfin (a portmanteau of "car" and "coffin") and shouts, "Mission Ignition!"

Allies

Van-Pires

The titular villains of the series are the Van-Pires. Unlike the Motor-Vaters, they lack human forms. Led by Tracula, they terrorize the night with an insatiable thirst for gasoline. Similar to vampires, Van-Pires feed off vehicles and can sire other Van-Pires to further their nefarious plans.

Production

All 13 episodes of the show had total budget of $5.2 million. [5]

Episodes

  1. "Those Who Have the Fuel Shall Rule" (written by Anthony Gentile and John Gentile)
  2. "Unleaded Zeppelin" (written by Anthony Gentile, John Gentile, and Lisa Morton)
  3. "A Few Good Cars" (written by Anthony Gentile, John Gentile, Peter Stone, and Ron Kaehler)
  4. "Mission Demolition" (AKA "Night of Destruction") (written by Anthony Gentile, John Gentile, Peter Stone, and Ron Kaehler)
  5. "Bride of Tracula" (written by Anthony Gentile, John Gentile, and Ron Kaehler)
  6. "Tailpipes from the Crypt" (written by Anthony Gentile, John Gentile, Peter Stone, and Ron Kaehler)
  7. "Bad to the Cone" (written by Anthony Gentile, John Gentile, Peter Stone, and Ron Kaehler)
  8. "Nukenstein" (written by Anthony Gentile, John Gentile, and Ron Kaehler)
  9. "A Car is Born" (written by Anthony Gentile, John Gentile, and Lisa Morton)
  10. "The Swarm Storm" (written by Anthony Gentile, John Gentile, Peter Stone, and Ron Kaehler)
  11. "Rebel Without a Car" (written by Anthony Gentile, John Gentile, and Ron Kaehler)
  12. "One Million Miles B.C." (written by Anthony Gentile, John Gentile, Peter Stone, and Ron Kaehler)
  13. "Uncool Fuel" (written by Anthony Gentile and John Gentile)

Soundtrack

In 2000, the John Entwistle Band released Music from Van-Pires as an official album and soundtrack to the series. It was John Entwistle's last solo album before his death two years later.

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References

  1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 672. ISBN   978-1538103739.
  2. "Van-Pires Company Credits" . Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  3. "V John Entwistle – Music From Van-Pires" . Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  4. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 885–887. ISBN   978-1476665993.
  5. Miyakoshi, Masaaki (July 3, 1997). "Cartoon Caper". Sun-Sentinel . p. 49. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021 via Newspapers.com.