DinoSquad
DinoSquad is an American animated television series that was produced by DIC Entertainment Corporation and aired on the KEWLopolis block on CBS from November 3, 2007[1][2] – December 6, 2008.
DinoSquad | |
---|---|
Genre | |
Developed by | Jeffrey Scott |
Voices of | Benjamin Beck Dana Donlan Nils Haaland Ian Eli Lee Moira Mangiameli Vincent Michael Kelcey Watson |
Theme music composer | Ron Wasserman |
Composer | Ron Wasserman |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Andy Heyward Michael Maliani |
Editors | Robert Brousseau Jo Martin |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production company | DIC Entertainment Corporation[lower-alpha 1] |
Distributor | DIC Entertainment |
Release | |
Original network | CBS (KEWLopolis) |
Picture format | NTSC / 480i |
Audio format | Stereo |
Original release | November 3, 2007 – December 6, 2008 |
The show was about five teenagers, each with the power to turn into a respective dinosaur. They use this power to fight the villainous Victor Veloci, who is intent on returning the world to the age of dinosaurs by turning humans and animals into new mutant dinosaurs and accelerating global warming.
This show, along with Sushi Pack, were the final two series produced by DIC before their acquisition with Cookie Jar Entertainment.
Show summary
Five teenagers, Rodger, Max, Caruso, Fiona and Buzz, gain the power to turn into dinosaurs by getting covered in Victor Veloci's primordial ooze that mutated their DNA on a school field trip to the tide pools when they were rescuing Rump. With the help of their mysterious science teacher, Ms. Moynihan (who is an anthropomorphic Velociraptor), they learn to use their unique abilities to protect the planet from Victor Veloci. Victor is widely known as the head of company Raptor Dyne, but is also a 65-million-year-old anthropomorphic Velociraptor. His secret identity is unknown to everyone except himself and the audience. His true plan is to turn everyone into dinosaurs by using primordial ooze and increase the climate to that of the Mesozoic era with the goal of returning the world to how it was when dinosaurs ruled and tries capturing them in their dinosaur forms, not knowing they are humans. However, his plans always backfired and thus the return to the age of the dinosaurs was never meant to be. Dino Squad is set in Kittery Point, Maine.
Season 2 episodes began airing online on August 4, 2008 before airing on CBS on September 13, 2008.
Dino Squad members
- Ms. Moynihan (Joanne Moynihan) – A science teacher who is a Velociraptor that survived extinction and gained a human form. She can communicate telepathically with the teens.
- Max (Rolf Maxwell) – A hunky 18-year-old high school senior in Ms. Moynihan's class. He is the team leader and captain of the football team. His Dino form is a Tyrannosaurus (although it has three fingers, unlike the real Tyrannosaurus which had two). Max is voiced by Ian Eli Lee.
- Caruso (Erwin Caruso) – A handsome high school senior in Ms. Moynihan's class. He is vain and obsessed with the idea of fame, as well as his "good looks". He can be a pain sometimes though as his selfishness and arrogance hurt the team. Though he did prove himself worthy to the squad in episode 23. In that same episode he is revealed to have created his own line of moisturizers. He also practices yoga. His Dino form is a Stegosaurus (although his dino form has five tail spikes, teeth and no beak, unlike the real Stegosaurus). Caruso is voiced by Benjamin Beck.
- Fiona (Fiona Flagstaff) – Another high school senior in Ms. Moynihan's class. She is the only girl on the Squad (with the exception of Ms. Moynihan), and has a penchant for fast things like rollerblades or race cars. What grosses out Fiona entices Buzz (spiders, insects, etc.). She is allergic to spider bites, as revealed in "Never Judge a Dinosaur by its Cover". Fiona is the squad's resident mechanic and gear head, and is also a tomboy. Max and Buzz may have a crush on her, but she doesn't seem to notice. Her Dino form is a Spinosaurus. Fiona has a little sister called Terri. Fiona is voiced by Dana Donlan.
- Rodger (Rodger Blair) – Another high school senior in Ms. Moynihan's class. He is very smart and has a prankster streak. He is able to come up with gadgets even though his creations sometimes fail. He is somewhat arrogant like Caruso but helps the team when duty calls. He has a little brother named Mikey. His Dino form is a Styracosaurus (albeit with three horns, making it look more like a Triceratops). Roger is voiced by Kelcey Watson.
- Buzz (Neil Buzmati) – Another high school senior in Ms. Moynihan's class. He is 17, then turned 18. He is the youngest member. He's the "punk" kid, who is scared of his own shadow. Several times throughout the series, he also shows affection for small creatures traditionally considered "gross", such as rats, snakes, cockroaches, and spiders. Buzz is anything but a coward when he is needed in action. His alternate form, a Pteranodon, is one of the two non-dinosaurs in the Dino Squad.
- Rump – The Dino Squad's mischievous pet bull terrier. He can transform himself into a strange animal that looks like a hybrid between a pig and a horse. The Dino Squad has not yet determined the species of dinosaur his "dino form" is supposed to be (although since Ms. Moynihan never "taught" him how to control his transformations as she did the kids, it's likely his dino form is mostly canine and it bears a resemblance to a Gorgonopsid or even an Andrewsarchus). Rump usually gives Caruso a hard time from when he took his jacket in "The Beginning" as a stray dog, up until the episode "Runaway Ugly" when he ate Caruso's cupcake.
Supporting characters
- Terri – Fiona's brainy little sister. At first she is jealous of Fiona. She appears in 3 episodes ("A Mole Lotta Trouble", "Wannabe", and, "Never Judge a Dinosaur by its Cover"). Although she may be as intellectual as Rodger, she has also exercised substandard judgment. Terri is voiced by Sarah Heinke.
One-time characters
- Liam – A student with Asperger syndrome. He only appears in "The World According to Liam".
- Peter – Veloci's assistant who only appears in the first episode.
Raptor Dyne
- Victor Veloci – The main antagonist of the series and a business magnate who owns Raptor Dyne. He wants to revert Earth back to the way it was millions of years ago in order to facilitate the return of dinosaurs as the dominant species on the planet by using his primordial ooze. He also wants to capture the Dino Squad members as dinosaurs not knowing they are actually humans. His dino form is a Velociraptor. He and Ms. Moynihan were the only survivors of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.
- Henchman – There are many henchmen who work for Raptor Dyne. They wear helmets with faceplates as part of their uniform. In episode 23, Caruso dresses up as one to fake out Veloci's real henchmen.
List of Dino Squad episodes
Season 1: 2007–2008
NO. | # | Title | Written by | Airdate |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "The Beginning" | Jeffrey Scott | November 3, 2007 |
2 | 2 | "Growth Potential" | Robert N. Skir | November 5, 2007 |
3 | 3 | "Tangled Web" | Michael Ryan | November 10, 2007 |
4 | 4 | "T-Rex Formation" | Jeffrey Scott | November 12, 2007 |
5 | 5 | "Who Let the Dog Out?" | Robert N. Skir | November 19, 2007 |
6 | 6 | "Bully 4 U" | Michael Ryan | November 23, 2007 |
7 | 7 | "The Lost Worldwide Web" | Jeffrey Scott | November 27, 2007 |
8 | 8 | "Headline Nuisance" | Robert N. Skir | December 11, 2007 |
9 | 9 | "Who'll Stop the Rain?" | Michael Ryan | December 15, 2007 |
10 | 10 | "Zoom in on Zoom" | Jeffrey Scott | December 30, 2007 |
11 | 11 | "A Mole Lotta Trouble" | Robert N. Skir | January 20, 2008 |
12 | 12 | "The Not so Great Outdoors" | Michael Ryan | April 15, 2008 |
13 | 13 | "Pet Peeve" | Jeffrey Scott | May 20, 2008 |
Season 2: 2008
NO. | # | Title | Written by | Airdate |
---|---|---|---|---|
14 | 1 | "The World According to Liam" | Robert N. Skir | September 30, 2008 |
15 | 2 | "Runaway Ugly" | Michael Ryan | October 6, 2008 |
16 | 3 | "Attack of the Brain-A-Saurus" | Jeffrey Scott | October 14, 2008 |
17 | 4 | "Wannabe" | Robert N. Skir | October 21, 2008 |
18 | 5 | "Fire and Ice" | Michael Ryan | November 14, 2008 |
19 | 6 | "Never Judge a Dinosaur by its Cover" | Jeffrey Scott | November 17, 2008 |
20 | 7 | "Easy Riders and Raging Dinos" | Robert N. Skir | November 18, 2008 |
21 | 8 | "One Percent Inspiration" | Michael Ryan | November 19, 2008 |
22 | 9 | "Howa Loa Can you Goa?" | Jeffrey Scott | November 20, 2008 |
23 | 10 | "Scents and Scents Ability" | Robert N. Skir | November 21, 2008 |
24 | 11 | "I Think I Can't, I Think I Can't" | Jeffrey Scott | November 22, 2008 |
25 | 12 | "Perseverance" | Michael Ryan | November 29, 2008 |
26 | 13 | "The Trojan Dinosaur" | Jeffrey Scott | December 6, 2008 |
Broadcast history
The series originally aired on CBS on the KEWLopolis block until being removed during the blocks rebranding to Cookie Jar TV in 2009.
The series later reaired on the Syndicated Cookie Jar Kids Network block,[3] and on This TV's Cookie Jar Toons block from 2011 until the block's end in 2013.
Home Media and Streaming releases
From April 2009 until July 2010, NCircle Entertainment released 5 DVDs of the series, each containing 3 episodes (except for the last volume, which has 4).
DVD/VHS name | Episodes | Release date |
---|---|---|
Go Dino! | The Beginning Growth Potential T-Rex Transformation |
April 14, 2009 |
Raptor Attack! | Tangled Web Zoom In On Zoom Who'll Stop the Rain |
April 14, 2009 |
Prehistoric Problems! | The Lost World Wide Web Headline Nuisance Who Let The Dog Out |
August 18, 2009 |
Mutant Mayhem! | A Mole Lotta Trouble Pet Peeve The Not So Great Outdoors |
February 2, 2010 |
Fire & Ice! | Bully 4 U Fire & Ice One Percent Inspiration Howa Loa Can You Goa |
July 13, 2010 |
The series was also available to stream on Netflix from September 2014 until January 1, 2018, and is currently available to stream through Kid Genius and CONtv.
References
- Bynum, Aaron H. (August 24, 2007). "CBS & DiC Establish KEWLopolis, Saturdays". Animation Insider. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
- Ball, Ryan (November 1, 2007). "Dino, Sushi Join CBS Menu". Animation Magazine. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
- "Network A" (PDF). Ascent Media. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
- Animation outsourced to Suzhou Hong Yang Cartoon Company Limited.