The Cramp Twins

The Cramp Twins is an animated television series created by cartoonist Brian Wood based on his 1995 graphic novel of the same name.[5] The show was produced by Sunbow Entertainment (in season 1), Telemagination (in season 2), and TV-Loonland AG, in association with Cartoon Network Europe.[6]

The Cramp Twins
GenreAnimated sitcom
Created byBrian Wood
Developed byBrian Wood
Richard Liebmann-Smith
Written by
Directed by
  • Frank Gresham
  • Becky Bristow
  • Tamara Varga
Starring
Theme music composerHélène Muddiman
ComposerHélène Muddiman
Country of origin
  • Germany
  • United Kingdom
  • United States (S1)
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes52 (104 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Peter Völkle
  • Ken Olshansky (Season 1)
  • Carole Weitzman (Season 1)
  • David Ferguson (Season 2)
  • Marion Edwards (Season 2)
  • Finn Arnesen and Daniel Lennard (for Cartoon Network Europe)
Producers
  • Jodey Caminski-Cashman (Season 1)
  • Denise Green (Season 2)
Editors
  • Michael Geisler (Season 1)
  • Jim Andrews (Season 2)
  • Darren Jones (Season 2)
Running time20 minutes (2–10 minute segments)
Production companies
Release
Original networkCartoon Network
Original releaseSeptember 3, 2001 (2001-09-03)[4] –
2004 (2004)

Overview
Main article: List of The Cramp Twins episodes

The series follows the day-day exploits of Lucien Cramp (Kath Soucie) and Wayne Cramp (Tom Kenny), fraternal twin brothers who live with their germophobic mother Dorothy (Nicole Oliver) and their Western-obsessed father Horace (Ian James Corlett) in the fictional, industrial town of Soap City. Wayne and Lucien's personalities clash, and they hate one another. Wayne has a friend called Dirty Joe (Lee Tockar), who owns a dump, and neighbour Wendy Winkle (Jayne Peterson) has a crush on him, but he despises her. Wayne's and Lucien's teacher is Miss Hillary Hissy (Cathy Weseluck). Lucien's friends include swamp-dweller Tony Parsons (Terry Klassen) and socially-awkward Mari Phelps (Tabitha St. Germain).

Two seasons of The Cramp Twins were made altogether. In the United States, season 1 aired as two separate seasons, and did not get broadcast until long after it had aired in its home country. All episodes were aired 2–3 years earlier in the UK leaving one episode from season 2 (4 in the US) unaired.

Characters

Main
  • Wayne Cramp (voiced by Tom Kenny) is the blue-skinned younger of the twins, but is taller than Lucien.
  • Lucien Cramp (voiced by Kath Soucie) is Wayne's older twin brother, as the opening credits indicate. Lucien is the smarter of the twins, and is considered an "eco-nerd".
  • Dorothy Cramp (née O'Neil) (voiced by Nicole Oliver), is the yellow-skinned strict mother to the twins, and wife of Horace Cramp.
  • Horace Cramp (voiced by Ian James Corlett) is the green-skinned and inept father of Wayne and Lucien and husband of Dorothy Cramp.
  • Tony Parsons (voiced by Terry Klassen) is Lucien's best friend and a swamp child.
  • Wendy Winkle (voiced by Jayne Paterson) is the only daughter of Walter Winkle.
  • Mari Phelps (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain) is Lucien's other friend. She often co-operates with Lucien on his environment-conserving efforts, but often can't help desiring a bit of power.

Recurring
  • Dirty Joe Muldoon: (voiced by Lee Tockar) A dim-witted, lonely, middle-aged man who owns the local junkyard frequented by Wayne. He is Wayne's best and only friend. He is an unseen character (except for a hand and part of his clothes).
  • Walter Winkle: (voiced by Colin Murdock) Mr Cramp's boss and Wendy's father. He owns the city's soap-producing factory.
  • Hillary Hissy: (voiced by Cathy Weseluck) Hillary (Miss Hissy) is Wayne's, Lucien's, Wendy's and Mari's oversized teacher.
  • Seth Parsons: (voiced by Terry Klassen) Tony's father and a swamp person.
  • Mr. Pretty: (voiced by Jay Brazeau) is the overly peppy principal of the school introduced in the second season.
  • Lillian "Lilly" Parsons: (voiced by Pauline Newstone) Seth's wife and the mother of Tony and his siblings.
  • Mrs. Phelps (Voiced by Kath Soucie): Mari's mother. She is the strictest member of the family.
  • Mr. Phelps: Mari's dad. He works at the opticians. Voiced by Colin Murdock.
  • Agent X: A mysterious and charismatic character portrayed as an FBI Agent (or similar).

Minor
  • Mrs. Winkle: (voiced by Cathy Weseluck) Wendy's mother and Walter Winkle's wife. She behaves more or less like her husband, but ignores/denies the fact they're related to Swamp People.
  • Barber: Dorothy takes Lucien and Wayne to see him, and due to a number of circumstances, ends up shutting down his shop entirely. He appears to dislike and to be scared of Tony, as Tony did not pay his hair shaving fees.
  • Rodeo Rita: (voiced by Kath Soucie) A bull rider and country yodeler who turns out to be a fraud. Horace is a big fan of hers, and has a crush on her; the revelation did almost nothing to affect his opinion of her.
  • Big Baby: The boys' unnamed female cousin. Although she is five years old, she can barely speak or walk.
  • Marsha and Tandy: Dorothy's so-called friends. Marsha is voiced by Ellen Kennedy and Tandy is voiced by Iris Quinn. They are often seen arguing or insulting each other and often take delight in Dorothy's domestic misfortunes (i.e. Wayne and/or Lucien embarrassing her, behaving in an unsanitary manner, etc.).

Production and development

On April 1, 1999, the series was announced to be planned as a co-production with Sunbow Entertainment and Cartoon Network Europe during the development of their first co-production Fat Dog Mendoza.[7] In July of that year, the production of the series was announced.[8][9]

In October 2000, Sony Wonder's TV arm was acquired by German company TV-Loonland AG, putting The Cramp Twins under the control of Loonland.[10]

On March 6, 2001, TV-Loonland AG pre-sold the British terrestrial rights to the series to the BBC.[11] In September 2001, the series was pre-sold in Germany to KI.KA.[12] By Late 2001, the series pre-sold to TF1 in France.,[13] and TV-Loonland subsidiary Salsa Distribution pre-sold the series in Latin America to Fox Kids.[14]

In October 2002, it was announced that the series would be renewed for a second season, and that the animation production would be taken over from Sunbow Entertainment to Telemagination, a British animation company that TV-Loonland owned. By then, it was also announced that the series had been picked up in over 50 countries worldwide.[15]

Broadcast

The Cramp Twins premiered in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2001 on Cartoon Network and on BBC One during the CBBC programming block, later airing on the CBBC channel itself in February 2002.[16] The show achieved high popularity with children in the UK, pulling in 1.5 million viewers a week on CBBC and becoming the top-rated weekend series on Cartoon Network during its initial broadcast.[17] Although the series ended, reruns continued to air on CBBC and Cartoon Network for a few years afterwards, with Cartoon Network airing the show well into the mid-2010s at night, in order to fill European content requirements alongside Skatoony and Robotboy. It was also repeated on Boomerang UK and Cartoon Network Too.[18]

On January 30, 2003, it was announced that 4Kids Entertainment had acquired the exclusive merchandise licensing, television broadcast and home video rights for the series within the United States. The series premiered in the country on the company's FoxBox Saturday morning block on Fox on February 8, 2003.[19][20] It would continue to air on the block at various intervals until August 19, 2006. The series also aired on Cartoon Network in the US from June 14, 2004[21] to April 2005.

In Canada, the series aired on YTV, premiering in 2004.[22]

Home media

United Kingdom

In the UK, the series was released on DVD (with Volume 1 also released on VHS) by Metrodome Distribution, a home video company that TV-Loonland AG majority-owned at the time. Volumes 4 and 5 were released under the distributor's "Mini Metro" budget range.

All episodes released on DVD in the country made up the entirety of Series 1. Volume 5 also includes a Season 2 episode.

DVD TitleRelease DateIncluded Episodes
Mr. Winkle's Monkey & Other Stories

(DVD & VHS)

 United Kingdom: February 17, 2003[23][24]
  • "Fashion Passion / Small Wonder"
  • "Mr. Winkle's Monkey / Wicked Wendy"
  • "Swamp Fever / Kung Foolish"
  • "Silence Please / Fur Fungus"
  • "Home on the Range / Holesome"
Haircut Horrors & Other Stories

(DVD)

 United Kingdom: May 15, 2006[25]
  • "Date Dupe / Agent X"
  • "Sick Daze / Picket Picket"
  • "Nostalgia Nasty / Haircut Horrors"
  • "Big Baby / Ad Bad"
  • "Workout / Sixth Senselessness"
  • "Twin Studies / Birthday Blues"
Wolfman Wayne & Other Stories

(DVD)

 United Kingdom: May 15, 2006[26]
  • "Grandma's Piano / Guide Games"
  • "Prize Swallow / Ice Scream"
  • "Wolfman Wayne / Shed Dead"
  • "Spy's Pies / No Means Yes"
  • "Miss Kissy / Friend Fight"
  • "Walk Like A Man / Bouncy Bob"
Dirty Monkey & Other Stories

(DVD)

 United Kingdom: October 9, 2006[27]
  • "Room Rage / Dirty Monkey"
  • "Hotel Hysteria / Alien Glow"
  • "Chameleon Chaos / Weedkiller"
  • "The Great Luciani / Wendy Boy"
  • "Food Fight / Mari Mania"
Pantaloonacy & Other Stories

(DVD)

 United Kingdom: February 26, 2007[28]
  • "Great Bowl of Fear / Mud Crush"
  • "Petrified Poodles / Harp Wars"
  • "The Bad Seed / Rodeo Rita"
  • "Worm Funeral / One Sock Wonder"
  • "Pantaloonacy / Girl Gang"

"Sick Daze / Picket Picket" was also featured on a compilation VHS and DVD called "Boys Stuff" from 2004 which also featured episodes from The Transformers, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Yvon of the Yukon and Super Duper Sumos.[29]

United States

In the United States, two DVDs containing 11 segments each were released on DVD by Platinum Disc and 4Kids Home Video.

The first: "Twin-Compatible", was released on April 19, 2005, and the other: "Twin-Sult" was released on March 10, 2006.[30]

Ratings
  • Wednesday 20 February 2002 - 60,000 (2nd most watched on CBBC that week)
  • Friday 15 March 2002 - 40,000 (8th most watched on CBBC that week)
  • Thursday 21 March 2002 - 40,000 (3rd most watched on CBBC that week)
  • Thursday 28 March 2002 - 60,000 (most watched on CBBC that week)
  • Tuesday 26 March 2002 - 40,000 (6th most watched on CBBC that week)
  • Monday 15 April 2002 - 30,000 (4th most watched on CBBC that week)[31]

Award nominations

References
  1. "Series 2 of Cramp Twins underway".
  2. "The Cramp Twins to debut in September".
  3. Ball, Ryan (3 September 2006). "Cartoons on the Bay Picks Winners". Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  4. "The Cramp Twins to debut in September".
  5. The Cramp Twins: Amazon.co.uk: Wood, Brian, Wood, Brian: 9780747520788: Books. ASIN 074752078X.
  6. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 220. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  7. "Fat Dog Mendoza: A dog and his boy".
  8. "Cramp Twins Co-Pro for Cartoon Network and Sunbow".
  9. "Animation World News - Business: Microsoft Sells Softimage to Avid, Anime on Trial!, Sunbow & Cartoon Network Deal, Cinar Acquires Another Publisher".
  10. "German TV Loonland Acquires Sony Wonder".
  11. "TV-Loonland signs first big deal with BBC".
  12. "TV-Loonland Sells Series to German Kids Channel Kinderkanal".
  13. "Loonland's synergy machine keeps on humming".
  14. "Cramp Twins draws kids for Cartoon Network".
  15. "The Cramp Twins Picked up for a Second Season".
  16. "BBC One 3rd September 2001".
  17. "Loonland's synergy machine keeps on humming".
  18. "Boomerang UK and Ireland: Boomerang UK January 2014 Weekends". 29 December 2013.
  19. "The Cramp Twins Set for U.S. Premiere on Fox Box".
  20. "Start" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2006.
  21. "List of TV series aired on Cartoon Network – Nickandmore!".
  22. "YTV Programming Update May 2004".
  23. "The Cramp Twins: Volume 1 - Mr Winkles Monkey And Other Stories". 17 February 2003. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Amazon.
  24. "The Cramp Twins : Mr. Winkle's Monkey & Other Stories". March 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Amazon.
  25. "The Cramp Twins: Volume 2 - Haircut Horrors And Other Stories". 15 May 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Amazon.
  26. "The Cramp Twins: Volume 3 - Wolfman Wayne And Other Stories". 15 May 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Amazon.
  27. "Cramp Twins - Vol. 4". 9 October 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Amazon.
  28. "Cramp Twins Vol 5". 26 February 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Amazon.
  29. "Boys Stuff". 16 February 2004. Retrieved 5 July 2019 – via Amazon.
  30. "The Cramp Twins: Twin-Sult - 11 Twisted Episodes". Amazon. 10 March 2006.
  31. "BARB | Broadcasters Audience Research Board". Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  32. "Past Winners and Nominees - Children's - Awards - 2002". BAFTA. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  1. Animation outsourced to RG Prince Films[3] and Loonland Animation.
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