Tak and the Power of Juju (TV series)

Tak and the Power of Juju is an American CGI animated television series that aired for two seasons from August 31, 2007, to January 24, 2009. Loosely based on the 2003 video game of the same name, the show consists of two eleven-minute stories per half-hour episode. It was co-produced by THQ and Nickelodeon.[1] The series was produced by Nick Jennings and directed, among others, by Mark Risley, Jim Schumann, and Heiko Drengenberg. It was the first CGI series to be directly overseen by Nickelodeon Animation Studio.[2]

Tak and the Power of Juju
Genre
Created byJohn Blackburn (games)
Based onThe game developed
by THQ
Developed byJed Spingarn
Voices ofHal Sparks
Lloyd Sherr
Patrick Warburton
Kari Wahlgren
John DiMaggio
Dannah Feinglass
Rob Paulsen
S. Scott Bullock
Maurice LaMarche
Theme music composerGuy Moon
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producerNick Jennings
Running time22 minutes
Production companiesTHQ
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Release
Original networkNickelodeon
Original releaseAugust 31, 2007 (2007-08-31) 
January 24, 2009 (2009-01-24)

Characters

Main

  • Tak (voiced by Hal Sparks replacing Jason Marsden) has the ability to summon a magic power, which the Jujus (magical creatures) bestowed upon him to serve as a link between his and their realms (after Tak saved the Jujus from Darkness Juju). Tak tends to be the smarter of the group, but has his mishaps when it comes to practicing his Juju power. Whenever Lok gets himself into trouble Tak is the first one on the scene to save him. He is a 14-year-old apprentice who lives with his mentor Jibolba. Little is known about Tak's parents except that his mother was the Aurora Juju and his father was a Pupununu.
  • Jeera (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) is Tak's fun-loving best friend and the same age as him. She is a tomboy and will often punch Tak as a sign of endearment or annoyance. It is heavily implied that she has romantic feelings for Tak. Jeera is the younger of the Chief's two daughters; her older sister Zaria is next in line for the throne and never lets Jeera forget it. So far, the only game she appears in is Tak and the Guardians of Gross.
  • Banutu Jibolba (voiced by Lloyd Sherr replacing John Kassir) is Tak's guardian and mentor is the shaman of the Pupununu tribe. He is 177 years old.
  • The Chief (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is the leader of the Pupununu and father of Jeera and Zaria. A bumbling but ultimately harmless figurehead, he constantly gets furious at Tak due to his mistakes in the use of his Juju power yet often asks Tak to use his powers to help the village (but mainly to help him). He is mainly cheerful, and kind of a scatterbrain. He loves his tribe and is distinguished by his voice and his large belly. His real name is not mentioned.
  • Lok (voiced by Patrick Warburton) is the resident warrior of the village, Lok is more talk than action and, in fact, his cowardice usually gets the better of him. He'd rather make up a story (mostly from stating it was him and not Tak who saved the village) to save face than do the actual dangerous deed. He often refers to himself in third person.
  • Keeko (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a careless, daydreaming, laid-back orphan. Keeko is best friends with Tak and Jeera. He has no parents and lives in a cave. His only memories of his parents is the song he whistles. He creates different inventions in the series and some of them rarely work.
  • Linda is a talking, bright sheep who walks on two legs, and at several times on all of four, who is a very loyal and close friend of Tak (her only friend) to whom her heart is open to, as well as soft spot for. She is often ridiculed by her family for standing on two legs, instead of on all fours, but is not ridiculed by Tak. She has great interest in dancing.
  • Zaria (voiced by Dannah Feinglass) is Jeera's 18-year-old sister. She is the next one to inherit the throne and never let Jeera forget it. She is a preppy, girly, spoiled, bossy fashionista and has the largest feet in the village. She constantly brags that she is the most beautiful in all the tribe (and explains she has the most beautiful feet in the world), but Jeera and Tak think she's all that of herself and just plain mean. Psychic Juju revealed that she will not be the future chief. Zaria is based on Paris Hilton.
  • Slog (voiced by Megan Cavanagh) is a heavy-set woman who is incredibly strong. She has a "man-lady" voice. She has a big crush on Lok.
  • Blod (voiced by Rene Mujica) and Bleeta Oobgachaka (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) are the children of the tribe's wealthiest family, the Oongachakas. Blod and Bleeta are known to assist Tak and Jeera in their adventures. Blod is a hot-headed oddball and likes to brag about his wealth and has taken a romantic liking to Zaria, but she hates him. Bleeta is quite the opposite, always optimistic and curious about the world outside of her lifestyle and is Jeera's female best friend. They are commonly in the form of blue sheep, as seen in one episode.
  • Chaka and Oonga Oongachaka (voiced by Mindy Sterling and Lloyd Sherr) are the parents of Blod and Bleeta and friends of the Chief.
  • Navis is Jeera's pet Gratch. She obtains it in "The Littlest Gratch" and can be seen again in "Girls Only", "Mofather", "Double Tak", "Break This" and "Testing Jibolba".
  • The Pupununu Tribe – Mindless follower of Chief and Lok who play a similar role to Shy Guys and Waddle Dees in the show.
  • Traloc (voiced by Jeff Bennett, originally named "Tlaloc") is the evil shaman from the videogame series whose only appearance is in "A Shaman's Shaman". He comes to the village and attempts to become the new high shaman by squeezing Jibolba out and to be treated like royalty, but Tak and Jibolba revealed his scheme to Pupununu by showing he used Ginto Powder (a substance Jibolba is allergic to) to manipulate his magic, Jibolba return as the high shaman and made Tak turn Traloc into a donkey (originally a sheep in the games) and plans his return, though he would not appear again. He appears again in "Nicktoons: Globs of Doom" voiced again by Rob Paulsen.

Jujus

Jujus are very weird magical creatures that Tak calls upon whenever he's in need of them. Each of the Jujus reside in their own part of the Juju Realm. Among the Jujus featured in this series are:

  • Aurora Juju is Tak's mother and she created the crystal that powers Tak's staff. She was Darkness Juju's fiancé but left him and married a man from the Pupununu tribe. Not much is to be known of her, though it revealed in "Destiny Schmestiny" that she might still be alive and in hiding as Darkness Juju revealed that she had 'returned' to him thought it proven not to be her. She appears to be some sort of bug Juju.
  • Belly Juju is a hungry Juju whose stomach has taken over for his mouth. The stomach controls the body because the head has no brain.
  • Big Boss Juju is a fiery rock monster who is the mightiest Juju in the Juju Realm. It is so powerful, even other Jujus fear him. A long-forgotten Juju tradition has the Pupununu Chief fighting the Big Boss Juju as a way of evading world annihilation. It will target whoever is wearing the crown during the fight.
  • Bug Juju (voiced by Wayne Knight) is a small Juju that resembles a beetle. He has command over insects and loves to write autobiographical musicals.
  • Bulldrafish is a monster that has three heads (an aggressive bull head named Henry/George, a female dragon head named Doris who can breathe blue fire, and a fish head named Gillbert), a dragon-like body, and a fish tail. It is the pet of Judge Juju and serves as one of her enforcers of the law. It is also referred to in the credits as the Drykopf.
  • Caged Juju is a cranky, horned Juju that lives in a cage and would dearly love to eat Tak. Or anyone else, for that matter.
  • Darkness Juju (voiced by Mitch Watson) is a Juju that looks a bit like an obese version of the Devil, who sought the power of the crystal that came into Tak's possession. He was Aurora Juju's fiancé until she ran off with a man from the Pupununu tribe and had Tak.
  • Dinky Juju (voiced by Maurice LaMarche replacing Lara Jill Miller) is a short-tempered Juju with powerful magic. Unlike the game, he is restored with a deep voice. He is an adult, but many confuse him for a baby because of his small size.
  • Devour Brothers – They star in the episode "Sans Sheriff". They're causing trouble in the Juju Realm. They are the brothers of Caged Juju.
  • Feet Juju are a pair of large, blue feet (and legs) that likes to dance. They seem to be recolored versions of the Giant Misunderstanding Juju.
  • Gremlin Juju – There is an assortment of these short anglerfish-faced creatures. Some of them serve as the law enforcement of the Jujus.
  • Guess Who Juju is an imaginary Juju that is really Tak just wearing the most clever of disguises.
  • Head Juju is a green floating head with arms that has a southern accent. He lives in the Realm of Scrolls and is the coach of the professional Gratchball team in the Juju realm.
  • Judge Juju (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is a corn Juju dressed as a judge. Despite sounding like a man, Judge Juju is actually a woman.
  • Killjoy Juju (voiced by Mary Birdsong) is a one-eyed Juju known for stopping parties. She is the wife of Party Juju. She often mistakes Tak for a girl.
  • Love Juju (voiced by Danielle Schneider) is a short, floating, mermaid Juju that wears an inner tube and wields a snorkel as if it was her wand. The Pupununu always throw a festival in her honor. She one time left a hole in the Chief's stomach when she ended up displeased in one of the past festivals.
  • Mayhem Juju is a cute but mischievous little creature that Tak and Jeera take home as a pet in the episode "New Pet". It has three musical horns on its head that sound off when it summons a magical power. Mayhem Juju also has the power to disappear and reappear at any time.
  • Party Juju (voiced by Rob Paulsen) – Also known as Dead Juju, Party Juju is a skeleton Juju who is known to start parties and even enjoys parties. Only the powers of his wife, Killjoy Juju can undo the effects of his powers.
  • Phobia Juju is a floating brain Juju that helps the Pupununu tribe every year to overcome their fears. He appears in the episode "Shrink A Dink".
  • Psychic Juju (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) – Also known as Mind-Reader Juju, Psychic Juju is a large-headed genie-like Juju with psychic powers and precognition abilities. He always demands "Silence" when he doesn't want to be interrupted when he is giving his latest precognition. He claims to know everything, and "even if I don't know the answer, how would you know?"
  • Pugnacious Juju (voiced by Kirk Ward) is a three-armed retired boxer Juju. He tried to helped Chief into training him to fight the Big Boss Juju.
  • Really, Really, Revolting Juju is a gross-looking Juju. She is the sister of Repugnant Juju and Repulsive Juju.
  • Repugnant Juju is a gross-looking Juju. She is the sister of Repulsive Juju and Really, Really Revolting Juju.
  • Repulsive Juju (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a gross-looking Juju. He is the younger brother of Repugnant Juju and Really, Really, Revolting Juju. Like his siblings he resembles a fat dinosaur covered with holes that blow disgusting gasses. He also has a large head and large eyestalks. He seems to be the friendliest JuJu and is the most common Juju to appear. He and Tak are friends. He later evolves and becomes grosser, fatter, and very blob-like.
  • Roadkill Juju is a short peg-legged Juju that loves being run over by J-Runners.
  • Spider Juju (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a spider Juju with a Parisian accent whose diet seems to consist mainly of human beings. On one occasion, Tak summoned him to get rid of Zaria when she was in charge during the Chief's vacation.
  • Two-Headed Juju are a conjoined twin Juju.
  • Vendor Juju (voiced by Nick Jennings) is an orange octopus/jar-like Juju that can sell anything from within its body. He is where Tak and Jeera got the Motiki from.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byStoryboard byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"Woodiefest
Loser"
Audu Paden
Lane Lueras
Mitch Watson
Peter Hastings
Jim Schumann and Al Zegler
Al Zegler
August 31, 2007 (2007-08-31)101
2"A Shaman's Shaman
The Gift"
Jim Schumann
Nick Jennings
Gene Laufenberg
Brandon Auman
Michael Mullen
Heiko Drengenberg and Lane Lueras
September 8, 2007 (2007-09-08)102
3"The Three Chiefs
The Party"
Heiko DrengenbergTom KrajewskiHeiko Drengenberg and Lane Lueras
Dean Criswell
September 15, 2007 (2007-09-15)103
4"The Beast
To Zaria with Love"
Lane Lueras and Mark Risley
Heiko Drengenberg
Reid Harrison
Nicole Dubuc
Al Zegler
Tim Eldred
September 29, 2007 (2007-09-29)104
5"Zaria's in Charge
Bad Luck's Back"
Jim Schumann and Mark Risley
Jim Schumann
Nicole Dubuc
Mitch Watson
Michael Kenny
Linda Miller
October 13, 2007 (2007-10-13)105
6"Big Boss Brawl
Our Favorite Juju"
Jim Schumann
Heiko Drengenberg
Darren Jaspan and Mitch Watson
Story by: John McCann
Teleplay by: Peter Hastings and Mitch Watson
Michael Mullen
Alex Mann and Bert Ring
November 24, 2007 (2007-11-24)107
7"This Bites
Chief?"
Jim SchumannReid HarrisonMichael Mullen
Linda Miller
October 27, 2007 (2007-10-27)106
8"Love Hurts
Frien-e-mies"
Heiko DrengenbergNicole DubucAdam Henry and Michael Mullen
Robert Griffith and Michael Mullen
December 8, 2007 (2007-12-08)108
9"The Littlest Gratch
Lok the Offender"
Jim Schumann
Lane Lueras
Reid Harrison
Reid Harrison and Mark Henry
Linda Miller
Heiko Drengenberg and Lane Lueras
January 12, 2008 (2008-01-12)109
10"Joy Ride
Step Juju"
Heiko Drengenberg
Lane Lueras
Reid Harrison
Gene Laufenberg
Robert Griffith
Doug McCarthy
January 26, 2008 (2008-01-26)110
11"Great Juju Impersonator
Boom Bang Boom"
Lane Lueras
Jim Schumann
Tom Krajewski
Reid Harrison
Al Zegler
Linda Miller
February 9, 2008 (2008-02-09)111
12"Pugnacious No More
Little Chief"
Jim Schumann and Adam Henry
Lane Lueras
Reid Harrison
Nicole Dubuc
Linda Miller and Adam Henry
Doug McCarthy
February 23, 2008 (2008-02-23)112
13"Girls Only
Secession"
Lane Lueras
Michael Mullen
Tom Krajewski
Peter Hastings and Mitch Watson
Al Zegler
Michael Mullen
October 19, 2008 (2008-10-19)113
14"Tikis of War
Hairy Zaria"
Lane Lueras
Heiko Drengenberg
Adam Henry
Nicole Dubuc
Al Zegler
Alex Mann
March 22, 2008 (2008-03-22)114
15"Mofather
Big Love"
Heiko DrengenbergGene Laufenberg
Dave Lewman
Alex Mann
Robert Griffith
April 5, 2008 (2008-04-05)115
16"Ball of Wax
Testing Jibolba"
Michael Mullen
Mark O'Hare
Tom Krajewski
Nicole Dubuc
Michael Mullen
Mark O'Hare
May 19, 2008 (2008-05-19) / May 20, 2008116
17"Beautiful Girls
Bad Medicine"
Jim Schumann and Mark O'Hare
Heiko Drengenberg
Tom Krajewski
Dave Lewman
Mark O'Hare
Alex Mann
May 21, 2008 (2008-05-21) / May 22, 2008117
18"Ball Boy
The Lost Boys"
Lane LuerasGene LaufenbergAl Zegler
Doug McCarthy and Lane Lueras
May 23, 2008 (2008-05-23) / January 24, 2009118
19–20"Destiny Schmestiny"Jim SchumannReid Harrison and Mitch WatsonRobert Griffith, Linda Miller,
Michael Mullen, and Al Zegler
November 15, 2008 (2008-11-15)119–120
21"Nice Calves
Double Tak"
Jim SchumannDave LewmanLinda Miller
Michael Mullen
October 19, 2008 (2008-10-19)121
22"Sheep Dip
Slog the Babysitter"
Jim SchumannTom Krajewski
Mitch Watson
Linda Miller
Al Zegler
November 1, 2008 (2008-11-01)122
23"Feathers
Sans Sheriff"
Jim Schumann
Bert Ring
Jim Krieg
Reid Harrison
Michael Mullen
Michael Mullen and Lane Lueras
November 8, 2008 (2008-11-08)123
24"Giant Chief
Shrink A Dink"
Jim SchumannNed Goldreyer and Dave Lewman
Reid Harrison
Al Zegler
Heiko Drengenberg
November 15, 2008 (2008-11-15)124
25"Break This
Pack of Apes"
Bert RingNed Goldreyer, Tom Krajewski, and Mitch Watson
Ned Goldreyer
Linda Miller
Lane Lueras
November 22, 2008 (2008-11-22)125
26"New Pet
Tak's Monster"
Jim SchumannNed Goldreyer
Scott Kreamer
Michael Mullen
Heiko Drengenberg
November 29, 2008 (2008-11-29)126

Home media

Tak and the Power of Juju: The Trouble with Magic was released on June 24, 2008, and contained the episodes Woodiefest, Loser, A Shaman's Shaman, The Gift, The Three Chiefs, The Party, The Beast, To Zaria with Love, Girls Only, and Secession.

Tak and the Power of Juju: Season 1 was released on October 17, 2011, and contains all 26 episodes.

On September 22, 2021, the series was added to Paramount+, though originally reported for August.[3]

KCA preview

During the Nickelodeon 2007 Kids' Choice Awards, hosted by Justin Timberlake, a preview was shown of the new show in Nick.com. The site included the preview, a character page and a story page minimally different from the game.

Differences from the games

  • Jason Marsden, who voiced Tak in the video game, did not reprise his role, and had been replaced by Hal Sparks.
  • Lloyd Sherr voices Banutu Jibolba, who was previously voiced by John Kassir in the video game.
  • Patrick Warburton is the only cast member from the games to reprise his role as Lok from the video game.
  • In the series, Tak has brown hair with a middle parting, similar to his appearance in Tak 2, while in the original game his hair is black and in a bowl cut.
  • Preview commercials on Nickelodeon clearly display the name of Tak's tribe. For the series, it is written "Pupununu". In the series of video games, it was "Pupanunu".
  • In the television series, Dead Juju is instead called Party Juju with Rob Paulsen reprising the role. Also, Mind-Reader Juju is called Psychic Juju here with S. Scott Bullock voicing him instead of Paulsen.
  • Tlaloc, the antagonist in the video games, is named Traloc in the show. Jeff Bennett voices him in the series instead of Rob Paulsen, though he would reprise the role for SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom.
  • The only Jujus and characters from the original games that never appeared were the Two-Headed Juju, Moon Juju, Fauna and Flora, and Tlaloc's minions Pins and Needles.
  • The canonicity of the game series and television series with respect to one another is ambiguous.

Reception

Common Sense Media rated the show a 3 out of 5 stars, stating "Based on a popular Nickelodeon video game, Tak and the Power of Juju is an entertaining CG-animated series full of colorful characters and outlandish scenarios sure to entertain older school-age kids and young tweens. Tak's mix of good intentions and general mischief lays the groundwork for plenty of fun in each episode, and parents will like that there's not much to worry about here, aside from mild, typical cartoon violence. Just be ready for your kids to begging for the tie-in games once they've developed an affection for the jungle-dwelling cast."[4]

See also

References

  1. "Nick Dishes New Shows, Development Process". 9 March 2006. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  2. DeMott, Rick (August 14, 2007). "Tak's Got the Power on Nickelodeon". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on October 6, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  3. Ridgely, Charlie (July 22, 2021). "Everything Coming to Paramount+ in August 2021". ComicBook. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  4. Ashby, Emily (31 August 2007). "Tak and the Power of Juju review". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
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