Tak and the Power of Juju (TV series)

*Tak and the Power of Juju*
Tak and the Power of Juju
Genre	Comedy; Action; Adventure; Fantasy;
Created by	John Blackburn (games)
Based on	The game developed; by THQ
Developed by	Jed Spingarn; Nick Jennings
Voices of	Hal Sparks; Lloyd Sherr; Patrick Warburton; Kari Wahlgren; John DiMaggio; Dannah Feinglass; Rob Paulsen; S. Scott Bullock; Maurice LaMarche
Theme music composer	Guy Moon
Composers	Guy Moon; Shawn Patterson;
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producer	Nick Jennings
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	THQ; Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Original release
Network	Nickelodeon
Release	August 31, 2007 –; January 24, 2009

Tak and the Power of Juju is an American animated television series that aired 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. The seres 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. This was the second CGI Nickelodeon series, after The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, and is also the first overseen by Nickelodeon Animation Studio.^[2] The show continued to air reruns on Nicktoons until September 3, 2012. 26 episodes were produced.

Characters

Main

Tak (voiced by Hal Sparks) is a 14-year-old apprentice who lives with his mentor Jibolba. He wields various forms of magic derived from the Jujus, magical creatures from another dimension. Tak's mother is the Aurora Juju and his father is a Pupununu.
Jeera (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) is the Chief's daughter and Tak's best friend. 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.
Banutu Jibolba (voiced by Lloyd Sherr) is Tak's mentor and shaman of the Pupununu tribe. He is 177 years old.
Lok (voiced by Patrick Warburton) is a cowardly Pupununu warrior. He often refers to himself in third person.
Keeko (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a careless, daydreaming, laid-back orphan. He is a skilled inventor, but his inventions rarely work.
Zaria (voiced by Dannah Phirman) is Jeera's 18-year-old sister and the heir to the Pupununu. She is spoiled, bossy, and brags that she is the most beautiful in all the tribe.
The Chief (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is the leader of the Pupununu and father of Jeera and Zaria. A bumbling but harmless figurehead, he constantly gets furious at Tak due to his mistakes in the use of his Juju power.

Pupununu Tribe

Slog (voiced by Megan Cavanagh) is a heavy-set woman who is incredibly strong. She is Lok's biggest fan and harbors a crush on him.
Blod and Bleeta Oobgachaka (voiced by Rene Mujica and Kari Wahlgren) are the children of the tribe's wealthiest family, the Oongachakas. 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 optimistic and curious about the world outside of her lifestyle.
Chaka and Oonga Oongachaka (voiced by Mindy Sterling and Lloyd Sherr) are the parents of Blod and Bleeta and friends of the Chief.
Mask Guy (voiced by Lloyd Sherr) is a villager who wears a oversized voodoo mask to hide his unhumanly beautiful face.
Log Hermit (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a villager who wears a log. He is also revealed to have a good singing voice.
Linda (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) is a bipedal sheep and friend of Tak.
Donna (voiced by April Winchell) is a talking sheep in Linda's herd.
Navis is Jeera's pet Gratch.
Tlaloc (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is an evil shaman who attempts to replace Jibolba as the Pupununu shaman. However, he is defeated and transformed into a donkey.

Jujus

Jujus are magical creatures who originate from the Juju Realm.

Aurora Juju (voiced by Danielle Schneider) is Tak's mother, who created the crystal that powers his staff.
Belly Juju (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a hungry Juju with no brain whose body is controlled by his stomach.
Big Boss Juju is a powerful, fiery rock monster.
Brain Juju (voiced by Nick Jennings) is a brain-themed Juju.
Bug Juju (voiced by Wayne Knight) is a small beetle-like Juju who can manipulate other insects.
Caged Juju is a cranky, horned Juju who lives in a cage and is obsessed with eating others.
Darkness Juju (voiced by Mitch Watson) is a demonic Juju and Aurora Juju's former fiancé.
Dinky Juju (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a short-tempered Juju with powerful magic. He is an adult, but many confuse him for a baby because of his small size.
The Devour Juju Brothers (both voiced by S. Scott Bullock) are troublemaking Jujus and the brothers of Caged Juju.
Feet Juju are a disembodied pair of blue legs who enjoy dancing.
The Gremlin Jujus (voiced by Jeff Bennett) are short anglerfish-faced creatures who serve as law enforcement.
Head Juju is a green floating head with arms and the coach of a Gratchball team.
Judge Juju (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is a corn Juju dressed as a judge. She is female, but has a masculine voice.
- The Bulldrafish is a chimeric monster and Judge Juju's pet. It has a bull head named Henry/George (voiced by Maurice LaMarche), a dragon head named Doris (voiced by Dannah Phirman), a fish head named Gillbert (voiced by Rob Paulsen), and a fish tail.
Killjoy Juju (voiced by Mary Birdsong) is a one-eyed Juju known for stopping parties and Party Juju's wife.
Love Juju (voiced by Danielle Schneider) is a mermaid-like Juju who wields a snorkel as if it was her wand.
Mayhem Juju is a small, teleporting Juju who Tak and Jeera adopt in the episode "New Pet".
The Motikis are wild tiki-like creatures who will go on a rampage if they are out of the Juju Realm. They are later revealed to be living cookie jars who can only be stopped by screwing their heads off.
Party Juju (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is a skeletal Juju who is known to start parties. Only his wife, Killjoy Juju, can undo the effects of his powers.
Phobia Juju is a floating brain Juju who helps the Pupununu tribe overcome their fears.
Psychic Juju (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) is a large-headed genie-like Juju with psychic powers.
Pugnacious Juju (voiced by Kirk Ward) is a three-armed retired boxer Juju.
Repulsive Juju (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a slug-like Juju and the younger brother of Repugnant Juju and Really, Really, Revolting Juju.
Repugnant Juju (voiced by Dannah Phirman) is a gross-looking Juju and the sister of Repulsive Juju and Really, Really Revolting Juju.
Really, Really, Revolting Juju (voiced by Hal Sparks) is a gross-looking Juju and the sister of Repugnant Juju and Repulsive Juju.
Roadkill Juju (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a short peg-legged Juju who loves being run over by J-Runners.
Spider Juju (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a French-accented spider-like man-eating Juju.
Vendor Juju (voiced by Nick Jennings) is an orange octopus-like Juju who can sell anything from within its body.

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released
Season	Episodes		First released	Last released
1	26		August 31, 2007 (2007-08-31)	January 24, 2009 (2009-01-24)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Storyboard by	Original release date	Prod. 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 Drengenberg	Tom Krajewski	Heiko 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 Schumann	Reid Harrison	Michael Mullen Linda Miller	October 27, 2007 (2007-10-27)	106
8	"Love Hurts Frien-e-mies"	Heiko Drengenberg	Nicole Dubuc	Adam 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) ^{[DVD 1]}	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 Drengenberg	Gene 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, 2008	116
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, 2008	117
18	"Ball Boy The Lost Boys"	Lane Lueras	Gene Laufenberg	Al Zegler Doug McCarthy and Lane Lueras	May 23, 2008 (2008-05-23) / January 24, 2009	118
19–20	"Destiny Schmestiny"	Jim Schumann	Reid Harrison and Mitch Watson	Robert Griffith, Linda Miller, Michael Mullen, and Al Zegler	November 15, 2008 (2008-11-15)	119–120
21	"Nice Calves Double Tak"	Jim Schumann	Dave Lewman	Linda Miller Michael Mullen	October 19, 2008 (2008-10-19)	121
22	"Sheep Dip Slog the Babysitter"	Jim Schumann	Tom 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 Schumann	Ned Goldreyer and Dave Lewman Reid Harrison	Al Zegler Heiko Drengenberg	November 15, 2008 (2008-11-15)	124
25	"Break This Pack of Apes"	Bert Ring	Ned 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 Schumann	Ned Goldreyer Scott Kreamer	Michael Mullen Heiko Drengenberg	January 24, 2009 (2009-01-24)	126

^ Both episodes was first released on The Trouble with Magic DVD on June 24, 2008

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] As of December 31, 2023, the show was removed from Paramount+.

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

Tak, Jibolba, and Tlaloc are recast, being voiced by Hal Sparks, Lloyd Sherr, and Jeff Bennett rather than Jason Marsden, John Kassir, and Rob Paulsen. Additionally, Tlaloc is renamed Traloc.
Tak's tribe is named Pupununu rather than Pupanunu.
Dead Juju and Mind-Reader Juju are respectively renamed Party Juju and Psychic Juju. Additionally, S. Scott Bullock voices the latter rather than Rob Paulsen.

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]

References

^ "Nick Dishes New Shows, Development Process". March 9, 2006. Archived from the original on August 28, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ Ashby, Emily (August 31, 2007). "Tak and the Power of Juju review". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017.