Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot is an animated action-comedy-science fiction television series based on the book series of the same name by Dav Pilkey (of Captain Underpants fame). It was produced by Magic World Productions in association with Scholastic Inc. and Neptuno Films and aired initially for one season on Kids' WB in the United States before getting transferred to syndication and UPN on the Kewlskewl block for its last two seasons from February 2002 until December 2005. It also aired in Canada on YTV and Global as well as in Spain on Televisión Española and TV3.
The series is somewhat loosely adapted from the books, due in considerable part to that the book series was still being written and changes to the format would have to be necessary.
Premise[]
Ricky Ricotta lives with his parents and a giant mouse robot in the suburbs of Squeakyville, where the inseparable duo is always quick to act whenever a faction of villains from all across the cosmos invade Earth for their own diabolical ends.
Cast & characters[]
- Tracey Moore as Ricky Ricotta
- Eugene Levy as Mr. Ricotta
- Catherine O'Hara as Mrs. Ricotta
- Sugar Lyn Beard as Lucy
- Benedict Campbell as Dr. Stinky McNasty
- Richard Binsley as Mr. Mosquito
- Juan Chioran as Major Monkey
- Stephen Ouimette as General Jackrabbit
- John Stocker as Sergeant Stinkbug
- Linda Ballantyne as Miss Swiss
Production[]
Magic World's connections with Scholastic Inc. led to them being offered a choice from a few different book series to do an animated TV series adaptation. The studio ultimately chose Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot (at the time with Giant Robot) because Michael Warren's then 7-year-old son Tommy was a fan of the books and said he wanted to see them made into an animated program.
Using Martin Ontiveros' artwork as basis, Magic World found then-newer digital ink and paint technology advantageous for replicating the books' art style. To help maintain a production pipeline, most animation duties were outsourced to Neptuno Films in Spain and Wang Film Productions in Taiwan.
Differences from the books[]
- The mouse characters are given more three-dimensional personalities and others such as Ricky's parents and teachers/school principal often play a more prominent role in some episodes, especially as victims of/contributors to conflicts
- The villains are converted into recurring characters (who still eventually receive jail sentences as in the endings of the books, but also occasionally break out or scheme/contact fellow villains from inside their jail cells)
- Lucy is still an excitable and selfish pest as in the books but later reflects on how she acts and betters herself by the end of the show's run
- Villainous schemes to take over Earth (or at least Squeakyville) are not only motivated by dissatisfaction with home planets and sometimes by other causes as well
Broadcast[]
The series first aired in North America on both YTV and The WB beginning in February 2002. Although the first season was aired without issues in Canada, the Kids' WB broadcast would later begin suffering from shifting timeslots (in favor of Yu-Gi-Oh!) and it was eventually removed from the lineup by the spring of 2003. Several months later, it was moved to syndication and UPN to air on the Kewlskewl block on weekday afternoons beginning in September, with reruns airing (when the show was cancelled after its third season) until the block ended in the fall of 2006.
Broadcaster list[]
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 Argentina
|
América TV |
 Australia
|
ABC (ABC Kids), Nickelodeon |
 Brazil
|
SBT, Cartoon Network, Boomerang,Dongo Network,Toonies |
 Canada
|
YTV, Radio-Canada, Télé J |
 Czech Republic
|
MiniChannel |
 Denmark
|
MiniChannel |
 France
|
TF1, Fox Kids/Jetix, Dongo Network |
 Germany
|
Super RTL, Fox Kids/Jetix,Dongo Network |
 Hong Kong
|
TVB Jade |
 Hungary
|
MiniChannel, Dongo Network |
 Iceland
|
MiniChannel, Dongo Network |
 Ireland
|
RTÉ Two (The Den), TG4 (Cúla4) |
 Israel
|
Arutz HaYeladim |
 Italy
|
TVI 6, Dongo Network |
 Mexico
|
Canal 5, Cartoon Network, Boomerang |
 Netherlands
|
Bennie (MiniChannel), Fox Kids/Jetix |
 Portugal
|
RTP2, Canal Panda |
 Saudi Arabia
|
Spacetoon, MBC 3, Dongo Network Arabia |
 South Korea
|
Mabeob TV، Dongo Network |
 Spain
|
La 1, TV3, Fox Kids/Jetix |
 Sweden
|
MiniChannel |
 United Arab Emirates
|
Spacetoon, MBC 3 (Arabic), e-Junior (English),Dongo Network (Arabic) |
 United Kingdom
|
ITV (CITV), Cartoon Network, Dongo Network |
 United States
|
The WB (Kids' WB), Syndication/UPN (Kewlskewl), Dongo Network, Toonies |
 Uruguay
|
Teledoce |
Home media[]
From 2002 until 2005, selected episodes were released on VHS and DVD by Warner Home Video in the USA and in different editions by Talisman Pictures in Canada.