''Generation O!'' is an American animated musical comedy children's television series made by
Sunbow Entertainment
Sunbow Entertainment (known as Sunbow Productions until 1995) was an American animation studio and distributor, founded on June 23, 1980, and owned until May 4, 1998, by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in New York City and in the United States. Griffin ...
, with co-production associated by Wang Film Productions in Taiwan and Ravensberger in Germany.
The show was originally titled ''Molly O!'', and was released under that title in some regions. It was created by David Hale, Tim Newman, James Proimos and Suzanne Collins, based on an original idea by Hale and Newman. Executive producers were Carole Wietzman, Martha Ripp and Ken Olshansky. The creative producer and director was Mike Milo and the Line Producer was Jodey Kaminsky-Cashman. Most of the episodes were written by
Suzanne Collins
Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American author and television writer. She is known as the author of the book series '' The Underland Chronicles'' and ''The Hunger Games''.
Early life
Suzanne Collins was born on August 10, 1962, i ...
, who later wrote ''
The Hunger Games
''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set ...
'' book series. John Hardman was the production executive at Kids' WB.
The show's visual design was based on Proimos' style. Every episode had at least one song and music video, which would be related to the episode's plot. For example, in one episode Molly gets mad at her brother and ends up writing a song called "Girls Rule, Boys Drool" in retaliation. Most of the songs used in the series were written by Hale and
David Buskin
David Buskin (born December 13, 1943 in New York City) is a singer, songwriter, performer, author, playwright, jingle composer and girls' basketball coach. He is well known for composing numerous television and radio commercials produced in the 19 ...
.
This show aired from 2000 to 2001 on YTV and
Kids' WB
Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming service and brand of The WB that aired on the network from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006. The block moved to The CW (a result of the merger of Time Warner's The WB ...
. Kids' WB aired it as part of their "Fraturdays" block. 13 episodes were produced. In Latin America, the show premiered on Nickelodeon on 2001, but was removed in early 2003. In the UK, the series was screened on the
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
, but curiously unlisted in the schedules and aired in a late night slot and Toon Disney.
[ ] In Australia it aired on
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
. In Ireland, it was screened on the Irish language network
TG4
TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was formerly known ...
with the series dubbed into Irish. In Singapore, the series was broadcast on
Kids Central
Kids Street is an American pay television channel operated by Condista Networks aimed at the 3 to 7-year-old Latino market in the United States. History
The channel launched on Comcast Xfinity systems on January 16, 2017.
The channel operates ...
.
Plot
''Generation O!'' focuses on the character of Molly O, an 8-year-old rock star and the lead singer of the band "Generation O!" along with bassist Nub (an older British musician), guitarist Eddie (Molly's cousin), drummer Yo-Yo (a kangaroo), and manager Colonel Bob. Molly also spends time with her best friend Chadd, and tries to avoid her pesky brother Buzz.
Music
Each episode of ''Generation O!'' featured an original song performed by
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band
Letters to Cleo
Letters to Cleo is an American alternative rock band originating from Boston, Massachusetts, best known for the 1994 single, "Here & Now", from their full-length debut album, '' Aurora Gory Alice''. The band's members are Kay Hanley, Greg McKe ...
. While these songs were written by the show's writers, Letters to Cleo did write the show's opening theme.
Crew
*Jodey Cashman- Line Producer
*Anthony Mathews- Production Manager
*Mike Milo- Creative Producer and Director
*Tom McLaughlin- Sheet timing
*Trevor Wall-Storyboard supervisor
*Tim Harding props
*Phip Dimetriadis- backgrounds
*Becca Ramos- Additional backgrounds
*Mike Inman - background color
*Mike Guerena- character color
*Brent Gordon and Mike Milo- character design and models
*Glen Darcey - F/X & other drawings
Post Production was provided by Vitello Post in Hollywood
Cast
Voice actors for ''Generation O!'':
*
Chantal Strand
Chantal Strand (born October 15, 1987) is a Canadian voice and stage actress as well as former stunt performer known for her vocal roles in animation, anime and video games.
Her vocal role credits include those for little female human character ...
as Molly O
*
Kay Hanley
Kay Hanley is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known as the vocalist for the alternative rock band Letters to Cleo.
Life and career
Hanley grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts across the street from the Wahlberg family. She atte ...
as Molly O (singing voice)
*
Tabitha St. Germain
Tabitha St. Germain, formerly known as Paulina Gillis Germain and also known as Tabitha or Kitanou St. Germain, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is known for a variety of roles across many different shows. She has been actively doing voi ...
as Eddie
*
Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the best-known Canadian voice actors of all time, McNeil has provided voices to many characters in animated shows, most notabl ...
as Nub
*
Jay Brazeau
Jay Brazeau is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Sam Fisher in ''Cold Squad'', as Harlan in ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997–2007), and for voicing Uncle Quigley in '' Sabrina: The Animated Series''. He is also known for his role as Bobby in ...
as Col. Bob
*
Kathleen Barr
Kathleen Barr is a Canadian voice actress. She is best known for voicing Marie Kanker and Kevin in ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' and Trixie Lulamoon and Queen Chrysalis in '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic''. She also voiced Henri Richard Maurice D ...
as Mrs. O
*
Doug Parker
William Douglas Parker (b. October 31, 1961) is an American businessman who was the Chairman of American Airlines Group, Inc., the parent company of American Airlines.
Early life and education
Parker grew up in Michigan and received a BA in ...
as Mr. O
*
Matt Hill
Matthew Hill (born January 19, 1968) is a Canadian voice actor working for Ocean Productions.
Career
His roles include List of Ed, Edd n Eddy characters#Ed, Ed in ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'', Kevin Keene, Kevin Keene/Captain N in ''Captain N: The Game Ma ...
as Buzz
*
Cathy Weseluck
Cathy Weseluck is a Canadian actress and comedian who frequently works with Ocean Productions in Vancouver, British Columbia and is known for her roles as Near in '' Death Note'', Cybersix/Adrian Seidelman in ''Cybersix'', and Spike in '' My Littl ...
as Chadd
*
Andrew Francis
Andrew Michael Scott Francis is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in many television shows and films including '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' as Shining Armor, '' MegaMan NT Warrior'' as MegaMan.EXE, '' Hero 108'' as Lin Chung, '' L ...
as Kemp
*
Brian Dobson as Additional voices
*
Cathy Weseluck
Cathy Weseluck is a Canadian actress and comedian who frequently works with Ocean Productions in Vancouver, British Columbia and is known for her roles as Near in '' Death Note'', Cybersix/Adrian Seidelman in ''Cybersix'', and Spike in '' My Littl ...
as Additional voices
*
Chiara Zanni
Chiara Zanni (; born July 19, 1978) is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is known for her roles as Amy Ryan on The N series '' About a Girl'' and Maggie Buckman on the CBC series '' Edgemont''.
She is also known for her voice-work as Hahli i ...
as Additional voices
*
Nicole Oliver
Nicole Lyn Oliver (born February 22, 1970) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Princess Celestia and Cheerilee in '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' and Zoe Trent in ''Littlest Pet Shop''.
Early life
Oliver was born i ...
as Additional voices
*
Saffron Henderson
Saffron Henderson (born September 25) is a Canadian voice actress and singer who often works with Ocean Productions in numerous anime dubs.
Career
Henderson tends to be cast as mature and flirtatious women, young boys and teenage girls, as wel ...
as Additional voices
Episodes
Home media release
A few episodes were released on VHS in 2001 by
Sony Wonder
Sony Wonder (founded as Sony Kids’ Music) is the kids and family entertainment label of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and the former record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment.
Despite the similarity in name, Sony Wonder is not direct ...
. The series has never been released on DVD.
References
External links
*
*
{{Toonami Cartoon Network
2000s American animated television series
2000s American musical comedy television series
2000 American television series debuts
2001 American television series endings
American children's animated comedy television series
American children's animated musical television series
Animated television series about children
YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming
Kids' WB original shows
Television series by Sunbow Entertainment
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
English-language television shows