''Super Dinosaur'' is a CG-animated television series produced by

Spin Master Entertainment Spin Master is a Canadian multinational toy and entertainment company that markets consumer products for children. Its brands include '' Bakugan'', Gund, Etch A Sketch, Meccano/ Erector, Air Hogs, ''PAW Patrol'', Aquadoodle, Tech Deck, Hat ...

, Atomic Cartoons and

Skybound Entertainment Skybound Entertainment is an American multiplatform entertainment company founded by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert. History Skybound Entertainment is the company behind the long-running comic, '' The Walking Dead'', created by Robert Kirkman ...

based on the

comic book series a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

of the same name by

Robert Kirkman Robert Kirkman (; born November 30, 1978)Löchel, Ingo"The Walking Dead: Die Comic-Serie – Robert Kirkman" Zauberspiegel. Retrieved February 17, 2013. is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and television producer. He is best known ...

and

Jason Howard ''Jason Howard'' is an American comic book artist known for such comics as ''Trees (comics), Trees'' with Warren Ellis and ''The Astounding Wolf-Man'' with Robert Kirkman. References External links

* * Living people American comics art ...

. The show debuted on September 8, 2018 in Canada on

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and " cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts ...

and in the United States on the

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

subscription streaming video service on October 6, 2019. It was subsequently added to

Tubi Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...

and

The Roku Channel The Roku Channel is an American over-the-top video streaming service owned and operated by Roku, Inc., which launched in September 2017. History In September 2017, Roku, Inc. launched a free, ad-supported streaming channel for its digital media ...

Characters

Heroes

* Derek Dynamo (voiced by Valin Shinyei) - The fun-loving, highly intelligent and energetic son of Dr. Dexter Dynamo. Alongside his father and best friend Super Dinosaur, Derek works for Earthcore, protecting the planet from various hazards. He rides around on Wheels, a robot he built. * Super Dinosaur (voiced by Deven Mack) - A genetically-altered ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

'' created by Max Maximus, Super Dinosaur lives with the Dynamo family in the Dynamo Dome and is the best friend of Derek, who often refers to him as "SD". He is a vegetarian, and he loves to play video games and ride skateboards. In battle, he uses an interchangeable harness with robotic arms. He accidentally adopted a penguin as a pet on a mission. * Dr. Dexter Dynamo (voiced by

Alessandro Juliani Alessandro Juliani (born July 6) is a Canadian actor and singer. He is notable for playing the roles of Tactical Officer Lieutenant Felix Gaeta on the Sci-Fi Channel television program ''Battlestar Galactica'', Emil Hamilton in ''Smallville'', Ja ...

) - Derek's father, a genius who helps create the gear his son and Super Dinosaur use on their missions. His cognitive abilities are diminished after Max Maximus poisons him with a mind-decaying virus though this was later reversed by an invention of Dr Dynamo's old friend Dr Oliver Manchester in the season 1 finale. * The Kingstons - A family of mechanics sent to live in the Dynamo Dome by General Casey; responsible for building and repairing Derek and Super Dinosaur's combat equipment **Bruce Kingston (voiced by Brian Dobson) - The husband of Sarah, and father of Erin and Erica **Sarah Kingston (voiced by

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 ...

) - The wife of Bruce, and mother of Erin and Erica **Erin Kingston (voiced by

Shannon Chan-Kent Shannon Chan-Kent (born September 23, 1988) is a Canadian voice and stage actress. She is known for her roles as Silver Spoon and Smolder and the singing voice of Pinkie Pie in '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', Misa Amane in the English ...

) - A charismatic and curious girl who makes quick friends with Derek upon the Kingston's arrival to the Dynamo Dome. She is fascinated by all the amazing technology created by Doctor Dynamo and Derek and responds to her family's move much more positively than her sister. Derek builds her Pixie, a robot similar to Wheels and joins Earthcore's cadet program. **Erica Kingston (voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent) - Annoyed about moving from

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, she is initially far less receptive to the Dynamos than her sister. She has a pet spider named Sherman. Unlike her sister, Erica cares little about Earthcore and is more drawn to the arts. * General Casey (voiced by

Dean Redman Dean Redman is a British-born Canadian actor. Career He is known for his work on '' War for the Planet of the Apes'' (2017) and appeared in two roles, playing the characters Varis and Caged Frost Wolf in the live action film, ''Warcraft'' (2016 ...

) - The Earthcore military administrator to the Dynamos and their super-heroic activities; oversees the majority of their funding, deployment into combat situations, and imprisonment of defeated super-villains at Earthcore Headquarters. ** Elliot Casey (voiced by Tevon Herbert) - General Casey's son, who is around Derek's age; he is shown to be impulsive and pulls a dangerous prank on the Dynamo Dome to get his father's attention. He uses multiple aliases throughout the series (one of them being Battle Shock which includes using a giant mech) and eventually is allowed to join the Earthcore cadet training program. He later helps capture Terropterx although he ends up being captured by him and partially transformed into a Dino-Men

Villains

* Max Maximus (voiced by Marco Soriano) - An evil scientist who created Dynore, an incredibly powerful energy source. He seeks to destroy the Dynamos and take control of the world. He commands an army of genetically-engineered Dino-Men from his lair, Castle Maximus. ** Minimus (voiced by Sean Thomas) - The artificial "son" of Maximus who was created via cloning, and initially pretended to be friendly to gain Derek's Trust under the alias of Tom Tillred. He became leader of the Dino-Men upon his "father's" incarceration, and later wrests control of the Sharkmen from Squidious. However close to the season 1 finale when Max Maximus returns to power he is transformed into a half human half dinosaur form named Tyrannosaurus X (voiced by

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 ...

). * Dino-Men (voiced by various) - Maximus' army of genetically-engineered human/dinosaur hybrids. While most are little more than subservient, dimwitted

henchmen A henchman (''vernacular:'' "hencher"), is a loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organization: minions whose value lies pri ...

, there are a few who are highly intelligent, as detailed below. ** Tricerachops (voiced by Kathleen Barr) - A female

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 m ...

who wields a

battle-axe A battle axe (also battle-axe, battle ax, or battle-ax) is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes. Many were suitable for use in one hand, while others were larger and were deployed two-h ...

. She is Maximus' most favored servant and is shown to be more empathetic than other Dino-Men. After her morals are tested, she defects from Maximus' army and forms the Dino Liberation Front. ** Dreadasaurus (voiced by Chris Nielsen) - A

Stegosaurus ''Stegosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of herbivorous, four-legged, armored dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails. Fossils of the genus have been foun ...

with a shield that shoots spikes. Like Tricerachops, he defected from Maximus' army, and now serves under her in the Dino Liberation Front. ** Terroropterx (voiced by Bart Batchelor) - A

pterodactyl Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to 6 ...

with shoulder-mounted weaponry and dual sabers. Like Tricerachops, he defected from Maximus' army, and now serves under her in the Dino Liberation Front. He attempted to get some mutated dinosaur DNA to create a new Dino-Men army but was captured by Earth Core. Although he later breaks out and takes Eliot Casey hostage ** Doometrodon (voiced by

Brian Drummond Brian Drummond (born August 10, 1969) is a Canadian voice actor. He formerly served on the board of directors for the New Westminster-based Urban Academy along with his wife, Laura Drummond, also a voice artist. Usually working in Vancouver, h ...

) - A

Dimetrodon ''Dimetrodon'' ( or ,) meaning "two measures of teeth,” is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian), around 295–272 million years ago (Mya). It is a member of the family Sphenacodontid ...

with a cybernetic right arm that can be used as a morning star as well as a blaster. Like Tricerachops, he defected from Maximus' army, and now serves under her in the Dino Liberation Front. * Squidious (voiced by Brian Drummond) - A super-intelligent

giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around Trace ...

who is angered at humans' use of the sea's resources. He leads an army of Sharkmen to do his bidding to protect their underwater domain with his mobile base, a

megalodon Megalodon (''Otodus megalodon''), meaning "big tooth", is an extinct species of mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Pliocene epochs. It was formerly thought to be a membe ...

known as the Lair Leviathan. He later on becomes an ally to the heroes. * KAL (voiced by Vincent Tong) - An Earthcore robot meant to assist Derek and Super Dinosaur on their missions. He views himself as a rival to Super Dinosaur for the status of Derek's best friend, often berating the rex by calling him "Average Dinosaur". On their first mission together, KAL becomes engulfed in lava, transforming him into the villainous Erupticus. * Megaraptor - Maximus most powerful creation. A giant raptor with a giant fin-like blade on top of its head and a fish-like tail.

Production

An animated adaptation of ''

Super Dinosaur ''Super Dinosaur'' is an American comic book series published by Image Comics' Skybound imprint beginning in 2011. The comic was created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Jason Howard, who had previously worked together on Image's ''The Astound ...

'' was first revealed by

KidScreen Brunico Communications is a Canadian magazine publishing company."Desktop tabloid publishing firm sports 2 publications and a profit". ''The Globe and Mail'', October 9, 1989. The company specializes primarily in online trade magazines serving medi ...

on November 22, 2017, as a production between

, Atomic Cartoons and Canadian broadcaster

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...

. The series was formally announced by

at the

panel during the 2018

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

. At the company's fall 2018

upfronts In the television industry, an upfront is a gathering at the start of important advertising sales periods, held by television network executives and attended by major advertisers and the media. It is so named because of its main purpose, to allow ...

, Corus confirmed that the show would air on

later that year. The series debuted on the channel on September 8. ''Super Dinosaur'' is primarily a CG-animated series made with

Autodesk Maya Autodesk Maya, commonly shortened to just Maya ( ), is a 3D computer graphics application that runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, originally developed by Alias and currently owned and developed by Autodesk. It is used to create assets for interact ...

. The show also utilizes

super deformed Chibi, also known as super deformation, or S.D. is a style of caricature originating in Japan, and common in anime and manga where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby with stubby limbs, oversized heads, and m ...

2D-animation for

cutaway gag In film and video, a cutaway is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. It is usually followed by a cut back to the first shot. A cutaway scene is the interruption of a scene with the insertion of ano ...

s and is presented in a letter boxed aspect ratio with matte break effects to emphasize action and comedy.

Episodes

Mobile game

On October 24, 2018, Canadian mobile development studio

Big Blue Bubble Big Blue Bubble, Inc. is a Canadian video game company headquartered in London, Ontario founded in 2004 by industry veteran Damir Slogar, Renata Slogar, and Claudette Critchley. The company has developed over one hundred games and gained intern ...

release
''Super Dinosaur: Kickin' Tail''
a battle game featuring characters and locations from the TV series. It was first

soft launch A soft launch, also known as a soft opening, is a preview release of a product or service to a limited audience prior to the general public. Soft-launching a product is sometimes used to gather data or customer feedback, prior to making it widely ...

ed in Canada as a

free-to-play Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...

title for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

and Android devices.

International broadcast

The series debuted in Australia on

ABC Me ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3. Hist ...

on May 18, 2019. In New Zealand, it began airing on

TVNZ 2 TVNZ 2 ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Rua) is the second New Zealand television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It targets a younger audience than its sister channel, TVNZ 1. TVNZ 2's line up consi ...

on June 22, 2019. In the United States, the series was released on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

on October 6, 2019. It was later added to

Tubi TV Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...

in February 2020.

References

External links