''Z-Squad'' ( ko, 크리스탈요정 지스쿼드, ''The Fairies of Crystals Z-Squad'') is a

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...

television series created by Enemes and

Nelvana Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...

Plot

''Z-Squad'' chronicles the adventures of three ordinary school girls turned super heroines and their newfound, cuddly alien counterparts, the Zoots, as they search for enchanted crystals to save the Earth and Z-Nation from a cast of bumbling baddies. It is aimed at kids aged 6 to 9 and there are 26 x 24-minute episodes available. Girls will cheer the competitive-spirited heroines; boys will back the sarcastic schoolboys called the Drop Dead Gorgeous Three (the DDG3), as well as the powerful Prince Aramis and the wise King Woolaf.

Characters

Main Characters

* Chaney ( ko, 채니; voiced by

Chung Misook Chung Misook (; born December 25, 1962) is a South Korean voice actress who joined Seoul-based Korean Broadcasting System's voice acting division in 1984. Role Broadcast TV * Pororo the Little Penguin (EBS) - Petty * Clamp School Detectives ( ...

() in the Korean version, and

Alyson Court Alyson Stephanie Court (born November 9, 1973) is a Canadian actress. Beginning her career as a child actress, her first role was on the series ''Mr. Dressup'' (1984–1994) and she made her film debut in '' Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bi ...

in the English version) is the first member of the Z-Squad with red hair with yellow, pink, and orange streaks that is tied up with two pigtails, white sun visor hat with a yellow trim and a pink star, and red eyes (yellow in the pilot). Her theme colors are red and yellow. She is represented by stars with her alien counterpart, Zora, the red Zoot of Courage. * Haemi ( ko, 혜미; voiced by Eun Yeong Seon () in the Korean version, and

Sunday Muse Sunday Muse is a Canadian actress. Biography Sunday Muse is a voice actress. She launched "GreatBigVoices.com", as a way to share everything she gained as a voice actress. Filmography * ''Rolie Polie Olie'' (1999–2004) as Binky/Bogey Bot * ''M ...

in the English version) is the second member of the Z-Squad with short rose hair that is tied up in a blue headband with a ribbon, and rose eyes. Her theme colors are pink and blue. She is represented by hearts with her alien counterpart, Zef, the pink Zoot of Love. * Jeanie ( ko, 지니; voiced by Park Youngnam () in the Korean version, and Ashley Botting in the English version) is the third and final member of the Z-Squad with green hair that is clipped up in a yellow hair clip, and turquoise blue eyes (formerly green in the pilot) with rose round glasses (red in the pilot). Her theme colors are green and yellow. She is represented by four-leaf clovers with her alien counterpart, Zuma, the green Zoot of Hope.

Minor characters

* Jinu ( ko, 지누; voiced by Kang Soo-jin () in the Korean version, and

Zachary Bennett Zachary Bennett is a Canadian actor and musician, who is known for playing Felix King in '' Road to Avonlea''. He also co-starred in the 2006 TV film ''Jekyll + Hyde'' and for voicing Coach Clydesdale on '' Corn & Peg''. He also currently voices ...

in the English version) * Cal ( ko, 민; voiced by

Kim Youngsun Kim Youngsun () is a South Korean voice artist who joined the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation's Voice Acting Division in 1996. He is the official Korean dub-over voice artist for Elijah Wood. He is married to fellow voice actress Bak So-ra.Ac ...

() in the Korean version, and

Tyrone Savage Tyrone Savage is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor and theater director. He is the son of actor Booth Savage and Janet-Laine Green. He is currently living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He provided the voices of Matthias in ''Redwall'' ...

in the English version) * Tae-o ( ko, 태오; voiced by Son Jeong Ah () in the Korean version, and Lyon Smith in the English version) * Bernice ( ko, 뚱녀; voiced by Choi Moon-ja () in the Korean version, and

Emilie-Claire Barlow Emilie-Claire Barlow (born 6 June 1976) is a Canadian singer, arranger, record producer, and voice actress. She has released several albums on her label, Empress Music Group, and has voiced characters for animated television series. She performs ...

in the English version) * Aramis ( ko, 에르메스; voiced by Son Jeong-ah () in the Korean version, and

Noah Cappe Noah Cappe (born December 27, 1977) is a Canadian actor and television host best known for his work on '' Good Witch'', ''Carnival Eats'' and ''The Bachelorette Canada''. Career Cappe's most notable acting role is that of Derek Sanders, a rol ...

in the English version) * Woolaf ( ko, 울라프; voiced by Yoo Dong-kyun () in the Korean version, and

Dwayne Hill Dwayne Hill (born June 5, 1966) is a Canadian voice actor. In 2009, he was nominated for two Gemini awards, one in the solo category for '' Grossology'', the other, which he won, was for best ensemble in ''Atomic Betty''. Overall, he has voiced o ...

in the English version) * Bakoo ( ko, 벌룬; voiced by Noh Min () in the Korean version, and Martin Roach in the English version) * Grindel ( ko, 그린들; voiced by Choi Moon-ja () in the Korean version, and

Melissa Altro Melissa Altro (born May 16, 1982) is a Canadian voice actress and voiceover coach from Montreal, Quebec. Biography Prior to having a career to voice acting, Altro guest-starred on a 1994 episode of the YTV/Nickelodeon horror anthology serie ...

in the English version)

Production

The series' unique blend of traditional 2D

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

design with 3D

cel shading Cel shading or toon shading is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make 3-D computer graphics appear to be flat by using less shading color instead of a shade gradient or tints and shades. A cel shader is often used to mimic th ...

has earned many awards, including the prestigious Grand Prix Award at KOCCA's Star Project Competition in South Korea.

Episodes

Broadcast

''Z-Squad'' first aired in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

on SBS between December 2006 and June 2007. The series was later broadcast on Champ,

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

, Anione,

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 ...

, and KT IPTV. The show had its English-language debut on

Pop Girl Pop Girl was a free-to-air children's television channel in the United Kingdom, owned by CSC Media Group (formerly Chart Show Channels), a company associated with the makers of ''The Chart Show'', a television programme that had previously bee ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and then on

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in late 2008. It also had its French-language debut on

Télétoon Télétoon (styled as TĒLĒTOON) is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of " télévision" and "cartoon". As of 2013, along with its Englis ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in early 2009. Along with ''

Di-Gata Defenders ''Di-Gata Defenders'' is an animated series created by Greg Collinson that was produced by LuxAnimation and Nelvana Entertainment. The series follows the travels and adventures of six teenagers, part of an organization called the Di-Gata Defende ...

'', ''Z-Squad'' was introduced as part of the Syfy Kids block on the multi-national

KidsCo KidsCo was an international children's television channel founded and owned by a joint-venture between Corus Entertainment, DIC Entertainment, and Universal Networks International, Sparrowhawk Media Group in April 2007. By the end of 2007, Spar ...

network in June 2013. It was also one of the shows included when

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

ported Syfy Kids to Asia the following month. It was aimed at ages 6–10. Initial plans for a North American broadcast reportedly included YTV and

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 ...

in Canada, with

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 ...

on board in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. However, the show would never air on linear television in either market, instead being limited to

video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

platforms. In Canada, the series was included as part of the Kids Suite service for

Rogers Cable Rogers Cable Inc. is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, primarily in Southern & Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. Ro ...

customers in 2014. In the United States, ''Z-Squad'' is available to purchase on

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...

and is available to stream on

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 ...

References

External links

Official Korean website
at the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

(archived February 12, 2007)
Z-Squad
at Nelvana.com * {{IMDb title, 0813977, Z-Squad 2000s South Korean animated television series 2006 South Korean television series debuts 2007 South Korean television series endings 2000s Canadian animated television series 2008 Canadian television series debuts 2008 Canadian television series endings Seoul Broadcasting System original programming Canadian computer-animated television series Canadian children's animated action television series Canadian children's animated adventure television series South Korean children's animated action television series South Korean children's animated adventure television series Korean-language television shows English-language television shows Animated television series about teenagers Magical girl television series Television series by Nelvana Anime-influenced Western animated television series