''Archie's Weird Mysteries'' ( French: ''Archie, mystères et compagnie'') is an
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
television series based on the characters by
Archie Comics
Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Riverdale High physics lab gone awry, making the town of Riverdale a "magnet" for
B movie
A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...
-style monsters. All the main characters solve strange mysteries in a format similar to both ''
Scooby-Doo
''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animation, animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative List of Scooby-Doo media, media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the orig ...
'' and ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
''.
Produced by Les Studios Tex and
DIC Productions, L.P.
DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production comp ...
, the series was initially shown mornings on the
PAX
Pax or PAX may refer to:
Peace
* Peace (Latin: ''pax'')
** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace
** Pax, a truce term
* Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services
* Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly ki ...
network, often with
infomercial
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
s bookending the program. The series eventually premiered in France on M6 on 19 January 2000.
Archie Andrews
Archibald "Archie" Andrews, created in 1941 by publisher John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana in collaboration with writer Vic Bloom,
, a redheaded, freckled student at Riverdale High, and the show's titular character. Handsome, loving, fun, and good-hearted, he is a reporter for the school newspaper. All of his news stories are centered around the surreal occurrences that take place within each episode, and they always end with "in a little town called Riverdale…". Despite his nerdy, slightly clumsy demeanor, he frequently attracts girls, human or otherwise.
*
America Young
America Young (born December 6, 1984) is an American actress, director, writer, stunt performer and producer from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has been the voice of Barbie since 2018, having previously voiced her in the ''Barbie Vlogger'' web series. ...
as
Betty Cooper
Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper is one of the main characters appearing in American comic books published by Archie Comics. She is the lead guitarist, percussionist and one of the three singers of The Archies. The character was created by Bob Montana an ...
, an intelligent girl-next-door who is cute, caring, and the head of the cheerleading squad. She is in love with Archie and is best friends with Veronica, despite them both competing for Archie's affection. She has bright blonde hair that's always worn in a ponytail.
* Camille Schmidt as
Veronica Lodge
Veronica Cecilia Lodge is one of the main characters in the Archie Comics franchise, and is the keyboardist and one of the three vocalists of rock band The Archies.
She is from New York but currently resides in the town of Riverdale (Archie Com ...
, a beautiful, rich, popular, and somewhat self-centered girl. She is best friends with Betty, with whom she also shares a rivalry for Archie's affection. Although both of them are frequently the target of Reggie's advances, Veronica is targeted somewhat more often. Her hair appears black, but in the show, she is described as a
brunette
Brown hair, also referred to as brunet (male) or brunette (female), is the second most common human hair color, after black hair. It varies from light brown to a medium dark hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eume ...
.
* Chris Lundquist as
Jughead Jones
Forsythe Pendleton "Jughead" Jones III is one of the fictional characters created by Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater in Archie Comics who first appeared in the first Archie story, from ''Pep Comics'' #22 (December 1941). He is the drummer of th ...
, a funny, quirky, and geeky guy who loves food (especially hamburgers) and is Archie's best friend. He does not like girls except for Betty, and he and Veronica are usually at each other's throats. Jughead usually wears a gray whoopee cap on his head, covering his choppy black hair.
* Paul Sosso as
Reggie Mantle
Reginald "Reggie" Mantle is a fictional teenager in stories published by Archie Comics; he is introduced by writer-artist Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater in ''Jackpot Comics'' #5 (cover-dated Spring 1942). He also appears in CW's '' Riverdale' ...
, a self-confident, popular, rich jock who has a crush on Veronica (which she does not reciprocate) and is frenemies with Archie. Like most other protagonists of the show, he has black hair. In this particular incarnation, he has a niece named Amy. He and Dilton are the only main protagonists in the show who don't always appear in every episode or don't get mentioned in every episode.
* Ben Beck as
Dilton Doiley
Dilton Donald Doiley is a fictional character in the Archie Comics universe, where he is considered the smartest teenager in Riverdale High School.
History
Characters resembling Dilton (in appearance and personality) appeared quite early in A ...
, a
bespectacled
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples or ...
, nerdy genius who is friends with Archie, Jughead, Moose, and Betty. He usually helps the gang save the day. He and Reggie are the only protagonists who do not always make an appearance or mention. His catchphrase is, "I'll be super amalgamated!"
Supporting
*
Tony Wike
Tony Wike is a retired voice actor and broadcaster based in Omaha. Previously, he was morning anchor and reporter for radio stations KFAB-AM and KGOR-FM, where he won the Nebraska Broadcasters award for Best Newscast in 2010. He also anchored m ...
as Mr. Waldo Weatherbee, the Principal of Riverdale High, a bald man who has it in for Archie the most as he blames him for most of the weird events happening at school.
* Jerry Longe as
Moose Mason
Marmaduke "Moose" Mason (often referred to as Big Moose) is a fictional character in the Archie Comics universe. He attends Riverdale High School where he is typically depicted as the best athlete but the poorest student. His difficulties with s ...
, a high school jock who is a friend of Archie, Jughead, Dilton, and Betty. He is the boyfriend of
Midge Klump
Midge Klump is a fictional character appearing in Archie Comics. She frequently appears as the girlfriend of Moose Mason and the unrequited crush of Reggie Mantle. The live-action version of Midge was portrayed by Emilija Baranac in the televisi ...
.
* Lucinda, a Southern woman who practices voodoo magic, provides advice regarding the supernatural, and creates potions for individuals in love. She is considered to be a charmer.
* Ryle Smith as Pop Tate, the owner and operator of the "Pop Tate Chock'lit Shoppe" shop where Archie and his friends hang out. He calls Jughead his best customer.
* Mr. Fisk - the CEO of ZoomCo who, after discovering that his Zoom energy drink contains a mutant formula that causes some people to mutate into monsters, tries to bribe and stop Archie from telling the world on national TV. He convinces Archie not to tell the news, as doing so would destroy his company and many people's jobs.
* Jerry Longe as Dr. Francis Beaumont, a man who is the caretaker and owner of an odds/supernatural/curiosity store. He provides advice to Archie and friends as he solves weird mysteries.
* Jerry Longe as Smithers, Veronica's cynical butler. He is aware of the supernatural, but is only interested in serving Veronica.
* John Michael Lee as Mr. Hiram Lodge, Veronica's father who is disapproving of Archie.
*
Miss Grundy
Miss Geraldine Grundy is a fictional character of the Archie Comics series. A younger version of Miss Grundy was portrayed by Sarah Habel in '' Riverdale''.
Fictional history and character
An early version of Miss Grundy appears in ''Jackpot Com ...
is the homeroom teacher of Archie, Veronica, Betty, Jughead, and Reggie. She has feelings for Mr. Weatherbee. Her first name is Geraldine in the original comics, but her first name is Doris in the show.
Other students of Riverdale High School
* Michele Phillips as
Ethel Muggs
Ethel Muggs is a character frequently featured in Archie Comics. She is a student of Riverdale High School, sometimes known to her schoolmates by the nickname Big Ethel, though this nickname has largely fallen out of use since the 1980s.
She w ...
– a nerdy girl who has a crush on Jughead. She is usually ignored by most of her peers. She is into
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
, and she is also a
beekeeper
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees.
Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...
.
* Jill Anderson as
Midge Klump
Midge Klump is a fictional character appearing in Archie Comics. She frequently appears as the girlfriend of Moose Mason and the unrequited crush of Reggie Mantle. The live-action version of Midge was portrayed by Emilija Baranac in the televisi ...
– Moose's girlfriend, in spite of their differences in intelligence. She is Reggie's love interest, although she does not like him very much. She is into athletics and wants to become a
stuntwoman
A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...
.
* Vinny Wells (or Vinnie Wells) – a teenage delinquent who only appeared in the three episodes "Archie's Date with Fate", "Alternate Riverdales" and "Teen Out of Time", where he and his future self were the main antagonists. He first appeared in "Archie's Date with Fate", when he was said to be breaking into the other students' lockers for money to buy
nachos
Nachos are a Mexican culinary dish consisting of fried tortilla chips or ''totopos'' covered with melted cheese or cheese sauce, as well as a variety of other toppings and garnishes, often including meats (such as ground beef or grilled chicken ...
.
* Olga Karpuchi is the civilian identity of a
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
ine, named Supreme Girl. Her enemy is Dr. Arachnid, who is a
supervillain
A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.
Supervillains are oft ...
from a place called "The Twelfth Dimension". She is a student and a fellow newspaper reporter, who works with Archie on newspaper columns for the school. She has a crush on Archie. Olga is an exclusive character to the show.
* Robbie Dopkins – also an ''Archie's Weird Mysteries''-exclusive character. He was shown in the episode "Invisible Archie", where he gets the romantic attention of both Betty and Veronica for developing large muscles. He was said to be the reason that Reggie was kicked from the track-and-field team.
Episodes
Selected monsters, ghosts, and other supernatural characters
* a sea monster, who lives in an old Riverdale swimming hole
* a mummy in a museum exhibit
* werewolf sheriff
* mad scientists
* a 50-foot Veronica
*
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
s
* giant beetle
*
UFOs
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
*
zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
s
* "Stanley 9000" (an artificially intelligent talking processor)
* mutant crocodile
* man-eating worm
* super smart rats
* super smart teen (in "Brain of Terror")
* giant cockroaches
* Tapioca Pudding Glob
* alien potatoes
* insane
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
in Archie's car alarm, also in Archie's Car Named Betsy.
* ancient wish-granting artifacts gone haywire
* Ghost of Quiet Violet - she used to be a very strict librarian when Jughead was young. She completely scared Jughead away so much when he was young that he stopped going to the library. As a ghost, she haunts the library.
* monster "Archie" – Archie gets turned into a monster when he drinks a new energy drink called "Zoom".
* monster "Stevenson" – Stevenson, a health and workout advocate, gets turned into a monster when he drinks a new energy drink called "Zoom".
* genie - escapes from an urn in Dr. Beaumont's store into Archie's laptop. Reggie, in turn, uses the laptop and is granted three wishes; after which, the Genie is set free and begins to wreak havoc on the city.
* Reggie Droid - after Reggie points out to two aliens who've abducted him that his friends will know he's missing, the aliens make a droid clone to cover up Reggie's absence, but to ensure his friends find him, Reggie lies about his personality traits, thus creating a nice version of himself. In case of discovery and revealing his creators to other Earthlings, the droid has a nuclear bomb inside him.
* Evil Trogs' Leader and his Trogs in "Virtually Evil"
* Mega-Mall of Horrors.
* Maria Nacht - she haunted Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead in their dreams
* Arnie - haunted Big Ethel in her dreams.
* Evil Sentient Humanoid-Like Talking Bees.
Broadcast
United States
The series first ran in the United States on
PAX
Pax or PAX may refer to:
Peace
* Peace (Latin: ''pax'')
** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace
** Pax, a truce term
* Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services
* Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly ki ...
, and was the first newly produced animated feature to first air on the network. It was planned to air alongside fellow DIC program ''
Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century
''Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century'' is an animated television series in which Sherlock Holmes is brought back to life in the 22nd century. The series is a co-production by DIC Entertainment, L.P. and Scottish Television Enterprises and ...
'' as part of an hour-long block, but the latter show instead aired on
Fox Kids
Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's block programming, programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channel ...
, leaving Archie to air alongside other DIC shows on the channel's PAX Kids strand. It later moved to a daily-slot on the network and remained on PAX until late 2000.
In 2001, the show began to air on syndicated television stations throughout the United States, as a way to comply with their mandatory E/I regulations. The series would later be part of the syndicated
DIC Kids Network
The Cookie Jar Kids Network (formerly DiC Kids Network) was a syndicated children's programming block that airs selected Cookie Jar Group shows on local Fox, The CW, MyNetworkTV, and independent stations to provide them with a source of E/I p ...
block beginning in 2003, also to comply with E/I regulations.
From 2012 to 2018, the show reran on
Qubo
Qubo ( ; stylized as qubo) was an American television network for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by Ion Media, it consisted of a 24-hour free-to-air television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel" (available as a digital ...
.
The full series has recently become available on
Paramount+
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
.
France
''Archie, Mystère Et Compagnie'' first ran on M6 on 19 January 2000 as part of the channel's M6 Kid strand, and later reran on
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 ...
and
Toon Disney
Toon Disney was an American multinational pay television channel owned by Disney Channels Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney-ABC Television Group. The channel's target audience was children ages 2–11, and children ages 6–13 during the Jetix ...
in the country.
Production notes
The theme song was written and performed by Mike Piccirillo. Musical underscore composers were Mike Piccirillo and Jean-Michel Guirao. The Riverdale vampires story arc episodes were put together and released on VHS as ''Archie and the Riverdale Vampires''. The voice cast was provided by the Omaha Theater Company for Young People of
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
tie-in
A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...
also titled ''Archie's Weird Mysteries'', written by Paul Castiglia, pencilled by Bill Golliher, inked by Rick Koslowski and colored by Stephanie Coronado (née Vozzo) was published in 1999. This led to a February 2000 launch for an ongoing, regular-sized series with the same name and creative team. The first issue notably serves as an origin story for the canon's premise, showcasing the implied lab incident that turned Riverdale into a supernatural magnet, and the moment when Archie decided to start his ''Weird Mystery'' column.
"''Weird''" was dropped from the title starting with #25, signaling the end of the tie-in with the television series, and the comics were canceled at #34 after ten issues of doing straight
mystery
Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
*Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange''
Films
* ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film
* ''Mystery'' ( ...
stories with no supernatural or science-fiction components.
Home media releases
United States
On 30 August 2000
Universal Studios Home Video
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
released a VHS tape titled ''Archie and the Riverdale Vampires'', which featured the episode "Attack of the Killer Spuds" alongside the Riverdale Vampires trilogy, with the latter three episodes being shortened, edited and merged to form one continuous feature. The beginning also featured some exclusive narration from Archie Andrews about how Riverdale ended up how it was. The same episodes were also featured in the ''Monster Bash Fun Pack'', although those are just the standard TV-length episodes.
United Kingdom
Australia
All the Australian DVDs were released by MRA Entertainment.
''The Archies in Jugman''
In 2002, DIC produced a TV movie as part of their ''
DIC Movie Toons DIC Movie Toons (originally known as the Nickelodeon Sunday Movie Toons in the United States) were a series of animated made-for-TV movies produced by DIC Entertainment, which lasted for just one season (2002) on Nickelodeon in the United States. It ...
'' series, titled ''The Archies in Jugman''. It originally premiered on television 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 ...
on 3 November and was released on DVD and VHS shortly afterward by
MGM Home Entertainment
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC (d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video division of the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
History 1 ...
, followed on with international airings on
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 ...
and
Toon Disney
Toon Disney was an American multinational pay television channel owned by Disney Channels Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney-ABC Television Group. The channel's target audience was children ages 2–11, and children ages 6–13 during the Jetix ...
. The movie features the same character designs (but with different outfits and new looks) as this series, as well as most of the same crew and voice cast, and the similar theme of weird events happening in Riverdale.
DHX Media
WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children ...