Highlander: The Animated Series facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Highlander: The Animated Series |
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Connor MacLeod as depicted in the series.
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| Genre | Action Adventure Drama Science fantasy |
| Created by | Serge Rosenzweig |
| Directed by | Frederic Dybowski |
| Voices of | Miklos Perlus Lawrence Bayne Katie Zegers Don Dickinson Ben Campbell |
| Composer(s) | Ramon Pipin Hervé Lavandier |
| Country of origin | France Canada United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 40 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Christian Charret Marc du Pontavice Peter Davis Bill Panzer |
| Producer(s) | Marc du Pontavice |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Gaumont Multimedia |
| Distributor | Bohbot Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | USA Network (1994-1995) First-run syndication (1995-1996) |
| Original release | September 18, 1994 – January 5, 1996 |
Highlander: The Animated Series is an exciting animated TV show from Canada, France, and the United States. It first aired on September 18, 1994. This series is like a new story that continues the adventures from the 1986 Highlander movie. It was made by Gaumont Multimedia.
Contents
The Story of Highlander
The show takes place far in the future, in the 27th century. Earth has changed a lot after a giant meteorite hit it. This caused many problems and almost destroyed human civilization.
After this big disaster, the Immortals decided to stop fighting each other. In the past, Immortals would fight until only one was left to win a special "Prize." But now, they promised to protect human knowledge and help people rebuild. They even threw away their swords and called themselves Jettators, which means "thrown away" in French.
However, one Immortal named Kortan refused to join this oath. He still wanted to win the Prize and rule the world. Connor MacLeod, the hero from the original movie, challenged Kortan to a fight. Connor lost and was defeated. When an Immortal breaks their oath, they are said to be defeated.
With Connor gone, a prophecy said a new Immortal would rise. This new hero would not be bound by the old oath and would be the one to defeat Kortan. Kortan then built a huge empire and ruled most of the planet from his strong fortress called Mogonda.
Quentin MacLeod's Journey
Seven hundred years later, a young man from the Scottish Highlands named Quentin was defeated while defending his family, the Dundee clan, from Kortan's forces. But instead of staying defeated, Quentin came back to life as the new Immortal from the prophecy! His mother told him his true name was Quentin MacLeod, "The Last of the MacLeods."
Quentin soon met Don Vincente Marino Ramirez, a Jettator who became his teacher. Ramirez taught Quentin about Immortals and his important mission to face Kortan. He also trained Quentin in combat.
Quentin travels with Ramirez, his adopted sister Clyde, and their smart pet Gaul. He seeks out other Jettators to gain their knowledge and power, called a Quickening. Unlike the old ways where Immortals had to defeat each other, Quentin gets this knowledge by sharing it. This happens when he and a Jettator hold the same sword together. After a sharing, the Jettator becomes mortal, and their sword often breaks. With Ramirez's wisdom and the knowledge from other Jettators, Quentin hopes to become strong enough to defeat Kortan.
Even though the show was made for a younger audience, it had some serious moments. While Quentin gained power peacefully, Kortan still took power the old way. Also, characters were not always completely good or bad. Some of Kortan's followers showed good traits, and Quentin sometimes faced temptations. But in the end, his good side always won.
Main Characters
- Quentin MacLeod: He is the main hero of the show. Quentin was raised by the Dundee clan. When Kortan's army attacked, Quentin was defeated but then came back as an Immortal. He usually fights with the sword that belonged to Connor MacLeod and is also good with a boomerang.
- Don Vincente Marino Ramírez: This Immortal is 3000 years old! He guides Quentin and makes sure other Jettators keep their oath. He teaches Quentin how to fight, as well as about life and history.
- Clyde of the Dundee: Quentin's adopted younger sister. She often finds herself in danger during their adventures but sometimes helps by distracting enemies.
- Gaul: Clyde's pet, a smart creature that is part ape and part dog. Gaul is very protective of Clyde and Quentin. His animal instincts often help Quentin in dangerous situations.
Kortan's Villains
- Kortan: He is one of the few Immortals who did not take the oath. He declared himself the winner of the Game and took control of Earth. He rules from his huge city-fortress called Mogonda.
- Arak: One of Kortan's top generals and leader of his army, called The Hunters. He was involved in the attack that led to Quentin becoming an Immortal. Part of his left eye and hand are cybernetic (robot parts).
- Malone: He used to be a Mime. Now, he serves Kortan as a "human key" to his weapons and as a court jester. Kortan erased his old memories. Even though he acts childlike, he can be very clever and seems loyal to Kortan.
- Gorth: Another one of Kortan's loyal army generals. He leads strong slaves who fight as Gladiators. Gorth is a skilled swordsman and can match Arak in a fight.
- Asklepios: The leader of the Bureaucrats in Mogonda and a brilliant scientist. He and Arak often try to outdo each other to get Kortan's favor.
- Valka: A Bureaucrat who helped Asklepios set up a spy network. It is hinted that she likes Asklepios.
- Kirk: An officer in Kortan's army who takes care of Kortan's tamed anomas (giant ants). He was defeated when his own trained ants turned against him.
- Mohar: The brave leader of a group of bounty hunters in the desert. His group has always been enemies of Quentin's Dundee clan. Mohar also wants to challenge and defeat Kortan to become the ruler of the planet.
The Jettators
The Jettators are Immortals who swore an oath to help humanity and not fight each other. Quentin seeks them out to gain their knowledge.
- Don Vincente Marino Ramírez: The oldest Jettator, who guides Quentin.
- Mangus: He knows a lot about architecture (building design). He helped Quentin and the Dundees escape Mogonda by sacrificing himself.
- Yashoda: Considered the greatest Jettator, he teaches martial arts. He tests Quentin to see if he is ready for his knowledge.
- Stevenson: He knew about hydroelectric power (making electricity from water). He tried to betray Quentin but was defeated by Kortan.
- Ilrick: A Jettator with knowledge of medicine.
- Erol: He knew about oil, dynamite, and other secrets of the Earth.
- Lanzelet: A Jettator who holds the knowledge of history.
- Olak: The Jettator of the winds. He gave Quentin his knowledge after Quentin bravely overcame his fear of heights.
- Volta: A Jettator with knowledge of nuclear power. His skin is blue because of radiation.
- Eva: A woman who knows how to create and project holograms (3D images made of light).
- Orane: A blue-haired woman who rules an undersea city and knows about oceanography (the study of oceans).
- Fredrickson: He knew about genetics (how living things inherit traits). He cloned himself to protect his knowledge, but his clone turned bad.
- Matsuda: An Asian Jettator who knows about cyborgs (part human, part machine). He built a robot warrior to fight Kortan after losing a hand.
- Mahata: An old man with knowledge of entomology (the study of insects).
- Brana: He knew about linguistics (the study of language). He found courage when someone he cared about was taken by Kortan's men.
- Cornell: A blind Jettator who knew about astronomy (the study of stars and planets). He hoped to fight Kortan during an eclipse.
- Sahevy: A Jettator with knowledge of botany (the study of plants). He was helpful in stopping dangerous plant creatures.
- Sheperd: He knew about satellites. He didn't take the oath at first because he thought he caused the big disaster.
- Prometheus: A Jettator with knowledge of the atom. His body was affected by radiation. He destroyed his own fortress to protect his secrets.
- Emerson: He found a way to create invisibility. He was in space for a long time. Kortan defeated him to gain his knowledge.
Amazing Creatures
The world of Highlander: The Animated Series has many unique creatures:
- Anomas: These are giant ants, as big as elephants! They are very aggressive and are used in Mogonda for punishments. Wild Anomas can produce a special acid that makes you unable to move.
- Gavors: These are ostrich-like reptiles used for riding, similar to horses. They seem to be as smart as horses.
- Grans: Creatures that are part ape and part dog. They are very intelligent and can use tools and plan things. Grans communicate using sign language and understand human speech.
- Snow Spider: Large, fuzzy blue spiders, about the size of a house cat. They are not poisonous.
- Thorn Pods: These are flesh-eating flowers that can move! They have a smell that makes you sleepy and can consume humans.
- Gorans: These are animals that are a mix of an elephant and a cow. They are used for heavy work and moving supplies.
Episodes
The series has two seasons with a total of 40 episodes. Each episode follows Quentin's adventures as he seeks out Jettators and faces Kortan's forces.
Voice Cast
- Miklos Perlus - Quentin MacLeod
- Ben Campbell - Ramirez
- Lawrence Bayne - Kortan
- Katie Zegers - Clyde
- Don Dickinson - Arak
- Lorne Kennedy - Malone, Connor MacLeod
- Wayne Robson - Asklepios, Glen
- Hrant Alianak - Sahevy
- Graham Haley - Mangus, Erol
- Tracey Moore - Ave
- James Rankin - Stevenson, Mohar
- Stuart Stone - Young Quentin
- Alyson Court - Aria
- John Gilbert - Melvyn
- David Hemblen - Gorth, Olak
- Catherine Disher - Teen
- Dawn Greenhalgh - Petra
- Cedric Smith - Scott
- David Bryant - Lanzelet
- Colin Fox - Cubert
Other Adventures
A video game based on the TV show, called Highlander: The Last of the MacLeods, was released for the Atari Jaguar CD.
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