LoliRock facts for kids
Quick facts for kids LoliRock |
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| Genre |
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| Created by |
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| Written by | Madellaine Paxson |
| Directed by | Jean Louis-Vandestoc |
| Voices of |
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| Theme music composer | Nobert Gilbert |
| Opening theme |
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| Ending theme | (instrumental of opening theme) |
| Composer(s) | Nobert Gilbert |
| Country of origin | France |
| Original language(s) | English, French |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 52 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Jean Louis Vandestoc |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
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| Distributor | Zodiak Kids |
| Release | |
| Original network | France 3 Disney Channel France |
| Picture format | 1080i: HDTV |
| Original release | 18 October 2014 – 2 March 2017 |
LoliRock is a French animated television series produced by Marathon Media and Zodiak Kids with the participation of France Télévisions and The Walt Disney Company France. It was created by Jean Louis-Vandestoc and written by Madellaine Paxson. It first aired in France on 18 October 2014 on France 3, and has expanded to television channels in Europe. It was also streamed on Netflix. As of 2021, the series streams on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix France and there is no announcement regarding a third season.
Contents
Plot
Iris is a sweet teenage girl who likes to sing and help others. However, when she sings, strange things happen. Encouraged by her best friend/crush Nathaniel, Iris auditions for a girl rock band, but ends up destroying the room and is later attacked by two strangers (twins Praxina and Mephisto). The judges at the audition, Talia and Auriana, come to help her, and they explain to her that she is actually a princess with magical powers who must save her kingdom of Ephedia, from the evil clutches of Gramorr, who has taken it over and turned it to a miserable place. The only way to save her kingdom is to master her new powers and to find the Oracle Gems of the Royal Crown of Ephedia, which have been scattered across the Earth. Over the course of the series, the three girls try to live as both ordinary teenagers as well as stars of the all-female band called “LoliRock” while training Iris to master her spells and powers in secret and gathering the gems. But when Gramorr sends twin siblings Praxina and Mephisto to fight them and summon monsters to cause chaos, the girls must work together as magical warrior princesses.
In season 2, the three girls are joined by two Ephedian girls called Carissa and Lyna who was a part of a group named the “Resistance”. They also transform into warrior princesses, but are not part of the rock band. The girls continue gathering Oracle Gems while helping those in need, but Gramorr and the evil twins continue to get stronger and more powerful as well. When the last oracle gem is collected, Iris faces the reality of having to say goodbye to her best friend/crush Nathaniel, and returning to Ephedia, but when Gramorr claims the final gem and is freed, the girls work together to face him in one final battle.
Episodes
List of LoliRock episodes
Characters
}} girl living in Sunny Bay; she has wavy blonde hair, fair skin, light blue eyes, pink lips and freckles. She is kind-hearted and willing to help everyone. She has a singing power that seems to enchant everything around her; this power is coveted by Gramorr. She has a crush on her childhood best friend, Nathaniel. After she meets Talia and Auriana, she discovers that she is the crown princess of Ephedia, a magical kingdom, and her duty is to find all the Oracle Gems of the Royal Crown and to reclaim the throne of Ephedia. When she transforms using a pendant, her hair turns rose pink and her clothes turn pink, and she has a heart symbol and a four-pointed star symbol. The production Tumblr said that she gets two symbols because she is in the royal family which rules the realm and the entire planet.
Character designer Bertrand Todesco initially considered Iris as having dark hair that would change to blonde in the transformation, but found that to be a cliché, and instead went with pop and girly colours like Katy Perry. Iris was based on actress Taylor Momsen from Gossip Girl, and the wardrobe was based on a picture of Blake Lively, also from Gossip Girl, in a green dress. He also cited British singer Pixie Lott as a reference.
- Talia (voiced by Ashleigh Ball in English version, Kelly Marot in French version) – She sings vocals and plays the keytar and sometimes guitar in LoliRock. She has long dark brown hair with straight bangs, dark skin, and amber eyes. She is serious, kind, and very intelligent. As the second princess of Xeris, she was imprisoned by Gramorr before going on the search for the princess of Ephedia with the help of Auriana. Her transformation item is a bracelet; her hair turns light blue and her clothes become blue. Her symbol is the diamond. Taila's character reference was French fashion blogger Betty Autier and her wardrobe, Amber Stevens West as she portrayed Ashleigh Owens in the TV series Greek, and singers Keri Hilson and Alicia Keys.
- Auriana (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain in English version, Léopoldine Serre in French version) – She sings vocals and plays tambourine in LoliRock. She has waist-length auburn hair styled in a ponytail, tan skin, and green eyes. She is bubbly, playful, boy-crazy, and a bit air-headed, but a reliable friend. She is the princess of Volta. Her transformation item is a ring; her hair and clothes turn bright orange, and she sports a longer ponytail. Her symbol is a crescent moon. Todesco wrote that Auriana's original name was Aurora and that he had pictured her as a black girl with a huge volume of hair, and that Talia would be maybe Asian with long straight hair, but he later changed the hairstyles. He wrote that Auriana was "all the other cool things I like and I couldn't put on Iris and/or Talia." Auriana's character reference was Leighton Meester from Gossip Girl and Cat Valentine (played by Ariana Grande) from the teen sitcom Victorious. He said that the name choice was a coincidence.
- Amaru (vocalisations by Tabitha St. Germain) – A purple and white furry creature with dark blue hair and a fluffy little tail. He has the ability to transform into a winged horse and to transport the princesses and their enemies to a special arena to allow the princesses to fight evil away from any civilians. Todesco created Amaru out of the magical girl concept of having pets such as with Sailor Moon having a cat, and that Amaru would be able to transform into a keyring plush on her bag.
- Gramorr (voiced by Mackenzie Gray in English version, Gilles Morvan in French version) – The Grand Wizard of Chaos. He has blond hair and purple eyes, wears a crown as well as a mask that covers his nose and mouth. After betraying the king and queen, Gramorr has taken control of Ephedia. However, to gain total control of the kingdom, he must have the royal crown, which is protected by a spell. He is thus unable to leave the castle area and must rely on Praxina and Mephisto to do his work. He has a black panther minion named Banes, which is described by the production Tumblr as the anti-Amaru, and was created to give Gramorr more presence. In early promotions for the series, Gramorr was named Gromar and he was depicted as Iris's evil uncle who imprisoned the king and queen, and had sent his two evil twin nephews to Earth to thwart Lolirock and take the gems, but the idea was scrapped as it would have made him more of a stereotype.
- Praxina (voiced by Kelly Sheridan in English version, Karine Foviau in French version) – She has long burgundy-colored hair that typically covers one of her eyes. She loves to belittle people, especially her enemies and her twin brother, the latter of whom she reminds that she was born before. She has a very affirmed personality and often bosses her brother around. Her theme colour is red. Her attacks tend to be demonstrations of raw power with explosions and large summoned monsters. In early concepts of the series, they were considered the two evil twin nephews of Gramorr. Todesco started the design for Praxina and Mephisto on Halloween day of 2011. Todesco originally designed Praxina dressed in black-and-white with a x symbol in her eyes. Todesco's character designer partner Benedicte Claravino went with a night butterfly/moth concept, with a bun hairstyle that extended to long twin tails. Her eyes would be butterflies instead of x's, of which the butterfly brooch stayed with around. Her design was originally approved, but then the producers thought she was too "Japanese" and scary, so he and Benedicte redrew her and came out with a more suitable design. The production Tumblr describes Praxina as an "anti-Iris", so she was given two symbols: lightning for her magic, and butterfly for herself.
- Mephisto (voiced by Vincent Tong in English version, Nessym Guetat in French version) – He and his twin sister Praxina are sent to Earth by Gramorr to prevent the princesses from thwarting his master's plans at any price. He has short burgundy-coloured hair. He enjoys destroying things, but sometimes acts cheesy, incompetent, and has a short attention span. His theme colour is green. Of the two, Mephisto prefers elaborate spells and tricks and bragging about how he's a genius. He originally had a black-and-white motif along with + symbols in his eyes. Like Praxina, he had a butterfly concept but it was rejected. Director Jean-Louis Vandestoc then suggested a snake symbol and a half-hidden face. Mephisto's design was eventually approved without the hidden face part.
- Nathaniel (voiced by Matt Ellis in English version, Hugo Brunswick in French version) – Iris's childhood best friend. He has short cocoa brown spiky hair. He knows Iris at heart, and often encourages her with kindness and a little humor. He and Iris harbour crushes on each other. Nathaniel works at the smoothie shop the girls frequent. In early promotions for the series back in 2013, Senior VP Patricia de Wilde said Nathaniel was Iris's boyfriend and the only outsider that would know of the band's secret.
- Aunt Ellen (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain in English version, named Tante Ellen and voiced by Magali Rosenzweig in French version) – Iris's adoptive guardian, she has taken care of her since she was a baby. She is a cheerful lady who likes to take care of her garden. In the start of the series, she takes in Talia and Auriana as exchange students. In the season 2 episode "Truth Be Told", it is revealed that her real name is Ellira, an Ephedian bodyguard to Iris's parents who is tasked with raising Iris and protecting her on Earth.
- Doug (voiced by James Kirk in English version, Julien Crumpon in French version) – He has blond hair and typically wears a brown hat with a pink band. He debuts in Episode 13, "Batty". He is LoliRock's number-one fan and writes a blog about them, gushing over different things and happenings about them. Doug can be gullible sometimes due to his innocence.
- Missy Robins (voiced by Ashleigh Ball in English version, named Suzy Robins and voiced by Audrey Sable in French version) – Iris's childhood rival who debuts in episode 2 "Flower Power". She greyish-black hair and yellow-green eyes. As the daughter of the mayor of Sunny Bay, she acts spoiled and vain. When asked whether Missy was based on rival character Mandy in Totally Spies!, the production Tumblr wrote that Missy was not based on her, even though she looks like her. They wanted a character that would be a love rival and a pest, and went with a brunette hair colour to contrast Iris being a blonde, calling it a "classic trope".
- Izira (voiced by Chiara Zanni in English version, Jessica Monceau in French version) – Talia's older sister from Xeris. She possesses a great power, and is deemed to be a powerful, responsible and intelligent princess. Talia lost track of her since the attack of Gramorr on Xeris. It is later revealed that she was imprisoned in the prison fortress Krozak on Ephedia. In the show, she first appears in "Xeris". She has white hair, dark skin, and mulberry blue eyes. She returns in the season 1 finale episode "Home", where she leads a resistance movement against Gramorr. In the production Tumblr, she is nine years older than Talia, and her design was based mainly on imagining what Talia would look like in the future. To distinguish herself from Talia, she was designed with slightly darker skin tone and lighter hair. Her symbol is three diamonds.
- Lev (voiced by Sam Vincent in English version, Yoann Bellot Sover in French version) – An Ephedian thief who initially appears as a fellow prisoner of Gramorr in the season 1 finale episodes and goes with Iris when they try to escape from their cells. However, it is soon revealed that he has been working for Gramorr all along (as he was the highest bidder) to get her to release the crown. His magic crest bears the symbol of an eagle.
- Lyna (voiced by Kelly Sheridan in English version, Marie Nonnenmacher in French version) – A princess of Borealis, she debuts in "Home Part I". In her magical princess state, she has light green hair. She is shy, but brave, light-hearted, and sophisticated. She loves crystal tea and is proud that her castle had won awards for most beautiful. She and Carissa helped free Izira from Gramorr and joined her resistance movement. Her transformation item is a hair pin, and her symbol is a fleur-de-lys. Her weapon is a chakram (ring), but she prefers to use levitation in her spells. At the end of the first season, she joins the LoliRock girls on Earth where she has long straight black hair, medium skin, and violet eyes. As with Carissa, she is neither part of the band nor lives with them at Aunt Ellen's, but appears in some of the episodes. Her transformation sequence is inspired by Sailor Moon, specifically Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, and they are shorter transformations than the main three girls for production reasons and because it would have been boring. According to the character designers, Lyna was depicted as snooty and delicate. Her colour theme is teal. During the development of Carissa and Lyna's characters, the designers wanted to make one of them styled like an Asian princess, and settled with Lyna, while the Caucasian version of Lyna was used for a guest character Debra in season 2.
- Carissa (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain in English version, Fanny Bloc in French version) – A princess of Calix, she also debuts in "Home Part I". In her magical princess state, she has purple hair, and purple is also her general theme colour. She likes to show off her fighting skills, enjoys having bruises, and is fired up whenever she's fighting. After she and Lyna free Izira, she joins the latter's resistance movement. Her transformation item is an armlet and her symbol is a compass rose. Her weapon is a pair of clubs, and she prefers close-quarters combat. At the end of the first season, she joins the LoliRock girls on Earth, where she has red-orange hair styled in a fishtail braid, light skin and blue eyes. Storyboarder Christelle Abgrall wrote that Carissa's transformation was inspired by Sailor Uranus and her main attack. The characters designers depicted Carissa as a fiery tomboy. Carissa's hair was made brown in some of the early depictions so as to not confuse her with the redhead Auriana, but the designers later went with her original Irish redhead hair colour. Some of the drafts had also depicted her with dark skin or styled like an Asian princess.
Broadcast
The show premiered on France 3 on 18 October 2014. running for 13 episodes until March 2015. On 26 January 2016, Zodiak Kids published an article officially announcing that BatteryPOP had acquired AVOD (streaming) rights to LoliRock for one year.
On 1 April, France Televisions announced the release of episodes on France 4, and Disney France. Zodiak also reported that Italy would launch LoliRock on De Agostini Editore's Super! DTT channel. France 4 began broadcasting the 13 episodes on 4 April 2016. On 1 May, the first season of the series was released on Netflix, in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia.
The LoliRock producers pre-released the four episodes of season 2 on YouTube in December 2016. > Netflix released the English dub of the season 2 episodes on 5 January 2017. It was broadcast on France 4 in February with two episodes per weekday.
In the United States, the show premiered on the streaming service Netflix in 2016 with an English language track and the second season premiered on the service in 2017. In 2020, Amazon's Prime Video service acquired the show.
Other media
A LoliRock video game, available on iOS and Android, was released by Bulkypix in 2014. The game lets players sing to the songs featured on the show, record performances, and customise a sound studio and pick the girls' outfits.
Zodiak has also worked a deal with publishing company Hachette Jeunesse to create novels, activity books, stationery, and e-books.
See also
In Spanish: LoliRock para niños
