SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron facts for kids
Quick facts for kids SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron |
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SWAT Kats season 2 title card, featuring Razor, T-Bone, and the Turbokat.
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| Created by | Christian Tremblay Yvon Tremblay |
| Developed by | Glenn Leopold Davis Doi |
| Directed by | Robert Alvarez |
| Voices of | Barry Gordon Charlie Adler Tress MacNeille Jim Cummings Gary Owens Candi Milo Mark Hamill Lori Alan |
| Composer(s) | Matt Muhoberac John Zuker Randall Crissman Nick Brown |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 25 (and 1 Special) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Buzz Potamkin |
| Producer(s) | Davis Doi (1993–1994) |
| Running time | 22–26 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Hanna-Barbera Cartoons |
| Distributor | Turner Entertainment Turner Program Services |
| Release | |
| Original network | TBS |
| Picture format | 480p SDTV |
| Audio format | Dolby SR |
| Original release | September 11, 1993 – January 13, 1995 |
SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron is an exciting American animated TV show that first aired from 1993 to 1995. It was created by Christian and Yvon Tremblay and made by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. The story takes place in a big city called Megakat City. This city is full of "kats," which are cat-like characters who act like people.
The "SWAT Kats" are two brave heroes who fly a super cool jet. This jet has lots of amazing weapons. In each episode, they fight against different bad guys. They also often have trouble with the city's police force, called the Enforcers. The show first appeared on TV as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera and on TBS Superstation.
Contents
The Story of the SWAT Kats
The main characters are Jake "Razor" Clawson and Chance "T-Bone" Furlong. They used to be part of Megakat City's police, the Enforcers. But they got kicked out! This happened after they didn't follow orders from Commander Feral. They were chasing a villain named Dark Kat. Commander Feral told them to stop, but they wanted to catch him.
Their jet crashed into the new Enforcer Headquarters. This crash was actually caused by Commander Feral's own jet. The explosion let Dark Kat get away. Commander Feral blamed Jake and Chance. He fired them and made them work at the city's junk yard. They had to pay for the damage to the headquarters.
Their Amazing Vehicles
At the junk yard, Jake and Chance found old military parts. They used these parts to build their own awesome jet. They called it the Turbokat. It's a three-engine jet fighter that looks like a mix of real jets.
They also built other cool vehicles:
- The Cyclotron: A motorcycle hidden inside the jet. It can be launched like a missile!
- The TurboMole: A vehicle that can dig underground.
- The HoverKat: A military hovercraft that floats.
- The Thunder Truck: A tough Jeep made from their old tow truck.
All these vehicles, plus a training area, are hidden in a secret hangar. This hangar is right under the junk yard. Now, Razor and T-Bone fly around Megakat City as the SWAT Kats. They protect the city from all kinds of dangers.
Who Do They Fight?
The SWAT Kats face many different villains. Some of their main enemies include:
- Dark Kat: A very smart criminal mastermind.
- Pastmaster: An evil sorcerer who is undead.
- Doctor Viper: A mutant evil genius.
- The Metallikats: robotic gangsters.
They also fight other villains who appear in single episodes, like Madkat and Volcanus.
Keeping Their Secret
The SWAT Kats keep their true identities a secret from everyone. Even their friend, Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs, doesn't know. Callie often does the work of her boss, Mayor Manx. The Mayor usually just plays golf instead of doing his job.
Commander Feral doesn't like the SWAT Kats' methods. They often argue throughout the show. In the second season, Commander Feral's niece, Felina, becomes an ally. She is a lieutenant in the Enforcers.
Episodes
There are 26 finished episodes of SWAT Kats. Two of these were split into two parts, making 25 individual stories. There are also two special episodes. These specials show reports on the SWAT Kats, their missions, and their gadgets. One bonus episode features a romantic team.
The show re-aired on Cartoon Network in the 1990s. Later, it was shown on Boomerang until 2013.
Characters
To learn more about the characters, you can check out the main article:
Revival Efforts
Many fans wanted SWAT Kats to come back. In 2015, the creators, Christian and Yvon Tremblay, started a Kickstarter campaign. They hoped to raise money for a new series or even a movie. They quickly reached their first goal of $50,000. This money was for making concept art and promotional materials. They wanted to use these to find an investor for the show.
They had bigger goals too:
- $200,000 would let them make a 22-minute episode.
- $1,000,000 would allow them to create a mini-series of five episodes.
- $1.5 million or more would help them make a full SWAT Kats movie.
The campaign ended with $141,500. This amount was enough to create a 2-minute trailer. The creators planned to show this trailer to TV companies. They hoped to get approval for a new series called SWAT Kats Revolution.
In 2016, the Tremblay Brothers confirmed they had started working on the trailer. Christian Tremblay later shared that Warner Bros. was interested. However, they couldn't get the parent network to agree to a new series. So, Warner Bros. passed on the project.
Tremblay then started working with other investors. He wanted to make new SWAT Kats episodes independently. These episodes would be available online for streaming. In a 2020 update, Christian Tremblay explained the challenges. Many companies like Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon passed on the project. He also mentioned that the movie CATS! caused problems. Its failure made studios hesitant about animated cat projects. Despite these setbacks, the creators are still determined. They believe they will bring SWAT Kats back.
In Other Media
Toys
Remco made a line of action figures in 1994. These included figures of Razor, T-Bone, Dark Kat, and Dr. Viper. Also, White Castle and Carl's Jr. restaurants offered SWAT Kats toys in their kids' meals during the 1990s.
Video Game
A video game called SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron was released. It came out on June 9, 1995, in Japan and August 21, 1995, in North America. The game was for the Super NES. A game for the Sega Mega Drive was also being made but was never finished.
Images for kids
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SWAT Kats season 2 title card, featuring Razor, T-Bone, and the Turbokat.
See also
In Spanish: SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron para niños
