Nostalgia Nook: Captain Planet and the Planeteers

Yes, I know the Nostalgia Critic did this. But I wanted to do it myself. Especially as there will be a film made based on the TV show.

So let our SPOILERS combine!



“Captain Planet and the Planeteers” opens with Gaea, the Greek spirit of the earth (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg), awakening to find the earth filled with pollution. She seeks out five teenagers from different continents: Wheeler (Joey Dedio) from North America, Linka (Kath Soucie) from Eastern Europe, Kwami (voiced by Levar Burton) from Africa, Gi (Janice Kawaye) from Asia and Ma-Ti (Scott Menville) from South America. Each is given a ring with special powers: Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Heart. Yep, heart. It’s been mocked thoroughly before. What type of power does Heart give Ma-Ti? The power to communicate telepathically. Yes, I guess it’s kinda cool. But compared to the others—like Wheeler being able to call up fireballs?

The Planeteers, as these teens are called, are sent off to fight against eco-terrorists. All voiced by famous voices like Meg Ryan, Jeff Goldblum, and Tim Curry. Each focuses on destroying the environment because…Anyway, the Planeteers try to stop them but usually can’t. So they combine their powers and unleash Captain Planet. He’s made of crystal, it looks like, and has grass for hair. Which is cut into a mullet. Hey, it was the late 80s/early 90s. He fights the bad guys and saves the day.

What are his powers? Depends. He tends to get new powers as the situation warrants. But his weakness is always the same: pollution. It causes him to lose his powers and pass out. But washing him off usually restores his power.

As for the villains…they’re pretty obvious for villains. Duke Nukem? Hoggish Greedly? Verminous Skumm? Looten Plunder? You have to wonder why people trusted these guys in the first place. It’s like, no one said: “I think we’ll have to pass on your proposal, Mr. Plunder.” Or just side-eye one of them. Besides obvious villain names, they also look like villains. They usually worked apart but one time, they did work together. Using rings of their own, they created Captain Planet’s evil doppelganger. He almost won, but only because it was a two-parter. In the end, Captain Planet saved the day.

Captain Planet hit at the right time. I remember being in Pre-School and coloring a bug to glue on a brown paper bag to keep in the car for garbage so we didn’t end up being “litter bugs.” If you’re wondering where this whole “being green” came from, it’s been building for a long time. And Captain Planet played his part. Was it cheesy? You bet. Did we care? Not really.

Sing along now with me: Captain Planet, he’s our hero…

Next month: Kim Possible.