Mighty Max (TV series)
Mighty Max was an animated action/sci-fi/horror series which aired from 1993 to 1994 to promote the British Mighty Max toys, an offshoot of the Polly Pocket line, created by Bluebird Toys in 1992. It ran for two seasons; with a total of 40 episodes airing during the show's run. It starred the voice talents of Rob Paulsen as Max, Richard Moll as Norman, Tony Jay as Virgil, and Tim Curry as Skullmaster.
Television Series
Story
The storyline follows Max, an adventourous preteen boy who receives a package in the mail. The package contains a small statue of a fowl, inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphs. The translation reveals a message which reads: "You have been chosen to be the cap-bearer. Go to the mini-mart and wait for a sign, Mighty Max." Shocked by the message, Max drops the statue, shattering it and revealing a red baseball cap emblazoned with a yellow 'M'.
Upon arriving at the minimart, he is chased by a lava-monster sent by the series' antagonist, Skullmaster, a megalomaniacal demon who lives within the earth and has the power to create evil minions. As Max races away, the cap he wears activates a vortex which transports him instantly from his current location (which is assumed to be the United States), to the Mongolian desert.
Max is met by Virgil, a nearly-omniscient Lemurian whose appearance is that of a anthropomorphic "fowl" (a running gag is that Max will refer to Virgil as a chicken to which the Lemurian replies that he is a "fowl, actually". Virgil explains that Max's reception of the cap was prophesised circa 3,000 BC. Max, Virgil, and Norman, his Viking bodyguard, travel together around the world, defending the Earth against the minions of the evil Skullmaster (responsible for the downfall of both the Lemurians and the people of Atlantis).Norman,which may or may not be his real name,is supposedly immortal.He has gone under several other names throughout time,two of them include Sir Lancelot and Little John. In one episode where the protagonists gather together several legendary heroes from various mythologies, Norman "reclaims" the helm and hammer of Thor suggesting that in the series continuity, he was the inspiration for the Norse God of Thunder.
Most episodes involve Skullmaster or one of his demons, but in many episodes Max is required to intervene to stop an independent villain. While all episodes involve travel across Earth, many involve time travel as well, and the portal can even extend into alternate reality, as seen in The Cyberskull Virus. While genearlly lighthearted and comical, the show's violence and descriptions of violent acts were considered graphic by some viewers. Many episodes began with a prologue of a person being killed by the episode's menace, which were more graphically violent than most shows aimed at children.
The finale episode featured Max, Norman, and Virgil pitted against Skullmaster and their previously defeated foes. Both Norman and Virgil are killed, leaving Max as the only one to defeat Skullmaster, who is about to gain ultimate power. Some fans have criticized the final episode's conclusion for "looping" the end of the series into the beginning. This was most likely the only way the creators could have been allowed to give the series anything resembling a conclusion, however, as cartoon producers of the time were very insistant on the "return to normalcy" storytelling format. Regardless, fans of the show to this day are vocal in their requests for the entire series to be released on DVD.
The Movie
A patent was taken by Film Roman for a Mighty Max animated film in 1995, but such a film was never created. The reasons for this are unclear, but the television show had retained low popularity and the toys were also losing ground.
Educational Epilogue
In all but the first episode, there is a short ending scene which preludes the credits. Max is shown at his desk in his room, where he discusses with the audience some aspect of the episode in an educational way, usually the location where the events took place, &c. Occasionally Max is shown in another setting such as a library or museum, or is simply heard recorded on a answering machine (such as Armageddon Outta Here the finale of the show). However, these sequences were not broadcast in some regions, such as Britain.
Merchandise
The merchandising was far more popular than the show itself. Mighty Max toys were sold as playsets of varying sizes with very small (usually non-articulated) figurines inside. Each playset contained a Mighty Max figure as well as one or more villains and sometimes Virgil, Norman, or both. There were a small series of larger more expensive playsets with various mechanical and electronic features such as opening jaws (on an island playset shaped as a dragon's head) and lights.
In 1995, due to the popularity of the playsets at the time, the McDonald's Happy Meal offered a toy playset featuring Mighty Max. Also, Mighty Max was turned into a video game for the SNES and Sega Genesis and a handheld game for Tiger Electronics and Systema. The show generated other merchandise such as a comic book, board game, and several video games. In some countries, replicas of Max's cap were sold, although not all are necessarily officially liscenced merchendise.
The show has not yet been released on DVD, although select episodes of the show were released on VHS in NTSC format. Since the early days of eBay, VHS copies of the entire series (recorded from television) have sold for considerable amounts. Currently bootleg DVD sets circulate the Internet.
External links
- Mighty Max at the Internet Movie Database
- The Mighty Max Portal is the only comprehensive site that has lasted into the 21st century, focusing on the show but with information on merchandise and toys.
- Mighty Max @ TV.com Features episode guides and a forum.
- Mighty Max Fansite Comprehensive episode guide and screen captures.
- The Mighty Max Archives A fan forum.
- Mighty Max Playsets Exhaustive collection of Mighty Max playsets, with photographs.
- Mighty Max @ Virtual Toy Chest Playsets with photographs.