Insektors

Insektors was a 1994 animated TV series about a conflict between two tribes of anthropomorphic insects, the Joyces (an airborne, brightly coloured race) and the Yuks (a dank, dark race fixated on keeping their furnaces burning in order to survive). Made in a small studio, Fantome, in France, it was the 1994 recipient of a "Children and Young People" Emmy Award. It was directed by Georges LaCroix and Renato, and written by Eric Rondeaux, Véronique Herbaut and Marc Perrier.

Created in 1993 and aired in the early 1994 in France, it is the first completely computer-animated TV series. It was then dubbed into two English language releases; one for North America, and one for the UK.

The North American version was faithful to its original French roots; using the original names and dialogue. It was first aired on Canadian television on YTV.

The UK version, however, was completely different. The original script was re-written; characters had different names, and different dialogue was used. References and jokes were added in for those who are familiar with England. For example in Koa The Frog/Frogbucket the line "Back to base" became "Now time for home and cheesy toasties!". This less-serious air pervaded almost all dialogue in the UK version.

Other versions of the show are being reported, as well, two of them being Spanish and Portuguese. A German version has also been reported.

Characters

French/North American Name	British Name	Description
Joyces	Verigreens	The protagonists of the series - these colorful, cheerful insects are offshoots of the Yuk/Krud civilization who broke away from their dark cousins upon the arrival of the Great Prism which nourished the site where it landed, resulting in the creation of Flower City. The Joyces/Verigreens are a peaceful people who devote their lives to merrymaking and protecting the Great Prism from harm.
Fulgor	Flynn	Born a Yuk/Krud, Fulgor/Flynn was adopted by the Joyces/Verigreens from a young age. Armed with the mighty Kolour Guitar/Musical Colour Gun - an electric guitar that fires blasts of colorful pollens - he is the brave, and sometimes reckless, champion in the fight against the Yuks/Kruds.
Aelia	Alex	A butterfly. She is the daughter of the Joyce/Verigreen leader, and adopted sister to Fulgor/Flynn. She tends to the Great Prism and assists her father in his scientific explorations. She is voiced by Caroline Bliss in the UK dub.
The Great Pyro	Godfrey	A butterfly. The slightly eccentric leader of the Joyces/Verigreens, and is the biological father of Aelia/Alex and adoptive father to Fulgor/Flynn. He is talented as a scientist and mystic.
Daltonio	Bentley	A greenfly. The Great Pyro's/Godfrey's main assistant.
Gallopus	Peg	A mechanical equine robot. Fleet of foot (and flight), he was originally created by Eurekas/Magus. He is Fulgor's/Flynn's steed and close confidante, but unable to speak outside of honks and squeaks. In the UK dub, Peg is female.
Spotty	Elmo	Another machine like Gallopus/Peg, he is a small flier. He has a large spotlight in his stomach to illuminate dark areas, similar to the role of a firefly.
Beurks/Yuks	Kruds	The monochromatic insects that live in a rotting treestump in a swamp - they continually try to conquer the Flower City in the name of their Queen, namely for the fuel source the flowers provide. Exposure to brightly coloured substances causes them to enter states of uninhibited laughter.
Queen Bakrakra	Queen Catheter	A praying mantis. She is the fearsome ruler of the Yuks/Kruds, and a descendent of the tyrannical King Bakrakro/Catheter the First. She is so cold-hearted that she must spend much of her time in a massive warming furnace in order to survive - and it is this furnace that the Yuks/Kruds must find lumber to feed. Though she despises the Joyces/Verigreens as much as her minions do, she does seem to have a greater degree of honour and fairness, having once allowed Fulgor/Flynn to stand trial rather than execute him outright as wished by Krabo/Draffsack. In the UK dub, she has a whispering voice, reminiscent of her deathlike name and nature.
Prince Acylius	Prince Maximillian	A mantis. The son of Queen Bakrakra/Catheter, and heir to the Yuk/Krud throne. He longs to join the Joyces/Verigreens, and thus acts as an informant to tip them off on Krabo's/Draffsack's schemes. As a result of contact with the Joyces/Verigreens, he is the only Yuk/Krud to make use of his wings. He has a turbulent relationship with his mother - due to her often-frustrated expectations of him - as well as a soft spot for Aelia/Alex. He has an English accent in the US and UK dub, although his voice in the UK dub is similar to that of Ringo Starr, while the US version bears a more aristocratic lilt.
Lord Krabo	Lord Draffsack	A cockroach. Grouchy, stressed, power-hungry, egotistical and something of a coward, the Prime Minister of the Yuks/Kruds has enough on his hands in trying to educate the young Prince in the ways of Yukdom/Kruddom, defeating the Joyces/Verigreens, attempting (and often failing) to please Queen Bakrakra/Catheter, and secretly planning toward the day when he can overthrow her.
Teknocratus	Synapse	A weevil. The constantly-relaxed chief engineer of the Yuks/Kruds, he admits in the UK dub "it's a tough life for a genius." He tirelessly creates contraptions to further their cause, or reverse the unfortunate effects of Joyce/Verigreen counter-attacks.
Kretinus	Fugg	A weevil. He is Lord Krabo/Draffsack and General Lukanus's/Wasabi's clumsy and slow-witted assistant, constantly trying to please his superiors. In the UK dub, he has a Welsh accent.
General Lukanus	General Wasabi	A stag beetle. He is the arrogant commander of the Yuk/Krud army, carrying out the schemes of Krabo/Draffsack and Teknocratus/Synapse, although his greatest loyalty is to Queen Bakrakra/Catheter, who displays some measure of favour towards him. In the UK dub, he has a Japanese accent and habits, and often speaks in third person. In the episode "The Cage", it is revealed that even he has some (relatively vague) aspirations for the throne.
Generals Krabouic and Kaboche	Captain Roderick Drumsturdy and Corporal Stanley Greeb	The twin heads of security, test pilots, and commandos. Krabouic/Drumsturdy (who possesses a Scottish accent in the UK dub) is taller and more headstrong, while Kaboche/Greeb is shorter, more cowardly, and has a tendency to stutter (USA version) or reminisce on a childhood experience (UK version).
The Guards	The Methane Brothers (Miff and Eric)	The two rhinoceros beetles who guard the main entrance into the Yuk/Krud castle. They are generally slow-witted, easily distracted, and quite eccentric. In the UK dub they speak with West Country accents.
Protokol	Kopius	A cockchafer. He is the aloof Yuk/Krud herald who announces each character's entrance (often unnecessarily). He uses what limited chances to speak he has to throw barbs at his superiors.
Eurekas	Magus	Introduced in the last episode of the first season, he is the biological father of Fulgor/Flynn and formerly Teknocratus's/Synapse's predecessor/colleague. He disappeared, disgusted by the war-like ways of his fellow Yuks/Kruds, and was allegedly crushed by an earthquake when he tried to escape. He and Fulgor/Flynn were reunited in the final episode, where it is revealed that, far from dying in the accident, Eurekas/Magus had been excavating a fortified laboritory where he could "conduct (his) scientific investigations without interference."

Technology

French/North American Name	British Name	Description
Joyces	Verigreens
The Great Prism	The Great Prism	A glowing multicoloured cube which resides in a high tower, the Great Prism is the energy source of the Joyces/Verigreens which keeps their flower city alive. The Prism seems to be a living organism which can communicate vocally and through image projections. It is kept functioning by bathing it in the nectar of a water plant which grows in Yuk/Krud territory.
Kolour Guitar	Musical Colour Gun	A handheld contraption used by Fulgor/Flynn. Though outwardly it resembles and plays like a guitar, violent plucking of its strings will cause it to fire blasts of coloured pollen. The blasts have no effect on Joyces/Verigreens, though they entice Yuks/Kruds into fits of laughter. Strangely, a few Yuks/Kruds - such as Acylius/Maximillian, Krabo/Draffsack and probably Queen Bakrakra/Catheter - are not affected by them.
???	Dragonfly Squadron	The Joyce's/Verigreen's main line of defence, these mechanical dragonflies fire blasts of pollen similar to those of the colour guitar from their abdomens.
Yuks	Kruds
Koa	Frogbuckets (also called simply 'Frogs')	Giant frog-like war machines, the Koa/Frogbuckets act as both the Yuks'/Kruds' heavy fighting forces and as material collectors. Usually controlled by two pilots, they are fully amphibious and their hulls are completely immune to Joyce/Verigreen pollen blasts.

Story

The series takes place on the planet Karbon/Krud, though the UK dub does include references to locations on Earth. Episode 6; Planet Karbon /The Black Planet reveals that Karbon/Krud was originally a dark, colourless rock inhabited by a single race of insects; the Yuks/Kruds. The Yuks/Kruds survived the planet's hostile environment by burrowing deep into it for coal. At one point, a Prism shaped meteor hit the planet and nourished the site on which it landed with colour and energy, resulting in a flower filled paradise. A few of the Yuks/Kruds colonised the area and evolved colours of their own, renaming themselves Joyces/Verigreens. They venerated the Prism and built a high altar upon it. The Yuks/Kruds who chose to stick to their original lives continued mining for coal till they gradually exhausted their supplies. The animosity between the two insect civilizations began when a violent Yuk/Krud known as King Bakrako/Catheter the First came up with the solution of using the Joyce's/Verigreen's flower stalks as substitute fuel sources. Gradually, all memory of the two civilizations once being the same people was lost, and ever since they have been enemies.

Episode List

Episodes are listed below with the original French title, North American title and the British title. Season 1

1. La guitare à Kouleurs / The Kolour Guitar / The Musical Color Gun
2. Des fleurs pour BaKraKra / Flowers for Bakrakra / Flowers for Catheter
3. Koa la grenouille / Koa the Frog / Frogbucket
4. Au feu les jonKilles / Daffodil Kraze / The Rescue
5. EsKapade / The Eskape / The Escape
6. Planète Karbone / Planet Karbon / The Black Planet
7. Koléoptère / The Koleopter / The Daffodil Collector
8. Katerpilar / Katerpillar / The Mechanical Digger
9. Troglodyte Rock / Troglodyte Rock / The Prince of Rock
10. Les Detrakeurs du Ciel / The Sky Breakers / The Weather Forecast
11. La Nuit Elektrik / Electrik Night / Close Encounters
12. Le Pont de la Konkorde / Konkord Bridge / The Diplomatic Bridge
13. Les Sekrets du Grand Artificier / Great Pyro's Sekrets / Godfrey's Secret Season 2
14. Grosse Kolere / Fulgore's Kwest / Krud Confessions
15. Koup de Kafard / Krabo's Kase / Sick at Heart
16. Kui-Kui / Bird Kalls / If Chickens Could Fly
17. Le Kadeau / Lukanus' Koncert / The Cage
18. La Kourse / Katch Me If You Kan / Athletics
19. Kataklysme / Kataklysm / Comet
20. Suksession / Sukcession / Ruling Classes
21. Koupable / Kourt Kase / Accused
22. Kontagion / It's Katching / Epidemic
23. Rekolte / The Kure / The Cure
24. Kalkulator / Kalkulator / Sparkie and Co
25. Spektre / Spektre / A Spectre Calls
26. Katakombs / Katakombs / The Cave

Known Cast

French version

• Christian Alers
• Daniel Lafourcade
• Pierre Baton
• Jacques Brunnet
• Alexandre Gillet
• Raphaelle Moutier
• Jean-Claude Sachot
• Lucienne Troka

UK version

• Caroline Bliss - Alex
• Andy Secombe - Queen Catheter/ Fugg /Godfrey
• Teddy Kempner -Flynn/Kopius
• Neil McCaul - Sinapse/Lord Draffsack/General Wasabi

NA version

• Karen Strassman
• Bela Grushka
• David Gasman
• Christian Ericson
• Paul Bandey
• Edouard Marcus