Space Goofs () is a French animated television series created by Jean-Yves Raimbaud and Philippe Traversat, produced by Gaumont Multimedia (season 1) and Xilam (season 2) for France 3, and broadcast on that network from September 6, 1997, to May 12, 2006. The first season was also on Fox Kids in the United States from 1997–2000, while the second season aired internationally.

The series also served as the basis of an adventure game, developed by Xilam themselves and published by Ubisoft for Windows and Dreamcast called Stupid Invaders in 2000 – which was dedicated to Raimbaud. In contrast to the original show, it featured plenty of toilet humor and slightly more crude, adult content. It also was the first work produced by Xilam to be made for an older audience – the others being the adult animated movies I Lost My Body and Kaena: The Prophecy, and the adult animated series Mr. Baby and Twilight of the Gods.

Plot

Five extraterrestrialss from the fictitious planet Zigma B–Candy H. Caramella, Etno Polino, Bud Budiovitch, Gorgious Klatoo and Stereo Monovici–go on a picnic together in space. However, their spaceship crashes into an asteroid, and they fall to planet Earth. They realize that if any human finds out that they are aliens, they could be captured and experimented on by scientists, so they take shelter in the attic of a house that is up for rent.

The aliens have two goals: chase away anybody who tries to establish themselves in the house, and find a way to return to their home planet. To remain unknown from humans, the aliens use a device called the SMTV that lets them transform into almost any entity of their choosing, but always cycles through three other unrelated transformations (as a running gag) when used.

In the second season, Stereo is now no longer part of the main cast, with said character only appearing in two episodes. An explanation was provided where Stereo has somehow managed to get back to Zigma B, so Candy, Etno, Bud and Gorgious continue to find a way back home.

Cast

Main

• Etno Polino, being short and purple with red lips, a big red nose and red eyes, is the leader and brains of the group. A scientific genius, he creates all sorts of machines with the intention of aiding the group's return to their own planet, including rockets. The aliens often fail to blast off into space, either due to Etno's rockets malfunctioning or someone else boarding the ships. In both the original English and French dubs, he speaks with an English accent, but in the English version, he also has a rather fast-paced manner of speech, vaguely reminiscent of those found in educational films about space exploration from the 1950s. He was voiced in English by Maurice LaMarche and in French by Peter Hudson (season 1) and Bernard Alane (season 2).

  Candy Hector Caramella, small and green with a large, wrinkled forehead, red eyes and wearing a polka-dotted apron, is the uptight neat freak of the group. He is transgender and non-binary. He often chooses to disguise himself as a woman, unlike the other aliens in the house, and it is not uncommon to see him flirt with other men. He is very energetic (often cleaning around the house). In both the French and English versions, Candy's voice parodies a sophisticated English accent. He was voiced in English by Charlie Adler and in French by Éric Le Roch (season 1) and Éric Métayer (season 2).

  Bud Budiovitch, tall and orange with three strands of hair, a long neck, and big pink bloodshot eyes, is lazy and naÏve. He is a television addict and spends most of the time sitting in front of it and drinking soft drinks. Like Etno, Bud is laid-back and usually the last one to panic in a situation. He always comes up with the best solution, but most of the time no one will listen to him. He was voiced in English by Jeff Bennett (season 1) and Jim Gomez (season 2) and in French by Marc Brettonière (season 1) and Éric Métayer (season 2).

  Gorgious Klatoo, fat and blue with a heavy chin, green eyes and a protruding tooth, is the grumpy and snarky one of the group. He is very greedy, and his hobbies consist of eating, lazing around, and bullying his friends, although he is shown at several points in the series to care deeply about them underneath his gruff exterior. He was voiced in English by Michael Sicoly (earlier episodes) and Danny Mann (onward) and in French by Patrick Préjean.

  Stereo Monovici, two-headed and red in which each head has a slightly long nose and green eyes, acts as two people since each head has its own mind. Early episodes portray him as the "bookworm" of the group who often wastes his intelligence on the most useless information. Stereo is very energetic (like Candy) and is usually feeling happy. Both heads sometimes argue with each other. Stereo was removed from the series for season 2, as Xilam considered him a weak character, but reappeared in two segments of that season ("Other World Champs" and "UFO"). One of the heads speaks with a distinct, high-pitched voice, while the other head speaks with a rather low-pitched one. He was voiced in English by Jeff Bennett (season 1) and Danny Mann (season 2) and in French by Antoine Tomé (season 1) and Patrick Guillemin (season 2).

Additional

Almost every episode features a new visitor, à la a "villain of the week" formula, who will come to the presumed "vacant" home. These visitors come in a weird variety of characters (mostly humans, but sometimes animals like pigs and birds, and even other aliens). While the credits do not specify who, additional voices include:

• Billy West

• Laraine Newman

• Frank Welker

• Kath Soucie

• Susanne Blakeslee

• Kat Cressida

• Michelle Layton

• Jessica DiCicco

• Jackie Gonneau

• Sirena Irwin

• Carolyn Lawrence

Some characters are voiced by the main cast. This is especially more prevalent in Season 2.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1997–98)

All episodes in this season were directed by Thomas Szabó and aired on Saturdays.

Season 2 (2005–06)

All episodes in this season were directed by Olivier Jean-Marie and aired on Fridays.

Production

The show's producer, Marc du Pontavice, met creator Jean-Yves Raimbaud at the 1993 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where their first meetings went very well. One such meeting was when Raimbaud invited du Pontavice to his studio, Jingle. Raimbaud had several projects, and one of them, Maison à louer (Home to Rent), particularly caught du Pontavice's attention. When Raimbaud spoke to du Pontavice about the series, he mentioned a reference he hadn't yet heard of: The Ren & Stimpy Show. When du Pontavice watched the series upon his return to Paris, he was captivated and impressed by the characters and its groundbreaking animation. Raimbaud and du Pontavice were convinced that this was the model upon which the future of French animation should be built. Raimbaud's projects and John Kricfalusi's model enthused du Pontavice. Raimbaud was the first artist hired by du Pontavice.

In the autumn of 1994, du Pontavice traveled throughout the United States to present several projects he was working on, including Space Goofs, to sell them to the US networks. He had a presentation of the series with the entire visual concept full of designs with a silhouette so un-childlike and entirely constructed according to its character, the principle of light in a very colorful square on a black background and the aliens' house with proportions. All the sets were created by the series' co-creator, Philippe Traversat.

One of his appointments took him to the office of the head of children's programming at CBS in Los Angeles, where he was surprised to see his interlocutor turn around and return the message he had presented after a brief, well-structured pitch. Du Pontavice hadn't imagined that an American network would be so interested in a project like this, as their tastes are usually quite reasonable, and he showed the series by chance at the end of the meeting, after having tried other, less surprising projects. Unbeknownst to him, du Pontavice was happy about this, because CBS's ratings began to fall in the face of competition from Nickelodeon, so he left the meeting with the promise of a development deal, much to his delight. However, du Pontavice discovered that the network intended to maintain total editorial control and impose its American authors, with the obvious risk of turning them into mere executors, since American animation dominated the world and the market had never seen a French cartoon on its screens, as they had an almost abysmal advantage over them.

Due to the network's terrible proposal, CBS was discarded and France 3 entered the production of the series. Bertrand Mosca, the then-general director of France 2, who was preparing to seize power, was irritated by the success of Highlander: The Animated Series and especially by the fact that du Pontavice hadn't thought to present it to him. He was attracted to the show's transgressive side, which was quite audacious for a public service broadcasting program at the time. Mosca took the rare risk of committing to the series against the advice of his colleagues at the channel, and he gives it the largest budget ever granted to a public service animated series. It was not enough to balance the budget, but it was a good amount. Germany's ProSieben also got involved in the show, and Marie-Line Petrequin, like Mosca, was unsatisfied with the somewhat classic programs that were being aired and dreamed of something new. A few months before they met, she had been charmed by Raimbaud and was willing to work with him. She would become one of du Pontavice's most fervent supporters in the following years. And they closed the deal with the support of Italy's Mediaset. Du Pontavice felt that there was a point when networks are ready to play the game, but he never discussed it with Gaumont, hoping that international sales would offset the excesses he anticipated.

A pilot was produced in early 1995, a kind of three-minute short film that allowed the creators to test all phases of production before launching the bulk of it. Raimbaud volunteered to direct and animate the pilot. Although the result was honorable, it was really far from their American model, as the project seemed more like a pale copy of the Disney style and the production lacked rhythm. He sought out the Ren & Stimpy team, who served as the model for the show; he convinced, with great difficulty, Bob Jaques and Kelly Armstrong to come and spend a year in Paris to launch the series and train young talent. They were joined by their Ren & Stimpy colleagues, Bob Camp and Jim Gomez, who provided voice direction in Los Angeles at Gunther-Wahl Productions and helped with some episode scripts for the series. Gomez brought voice actors for the American dub of the show, such as Charlie Adler (Candy), Maurice LaMarche (Etno), Michael Sicoly and Danny Mann (Gorgious), Jeff Bennett (Bud and Stereo), and several others. In addition to the American series team, there was Olivier Jean-Marie in animation direction, who was appointed by Jaques and Armstrong, Thomas Szabó in storyboarding, Nicolas Gallet in scriptwriting, Hugo Gittard in character design, and Hughes Mahoas in set design. Since part of the animation was done at Sunwoo Entertainment and Big Star Enterprise studios, production management had to send material every week for the directors to check before sending it, but the Koreans complained that the delivered materials were incomplete. The series team later discovered that Jaques and Armstrong were stealing some sheets of the sent material to disrupt production and force it to proceed as they wished. It took almost ten months for the first episode to finally reach post-production. Several episodes needed to be delivered to MIPCOM, which took place in early October 1996. The budget had fallen significantly due to these delays and the directors' demands. Du Pontavice didn't see how international sales could compensate for the deficit, and since the other two productions he launched were unsuccessful, sales from these wouldn't make up for this disaster. The series' deficit was almost 9 million francs.

The image editing of the first episode was finally complete, with the animation being a luxurious, expressive, and precise masterpiece. In the following weeks, du Pontavice didn't give up on the project, knowing that only one episode would be ready for MIPCOM, as the others had been postponed. He wanted this episode finished on time and perfect. He put on the pressure, canceled his vacation, and began participating in all the sound effects, music, and mixing sessions.

One essential element for the series' success was the opening sequence, which initially was missing. This worried du Pontavice, as he needed a signature, someone whose music reflected the series, something rock and transgressive. Du Pontavice always believes that the opening sequence is, in a way, the signature of a series, serving two functions for him: a call to action, signaling the start of an episode and drawing the viewer into the television screen, but also playing an important role in creating lasting memories. He always wanted his opening sequences to have their own visual identity and not just a montage of clips from the series.

Raimbaud suggested David Bowie, of whom he was a big fan, but since Bowie was very busy, he came up with Iggy Pop. Not entirely convinced, they contacted the musician's manager, sending some images and a presentation of the series. Two weeks later, Pop sent them a cassette tape with the opening theme accompanied by a simple guitar. A few weeks later, du Pontavice and Raimbaud were invited to Pop's concert in Bercy. He asked them to accompany him backstage at the end of the concert, and Pop and Raimbaud hit it off. Pop went to Paris a few months later to record the opening theme for the series, "Monster Men", at the Gaumont Multimédia studio. A remix of the theme song, made by 2 Lazy, was also released.

The first episode of the series in production order, "Maybe Baby", was ready in time a few days before MIPCOM. Du Pontavice was relieved because the result was beyond anything he could have imagined; the series team was very happy. Jaques and Armstrong left the series. Regarding the credits, Jaques and Armstrong stubbornly refuse to put their names on the series against the advice of their agent, not even in the first episode, which they mastered from beginning to end. They are probably convinced that the rest of the series will be of a very low standard, since it was made without them, seen as a funny disregard by du Pontavice's team towards them, as they will in fact continue without them.

The initial screenings of the episode generated polite reactions; buyers found it very entertaining, but their schedules made it difficult to watch the show if it clashed with their other cartoons. Then, a certain John arrived at their booth unannounced. He worked in Los Angeles on the editorial team at Fox, which aired Fox Kids. Two years earlier, du Pontavice had met him during his time in Los Angeles. John came to see the result two years later, which captivated him, but he didn't say anything about it, and in the middle of the episode, he stopped watching and simply said he would return in two hours, taking the DVD with him. Du Pontavice was confused, but sensed something had happened, and that same afternoon he was summoned by Margaret Loesch and Haim Saban, who announced their intention to make him an offer. Du Pontavice had difficulty hiding his joy, as he was standing before them. Fox Kids was enjoying great success with two programs produced by Saban's company, Saban Entertainment: X-Men: The Animated Series and Power Rangers. When du Pontavice learns about them, Nickelodeon is beginning to threaten their leadership, which was also the reason they bought the series.

When du Pontavice arrives in California a few days later, Saban does everything he can and takes du Pontavice on a personal tour of his production studios. To his surprise, many people seem to know who du Pontavice is during his visit. He later discovers that Haim has released the episode and impressed the artists present. Saban takes him in his limousine. Saban writes the article for du Pontavice, explaining how he plans to promote the show on air. It's the first time a non-Anglo-Saxon cartoon aired on an American network. Gaumont was delighted with this news. A few days later, back in Paris, du Pontavice signs the contract. He and his team celebrated the news at the Gaumont Multimédia studio, much to their delight. The series was originally going to use the original Home to Rent title, but it was renamed Space Goofs at the last minute at the request of Fox.

Du Pontavice's wife, Alix de Maistre, was chosen by him to work as post-production supervisor on the first season, a decision made by du Pontavice himself when a episode of the series, "Rip Van Etno", whose qualities and originality were obvious, was deemed completely beyond the comprehension of a children's audience. De Maistre understood and quickly mastered the narrative and humorous codes of the series. Highly skilled and meticulous in matters of image editing and relevant in all aspects of sound effects and mixing, she played a crucial role in the final quality of the animation.

Broadcast and home media

Space Goofs also debuted in the same year in Germany on ProSieben, and aired in Canada on Teletoon. In the UK, the first season premiered worldwide on Fox Kids on August 31, 1997 and 3 weeks later on Channel 4 on September 21, 1997, both under the show's original title of Home to Rent. The second season premiered under the series' final name on Nicktoons UK on November 5, 2005 at 9:30 AM. Furthermore, the first season aired as part of the Fox Kids lineup on Fox in the United States.

Of the more notable physical releases, three VHS tapes (entitled Alien Antics, Cartoon Tales and Animal Crack-Ups) of the series were released in the U.S. on August 11, 1998. The complete series (in 2 season sets) was also released in France on June 13, 2011.

In other media

Video game

An adventure game based on Space Goofs named Stupid Invaders was released in 2000–2001 by Ubisoft. It featured crew members from its first season and the voice actors of its English dub as the five aliens, having to go back home in a surreal world, after an infiltration by a bounty hunter named Bolok (voiced by Billy West). Development of the game initially began at Gaumont through Gaumont Multimédia before the studio was shut down by Gaumont in 1999, and it was originally slated for release in December 1999.

Canceled film adaptation

A film adaptation for the show, also titled Stupid Invaders, was planned, but was never released for reasons unknown – what only remained was a short video posted online. The cast of the original show reprised their roles for the main characters (sans Stereo). It was a CGI-animated adaptation of the show, where the four aliens (Etno, Candy, Gorgious and Bud) have ended up accidentally crash landing into someone else's house. Said house is revealed to be inhabited by an unnamed brunette girl, who gets curious upon her sight of the aliens.

References in other Xilam properties

The main characters make several cameos in some of Xilam's other TV shows. It should be noted most of these references took place in the mid-2000s, when the second season was airing.

In Oggy and the Cockroaches:

• In earlier seasons, the interior of Oggy's house features a framed picture of the main cast of aliens from just the first season. These were removed in the remade episodes.

• A miniature version of the house for rent is seen and utilized in the episode "Baby Doll" (from its first season) and its remake.

• The characters also made a cameo in the episode "Night Watchmen" (from its third season), where the titular characters end up transforming into the four aliens (as a gag) in one scene.

• In Shuriken School: The Ninja's Secret, a picture of Candy is on the cover of Jimmy B.'s manga, Star Attacks, a parody of the Star Wars franchise.

• In a scene from the film Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure, a cockroach named Roger tells Joey, Marky and Dee Dee (from Oggy and the Cockroaches) that he had been abducted by five aliens, inderectly referencing the main cast.

• In The Daltons, the main cast (with the exception of Stereo) make a cameo appearance in the episode "The Secret Passage". The transformation sequence is also referenced in the episode "Fort Dalton", with Candy also appearing as one of Joe Dalton's transformations.

Notes

References

External links

• Official website