Ozzy & Drix (TV series)

Ozzy & Drix is an American animated television series based on the 2001 film Osmosis Jones. It centers on Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones, a street-smart white blood cell, and Drix, a stoic cold pill, who battle germs and viruses inside the body of teenage boy Hector Cruz. The series is set in a stylized version of the human body, which resembles a city where microorganisms and cells are anthropomorphic.

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the series aired on Kids' WB for only two seasons and 26 episodes from 2002 to 2004. It also reran on Cartoon Networkfrom 2004 to 2006.

Premise
At the beginning of the series, Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones (Phil LaMarr), a white blood cell with little respect for authority, and Drix (Jeff Bennett), a strait-laced and by-the-books cold pill, pursue a scarlet fever bacterium (Tim Curry). During the chase, the three get sucked up by a mosquito from their host body Frank Detorre (Jeff Bennett) and are transported to the body of a teenage boy named Hector Cruz (Justin Cowden). After defeating the virus and settling into their new home, Ozzy and Drix are installed as private investigators, vowing to protect Hector's well-being and also help him through the trials of adolescence along the way.

Supporting characters include Maria Amino (Tasia Valenza), a female Hispanic white blood cell cop who is highly skilled at fighting; Mayor Paul Spryman (Alanna Ubach), the immature teenage mayor of the city of Hector; Chief Gluteus (Jim Cummings), a gruff old muscle cell who serves as the city's police chief and Maria's superior; Ellen Patella (Vivica A. Fox), an attorney-at-law who helps cells find homes in Hector, and whom Ozzy has a crush on; and the Brain Cell Advisors (Pat Fraley), advisors who help Mayor Spryman run the city due to Spryman being inexperienced with his job.

Recurring characters include The Mole (Jeffrey Tambor), a klutzy former secret agent who holds information on what's going on in Hector; Dander (Frank Welker), Drix's pet dog germ formed from the saliva of Hector's dog Uno; Christine Kolchuck (Kimberly Brooks), a sweet and kind student who is Hector's love interest; Travis Lurn (Rob Paulsen), Hector's classmate and best friend who looks out for Hector when he makes poor decisions; Ernst Strepfinger (Brad Garrett in season 1, Jim Cummings in season 2), a villainous germ who uses a gang of germs and viruses to carry out his dirty work; Uno (Frank Welker), Hector's dog whom he adopted in "Oh, My Dog"; and Hector's overprotective parents (Alanna Ubach and Joe Lala), who look after Hector's health and his attitude.

Unlike the original film it was spun off from, Ozzy & Drix was entirely animated and contained no live-action scenes. The voices of Ozzy and Drix were recast with Phil LaMarr replacing Chris Rock as Ozzy and Jeff Bennett replacing David Hyde Pierce as Drix. The series was also less violent and contained less adult humor than the film, although some villains such as Scarlet Fever still meet grisly ends and there still are a few hidden adult jokes (such as a rapping cell saying he "wanna see how Y-chromosomes fit"). Several episodes also recycle footage from the original film.

The series also had inconsistencies and changes with the original film. At the beginning of the series, Frank has resumed his unhealthy eating habits whereas at the end of the film, Frank committed himself to living a healthier lifestyle after nearly dying and Shane doesn't appear at all. In addition, Ozzy's girlfriend Leah neither appears nor is mentioned in the series and is replaced by Maria Amino. Also, Mayor Phlegmming is replaced by Mayor Spryman and The Chief is replaced by Gluteus. In the first episode "Home with Hector", Ozzy tells Drix that if they catch Scarlet Fever, they will get a promotion despite both already having been declared heroes for saving Frank at the end of the film.

Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones
Voiced By Chris Rock (film), Phil LaMarr (series)

Osmosis Jones is a white blood cell cop who wants to track down germs and viruses.

Drixenol "Drix"
Voiced By David Hyde Pierce (film), Jeff Bennett (series)

Drix is a cold pill and Ozzy's best friend that is designed to soothe irritation within the cities of Frank and Hector.

Leah Estrogen
Voiced By Brandy Norwood

Leah Estrogen is the secretary of the mayor of Frank. She was also a romantic partner to Osmosis Jones.

Maria Amino
Voiced by Tasia Valenza

Maria Amino is a female Hispanic white blood cell cop who is highly skilled at fighting and the replacement for Leah.

Tom Colonic
Voiced By Ron Howard

Tom Colonic wanted to be the next mayor of Frank so that the city will be healthy from a better diet and eventually won the bid for the mayor of Frank. However, it is implied that he got impeached thanks to Frank's relapse to his unhealthy diet.

Mayor Paul Spryman
Voiced By Alanna Ubach

Mayor Paul Spryman is the immature mayor of the city of Hector.

Dander
Vocal Effects By Frank Welker

Thrax
Voiced By Laurence Fishburne

Thrax is a notorious virus. He was known for killing three people as a result of him causing the sickness and wanted to kill Frank DeTorre in forty-eight hours so he can get a record for the medical books.

Scarlet Fever
Voiced By Tim Curry

Scarlet Fever is the first villain encountered in the television series and only appears in the first episode. [1] He is partially based on Thrax, with his abilities being very common.

Nick O'Teen
Voiced By Tim Curry

Nick O'Teen serves as the main antagonist of the season one episode "Where There's Smoke". [2]

He is the nicotine of the cigarette that Hector smoked. He is accompanied by his allies Tar (Voiced by Frank Welker), Butane (Voiced by Jeff Bennett) and Carbon Monoxide (Voiced by Tara Strong).

Ernst Strepfinger
Voiced by Brad Garrett (season 1), Jim Cummings (season 2)

Ernst Strepfinger is a recurring villain shown throughout Ozzy & Drix starting with the episode "Strep-Finger". His surname is a mix of the condition strepthroat and the James Bond villain Auric Goldfinger, whilst his first name comes from fellow Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld.[3]

Scabies
Voiced by Steve Susskind

Scabies [4] is a bacteria and gang boss that lived by the left armpit of the city of Frank. He encountered Thrax and jokingly compared him to Ebola, which caused Thrax to kill the bacteria.

Bruiser
Bruiser is a one-eyed germ with four arms.

He used to work for Scabies until the bacteria was killed by Thrax. He eventually became convinced on Thrax's plans. He was one of two germs killed by Thrax once the latter lost his patience.

Joe Cramp
Joe Cramp is a germ with no eyes and three legs.

He used to work for Scabies until the bacteria was killed by Thrax. He eventually became convinced on Thrax's plans. He was one of two germs killed by Thrax once the latter lost his patience.

Frank DeTorre
Played By Bill Murray (film), Voiced By Jeff Bennett (series)

Frank DeTorre is an unhealthy zookeeper at Rhode Island. He refuses to exercise and eats whatever he wants, with little to no cleanliness. Once he ate an egg that was put into the chimp's mouth and fell on the ground, he contracted Thrax, which made him have a terrible fever. Once he recovered, his daughter, Shane made him have a healthy diet. However, it shortly relapsed. At the beginning of the series, he was worse in shape and bitten by a mosquito that Ozzy, Drix and Scarlet Fever were sucked up and transferred to Hector's body.

Shane DeTorre
Shane is the daughter of Frank DeTorre, who cared about her father's health and diet.

Robert DeTorre
Played By Chris Elliott

Robert DeTorre is a zookeeper at Rhode Island and the brother of Frank DeTorre and the uncle of Shane DeTorre.

Hector Cruz
Voiced By Justin Cowden

Hector Cruz is the current human to have Osmosis Jones and Drix inside him after a mosquito bite.

Home media
The complete series was released on DVD on June 20, 2017 as manufactured on demand (MOD) on DVD-R and part of the Warner Archive Collection.[1]