Earthworm Jim (2005 reboot)

Earthworm Jim is an American animated television series based on the video game with the same name, as well as the original TV series, which has aired on Nickelodeon for four seasons and 49 episodes from March 11, 2005 to December 14, 2008. The series follows the adventures of an earthworm named Jim who is turned into a superhero by a robotic super suit.

Premise
Most episodes involve the series' numerous villains attempting to reclaim the super suit, rule/destroy/freeze/knock over the universe, or otherwise causing mayhem throughout the galaxy. Other problems facing Jim include returning his neighbor's eggbeater and finding a new power source after his suit is depowered. Also, the show breaks the fourth wall with characters often talking to the audience and the narrator.

Episodes begin with Earthworm Jim and Peter Puppy in some peril that has nothing to do with the main plot or the previous episodes, with little explanation of how they got into the mess. In between parts (generally before or after the commercial break), there is a short side-story, generally featuring one of the villains doing a more natural part of life, usually without any involvement from Jim. These can range anywhere from Psy-Crow going through a career change, Evil the Cat disguising himself as a movie star in order to make his evil plans known to the world, or Professor Monkey-For-A-Head attending group therapy and always ending with the line: "and now, back to Earthworm Jim." The end of every episode involves Jim or any other character being crushed by a cow, a play on the first game of the series (in the first stage, the player launches a cow into the sky, only to have it crush the princess upon the game's ending).

The entire formula of the cartoon series was later ditched in the third season when Craig McCracken and his team of writers took over as well as the creators, Doug TenNapel and David Perry, making the show more truthful to the original games.

Production
The series was produced by Paramount Television Animation along with Interplay Entertainment. Universal Animation Studios only produced the animation for the first two seasons, with overseas animation by AKOM and Rough Draft Korea. 3D computer graphics and enhancement for a few of the characters, while staying in their 2D roots were done at Paramount Television Animation's Japanese animation facility. The last two seasons had their animation overseas at Rough Draft Korea and Yeson Entertainment. Unlike the original, the reboot was produced using digital ink and paint (for all of the episodes) and the mix of 3D computer graphics and 2D animation (only for the first two seasons), much like the Kirby anime did.

Starting with the third season, veteran animator Craig McCracken and his team of writers have taken over the series right after Doug Langdale and the Universal Cartoon Studios crew left. During the last two seasons, they were getting more close to the levels and the rest of the characters, including the plots from the first two games, as TenNapel and Perry were much more pleased with the results. McCracken's version of Earthworm Jim is more in the vein of the first two video games, unlike Langdale's version which tends to have the plots be the exact same as in the original animated series.

Broadcast history
The show later re-ran on the Nick on CBS block in 2019.

Characters
Most of the main characters from the show originated from characters introduced in the Earthworm Jim' (1994) and Earthworm Jim 2'' (1995) video games. Peter Puppy becomes Jim's sidekick and friend and Princess What's-Her-Name his love interest. Many villains from the game, including Evil the Cat, Psy-Crow, Bob the Killer Goldfish, Queen Slug-for-a-Butt and Professor Monkey-for-a-head also appear in the show.

Additionally, some original characters were also created for the show, and were then in turn integrated into video games released after the TV series. For example, Evil Jim, an evil duplicate of Earthworm Jim created for the show, went on to be the main antagonist for the game Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy.

Voice Cast

 * Dan Castellaneta as Earthworm Jim / Snott / Evil Jim / Turns-His-Eyes-Inside-Out Boy
 * Jeff Bennett as Narrator / Peter Puppy / The Hamstenator / Great Worm Spirit
 * Kath Soucie as Princess What's-Her-Name / Johnny Dactyl's Mum / Carrie Puppy
 * Jim Cummings as Psy-Crow / Bob the Killer Goldfish / Number Four / Whooping Cough Boy / Zantor / Johnny Dactyl / The Sword of Righteousness / The Fur-Bearing Trout / Maggot / Cuban Band Leader / Ape / Walter / Santa Claus
 * Andrea Martin as Queen Slug-for-a-Butt
 * Charlie Adler as Professor Monkey-For-A-Head / Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
 * Edward Hibbert as Evil the Cat
 * John Kassir as Henchrat

Additional voice cast

 * Gregg Berger - Superhero #2
 * S. Scott Bullock -
 * Dee Bradley Baker - Various Animal, Creature and Monster Sound Effects
 * Eric Bauza -
 * Keith Ferguson
 * Miriam Flynn -
 * Brad Garrett - Lord of Nightmares
 * Lisa Kaplan -
 * Danny Mann - Archbug
 * Edie McClurg -
 * Dee Dee Rescher -
 * Kevin Michael Richardson - The Anti-Fish
 * Ben Stein - Rosebud, Dr. Houston
 * Billy West - Morty
 * April Winchell - Eileen
 * Larry the Cable Guy - Chuck
 * Thomas F. Wilson - Major Mucus
 * Frank Welker - Fifi

Crew

 * Ginny McSwain (Season 1-2), Doug TenNapel and David Perry (Season 3-4) - Voice Director(s)
 * Doug TenNapel - Creator
 * David Perry - Co-Creator
 * Doug TenNapel, Craig McCracken, Kent Butterworth, Graham Morris, Larry Leichliter, Audu Paden, Stan Lee, Pat Ventura - Director(s)
 * Doug Langdale (Season 1-2), Doug TenNapel, David Perry and Craig McCracken (Season 3-4) - Main Writer(s)
 * Doug Langdale (Season 1-2), Doug TenNapel and David Perry (Season 3-4) - Story Editor(s)
 * Kathi Castillo and Roy Allen Smith (Season 1), Kathi Castillo (Season 2), Mike Dietz, Doug TenNapel and David Perry (Season 3-4) - Producer(s)

Reception
The Earthworm Jim television series received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences, for being one of Doug TenNapel's best creations, and having the originality of the 1994 video game of the same name.

Trivia

 * The first two seasons are handled by the Universal Cartoon Studios crew. The last two seasons were produced independently by Paramount Television Animation, with co-production still from Interplay Entertainment and Playmates.