Bravest Warriors
Four teenage heroes warp through space using emotional power.
Bravest Warriors is an animated web series created by Pendleton Ward, set in the year 3085 and following four teenage heroes-for-hire who use their emotions to save aliens across the universe. It began streaming on Frederator's Cartoon Hangover YouTube channel on November 8, 2012, and is based on a short that aired on Nicktoons' Random! Cartoons in 2009. The series won the Shorty Award for Best Web Show in 2013 and was nominated at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Action adventure
- Science fiction
- Comedy drama
- Creator
- Pendleton Ward
- Developer
- Breehn Burns
- Will McRobb
- Chris Viscardi
- Director
- Breehn Burns (seasons 1–2)
- Tom King (season 3)
- Adrian Thatcher (season 4)
- Voices
- Alex Walsh
- Liliana Mumy
- John Omohundro
- Ian Jones-Quartey
- Tara Strong
- Sam Lavagnino
- Eric Bauza
- Country
- United States; Canada (season 4)
- Language
- English
- Related
- Random! Cartoons
Facts from the source article.
Characters
Christopher 'Chris' Kirkman, the 16-year-old leader, is voiced by Charlie Schlatter in the pilot, Alex Walsh in the web series, and Graeme Jokic in the TV series. He has a crush on his best friend Beth and fears losing her; his sticker pet is a bee that forms a honey-comb-hilted sword and a swarm. Although Walsh did not reprise Chris in season 4, he voices Beth's boyfriend Zack. Bethany 'Beth' Tezuka, voiced by Tara Strong in the pilot and Liliana Mumy in the web series and TV series, is the emerging leader. Her sticker pet is a cat that becomes a cat o' nine tails with cat heads. In 'Hamster Priest', her brainwaves are linked to her father Ralph Waldo Pickle Chips' dimension-hopping machine. In 'Season of the Mitch', it is revealed Beth is the only one who can bear the Aeon Worm's offspring; the worm began impregnating her before Danny intervened. It has not been confirmed whether she is now pregnant. Daniel 'Danny' Vasquez, voiced by Rob Paulsen in the pilot and John Omohundro in the web series and TV series, is the snarky inventor whose sticker pet is a dog forming a sword or gatling gun. He was raised in the martian badlands. In season 4, Rob Paulsen voices New Danny as an in-joke. Wallow, voiced by Dan Finnerty in the pilot and Ian Jones-Quartey in the web series and TV series, has a glove with a jealous A.I. named Pixel (voiced by Maria Bamford). His sticker pet is a falcon that forms an axe, bazooka, or guitar. He lost his left arm in 'Season of the Worm' when Beth amputated it due to inter phasing hump gnats; from seasons 3 to 4, Himmel Man-Cheese served as his arm and lover.
Episodes
The pilot, written by Pendleton Ward and directed by Ward and Randy Myers, aired on Frederator's Random! Cartoons on Nicktoons Network on January 10, 2009, with different designs and voice actors. The web series launched on Cartoon Hangover's YouTube channel on November 8, 2012, with new character designs and casting. Season 1 ran from November 8, 2012 to March 7, 2013. Breehn Burns, Will McRobb, Chris Viscardi, and Fred Seibert developed and executive produced the series. Season 2 began on October 17, 2013, and the series streamed on Nintendo Video for Nintendo 3DS in North America from November 2013. Season 3 aired exclusively on VRV starting January 10, 2017, and was later uploaded internationally on YouTube on September 14, 2018. Season 4 was announced on October 20, 2016, produced by Nelvana in association with Frederator, and aired on VRV in the US on December 25, 2017, and Teletoon in Canada on September 3, 2018. Seasons 3 and 4 were removed from VRV after Cartoon Hangover left the service in December 2021; season 4 was rereleased on the Cartoon Hangover YouTube channel on January 26, 2024.
Comics
A comic book adaptation by Boom! Studios under its kaboom! label began publication on October 24, 2012, and ran for 36 issues; the final four issues have not been collected in a trade. At San Diego Comic-Con in 2013, Cartoon Hangover partnered with Viz Media to produce comics and graphic novels under the Perfect Square imprint, with Bravest Warriors among the titles announced for release in 2014.
Reception
The series was positively received. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media described it as featuring goofy heroes time-traveling with hilarity ensuing, and noted some slightly mature references including allusions to sexual intercourse. She praised the combination of absurdist humor, sense of duty, and self-reliance, and said the animation and writing appeal to both parents and kids, with the show's strength lying in its humor.
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