Monster Buster Club

Did You Know?

• A pilot episode of the show was created by a different CGI animation studio in 2005, predating Marathon's involvement.
• Cathy Smith's suit color is pink, Chris's is blue, Danny's is red, and Sam's is yellow.

Development and production

Monster Buster Club made its debut at Mipcom Jr. in October 2006, when Marathon (now known as Zodiak Kids) unveiled their new animated series. The company had built a strong reputation with 2D hits like Totally Spies!, Martin Mystery, and Team Galaxy, and this project marked their first move into 3D animation. The show generated considerable buzz at the event, becoming the most-watched French program and landing as the sixth most-viewed overall.

A look into director Jean-Louis Vandestoc’s blog uncovered details about the show’s early stages. A pilot episode had actually been produced by a different CGI animation studio back in 2005, before Marathon got involved. Who that studio was remains a mystery, and despite extensive searching online, no evidence of the pilot has surfaced. Vandestoc noted that some images from it were once available on the official Monster Buster Club website before the series aired in France. Reaching out to the producers directly might be the only way to get screenshots or more information about this lost pilot.

The series was a joint production involving Marathon Media, Mystery Animation, Jetix Europe, TF1, and YTV. Its budget reached around 23 million dollars, reflecting the scale and ambition behind the project. To get production rolling and define the show’s look, animation supervisor Max Maléo traveled to India. His job was to set the visual direction and fine-tune the animation parameters. The animators at Crest Animation, the Indian studio handling the work, initially wanted to include “Matrix-like scenes,” but Marathon convinced them to instead follow a style inspired by Disney and Japanese anime. Finding a consistent visual approach proved tricky because of the different cultural touchstones between India and France—for instance, Dragon Ball’s popularity varied greatly between the two countries.

Characters

The core of the Monster Buster Club is Cathy Smith, a character voiced by Andrea Libman. On the surface, she is a cheerful and energetic 12-year-old girl with blond hair and blue eyes. In truth, she is a 250-year-old alien from the planet Rhapsodia, though a subplot in the second season’s first episode revolves around her 700th birthday. She traveled to Earth with her grandfather, Mr. Smith, to establish the MBC. Earth’s customs constantly baffle her, and she possesses superhuman traits like elasticity and mild telekinesis. When not in human disguise, her Rhapsodian form is a white humanoid with pink spots, four tentacle-like arms, two tentacle legs, tentacles on her head, and a long, furry tail. Her MBC suit is pink. Chris, voiced by Samuel Vincent, is the group’s tech expert. This intelligent and resourceful 12-year-old has indigo-blue hair and dark blue eyes. He has a talent for building gadgets and usually stays in the clubhouse to provide intelligence during missions. His younger brother is John, and his suit is blue. Danny Jackson, voiced by Matt Hill, is an athletic and hot-headed but kind 12-year-old. He has brown hair, green eyes, and a scar above his left eyebrow. Overconfident at times, he cracks jokes even in dangerous situations and insists on calling himself “The Danny.” He has a one-sided crush on a classmate named Wendy. His suit is red. Sam, voiced by Anna Cummer, is the responsible and level-headed 12-year-old girl who acts as the unofficial leader of the MBC. She has dark hair tied in buns and hazel eyes. Her approach is “shoot first, ask questions later,” and she often puts missions ahead of fun. While her assertiveness can annoy her friends, she has a softer side and genuinely cares about their safety. Her suit is yellow. John, voiced by Tabitha St. Germain, is Chris’s enthusiastic 10-year-old brother. He occasionally fills in for Chris at the clubhouse when Chris is on a mission or busy. He often asks to be made an official MBC member, but the others consider him too young.

Broadcast

The series was broadcast on a variety of channels beyond Jetix internationally. In France, it initially appeared on TF1 before moving to Disney XD and Gulli. Canadian viewers could watch it on YTV. In the United Kingdom, in addition to Jetix, it was part of the Toonattik block on ITV1 and CITV, which was owned by GMTV (with Disney holding a 25% stake at the time). The Al Jazeera Children's Channel (JCC) and Jeem TV carried it in the Arab world, along with other Jetix content. In Israel, it aired on Arutz HaYeladim. Across the rest of Asia, including the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Greater China, Disney Channel broadcast it, also airing other Jetix programming. In the Philippines, it was on Q (now GTV). Indonesian audiences saw it on RTV. Hong Kong viewers could tune in to TVB Pearl. Singapore offered it on the subscription service Toggle (now meWATCH). In Malaysia, it appeared on TV3 within the Bananana! block. Finally, in Ireland, it was part of RTÉ2's long-running children's strand, The Den.