| Wild Grinders | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Rob Dyrdek |
| Developed by | Christian Duguay |
| Voices of | Rob Dyrdek Sterling "Steelo" Brim Kel Mitchell Cam Clarke Yuri Lowenthal Chelsea Chanel Dudley Erin Fitzgerald Lee Harrell |
| Theme music composer | Jaco Caraco Todd M. Schultz Bill Schultz |
| Composer | Anna M. Rice |
| Country of origin | United States Canada Ireland Hong Kong (season 1) Philippines (season 2) |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 52 (101 segments) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Rob Dyrdek Tracy Tubera Bill Schultz Paul Cummins Jeremy Larner Steven Ching (season 1) Nicolas Atlan (season 1) Mike Young (season 1) Paul Rigg (season 1) Liz Young (co-executive producer; season 1) Wayne Dearing (season 2) Geoffrey Taylor (season 2) |
| Producers | Ruth Vincent Juan Cruz Baldassarre (season 1) Siobhán Ní Ghadhra (season 1) Geoffrey Taylor (co-producer; season 1) Marie Brand (consulting producer; season 1) Michael Bujniewicz (associate producer; season 1) Louisa Ma (line producer; season 1) Rick Morrison (season 2) Enda Boner (season 2) Stella Dearing (season 2) Shannon Thomson (line producer; season 2) Bernie Ní Shúilleabháin (associate producer; season 2) |
| Running time | 22 minutes (2 11-minute segments) |
| Production companies | Home Plate Entertainment Four Down Productions (season 1) Agogo Media (season 1) Copernicus Studios (season 1) Superjacket Productions (season 2) Top Draw Animation (season 2) Big Jump Entertainment (season 2) Telegael |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nicktoons Kabillion (shorts) |
| Release | April 27, 2012 – February 12, 2015 |
Rob Dyrdek's Wild Grinders, also known simply as Wild Grinders, is an animated television series created by, produced by, and loosely based on the life of professional skateboarder and reality TV star Rob Dyrdek. It started out as a series of shorts produced by MoonScoop Group in 2009[1] and aired on Kabillion and NickToons which were adapted into a toy-line from Mattel that released in 2010.[2][3]
Following the shorts and merchandise line, a full series of 22-minute episodes was distributed by MoonScoop Entertainment and aired on the Nicktoons channel in 2012.[4] The show made its second broadcast on U.S. television on April 27, 2012.[5] During this time, content featuring the Wild Grinders characters continued to be seen on Kabillion, a video on demand channel and streaming video website partially owned by Moonscoop.
On August 1, 2013, Rob Dyrdek confirmed a second season with 26 episodes, which premiered on Nicktoons on December 23, 2013.[6]
Rob Dyrdek partnered with Teletoon to create a two-parter Halloween special, titled "Texas Skateboard Horrorland Zombie Activity 3", which aired on October 24, 2013, on Teletoon in Canada.
Synopsis
This skateboard themed series features the crazy hijinks and shenanigans of an energetic and thrill-seeking skateboarding pre-teen Lil' Rob (based on the series creator) and his best friends: Meaty, a bulldog with a hip edge (based on Meaty, a dog that the real Rob Dyrdek owns); Goggles, Rob's nerdy but loyal and kind-hearted best friend; and a host of other zany kids from the neighborhood, as well as Lil' Rob's majestic parents and older teenage sister.[7]
Characters
Main
- Lil' Rob (voiced by Rob Dyrdek) – Lil' Rob is the titular character and the leader of the Wild Grinders. He is an upbeat pre-adolescent with an adventurous personality.
- Meaty (voiced by Sterling "Steelo" Brim (season 1), Lee Harrell (season 2)) – Lil' Rob's anthropomorphic British bulldog.
- Goggles (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, credited as Jimmy Benedict) – Lil' Rob's nerdy and loyal friend.
- Emo Crys (voiced by Cam Clarke, Charlie Schlatter in pilot episodes (uncredited)) – The poetic and sensitive of the Wild Grinders.
- Jay Jay (voiced by Kel Mitchell) – An intelligent hipster. He was portrayed to have mysophobia. He's the Backside Grinders' keyboard player.
- Jack Knife (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) – A dull kid with a big heart. He plays electric guitar in the band which he initially used as a saxophone.
- Spitball (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) – The silent type and dubbed as Street Ninja. He's the Backside bass player.
- Stubford Hucksterball (voiced by Erin Fitzgerald) – The main antagonist of the entire series. He is a child with a short height, but summons his mechanical stalls to make him taller than the Grinders.
- Flipz (voiced by Chanel West Coast) – The only female skater in the Wild Grinders.
Recurring
- Denise (voiced by Erin Fitzgerald) – Lil' Rob's older sister.
- Lackey (Yuri Lowenthal) or Officer Lackowski, as he prefers, is Stubford's rent-a-cop sidekick hired by Track to keep Stubford out of his hair.
- Gene (voiced by Rob Dyrdek) – Lil' Rob's father.
- Patty (voiced by Erin Fitzgerald) – Lil' Rob's mother. She is also secretly a secret agent called Agent Capricorn.
- Track Hucksterball (voiced by Cam Clarke) – Stubford's wealthy, money-grubbing and neglectful father and also Gene's boss.
- Chip Fligginton (voiced by Kel Mitchell) – A famous web personality.
- Queen of Moronico (voiced by Kel Mitchell) – She is the queen of the fictional country of Moronico.
- Prince of Moronico (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) – The prince of Moronico.
- Jankins (voiced by Cam Clarke) – The royal butler to the royal family.
- Freddie (voiced by Cam Clarke) – The desire of Denise's affection and also runs the Taco truck.
- Captain Grindstar (voiced by Tracy Tubera) – Goggles' superhero idol.
- Agents 1 and Agent 2- Two black ops agents who work for Area 52 they often conspire take over or destroy the world.
- Mr. Sprinkles (unknown) is Flips' pet wiener dog and Meaty's rival in pawjitsu.
- Squeak (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) is a character who debuted in "Emo's Mystery Girl".
Episodes
Mobile game
In June 2014, it was announced that a Wild Grinders mobile game was being developed for iPhone, iPad and Android by Bubble Gum Interactive. The game was slated to launch in September 2014, but instead was launched on February 11, 2015. The mobile game was titled Wild Grinders Downhill Grind.[8]
Reception
Wild Grinders received generally negative reviews from critics. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series 2 out of 5 stars. In her review, Ashby praised the racial divides and the good messages about friendship, but criticized the stereotypes surrounding skateboarding culture, the name calling and the main character's disrespect towards adults.[9]
References
- ↑ McLean, Tom (August 11, 2009). "MoonScoop Signs Up Dyrdek's Wild Grinders". Animationmagazine.net. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ↑ Keith Hamm (August 8, 2011). "Dyrdek gets green light from Nicktoons". ESPN. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
- ↑ Jason Stephens (April 18, 2011). "TOYS ARE FUN?! ROB DYRDEK'S WILD GRINDERS". MTV. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
- ↑ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 339. ISBN 9781476672939.
- ↑ "Wild Grinders". Facebook.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ↑ "Toon Zone - Shows - Current Schedule". Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
- ↑ "TV Distribution - Moonscoop". Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ↑ Fisher, Daniela (June 12, 2014). "Bubble Gum Interactive rolls out Wild Grinders app". KidScreen.com. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
- ↑ Ashby, Emily (April 27, 2012). "Wild Grinders review". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019.