''Sidekick'' is a Canadian animated series created by

Todd Kauffman Todd Kauffman is a Canadian animator, character designer and animation director, best known as a director of the animated television series ''Total Drama''. He was also a creator and director of the television series ''Grojband'' and '' Looped'', ...

and Joey So for YTV, and produced by

Nelvana Nelvana Limited (; also known as Nelvana Enterprises, Nelvana International or Nelvana Digital; commonly known as Nelvana; stylized as "nelvana") is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment production company owned by Corus Entertainment s ...

. The series ran from September 3, 2010, to September 14, 2013, with 52 episodes produced. The series is based on the original shorts originally titled '' The Not-So-Superheroic Adventures of Sidekick'' aired as part of the 2005 TV series, ''Funpak''. It currently airs reruns on

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...

and

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...

in Canada.

Premise

The series is about an orphan boy named Eric Needles, with his best friend Trevor and his two other friends, Vana and Kitty, who are training to become superhero sidekicks at the Academy for Aspiring Sidekicks (though in "Graduation Daze", supervillains can send their henchmen to the academy) in the Canadian city of Splittsboro (based on

Scarborough, Toronto Scarborough (; 2021 Canadian census, 2021 Census 629,941) is a district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is situated in the eastern part of the City of Toronto. Its borders are Victoria Park Avenue to the west, Steeles Avenue (Toronto), Steele ...

). While dealing with intense sidekick training, Eric must also contend with his strict guardian Maxum Brain, his grumpy teacher Professor Pamplemoose, the evil Master XOX and keeping secret of the disappearance of his superhero mentor Maxum Man from the city.

Episodes

Characters

Main

* Eric Needles (voiced by

Miklos Perlus Miklos Perlus (born March 23, 1977) is a Canadian actor, writer, and story editor. Perlus has appeared on Canadian series ''Student Bodies'', ''Road to Avonlea'' and ''Sidekick''. He has written for '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and other ser ...

) is a boy who was adopted as the sidekick to Maxum Man, the greatest superhero of all time (before he disappeared). He also has a huge crush on Vana, but he later seems to be more infatuated with Mandy Struction. He grew up in an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

because he has no known parents, although in the Funpak short: The Evil Trevor, Eric says that he once had a dad who spit on his face all the time until he died. He was adopted by Maxum Brain. Eric always wears a T-shirt with a skull on it (hinting at what Todd Kauffman would make after ''Sidekick'' ended production). He and Trevor always get into trouble and don't have common sense. He and his friends are often forced to clean up the messes they caused. In the Funpak shorts, he was voiced by

Peter Oldring Peter James Edward Oldring (born August 25, 1971) is a Canadian actor and comedian. Early life Oldring was born on August 25, 1971, in Drayton Valley, Alberta. He graduated from Sir Winston Churchill High School in 1989 in Calgary, Alberta, ...

. With Maxum Man missing, Eric must do all his heroic duties to ensure the public is safe and make them think he is still on the job but unfortunately, he has no powers nor hero experience to fight the villainous threats Maxum Man faces. Luckily, he has friends to help him out and give him good and solid advice on how to handle these kinds of situations. * Trevor Troublemeyer (voiced by

Christian Potenza Anthony Christian Potenza is a Canadian actor and comedian. He has voiced Jude Lizowski on ''6teen'' as well as Brando Beaver and both of the Bison Brothers in ''Pikwik Pack''. From 2007 to 2014, Potenza was also the original voice actor for Ch ...

) is Eric's best friend. Trevor always ropes Eric into all sorts of hijinks. His father is Master XOX but he and the others are all completely unaware of this. Like Eric, he knows that Maxum Man is missing and helps him keep it secret from the public or risk mass panic if they ever find out. He went to Sidekick Academy to become a henchman of his father. * Kitty Ko (voiced by Denise Oliver) is a girl who, despite being a bit strange, gives the rest of the group advice, and is somewhat a good hacker and fixer. She has a huge crush on Eric and has a bit of a stalker-like obsession with him. She had a condition on two left feet as revealed in "Trip Van Twinkle Toes" and like Eric, she is an orphan as revealed in "Parent Teacher Night of Doom". In the Funpak shorts, she was voiced by Stephanie Beard. Unlike Eric and Trevor, she is unaware that Maxum Man is missing and is shocked and terrified at the thought of it. * Vana Glama (voiced by

Stephanie Anne Mills Stephanie Anne Mills (born March 7, 1979) is a Canadian actress. Biography Mills was born in Edmonton to Margaret (née Achtymichuk) and Harvey Mills. She aspired to be a singer, dancer and actress as a young child."Edmonchuk expat checks into T ...

) is a hyper-ambitious prima donna who is not easily impressed and is extremely shallow. She often tortures Eric and hates him for no apparent reason. Despite this, Eric has a huge crush on her, often oblivious to her selfish, snobby, and more-often-than-not sour-hearted character. In the Funpak shorts, she was also voiced by Stephanie Beard. Like Kitty, she is also unaware Maxum Man is missing and also shocked and terrified at the thought of it.

Supporting

* Maxum Brain (voiced by

Tony Daniels Tony Daniels is a Canadian voice actor. He is well known for providing the voices of Uncle Flippy in ''JoJo's Circus'', as well as Jedite and Wiseman in the original English dub of ''Sailor Moon''. He is also known for providing the voice of G ...

) is Eric's guardian since Maxum Man is missing. He is a computer with many gadgets and acted as Maxum Man's assistant before his disappearance. He is strict about following rules, keeping the mansion clean and speaks with an East Indian accent. * Maxum Man (voiced by

Ron Pardo Ron Pardo is a Canadian actor and comedian. He has performed roles in over 90 animated series. On ''Paw Patrol'', Pardo has voiced Cap'n Turbot since the first episode, and later voiced the breakout villain Mayor Humdinger as well as various ot ...

) is Eric's favourite superhero, before Eric became his current sidekick. After he went missing, Eric and Maxum Brain do everything for him to make it seem like he never left. It seems that Maxum Man always makes his enemies purely by accident. * Mr. Martin Troublemeyer/Master XOX (voiced by

Scott McCord Scott McCord is a Canadian actor. He has performed on film, television, animation and on stage. He is a member of ''The Actors Studio''. On television he has appeared in series regular, recurring and guest starring roles. Career He plays the m ...

/ Ron Rubin) is Trevor's father. All he wants is what is best for Trevor and for him to be a good boy, which is why Trevor can't stand him. He tries to stay calm because of his short temper. The only time Trevor likes him is when he gets angry. However, when Trevor is not looking, his dad becomes the creepy, deformed supervillain known as Master XOX, the main antagonist of the series. * Professor Pamplemoose (voiced by

Patrick McKenna Patrick McKenna (born May 8, 1960) is a Canadian comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Harold Green on the television series '' The Red Green Show'' and Marty Stevens on the television series '' Traders''. Early life Patrick McKenna ...

) is the cruel Headmaster at the Sidekick Academy and Eric's grumpy teacher, Pampelmoose is a strict disciplinarian who runs the school like it was a prison camp. He has devoted his life to turning worthless students into worthless Sidekicks. He often punishes Eric for obvious reasons, resulting in him getting sent to detention.

Recurring

* Golly Gee Kid (voiced by Ron Pederson) was Maxum Man's sidekick in the old days, often seen in Maxum Man's Sidekick Academy training films. While a sidekick, it seemed his primary job was performing chores around the mansion. He is now the school's janitor. * Mandy Struction (voiced by Stacey DePass) is a teenage student at the henchman school (though she would later become an anti-hero in later episodes) and Eric's new crush. She has seismic boots that can cause tremors in the floor whenever she stomps down. She is much taller than the other kids, suggesting she might be older than them. She also has a crush on Eric, so Kitty (used to) hate her. * Allan Amazing (voiced by Scott McCord) is a handsome student who is popular with female students. Although he acts nice and sensible, he has an immense hatred for Eric and is a narcissist who will do anything to beat anyone, especially Eric. He is interested in Vana as well and is of Hispanic origin. * Kid Ruthless (voiced by Carter Hayden) is a big tough student who seems to be a bully, as he tortures Eric for stealing his Sidekick Identity Name. He was popular with the students for his music. He was nice to Eric after the latter defeated him in a DJ Battle. * Mayor Swifty (voiced by John Stocker) is the Senior Mayor of Splittsboro, all he wants to do is to see Maxum Man, which happened once in "Ain't No Party Like a Maxum Brain Party". He also initially has a hatred for a temporarily fired Super Hero, Static Clint, as shown in "The Spark is Gone", though it seems to have disappeared after this episode. Swifty also appeared in the episode "The Maxum Switcheroo". * Maxum Mom (voiced by Ellen-Ray Hennessy) is Maxum Man's mother, who has an intense dislike for Master XOX. She is tough like her son and has visited and cared for Eric a couple of times in the Maxum Mansion. She has appeared in the episodes "Maxum Mom", "Shopping Spree", and "Family Fun Day". Eric posed as her in the episode "The Maxum Switcheroo" to expose the fake Maxum Man. * Maxum Mel (voiced by Ron Pardo) is Maxum Man's older brother. He is tough like his brother and visited the Maxum Mansion one time. He has a sidekick named Mouse Boy. * Joshua Sideburns (voiced by

Fab Filippo Fabrizio "Fab" Filippo (born November 30, 1973) is a Canadian actor. Personal life Filippo was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His parents are first generation Italian immigrants (his mother is from Campora San Giovanni in Calabria). He bri ...

) is a movie star with whom Kitty is obsessed. He visits Splittsboro to act in upcoming movies. * Opossum Man (voiced by Tony Daniels) is another Superhero in Splittsboro who is a parody of

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

and always wants to make crime and criminals play dead as real opossums do. He also has a sidekick named Boy Vermin. * Glenn/Boy Vermin (voiced by Deven Mack) is Eric's old friend from the orphanage and Opossum Man's sidekick dressed as a rodent who is a parody of Robin and always assists Opossum Man. His real name is Glenn.

Broadcast

In the United States, the series premiered on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

alongside ''

Almost Naked Animals ''Almost Naked Animals'' is a Canadian animated television series co-produced by 9 Story Media Group for YTV. The series was created by Noah Z. Jones, and is based upon an art website that he created in 2005. The series premiered on January 7, ...

'' on June 13, 2011, until October 15, 2012. The series also aired on

Qubo Qubo ( ; stylized as qubo) was an American television network for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by Ion Media, it consisted of a 24-hour free-to-air television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel" (available as a digital ...

from March 27, 2017, until August 24, 2019. However, it returned on April 4, 2020, but left the schedule once again on July 25, 2020. In Australia and New Zealand, the series premiered on ABC3, (now

ABC Entertains ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...

,) later also on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

on November 23, 2011, and later

on April 9, 2015. In the UK, the series premiered on

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

on September 1, 2014. The series aired reruns on YTV until June 30, 2023. It currently airs on

and

in Canada. The series is streaming on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

Pluto TV Pluto TV is an American free ad-supported streaming television service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global. Founded by Tom Ryan (business executive), Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in ...

and

Tubi Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...

Notes

References

External links