''Sym-Bionic Titan'' is an American

animated television series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

created by

Genndy Tartakovsky Gennady Borisovich Tartakovsky (russian: Геннадий Борисович Тартаковский, born ), commonly known as Tartakovsky (), is a Russian-American animator, director, producer, screenwriter, voice actor, storyboard artist, ...

(in his fourth collaboration with the channel), Bryan Andrews and

Paul Rudish Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

for

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

. The series focuses on a trio consisting of the alien princess Ilana, the strict but rebellious alien soldier Lance, and the robot Octus, who arrive on Earth and combine themselves to create the titular Sym-Bionic Titan. A preview of the series was first shown at the 2009

San Diego Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is c ...

, and further details were revealed at Cartoon Network's 2010

upfront ''UpFront'' is a current affairs discussion, debate and analysis programme on Al Jazeera English. The show premiered on 4 September 2015 shortly after Al Jazeera moved into their new Washington D.C. hub. The show has a politics focus although othe ...

. The series premiered on September 17, 2010, and ended on April 9, 2011, with a total of 20 episodes as ordered by the channel; Tartakovsky had hoped to expand on that, but the series was not renewed for a second season, as it "did not have any toys connected to it". While ''Sym-Bionic Titan'' has never been released to DVD in the United States, all 20 episodes were available for purchase on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

and the

Microsoft Store Microsoft Store (formerly known as Windows Store) is a digital distribution platform operated by Microsoft. It started as an app store for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 as the primary means of distributing Universal Windows Platform app ...

. On October 7, 2012, reruns of the series began airing on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...

block along with the 2011 television series of '' ThunderCats'' until Cartoon Network wrote-off ''Sym-Bionic Titan'' for financial reasons in September 2014. The series was later released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

in 2019, but was removed from the service in December 2020.

Premise

Billed as "an exciting hybrid of high school drama and giant robot battles", ''Sym-Bionic Titan'' features "the adventures of three beings from the planet Galaluna who crash-land on Earth while attempting to escape their war-torn world". The series follows the lives of Lance (voiced by Kevin Thoms), Ilana (voiced by

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The New Batman Adventure ...

) and Octus (voiced by

Brian Posehn Brian Edmund Posehn (; born July 6, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, musician, and writer. After numerous appearances as a television guest star, Posehn acquired his first major recurring role in HBO's ''Mr. Show with ...

), two alien teenagers and a robot respectively in the form of humanoids living on Earth, an "identical" planet to Galaluna, while fleeing an evil general who has taken over their home planet with the help of monstrous creatures called Mutraddi. Ilana is the princess of the Galalunan royal family, Lance is a dark-hearted but capable soldier and Octus is a bio-cybernetic robot: all three having to now pose as normal high school students to blend into everyday life in

Sherman, Illinois Sherman is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,148 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Sherman is located at . According to the 2010 census ...

so Lance and Octus can conceal Ilana from General Modula ( Don Leslie) and his hideous space mutants sent to kill the sole heir of Galaluna. When called into battle, the Galalunans are outfitted with individual armor that provides more than ample protection. It is when the gravest of danger appears that Octus activates the sym-bionic defense program and he, Ilana, and Lance unite "Heart, Body and Mind" and come together to form the spectacular cyber-giant, Sym-Bionic Titan.

Production

Series co-creator

, best known for creating ''

Dexter's Laboratory ''Dexter's Laboratory'' is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It follows Dexter, a short, enthusiastic boy-genius with a hi ...

'', '' Star Wars: Clone Wars'' and ''

Samurai Jack ''Samurai Jack'' is an American animated action-adventure television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. Tartakovsky conceived ''Samurai Jack'' after finishing his wor ...

'' for

, drew inspiration for the show from many sources. He grew up with various

mecha anime Mecha anime and manga, known in Japan as and , are anime and manga that feature robots (mecha) in battle. The genre is broken down into two subcategories; "super robot", featuring super-sized, implausible robots, and "real robot", where robots are ...

series from the 1980s such as ''

Robotech ''Robotech'' is a science fiction franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production and first released in the United States in 1985. The show was adapted from ...

'' and ''

Voltron ''Voltron'' is an animated television series franchise that features a team of space explorers who pilot a giant Super Robot known as "Voltron". Produced by Peter Keefe (Executive Producer) and Ted Koplar through his production company World ...

'': "For whatever reason, I have always loved the idea of kids driving giant robots". His biggest influence for the show were John Hughes films (such as ''

Sixteen Candles ''Sixteen Candles'' is a 1984 American coming-of-age comedy film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling, and Anthony Michael Hall. Written and directed by John Hughes in his directorial debut, it was the first in a string of films Hughes ...

'' and ''

The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The ...

'') and 1980s pop culture, while the relationship between the two teenage leads, Ilana and Lance, was inspired by that of Sheeta and Pazu, the two leads in

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

's ''

Castle in the Sky , titled ''Laputa: Castle in the Sky'' for release in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, is a 1986 Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The first film produced by Studio Ghibli, i ...

''. An episode of ''Samurai Jack'' with a similar plot, "Jack and the Flying Prince and Princess" (which had two aliens and a robot fleeing to seek help for their planet), may have also provided inspiration for the show. Tara Strong also voiced the princess in said episode. Tartakovsky came up with Octus and the high-school setting first and later, together with co-creators

and Bryan Andrews, added Ilana and Lance as the protagonists. The creators of the show took a long time to develop the female lead: "A positive strong female character is something I've always wanted to create". Tartakovsky had called ''Sym-Bionic Titan'' "the most challenging project I have ever done". Despite airing on Cartoon Network, Tartakovsky stated that he "doesn't consider ''Sym-Bionic Titan'' a kids show".

Cancellation and possible revival

In March 2011, it was announced that Cartoon Network has cancelled ''Sym-Bionic Titan'' due to the show being unable to acquire a toy license.

's Tumblr later revealed that both ''

Beware the Batman ''Beware the Batman'' is an American computer-animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. The series premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network on July 13, 2013, as part of their DC Nation block, replacing '' Batma ...

'' and ''Sym-Bionic Titan'' were both written off by the network in September 2014. In a 2018 interview with

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. La ...

, Tartakovsky revealed that he and his crew had written 10 more episodes before the show was cancelled. In February 2017, Tartakovsky mentioned that, during an interview about the revival of ''

'' on

, he could also return to Cartoon Network someday and bring ''Sym-Bionic Titan'' back in order to end the story of season one and resolve its

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

in the style of

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and '' The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for ...

's ''

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire. List of ...

''. Ilana and Octus later made cameo appearances in the ''

OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes ''OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes'' is an American animated television series created by Ian Jones-Quartey for Cartoon Network. The show is based on Jones-Quartey's pilot ''Lakewood Plaza Turbo'', which was released as part of Cartoon Network's 2013 Su ...

'' episode "Crossover Nexus", with Tara Strong reprising her role as Ilana. In the ''

Craig of the Creek ''Craig of the Creek'' is an American animated television series created by Matt Burnett and Ben Levin for Cartoon Network. The show's pilot episode debuted directly on the official app on December 1, 2017. The series premiered online on February ...

'' episode "Kelsey the Elder", this show was mentioned by Mark and Barry.

Episodes

Awards

''Sym-Bionic Titan'' received two nominations at the

38th Annie Awards The 38th Annual Annie Awards honoring the best in animation of 2010 was held February 5, 2011, at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California. DreamWorks Animation's '' How to Train Your Dragon'' was the big winner winning 10 out of its 15 nomination ...

in 2011: Stephen DeStefano for Best Character Design in a Television Production; and Scott Wills for Best Production Design in an Animated Television Production.

Home media

The entire series was released on DVD in Australia from

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatr ...

on April 6, 2016, five years after the show's cancellation. The show was made available for streaming on

in December 2019, but was later removed from the service the following year. Although ''Sym-Bionic Titan'' has never been released to DVD or

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

in the United States, all 20 episodes were also available on

and the

in SD.

Reception

The series was positively received. Emily Ashby of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

said that the series had "action, adventure, and positive messages for tweens." She argued that while there is cartoon violence, the show has positive like Ilana, describing her a "role model-worthy main female character." She also noted that there is a "gentle side to the show" which makes it different from "many action-adventure cartoons for kids."

References

External links

* * {{Portal bar, Animation, Television, United States, Cartoon Network, Cartoon, Science fiction 2010 American television series debuts 2011 American television series endings 2010s American animated television series 2010s American comic science fiction television series 2010s American high school television series American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comic science fiction television series American children's animated drama television series American children's animated superhero television series Animated television series about extraterrestrial life Animated television series about teenagers Animated television series about robots Anime-influenced Western animated television series Cartoon Network original programming Television series by Cartoon Network Studios Cartoon Network Studios superheroes English-language television shows Fictional cyborgs Mecha animation Television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky Television series created by Paul Rudish Television series by Rough Draft Studios Television shows set in Illinois Teen animated television series Teen superhero television series Toonami