''¡Mucha Lucha!'' (subtitled ''Gigante'' during its third and final season) is an American

animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

that aired on the

Kids' WB Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming block that originally aired on The WB from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006, and later on The CW from September 23, 2006, to May 17, 2008. Initially launched as a co ...

block on

The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

from August 17, 2002, to February 26, 2005. It was created by Eddie Mort and Lili Chin and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is the first

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

intended for children created with Macromedia Flash, a program which became widely used as a medium for animation in the following years. A direct-to-video feature film based on the series, '' ¡Mucha Lucha!: The Return of El Maléfico'', was released on January 4, 2005.

Premise

The show is set in Luchaville, a fictional town in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

centered on ''

lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

'' where nearly everyone wears a costume (they are never seen without their mask) and has a well-known wrestling move. These wrestling moves being capable of transforming the character in relation to the naming of the move. The series mainly centres on three friends, Rikochet, Buena Girl, and the Flea, as they struggle through the Foremost World-Renowned International School of Lucha, where they study to become Luchadores.

Episodes

Characters

* Rikochet (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui in seasons 1-2 and Jason Marsden in season 3) – A young 10-year old wrestler who is the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

. He considers himself the bravest of the group, but sometimes leaps before he looks. * Buena Girl ( Kimberly Brooks) – A smart, young 9-year old female wrestler who always plays by the rules. She can also be very arrogant and obnoxious at times. * The Flea (voiced by Candi Milo) – An 8-year old friend of Rikochet and Buena Girl who is always dirty and refers to himself in the third person. As well as having a few disgusting habits, he is also the most nervous but often proves to be a useful ally. * El Rey (voiced by Michael Donovan) – An action figure which represents Rikochet's conscience. He carries him in a backpack, but he can move and talk on his own as if he were alive. It is stated that this action figure is just part of a large merchandising euphoria related to a supreme undefeated Mexican wrestler with the same name (an allusion to Santo). Alongside the series, several other El Rey toys appear and often causes trouble with Rikochet. He always calls Ricochet "Chico" and a disgrace.

Production

''¡Mucha Lucha!'' ran into a problem when initially pitched to Kids' WB as they wouldn't want actual wrestling seen on screen due to seeming violent. Lili Chin would have to draw visual guides to show that actual wrestling was more choreography than harmful acts of violence.

Music

Licensed music

*Café Quijano - Desde Brasil *Los Miserables - Punk Rock Y Subversion *Celso Piña - Cumbia Poder *Tito Nieves - Shut Up *Frankie Negron - So Wonderful *Plastiko - Esfera De Cristal *Pesado - Entre Mi Corazón Tu Y Yo *El Tri - Nosotros Los Latinos *SNZ - Me Protejo *Bacilos - Bésela Ya *Charlie Cruz - Un Chin Chin *Volumen Cero - Hollywood *Los Lobos - Good morning aztlán

Broadcast

The show was also seen on

in the United States,

Teletoon Cartoon Network (formerly Teletoon) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts animated series aimed at children and teenagers. It was launched on October 17 ...

in Canada,

CITV CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...

and Kix in the United Kingdom, and Canal 5 in Mexico from August 17, 2002, until February 26, 2005. It also 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 ...

internationally in 2003, and in U.S in 2004. In March 2007, the show began its first rerun on Miguzi, and was later replaced with Ben 10 for the last slot before Miguzi was shut down in the same year. The final rerun of the show lasted from 2008 to 2009, and it was removed from the lineup in 2010.

Home media

In Region 1,

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

has released one compilation on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and VHS that contained the first six segment-episodes from season one, titled ''Heart of Lucha'', on August 23, 2003. The

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

movie ''The Return of El Maléfico'', was released on October 5, 2004, exclusively at Walmart, while other retailers released it on January 4, 2005, during the third and final season. In 2019, ¡Mucha Lucha! was available remastered for the first time in High Definition for home viewers and became available on demand through Amazon Prime. In 2022, The show became available for streaming on HBO Max in Latin American countries, also using the High Definition remasters.

Merchandise

A toy line based on the show was released by Jakks Pacific in 2004. In this toy line included "Mix-a-Lot" action figures; these had removable body parts that could be placed on the bodies of other action figures in the series. "Signature Move" action figures were also put out, along with a toy wrestling ring. However, the second series of the toy line was canceled. During the summer of 2003,

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

published a three-issue mini-series of

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

based on ''¡Mucha Lucha!'' All three of the stories featured in these comic books were written by Eddie Mort, and have even been occasionally referenced in the TV series. # El Rey, Come Home! # It's All Buena! # Limbo of the Lost Luchadores! The show was licensed for a

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

, '' Mascaritas of the Lost Code'', in late 2003; a

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

, ''Mysterioso Grande'', was slated for release, but was cancelled around 2004 as the creators could not find a publisher. In the year 2005 the Mexican snack company Sabritas distributed promotional items in the form of tazos with a picture of various characters from the show. Totaling in 230 pogs, they were sold in two separate series. The first series was referred to as the "classic" series, while the second series was referred to as the "rematch" series.

Proposed revival

In 2014, a revival called ''¡Mucha Lucha! Para Siempre'' was proposed which would have centered on Rikochet, Buena Girl, and the Flea as teenagers. Rikochet would return home after time away with his uncle with a sense of purposelessness. Due to losing his honor as a wrestler 5 years ago to another wrestler named Guillermo El Toro. He would he find a new found sense of purpose after hearing from the television that Guillermo El Toro would be fighting Buena Girl. Rikochet would then reconnect with The Flea and Buena girl and have a rematch With Guillermo El Toro to reclaim his honor.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mucha Lucha ¡Mucha Lucha! Lucha libre 2002 American animated television series debuts 2005 American television series endings 2000s American animated television series 2000s American sports television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated action television series American children's animated sports television series American flash animated television series Parody superheroes Warner Bros. Television Studios franchises Television series by Warner Bros. Animation Cartoon Network original programming Kids' WB original shows Animated television series set in California Television shows set in Mexico The WB animated television series Television shows adapted into comics Television shows adapted into video games Animated television series about children American English-language television shows Hispanic and Latino American television Hispanic and Latino American culture Comedy franchises