''Atomic Betty'' (retitled ''Atomic Betty: Mission Earth'' for its third and final season) is an animated television series produced by Atomic Cartoons,

Breakthrough Entertainment Breakthrough Entertainment (formerly Breakthrough Films & Television) was a Canadian production company founded in 1986 by Peter Williamson and Ira Levy. It produces popular Canadian TV shows such as ''Jimmy Two-Shoes'' and '' Atomic Betty''. O ...

, and Tele Images Kids, along with the Marathon Group joining for the third season. Additional funding for production is provided by

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, Phil Roman Entertainment (uncredited) in the U.S. and M6 (seasons 1–2) and Télétoon (season 3) in France. In Canada, the show originally aired on Teletoon from August 29, 2004, to January 29, 2008, lasting for three years. In France, this series aired on M6 from 2004 until 2005 and then on Télétoon+ from 2006 until 2008. From the U.S., this 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 ...

on September 17, 2004, until January 1, 2006, and

The Hub The Hub may refer to: Places * The Hub, Bronx, an area of the South Bronx, New York, known for its convergence of subway and bus lines * The Hub (Edinburgh), former church in Edinburgh that is now home to the Edinburgh International Festival * T ...

(now known as "

Discovery Family Discovery Family (known on-air as Discovery Family Channel and abbreviated as DFC) is an American Specialty channel, cable television channel co-owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. and Hasbro Entertainment, which are divisions of Warner Bros. Di ...

") from 2010 until October 14, 2011, along with its third and final season.

Synopsis

Betty Barrett is a typical girl living in Moose Jaw Heights (a fictional suburb of

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

) who enjoys school, daydreaming about living in outer space, sci-fi movies, and singing in her band. Unknown to all of her friends and family, however, she is also a member of the Galactic Guardians, an elite team dedicated to interstellar crime-fighting and law enforcement. As "Atomic Betty", assisted by her two allies, the alien pilot Sparky and a robot named X-5, she confronts the evil

overlord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or ...

Maximus I.Q. and his servant Minimus, as well as other intergalactic supervillains and criminals. Despite being rather unassuming on Earth, Atomic Betty is a superstar throughout the galaxy and even has a crowd of people who consider her their role model. In each episode, a crisis occurs somewhere in the galaxy, usually while Betty is spending time with her friends and family. Invariably, her bracelet starts beeping, and she runs off alone to save the galaxy in her superpowered Galactic Guardian battle suit, which allows her to use a wide variety of weapons and gadgets. Accompanied by her crew, Betty takes initiative to fight the villains before returning home and explaining her absence.

Characters

* Betty Barrett (voiced by

Tajja Isen Tajja Isen is a Canadian writer, editor, and actress. Her first book, the essay collection Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service, was published in April 2022. As an actress, she is best known for voicing the title character '' Atomic Be ...

) is the main title

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 ...

of the series, a human girl who moonlights as the Galactic Guardian Atomic Betty. Betty is skilled at hand-to-hand combat,

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

, and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

, but is also equipped with a wide variety of Galactic Guardian-issued bracelet, housing a communications device and remote controls for her spaceship and its teleporter, as well as an array of gadgets and weapons. Her bracelet also has a holographic disguise function, and grants her basic

telekinesis Telekinesis () (alternatively called psychokinesis) is a purported psychic ability allowing an individual to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Experiments to prove the existence of telekinesis have historically been cri ...

. * Sparky (voiced by Rick Miller) is Betty's alien lieutenant and pilot. Although he is sometimes reckless, and often more interested in eating, surfing, or girls than the mission he is on, he is nevertheless very loyal to Betty and endeavors to do his best at all times. * X-5 (voiced by Bruce Hunter) is a rectangular, yellow, hovering robot. He tends to spout too much information at inopportune times and takes things exceptionally seriously, which usually grates on Sparky's nerves. The two of them have a grudgingly respectful working relationship. * Maximus I.Q. (voiced by Colin Fox) is a

Siamese cat The Siamese cat (; แมวสยาม, Maeo Sayam; แมววิเชียรมาศ, Maeo Wichien Maat) is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Asian cat. It derives from the Wichianmat landrace. The Siamese cat is one ...

-like alien overlord and the archenemy of the Galactic Guardians. * Minimus P.U. (voiced by

Len Carlson Len Carlson (September 2, 1937 - January 26, 2006) was a Canadian voice actor who voiced various characters on many animated television series from the 1960s to the 2000s, an occasional live-action TV actor, and a Kraft Canada TV pitchman during ...

in the first and second seasons,

Dwayne Hill Dwayne Hill (born June 5, 1966) is a Canadian actor. In 2009, he was nominated for two Gemini awards, one in the solo category for '' Grossology'', the other, which he won, was for best ensemble in '' Atomic Betty''. Overall, he has voiced over 2 ...

in the third season) is a cat-like alien who serves Maximus I.Q. He has two faces, with the first being kinder and subservient and the second being more malevolent. * Admiral DeGill (voiced by Adrian Truss) is a fish-like alien and a founding member of the Galactic Guardians. He serves as Betty's superior, assigning her to hmissions.

Episodes

Production

Atomic Cartoons, based in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, wrote the scripts and produced the animation for the show using

Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a mostly discontinuedAlthough it is discontinued by Adobe Inc., for the Chinese market it is developed by Zhongcheng and for the international enterprise market it is developed by Ha ...

. Tele Images Kids produced animation and voice direction for the French-language version of the show. Breakthrough Films & Television, through its distribution subsidiary, handled worldwide distribution outside of Canada, except Spain and Portugal. Three seasons of the show were produced, totaling 78 half-hour or 156 quarter-hour episodes, depending on the format shown in each market. There is also a one-hour Christmas special titled ''Atomic Betty: The No-L 9''. The first season had a budget of $9 million.

Cancelled sequel

In 2010, Atomic Cartoons announced a sequel series was planned for a production titled ''Atomic Betty Redux''. The show would have featured the 17-year-old Atomic Betty, her teenage future self that was first introduced in the two-part finale "The Future Is Now!". It was slated to be released either in late 2013 or mid-2014 but entered

development hell Development hell, also known as development purgatory or development limbo, is media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in a stage of early development for a long time because of legal, technical, or artistic ...

shortly after. In early 2019, a

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user emailed Atomic Cartoons regarding the show, and the response was that the planned series had been cancelled due to the animation studio's desire to focus on their new projects.

Telecast and home media

''Atomic Betty'' premiered on

in Canada on August 29, 2004. The series was formerly aired on

from September 17, 2004, until January 1, 2006, in the U.S. and

(now known as "

") from October 10, 2010, until October 12, 2011. It first aired on

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 ...

in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2004, the show continued to broadcast and then re-broadcast on CITV until it was effectively taken off schedule after 6–7 years sometime in 2011. Starz Kids and Family formerly picked up the series, but only for its first season because the second and third kinds were too expensive for the Starz brand to afford until it was later removed from its weekday morning lineup. Recently, Kartoon Channel, a web-based cartoon streaming channel, is now airing all three seasons of the show. It also aired repeats in Canada on

until 2015 and BBC Kids until the channel was closed in 2018.

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 ...

(sister company to the show's American broadcaster

) released two

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 ...

volumes of the show on October 18, 2005, in Region 1 and February 6, 2006, in Japan. Each release contained eight segment-episodes from the first season. In the other two volumes, ''Betty Powers Up!'' and ''Betty Blasts Off!'' were planned but cancelled.

Reception

''Atomic Betty'' received positive-to-mixed reviews from critics and audiences but has since gained a cult following. Emily Ashby of ''

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

'' gave the show a rate of four stars out of five, saying that the show is "equal opportunity exists" and " tups the ante on its TV peers by including some worthwhile messages as well." She also said that of the show's content is "nothing worrisome for its intended kid audience, aside from some mild potty humor and a smattering of brief scuffles between Betty's team and the bad guys. In the end, though, none of these minor blemishes tarnish the show's greatest asset -- its respectable heroine." Anita Gates of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' says that "TBA".

Merchandise

Soundtrack

''Atomic Betty'' is the official soundtrack to the television series of the same name. It was released by Koch Records (now

MNRK Music Group MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...

) on November 8, 2005, and contains some tracks performed by the title character of the show, Betty Barrett, voiced by actress/singer Tajja Isen. She wrote and recorded that album in 2004. As of 2017, the album is still available on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

and

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

Video games

A video game based on the show developed by Big Blue Bubble was released for the

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 ...

in Europe on August 25, 2005, and in North America on October 25, 2005. A

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

game for mobile phones, titled ''Atomic Betty - Part 1'', was developed by GlobalFun and Breakthrough New Media and published in 2010.

Dolls and action figures

Hong Kong-based toy company

Playmates Toys Playmates Toys Limited is a Hong Kong toy company. The company was founded in Hong Kong in 1966 by Sam Chan Tai-ho as Playmates Industrial, manufacturing dolls for other companies. In 1975, Playmates began marketing its own line of preschool to ...

was chosen during the initial run of the ''Atomic Betty'' TV show in Canada to produce a coinciding toy line. The toy line included a variety of Betty Barrett character dolls (made of rubber, cloth, nylon and silicone), which featured both her iconic pink-and-white dress, and her normal outfit, along with a yellow sweater and green skirt. The dolls featured nylon hair that could be brushed and styled, similar to popular fashion dolls at the time, such as Mattel's

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...

and

Bratz Bratz is an American fashion doll and media franchise created by former Mattel employee Carter Bryant for MGA Entertainment, which debuted in 2001. The four original 10-inch (25 cm) dolls were released on May 21, 2001 — Yasmin (Latina), ...

. A "Talking Betty Doll" was released in 2004, which would say the character's catchphrase "Atomic Betty, reporting for duty!" when a button on its belly was pressed. The doll was powered by AAA batteries and featured the same nylon hair as the smaller versions of the doll had. Other toys by Playmates included small plastic figurines of major supporting characters, and a large plastic "Transforming Star Cruiser" that certain Betty dolls could fit into and ride in. Outside of Canada, UK-based toy company Character produced a line of Betty Barrett dolls for British audiences, releasing a television commercial on

to advertise the dolls in 2005. Character's doll line was very similar to the Playmates doll line, but Character only made dolls of Betty, not any supporting characters. Accessories included a plastic playhouse, which was styled similarly to the house that Betty lived in on the series.

References

External links