''Skunk Fu!'' is an

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 ...

action adventure fantasy comedy television series featuring the

fable Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a parti ...

s and adventures of

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

animals protecting their Valley using

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

. The show chronicles the adventures of young Skunk, training with his Kung Fu master, Panda, with the support of Rabbit, Fox, Turtle, and others, who directly, or inadvertently, also help Skunk grow.Cartoon Saloon
The show won the IFTA award for "Best Animation". In addition to an English soundtrack, Irish-language, French-language, Japanese-language, and Dutch-language soundtracks were initially produced.

Synopsis

Skunk and the other Valley animals led by Panda thwart Dragon's efforts to overtake their Valley with

Baboon Baboons are primates comprising the biology, genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys, in the family Cercopithecidae. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow ba ...

and the

Ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

Monkeys from their lair in the Mountains. Historically Dragon and Panda were friends, but since Dragon was punished by Heaven for his arrogance, he perceives the Valley residents as the reason for his downfall and seeks to destroy them. Panda sees Skunk as crucial to saving the Valley and endeavors to teach Skunk who often tries to circumvent laborious Kung Fu training, only to learn the value of the initial lesson from the consequences of his actions with Skunk ultimately saving the day, usually by himself or with the help of his friends.

Characters

Valley Animals

* Skunk (voiced by

Jules de Jongh Jules de Jongh is an American voice actress. She provided the voices of Yugo and Evangelyne in the first 2 seasons of ''Wakfu: The Animated Series'', the voice of the protagonist Faith Connors, Faith from the video game ''Mirror's Edge'', and th ...

) is a 10-year-old black and white

striped skunk The striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') is a skunk of the genus ''Mephitis (genus), Mephitis'' that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern ...

and is the main protagonist of the series. He is the youngest of the Valley dwellers and wants to be a Kung Fu master, but he has to learn his Kung Fu moves with Panda first. * Master Panda (voiced by Paul Tylak) is a

giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white animal coat, coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. ...

who is the very wise 80-year-old leader of the Valley and Skunk's master. * Rabbit (voiced by Paul Tylak) is an intelligent

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...

, who invents gadgets to protect the Valley from threats. His twin brother, Bunny, went into hiding for stealing a golden skateboard. * Fox (voiced by Patricia Rodriguez) is a

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

who is an effective, graceful fighter and Skunk's best friend. * Pig (voiced by Tony Acworth) a dimwitted

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

. * Ox and Bird (both voiced by Tony Acworth) are a duo. Bird is an oxpecker and Ox is a large blue

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans ...

. * Dr. Turtle (voiced by Tony Acworth) is a tortoise with a purple shell. * Ms. Duck (voiced by Jules de Jongh) is a wise old blue duck chef. * Tiger (voiced by Rod Goodall) is a cowardly friend of Panda's. * Frog (voiced by Tony Acworth) is a silly

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

who likes to jump. * Snake (voiced by Paul Tylak) is a purplish-blue Australian-accented

king cobra The king cobra (''Ophiophagus hannah'') is a species complex of snakes Endemism, endemic to Asia. With an average of and a record length of , it is the world's longest venomous snake and among the heaviest. Under the genus ''Ophiophagus'', i ...

who enjoys inflicting pain. * Killer Bees (both voiced by Tony Acworth) are a full nest of bees who tend to be extremely short-tempered and will attack anyone who pisses them off regardless if they are friends with them or not. * Crane (voiced by Jules de Jongh) is a tall, white

demoiselle crane The demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') is a species of crane found in central Eurosiberia, ranging from the Black Sea to Mongolia and Northeast China. There is also a small breeding population in Turkey. These cranes are migratory birds. Birds f ...

who is the general town gossip. * Mantis (voiced by Tony Acworth) is a green Chinese mantis who is the Valley's lookout bug. When he speaks, he makes brief pauses every few words. He seems to be a masochist constantly looking to put himself in harm's way in hopes of a tragic outcome. He even expresses disappointment when a battle is going favorably. Despite his desire to see himself harmed, he is noted to put up an honest fight. Though much to his delight, he often just ends up being squashed and left aside. * Mr. Fish (voiced by Tony Acworth) is a large black and white fish who is the underwater head honcho and has feelings for Ms. Duck. * Blinky is a glowing

firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

who was Skunk's friend and his pet in the past, though the fireflies view it as Skunk being his pet.

Villains

* Dragon (voiced by Rod Goodall) is a large black

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon or loong is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture generally. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms, such as Bixi (mythology), turtles and Chiwen, fish, but are most commonly ...

and is the main antagonist of the series. * Baboon (voiced by Paul McLoone) is a white

Hamadryas baboon The hamadryas baboon (''Papio hamadryas'' ; gawina;Aerts 2019 , Ar Robbaḥ) is a species of baboon within the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons, being native to the Horn of Africa and the southwestern region o ...

and is the secondary antagonist of the series. With his army of Ninja Monkeys by his side, he'll stop at nothing to find ways of destroying the Valley. * Ninja Monkeys (both voiced by Tony Acworth) are Baboon's minions.

Episodes

Production and broadcast

''Skunk Fu!'' was produced by Cartoon Saloon and premiered in 28 May 2007 on ABC Australia. The series was broadcast in Ireland and the United Kingdom on 9 July 2007 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 ...

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

member

Ghostface Killah Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...

performed the theme song. The series was shown on ABC Rollercoaster in Australia and

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

in the UK (under the Welsh title, ''Drewgi''). TG4 broadcast ''Skunk Fu!'' in Irish.Cartoon Saloon Stuff » Blog Archive » ''Skunk Fu!'' Blasts Off on the BBC in July!
The series made its debut in the United States on the Kids' WB! block on

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

on 15 September 2007, and then premiered a year later 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 ...

in 2008. The series also aired on YTV in Canada and ANN in Japan. A feature film based on the series was planned, but was quietly cancelled.

Home media

In region one from 23 November 2008 to 12 May 2009, NCircle Entertainment have released only three DVD volumes for the series, totaling eighteen segment-episodes.

References

External links