Mona the Vampire is an animated children's television series based on the children's book of the same name written and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman (itself adapted to the novel series, itself illustrated by Holleyman and written by Hiawyn Oram). The series aired in Canada on YTV from September 13, 1999, to February 22, 2006; in France, it first aired on France 3 on October 30, 2000.
Mona the Vampire was co-produced by the CINAR Corporation, Alphanim, Animation Services (in Hong Kong; season 3) and YTV in co-production with France 3 (seasons 1 and 2), Canal J (seasons 1) and Tiji (seasons 3 and 4), with the participation of the Independent Production Fund, the Shaw Children's Programming Initiative and Telefilm Canada.
Synopsis
The series follows the adventures of Mona Parker, who refers to herself as "Mona the Vampire", as well as her two best friends, Lily Duncan ("Princess Giant") and Charley Bones ("Zapman"), and her pet cat, Fang, as they imagine themselves confronting a new supernatural foe, or solving a supernatural mystery, in every episode. There are always rational explanations for what they see.
Cast
Main
- Mona Parker ("Mona the Vampire") (voiced by Emma Taylor-Isherwood) – A ten-year-old girl with a vivid imagination and a naive personality who imagines herself as a vampire heroine coming out to save the day. She believes the town she lives in is overrun with supernatural monsters, and she plans to stop them all and save the town on a daily basis. Although Mona's imagination can cause trouble at times, her imagination has more often than not proven to be helpful.
- Fang – Mona's pet cat, he is a feline sidekick who always follows Mona everywhere. Fang is her accomplice in the nether realms of her imagination. When going with Mona while in her vampire costume, he has fake wings tied to his back.
- Charles "Charley" Bones ("Zapman") (voiced by Justin Bradley in seasons 1–3; Evan Smirnow in season 4) – One of Mona's best friends, he is an intelligent but also timid bespectacled boy in real life. His alter ego is Zapman, who wears a green costume and is armed with a Zapp-A-Rama gun, which really is a water pistol, though he can be seen holding another kind of toy gun. Charley's nemesis is the local school bully George.
- Lily Duncan ("Princess Giant") (voiced by Carrie Finlay) – One of Mona's best friends. She has a timid and slightly paranoid personality at times, but she is still helpful to the team. Her alter ego is Princess Giant, who wears a long blond wig topped with a crown and holds a kind of cat plushie.
- Mr. and Mrs. Parker (voiced by Marcel Jeannin and Carole Jeghers) – Mona's parents. Mrs. Parker is shown to be the stricter of the two, while Mr. Parker is more light-hearted and somewhat clumsy, as he is more likely to believe what Mona thinks in her imagination.
- Angela Smith (voiced by Tia Caroleo) – Mona's snobby rival, she is a rich girl who frequently flaunts her wealth to her classmates. She also regularly enlists George in her schemes to cause problems for Mona. Her parents won the lottery, explaining her sheer wealth and her resulting spoiledness.
Recurring
- Madeleine Gotto (voiced by Jennifer Seguin) – Mona's teacher. She is very stern, yet also has a habit of falling in love easily. She is often exasperated by Mona's strange ideas and arguments for supernatural occurrences which are ordinary events.
- Principal Ivan Shawbly (voiced by Rick Miller in seasons 1–3; Stephen Spreekmeester in season 4) – The strict principal of Mona's school, St. Faith's Elementary. He easily grows tired of Mona's behaviour and is quick to discipline her.
- Lawrence (voiced by Michael Yarmush) – Friend of Mona and the gang, and student at St. Faith's Elementary.
- Officer Halcroft (voiced by Gary Jewell in seasons 1–3; Richard Dumont in season 4) – The chief of local police. He's become used to Mona's antics, and is quick to offer a more rational explanation to Mona's stories which, ironically, Mona finds rather outlandish and unbelievable.
- George Jamell (voiced by Oliver Grainger in seasons 1–3; James Harbour in season 4) – A school bully, he is a mean boy who picks on other kids at school, especially Charley. He is friends with Angela, and often does the job for her schemes, essentially serving as her right hand man.
- Mayor Rosenbaum (voiced by John Stocker) – The town's mayor.
- Mrs. Bryerson (voiced by Sonja Ball) – Mona's elderly neighbour. She has a poodle named Blitzy.
- Reverend Gregory (voiced by Louis Negin) – The local reverend.
Episodes
There are a total of 65 full episodes of Mona the Vampire. Each episode is approximately 22 minutes long, and each full episode contains two 11-minute episodes. Four seasons of Mona the Vampire were produced. The first season contains 26 full episodes, while seasons 2, 3, and 4 each contains 13 full episodes.
Series overview
Season | Segments | Episodes | Originally released | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First released | Last released | ||||
1 | 52 | 26 | September 13, 1999 | February 14, 2001 | |
2 | 26 | 13 | September 15, 2001 | December 9, 2001 | |
3 | 26 | 13 | February 28, 2002 | June 14, 2002 | |
4 | 26 | 13 | January 26, 2004 | February 22, 2006 |
Season 1 (1999–2001)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by [Note 1] | Storyboard by [Note 1] | Original release date [3][4][5] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Attack Of the Living Scarecrow" "The Robot Babysitter" | Gerald Lewis & Joseph Mallozzi Joseph Mallozzi | Éric Bergeron Jeremy O'Neil | September 13, 1999 |
2 | 2 | "Von Kreepsula Runs Amok" "The Nefarious Computer Virus" | Joseph Mallozzi Gerald Lewis | Olivier Poirette Roberto Curilli | September 18, 1999 |
3 | 3 | "The Miserable Phantom Dog" "Jurassic Parking Lot" | Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz Gerald Lewis | Éric Bergeron Gerry Capelle | September 20, 1999 |
4 | 4 | "The Whirling Void" "There's No Place Like Gnome" | Joseph Mallozzi | Roberto Curilli Mitsuho Sato | September 25, 1999 |
5 | 5 | "The Dreaded Human Spider" "The Living Mannequin" | Kim Segal Thomas LaPierre | Gerry Capelle Éric Bergeron | September 27, 1999 |
6 | 6 | "The X-Change Student" "Red Moon Monsters" | Gerald Lewis Ian Lewis | Roberto Curilli Mitsuho Sato | October 2, 1999 |
7 | 7 | "The Skeleton Cowboy" "The Men in Darksuits" | Jacques Bouchard Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz | Gerry Capelle Éric Bergeron | October 25, 1999 |
8 | 8 | "The Vampire Hunter" "The Sounds of Sirens" | Joseph Mallozzi Jesse Prupas | Mitsuho Sato Roberto Curilli | November 1, 1999 |
9 | 9 | "The Book of the Slimy" "The Sam'n Ella Infiltration" | Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz Gerald Lewis | Gerry Capelle Éric Bergeron | November 8, 1999 |
10 | 10 | "Curse of the Mummy's Tomb" "Freaky the Snowman" | Joseph Mallozzi Gerald Lewis | Mitsuho Sato Roberto Curilli | November 15, 1999 |
11 | 11 | "The Dastardly Dr. Voodoo" "Dancing Underpants Ghoulie" | Amy Jo Cooper Joseph Mallozzi | Gerry Capelle Éric Bergeron | November 22, 1999 |
12 | 12 | "Miss Gotto's Haunted House" "Cry of the Swamp Thing" | Joseph Mallozzi Kim Segal | Mitsuho Sato Stefan Vermullen | November 29, 1999 |
13 | 13 | "Spirit of the Woods" "The Bogeyman Cometh" | Ian Lewis Terry Saltsman | Gerry Capelle Éric Bergeron | December 6, 1999 |
14 | 14 | "The Man with Nine Lives" "Yak of the Yammering Yam" | Gerald Lewis Anthony Guadagno | Roberto Curilli Stefan Vermullen | August 15, 2000 |
15 | 15 | "Small Town" "The Devious Doppelganger" | Jacques Bouchard Gerald Lewis | Zoran Vanjaka Éric Bergeron | August 22, 2000 |
16 | 16 | "Creature from the Depths" "Mona and the Werewolf" | S.M. Molitor Ian Lewis | Roberto Curelli Stefan Vermullen | August 29, 2000 |
17 | 17 | "Garage Sale Genie" "Ghouls and Dolls" | Daniel Baldassi Maureen Neilson & Hugh Neilson | Éric Bergeron Zoran Vanjaka | September 13, 2000 |
18 | 18 | "Flea Circus of Horrors" "Shadow of a Doubt" | S.M. Molitor Natalie Dumoulin | Stefan Vermullen Roberto Curilli | September 20, 2000 |
19 | 19 | "The Fortune Cookie" "Pixies" | Sarah Musgrave & Jason Bogdaneris Amy Jo Cooper | Éric Bergeron Zoran Vanjaka | September 27, 2000 |
20 | 20 | "The Billabong Bunyip" "The Subhuman Substitutes" | Gerald Lewis Jacques Bouchard | Roberto Curilli Stefan Vermullen | October 4, 2000 |
21 | 21 | "Cupid's Mark" "The Lost Pirates" | Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz Lydia Eugene | Zoran Vanjaka Éric Bergeron | February 14, 2001 |
22 | 22 | "Hex of a Dancer" "The Two Magicians" | Ken Ross Ian Lewis | Roberto Curilli Stefan Vermullen | October 11, 2000 |
23 | 23 | "Time Shift" "Timeout" | Kristine Van Dusen Jacques Bouchard | Éric Bergeron Zoran Vanjaka | October 18, 2000 |
24 | 24 | "Bird Boy" "Flower Power" | Gerald Lewis Jacques Bouchard | Stefan Vermullen | October 25, 2000 |
25 | 25 | "Spitting Image" "Fourth Dementia Funhouse" | Jacques Bouchard Gerald Lewis | Zoran Vanjaka Éric Bergeron | November 1, 2000 |
26 | 26 | "Brainwash Boogie" "Von Kreepsula's Return" | Kristine Van Dusen | Éric Bergeron Denis Banville | November 8, 2000 |
Season 2 (2001)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date [6][7] |
---|---|---|---|
27 | 1 | "Dr. Java & Mr. Hyde" "Miss Dewey's Dismal System" | September 15, 2001 |
28 | 2 | "Polyester Power Suit" "The Droll Troll" | September 22, 2001 |
29 | 3 | "Ventrillo-Creeps" "Limo to Loserville" | September 29, 2001 |
30 | 4 | "The Columbus Triangle" "Soccer Sasquatch" | October 7, 2001 |
31 | 5 | "Cyborg Phantas" "Kitten of the Sea" | October 14, 2001 |
32 | 6 | "Witch Watch" "The Hexed Mansion of Agatha Misty" | October 28, 2001 |
33 | 7 | "Sun Worshippers" "Heat Wave" | October 21, 2001 |
34 | 8 | "The Ninja's Curse" "Hal T. Neander" | November 4, 2001 |
35 | 9 | "Shame on the Shaman" "Programmed Pioneers" | November 11, 2001 |
36 | 10 | "Flu-topia" "Chain Letter" | November 18, 2001 |
37 | 11 | "The Baby Charmer" "Monster Trash" | November 25, 2001 |
38 | 12 | "Granite Goliath" "Intergalactic Space Campers" | December 2, 2001 |
39 | 13 | "Potato Fish Creepers" "It's All Relative" | December 9, 2001 |
Season 3 (2002)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date [8][9] |
---|---|---|---|
40 | 1 | "The Black Hole" "Waxing Nostalgic" | February 28, 2002 |
41 | 2 | "Lil' Freddy Frosty" "Attack of the Bratty Vamp Pack" | March 1, 2002 |
42 | 3 | "The Transformation of Frank Stein" "Taking the Cake" | March 4, 2002 |
43 | 4 | "Terror in Toon Town" "Ghost in the Knight" | March 5, 2002 |
44 | 5 | "All in a Day's Work" "Interchange Intrigue" | March 6, 2002 |
45 | 6 | "Jack Out of the Box" "Crazy Crop Circles" | March 7, 2002 |
46 | 7 | "Toys Are Us" "The Hair Scare" | March 8, 2002 |
47 | 8 | "Mona vs. Ms. Marvelous" "Spelling Bee" | April 5, 2002 |
48 | 9 | "The Horned Horror" "The Legend of Caboose Malloy" | April 8, 2002 |
49 | 10 | "The Cat Lady's Meow" "The Wereclown" | April 9, 2002 |
50 | 11 | "Ghouls Rule!" "The Transylvanian Twist" | May 7, 2002 |
51 | 12 | "Terminate Her" "18 Holes to Oblivion" | May 8, 2002 |
52 | 13 | "The Case of the Moll Troll" "The Alien Magician" | June 14, 2002 |
Season 4 (2004-2006)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by [Note 1] | Storyboard by | Original release date [10][11][12] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
53 | 1 | "Ghastly Gargoyle Galore" "Monkey Sea, Monkey Do" | Kim Segal Jacques Bouchard | TBA | March 15, 2004 |
54 | 2 | "The Wrath of Thor" "The Pied Piper" | Gerald Lewis Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz | TBA | August 25, 2004 |
55 | 3 | "Horrorscope" "The Rescue of Queen Mab" | Kim Segal & Travis M. Williams Gerald Lewis | TBA | August 25, 2004 |
56 | 4 | "The Sharkman Goeth" "Dr. Purrman's Secret Recipe" | Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz Kristine Van Dusen | TBA | Unaired[Note 2] |
57 | 5 | "Atlantis at Last" "Invasion of the Shadflies" | Jacques Bouchard Jason Bogdaneris | TBA | August 26, 2004 |
58 | 6 | "Gotto Robotto" "The Laser Wizard" | Kristine Van Dusen Gerald Lewis | TBA | January 26, 2004 |
59 | 7 | "The Ghost of the Flying Trapeze" "Bowling Gremlins" | Gerald Lewis Kim Segal & Travis M. Williams | TBA | August 27, 2004 |
60 | 8 | "Aliens 1-2-3" "Zapman, Myself and I" | Anne-Marie Perrotta & Tean Schultz Jacques Bouchard | TBA | May 10, 2004 |
61 | 9 | "Would You Like Fries with That?" "The Haunted School Bus" | Michael F. Hamill Kristine Vau Dusen | TBA | February 21, 2006 |
62 | 10 | "Nickelodeon Nightmare" "Ready Steady Yeti" | Jason Bogdaneris Gerald Lewis | TBA | February 22, 2006 |
63 | 11 | "The Sandman" "Von Kreepsula's Day Off" | Kim Segal & Travis M. Williams Gerald Lewis & Kristine Van Dusen | TBA | March 26, 2004 |
64 | 12 | "Rockin' Reptile Roundup" "The Suck-O-5000" | Jason Bogdaneris Sarah Musgrave | TBA | March 10, 2004 |
65 | 13 | "Medusa's Revenge" "The Fearsome Forecasts" | Michael F. Hamill Gerald Lewis | TBA | March 30, 2004 |
Production
Book basis
Mona the Vampire is based on a children's book of the same name that was published in the United Kingdom by Orchard Books in 1990 and was written and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman. The book was the first in a Mona children's book series. Holleyman's original idea of Mona, as represented in the original Mona books, led more towards a girl with a great imagination who, like many children, likes to experiment with multiple different obsessions.
The concept would be retooled in 1995 with the release of a series of Mona the Vampire novels, this time written by Hiawyn Oram, with Holleyman still illustrating. In these books, Mona is now solely infatuated with her vampire superheroine persona. Four novels would be published from the mid-to-late 1990s, and would serve as the basis for the television series.
Television adaptation
The series started development in the mid-1990s. It was originally pitched around to various British networks, but after no success, Ian Lewis, along with his production company, The Farnham Film Company, took the project to Canada, where it was picked up by the CINAR corporation.[13] The series entered development in 1997, and it would soon be greenlit for 26 half-hour episodes in early 1998. Production would officially begin that June; it was the second series to be co-produced by CINAR and Alphanim, following Animal Crackers.[14][15][16][17]
The theme song score was composed by Judy Henderson, who had also helped compose the theme for Arthur, another CINAR production. The lyrics were written by Judy Rothman, though for unknown reasons, she was uncredited. The theme was performed by Quebecoise singer Lulu Hughes. Like Rothman, she was not credited in the actual show, but on the show's official website, she was credited as Loulou Hughes. Her contribution was confirmed by Henderson in 2022.[18]
The series was renewed for a second season containing 13 half-hour episodes in early 2000. Due to the then-ongoing CINAR scandal, Telefilm Canada and the Canadian Television Fund had suspended business with the company. This affected funding for the second season, although Peter Moss, then-president of CINAR, stated that the funding was "not a very high percentage of the budget."[19][20]
A third season, containing an additional 13 half-hour episodes, was greenlit in 2001. After production of the third season wrapped up in spring 2002,[21] production on the series went on a hiatus, before the series was eventually renewed for a fourth season, once again containing 13 half-hour episodes, that fall.[22] Production wrapped up in early 2004.
Reception
Critical response
In a retrospective review from The Arcade, Luka Costello was positive about the show, stating that despite the young demographic, "the show was never too preachy. It had witty dialogue and the simple animation is still admirable. It was definitely the humble origins of my love for the supernatural and that theme song was catchy as hell."[23]
Broadcast and streaming
The series was originally premiered in Canada on YTV on September 13, 1999, and later in France on France 3 on October 30, 2000. For Seasons 3 and 4, the series moved to Tiji. In the United Kingdom, the series aired on Nickelodeon, CBBC, and later on Pop for a brief period.
Despite its success in other territories, the series was never broadcast in the U.S. during its original run, though attempts were made in the early 2000s.[24] In 2009, Cookie Jar launched Jaroo, a streaming service that housed a majority of their animated properties, including the DIC library, which they had acquired the previous year. Mona was available to stream on Jaroo, being advertised as having its U.S premiere on the platform.[25] The streaming service has since been discontinued.
It wouldn't be until 2011 when the series would finally make its U.S. broadcast premiere on This TV, as part of the Cookie Jar Toons children's programming block. The series would premiere on September 26, 2011, and would run until October 27, 2013. The block was discontinued four days later.[26][27]
Currently, the first season is available to stream for free on Tubi. The entire series in full is also available on iTunes, Vudu, and Google Play.
Other media
Home media
During and after the show's run, several DVDs containing select episodes of the series were released, especially by Cookie Jar Entertainment. These DVDs sometimes included extra features, such as episode and language selection settings and voiced character descriptions by child voice actors. The complete first season was later released in North America by Mill Creek Entertainment, which featured select episodes from various Cookie Jar shows, including episodes from Busytown Mysteries, Horseland, Wimzie's House, Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings, Happy Castle and The Wombles.
In the UK, VHS and DVD releases were handled by Abbey Home Media and Direct Source Products.[28]
Website
In 2000, Alphanim, Tiji, and CINAR created a bilingual Adobe Flash-based website under the domain name monathevampire.com. This website featured several games and activities that included characters and settings from the series. The domain had been deactivated by 2016, but archived versions of the site still exist. Due to the discontinuation of the Adobe Flash Player at the end of 2020, archived versions of the website may be inaccessible.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Information taken from the French version of the show. Many English episodes do not credit writers/storyboarders for an individual episode, and they instead credit the entire writing/storyboarding team.
- ^ Only 12 episodes of Season 4 were aired on YTV, as one episode, "The Sharkman Goeth/Dr. Purrman's Secret Recipe", went unaired for unknown reasons. It would eventually air on BBC Kids in Canada, as well as other countries.
- ^ As Fancy Cape Productions Inc. or Fancy Cape IV Productions Inc.
References
- ^ a b "Mona the Vampire". Alphanim. Archived from the original on June 15, 2006. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
- ^ "About". Storymachine. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
- ^ "Mona the Vampire Season 1 Episodes". Tv Guide.
- ^ "Mona the Vampire Season 2 Episodes". Tv Guide.
- ^ "Mona the Vampire". Apple TV.
- ^ "Mona the Vampire Season 3 Episodes". Tv Guide.
- ^ "Mona the Vampire". Apple TV.
- ^ "Mona the Vampire Season 4 Episodes". Tv Guide.
- ^ "Mona the Vampire". Apple TV.
- ^ "Mona the Vampire Season 1 Episodes". Tv Guide.
- ^ "Mona the Vampire Season 2 Episodes". Tv Guide.
- ^ "Mona the Vampire". Apple TV.
- ^ "Let's Talk About Luck". Storymachine. May 28, 2021. Archived from the original on July 30, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ "Cinar targets library opps, classrooms". Playback. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ "Believe it! Cinar pacting with Alphanim for kidvid". Variety. March 17, 1998. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ "1998 Year in Review". Cinar. Archived from the original on November 4, 1999. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ ""MONA THE VAMPIRE(TM) in Production."". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on August 5, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ @judithhenderson (May 28, 2022). "Lulu Hughes" (Tweet). Retrieved May 29, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Cinar says troubles won't slow production". Kidscreen. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ "Quebec Scene". Playback. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ "Cinar seals deals in Japan and Spain". C21 Media. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ "Cinar In Production On Two New Shows". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ "Mona The Vampire - Forgotten Childhood". The Arcade. January 12, 2017. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
- ^ "TV Time". License Global. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
- ^ "Jaroo.com - a Hulu for kids - debuts". Fierce Video. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
- ^ "September 26, 2011". This TV. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
- ^ "October 27, 2013". This TV. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
- ^ "Abbey Home Media Group Announces VHS/DVD Debut of TV's Most Fantastically Fiendish Figure!". Archived from the original on July 9, 2003.
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