Tak and the Power of Juju makes the leap from game consoles to the tube as Nickelodeon premieres its very first original CG-animated television series on Friday, Aug. 31 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). The show will kick off with two back-to-back half-hour episodes on Nickelodeon, with repeats airing on Nicktoons Network the following day at 11 a.m. Nickelodeon will air the series regularly on Sundays at 10 a.m.
Based on the popular Nick/THQ video game, Tak and the Power of Juju follows teenage jungle-boy Tak (voiced by Hal Sparks of Talk Soup fame) and his fellow Pupununu villagers as they deal with their fate as the unluckiest tribe in the world. Their lives are sometimes helped, but more frequently complicated, by the strange and mystical Jujus, magical beings with whom Tak has a special bond. The cast also includes Maurice LaMarche, (Pinky & The Brain), Patrick Warburton (The X’s), Lloyd Sherr (Modern Marvels), Kari Wahlgren (Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!), Dannah Feinglass (Mad TV) and John DiMaggio (Futurama).
In the first premiere episode, ‘Woodiefest,’ the ferocious Woodie creatures are planning to trash the Pupununu village during their annual rampage through the jungle. While the rest of the tribe runs off to hide, Tak, Jeera and Keeko decide to stay behind to fight off the attack using Tak’s Power of Juju. Then, in ‘Loser,’ Tak is so tired of Lok bragging about his heroic feats that he tests his friend with an impossible task that unexpectedly gets him banished by the Chief.
The second half-hour will start with ‘A Shaman’s Shaman,’ in which Tak struggles with controlling his magic and is taken under the wing of a new teacher who is not exactly what he’s cracked up to be. ‘The Gift’ then has Tak visiting the juju marketplace to find the perfect gift for Jibolba’s Shamanic Anniversary, which may be ruined when the magical Motiki doll Tak brings back comes to life and wreaks havoc in the village.
Leading up to the premiere, Nickelodeon will offer additional short form Tak videos on TurboNick, the network’s broadband video service on www.nick.com. The shorts will also be available on Nickelodeon Mobile via various wireless carriers. The premiere episodes will be made available on the site as well, and will stream on Video-on-Demand. Paid downloads of the installments will be available through Nickelodeon’s direct-to-video distribution partner platforms.
Games, videos, character biographies, downloadable screensavers, icons and wallpaper, and other distinctive Tak and Nick.com content can be found at www.nick.com/tak. Fans can also visit Tak in Nicktropolis, where they can choose from a Juju or Pupununu tribe member for their avatar, cast spells, collect Tak items and chat with Jibolba about Juju magic. Nick.com will also launch a Tak themed New Game of the Week entitled Moonstone Madness.
The Tak game franchise was first introduced by THQ in 2003 and has shipped more than 3 million units worldwide. The TV series is produced at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif.
