It is easy to see how much of an impact the Ninja Turtles have on the world by watching Road Rovers. A 1996 animated film called Road Rovers has a plot line quite similar to The Ninja Turtles. Animals that transform into human-like entities and fight crime are featured in both series.
That served as inspiration for Road Rovers, who used super-dogs to battle crime in their masterwork “Cano-sapiens.” It is a brilliant play on the words “homosapiens” and “canines.” Tom Ruegger, the mind behind Jeff Gordon and Animaniacs, was the show’s creator. It is a brand-new show with its own advantages, but it has the enjoyable and comical aspects of Animaniacs.
The protagonists, who each possessed a unique combination of superpowers, used these to battle villains who were breeding mutant dogs for immoral goals in order to rescue the planet. The dogs also lead quite awesome lives in which they coexist with foreign dignitaries from various nations while defending the globe. The unfortunate fact is that the show only ran for 13 episodes until it was cancelled in 1997.
What The Cartoon Television Series Is All About
The Warner Brothers Animation series Road Rovers came to an abrupt end. On September 7, 1996, Kids’ WB showed the first episode of the programme. It only lasted one season, and on February 22, 1997, the final episode was broadcast. Reruns continued to air until September 6, 1997. From February 7, 1998, to February 7, 2000, the series was shown on Cartoon Network. The mid-1990s pop culture had a big impact on the humour of the show.
Longtime viewers of the programme during its initial run were thrilled when Road Rovers was finally made available on DVD on February 11, 2015. In case any fans wished to access it, it was made available through Warner Archive, a “manufacture-on-demand” service offered by Warner Home Video. You could always watch it online in lieu of that.
“The Road Rovers” were a group of dogs that transformed into anthropomorphic superheroes called Cano-sapiens and battled crime using their unique skills and technology. The build-up to the formation of the Road Rovers started one year before the Road Rovers were founded. A man named General Parvo accosted Professor Shepherd in the town of Socorro, New Mexico, and demanded his experimental transdogmafier (which is a pun on the word transmogrified) technology in return for the Professor’s missing dog.
Professor Shepherd caves, but Parvo tricks him and gives him a bomb that blows up his lab instead. Shephard, who luckily escaped the assault, decides to stop Parvo, who is responsible for the change in regular dogs and how they started to mutate into monsters. Professor decides to hold Parvo accountable and take action. To tackle this new menace, Shepherd chooses five canines from different parts of the world.
When they get to his brand-new, underground lab, he uses his transdogmafier on the five dogs to transform them into “Cano-sapiens,” which were humanoid dogs that resemble regular-looking humans in clothing but still have all the distinguishing characteristics of the canines they originated from, like a tail, fur, distinctive dog ears, and a distinctive dog head. Thankfully, they retain their original personality after the change, which keeps them just as interesting and fun.
In addition to speaking English and behaving like humans sometimes and animals the other times, they have superpowers that ordinary people do not. When they were not busy fighting crime, they would transform back into their canine forms and live with the leaders of their home nations: Shag lives with the President of the Swiss Confederation, Hunter with the President of the United States, Colleen with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Blitz with the Chancellor of Germany. The dogs’ status as the pets of international leaders at least gave the situation an intriguing twist since they occasionally had to use their ‘civilian’ personas to persuade their masters to not go to war with one another.
Later on, it was found that Parvo’s time machine was largely responsible for the historical occurrences. These events include Parvo’s presence as a cat named Boots in the past, his unsuccessful effort to build a transdogmafier leading Scout to transform into Muzzle, Boots turning into Parvo with the assistance of Groomer, Muzzle and Hunter meeting for the first time, and Shag saving Professor Shepherd’s life by alerting him about the bomb that would destroy his lab. That is the basic premise of the show.
Main Characters of the cartoon series
There are 9 main characters in this series. We have the five Cano-sapiens – Hunter, Colleen, Blitz, Exile, and Shag, along with Muzzle and Professor Shepherd. We have the villain General Parvo and his right-hand woman, The Groomer.
Hunter is an American Golden Retriever mix breed dog who Jess Harnell voiced. He is the boss of the Road Rovers gang. Hunter is also notable for being the only Rover whose family showed up throughout the season; in “A Day in the Life,” he sees his mother. Hunter, who is from a farm in Wyoming, where his mother still resides, escaped from a dog pound with Muzzle when the Master (Professor Shepherd) called on him.
He became the right-hand dog of the president of the United States after that and lived with him at the White House once he was certified as a Road Rover. In addition to his super speed, he frequently mentions additional “powers” like super-loyalty, super-trust, and super-luck. He has a kind disposition and seldom ever gets scared or turned off by anything, although occasionally, he may be a touch thick. Like any show, this one also has a romantic angle to it. In this, Hunter is unaware that he and Colleen have love emotions for one another, which keeps things from getting further.
Colleen is the lone female in the gang and a tough collie born and raised in London, Great Britain. She was a stray mongrel that used her fighting skills to drive other dogs away before being taken in by the Master and becoming the British Prime Minister’s pet. Her character was voiced by Tress MacNeille and is proficient in martial arts. She also has medical training. Colleen is renowned for being upbeat with a quick wit and for being composed under duress.
With the exception of Blitz, she gets along well with most of her colleagues and has a colorful sense of humor. Her superpower is her mastery over hand-to-hand fighting maneuvers and martial arts, and she frequently uses the names of well-known people in her battle cries (such as Nelson Mandela). She also serves as the Road Rovers’ field medic, but her driving abilities might use some improvement.
Originally from Germany, Blitz is a male Doberman who Jeff Bennett voices. He is a team player but doesn’t treat others with the respect they deserve, so yes, he does come across as a bit of a jerk sometimes. His razor-sharp fangs and claws, which developed during his days as a junkyard dog, can cut through anything.
The strength of Blitz’s teeth, which he can use to bite opponents, plus his ability to extend or retract them at his whim, give him the superpower to cut through even metal things. He frequently displays the urge to bite the butts or, as he likes to call it, ‘tooshies’ of his adversaries and records each one, saying that when he reaches 1,000 people, he will get himself a new flea collar. Honestly, I support the drive behind this self-reward. He used to work as a garbage yard guard dog before becoming a Road Rover. Blitz joined the German Chancellor in the Reichstag in Berlin after changing jobs to become a Road Rover.
Even though he presents a tough exterior, he frequently displays timidity. His emotions feel the most human out of all of them to me. In the show, he is shown to have romantic sentiments for Colleen as well, which are frequently only addressed with pretended ignorance and swiftly followed by physical aggression on her part. She can’t remember his name until the final episode, which is the running joke in the show not to acknowledge his feelings. Exile is constantly seen telling him to not be weird when he says something odd.
Exile is a male husky from Siberia in the Russian Federation whose real name is Exile Michalovitch Sandusky. He is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson and is an expert at both mending and unfixing things. He is a wonderful comic who regularly mispronounces basic English expressions, such as calling May Day “April Day” instead. Before being chosen by the Master to become a Road Rover, he was a sled dog.
Exile stayed at the Russian president’s home after completing his first assignment as a Road Rover. Exile has the superpower to fire either heat or ice beams from his eyes instantly, and he claims that doing so keeps him warm throughout the cold Russian winters. His talents also include super strength, heat, freezing, and night vision. He also serves as the Road Rovers’ mechanic, and he typically repairs cars that have been damaged in battle.
Shag is voiced by Frank Welker. His character is either a Polish Lowland Sheepdog or an Old English Sheepdog from Switzerland. He is caught at the halfway point between Cano-Sapien and humans, having the ability to walk on just two legs and possessing human dexterity. However, he cannot speak English (even though the others can still understand him). Shag first expressed fear of being picked to be a Road Rover. Shag was chosen because of his fearlessness, yet he is actually the team’s worst coward.
Still, he ultimately came around to the idea of becoming transdogmafied. Shag, however, did not undergo the same transformation that the other Rovers experienced. Instead, all that changed was his size and his ability to stand on his hind legs. He lived with the Swiss president after completing the first assignment.
He is the team’s weapons expert, and frequently employs a bazooka that he consistently shoots in the wrong direction. His fur also appears to have an infinite capacity for storage, which has been used several times to hold food, furniture pieces (some that are larger than himself), and even other Road Rovers. He still prefers to run on all fours, unlike the others. He is the only Road Rover that uses toilet water for drinking and cooking. The others find it gross now that they have been gentrified.
Frank Welker also voiced our beloved Rottweiler Muzzle. He was “Scout,” Professor Shepherd’s dog, who was taken hostage in the first episode itself. Before being exploited as a cano-mutator test subject against his will by Jeffery Otitus on General Parvo’s instructions, he used to live a content life as Scout.
Despite being exposed to the transdogmafier, Scout was not altered by its energies; rather, they made him demented, unstable, and dreadfully vicious. Scout was eventually changed into a crazy dog since the treatment was ineffective. Following his escape, Scout was ultimately apprehended by dog catchers.
He was then thrown into a dog pound, given a mouthpiece covering (thus giving him his new name), and then put into a strait jacket before being transferred to a trolley. Thankfully, Hunter, a fellow prisoner, saved him and returned him to his previous supervisor. Even though Muzzle is shackled for the majority of the time because of his lunacy, he occasionally joins the Road Rovers on their missions despite not being a recognized Road Rover.
Typically, when the squad is in trouble, he is called upon to help. The other Rovers infer off-screen action by Muzzle as horrible acts that even Blitz finds repulsive. At the end of his rampages, he can usually be heard belching with a swollen stomach, suggesting that he has consumed the majority, if not all, of his victims.
The geneticist who created the transdogmafier and the Road Rovers is Professor William F. Shepherd, also known as “The Master,” who was voiced by Joseph Campanella. He is the team’s leader and the source of all of their equipment. He is also the one who transformed and founded the entire team of Road Rovers.
Jim Cummings voiced General Parvo. He is the main villain of the Road Rovers and seeks to overthrow Professor Shepherd and rule the entire planet. He constantly coughs. He was subsequently revealed to have formerly been a cat before transforming into a “Feline-sapien,” which resembles humans far more than Professor Shepherd’s Cano-sapiens. He looks very much like the wrestler Hulk Hogan. The disease in dogs that goes by the name Parvo frequently results in puppy deaths.
The Groomer, who Sheena Easton voiced, is General Parvo’s “largely” obedient aide. She often carries a little hair clipper, although she also occasionally employs additional tools. In order to stop Parvo’s coughing episodes, she also gives him throat lozenges.
The first episode follows the formation of the Road Rovers. We start off with General Parvo, who has stolen the Professor’s dog, Scout, and wants the transdogmafier in return for him. The exchange happens between the two, but Parvo dupes the Professor and gives him a dog cage with a bomb instead. His laboratory blows up, and it is assumed that he is dead. We then fast-forward to one year later.
We hear an ominous voice say it has begun. Following that, we see a cute little dog get transformed into a malicious mutant who then proceeds to eat his owner, who was a sweet, old lady. Clearly, something had to be done about it, so Professor Shepherd searches for dogs to recruit as an omniscient presence. All the five Cano-sapiens plus Muzzle are introduced and recruited. They travel through a pipe into an underground laboratory, where they are then transformed.
The team meets and interacts with one another. After they are transformed, they meet the Professor, whom they refer to as ‘Master.’ The Professor justifies the reason he chose them by talking about their abilities like super speed, powerful jaw, cunning nature, etc. after that, they are sent for their first assignment in Maine, where they must protect a piece of technology, a mutation stabilizer, if in the wrong hands, could cause chaos everywhere. So, the gang hits the road and finds the giant dogs that Parvo is utilizing as his henchmen.
There are battle scenes between the two groups which actually include a lot of crying from the side of the Rovers. However, the Rovers emerge victorious and manage to switch the stabilizer with a bomb, getting revenge on Parvo for their Master.
At the end of the assignment, all the Rovers are placed into the homes of world leaders while Muzzle is welcomed back home by the Professor as Scout.
The second episode starts off with a sinking ship. It turns out that the ship was a US Defender with an important decoder that controls a satellite that was unfortunately stolen. The Rovers are called in for this crisis by the Master, and they must track down the thieves. They leave the laboratory and go to the sea in two different vehicles. For the first time, we see Muzzle on a mission as well. However, it wasn’t that he was invited; rather, he snuck inside the submarine. But it was a good thing as this was an episode that definitely needed Muzzle.
When the group reaches the island where the thieves are hiding, Hunter’s helicopter is attacked by the enemies. Their chopper goes down, but that doesn’t discourage them. In fact, it turns out to be a good thing as Shag discovers the secret lair of the thieves. However, how can things go smoothly at this point? Blitz being the hothead he is, gets himself captured in his quest to prove himself as superior to the others, mainly Hunter. Meanwhile, Hunter makes the game plan and decides to distract the guards at the entrance of the lair by making them chase him while Colleen, Shag, and Exile sneak into the lair. While the guards are looking for Hunter, they end up opening the submarine where Colleen and Blitz had left Muzzle.
In the lair, Blitz can be seen crying and begging for his life. The rest of the group is about to go and save him when they also get captured. Once captured, the Rovers meet the mastermind behind this robbery, Captain Zachary Storm. He wants to destroy the United States and attack ten of their most important locations because he was Court Marshalled for opening fire without direct orders.
Meanwhile, Muzzle sneaks inside and manages to free the Rovers. During the ensuing fight, the Rovers realize that they need someone fierce and reckless to deal with the equally reckless villain. So, they free Muzzle, who then makes Captain Zachary and his team members run away. But the villains dont give up the fight that easily. He decides to blow up the island they are on and kill the Road Rovers. Thankfully, the bunch escapes just in time and manage to save themselves and succeed in their mission.
Production
Warner Bros. created the American animated television series Road Rovers. The first season of the program concluded in February 1997 after its September 1996 Kids’ Wb premiere. The program then debuted on Cartoon Network in 1998 as well, two years after its initial airing. It went on to air on Cartoon Network for the next two years until 2000.
Road Rovers continues to stand out as the best example of a Saturday morning cartoon program from the 1990s. The fact that the program was produced by WB, the company behind Freakazoid!, Pinky and the Brain, and Animaniacs, ensured that it was well written and had a compelling narrative. It was still one of the finest programs of the mid-90s, despite not being as well-remembered as Freakazoid! It drew inspiration from the Ninja Turtles as well, giving us another wonderful show with anthropomorphic animals, in this particular case, dogs.
Cancellation
The Road Rovers was a fantastic program, but it did not last for a very long time. It only had one season and ran for only 13 episodes before it was abruptly canceled. There are a number of reasons for the discontinuation, but the show’s jokes were by far the most common reason. Although the jokes were surprising and amusing for teens, some parents objected to their inclusion in a children’s program. It wasn’t surprising that in the 1990s, the gags were lost on the younger audiences.
Another theory is that Warner Brothers decided to cancel the show over a court case in 1996. In the lawsuit, a man named Blumfield claimed that the Warner Brothers had stolen his idea for a similar show he planned to create called ‘Wing Puppies.’ The only thing that doesn’t add up in this theory is the fact that one can’t find any information about the court case or the show. The only thing that we know for a fact is that there was a court case, but it never evolved into a lawsuit.
Some fans, well, mainly WikiFur, believe that the reason behind the cancellation was that Warner Brothers could not make any merchandise from the show. This is a plausible explanation since companies usually profit off merchandise when it comes to cartoons. They sell toys, video games, and even backpacks and lunch boxes to promote their shows. However, there are no merchandise items for Road Rovers that were ever created, and companies need those profits in order to continue shows. So yes, this theory seems to have some weight when talking about the cancellation of the show.
Another fan theory speculates that the reason behind the cancellation was that the US government wanted to tone down the violence, especially after an increase in violent video games and school shootings. The public was afraid that their children would become criminals or serial killers.
Another speculation is that Warner Brothers was trying to compete with Disney at that time, who had the monopoly in the animated world. They were releasing experimental cartoons to understand which ones worked and which ones didn’t. So, maybe Road Rovers was not getting a good enough rating, which is why they pulled the plug on the show.
Those are the common fan theories that we found. What are some of your theories? Let us know in the comments below!
Interesting Facts About The Show
Along with Detention and Waynehead, Road Rovers had one of the shortest runs of any Kids’ WB! shows, airing for just 13 episodes in one season before being canceled. However, from 1998 to 2000, Cartoon Network did broadcast repeats of it.
The villains from popular shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Manos: The Hands of Fate, Doctor Who, and the original Fallout have the same name as The Master. However, This time the Master does not have a negative connotation. Despite sharing the same voice actor as Parvo in this series, Jim Cummings, The Master is as unlike those characters as you can imagine. Additionally, he is a few years older than some of these villain characters. The Master is also a rather generic title or appellation for a villain. So, the name sharing doesn’t come as much of a surprise but using the same voice actor for the villains does.
Despite having been canceled, the show has not been forgotten by the fans or the Warner Brothers. They have referenced the show many a time in their other cartoons. There was a statue of Hunter in the Sylvester and Tweety mystery series. There was also a scene in the episode Huggbees in Teen Titans Go! Where we see Starfire holding a recording of the Road Rovers in her hands.
All in all, the show was an entertaining one that unfortunately did not live long enough to fulfill its potential. Fans would love to see a reboot of the show like that of the Animaniacs in 2020, but one doesn’t know what the animation department of Warner Brothers is thinking as of now. As far as watching the show is concerned, one can get physical copies of it on Amazon or watch it online on Amazon Prime or AppleTV. Have you seen the show? Let us know what you thought about it or if it brought back any childhood memories!