Most viewers of the cult cartoon, i.e. kids raised in the 1990s, perfectly remember the entire sequence when the ecological superhero entered the action. “Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart!” – shouted the planetarians gifted with magical rings by Gaia, a group of teenagers from various corners of the world. And now, together, they summoned their champion. Rays of energy merged into a glowing rainbow, and then he appeared. “From your combined powers I rise, Captain Planet!” – our hero announced, and then he beat the scoundrels who wanted to poison the environment and, as a result, kill all the people.
Tom Cruise wanted to play the main role. The cast was full of big names
The series “Captain Planet” taught young viewers about the dangers of environmental pollution. And he also showed them how they can take matters into their own hands and protect the nature around them. And he did it extremely effectively. In the United States itself, no other educational and pro-ecological fairy tale was so successful – the first series, with 113 episodes, was the second longest-broadcast animated series in the country. Children absorbed in the action might not have noticed that the cast of their favorite cartoon included the most famous names in the entertainment industry of that decade.
This may come as a surprise to many people, but for a brief moment, the title character was played by himself. The director of the soundtrack, Marsha Goodman, revealed in a podcast that the famous actor himself volunteered to participate in the project. Cruise even taped a few episodes, but ultimately had to step down from the role. David Coburn played Captain Planet and it is his voice that viewers recognize. We, in turn, heard Robert Czebotar in the Polish version and it was a first-league choice. For context, let us add that he was also the one who dubbed in the 1990s, among others. Sheriff Woody from “Toy Story” from Pixar, Professor Atomus in “The Powerpuff Girls” or Cyclops from “X-men”.
Maybe the audience hasn’t heard of Tom Cruise, but there were other stars in “Captain Planet”. Extremely popular in the 1980s and 1990s, Whoopi Goldberg voiced Gaia, the protective deity of the earth, in the first few seasons. It was from her that the main characters received rings that allowed them to use the power of the elements. Goldberg couldn’t stay for all the seasons. The star of films such as “The Nun in Disguise” and “Ghost” was replaced by Margot Kidder, known from “Superman”. In our case, the dubbing of this character was done by Grażyna Wolszczak herself, the sorceress Yennefer from the Polish adaptation of “The Witcher”.
This is not the end of the attractions. The original soundtrack featured Sting, who played the role of a man named Zarm, for two years. And he did it for the cause, because his character was definitely negative. In turn, the queen of romantic comedies, Meg Ryan, was the first to play Dr. Barbara Blight, or Dr. Pestilence, in a fairy tale, and Jeff Goldblum, who triumphed in the last decade of the 20th century thanks to his role in “Jurassic Park,” took on the role of the mutant Verminous Skumm (half human, half rat). . Charlie Sheen’s father, the star of the cult “Apocalypse Now”, Martin Sheen, played the eco-criminal Chytrus Szlam, and the Oscar-winning James Coburn played the ruthless and environmentally destructive businessman Swindler.
The excellent actor Tim Curry, whom viewers loved for his characteristic roles in such films as “Rocky Horror Picture Show”, “The Hunt for Red October”, “The Three Musketeers” (he was Cardinal Richelieu) and “Charlie’s Angels”, took part in “Captain Planet”. the role of the EVIL – the intelligent computer of Dr. Plague. He also played the terrifying clown Pennywise in the first film adaptation of Stephen King’s “It”.
The names of other cast members of the Polish soundtrack of “Captain Planeta” are also impressive. The best of all Geralt witchers, Jacek Rozenek, provided the voice for one of the main characters, Kwame. This one had a ring with the power of Earth and came from Africa. Piotr Adamczyk played Wheeler with the power of fire from the fourth to the sixth season, while Jacek Braciak was Ma-Tim, who held the ring with the power of heart. The series also starred Tomasz Bednarek (including Jacek Borecki from “Klan”), Robert Tondera, Zbigniew Suszyński and Agnieszka Kunikowska (Princess Fiona from “Shrek” and Triss Merigold from “The Witcher” from CD Projekt Red). In addition, you could also hear in the Polish language version, among others: Piotr Zelt and (the famous voice-over from “30 Tons”).
Considering how popular people took part in dubbing “Captain Planet”, it is hardly surprising that Hollywood has been trying for a long time to turn the animation into a full-fledged live-action film. The first attempts were made in the mid-1990s – a script was even created then. However, the concept was definitely darker, because the action was set in a post-apocalyptic world. The project was lost when the animation company merged with Warner Bros.
The idea came back several more times, in 2007, 2011 and 2013, but none of the concepts came to fruition. In 2011, Nick Corirossi and Charles Ingram managed to write and direct a short comedy film starring Don Cheadle in the title role. In their version, our hero was much more determined to protect the planet, and used his powers to literally kill people who harmed nature. Cheadle (remember, he plays Tony Stark’s friend, Captain James Rhodes, in “Iron Man”) took part in the project somewhat by accident, because with the same crew he shot another skit for the “Drunk History” program, and about Captain Planet himself he didn’t really know anything before.
The idea seemed ridiculous to him at first, but the moment he got into the chair in the makeup room, he began to regret his decision very much. Painted blue, wearing a strange green wig and an even funnier outfit, he despaired and was close to giving up at the last minute. “They showed me his photo and I thought it was idiotic, I didn’t want to do it,” he recalled. Eventually, someone convinced him to play the role, which he did and regretted it almost immediately. “Only later I watched it and it made me laugh so much. It’s funny how many people are talking about it now” – “GQ”.
This was not the last attempt at “Captain Planet”. Things got hot in 2016 when the media reported that the film would be produced by Paramount Pictures and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way production company. The moment seemed perfect, because the actor had just won an Oscar for his role in “The Revenant”, and his involvement in the fight against global warming is no secret. Negotiations were even initiated with film producer Jono Matt and actor Glen Powell, who were to write the script together, with Powell also playing the lead role. However, the project got stuck somewhere in the early stages and became quiet about it.
In the meantime, Glenn Powell gained a lot of sympathy and recognition thanks to his roles in the famous comedy “Matchmakers” and the latest “Top Gun: Maverick”, and as it turns out, he has not forgotten about “Captain Planet”. In 2023, he gave an interview in which he revealed that no one had given up on the project, but they had to wait out a quite turbulent period of structural transformations at Warner Bros. “I think there will be talks about it soon. I know that Leonardo DiCaprio is very interested in this project. I am deeply devoted to it and I think it was great. I really want it to work out. I dream of playing this superhero.” – reported his words
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
