The Umbrella Girls

The Umbrella Girls is an American-Canadian animated series produced by John Slope. Produced by Nelvana and Universal Television, the series follows a group of teenage superhero girls who utilize their superpowers from a special kind Umbrella from another planet. the show originally started on Fox Kids on August 9, 1997, before moving to Gingo on November 25, 1998. The series was then put on a hiatus in 2004 and returned production in 2006 by Universal Animation Studios, who replaced Nelvana from the first 4 seasons. The series concluded in 2011 and a reboot has been announced for Peacock (with 9 Story being involved). The series also aired on Boomerang, Qubo via Qubo Night Owl, and Bounce though out the 2010s.

The Umbrella Girls originally started as a short by Nelvana in 1983, and later was remade into the show's pilot episode for "The Toon Hour" in 1995. Though originally Gingo rejected it for being "too girly" so Fox Kids picked up the rights for the show. Following its debut on Fox Kids, the show became an instant hit among the 12 to 16 range group as well as Adults.

On November 25, 1998, Universal Television announced that the show would begin transferring to Gingo. Following the transfer, the show became a hit to younger children as well. Leading to a nomination for several awards. The series has also received several Video Games as well as Manga produced by Bandai.

The series ended on December 11, 2011, with a total of 276 episodes and 12 seasons. Following the show's ending, the series went on as a Manga series aimed at a female audience. as well as a short-lived anime series known as "Umbrella X". Which only lasted for 13 episodes. Bot shows can be viewable on YouTube through the Keep it Weird channel.

The series also got a theatrical movie in 2003 by Universal Studios. Which was released internationally by 20th Century Fox in 2004 to prevent interference with Gingo's other film with a 2004 release: Zina and the Vivid Crew.

Premise
The series follows the adventures of seven teenage girls, all between the ages of 13 and 19 going on chaotic adventures after they've received an umbrella (known as Umbellas) from planet Rainbowful after the planet was taken over by intruders known as "Hydroses". The Hydroses are operated by a sinister white alien known as Master White, who wanted to destroy Earth due to her extreme hatred towards life. One of the girls in particular, Joyful Red, also has her animal friends to assist her. Grupy Kobra (a Cobra), Grandma Butterfly (Butterfly), lil' Tyke (a baby cat), and Crabby Crusteation (a Lobster). Master White also her human assistant (who hates life just as much as her) named Junior Master while dim-witted, he can provide just enough problems to the girls.

The series is also known to subject itself to pop culture references and even had a crossover with fellow Nelvana show "Stickin' Around". Such references they make include but not limited to Star Wars, The Simpsons, Sesame Street, Alien, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Tamagotchi, Batman, and Marvel. The show is also known to be satire at times and make fun of various things. Including Fox News, Disney, and Barney the Dinosaur.

Blooper Reels
At the end of each episode, a 3-minute bloopers roll featuring Joyful Red and her Animal friends. As they talk about the episode overview and combine funny reactions or jokes in it.

Smart Orange's Fact Center
A one-minute segment that appears during the middle of the episode. Smart Orange briefly interrupts the episode telling the viewer info about a certain topic.

Production
The show's production begun as early as 1988. Originally a re-imagining of the 1983 short, Nelvana wanted another studio to join them in production. Originally, they pitched the idea to DIC Entertainment, but they rejected it. But in 1995, Universal Television approached Nelvana wanted to join the production. So they did.

The show started production in 1996 with Universal Television. Following Multimedia's merger with MCA (which would be brought by Universal in 1996, Gingo became the predicted network for the show. However, they rejected the show for being "too girly" for their taste. So they had to decide on another network to air the show on. Universal Television thought that the show should be on the USA Network. However, Nelvana wanted the show to be on Fox Kids. When they pitched the show to Fox Kids, they accepted it.

Following that, the show's original concept was a group of alien umbrellas fighting evil. But that was changed to teenage girls who used umbrellas with alien superpowers to prevent the show from being too weird. Even for Fox Kids. The show's pilot episode, named "Mission Umbella" aired on the prime time slot of February 23, 1997, after The Simpsons. After the airing, the show was met with positive success.

Following that, the show started its run on August 9, 1997, on Fox Kids and then on November 25, 1998, on Gingo. Following the transfer, Gingo added the show to their Saturday morning lineup with a repeat on the following Sunday night. Episodes would also air every Tuesday on Teletoon as well. Starting with Season 5, Universal Animation Studios would replace Nelvana for one season. After that, Nelvana did the animation with O Entertainment co-producing it, replacing DNA Productions.

Main Cast

 * Tara Strong as Happy "Helen" Green. A 14-year old who appears to be the leader of the girls. She gets excited whenever she and the girls go on a mission. She's also an African-American.
 * Her Umbella is green and is ready to fight evil. Though he wishes he was part katana.
 * Jen Taylor as Scared "Sally" Yellow. An 18-year old who appears to be scared of everything. While cowardly, she can express true power. She's also insomatic due to her fear of the dark. She and Confused Cyan are the only adults in the group.
 * Her Umbella is yellow and often helps her to overcome her fears. She often makes funny faces.
 * Susanne Blakeslee as Angry "Amy" Blue. A 13-year old with anger issues. She's rarely happy and hates it whenever someone else is happy. She only likes it when Joyful Red gets happy. She's also rivals with Disappointed Orange as they constantly get into a fight. She dreams of becoming a professional wrestler.
 * Her Umbella is blue and wants her to calm down. However, it never works so she gets mad too.
 * Kath Soucie as Dissapointed "Diana" Orange. A 17-year old that's always sad. She never really finds true joy anywhere and is never satisfied. She enjoys chocolate, though.
 * Her Umbella is Orange and is always there to comfort her at distressful times. She believes in Orange.
 * Lauren Bacall as Intelligent "Irma" Purple. A 15-year old that's notably smart for her age. She wholeheartedly understands that not everyone appreciates her intelligence as she wishes. She can be pretty tomboyish as she tends to enjoy things considered "manly".
 * Her Umbella is notably dumb and he believes that the Sun is a planet. Though despite this, he has his smart moments. He's also surprisingly, the most popular student in Umbrella High due to his dumbness.
 * Jennifer Hale as Confused "Courtney" Cyan. A 19-year old who doesn't really get the vile evil plans of Master White and others.
 * Her Umbella is Cyan and always is out of context. He talks like a pirate and always makes a joke about pirated movies. He even pirated a movie himself.
 * Andrea Libman as Joyful "Janelle" Red. A 16-year old that's more happy than Green. She also has her animal buddies. She is also autistic and can't really understand some stuff properly. She is also notably tall for a 16-year old as she's 6"4 and weighs only 92 pounds. Making her ultra underweight compared to other girls her age.
 * Her Umbella is Red and she is a mere baby. But she ages in the later seasons. She originally has a pink ribbon and a bucked tooth. She becomes a toddler (known as a child in Umbella) in season 4 and a child (known as an adolescent in Umbella) in season 7. But she never has the chance of becoming an adult like the others. Even in Umbrella X.
 * Beth Chalmers as Master White, a sinister alien queen who wants to destroy all life on Earth and Umbrella Planet.
 * She also voices the Big Umbella. A rainbow-colored Umbrella who appears to be the queen of the Umbellas.
 * Adam Hargreaves as King Landon. The main antagonist on planet Earth. He once tried to manipulate Joyful Red into doing his bidding but when she refused, he became allies with Master White. He tends to be very gullible and always falls for pranks.
 * Geo G. As the narrator who speaks at the exposition and conclusion of the episode.
 * Mike Myers as Elf Kid. A rather mischievous elf that's always up to no good. In season 6, he has an alter ego named Santa's Evil Worker.
 * He also voices Grumpy Kobra and Crabby Crusteation.
 * Dakota Fanning as Goblin Girl. The just as mischievous sister of Elf Kid. In season 6, she has an alter ego named Ogre Woman.
 * Mila Kunis as Cuddly Chestnut. A shy, but rather active 17-year old chestnut. She dreams of becoming a queen.
 * She also voices Cactus Boy, Cuddly Chestnut's younger and more hyperactive brother.
 * Christopher Plummet as Kyle A. Kaiju. A Godzilla-type creature who's the former mascot of TV channel The PS (The WB parody).
 * He also voices Trippy Triangle, UEN's mascot who later disappears after Nixar (Pixar) underwent a hissy fit when The ES wasn't on their stations. He later returns as See more TV Network the talking Square.

Broadcast
The Umbrella Girls made its first linear television debut on Fox Kids on August 9, 1997. Once the first season was done, the series moved to Gingo on June 14, 1998. Throughout its run, the show also had reruns air on the USA Network, CBS Kids Show, UPN, The CW, and Qubo through its Night Owl block. Following the show's ending, the show remained on Gingo until September 4, 2012 and March 1, 2013 on Qubo. Following this, the series then aired on Bounce TV's Hop! block from April 28, 2015, until September 1, 2017. The show was last seen on linear television on Universal Kids where it currently airs every Saturday night. The series is also available on Peacock and Nelvana's Keep it Weird! YouTube channel. In Canada, the show made its debut on YTV on May 1, 1998 and ended its run on April 20, 2014. Currently, it airs on Gingo and Corus Network (Formely Red Princess Canada) in Canada. In the UK, the series made its debut on Disney Channel on July 8, 1998, until September 23, 2001. Where the series aired on Gingo from September 24, 2001, until July 4, 2012. The series had reruns air on CBBC from November 11, 2017 until May 30, 2020.

Video games
Numerous video games based on the series have been produced. The first game for the series known simply as "The Umbrella Girls" was released in 1998 on the SNES in Japan and the PlayStation internationally.