In 1990, Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) began to air an environmentalism and conservation focused children's edutainment program that ran for six seasons. At the time, owner Ted Turner was dating and later married to actor and activist Jane Fonda.
The resulting cartoon series—Captain Planet and the Planeteers from 1990-1993 then The New Adventures of Captain Planet from 1993 to 1996—was a star-studded affair.
Tom Cruise originally agreed to voice the series hero, Captain Planet, but had to drop out of the project. His contributions were rerecorded by David Coburn.
Whoopi Goldberg, Margot Kidder, LeVar Burton, Tim Curry, Sting, Meg Ryan, Jeff Goldblum, Ed Asner, Martin Sheen, Dean Stockwell, and James Coburn did all lend their voices to the project.
You can watch the series intro here:
The plot centered on five kids from five continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.
The young teens were chosen by Gaia—in Greek mythology the Earth goddess and mother of all life, a.k.a Mother Nature—to command Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Heart via rings she gifted them.
You can watch Gaia—as voiced by Whoopi Goldberg—deciding the time was right for Captain Planet here:
When combined, their individual powers "summon Earth's greatest champion, Captain Planet."
Gaia used her "Planet Vision" in her Crystal Chamber to pinpoint environmental crises, usually caused by Eco-Villains. She'd send the Planeteers—who usually use the solar-powered Geo-Cruiser for transportation to avoid causing pollution themselves—to stop the destruction.
Each episode was followed by at least one "Planeteer Alert" which discussed socio-political issues and how viewers could contribute and be part of "the solution" instead of "the pollution."
The show wasn't subtle in their stance—at all.
A real live-action version—not to be confused with the parody version Funny or Die did with actor Don Cheadle—of Captain Planet and the Planeteers has been rumored for awhile.
Last week, Deadline announced Netflix would stream the series, to be made by Greg Berlanti and Leonardo DiCaprio’s respective production companies, Berlanti Productions and Appian Way.
And conservatives are already concerned DiCaprio will make the show super woke.
While others have conspiracy theories built around the original.
Since 1998, DiCaprio has been a very vocal environmental activist through his Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF). He has focused on climate change, biodiversity conservation, protecting wild habitats, and supporting Indigenous peoples in their conservation and sovereignty efforts.
Few details have emerged yet about the Captain Planet reboot.
But could anyone make Captain Planet more woke?
Have conservatives seen the original?
