Katbot (partially found unreleased Disney Channel animated series; 2005)
Katbot was an animated series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and Funny Garbage that was set to premiere on Disney Channel in September 2005, but was never released. The show was based on a web cartoon of the same name, created by Angela Martini.
According to tv.com, Disney's Katbot is a comedy series about a curious, somewhat naïve, fun-loving cat robot named Katbot, from the planet Katatonia, who, as part of her schooling is sent to Earth to study tween culture. By using her hypno-façade, she disguises herself as Katerina Botenski, a foreign exchange student from a small Eastern European country. The only person who knows her secret is her best friend Junior Lebore, the son of her host family. Through her friendships with an eclectic group of earthlings, Katbot experiences life on Earth with a unique and comic perspective.
Cancellation
On June 18th, 2005; Angela Martini, creator of the Katbot comic, posted a (now deleted) entry on her blog in which she revealed her distaste with Disney working on the show. Stating,
A few years ago Katbot was optioned by Disney. We made a pilot. It got shelved for a while, then resurrected into some horrid caricature of what it originally was. To top it off, I was pushed out of the picture. I got the shaft, while all these strangers came in to make my show. It was a very painful time for me.
Katbot was cancelled before its set release date of September 2005, and no episodes were ever aired. Besides 3 short clips, including a few minutes of the pilot, and the intro, no other footage has been released. It is very unlikely that any full episodes will ever surface, due to Angela Martini’s disapproval with the final production.
Episode List
Six episodes are recorded online, all with plots.
Episode | Synopsis | Status |
---|---|---|
1. "Funny Garbage" (Pilot) | This episode begins with Katbot getting ready to take off from her home planet Katonia. Katbot is sent to Earth to learn about "tweenhood. Everyone at school finds her weird. | Lost, Unaired |
2. "Mission Report" (also known as "First Day") | Katbot Finds She has to go to earth to learn about human life. While on earth, Katbot wonders about June's attitude towards her. At school, all the kids seem more interested in the lunch then her, and they think she's weird. Since she's smarter than most of them. At her old planet, she got all the degress in school, so she is very smart. | Lost, Unaired |
3. "Rockin' Meow" | Kat is just begging to adjust to the new setting. She gets into the influence of Rock at her school. Because her two best friends just happen to be in a Rock Group called "Rockin On". Kat begins to follow, thinking this causes her to be known. But soon, she gets so caught up that she finds herself in the Principal’s office. | Lost, Unaired |
4. "Runaway Feline" | After getting totally embarrassed by the school's bully, Latches, Kat thinks over her stay here on earth. She decides to run away. She does, and she finds new friends who are also undercover as earth people. She thinks her and her new friends can actually survive running away, until, a rule is enforced that every runaway animal must go to a shelter. And before it can get any worse Kat wakes up and finds it all was all a dream. | Lost, Unaired |
5. "Mission Report (Code #001)" | Ms Labore, thinks it'd be a good idea if Kat and June got to know each other a little better, so she sends the two to a concert, but when the performer, who June totally adores, talks to Kat instead of her, jealousy comes about. | Lost, Unaired |
6. "Why Do Kats Fall in Love?" | June must bring Katrina along with her to a concert. Katrina could care less, but goes along anyway. After, seeing who's performing, Katrina immediately falls for him, secretly enraging June. However, when Kat gets lucky, and the performer asks her out, June gets mad and accuses her of being a "Man-Stealer". | Lost, Unaired |
Cast
- Anneliese van der Pol - Katbot/Katerina Botenski
- Mayim Bilik - Paula
- Charlie Schlatter - Junior Lebore
- Melissa Greenspan - Marcella Curd
Crew
- Sherri Stoner - executive producer
- Bart Jennett - executive producer
- John Carlin - executive producer
- Melissa Johnson - associate producer (3 episodes)
- Kristin Ellington - co-executive producer
- Sue Hollington - producer
- Stuart Wenschlag - storyboard slugging (one episode)
- Amy Keating Rogers - writer
- Randy Myers - director
- Stephen DeStefano - art director
- Greg Lidstone - animation director
- Lynda Nettleship-Carraher - background artist
- John Giordani - artist
- Tim Shankweiler - background artist
The theme song was performed by indie rock musician John Schmersal, who is best known for his work in bands such as Brainiac, Enon, and Caribou.[1]
Gallery
External Links
- IMDb page for Katbot.
- tv.com page for Katbot.
- Archived link to Angela Martini's blog post.
- John Schmersal's portfolio, where the opening credits to Katbot were found.
- Forum thread covering the cancellation of the show.
- Forum thread with Fall 2005 Programming Info for Disney Channel.
Reference
- ↑ John Schmersal's online portfolio showcasing his work for Katbot. Retrieved 30 Jul '19