The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (also known as The Misadventures of Flapjack; or simply just Flapjack) is an American animated television series created by Thurop Van Orman for Cartoon Network. It premiered in the United States on June 5, 2008. It stars Van Orman as the voice of Flapjack, a naive young boy who was raised by a whale named Bubbie and is mentored by a crusty old pirate named Captain K'nuckles. Together the trio spend their days in Stormalong Harbor, where most of the show takes place, whilst getting into mishaps on the search for the elusive Candied Island.
Van Orman, who pitched the idea to Cartoon Network as early as 2001, incorporated his own dreams of marine adventures, acquired while living in Florida as a boy, into the series. After three seasons and 46 episodes, the series ended on August 28, 2010. During its run, Flapjack received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, two Annie Award nominations, and one Golden Reel Award nomination.
synopsis[]
setting[]
Most characters live in the fictional city of Stormalong Harbor. The city is built on a series of docks in the middle of the ocean with little surrounding land. It is possible to actually swim underneath the city, which is often done by Bubbie. The wealthier citizens live on more elevated piers which have vegetation-growing land attached to it, while the lower class lives lower in the city. Stormalong also has a sewer system and a series of tunnels. Most inhabitants are sailors of some sort, and sailors and/or pirates are constantly visiting from other lands. Stormalong has a great variety of (often bizarre) shops, including a bar that serves candy instead of alcohol (The Candy Barrel). The city appears quite dystopian, having a high level of crime and loitering, and the only forms of law enforcement are the Dock Hag and a small police force.
plot[]
The series revolves around three main characters: Flapjack, Captain K'nuckles, and Bubbie. Flapjack is a young boy who was raised by a talking whale named Bubbie. Flapjack and Bubbie lead a peaceful life until the duo rescue a pirate by the name of Captain K'nuckles, who tells Flapjack of a place called Candied Island, an island made entirely of candy. Inspired by the adventurous pirate, Flapjack, Captain K'nuckles, and Bubbie get into strange predicaments and "misadventures" in search of candy, Candied Island, and the coveted title of "Adventurer". The three spend most of their time in Stormalong Harbor, their place of residence and home to many strange characters.
characters[]
main[]
- Flapjack (voiced by Thurop Van Orman) - A strange and innocent little boy with two teeth in the top and bottom of his mouth who was found and raised by Bubbie, a talking whale. Flapjack's biological parents are never seen or mentioned, and no explanation is given for their absence. Flapjack is very naïve and oblivious to danger, even though he is easily caught up in perilous situations. He holds K'nuckles in extremely high regard, with his affection for the captain sometimes bordering on obsession. His catchphrase is "Adventure!" (said whenever excited). He is voiced by series creator Thurop Van Orman. During the ending of the final episode, Thurop's son Leif plays the role of Flapjack. Flapjack's original voice actor was meant to be Paul Reubens, but Reubens never showed up to any recording sessions, so Van Orman voiced Flapjack himself.
- Captain K'nuckles (voiced by Brian Doyle-Murray) - An old Irish captain who claims to be the greatest adventurer the world has ever known. Nowadays, he prefers to nap and drink maple syrup, while telling outrageous tales of past adventures and getting Flapjack wrapped up in his high seas hi-jinks. In reality, his stories are either completely false, or nowhere near as adventurous or amazing as he leads Flapjack to believe. He may not be an entirely incompetent adventurer however, as he was able to steal the Mermaid Queen's heart and successfully escape her guards in "Gone Wishin'". He is a candy addict; he will do whatever it takes to get his hands on candy. Because of this, he is incredibly selfish, putting the well-being of himself and the acquisition of candy above all else. Because of his often selfish, rude, and openly villainous behavior, K'nuckles has earned the open hostility and disrespect of nearly everybody in Stormalong, but is still respected by other pirates. Although he has a habit of taking advantage of Flapjack for his own needs, he is actually fond of him and will often attempt to get him out of trouble when a scheme of theirs goes too far. He also defends Flapjack when others try to deceive him, something that he does on a regular basis. Most of his body is composed of wood: his hands are wooden, his legs are pegs and his behind (his "sittin' muscle", as he calls it) is a wooden board. He is also made of parts stolen by other pirates. Because of his artificial body, he makes mechanical noises when he moves. K'nuckles spends most of the adventures with Flapjack trying to find Candied Island. Flapjack often has to defend him when he is in trouble. During the ending of the final episode, Thurop Van Orman portrays live-action K'nuckles.
- Bubbie Bubbie (voiced by Roz Ryan) - An anthropomorphic whale, she is Flapjack's devoted, adoptive single mother. Bubbie serves as the primary home and transport of both Flapjack and K'nuckles. She frequently disapproves of Flapjack's desire for adventure, but will always be won over. As told in "Oh Brother", she found Flapjack at sea in a bed of seaweed. Bubbie and K'nuckles frequently disapprove of each other's actions, especially concerning 'adventure'. She believes K'nuckles to be irresponsible, lazy, and a bad influence on Flapjack. However, Bubbie is classified as a hypocrite by K'nuckles because of how she has a consistency of being irresponsible and rule-breaking herself. It is revealed in "100 Per Census" that Bubbie's last name is the same as her first name. Flapjack and K'nuckles live in her mouth.
Recurring[]
- Peppermint Larry (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - The owner and manager of The Candy Barrel, the only place in Stormalong where adventurers can get candy besides the 99 Pence Store (with the exception of the Candy Trough, only seen in one episode). Peppermint Larry is shown as a generally nice person, but can also be hasty and selfish at times. Peppermint Larry is lonely and unsocial, so he made a woman of candy named Candy Wife; though he has an unattractive adopted daughter named Candy. He loves Candy Wife as if she were real, while most other residents of Stormalong "played along" to humor him; until the episode "Just One Kiss," the show was deliberately vague as to whether or not she was actually "alive" or a delusion in Larry's mind. He often buys her candy rings telling everyone she has a taste for expensive items. It is also shown he hates pickles, as when he was stranded on Pickle Island and when Candy Wife put pickle juice in his drink to strike back at Larry, who exclaims, "Pickle juice? I don't even like pickle juice!" He was once fired by the Dock Hag because he was using dead rats as puppets, and after wanted to be called "Mr. Larry." Larry has a bit of a grudge against K'nuckles, partially because of how K'nuckles is constantly bringing Flapjack in to the Candy Barrel without any money, but mostly because of K'nuckles' love interest in Candy Wife, which is revealed in "Love Bugs."
- Doctor Julius Barber (voiced by Steve Little) - The current doctor and barber of Stormalong. He is not only a doctor and a barber, but also a certified candyologist. Like many characters in the show, Doctor Barber has an odd, unsettling demeanor. His driving ambition is to perform surgery on and give hair cuts to as many people as possible. It is unclear whether his drive to perform surgery is motivated by his desire to help his patients or is caused by a terribly sadistic nature. His obsession with surgery leads him to always advise the simplest medical problems be addressed with a surgical procedure (much to the denizens chagrin). In an early episode, it is revealed that he feeds the leftover hair from his clients to an odd monster that lives under his barber shop. He seems to have a very secretive lifestyle that is far outside of what Flapjack and K'nuckles know. Doctor Barber sometimes gets shipments in from Candied Island. Flapjack sometimes helps Doctor Barber with his insane shenanigans, often without understanding what Doctor Barber is really up to. Doctor Barber appears to live with his mother, though she resides in a dresser drawer and may simply be a voice Barber hears in his head a la Norman Bates in the film Psycho. Real or not, she seems to nag him about everything. He is often quoted to say, "Hmmm, yes."
- Dock Hag (voiced by Daran Norris) - The law enforcer of the Stormalong dock. She is portrayed as a semi-old woman with obvious obesity, and dark brown hair. She is seen to have a crush on K'nuckles, making a doll of him out of his "dock tickets". She never shows this outside of her home, and is usually cold and bitter to everyone who comes in contact with her. She has a rotten nephew named Lawrence, who is almost as mean as she is (though he plays tricks on people rather than just acting mean). It was shown that when she has to fill her ticket quota, she gives them to K'nuckles. She gives tickets to him even though he isn't doing anything and makes up rules so that she can give him more tickets. She was temporarily fired in "Mayor May Not" but it was never stated that she was rehired, implying that she just enforces the rules and writes her tickets for her own amusement and enjoyment. She unofficially won the beard contest and the hand of Peppermint Larry's ugly adopted daughter, Candy, and there are times when the two of them can sometimes be seen together.
- Sally Syrup (voiced by Jackie Buscarino) is a young girl who sells seashells in Stormalong Harbor. Her name was influenced by the old nursery rhyme 'Sally sells seashells by the sea shore'. Flapjack seemed to have a crush on her (he was producing "sweethearts" that popped out of his head whenever someone mentioned Sally, which Captain K'nuckles and Peppermint Larry sold for profit). The sweethearts turned out to be Blood Gnats, which Doctor Barber reveals to the entire Candy Barrel. When Flapjack realizes he is not in love with her, Sally sadly asks, "You, you don't love me?" even though she had displayed disgust at the prospect earlier. As she departs, Flapjack is seen taking off his scarf and waving it at the ship, shouting, "Farewell, Sally Syrup! I don't love you!" Sally answers, waving her own handkerchief at him, "I don't love you too!" Flapjack then sighs dreamily, indicating that, despite everything, he might love Sally Syrup. By the end of the episode she drifted away to Blood Island for more shells and to get rid of the Blood Gnats. Then in "The Return of Sally Syrup", it is found that Sally Syrup's father is The Professor and niece of The Inventor and she thought Stormalong Harbor was boring, until Flapjack tried to show her how fun it could be there. When she had to leave she said she actually did have fun. She and Flapjack shared a moment before she had to leave, when she was in the air and flying away she said, "The best part about today, was spending it with you" (speaking to Flapjack). When he asked, "Really?" she answered, "No, just kidding! Goodbye dummy!" although this could've just been an act to keep up her reputation. Flapjack then said "There goes my heart."
- Eight-Armed Willy (vocal effects by Richard McGonagle) – An extremely large Giant Pacific Octopus with a cut sticking out of his head, resembling a hole. In "Skooled", Miss Leading dressed up like him to help Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles learn their left and rights. In "Willy! (Or Won't He?)", Flapjack tried to capture him with a group of people from Stormalong's only newspaper so that Flapjack could prove to Patch that he was an adventurer and so that they can get more ink for the newspaper, but as it turned out, Willy was happy to give them ink and also helped Flapjack with his bet. Willy is shown to be larger than 100 ft. and is constantly making it difficult for Flapjack and K'nuckles to steal candy. Aside from Candied Island, Flapjack and K'nuckles attempt to get candy from Willy's secret stash of candy, located in Willy's lair. Willy has an eye patch over his right eye due to blindness, and is shown to have terrorized Stormalong for years, as he is probably the reason for the Sea Monster Alarm. He is shown to be antagonistic, but he seems to care for Flapjack.
- The Sailors
- Patch (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) - A moustached white sailor who hangs out with Thomas.
- Thomas Hatch (voiced by Kent Osborne) - A big-nosed white sailor with a bad temper. In most of the episodes he appears in, he is seen walking off-screen after being upset by someone, and the other sailors try to comfort him.
- Satch - A black sailor who hangs out with Thomas.
- The Inventor (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a man who invents stuff to force child labor and is also the dastardly brother of The Professor. He invented a whale named W.O.O.S.H, which was designed to force children to help him achieve the goal of fastest thing in the Seven Seas. He invented the camera, but it is also powered by kids (having one of the kids draw whatever he saw). He is classed as a villain because he enforces child labor and is vengeful against Flapjack and K'nuckles, but sometimes he acts as if he weren't as bad as he seems (e.g. when he tried to help Flapjack and K'nuckles escape an overweight constable on a bicycle by offering them several inventions which they turned down).
- Sea Urchins (voiced by Jeff Bennett and Kevin Michael Richardson) – Flapjack uses all of the polish Bubbie uses on her bells, so K'nuckles takes Flapjack to the other, bad side of Stormalong Harbor to get more. The duo encounter poor street urchin kids who demand their sea urchin back but Flapjack calls them sissies and the urchins track him down and try to fight Flapjack, only to be stopped by an angry Bubbie who threatens to flatten them if they come near him again. He invites them over for dinner and shelter & the urchins reward them with a song and dance routine. The next morning, however, they discover the urchins have taken off with their possessions, including Bubbie's prized bell collection. Flapjack and K'nuckles track them down, and the urchins challenge them to a dance-off. When the urchins' star dancer, Cheeks, takes a fall, the urchin's father steps in to intervene and accuses the urchins of killing his son and calls Jerry, who is the father of the urchins' leader, but then recognizes K'nuckles long-standing idol status in the bad part of Stormalong Harbor for his ability to "Do nothing for nobody". In the end, the urchins and their fathers give the bell collection back and Flapjack invites them inside Bubbie, who can't seem to take many people into her mouth. (Note: At the part of the episode where Bubbie intercepts the urchins' attempt to "get" Flapjack, Cheeks calls the urchins' leader "Ricky", when it is later revealed that his real name is "Oliver".)
- Lady Nicklebottoms
- Charles
- Lolly Poopdeck
- Captain Handy
- Slippery Pete
list of episodes[]
Shorts (2007)[]
These shorts were shown as part of Cartoon Network's Wedgies in 2008, and have a shorter length (about five minutes) than a standard episode (about 22 minutes, without commercials).
| No. in series | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| S01 | "Flagship" | July 27, 2007 | |
| Flapjack finds Peppermint Larry sending messages to ships offshore using signal flags, which Flapjack imitates with disastrous results. | |||
| S02 | "Fishmonger" | August 3, 2007 | |
| K'nuckles tries to haggle-free fish from a shop owner, while Flapjack earns extra money entertaining the crowd. | |||
| S03 | "Sea Sick" | August 10, 2007 | |
| Flapjack keeps jumping into the sea, only to be tossed back out again. When K'nuckles sees this, he says the sea is sick of Flapjack. | |||
| S04 | "I Flushy my Brushy" | August 17, 2007 | |
| Captain K'nuckles convinces Flapjack that a true adventurer doesn't brush his teeth. | |||
| S05 | "Starry Night" | August 24, 2007 | |
| Flapjack keeps bothering a tired Captain K'nuckles about the stars. | |||
Pilot and "Captain and ToeNeil"[]
"Captain and ToeNeil" is the name incorrectly used for the pilot short that was supposed to originally air as part of Cartoon Network's Wedgies. After it was canceled it was advertised as a bonus feature on the Flapjack, Volume 1 DVD; however, it was not on the DVD when it was released. Series creator Thurop Van Orman later asserted that "Captain and ToeNeil" was a regular short and not the pilot. A short clip of the pilot was shown during an interview with Thurop on Cartoonnetwork.com. As of 2011, "Captain and ToeNeil" has only aired in France, the UK, and Poland during commercial breaks.
| No. in series | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0a | "Pilot" | May 7, 2007 | |
| Flapjack and Bubbie meet K'nuckles. Flapjack proves that he is an adventurer by beating Eight-Armed Willy at arm wrestling. | |||
| 0b | "Captain and ToeNeil" | May 7, 2007 | |
| K'nuckles is cutting his toenails; Flapjack is collecting them to make a ship out of toenails. After Flapjack makes K'nuckles drink whale milk, his toenails grow again. | |||
Season 1 (2008–09)[]
The first season of 20 episodes officially premiered with "Several Leagues Above the Sea/Eye Sea You" on June 5, 2008, and ended with "Tee Hee Tummy Tums" on July 23, 2009. The segment "That's a Wrap" aired as a sneak peek on May 26, 2008.[1] "Candy Cruise Blues", and "My Guardian Angel is Killing Me!!/Dear Diary" were shown on Comcast On Demand several months before their actual air dates. This is the longest season of the show with each half-hour episode containing 2 11-minute segments.
| No. in
series |
No. in
season |
Title | Written and storyboarded by | Story by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | 1a | "Several Leagues Under the Sea" | Thurop Van Orman and J. G. Quintel | TBA | June 5, 2008 | |
| After Flapjack brags about Bubbie's speed, he ends up involving himself, K'nuckles, and Bubbie in a race through the Sea of Teeth against an evil inventor and his mechanical Alpha-Whale. | ||||||
| 1b | 1b | "Eye Sea You" | John Infantino and Patrick McHale | TBA | June 5, 2008 | |
| While doing their laundry K'nuckles and Flapjack decide to spy on Bubbie, to find out what she does all day. | ||||||
| 2a | 2a | "Kid Nickels" | Mike Roth and Pendleton Ward | TBA | June 12, 2008 | |
| K'nuckles bets Flapjack in a poker game, resulting in the two having a falling-out. K'nuckles replaces Flapjack with a young boy named Kid Nickels, while Flapjack becomes a banker's apprentice. K'nuckles ends up missing Flapjack and challenges the banker to win him back. | ||||||
| 2b | 2b | "The Sweet Life" | John Infantino and Patrick McHale | TBA | June 12, 2008 | |
| Flapjack and K'nuckles befriend the richest lady in Stormalong, Lady Nickelbottoms, to steal from her mansion (which is made from candy). When their plans go awry, K'nuckles finds himself challenging Lord Nickelbottoms in a candy-based duel to the death. | ||||||
| 3a | 3a | "Several Leagues Above the Sea!" | Kent Osborne | TBA | June 19, 2008 | |
| The evil inventor's twin brother builds a "Grand Flying Contraption" to impress Bubbie, on whom he has a crush. However, when Bubbie does not return the same feelings (she sees him as a friend, rather than a love interest) he becomes very sad. Because of this, Flapjack and crew are inadvertently led into danger. | ||||||
| 3b | 3b | "That's a Wrap!" | J. G. Quintel | TBA | May 26, 2008 | |
| In a scheme to trade wrappers with Peppermint Larry in exchange for candy, K'nuckles and Flapjack search for a "+" because Peppermint Larry says he will give them 100 pieces of candy in exchange for it. Flapjack catches K'nuckles trading in wrappers for candy and eating it all, which results in the two having a falling-out. K'nuckles goes into the Candy Barrel and sneaks into a room and discovers that Peppermint Larry wants the "+" (which K'nuckles discovers is actually an "x") for his map to Candied Island made out of candy wrappers, which will show him where Candied Island is located. K'nuckles runs out to tell Flapjack and Flapjack rips up the x, mistakenly thinking K'nuckles has come to apologize. K'nuckles tells Flapjack what is going on and Flapjack is horrified. So they take a wrapper and draw an x on it and give it to Peppermint Larry for candy. Peppermint Larry ends up on Pickle Island instead of Candied Island. | ||||||
| 4a | 4a | "Shave and a Haircut... Two Friends!" | John Infantino and Kent Osborne | TBA | June 26, 2008 | |
| When Captain K'nuckles believes he has found a map to Candied Island, he wants Flapjack to read it to reach their destination. However, Flapjack (in dire need of a haircut) cannot. They go to Doctor Barber for a haircut, only to find that the barber has stolen the map. | ||||||
| 4b | 4b | "Cammie Island" | John Infantino and Patrick McHale | TBA | June 26, 2008 | |
| Captain K'nuckles and Flapjack stow away on a ship that they believe will take them to Candied Island. Instead, they end up on the mysterious Cammie Island; Flapjack befriends the misunderstood (and lonely) monster of the island. | ||||||
| 5a | 5a | "Skooled" | Mike Roth and Pendleton Ward | TBA | July 3, 2008 | |
| When Flapjack thinks he's unable to tell directions, he and K'nuckles decide to go to school. But K'nuckles finds himself unable to keep up with the other students and later plans to steal the candy rewards that the teacher gives out. However, he finds out something strange about the school. | ||||||
| 5b | 5b | "Snarked" | Brett Varon | TBA | July 3, 2008 | |
| When they assume that Bubbie has been kidnapped by a group of foreign sailors known as the Snarks, Flapjack and K'nuckles sneak aboard their ship to locate her. | ||||||
| 6a | 6a | "Foot Burn" | Brett Varon | TBA | July 10, 2008 | |
| Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles suffer from a severe case of foot burn (sunburned feet) after sleeping in the sun. On their quest to treat it, they discover a hideous trolley driver whom K'nuckles knew from his past. | ||||||
| 6b | 6b | "Hand It Over" | John Infantino and Patrick McHale | TBA | July 10, 2008 | |
| Captain K'nuckles is accused by a pirate captain of stealing his hand, leading Flapjack to believe that K'nuckles is nothing but a liar. This puts a strain on their friendship, causing everyone else believes that K'nuckles stole from them. | ||||||
| 7a | 7a | "How the West Was Fun" | Mike Roth and Pendleton Ward | TBA | July 17, 2008 | |
| For Flapjack's birthday K'nuckles, Bubbie, and Flapjack sail west in search of Candied Island. | ||||||
| 7b | 7b | "K'nuckles is a Filthy Rat" | Kent Osborne | TBA | July 17, 2008 | |
| Flapjack adopts a rat he rescues from a flood and names it K'nuckles II, but his new pet ends up infecting everyone in Stormalong with the plague. | ||||||
| 8a | 8a | "Sittin' Muscle" | Kent Osborne | TBA | July 24, 2008 | |
| Flapjack, Captain K'nuckles, and Bubbie journey to the Bottom of the World to reclaim K'nuckles' long-lost "sittin' muscle" (his buttocks). | ||||||
| 8b | 8b | "Knot Funny" | Mike Roth and Pendleton Ward | TBA | July 24, 2008 | |
| When Captain K'nuckles believes he has accidentally cursed Flapjack with the inability to speak he tries to find a cure, only to discover it to be a ruse by Flapjack to attend the local Knot Festival. | ||||||
| 9a | 9a | "Lookin' for Love in All the Wrong Barrels" | Mike Roth and Pendleton Ward | TBA | July 31, 2008 | |
| After relating a tale that reveals why he doesn't trust women Captain K'nuckles ends up falling in love with his own reflection, believing it to be a beautiful woman. | ||||||
| 9b | 9b | "Beard Buddies" | Mike Roth and Pendleton Ward | TBA | July 31, 2008 | |
| When Peppermint Larry hosts his annual Adventure Beard-Off Contest Captain K'nuckles enters the contest, with Flapjack pretending to be his beard. | ||||||
| 10a | 10a | "Pun Times with Punsie McKale" | John Infantino and Patrick McHale | TBA | August 7, 2008 | |
| Flapjack finds out Peppermint Larry is preparing for the Stormalong Pun-Off, in which he will compete against comedy legend Punsie McKale. After Flapjack and Larry are knocked out by Punsie's puns, K'nuckles steals the show. | ||||||
| 10b | 10b | "Balance" | Brett Varon | TBA | August 7, 2008 | |
| Flapjack learns to balance a board on the waves (surfing) and becomes Stormalong's biggest film star. | ||||||
| 11a | 11a | "Mechanical Genie Island" | Mike Roth and Brett Varon | TBA | August 14, 2008 | |
| Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles get stranded on an island inhabited by a mechanical genie; after fishing for food, they discover that not everything is as it seems. | ||||||
| 11b | 11b | "Revenge" | Thurop Van Orman and J. G. Quintel | TBA | August 14, 2008 | |
| Captain K'nuckles tells Flapjack that the more enemies an adventurer have, the greater adventurer he is. This results in Flapjack going on a quest to make enemies and all his plans backfiring. | ||||||
| 12a | 12a | "Oh Brother" | John Infantino and Patrick McHale | TBA | August 21, 2008 | |
| Desperate to find a younger sibling after Captain K'nuckles calls him "a baby" out of annoyance, Flapjack asks Bubbie where babies come from and mistakenly adopts a duck as his new "baby brother". | ||||||
| 12b | 12b | "Panfake" | J. G. Quintel and Kent Osborne | TBA | August 21, 2008 | |
| When the Candy Barrel is shut down by the Dock Hag due to a misunderstanding, Peppermint Larry tries his hand at puppetry. He eventually finds success with "The Amazing Adventures of Pancake" – a spoof of Flapjack and his adventures, much to Flapjack's dismay. | ||||||
| 13a | 13a | "Lead 'Em and Weep" | Mike Roth and Pendleton Ward | TBA | December 4, 2008 | |
| Believing K'nuckles to be a bad influence Bubbie tells Flapjack to stop following the pirate, but to lead him instead. Unfortunately, after taking the advice of an animal trainer Flapjack accidentally hypnotizes K'nuckles into believing he is a seal. | ||||||
| 13b | 13b | "Sea Urchins" | Alex Hirschand John Infantino | TBA | December 11, 2008 | |
| When Bubbie sends Flapjack and K'nuckles to get shelf polish on the "bad side" of town, they get into trouble with a group of alley kids and ultimately are challenged to a dance-off to get their possessions back. | ||||||
| 14a | 14a | "Whale Times" | Kent Osborne, Alex Hirsch, John Infantino,
Steve Little, Pendleton Ward, and Cindy Morrow |
Steve Little | February 12, 2009 | |
| Bubbie falls in love with a whale named Harvey, who kidnaps Captain K'nuckles and Flapjack to work in his factory on Laundry Island – unknown to Bubbie, who thinks they are ignoring her. | ||||||
| 14b | 14b | "Love Bugs" | Patrick McHale and Somvilay Xayaphone | TBA | February 12, 2009 | |
| Flapjack denies he is in love with Sally Syrup, despite the little red hearts that pop up around his head. | ||||||
| 15a | 15a | "Sea Legs" | Pendleton Ward and Alex Hirsch | TBA | March 5, 2009 | |
| After Flapjack finds a pair of legs adrift at sea, Captain K'nuckles uses them to terrorize the people of Stormalong Harbor. However, when a sea monster's torso comes to reclaim the legs a battle for ownership ensues. | ||||||
| 15b | 15b | "No Syrup for Old Flapjacks" | Patrick McHale and Somvilay Xayaphone | TBA | March 12, 2009 | |
| Flapjack is told by Bubbie the origin of his name before getting his first "special flapjacks". However, Captain K'nuckles forbids Flapjack from eating pancakes without syrup and the two set out to solve the recent syrup shortage. | ||||||
| 16a | 16a | "Plant Man" | Kent Osborne | TBA | March 19, 2009 | |
| When Flapjack discovers some fresh fruit (which hasn't been seen in years) and Captain K'Nuckles eats it, the two head to an island to get some more but a mysterious plant man keeps getting in the way. | ||||||
| 16b | 16b | "Fish Heads" | John Infantino and Ghostshrimp | TBA | March 26, 2009 | |
| The Dock Hag catches Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles littering and sentences them to community service collecting fish heads. Doctor Barber offers to pay them for the heads (much to their delight), but they soon discover his true intentions for the fish heads. | ||||||
| 17a | 17a | "Something's Amiss" | John Infantino and Kent Osborne | TBA | June 11, 2009 | |
| Flapjack keeps getting mistaken for a girl so he and Captain K'nuckles attempt to literally "man him up", only to discover that his voice is the problem. | ||||||
| 17b | 17b | "Gone Wishin'" | Pendleton Ward and Alex Hirsch | TBA | June 11, 2009 | |
| Captain K'nuckles steals a mermaid queen's heart filled with wishes (in the form of candy) so he and Flapjack can go to Candied Island, but they quickly misuse the wishes and learn a terrible secret about the mermaid. | ||||||
| 18a | 18a | "Ben Boozled" | John Infantino and Ghostshrimp | TBA | June 18, 2009 | |
| Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles are swindled by a mysterious man named Ben Boozle and are forced to work on his ship until Flapjack can achieve the rank of captain. | ||||||
| 18b | 18b | "Candy Cruise Blues" | John Infantino and Ghostshrimp | Kent Osborne | June 25, 2009 | |
| Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles sneak aboard a candy cruise ship, but accidentally anger Poseidon when they destroy the ship's figurehead. | ||||||
| 19a | 19a | "My Guardian Angel is Killing Me!!" | Pendleton Ward and Alex Hirsch | TBA | July 2, 2009 | |
| Flapjack is dubbed Captain K'nuckles' guardian angel by Bubbie but when Flapjack annoys him with constant protection, K'nuckles fakes his own death to have peace. | ||||||
| 19b | 19b | "Dear Diary" | Patrick McHale and Somvilay Xayaphone | TBA | July 9, 2009 | |
| When Captain K'nuckles and Bubbie read Flapjack's secret diary, Flapjack decides to live like a hermit on a remote island to keep his secrets safe. | ||||||
| 20a | 20a | "Diamonds in the Stuff" | Pendleton Ward and Alex Hirsch | Kent Osborne | July 16, 2009 | |
| Taunted by a rich boy for being poor, Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles search for diamonds that the rich boy claims are in the sewers of Upper Stormalong Harbor. | ||||||
| 20b | 20b | "Tee Hee Tummy Tums" | Patrick McHale and Somvilay Xayaphone | Kent Osborne | July 23, 2009 | |
| Flapjack learns from Captain K'Nuckles about a strange man who trades combs in exchange for candy. After finding the man's family is in a similar situation to his, Flapjack helps the man (Tee Hee Tummy Tums) sell his combs. | ||||||
Season 2 (2009–10)[]
Season two (also consisting of 20 episodes) began on July 30, 2009, with "Jar She Blows!/Behind the Curtain", and ended on June 19, 2010, with "All Hands on Deck". The Christmas special, "Low Tidings", aired on December 3, 2009. "Come Home Cap'n/Fastest Man Alive" and "Oh, You Animal!/The Return of Sally Syrup", were shown on Comcast On Demand several months before their actual air dates. This season has a total of 38 episode segments.
| No. in
series |
No. in
season |
Title | Written and storyboarded by | Story by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21a | 1a | "Jar She Blows!" | Sean Szeles and Somvilay Xayaphone | Kent Osborne | July 30, 2009 | |
| Captain K'nuckles accidentally gets Flapjack stuck in a jar when trying to get some Candied Island candy. This leads Flapjack on a long journey in an attempt to return home, after being washed out to sea. | ||||||
| 21b | 1b | "Behind the Curtain" | John Infantino and Cole Sanchez | Jackie Buscarino | July 30, 2009 | |
| Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles struggle to escape from the Dock Hag's house after a feeble attempt at sabotaging K'nuckles' dock tickets, only to discover that the Dock Hag has a crush on the old captain. | ||||||
| 22a | 2a | "Shut It" | Mike Roth and Nate Cash | Kent Osborne | August 6, 2009 | |
| After an argument involving Bubbie's tooth door, Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles decide to disguise themselves as each other for the day to see whose life is more difficult. | ||||||
| 22b | 2b | "Who's Moochin' Who?" | Kent Osborne | Jackie Buscarino | August 6, 2009 | |
| When the Dock Hag bans Flapjack and K'nuckles from setting foot on the main harbor until they pay off their tickets, they take in a rich stranger in the hope he will pay them for being such kind friends. However, they rethink their idea when the stranger begins to take advantage of their hospitality. | ||||||
| 23a | 3a | "Over the Moon" | Sean Szeles and Somvilay Xayaphone | Steve Little | August 13, 2009 | |
| When Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles are stranded on the moon after getting chased by Eight-Armed Willy, they discover that it could lead them to Candied Island. All they need to do is trick the moon (who, they discovered, has a mind of its own) into taking them there. | ||||||
| 23b | 3b | "100 Percensus" | John Infantino and Cole Sanchez | Steve Little | August 13, 2009 | |
| Captain K'nuckles refuses to take a census conducted by Flapjack, due to a misunderstanding. Unfortunately, the census takers who assigned this duty to Flapjack are actually a group of pirates wanting to take over Stormalong. | ||||||
| 24a | 4a | "Off with His Hat" | Kent Osborne | Jackie Buscarino | August 20, 2009 | |
| When Flapjack helps Captain K'nuckles look for his lost hat on an island filled with chimpanzees, they end up encountering a researcher living among them. With her help, they must reach the "secret meeting place": an active volcano whose crater K'nuckles must cross so he can get his hat back. | ||||||
| 24b | 4b | "K'nuckles and His Hilarious Problem" | Mike Roth and Ghostshrimp | Steve Little | August 20, 2009 | |
| Flapjack tries to break Captain K'nuckles' candy addiction after he develops a severe case of "candy rot". | ||||||
| 25a | 5a | "Fancy Pants" | Sean Szeles and Somvilay Xayaphone | Steve Little | August 27, 2009 | |
| K'nuckles needs to get fancy pants to get into the new VIP section of the Candy Barrel. | ||||||
| 25b | 5b | "Cuddle Trouble" | John Infantino and Cole Sanchez | Kent Osborne | September 3, 2009 | |
| Flapjack finds he may have a problem with cuddling after a night sleeping outside, so he tries to find the cause and a cure. | ||||||
| 26a | 6a | "Who's That Man in the Mirror?" | J. G. Quintel | Jackie Buscarino | September 10, 2009 | |
| When K'nuckles refuses to lose weight, he risks losing Flapjack to a real adventurer. | ||||||
| 26b | 6b | "Unhappy Endings" | Kent Osborne and Mike Roth | Kent Osborne | September 17, 2009 | |
| Tired of stories with happy endings K'nuckles and Flapjack go off in search of a story without one, but their imaginations quickly run wild. | ||||||
| 27a | 7a | "S.S. K'nuckies" | Sean Szeles and Somvilay Xayaphone | Kent Osborne | September 24, 2009 | |
| Bubbie becomes jealous of K'nuckles' new boat, while unbeknownst to the trio, the boat's original owner seeks to kill Flapjack and K'nuckles. | ||||||
| 27b | 7b | "Candy Casanova" | John Infantino and Cole Sanchez | Steve Little | October 1, 2009 | |
| Flapjack keeps an eye on Candy Wife while Peppermint Larry is out of town, making Captain K'nuckles jealous. | ||||||
| 28a | 8a | "Down with the Ship" | Kent Osborne and Mike Roth | Jackie Buscarino | October 8, 2009 | |
| K'nuckles tries to prove he's a captain by visiting a sunken ship to collect his captain's papers. | ||||||
| 28b | 8b | "Willy! (or Won't He?)" | Sean Szeles and Somvilay Xayaphone | Kent Osborne | October 15, 2009 | |
| Flapjack has to capture Eight-Armed Willy to prove he is worthy of being a real adventurer. | ||||||
| 29a | 9a | "Bubbie's Tummy Ache" | John Infantino and Cole Sanchez | Steve Little | October 22, 2009 | |
| When Bubbie gets a stomach ache, Flapjack must go on a dangerous journey into her stomach to fix it. | ||||||
| 29b | 9b | "Mind the Store, Don't Look in the Drawer" | Kent Osborne and Mike Roth | Steve Little | October 29, 2009 | |
| Dr. Barber leaves Flapjack and K'nuckles to look after his barbershop/clinic with one important rule: they must not open a drawer. As a result, they are very curious about what is in the drawer. | ||||||
| 30a | 10a | "Please Retire!" | Chris Reccardi | Jackie Buscarino | November 5, 2009 | |
| K'nuckles and Flapjack visit a storytelling club, where K'nuckles finds out that his own stories may be outdated. | ||||||
| 30b | 10b | "Under the Sea Monster" | Nate Cash | Kent Osborne | November 12, 2009 | |
| When Flapjack pulls a sea monster-related prank on K'nuckles the citizens of Stormalong banish him from the harbor by throwing him into the ocean, leaving Flapjack to try to get him back. | ||||||
| 31a | 11a | "Flapjack Goes to a Party" | Sean Szeles and Somvilay Xayaphone | Jackie Buscarino | November 19, 2009 | |
| Flapjack gets invited to a birthday party, but feels embarrassed when the other kids perceive K'nuckles and Bubbie as "weirdos". | ||||||
| 31b | 11b | "Rye Ruv Roo" | John Infantino and Cole Sanchez | Kent Osborne and Jackie Buscarino | December 10, 2009 | |
| Flapjack pretends to be a dog for Lady Nicklebottoms, while K'nuckles experiences the joys of owning a dog. | ||||||
| 32 | 12 | "Low Tidings"
"A Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack Very Special: Low Tides Day Special (A K'nuckles Story)" |
John Infantino, Kent Osborne, and Cole Sanchez | Kent Osborne | December 3, 2009 | |
| Flapjack celebrates Low Tide Day and awaits his gifts from Poseidon, while K'nuckles tries to find a place to hide from the mermen for being a naughty person.
Note: This is 1 of 2 half-hour specials to air. | ||||||
| 33a | 13a | "Come Home, Cap'n!" | Sean Szeles and Somvilay Xayaphone | Kent Osborne | March 4, 2010 | |
| Bubbie kicks K'nuckles out, and Flapjack tries to reconcile the two. | ||||||
| 33b | 13b | "Fastest Man Alive" | Mike Roth and Benton Connor | Kent Osborne and Steve Little | March 11, 2010 | |
| When the fat police constable (called Constable Norm in later episodes) creates the first bicycle in Stormalong Flapjack and K'nuckles find it difficult to get away with mischief, especially when the constable begins to abuse his authority and punish them severely for minor offenses. | ||||||
| 34a | 14a | "Oh You Animal!" | Mike Roth and Benton Connor | Kent Osborne and Jackie Buscarino | March 18, 2010 | |
| Bubbie (and eventually K'nuckles) tries to rescue Flapjack from an old woman, who thinks he's a missing child. | ||||||
| 34b | 14b | "The Return of Sally Syrup" | Kent Osborne and Derek Evanick | Jackie Buscarino | March 25, 2010 | |
| Sally Syrup returns to Stormalong (much to her dismay) and Flapjack must convince her that Stormalong is not all that bad. | ||||||
| 35a | 15a | "Lazy Bones" | John Infantino and Cole Sanchez | Steve Little | April 10, 2010 | |
| When K'nuckles wins a contest for being Stormalong's laziest man, the original owner of the title gets revenge by kidnapping Flapjack. | ||||||
| 35b | 15b | "Two Old Men and a Lock Box" | Mike Roth and Benton Connor | Steve Little | April 17, 2010 | |
| Flapjack and K'nuckles attempt to befriend two old men who possess a treasure chest from Candied Island. | ||||||
| 36a | 16a | "BAM!" | Cole Sanchez and Derek Evanick | Kent Osborne | April 24, 2010 | |
| K'nuckles is bullied by a group of sailors in the Candy Barrel, and Flapjack tries to convince him he is not a wimp. | ||||||
| 36b | 16b | "Lost at Land" | Sean Szeles and Somvilay Xayaphone | Kent Osborne | May 1, 2010 | |
| K'nuckles and Flapjack are stranded on a strange island and are unable to find the ocean. | ||||||
| 37a | 17a | "Just One Kiss" | Mike Roth and Benton Connor | Jackie Buscarino | May 8, 2010 | |
| K'nuckles challenges Peppermint Larry to a game of pool to settle the ownership of Candy Wife. | ||||||
| 37b | 17b | "Wishing Not So Well" | Pete Browngardtand Max Winston | Kent Osborne | May 15, 2010 | |
| K'nuckles' wish that everyone in Stormalong would disappear comes true, but he soon begins to regret his wish. | ||||||
| 38a | 18a | "N is for Navy" | Cole Sanchez and Derek Evanick | Steve Little | May 22, 2010 | |
| Flapjack joins the navy to prove K'nuckles he has a life, only to find it's not exciting as he thought it was. | ||||||
| 38b | 18b | "What's Eatin' Ya, Cap'm?" | Pete Browngardt and Max Winston | Kent Osborne and Sean Szeles | May 29, 2010 | |
| K'nuckles becomes infested with termites. | ||||||
| 39a | 19a | "I'm So Proud of Me" | Mike Roth and Benton Connor | Kent Osborne | June 5, 2010 | |
| Flapjack becomes upset when an embarrassing picture of him appears in the paper. | ||||||
| 39b | 19b | "A Day without Laughter" | Sean Szeles and Somvilay Xayaphone | Steve Little | June 12, 2010 | |
| Flapjack tries to help Lolly Poopdeck get respect when he gets tired of being a laughingstock. | ||||||
| 40 | 20 | "All Hands on Deck" | Sean Szeles and Somvilay Xayaphone | Kent Osborne | June 19, 2010 | |
| There are dire consequences when Flapjack switches places with a sailor.
Note: This is 2 of 2 half-hour specials to air. | ||||||
Season 3 (2010)[]
The third and final season of Flapjack began on July 3, 2010, with "Careful What You Fish For/Mayor May Not", and ended on August 28, 2010, with "Catch Me If You Candy/Fish Out of Water". Series creator Thurop Van Orman and his son Leif Van Orman guest-starred as live action K'nuckles and Flapjack in the series finale. This is the shortest season of the series, counting only 6 half-hour episodes. Each episode contains two 11-minute segments like the first season.
Writer and storyboard artist Noel Belknap confirmed on LinkedIn that the season was storyboarded from August to December 2009.
| No. in
series |
No. in
season |
Title | Written and storyboarded by | Story by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41a | 1a | "Careful What You Fish For" | Cole Sanchezand Noel Belknap | Dave Tennant | July 3, 2010 | |
| When Peppermint Larry falls sick, Flapjack and K'nuckles are forced to go fishing for food. | ||||||
| 41b | 1b | "Mayor May Not" | Sean Szeles and Benton Connor | Sean Szeles | July 10, 2010 | |
| K'nuckles becomes the new mayor of Stormalong. | ||||||
| 42a | 2a | "I'm a Believer" | John Infantino and Brett Varon | Sean Szeles | July 17, 2010 | |
| When K'nuckles continues to trick people and blame ghosts, Flapjack consults Jayde, the resident ghost expert of Stormalong, to see if ghosts really do exist. | ||||||
| 42b | 2b | "Liar, Liar, You for Hire?" | Brett Varon | Sean Szeles | July 24, 2010 | |
| K'nuckles claims he knows where Candied Island is but gets caught up in his lie. | ||||||
| 43a | 3a | "Candy Colleague" | Cole Sanchez and David C. Smith | Sean Szeles | July 31, 2010 | |
| Flapjack makes Doctor Barber a friend out of candy. | ||||||
| 43b | 3b | "These Boots Were Made for Walking (On Your Face)" | Tom King and Noel Belknap | Dave Tennant | August 7, 2010 | |
| K'nuckles gets a new face to avoid a mob after stealing boots but ends up caught in the mob. | ||||||
| 44a | 4a | "High Landlubber" | Piero Piluso and Benton Connor | Dave Tennant | August 14, 2010 | |
| The outrageous adventurer Ponce de Lee-Roy convinces K'nuckles he's an immortal. | ||||||
| 44b | 4b | "Who Let the Cats Out of the Old Bag's House?" | Tom King and Noel Belknap | Sean Szeles | August 14, 2010 | |
| Flapjack causes an infestation of non-lucky cats in Stormalong, leaving him and K'nuckles to fix the problem. | ||||||
| 45a | 5a | "Parfait Storm" | Ako Castuera | Dave Tennant | August 21, 2010 | |
| When a storm hits Stormalong, Flapjack and K'nuckles offer to help the town in exchange for candy. | ||||||
| 45b | 5b | "K'nuckles, Don't Be a Hero" | Cole Sanchez and David C. Smith | Dave Tennant | August 21, 2010 | |
| Flapjack and K'nuckles wreak havoc on civilization in the clouds (this episode is known on iTunes as "Balloon Buoy"). | ||||||
| 46a | 6a | "Catch Me If You Candy" | Piero Piluso and Benton Connor | Dave Tennant | August 28, 2010 | |
| Flapjack tries to clear K'nuckles' name when he is accused of stealing candy. | ||||||
| 46b | 6b | "Fish Out of Water" | Tom King and Noel Belknap | Dave Tennant | August 28, 2010 | |
| Flapjack and K'nuckles consume too much of a new drink at the Candy Barrel, and it turns them into fish. | ||||||
production[]
As a child, show creator Van Orman lived in Panama City, Florida, and "used to fantasize about living near the dock and having adventures all the time." When he was 13, his family moved to Utah, but Van Orman still dreamed of adventure. He worked after school as a janitor, saving money for a plane ticket back to Florida. There, he packed some rice and potatoes, and paddled a surfboard to Shell Island. He planned to live off sea urchins and "even speared a manta ray," but things soon went sour. Eventually he became badly sunburned and began to starve. He returned to the mainland, but later tried again: he "went to Mexico and lived in the jungles and found [himself] eating out of dumpsters." Orman took his failures in stride, chalking all these bad circumstances up as "part of the adventure".
Many of Van Orman's influences included the likes of Gary Larson, Jim Henson, Stephen Hillenburg, and even his old boss Craig McCracken. Van Orman was well known for his work on other Cartoon Network shows, such as The Powerpuff Girls, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and Camp Lazlo.
The original extended theme song for the show was used only once, for a musical special titled 'All Hands On Deck'. Modest Mouse singer Isaac Brock, a fan of the series, provided vocals for the version in the special.
Van Orman attempted to pitch the concept to Cartoon Network in 2001. He created a short and incorporated many childhood favorites, with visual inspiration from older adventure novels. His first pitch was rejected, but he received a lot of feedback and re-pitched the concept in 2003.
The series works with Screen Novelties to produce the stop-motion and title card portions of the show.
Paul Reubens was originally selected to be the voice of Flapjack, but when Reubens did not show up to any recording sessions, Van Orman himself decided to voice Flapjack.
The series ended on August 28, 2010, after 3 seasons, 46 half-hour episodes, and 91 episode segments. The final episode, entitled "Fish Out of Water", focused on Flapjack and K'nuckles turning into fish due to eating too much candy and, at the end of the episode, featured an appearance by creator Thurop Van Orman and his son Leif Van Orman, who played live action versions of Flapjack and K'nuckles after they once again eat too much candy. A live action version of Bubbie also appeared.
reception[]
In his book The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows, David Perlmutter regarded Flapjack as "a cleverly produced and amusing series that never completely got the exposure or respect it deserved. Creator Van Orman combined his life-long affection for the sea with a uniquely designed steampunk-type universe that brought to mind the technology and the moral ambigiuity inherent in 19th century media, as reflected in many fictional narratives from that time."
Industry impact[]
Several former storyboard artists and production crew members who worked on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack have gone on to create their own series, including Pendleton Ward (a former writer and storyboard artist who went on to create Adventure Time), J. G. Quintel (a former creative director and storyboard artist who went on to create Regular Show), Alex Hirsch (a former writer and storyboard artist who went on to create Gravity Falls), and Patrick McHale (a former writer and storyboard artist who went on to create Over the Garden Wall).
Awards[]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Golden Reel Awards | Best Sound Editing – Television Animation | Nominated | [1] | |
| 2009 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Chris Roszak (for "Sea Legs") | Won | [2] |
| 2010 | Annie Awards | Best Animated Television Production for Children | Nominated | [3] | |
| Best Directing in a Television Production | John Infantino & J. G. Quintel (for "Candy Cassanova") | Nominated | [3] | ||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Short Form Animated Program | For "Tee Hee Tummy Tums" | Nominated |
references[]
- ↑ "2009 Golden Reel Awards Nominees: Television". MPSE.
- ↑ "Emmy Awards 2009: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation". Emmys.com.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "37th Annie Awards: Nominees". Annie Awards.