7.7 /10 2 Votes
Created by Obie Scott Wade First episode date 15 December 2012 Program creator Obie Scott Wade | 6.8/10 IMDb Genre Comedy
Superhero Directed by Gillian Carr Final episode date 2 November 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring David Myles Brown
Taj Moore
Matt Hill
Diana Kaarina
Samuel Vincent
Fantine Banulski
Trevor Devall
Damon Gameau
Maggie Blue O'Hara
Scott McNeil Theme music composer Christopher Elves
Obie Scott Wade Opening theme "SheZow", vocals by Jeff Gunn and Christopher Elves Original network Network Ten (2012–2013); Eleven (2014); Canal J (2015); Gulli (2015) Networks Network Ten, Gulli, Discovery Family, Canal J, Sky 1, Eleven Similar Sidekick, Littlest Pet Shop, The New Adventures of Nanoboy, Pound Puppies, Animal Mechanicals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SheZow is an Australian-Canadian animated superhero comedy television series. It features the adventures of a boy who inadvertently inherits the role of a superheroine, which imposes an explicit feminine theme to his costumed appearance and equipment.
Contents
It began airing on Network Ten in Australia on 15 December 2012. The series is aimed at children from 6 to 11 years old. Produced by Moody Street Kids and Kickstart Productions, it is distributed by DHX Media, and funded in part by Film Victoria. It was designed by Australian artist Kyla May.
As of December 2013, 52 eleven-minute episodes have been made, which are broadcast in pairs to make one season of 26 half-hour episodes. In a 2013 interview, Wade expressed interest in making a second season.
Synopsis
The series' protagonist, a 12-year-old boy named Guy Hamdon, discovers the superheroine SheZow's ring of power inherited from his late Aunt Agnes; then subsequently transforms into a female costumed crime-fighter by uttering the phrase "You Go Girl!".
While the power ring does grant him super powers, it was only meant to be worn by a girl, so Guy must wear a female superhero costume while fighting crime.
Cast and crew
Development and production
The concept was originally created by Obie Scott Wade as a short film for Disney Channel's Shorty McShorts' Shorts in 2007.
In a 2013 interview, Wade stated that the inspiration for SheZow was based on his experiences of watching Saturday-morning cartoons and a general love for superheroes. "When I was a kid I watched a show on Saturday mornings called Shazam! ... it was Shazam and Isis and I just thought it would be interesting to see what would happen if he accidentally said 'SHE-zam,' would he get a different costume or become a different hero?" He added that a lot of the facets to SheZow's mythology came about from the women writers on his team. "I asked the women on my team ... what would be a good weakness for a woman superhero and they all said, 'Bad hair!' ... A lot of the gadgets and jokes [for 'SheZow'] came from women."
Broadcast
In the United States, it was added to the schedule lineup of Hub Network (now Discovery Family) on June 1, 2013. In the United Kingdom, the series was on Kix on 2016 It is shown on Eleven and ABC3 in Australia. Series 1 is now available for streaming on Netflix It was also aired on Discovery Family from November 22, 2015 until January 3, 2016.
Reception
The show was considered controversial by several Christian groups for using cross-dressing and transvestism as a source of humour, with One Million Moms, an affiliate of the American Family Association being one of the groups targeting it. In response, series creator Obie Scott Wade stated, "SheZow is not transgendered. He's a boy, his gender never changes, he's just trapped in a silly costume." He also added that he doesn't find it child-inappropriate at all, because the idea came to him in his youth.