The Amazing Adrenalini Brothers

Overview

Travelling showmen hailing from the mysterious land of Réndøosîa (a fictional Eastern European country that experiences an unusually high rate of natural disasters), the three Adrenalini brothers (Xan, Enk and Adi) eat, sleep and breathe danger. They tour around the world staging ridiculously hazardous stunts, not so much to make a living as because they enjoy the adrenaline rush. In their travels, the Adrenalinis have visited many countries in the world, and even many periods in history (and, in some cases, fiction).

A typical Adrenalini adventure involves the brothers coming across some sort of trouble in their latest location, usually involving an antagonist bullying the locals. The brothers invariably get involved in the trouble, and beat the antagonist using their daredevil stunts (usually more out of luck than skill), bickering and causing havoc all the while. No matter what happens, the Brothers always come out on top in the end, and regroup in time to chime in with their catchphrase: "Yahzaa Adrenalini!"

The brothers do not speak or understand English, which leads other characters to think they are unintelligent. Instead, they speak Rendoosian, a gibberish language comprising standard reused words and phrases, that is constructed so that the audience can usually discern what the characters are saying through context. For example, "Oh, noompla! Scramalam!" would translate to, "Oh no! Let's scram!"

History

The series had its origins as a British student review act in the 1990s, written and performed by The Pox, aka Dan Chambers, Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler. With ambitions to turn their live act into animation the trio presented their ideas to Pesky, who had just been approached by the BBC to develop a new Flash animation series for the relaunch of its CBBC website - they immediately saw the potential and The Amazing Adrenalini Brothers cartoons were born.

The original 10 two-and-a-half-minute 'shorts' where shown on online and then CBBC television in 2002 and the episode "Ocean of Terror" was awarded the Prix des Internautes at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival that summer, and went on in 2003 to win a People's Choice Award at Anima Mundi in Brazil.

By 2004 plans were hatched to create a longer-running television series based on the Adrenalini bros. And in 2005 the series of 78 seven-minute episodes went into production as a UK-Canadian co-production, with pre- and post-production by Pesky in their London studio and animation by Studio B in Vancouver, and scripting shared between writers on both sides of the Atlantic. The series first aired as part of Sunday Pants on Cartoon Network in the United States on 2 October 2005, and then it first aired as a full series in March 2006 on CITV in the UK, then YTV in 7 May 2006 (and later also VRAK.TV in Canada) followed by Cartoon Network across Europe and Asia. The series has enjoyed particular success in Australia where it was first aired by ABC Australia on 2 March 2006 in a regular slot early evening slot until 2010.

In 2006 the series began the year by picking up a Pulcinella Award at the Cartoons On The Bay festival in Italy and ended the year with the episode "Hunchback of Heartbreak" winning a BAFTA for Best Animation Series.

The Brothers

Xan

The showman of the brothers, Xan is the oldest and acts as their leader, constantly trying, but failing, to keep the other two out of mischief. He has a large ego and is constantly dreaming up new stunts to further his fame. Xan also has an eye for ladies, and tries hard to woo them, but he is typically unsuccessful. Xan's contribution to the is as an escape artist, an ability that serves him well when he ends up on the wrong side of the law. Xan can always be seen wearing his trademark sunglasses, and while he prefers to wear them to look cool, they also happen to be prescription lenses. Without them, Xan can barely see anything. Xan's dark secret is he pretends to know where he is driving the Stunt Bus but he actually doesn't have a clue.

Adi

The largest, strongest, most dim-witted, and clumsiest of the brothers, Adi is an overgrown child and has a very mischievous streak. He is usually called upon for those stunts which require his great strength, although he also deftly performs extreme acrobatic feats. He is easily amused and often laughs merrily at his brother's misfortunes, which annoys them. Devoted to his brothers, Adi will merrily go along with any idea Xan comes up with, until something trivial, like his weakness for food, inevitably distracts him. Adi also has an ever-hungry personality, his appetite sometimes reaches insane proportions, often resulting in the consumption of larger amount of foods. With the ability to uproot trees and even lift elephants, one would think that Adi would be quite fearless. But in truth, he doesn't have a lot of confidence in his own abilities without at least one of his brothers present to show support. When he is alone, he often becomes quite nervous and timid. He is noted for his enormous bushy moustache, which can grow back within minutes if he ever loses it. Adi's dark secret is he's terrified of clowns.

Enk

The youngest and smallest of the brothers, Enk is a sausage-shaped fellow with long whiskers and tiny limbs. His role in the stunts is generally limited to being tossed into the air. This treatment has made Enk rather panicky - his trademark is a high-pitched squeal. His diminutive size also makes him more aware of the dangers around him, which tends to make him the voice of reason on the team, particularly whenever Xan's ego gets out of hand. Despite this, Enk is no coward. He has a strong sense of justice, and is usually the first to take on the villains, even if he is initially alone. He also has a significant temper and can become quite vengeful if provoked. He is attracted to shiny objects and anything that glows brightly, which often leads him into "borrowing" shiny things that don't belong to him; this gets him and his brothers into trouble. Enk's dark secret is he learned English by watching BBC World Service at night.

Their parents The TV Series saw the appearance of the Adrenalini Brothers' parent. they only appear in the episode Mother of Mayhem!, which was the 1st appearance of their Mother, and a re-appearance from their father (1st appeared in the online flash episode Box of no Return)

Episodes

The online episodes (also known as the 'shorts') are approximated 2'30" in duration. The two full seasons consist of 39 seven-minute episodes, aired separately or combined into 13 half-hours, for a total of 78 episodes in all. More information on each episode can be found on the official website.

Sunday Pants shorts/Online episodes

These were commissioned by the BBC, but were also featured as part of Sunday Pants on Cartoon Network.

1. High Dive of Doom!

2. Ocean of Terror!

3. Volcano of Venom!

4. Monster of Mayhem!

5. Wings of Destiny!

6. Box of No Return!

7. Slopes of Peril!

8. Joust of Glory!

9. Cannon of Chaos!

10. Tightrope of Triumph!

11. Trampoline of Treachery! (Competition Winning Entry)

Season One

1. Saddles of Insanity!

2. Guitars of Destiny!

3. Fangs of Horror!

4. Jungle of Ruin!

5. Waves of Turmoil!

6. Kilts of Uproar!

7. Flames of Fury!

8. Convicts of Shame!

9. Claws of Malice!

10. Cape of Majesty!

11. Bellies of Belligerence!

12. Peaks of Peril!

13. Knights of Ineptitude!

14. Wheels of Destruction!

15. Hunchback of Heartbreak!

16. Pirates of Greed!

17. Sleighs of Hazard! (Christmas Episode)

18. Chute of Death!

19. Voices of Madness!

20. Gondalas of Jealousy!

21. Pyramids of Panic!

22. Diapers of Despair!

23. Lamps of Confusion!

24. Dolphins of Doom!

25. Factory of Malfunction!

26. Biceps of Triumph!

27. Kangaroos of Menace!

28. Cruise of Disaster!

29. Rollercoaster of Wreckage!

30. Bears of Disruption!

31. Hooves of Thunders!

32. Actors of Infamy!

33. Rockets of Rage!

34. Oil of Avarice!

35. Swords of Injustice!

36. Vikings of Romance!

37. Flowers of Dread!

38. Logs of War!

39. Growls of Hunger!

Season Two

40. Child of Danger!

41. Camp of Calamity!

42. Field of Frights!

43. Crate of Expectations!

44. Beans of Magnitude!

45. Builders of Frenzy!

46. Bones of Disbelief!

47. Wings of Ambition!

48. Ghosts of Intangibility!

49. Lederhosen of Desire!

50. Corporation of Carnage!

51. City of Heroes!

52. Leprechauns of Mischief!

53. Barrels of Love!

54. Catwalk of Outrage!

55. Ladders of Courage!

56. Jobs of Jeopardy!

57. Mathematics of Misery!

58. Tails of Longing!

59. Mother of Mayhem!

60. Razors of Allure!

61. Vovage of Discovery!

62. Dragon of Antagonism!

63. Farm of Forgetfulness!

64. Goalposts of Glory!

65. Rapids of Revenge!

66. Balloon of Lunacy!

67. Sands of Thirst!

68. Railroad of Misfortune!

69. Gladiators of Bewilderment!

70. Cavemen of Invention!

71. Monsters of Immensity!

72. Siesta of Spite!

73. Clubs of Hope!

74. Visitors of Vengeance!

75. Island of Isolation!

76. Heist of Absurdity!

77. Mission of Impossibility!

78. Rivals of Wrath!

DVD releases

The series first came out in Australia, in two separate volumes. In the UK, Studiocanal released a 3-disc set on 9 April 2012, containing all 78 episodes from the TV Series (1 & 2). The original online episodes are not included.

YouTube

The original web episodes were uploaded on the official Adrenalini channel on YouTube, while an episode from the TV series would be uploaded on Mondays. From its launch from November 2012, the television series moved to a new YouTube channel called "Huha", with an episode currently being uploaded on Fridays. A French and German version of the channel also includes episodes from the series.