Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil Explained

Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil (simply known as Kick Buttowski) is an American animated television series created by Sandro Corsaro and produced by Disney Television Animation, debuting on February 13, 2010.^[1] Premiering exactly one year after the launch of Disney XD, with two episodes airing the first day.^[2] Been the fourth Disney XD original series and the first animated series for the network.

The show's episodes consist of two 11-minute segments, with 52 episodes produced in total.^[3] The second season premiered on April 30, 2011. The series concluded on September 22, 2012, totaling two seasons and 52 episodes.

The show uses Toon Boom Animation software, with some 3D-animated elements. Many of the characters and settings were based on Corsaro's childhood growing up in Stoneham, Massachusetts.

Plot

The show follows a young boy named Clarence Francis "Kick" Buttowski who aspires to become the world's greatest daredevil with the help of his loyal friend, Gunther.

Characters

Main

• Clarence Francis "Kick" Buttowski (voiced by Charlie Schlatter) is a 10-year-old amateur, thrill-seeking often reckless daredevil. His main goal out of life is to embrace each day as if it were his own personal "action movie". He embraces his stuntman persona to the point he has a very hard time ignoring opportunities to do stunts or care for his own wellbeing. Despite this, he otherwise has a good heart, and always does the right thing in the end if his reckless behavior goes too far. He is skilled at stunt work despite his age but some of his stunts do backfire. He is rather short and wears a signature daredevil outfit; a white jumpsuit with red stripes down the sleeves, a white helmet with a red stripe, and yellow boots and gloves. Some of his more notable catchphrases are "It's show time", "Fail? I don't do fail," "Aw, biscuits," "That's a rat", and "Chimi-changa". He is the middle child in his family. His middle name was announced in "Rank of Awesome", as a reference to his original name, Francis Little. He is picked on by his older brother, Brad Buttowski, who often refers to him as "dillweed". He has 3 arch-rivals: Kendall Perkins, Ronaldo, and Gordie Gibble.
• Gunther Magnuson (voiced by Matt Jones) is a Kick's 10-year-old best friend and stunt coordinator who is chunky, skeptical, worries a lot, and is easily distracted by shiny objects. It is also shown that Gunther can whistle very well. Gunther, unlike Kick, does not enjoy living on the edge and can drink a very large amount of Cheetah Chug without getting sick. He has Viking heritage and his family owns a restaurant which is very successful. His Viking side shows when Gunther gets serious or angry, by which anyone (except Kick) can be intimidated. He wears blue shorts and a shirt with a red cap and orange crocs.
• Bradley "Brad" Buttowski (voiced by Danny Cooksey) Kick's 17-year-old elder brother. He bullies and insults Kick and Gunther, and is in charge when their parents are away. Brad also has very poor personal hygiene and thinks he is popular. His favorite phrase is "Dillweed", which he uses to refer to Kick and "Yeah, Brad" which is his catchphrase. He is a self proclaimed "ladies man" and will try to woo women which usually fails. He also has lackeys, who sometimes do his bidding or achieve his goals such as bullying Kick and Gunther. He is good at manipulating people especially his parents to get out or get people in trouble but, it can also backfire at times.

Recurring

• Brianna Buttowski (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is a Kick's spoiled 7-year-old younger sister. She's mainly known for being a "pageant girl." Being the youngest, she usually gets her way by saying "I want..." When not participating in pageants, she likes to annoy her brother Kick, holding on to anything that's valuable to him, like his favorite cereal and tricycle. However, unlike their eldest brother Brad, she seems to have mutual respect for Kick and is very good at working together when on terms. She may have a disliking to Brad. Her favorite show is Teena Sometimes, which is why she is always dressed like her.
• Harold Buttowski (voiced by Brian Stepanek) is a Kick's overcautious and neurotic father. He is usually cheery and easygoing but is also very attentive about possible sources of danger. He also has an unhealthy love for his 1979 AMC Pacer Wagon, calling it "Monique" and his wife does the same by calling her car "Antonio". He is very obsessed of his wife's homemade cookies to the point he'll harm or bribe anyone who gets in his way. He seems to enjoy opening letters. He was (as shown in "Bad Table Manners") a master at ping pong when he was growing up.
• Honey Buttowski (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) is a Kick's mother. She's infrequently at home, as she and her husband take their daughter Brianna to compete in beauty pageants. She is very caring and protective of Kick but although she's often worried about him, she acknowledges his daredevil nature, sometimes even helping him with his stunts. In "Kickin' Genes" it is revealed that she was once a famous daredevil and speedboat racer called "Honey Splash". She gave up her life as a daredevil implementing she was pregnant. It is also shown that she was the one who gave Kick his trademark white jumpsuit as a present, to show him how much she supports him. Her homebaked cookies are very tasty to the point, it will drive anyone crazily obsessed to want more, even Kick and Herself.
• Secret Spy Buttowski (voiced by Clancy Brown) is a Kick's grandfather. He was a spy who spied on a military general to beat and stop his evil plan in "Truth or Daredevil".
• CEO of Food 'n' Fix (voiced by Jeffrey Tambor) is Wade's chief in "Wade Against The Machine", in which he makes his first and only appearance. He is the CEO of the parent company that owns the Food 'n' Fix service station where Wade works. He is very naive because he promotes Wade for actions that are not really useful to the company but these things are what Kick and Wade are doing to try and get Wade demoted back to his old job. Even at the end of the episode he promotes a turtle because the turtle walks slow and he says "We move way too fast around here. Promotion!"
• Wade (voiced by Eric Christian Olsen) A gas station worker that is friends with Kick. In "Stumped", Wade supplies Kick with Cheetah Chug, in hopes of finding a key. The key was a free ticket for Kick to see his favorite monster truck star, Billy Stumps. He is very calm and commonly clumsy, that he'll forget what he was previously doing.
• Billy Stumps (voiced by Jeff Bennett) An extreme daredevil who is very famous, and one of Kick's idols. He is missing his left hand, and it is unknown why, presumably from one of his stunts. He appears as a cameo in a poster by Kick's door. He helped re-inspire Kick to do stunts when he lost his helmet (thanks to a call from Gunther in "Exposed!") with his standard "been there, done that" experience. He is always seen with his favorite hood ornament which is a golden horseshoe.
• Magnus Magnuson (voiced by Clancy Brown) and Helga Magnuson (voiced by April Winchell) Gunther's parents. They own a BMW Isetta and a restaurant called "BattleSnax". They are Vikings, lived in the Nordic country and have shown to have a deep friendship with the Buttowski Family.
• Bjørgen (voiced by Danny Jacobs) Gunther's uncle. He works at BattleSnax and he often says words that rhyme with his name, also can speak regular English in later episodes. He is a Viking and lived in the Nordic country.
• Announcer (voiced by Jess Harnell)
• Teena Sometimes (voiced by Tiffany Thornton) She is the star of her self-titled show, which was first mentioned in "Stumped!". She is a part-time spy and a part-time princess. She is also a singer. Her catchphrases are "I'll sparkle you until next week," and "Consider yourself sometimes!"
• Principal Henry (voiced by Henry Winkler) He is the principal of Mellowbrook Elementary School who loathes doing paperwork (it is unknown how much he hates paperwork) and isn't entirely bothered by Kick's antics as long as he graduates. This is made apparent in "Frame Story". The same actor who voiced this character had learned the principal's lines by remembering his time when he was in the principal's office during his childhood.
• Walter (voiced by Jeff Bennett) He works at the Food N Fix when Wade is in promotion and works at a flower shop in Mellowbrook in "A Very Buttowski Mother's Day".
• Kendall Perkins (voiced by Emily Osment) Kick's and Gunther's classmate, one of Kick's arch-rivals and as revealed in "Kick or Treat", one of Kick's next-door neighbors. She loves learning and she is the president of her class (former as of "Poll Position"). However, she is also apparently very bossy and high-strung and is shown to have very few friends. She and Kick both claim to hate each other, although at times they seem to show a romantic liking for each other. She has shown on separate occasions that she may, in fact, have a crush on Kick, such as being flattered by Kick's kiss in "Box Office Blitz", or seeking Kick out after he compliments her top during his depression when he loses his helmet in "Exposed". In "Power Play" she loosens a peg for a sandbag so when Ronaldo gets hit, Kick would have to play the part of Romeo in the play. Additionally, she refers to Kick as Clarence, his first name.
• Mr. Perkins Kendall's father who is an actuary and makes his first speaking appearance in "Father From The Truth" and second in "Crumbs!", while the rest of his appearances are non-speaking cameos.
• Mr. Vickle (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a Kick's next-door neighbor. A heavyset middle-aged bachelor with an effeminate personality. He's one of the few adults that isn't ruffled by Kick's behavior, with the exception of his appearances in "Kick the Habit" and "Nerves of Steal".
• Jock Wilder (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) is one of Kick's daredevil idols and the founder of "Jock Wilder's Nature Camp". As a child, he was raised in the wilderness by wolves. He loves the untamed outdoors and is often ready to "dive into nature and face a fiery fury."
• Larry Wilder (voiced by Jim Parsons) is the brother of Jock Wilder and co-camp master of Jock Wilder's Nature Camp. Unlike his brother, who was raised in the wild by wolves, Larry was raised by chihuahuas.
• Scarlett Rosetti (voiced by Alyssa Milano) is the female counterpart of Kick Buttowski. She makes her first and only speaking appearance in "And... Action!". She is originally Teena's stunt double in the show Teena Sometimes but later becomes Scarlet Letter, Teena's nemesis.
• "Wacky" Jackie Wackerman (voiced by Maria Bamford) A funny and hyperactive new resident of Mellowbrook. She became obsessed with Kick in her debut appearance in "Obsession: For Kick", later stalking him due to her being his "number one fan", as well as being the president of his fan club.
• Glenn (also known as Clerk) (voiced by Brian Doyle-Murray) is a grocery store worker. Whenever Kick shows up in the Mellowmart grocery store, he is sure Kick will wreck "his store", leading to trouble for Glenn.
• Janelle (voiced by Tara Strong) is a cashier at the Mellow*Mart, and she likes to fool Brad.
• Pantsy (voiced by Harland Williams) Is one of Brad's friends. He is also the assistant manager of the Mellowbrook Megaplex and has a very strict policy when it comes to patrons. He usually wears 3D glasses. His little brother is Mouth.
• Horace (voiced by Greg Cipes) Brad's other friend. He has green hair that covers his face, it is shown in "Kicked Out" that he's not all that smart.
• Mouth (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz) Kick and Gunther's frenemy and their classmate whose real name is Christopher. He is the son of the 2nd assistant security guard at Mellowbrook Mall and is also Pantsy's younger brother. He schemes a lot and he loves playing shuffleboard. It is shown in "Detained" that he can get a hold of anything. He idolizes Rock Callahan along with Kick and Gunther (as shown in "Box Office Blitz").
• Coach Sternbeck (voiced by Mike Golic) is a Kick's personal trainer in "Gym Dandy".
• Ms. Dominic (voiced by Veronica Cartwright) is a gym teacher in Mellowbrook Elementary School.
• Ms. Fitzpatrick (voiced by Roz Ryan) is a Kick's teacher that stays in his face. Her catchphrase is "Mmmm-Hmmm" which is also on her license plate. She often calls Kick Mr. Buttowski.
• The Librarian (voiced by Susanne Blakeslee) is the librarian at Mellowbrook Elementary School. She's brutal just like Ms. Chicarelli (but even worse) and tries anything to kill Kick in "If Books Could Kill". She is shown to be power-hungry and claims anything that is put in the library return box as hers, including a book belonging to Kick and even a sandwich which Gunther accidentally dropped. She makes a second speaking appearance in "Shh!" when Kick goes to the library with the Nuzzlet that he has to study. She threatens to kill Kick if he wakes her from her nap but when she does wake up she thinks Ronaldo is the one responsible for destroying the library. Because of this she tries to kill him with a laser in a reference to the James Bond film "Goldfinger".
• Charlotte Chicarelli (voiced by Mindy Sterling) She is one of Kick's next-door neighbors who always tattles on Kick and the other kids on the cul-de-sac for causing any kind of disruption.
• Oskar is a Charlotte Chicarelli's dog that enjoys biting Kick's butt and chasing him. Kick and Oskar have a mutual hate for each other, although in "Dog Gone" they do show respect and a liking for each other, and a brothers-from-a-different-mother bond.
• Ronaldo (voiced by Simon Helberg) is a Kick and Gunther's class and another of Kick's arch-rivals whose first appearance is in "Mellowbrook Drift". A physics-obsessed bully who cheats in the Tri-County Cartacular by following the laws of physics. His jacket is somewhat similar to Kick's jumpsuit, only with opposite colors; maroon with yellow stripes down the sleeves and a small cape in the back. He hangs around a small posse of other nerds and goes to Kick's school.
• Rodney "Rock" Callahan (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is one of Kick and Gunther's many idols, he's also an actor who's catch phrase is "Let's rock!", which he says while cracking his neck.
• Cousin Kyle (voiced by Tom Kenny) Kick Buttowski's cousin who is a chatterbox and is also extremely dim-witted. In "Kyle Be Back," he gets in Kick's way from doing a record-breaking stunt. In "Kyle 2.0" it is shown he can create radio static just by being near it. However, it is shown that Kyle is also a huge fan of Kick.
• Papercut Peterson (voiced by Carl Faruolo) is a professional wrestler who helped Kick defeat Brad in "Drop Kick". He used to be Pile-Driver Peterson. He also won the Battle of the Bands by Auto-Tune. He appears in many episodes, although never displayed as a wrestler but as an unhygienic, lonely man. He also humorously often refers to Gunther as being a 'little girl'. He has a lookalike in the Old Country where Gunther and his family are from. His relation to this lookalike is unknown.
• Shogun Sanchez (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) is the older brother of Papercut Peterson who only appears as one of two main antagonists (along Brad) in "Drop Kick". After he beat Papercut, he took his wrestling academy from him banned younger brothers from studying there. Then Kick, Gunther and Papercut have a fight with him and he gets Brad to team up with him, which eventually they won.
• One-Eyed Jackson (voiced by Adam Carolla) is an old man who helps Kick and Gunther to win in a race against Ronaldo in "Mellowbrook Drift". He was formerly a professional cart driver until an unfortunate accident on Turn 6, a deadly turn on Mount Hurtsmore. The show's creator, Sandro Corsaro has revealed that he is a ghost. This is backed up by the fact that he disappears in front of Kick and Gunther after the race in "Mellowbrook Drift" and again in front of Kick after giving money to him after mowing his lawn in "Mow Money".
• Boom McCondor (voiced by Brian Vanholt) Is one of the best stunt legends in the world. He had his first contest where Kick and Brad won in "Things That Make You Go Boom!" He usually has a catchphrase which is similar to a bird call.
• Emo Kid (real name Horace) (voiced by Greg Cipes) a classmate of Kick and Gunther's in Mellowbrook Elementary School. He dresses in black and purple and his hair is partly dyed purple. He makes his first appearance in "Snowpocalypse". He is known to have a strong dislike for dodgeball. He doesn't speak much, but when he does, he has somewhat of an Eastern European or Mediterranean accent.
• Janitor Roberson (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) is a janitor at Mellowbrook Elementary School.
• Gordie Gibble (real name Gordon) (voiced by Will Forte) is a Kick's archenemy and (former) BMX legend who broke records after Kick won the BMX Rodeo. After his loss, he went into kart racing and other sports. He is from West Mellowbrook. He has a rich father as made apparent in "Kart to Kart".
• Penelope Patterson (voiced by Jessica DiCicco) is a Brianna Buttowski's pageant rival. Her major talents involve balancing objects, riding a unicycle, and reciting Shakespeare all at the same time. In "Sister Pact", she tries to sabotage Brianna's audition for the Poise Posse but fails and is kicked out of the group for trying to do so.
• The DiPazzi Twins (Both Voiced by Sandro Corsaro) Their names are Michael Anthony and Anthony Michael. They look very identical, but one has different eyes and the other has a different voice. They first appeared on "Clothes Call", and again along with Gordon on "Switching Gears."

Episodes

See main article: List of Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil episodes.

Production

Creation

Corsaro has stated that he was thinking about his own childhood when he drew the character in 2002 and subsequently began developing the idea for a TV series. Kick was named Kid Knievel, and was slightly different from the original vision of himself. He was much smaller. He had blue stars on his helmet and blue stripes on his clothing in an apparent homage to Evel Knievel. Many of the show's humorous characters and locations were inspired by Corsaro's hometown of Stoneham, Massachusetts.

Development

Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil started production on December 19, 2008. The original name was Kid Knievel at the time.^[4] The title was changed to Kick Buttowski on April 4, 2009.^[5] In early December 2009, it was announced that the series would premiere on February 13, 2010, exactly one year after the launch of Disney XD, and the premiere of its first original series, Aaron Stone. The series's stunt coordinator is Robbie Knievel, the son of Evel Knievel.

Series pilot

The pilot was written and developed by Devin Bunje and Nick Stanton, who eventually left the project to work on another Disney XD series, Zeke and Luther. The pilot was later split into the first two episodes of the series, "Dead Man's Drop" and "Stumped".

Broadcast

Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil had been set to air in November 2009, but Disney announced it would instead air in February 2010. The show debuted on Disney XD on February 13, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. ET. Sneak peeks and promos were shown on Disney XD, DisneyXD.com and Disney Channel.^[6] The series sometimes aired Saturday mornings at 8:30 a.m. on Disney XD.

On April 2, 2010, the series first aired on Disney Channel as a special presentation with the episode, "Obsession: For Kick / Flush and Release" as part of the "Get Animated" marathon. Another presentation was shown on Disney Channel on May 22, 2010, featuring three episodes. On June 18, 2011, Kick Buttowski was moved to an off and on spot on Disney Channel with its incorporation into Toonin' Saturdays, Disney Channel's new Saturday morning cartoon block, the show last aired on Disney Channel on December 25, 2011.

The show aired its final episodes on September 22, 2012. After the show's cancellation reruns still air on Disney XD from time to time.

Reception

Viewership

The pilot episode "Dead Man's Drop/Stumped" was watched by 842,000 viewers, the second highest-rated series premiere in Disney XD's history.^[7] The second episode, "If Books Could Kill/There Will Be Nachos" was watched by 972,000 viewers.^[8]

Critical Reception

Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the show 1 out of 5 stars; saying; "that this pointless cartoon totally misses the mark for kids." Arguing that "Kick lives in a fantasy world where responsibility and respect for authority take a backseat to danger and adventure, and his risky actions never result in any physical harm or discipline, as they would in real life. His older brother bullies him with name-calling and teasing, and Kick treats his best friend with similar disrespect." And saying that the show have "Potty humor abounds and while there's no traditionally iffy language, Kick uses some obvious pseudo-curse words on a regular basis ("oh, biscuits," for instance)."^[9]

A website of Toonopolis.com gave 2/5 Giant Cartoon Mallets, writing; "My initial feel for this show was not a positive one. The show itself is a little annoying to watch, especially in the world of prominent flash animation on the Internet. Creator Sandro Corsaro is known for his preference for Flash and the show definitely feels like it was drawn in Flash. It might be unique in a way for usage in a mainstream show, but it feels a little amateurish to me." He also argued that Kick and Gunther "aren’t really funny as a pair. And the rest of the characters don’t bring a lot to the table." And at the end he said "It definitely has an air of ‘figuring it out as we go’… another staple of Western animation. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely explains why so many of the characters have no real depth. because it isn’t completely unwatchable… just mostly."^[10]

See also

• Wild Grinders
• Rocket Power

External links

• • Kick Buttowski – Suburban Daredevil at the Big Cartoon DataBase

Notes and References

1. Web site: Kick Buttowski-Suburban Daredevil (television) . 2024-11-11 . D23 . en-US.
2. News: Mclean . Thomas . January 20, 2010 . Disney XD Unveils Kick Buttowski Premiere Schedule . January 31, 2010 . Animation Magazine.
3. Book: Crump . William D. . Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film . 2019 . McFarland & Co . 9781476672939 . 78.
4. News: Disney Revs Up Kid Knievel . Ball . Ryan . December 19, 2008 . . February 19, 2010.
5. News: Levin . Gary . Cartoon Network, XD add more live-action to draw older boys . April 9, 2009 . USA Today . February 19, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090413162908/https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-04-09-cartoon-network-xd_N.htm . April 13, 2009 . dead.
6. Web site: TV Forum: Animation – Disney XD Adding "Kick Buttowski" February 2010 . Tv.com . August 23, 2010 . June 29, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110629022350/http://www.tv.com/animation/disney-xd-adding-andquotkick-buttowskiandquot-february-2010/topic/106-1446648/msgs.html . dead .
7. Web site: Led by "Kick Buttowski" Disney XD Delivers February Highs and Leads All Kid Networks in Growth. TV by the Numbers. Seidman. Robert. March 2, 2010. March 11, 2010. March 4, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100304131923/http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/03/02/led-by-kick-buttowski-disney-xd-delivers-february-highs-and-leads-all-kid-networks-in-growth/43612. dead.
8. Web site: Disney XD Celebrates 1st Anniversary with Record Viewing Levels. February 17, 2010. March 11, 2010. Seidman. Robert. TV by the Numbers. July 14, 2012. https://archive.today/20120714224755/http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/02/17/disney-xd-celebrates-1st-anniversary-with-record-viewing-levels/42260. dead.
9. Web site: Movie & TV reviews for parents . Parent reviews for Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil Common Sense Media . 2024-10-31 . www.commonsensemedia.org . en.
10. Web site: Kick Buttowski: Surburban Daredevil (A Review) - Toonopolis.com .