Cubix
Cubix is an animated television series created by Cinepix. Set in 2044, it follows a boy, named Connor, who is fascinated with robots and lives with his father, Graham in Bubble Town, a robot-abundant city that is a center for robotics corporation RobixCorp.
4Kids Entertainment acquired the North American rights to the series, with an English-language dub produced by 4Kids Productions to the series in 2001 shortly after the show debuted in August, retaining them until their transfer to Saban Brands, a subsidiary of Saban Capital Group in June 2012. In the United States, it aired on Kids' WB from August 11, 2001, until May 10, 2003.
Production
Cubix was created by the Korean company called Cinepix and licensed by 4Kids Entertainment in North America, and aired for two seasons on Kids' WB!, lasting from August 11, 2001, to May 10, 2003. In May 2001, 4Kids teamed up with a major quick-service restaurant to promote the show. The promotion ran for five weeks nationwide. The show had toys in Burger King kids meals and at retail stores. Trendmasters had the toy license to the series. Jakks Pacific also had the licensing agreement for the toy line.The show has been the theme of three video games: Showdown, Clash 'n' Bash, and Race 'n' Robots.
The total budget for the series was.
Plot and setting
Cubix, taking place in the futuristic year of 2044, is the story of a bright-eyed young boy named Connor with a deep fascination for robots. His father, Graham, who dislikes all robots, has never truly been supportive of his efforts. That is, until they move to Bubble Town, a city with "as many robots as people," and the location of RobixCorp. The reason for RobixCorp's global success is the EPU, which allows a robot to develop their own unique personality, just like a human being.Now that Connor's dream has finally come true, he finds himself with one really big problem: everyone in Bubble Town owns a robot, except him. Shortly after his arrival, he meets his nosy neighbor Abby, who sends her flying pet robot, Dondon, to spy on him. Graham, being not so fond of a robot spying on him, attempts to capture Dondon. During his escape, he crashes into Connor, knocking him out. A worried Abby, along with Connor, hop onto her hover scooter, rushing for the one place in town that can fix her friend.
Here, Connor meets Hela, who runs a repair shop called The Botties' Pit. However, to become an employee, he has to fix a robot in less than 24 hours. Of all the robots he could have chosen, Connor picks Cubix, a one of a kind test model referred to as the 'Unfixable Robot.' The Botties all tried to repair him, especially Hela, who could never quite throw him out. Cubix is the one memory left of her father, Professor Nemo, who invented the EPU. Sadly, he vanished after an experiment with a highly volatile substance known as Solex.
Suddenly, a rogue robot inventor named Dr. K runs off with a stolen robot, leaving the Botties' Pit on the verge of collapse. Connor races back inside in a final effort to save Cubix, leaving him trapped inside. This act of kindness jumpstarts Cubix's EPU, bringing him back to life. With only a moment to spare, Cubix saves Connor from the collapsing building. It was never a matter of hardware; rather, of heart, that fixed the "Unfixable Robot". Therefore, Connor passed the test, earning him a place in the club.
That was not the only surprise Cubix had in store, with his amazing design he can transform into virtually anything. Along with their new friends, Connor and Cubix face up against Dr. K to take back the kidnapped bot.
This series follows the adventures and discoveries of the group, as they unravel Dr. K.'s conspiracy and the disappearance of Professor Nemo.
Solex
Solex was stated to have been discovered after an alien spacecraft crashed outside of RobixCorp, shortly before Professor Nemo's disappearance. It has two forms; the glowing electric blue liquid form prone to random energy fluctuations, and the more stable crystallized form used in most robots. The story suggests that it has a psychic nature as it reacts to sentient thoughts and emotions, even those of robots' EPUs. Solex in both liquid and crystallized form is capable of producing immense power. In its crystallized form, its "radioactive" glow is similar to pure isolated radium.Solex in the first season
In the first season, Dr. K forcibly collects Solex from infected robots to utilize in his ultimate plan with the aid of an alien disguising itself as Raska, the RobixCorp spokeswoman, who it is implied to have killed to assume her identity. It is suspected that Solex was originally discovered by Prof. Nemo, who fearing the misuse of its power, separated the liquid Solex into small doses, placing it into random robots.Liquid Solex, however, produces unexpected effects in robots; this is referred to as Solex infection. As the EPU is placed under heavy stress or emotions, the uncontrollable energy reaction of the liquid Solex within them causes them to malfunction and go berserk. Besides the behavioral malfunction, the infected robot also gains extreme power far beyond its normal capabilities. This extreme power has the ability to overload the host and cause self-destruction unless the Solex is removed, the robot is deactivated, or its energy levels return to normal.
In the beginning of the first season, the Botties were unaware of Dr. K's reasons for chasing after robots, but eventually learned of the existence of Solex and soon began racing Dr. K in the search, intercepting the last few robots to safely obtain it themselves before he could extract it. Dr. K's plans were delayed when Kan-It unintentionally absorbed half the Solex he had collected, which ultimately ended up in the possession of the Botties. Needing more, Dr. K launched an attack on the Botties Pit to steal the Solex they had obtained, only for Cubix to drive them off while revealing that he possessed crystallized Solex. Changing tactics, Dr. K and the alien devised a plan to deactivate Cubix and take some of his Solex crystals, which they were able to pull off by deceiving the Botties into accepting a gift of explosives from Raska that were disguised as protective robots. Adding Cubix's crystallized Solex to the liquid Solex he already possessed, Dr. K was able to power a humongous EPU he had created, which he then used to transform his HQ into the Kulminator, an enormous robot. In the end, Cubix sacrificed himself to defeat the Kulminator and explode the Solex within them both, scattering it across Bubble Town. Cubix would then be revived by absorbing the scattered Solex, ending the threat of Solex for good.
Characters
Cubix
The titular Cubix is a one of a kind robot built before Professor Nemo's disappearance, who is found deactivated without visible damage, but no way to reactivate him either. He is introduced as part of Connor's initiation ceremony as the robot he chooses to fix. However, he cannot get Cubix to work until Dr. K appears to retrieve Solex from a robot. Connor brings Cubix back to life, just as the building they are in starts to fall apart. His body is made out of a number of cubes, giving him a versatile modular function- by restructuring himself and using different gadgets within the cubes, he can transform into a hover bike, an airplane, a helicopter and plenty more. He can even fly causing no need to transform into a vehicle. Hidden in each cube there is a different gadget with a solution to almost every serious situation. When it comes to fighting, Cubix is exceptionally strong, but often relies on his transformation ability and eccentric strategies to win. He is powered by a generator that runs off crystallized Solex, which is rumored to be the ultimate power source, but nobody knows exactly how it works. Cubix's body is also constructed out of a highly resistant metal that is capable of withstanding devastating amounts of damage without breaking and reversing the effects of rust. He also has additional parts that when added to his structure can increase his strength. Cubix's modular cubes contain special items that may contribute to the transformations like a Glue gun, ForceField generator, and an extra arm. The orange discs on cubix's body can separate and hit enemies with a shock on impact. Cubix can control his body parts to attack enemies when he is pinned and if he has enough energy he is able to generate a small forcefield on his chest to prevent enemies from getting to his power source.Cubix is a friendly and helpful robot, but lacks speech capability, while speaking seems to be common place among other robots. Usually he just repeats what people around him say, and uses the LED display where his eyes usually are to communicate emotions. However, later in the series this improves greatly and he becomes capable of forming sentences and dialogues, and once he regains the crystallized Solex at the end of the season 1 finale, he repossesses the capacity for independent speech, He uses less of his abilities as the series goes on; however, this may be due to not having as much Solex after fighting Kulminator.
Humans
Botties
- Connor: The main human character of the series, Connor is obsessed with robots. He moved to Bubble Town, and soon after joined the "Botties" by fixing the "Unfixable Robot", Cubix. Perpetually optimistic, yet kind of hard-headed, he resents his father for not answering questions about his late mother. He is best friends with Abby, as they often play "virtual battle" video games at her house. Him and the Botties hang out at his dad's donut shop and Hela's repair shop, the Botties' Pit.
- Abby: Connor's 14-year-old neighbor, best human friend, and fellow robot-lover, Abby was the first person to show Connor around Bubble Town. She is a member of the Botties and her pet robot, Dondon, has been her best friend since she was younger. She is a bit impatient and a bit of a procrastinator but she has a sweet compassionate side. Abby loves robots and looks up to Hela almost like the older sister, and secretly wishes to be just like her someday. She can often be found in her room studying robot repair manuals.
- Chip: He may be short but at only 10, he is probably the most intelligent of the Botties. He knows practically everything about robots. He can sometimes be a know-it-all, who only sees things his way. He is actually very insecure about his height and can come across as awkward or nervous. His robot, Cerebrix is a specialized calculation model. He is best friends with Mong.
- Mong: The taller and chubbier member of the Botties, Mong loves snacks and making puns that only he ends up laughing at. He seems dense but he is actually pretty inventive and has a big heart. Highly competitive and a bit prideful, he rushes headlong into things, sometimes ignoring the consequences. His robot is Maximix, originally a fitness trainer model. Mong converted him into a motor bike. He is best friends with Chip.
- Hela Nemo: The daughter of Professor Nemo and the idol of Abby, she is the owner of the Botties Pit. Hela knows almost everything about robot repair. She is pretty even keeled, and is usually a source of advice and comfort to her young apprentices. Her robot team, includes Diagnostix, Mr. Fixit, Ixpressive and Attractix, named Kan-It. She also acts as a motherly-figure to Connor and despite the arguments she has with his stubborn father it.