Tak and the Power of Juju (TV series)


Tak and the Power of Juju is an American animated television series that aired from August 31, 2007, to January 24, 2009. Loosely based on the 2003 video game of the same name, the series consists of two eleven-minute stories per half-hour episode. It was co-produced by THQ and Nickelodeon. The series was produced by Nick Jennings and directed, among others, by Mark Risley, Jim Schumann, and Heiko Drengenberg. This was the second CGI Nickelodeon series, after The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius and is also the first one to be overseen by Nickelodeon Animation Studio. The show continued to air reruns on Nicktoons until September 3, 2012. 26 episodes were produced.

Characters

Main

Tak is a 14-year-old apprentice who lives with his mentor Jibolba. He wields various forms of magic derived from the Jujus, magical creatures from another dimension. Tak's mother is the Aurora Juju and his father is a Pupununu.Jeera is the Chief's daughter and Tak's best friend. She is a tomboy and will often punch Tak as a sign of endearment or annoyance. It is heavily implied that she has romantic feelings for Tak.Banutu Jibolba is Tak's mentor, uncle and shaman of the Pupununu tribe. He is 177 years old. Lok is a cowardly Pupununu warrior. He often refers to himself in third person.Keeko is a careless, daydreaming, laid-back orphan. He is a skilled inventor, but his inventions rarely work.Zaria is Jeera's 16-year-old sister and the heir to the Pupununu. She is spoiled, bossy, and brags that she is the most beautiful in all the tribe.The Chief is the leader of the Pupununu and father of Jeera and Zaria. A bumbling but harmless figurehead, he constantly gets furious at Tak due to his mistakes in the use of his Juju power.

Pupununu Tribe

Slog is a heavy-set woman who is incredibly strong. She is Lok's biggest fan and harbors a crush on him.Blod and Bleeta Oongachaka are the children of the tribe's wealthiest family, the Oongachakas. Blod is a hot-headed oddball and likes to brag about his wealth and has taken a romantic liking to Zaria, but she hates him. Bleeta is optimistic and curious about the world outside of her lifestyle.Chaka and Oonga Oongachaka are the parents of Blod and Bleeta and friends of the Chief.Mask Guy is a villager who wears a oversized voodoo mask to hide his unhumanly beautiful face.Log Hermit is a villager who wears a log. He is also revealed to have a good singing voice.Linda is a bipedal sheep and friend of Tak.Donna is a talking sheep in Linda's herd.Navis is Jeera's pet Gratch.Tlaloc is an evil shaman who attempts to replace Jibolba as the Pupununu shaman. However, he is defeated and transformed into a donkey.

Jujus

Jujus are magical creatures who originate from the Juju Realm.Aurora Juju is Tak's mother, who created the crystal that powers his staff.Belly Juju is a hungry Juju with no brain whose body is controlled by his stomach.Big Boss Juju is a powerful, fiery rock monster.Brain Juju is a brain-themed Juju.Bug Juju is a small beetle-like Juju who can manipulate other insects.Caged Juju is a cranky, horned Juju who lives in a cage and is obsessed with eating others.Darkness Juju is a demonic Juju and Aurora Juju's former fiancé.Dinky Juju is a short-tempered Juju with powerful magic. He is an adult, but many confuse him for a baby because of his small size.
  • The Devour Juju Brothers are troublemaking Jujus and the brothers of Caged Juju.Feet Juju are a disembodied pair of blue legs who enjoy dancing.
  • The Gremlin Jujus are short anglerfish-faced creatures who serve as law enforcement.Head Juju is a green floating head with arms and the coach of a Gratchball team.Judge Juju is a corn Juju dressed as a judge. She is female, but has a masculine voice.
  • * The Bulldrafish is a chimeric monster and Judge Juju's pet. It has a bull head named Henry/George, a dragon head named Doris, a fish head named Gillbert, and a fish tail.Killjoy Juju is a one-eyed Juju known for stopping parties and Party Juju's wife.Love Juju is a mermaid-like Juju who wields a snorkel as if it was her wand.Mayhem Juju is a small, teleporting Juju who Tak and Jeera adopt in the episode "New Pet".
  • The Motikis are wild tiki-like creatures who will go on a rampage if they are out of the Juju Realm. They are later revealed to be living cookie jars who can only be stopped by screwing their heads off.Party Juju is a skeletal Juju who is known to start parties. Only his wife, Killjoy Juju, can undo the effects of his powers.Phobia Juju is a floating brain Juju who helps the Pupununu tribe overcome their fears.Psychic Juju is a large-headed genie-like Juju with psychic powers.Pugnacious Juju is a three-armed retired boxer Juju.Repulsive Juju is a slug-like Juju and the younger brother of Repugnant Juju and Really, Really, Revolting Juju.Repugnant Juju is a gross-looking Juju and the sister of Repulsive Juju and Really, Really Revolting Juju.Really, Really, Revolting Juju is a gross-looking Juju and the sister of Repugnant Juju and Repulsive Juju.Roadkill Juju is a short peg-legged Juju who loves being run over by J-Runners.Spider Juju is a French-accented spider-like man-eating Juju.Vendor Juju is an orange octopus-like Juju who can sell anything from within its body.

Episodes

Series overview



Home media

Tak and the Power of Juju: The Trouble with Magic was released on June 24, 2008, and contained the episodes Woodiefest, Loser, A Shaman's Shaman, The Gift, The Three Chiefs, The Party, The Beast, To Zaria with Love, Girls Only, and Secession. Tak and the Power of Juju: Season 1 was released on October 17, 2011, and contains all 26 episodes. On September 22, 2021, the series was added to Paramount+, though originally reported for August. As of December 31, 2023, the show was removed from Paramount+.

KCA preview

During the Nickelodeon 2007 Kids' Choice Awards, hosted by Justin Timberlake, a preview was shown of the new show in Nick.com. The site included the preview, a character page and a story page minimally different from the game.

Differences from the games

Reception

Common Sense Media rated the show a 3 out of 5 stars, stating "Based on a popular Nickelodeon video game, Tak and the Power of Juju is an entertaining CG-animated series full of colorful characters and outlandish scenarios sure to entertain older school-age kids and young tweens. Tak's mix of good intentions and general mischief lays the groundwork for plenty of fun in each episode, and parents will like that there's not much to worry about here, aside from mild, typical cartoon violence. Just be ready for your kids to begging for the tie-in games once they've developed an affection for the jungle-dwelling cast."