King is a Canadian children's animated television series produced by Decode Entertainment and Funbag Animation Studios that aired on Family Channel between August 15, 2003, and March 19, 2005."King | Catalog." DHX Media. 2018. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018."King | What's On." Family.ca. CA: Astral Media. Archived from the original on 24 November 2005.
Plot Russell Wright is a 12-year-old boy who finds a portal under his bed that leads to an alternate universe called Under. As he is from 'Up' (i.e., the regular world) and acquires the crown of Under, he is proclaimed the King.
Most episodes have multiple subplots, and deal with villain Bob Wire's attempts of stealing the crown and becoming king himself; however, he is regularly foiled by Russell or his friends. Other recurring themes are the attempts of Cliff, who was the former king of Under, to bully Russell into handing over the crown while he's in Up; and various confrontations between Under and the neighboring country of Near Under. Added to this are issues involving monsters, money, environmental issues, and even time travel.
Characters Protagonists Russell Wright (voiced by Mark Rendall) is a 12-year-old boy who discovered a passageway to Under in his house. There, he befriends Loopy and Vernon and challenges Bob Wire for the crown, subsequently becoming Under's new king. Russell's crown gives him the ability to breathe underwater as long as it is worn. Gus (voiced by James Kee) is a West Highland White Terrier who is capable of speech while in Under. He is loyal to Russell and his friends, and is very brave and blunt, often taking on much larger foes. Loopy (voiced by Adam Greydon Reid) is one of Russell's subjects, who displays effeminate and cowardly tendencies, such as being obsessed with butterflies and fireworks. He is part of the royal court as Under's First Buffoonist. Loopy is able to tame almost any animal, from squumps to sky cows to various undersea creatures. Vernon (voiced by Robert Tinkler) is an android built by the Clockmaker who works in the royal court as Under's figurer-outer and gizmologist. Populah (voiced by Julie Lemieux) is a former princess, who used to be the ruler of Near Under but "gave it up" because it was "too much trouble". She can breathe underwater naturally, without the need of the crown, as can her cousin Tess.
Antagonists Cliff (voiced by Robert Tinkler) is the former King of Under, who was overthrown by Russell. Sometimes, he attempts to sneak into Russell's room (and down to Under) while Russell is away, usually being foiled by Russell's sister Lou or his own stupidity. Bob Wire (voiced by Cathal J. Dodd) is Cliff's former assistant, who has taken to trying to make himself king of Under by stealing the Crown from Russell. His body is made of metal coils. Frags (voiced by Robert Tinkler and James Kee) are two small green creatures who are henchmen of Bob Wire. They tend to be extremely lazy and are generally somewhat more intelligent than their boss. Auntie First (voiced by Marnie McPhail) is the narcissistic, self-absorbed, oppressive despot of Near Under. She is not very good at her job but maintains it nevertheless, generally through a combination of threatening bodily harm, bribery, and blackmailing. She is referred to as "Auntie" by everybody, even those who are not related to her. Captain Darling (voiced by James Kee) is Auntie First's assistant. Darling will do anything to help Auntie, even if it means teaming up with her enemies, like Russell. He's in charge of the Near Under's By The Book Brigade.
Other rulers Cousin Tess (voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith) — The ruler of Undersea. She and Auntie First used to wage war on each other because they wore the same dress to a formal dance when they were in Despot School. Captain Darling put an end to the fighting by colorizing an old home video of the two fighting, deceptively coloring the dresses in different colors. Regardless, Auntie and Tess still fight all the time as a hobby. Hugh the Yu-Yu (voiced by Maurice Dean Wint) — The ruler of Under Under. He rules over the Yu-Yus and Slythers (including his pet Slyther, Mavis). He is very hippie-like, loves to party, and goes where life takes him, rolling a pair of fuzzy dice to make his decisions. "The Queen" — The ruler of Throng. Like her people, the Queen (whose name has not been revealed in the show) has a phobia of germs and uncleanliness. King Lugobrius Rex — The ruler of the Empire of Flax. He summons many entertainers to his abode, and if they fail to please him, he then has them shaved naked and thrown in his dungeons.
Past kings of Under
King Rocko - A teenage-looking king of whom Bob Wire was not particularly fond, as Rocko would often beat him and tie him up. King Baxter - When Loopy gave him extra fingers as a King Appreciation Day present, Ex-King Baxter ran away and joined an insurance company in Up, becoming a "top-notch typist". King Hobart - A young king who ran away after Loopy gave him an extra leg on a previous King Appreciation Day, allowing him to sprint at amazing speed. Kings Matt and Pat were twin kings who ruled Under before Cliff. They constantly fought over the crown and neglected their kingly duties, leading Under into disastrous and monster-plagued times. Vernon made a second crown so each twin could have one, but the plan failed as they promptly started fighting over the second one, ignoring the first one. King Cliff the Grim was king before Russell. He was called Grim for his poor hygiene as well as his immature and selfish personality. Bob Wire was Cliff's right-hand man before he succeeded him after Cliff moved away
Creatures Yu-Yus - Small creatures (about the size of frags) that inhabit Under Under. They are usually white (somewhat resembling living marshmallows) with spiky hair that cannot be discerned from the rest of their bodies. Like their leader Hugh, the Yu-Yus love to party and tame giant Slythers, earning themselves a reputation of being fierce and terrifying party animals. Guardilators - Large hulking people in the service of King Lugobrius Rex. They are tall with very muscular torsos and arms, and no nose. Florians - Plant people. Two notable factions, the Red Florians and the Yellow Florians had been waging a never-ending war over the last Thussle Bush. They communicate through smells and bursts of pollen. Outties - The inhabitants of Outieville, they all have "outie" belly buttons. Ipples - The inhabitants of a small and secluded jungle village. They are unable to make decisions for themselves, preferring to ask either Loopy ("The Great Decider" of Ipple lore) and later a butterflier (on Loopy's instructions). Juice Beasts - Sentient creatures who can squirt juice out of their tentacles. One of the most popular locations in Under is the Juice Beast Stand, which serves as a major social gathering place. Nossixs - Creatures that can change between being very small and weak to very big and muscle-bound. Great-great Uncle Zed once defeated a Nossix and locked it away in a bongo drum until Bob Wire used the Nossix to chase Russell out of the kingdom. Ghouls - Zombie-like creatures that have an uncontrollable craving for pickles. They must be kept away from pickles until the Horrorborealis is over because if they eat them, they will remain Ghouls permanently.
Sky-cow – A flying cow-like creature. Russell and his friends use these as transportation regularly. Squirt Hog aka "Engene" - An elephant creature that filled with water and a trunk nozzle to squirt. They're usually used for watering eggs to grow into buildings and other construction structures. Greenback – A green frog-like creature that was once used as currency when Russell attempted to introduce money to Under. When Bob took control of all the greenbacks, making Under destitute, Russell repealed money, which made the greenbacks worthless. Sky-beast – A more commonly used creature used as transportation by Bob Wire and Auntie First. They have handlebar-like horns. Slyther – A large raptor-like creature with a shovel-like mouth used for digging. Many are domesticated, ridden as transport, and milked to make Slyther Cheese by the Yu-Yus. Night-slyther – Although it sounds like a relative to the common Slyther, it is more monstrous-looking than the more common Slyther. It looks like a big green ball with multiple eyes, tentacles, long arms with claws and mouths on them, as well as a big spiky mouth on its body. They use to living in the shadows of Under Under hence would only emerge overground at night. Corola Vines - Similar looking to Night-Slythers but are carnivorous plants. On Pollen Holiday, their "hand-vines" grow excessively outward of the swamp to catch prey but are eaten by a migration of giant sea herbivores. Thoosh – A large walrus-like creature native to Wall-Eye Lake. It spouts jet-water to instantly grow Tither Ferns and eat them. Its water can also instantly clean places. Asymtote – A large monster that normally harmless. When hungry, every step it takes is half the length of its previous step before it (to conserve energy). Rebuloc – A vicious badger-like creature native to the Flatulent Swamp. Blue Bird of Happenstance – A large blue bird with beak and eyes in reversed position (beak above eyes). Whoever it poops on is cursed with bad luck for a year. Its feathers bring good luck. Krenit – A creature with multiple eyes and a sticky tongue that grabs anything it touches. Ippy Clippy – A creature with eyestalks, a large club-like tail, and large arms that is the predator of the Krenit. Slorch – A large red furry creature that can breathe fire. Plurn – A large one-eyed squid-like fish. Baby Plurns live on land and breathe air, then the mother squirts them with ink and they turn into aquatic adults. Later in life, Plurns swim into the underwater Volcano Metamorpho and are erupted with wings, living the rest of their lives in the sky. Going into the volcano will return Plurned (ink-squirted) creatures back to their normal terrestrial selves. Spitesucker – A red leech-like creature that feeds on anger. Dream Gulper – A strange gelatinous creature that can make dreams and nightmares real. Gorble Birds – Hideous blue birds who secrete organic pink slop. Sea Clutch – A small fish-like creature. It got its name because it grabs things in its clutches. Rock Monkey - A monkey-like creature. Its arms are where its nose is supposed to be. Its favorite food is pumpernickel. Sea Sloth - A sloth-like creature native to the sea. Jelly Droppers - Large hovering jellyfish-like creatures who drop huge balls of blue jelly. Skiffer Skink - A bloodhound-like creature with a pig-like snout. Great Big Hairy Eye-Ball - A floating hairy eye that temporarily turns anyone who looks directly at it into stone. Bedrock Beast - A large, stout caterpillar-like creature that eats rock. Parabat - A flying manta ray-like creature. It is used as a parasail on Frolicking Island. Sharkrunner - A red dinosaur-like creature with a shark-like head and a shark fin. Squump - A dumb, lazy cow-like creature. It gives both eggs and milk which are used for certain food products such as wriggly pies. Fang Ferret - A small ferret like creature with sharp fangs and a strong bite. Donkey Horse - A donkey-like horse. Gigagut - A giant stomach monster that eats almost everything. Slaphappy - An incessantly happy creature who loves playing pranks. Pool Clam - A clam-like creature with three tongues that resemble hands. Piranha Moth - A savage moth-like creature that eats clothing. Skitchybug - A tiny blue bee-like creature that swarms around people as pests. Brainsucker - A moving lump of flesh. They jump on people's heads and make them dumb. Brainsuckers are afraid of light and only come out of their nest during the month-long eclipse. Ice Eel - Small flying eels that inhabit the Equatorial Glaciers, moving through the cracks in the ice.