Pet Alien (French: Alien Bazar) is an animated television series created by Jeff Muncy, with episodes written by Dan Danko and directed by Andrew Young. The series is a co-production between Mike Young Productions of the United States, Antefilms Production of France, Crest Communications and JadooWorks of India and Telegael Teoranta of Ireland, in association with John Doze Studios, with the participation of TF1, in co-production with Télétoon (France) and distribution by Taffy Entertainment. For Season 2, KI.KA and Europool in Germany and MoonScoop in France joined as co-production partners. It is loosely based on the 1990s toyline of the same name.
It aired on Cartoon Network and Animania HD in the United States and TF1 and Télétoon in France. 52 episodes were produced, resulting in 104 segments.
Synopsis The series centers on the life of young, 13-year-old teenager Tommy Cadle, whose life is turned upside-down after his lighthouse is accidentally crashed into and invaded by a cast of a variety of five aliens during the night. Despite whatever trouble they all seem to cause, Tommy is content with having them around, as they brighten up his mundane life. This pleases the aliens, especially since most of them would prefer to stay. As such, the episodes revolve around the crazy antics and misadventures Tommy has to endure from his mischievous alien guests and the chaotic world around him as he attempts to live life normally.
Characters Main characters Tommy Cadle (voiced by Charlie Schlatter in English and David Scarpuzza (season 1) and Hippolyte de Poucques (season 2) in French) - He was once a normal kid who had no cares in the world and did well in school until the aliens came along. Tommy is often bullied by some of the other kids at school because of the aliens' actions and is annoyed by them, but generally accepts them as part of his life and sees Dinko as his best friend. Dinko (voiced by Charlie Adler in English and Frédéric Meaux in French) - A moody, upbeat, welcoming, strongly energetic and charismatic green Pterodactylus-like alien who is the leader and brains of the alien gang, and Tommy's self-proclaimed best friend, whom he adores and does everything for to remain such. He and Gumpers always try to help Tommy, but they always muck things up, often because they misunderstand Tommy's words to the point of insanity. Dinko is the most mesmerized by Earth's ways, words and rituals, and is naturally the most eager and curious of them all. However, even though he is the most innocent and friendly of the group, he will also often go to extreme, obsessive measures to solve his curiosity, causing no small amount of trouble and pestering for Tommy in the process. Gumpers (voiced by Jess Harnell in English and Michel Hinderyckx in French) - A big, strong, gluttonous, but easily scared pink gorilla-like alien with a big appetite who doesn't know his own strength. He appears to be extremely dumb most of the time, but he is capable of flashes of intelligent thoughts if he strains his brain hard enough. He and Dinko try to help Tommy with his problems, but they always mess things up and cause a bigger issue. Sometimes, Gumpers will point out the flaws in Dinko's plans, but Dinko never listens to him and does what he wants instead. Swanky (voiced by Jess Harnell in English and Franck Dacquin in French) - A British-accented blue insect-like alien that is the most refined and sophisticated of the gang. As his name suggests, he is rude, egotistical, lazy, quasi-elegant, very self-centered, arrogant, pretentious and greedy. He is also the one who is the most disinterested in everyone else in the group, and rarely accompanies Tommy and the aliens on their wacky adventures. He enjoys fancy things, massages and drinking tea, and wants to steal Tommy's room all for himself. Flip (voiced by Charlie Adler in English and Jean-Pierre Denuit in French) - An energetic purple parrot-like alien with red hair. The biggest troublemaker of the alien gang, his speech is often unintelligible, incoherent, incomprehensible babbling gibberish (with only the last few words being normal), and he is often used for comedic relief and slapstick, as he loves to play tricks on the others, especially Swanky. In season 2, he begins to talk normally. Scruffy (voiced by Bruno Georis in French) - Dinko's pet. Scruffy resembles a dog with purple fur and has a long, muscular tongue.
Major characters Gabby (voiced by Candi Milo in English and Lorette Goose in French) - A Mexican girl who is extremely obsessed with and in love with Tommy, often to the extent of being a stalker and a nuisance, but unfortunately he does not feel the same way. In several episodes, it is revealed that she can smell when Tommy is in trouble. In season 2, she mellows out significantly and befriends Tommy and the aliens, and Tommy is more willing to (platonically) hang around her. Granville DeSpray (voiced by Jess Harnell in English and Delphine Moriau in French) - A pompous eccentric and the British direct descendant of DeSpray Bay's founders, and as such he values old English traditions like teatime. Granville is hopelessly in love with Melba and has numerous times, to no avail, attempted to win her heart or impress her, sometimes via acting street and displaying "hip-and-hop". He despises Tommy and always hatefully blames him for anything bad that happens. Clinton Fillmore Jefferson XIII (voiced by Charlie Schlatter in English and Didier Colfs in French) - Clinton competes in any kind of sports available and usually wins. He is also a strong bully who likes to annoy, hurt, scapegoat and make fun of others, including Tommy, on a constant basis. Melba Manners (voiced by Candi Milo in English and Béatrice Wegnez in French) - A spoiled, bratty, authoritarian, possessive girl next-door who is the arch-enemy of Tommy. She enjoys forcing him to do tedious or tiresome tasks thanks to her terrifying temperament, shouts his name whenever something goes wrong (often through no fault of his own) and has a loud and shrill voice. Cap'n Spangley (voiced by Charlie Adler in English and Arnaud Léonard in French) - A quick-rambling old sailor who is a little crazy and greedy. His experience as a captain was a traumatic one, however, as he is apparently afraid of water and crustaceans. He runs a taffy shop which Tommy (and the aliens) visits often and sometimes works at.
Minor/recurring characters Tommy's Mom (voiced by Candi Milo) - A nagging woman who lives in a house located near to Tommy's lighthouse. She never appears onscreen, keeping contact with her son solely through PA loudspeakers installed in Tommy's lighthouse bedroom. Old Man Bitters (voiced by Charlie Schlatter) - Cap'n Spangley's angry archenemy who enjoys fishing. Emperor Breet (voiced by Candi Milo) - An evil, terrifyingly demonic, yellow-eyed emperor from the planet Rootsmell who journeys to Earth to kidnap the aliens living with Tommy now and then. Unfortunately, he always loses the right to take them in a game he isn't very clever at, and therefore despises: musical chairs. Doctor Daffodil (voiced by Charlie Adler) - An octopus-like alien that Dinko and his friends consult whenever Tommy needs a doctor. Unfortunately, his methods can be highly dangerous and Tommy therefore tries to evade him as much as possible. Tommy's Teacher (voiced by Candi Milo) - She usually appears in some episodes that revolve around school. In one episode, she gave Tommy his first B− for his inflated hand and degraded it to a C+ when the hand shrunk and to a C− when his leg inflated. Mom-sicle and Pop-sicle (voiced by Candi Milo and Jess Harnell) - Swanky's redneck parents. The Mime - A mime that tries to enter the lighthouse, but is always stopped by Flip. The Frog - A banjo-playing frog that appears in some episodes, often as intermission for a new scene or a gag.
Production In the early-to-mid 1990s, Jeff Muncy thought to create a line of stuffed alien plushes under the branding "Pet Alien". The concept originally started with just keychains and plushies distributed by the Best Ever Company, as a premium item to be sold in gift shops and boutiques nationwide. The keychains sold very well, but would later evolve into somewhat of a story by the late 1990s and early 2000s at the request of his sales representatives. Muncy self-published a picture book under the branding, subtitled "The Most Special Place", and around the same time, a website was made to promote the brand, complete with a storefront.
The brand's direction made it clear that Dinko was the main alien of the lot; the website also hosted a trilogy of cartoon Flash-animated shorts with him in the spotlight, among three other alien pals. These were done around the year 2000 by Muncy under his John Doze Studios label, and animated by Flinch Studio, operating today as MightyPants Media. The second of the webtoons' files were rendered inaccessible when the website was retooled, but can be viewed in snippets and stages of production at Flinch Studio's original website.
In its prototypical origins, Muncy clearly intended for the property to be targeted at young children, going by the basic art structure and storylines. His original idea of the cartoon had a different, more serialized premise than the more contemporary, traditionally episodic comedy the series ultimately became. One theme is that the aliens were meant to land in Tommy's backyard and take refuge in his treehouse, forcing Tommy to have them be a secret from the "Big Union of Galaxies", plus more aliens which were exclusively included as part of his original toyline. The pre-show variant of the website additionally came with backstories for the characters (i.e. Dinko is currently on the run from scientists who would like to dissect him, Flip likes to run on comets and shooting stars, Scruffy is from a planet of dog creatures). This shift in format is especially noticeable in season 2, which sanded off a lot of the quirkier aspects and worldbuilding of the first season and carried a much more lighthearted tone.
The series was originally going to be picked up by Disney, an executive for which approached the brand at a book signing for Puzzle Zoo in Santa Monica, California after being attracted by a display window featuring the characters, but on the sole condition that it was retooled to appeal to toddlers. Muncy rejected the deal and pitched the show to the independent animation distributor and studio Mike Young Productions (known today as Splash Entertainment) instead, who approved it in its current state. According to Muncy, Young allowed for more creativity and a better vision for his show, a frantic, slapstick-heavy, character-focused, Tex Avery/Looney Tunes-inspired, fast-paced screwball comedy. Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason were brought on to develop the project.