Mighty Orbots (マイティ・オーボッツ) is a 1984 American-Japanese super robot animated series created in a joint collaboration of TMS Entertainment, Inc. and Intermedia Entertainment in association with MGM/UA Television. It was directed by veteran anime director Osamu Dezaki and features character designs by Akio Sugino. The series aired from September 8, 1984, to December 15, 1984, on Saturday mornings in the United States on ABC.

Series history

Mighty Orbots was developed from an idea pitched by Fred Silverman, possibly in response to the popularity of other robot-related properties. The original six-minute "pilot" featured a slightly different version of Mighty Orbots called Broots (pronounced "Brutes"). Rob and Ohno looked similar to their 'finished' selves, though definitively more late 70s-like. The Orbots, while having the same names as in the finished product, are subtly different, and obviously unfinished. Even their combined form aka "Super-Broots" would go through some more developmental evolution before becoming Mighty Orbots. It was produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha and Intermedia Entertainment in association with MGM/UA Television for both the United States for the television broadcast and Japan via home video. Unlike many other shows of its kind, Mighty Orbots was not simply a translated Japanese import. The series was directed by anime industry veteran Osamu Dezaki with storyboard work by Dezaki's brother Satoshi Dezaki, character designs by Akio Sugino, and animation by Shingo Araki. The main theme song used in the show introduction and throughout the series was created by Steve Rucker and Thomas Chase, with lead vocals provided by Warren Stanyer. The music was composed by Yuji Ohno. The series lasted only a single season of thirteen episodes, mostly due to a lawsuit between the show's creators and toymaker Tonka, who accused them of causing brand confusion with their GoBots franchise's "Mighty Robots, Mighty Vehicles" advertising campaign. The episodes aired on ABC and some episodes were later released on VHS by MGM/UA Home Video. Despite its short run, the series has a dedicated fan base today. The series' narration was done by voice-actor Gary Owens, who was the voice of Hanna-Barbera's Space Ghost in the 1960s and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder's human straight man Blue Falcon in the late 1970s. Mighty Orbots is one of only a small number of Saturday morning cartoons to have a definite series finale: the final episode, "Invasion of the Shadow Star," ends with a sequence in which the SHADOW homeworld is destroyed and the arch-villain Umbra defeated "once and for all." This differs from most other animated series, where the villain always escaped to fight another day.

Series plot

"Earth, the 23rd Century. A time of robots and aliens, and of destruction and terror. Can the Galactic Patrol, defender of the United Planets stop the evil computer, Umbra? You bet they can, meet Rob Simmons the secret inventor of fiesty Ohno, mighty Tor, versatile Bort, elusive Boo, Bo, the master of the elements, and Crunch, the metal muncher, super robots forging together at Rob's command to form Mighty Orbots, champion of the Universe." The 23rd Century, the future is a time of robots and aliens. The people of Earth have banded together along with several other peaceful alien races to promote peace throughout the galaxy, forming the United Planets. As part of the United Planets, the Galactic Patrol — a body of law-enforcers — works to maintain order, under the leadership of Commander Rondu. However, a powerful criminal organization called SHADOW is out to destroy both the Galactic Patrol and the U.P. Led by Lord Umbra, a massive cyborg-computer, SHADOW employs sinister agents and incredible schemes to attack and someday rule over all corners of the known-galaxy. There is one thing that helps to fight against SHADOW: ingenious inventor Rob Simmons — secretly a member of the Galactic Patrol — creates six special robots who can use their unique powers to battle against the forces of Umbra. Together, these robots can unite to form a giant robot called Mighty Orbots, to fight for truth, justice and peace for all.

Characters

Hero characters

The Orbots

Villain characters

Episodes

Video releases

Victor Entertainment released the series in Japan via home video. On April 17, 2018, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released the series on DVD via their Warner Archive Collection label (via Turner Entertainment Co., the owner of the pre-May 1986 MGM library) in North America.