Monster Buster Club is a French-Canadian animated science fiction television series created by David Michel and Vincent Chalvon-Demersay, it was co-produced by Marathon Media, the animation studio Image Entertainment Corporation, Jetix Europe with YTV and TF1. Prior to its debut on Jetix in Europe on 2 June, 2008, the series first aired on October 29, 2007 in France on TF1's block TFOU. It premiered on YTV in Canada on May 31, 2008 and June 7, 2008 on YTV's programming block CRUNCH. Most of the episodes were outsourced to Crest Animation Studios with Autodesk Maya. 52 episodes were produced.

Premise

In a fictional town named Singletown, three human preteens, with the help of their alien friend, reform the "Monster Buster Club" (often abbreviated as MBC), a secret organization that was founded centuries ago. The MBC aims to locate alien criminals, capture them, and send them to intergalactic authorities.

Development and production

Mipcom Jr. 2006

Monster Buster Club was first introduced to the public during Mipcom Jr. in October 2006. Marathon (now Zodiak Kids), the production company behind the show, presented their latest animated television series. Having experienced success with 2D shows like "Totally Spies!", "Martin Mystery," and "Team Galaxy," Marathon aimed to venture into the realm of 3D animation. The show received significant attention at Mipcom Jr., becoming the most viewed French program and ranking as the sixth most-watched overall.

The (lost) Pilot

While exploring the director Jean-Louis Vandestoc's blog, intriguing information about the early development of Monster Buster Club came to light. It was revealed that a pilot episode of the show had been created by a different CGI animation studio in 2005, predating Marathon's involvement. Unfortunately, details about the studio responsible for the pilot remain unknown. Despite thorough web research, no concrete information or traces of the pilot could be found. However, Vandestoc mentioned that some images from the pilot were previously accessible on the official Monster Buster Club website before the show's premiere in France. Contacting the show's producers might be the only way to obtain screenshots or further details about the lost pilot.

Co-production and Budget

Monster Buster Club was a collaborative effort between Marathon Media, Mystery Animation, Jetix Europe, TF1, and YTV. The production of the show required a substantial budget, amounting to approximately 23 million dollars. This significant investment underscores the scale and ambition associated with bringing the series to life.

Animation Development

To initiate the production process and establish the show's distinctive artistic style, Max Maléo, the animation supervisor, traveled to India. His primary objectives included defining the visual direction of the series and refining the parameters for animation. Notably, the animators at Crest Animation, the Indian animation studio involved in the project, initially expressed a desire to incorporate "Matrix-like scenes" into the show. However, Marathon successfully persuaded Crest Animation to adopt a stylistic approach inspired by Disney and Japanese anime, aligning with their creative vision for Monster Buster Club. Determining a cohesive style proved challenging due to the differing cultural references between India and France, as exemplified by the contrasting popularity of Dragon Ball in the two countries.

Notable Production Details

Crest Animation showcased their expertise by successfully animating large crowds in two episodes of Monster Buster Club: the first and eighth episodes of the first season. It's worth mentioning that before Jean-Louis Vandestoc assumed the role of director, the previous director had already approved the scripts for the initial 16 episodes. Consequently, Vandestoc was unable to introduce new scripts due to his dissatisfaction with the existing ones.

Episodes

Characters

Main

Other students

Faculty

Others

Broadcast

Besides Jetix internationally, the series has also been broadcast on several other networks.