20 April 2009 (2009-04-20) – 10 April 2015 (2015-04-10)
Fishtronaut (Portuguese: Peixonauta) is a Brazilian-Canadian animated children's television series created by Célia Catunda[1] and Kiko Mistrorigo, and produced by TV PinGuim, in association with Discovery Kids.[2] The series is about the eponymous character, a fish in a spacesuit which allows him to fly and breathe out of water. He is a secret agent who, along with his friends Marina and Zeek, unravels the mysteries occurring in the Smiling Trees Park. They solve the mysteries with the help of a P.O.P. (Primary Objective Pod), a magical multicolored ball containing clues vital to the mission. Viewers are invited to dance along with the heroes to a tune, so that the P.O.P. will open and release the clues inside. The series is aimed at children ages 3–7 and debuted successfully on Discovery Kids in Latin America on 20 April 2009.[3]
In the international market, the series is marketed by the names of Peztronauta (Spanish) or Fishtronaut (English). After success on TV, Fishtronaut was produced as a play called Peixonauta da TV para o Teatro (in English: Fishtronaut from TV to Theatre) which premiered on 9 January 2011 in Rio de Janeiro. On 9 November 2012, a movie titled Peixonauta – Agente Secreto da O.S.T.R.A. (in English: Fishtronaut – Secret Agent of O.Y.S.T.E.R.) was released. From 30 March 2015 to 25 December 2020, the series also aired on the now-defunct Qubo network, owned by Ion Media Networks.[4]
The show has been noted for its success in teaching kids to care for the environment.[5]
The show is set in the Smiling Trees Park, where elephants, monkeys and other animals from around the world roam free. Children are welcome to explore the forest and climb the trees, or ride a sub to the bottom of the cove and its colorful reef. In the park is Quiet Lake, which is fed by a long river. The river also extends beyond the lake into a sandy cove along the ocean.
Fishtronaut (Portuguese: Peixonauta) (voiced by Fábio Lucindo in Portuguese and Dawn Ford in English) is an anthropomorphic big goldfish. He wears a Bubblex suit that allows him to fly out of water. It also has numerous tools useful during missions. He is always watching his friends Marina and Zeek, and investigating the problems of the Smiling Trees Park in order to solve them. He lives at the bottom of Quiet Lake, though he spends more time out on the surface with his friends. He is also an aspiring inventor, creating machines generally useful to the park. He usually communicates through a video screen fitted into his suit.
Marina (voiced by Fernanda Bullara in Portuguese and Angela Galuppo in English) is a bright and curious brown-haired 8-year-old human girl who is also Fishtronaut's best friend. Every day, she proves to be a valuable member of the park's spy team. Whenever she and Fishtronaut happen to be apart, she can always use her trusty Aquawatch to stay in touch.
Zeek (Portuguese: Zico) (voiced by Celso Alves in Portuguese and Terrence Scammell in English) is a tween-aged monkey who may love to monkey around, but his awesome tree-climbing abilities and finely-tuned sniffer make him invaluable to the team. Though he does come up with the most implausible of theories and even causes the occasional mix-up, his various intentions are nothing but the best.
Billy (Portuguese: Pedro) and Mac (Portuguese: Juca) (both voiced by Justin Bradley) are two 8-year-old twin brothers and Marina's rascal cousins. Their shenanigans tend to get them (and the park) in a heap of trouble, but they are harmless and have only the best intentions.
Dr. Green (Portuguese: Dr. Jardim) (voiced by Rick Jones) is the grandfather of Marina and the twins Billy and Mac and also the wise vet and caretaker of Smiling Trees Park. He runs the park's Animal Hospital, which was built in a pod of a giant beanstalk. Whenever Marina's stuck, she knows Grandpa can help her find the answer.
Rosy Barb (Portuguese: Agente Rosa) (voiced by Holly Gauthier-Frankel) is a S.E.A. agent who loves color and enjoys decorating the ocean bottom until it's just right. She knows the cove inside out and whenever Fishtronaut's on dry land, he can always check in with Rosy via the Web Clam.
Happy Plumb (Portuguese: Chumbo Feliz) (voiced by Terrence Scammell) is a wise old fish who likes living quietly at the bottom of the cove and knows just about all there is. No one knows how long he's been around, but it's a very long time, indeed. He remembers the very beginnings of Smiling Trees Park. Whenever Fishtronaut is stumped, he knows Happy Plumb can point him in the right direction, that is, if he can decipher Plumb's riddle of an answer.
Fishtronaut was first broadcast in Latin America on 20 April 2009 on Discovery Kids with the name PeixonautainPortuguese and PeztronautainSpanish. The Spanish version of the show was dubbed in Chile by DINT Doblajes Internacionales. A European Spanish dub that aired in SpainbyClan, owned by RTVE, has the characters speak in a Spanish accent. The series has been broadcast in the United StatesonQubo. The series also has been aired in French-speaking CanadaonYoopa (asPoissonaute). It was dubbed in Czech and aired in the Czech RepubliconČT Déčko (asAgent Ploutvička). A Turkish-dubbed version of the show (called Balıktronot) was broadcast in TurkeyonTRT Çocuk.
The film Peixonauta – Agente Secreto da O.S.T.R.A. was released in theaters on 9 November 2012, in commemoration of three years of the series. The film was planned for two years and was released months before the premiere of season 2 of the TV series.[6] The film is a compilation of some episodes of the first season.
A second film was released in January 2018, with an original story.[7][8]
^"11 curiosidades sobre Peixonauta" [11 Curiosities about Fishtronaut]. Universo Estendido (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 January 2018. Archived from the original on 27 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
