Colegiul Naional Pedagogic Constantin Brtescu

LUCRARE DE ASTESTAT LA LIMBA ENGLEZ

DEXTERS LABORATORY

ELEV: Popa Diana Cristina CLASA: a XII-a C PROF. COORDINATOR: Bucioc Adriana

Constana

2012

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I DEXTERS LABORATORY 1.1 INTRODUCTION....2 1.2 PLOT.....3 1.3 PRODUCTION.4 CHAPTER II THE CHARACTERS 2.1 MAIN CHARACTERS5 2.2 OTHER CHARACTERS..6 2.3 BACKUP SEGMENTS.7 2.3.1 DIAL M FOR MONKEY...7 2.3.2 THE JUSTICE FRIENDS...7 CHAPTER III OVERVIEW 3.1 EPISODES..10 3.1.1 MEMORABLE QUOTES10 3.2 REVIEW......11 BIBLIOGRAPHY..13

CHAPTER I DEXTERS LABORATORY

INTRODUCTION
Dexter's Laboratory (commonly abbreviated as Dexter's Lab) is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Cartoon Network Studios (also co-produced with Hanna-Barbera from 19962001). The show is about a boy named Dexter who has an enormous secret laboratory filled with an endless collection of his inventions. The series premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network on April 27, 1996. As of 2006, Cartoon Network's sister channel Boomerang has also been airing the series. The series initially debuted on the What A Cartoon! Show as a cartoon short and later became the first of said program to be adapted into its own series. Each 22-minute episode consists of two to three segments (with the exception of the initial series finale). Dexter's Laboratory originally ended in 1998 after 52 episodes, but it was later revived for a TV movie, and, even later, two more seasons featuring a different production team. Dexter's Laboratory is notable for helping launch the careers of several cartoon creators such as Craig McCracken, Seth MacFarlane, Butch Hartman, Bob Boyle, Scott Fellows, and Rob Renzetti. As of March 30, 2012, the series has returned to Cartoon Network on the revived block, Cartoon Planet. The series originally aired on YTV in Canada. As of May 5, 2012, Dexter's Laboratory had moved to Teletoon, airing Saturdays at 12:30PM ET, in favor of the launch of Cartoon Network Canada.

PLOT The series revolves around Dexter, an eight-year-old genius boy, who has a secret laboratory (which he pronounces with a stress on the second syllable, luh-BOAR-uh-tor-ee) filled with highly advanced equipment hidden behind a bookshelf in his bedroom. Access to this never-ending laboratory is usually achieved by speaking various passwords or by activating hidden switches on his bookcase (such as pulling out a specific book). Dexter is normally in conflict with his ditzy older sister, Dee Dee, who always mysteriously gains access to his lab no matter what he does to try to keep her out. Dee Dee eludes all manner of security and, once inside, delights in playing in the lab, often destroying all of his creations and often by pushing the wrong button(s) on an invention. This is often preceded by Dee Dee asking "Oooooh, what does this button do?", without waiting for an answer. Despite her hyperactive personality, Dee Dee sometimes makes more logical decisions than Dexter, or even gives him helpful advice. Dexter, though highly intelligent, often fails at what he has set out to do when he becomes overexcited and makes careless choices. He manages to keep the lab a secret from his clueless, cheerful parents, who amusingly never notice any evidence of the laboratory, even when it was right before their eyes. Despite the fact that almost all of his inventions have highly sophisticated computer and electronic components, the assembly of the devices usually involves tightening a large nut with a wrench and/or pouring green and purple chemical liquids into each other. The final component of most inventions is a hand-held remote control with a large red button and radio antenna. Dexter has an arch-nemesis, a boy from his school named Susan Astronomonov who dubs himself "Mandark", who lives down the block from Dexter and has a secret laboratory of his own. Mandark's schemes are generally evil and are designed to gain power for himself while downplaying or destroying Dexter's accomplishments. Dexter often makes better inventions than Mandark, but Mandark tries to make up for this by stealing Dexter's inventions. Mandark is also in love with Dee Dee, though she prefers to ignore him and never returns his affections. As the series progressed, Mandark's schemes became significantly more evil, his laboratory darker-looking, industrial and angular, in contrast to his original brightly-lit lab which had more rounded features. Continuity is not generally an aspect of the show, and many episodes are self-contained or leave characters in predicaments that are left unresolved and never referenced afterward (e.g., the entire lab is completely destroyed; Dexter is turned into a sandwich, etc.). Most episodes end in disaster because of a flaw in Dexter's logic or in his inventions. Dexter usually fails at what he has set out to do with Dee Dee often besting him. The shorts occasionally chronicle the adventures of other characters besides Dexter, Dee Dee, and Mandark. Chief among these were Dexter's pet monkey, Monkey (who secretly lived a double life as a crime-fighting super-powered secret agent), and Dexter's favorite superhero, Major Glory. Both of these characters were often associated with a superhero team called The Justice Friends, which included the superheroes Major Glory, Valhallen and The Infraggable Krunk. PRODUCTION Dexter's Laboratory was inspired by one of Genndy Tartakovsky's drawings of a ballerina. After drawing her tall and thin shape, he decided to pair her with a short and blocky opposite,
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Dexter (inspired by Tartakovsky's older brother Alex). After enrolling at CalArts in 1990 to study animation, Tartakovsky wrote, directed, animated, and produced two cartoon shorts that would become the basis for the series. Dexter's Laboratory was then made into a short film as a part of Cartoon Network's What A Cartoon! project, promoted as a World Premiere Toons on February 26, 1995. Viewers worldwide voted on what series should be given a full-time slot; the first to earn that vote of approval was Dexter's Laboratory. The series was picked up for a season of 13 episodes in August 1995. The show debuted as a half-hour series on April 27, 1996, with further promotion by its broadcast on both TNT and TBS as well as the Cartoon Network. Mike Lazzo, then-head of programming for the network, said that the short was his favorite of the 48 shorts, commenting "We all loved the humor in brother-versus-sister relationship".Directors and writers on the series included Genndy Tartakovsky, Rumen Petkov, Craig McCracken, Seth MacFarlane, Butch Hartman, Rob Renzetti, Paul Rudish, John McIntyre, and Chris Savino. Dexter's Laboratory ended its initial run in 1998. The series finale was "Last But Not Beast", which differed from the format of the other episodes in that it was not a collection of cartoon shorts, but was a single 25-minute episode. In this episode Dexter was forced to reveal the lab to his parents, though it ended with their memories being wiped clear of the experience. In 1999 Tartakovsky returned to direct "Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip", the show's first special episode, which is currently the only Dexter's Laboratory television movie. This was the last Dexter's Laboratory production that Tartakovsky was involved with and was originally intended to be the series finale. Thomas Chase and Steve Rucker, who were known for scoring many cartoons including the Dexter's Laboratory series, provided the musical score, having created several new musical themes exclusively for "Ego Trip". The special was hand-animated, though the character and setting designs were subtly altered. The plot follows Dexter on a quest through time as he finds out his future triumphs. Christine Cavanaugh later won an Annie Award for her performance as Dexter in "Ego Trip" for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting By a Female Performer in an Animated Television Production". The special was also released on VHS and VCD. The series re-entered production in 2001. The new episodes, which ran for two more seasons, had a different production team than the originals since Genndy Tartakovsky was busy working on Samurai Jack and Star Wars: Clone Wars (MacFarlane and Hartman had left Time Warner altogether at this point, focusing on Family Guy and The Fairly OddParents, respectively). This second line of episodes featured noticeably different visual designs, minor inconsistencies with the original episodes both in storyline and in visuals, different sound effects, and Christine Cavanaugh, the original voice for Dexter was replaced with Candi Milo for most of these episodes (as Cavanaugh had retired from voice acting in 2001 for personal reasons, though she still voiced Dexter for the first few episodes of Season 3).

CHAPTER II THE CHARACTERS

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MAIN CHARACTERS
Dexter Dexter is a ten-year-old genius boy, who has a secret laboratory and is the main character of Dexter's Laboratory. Dexter is normally in conflict with his ditzy older sister Dee Dee. Dexter, though highly intelligent, often fails at what he has set out to do when he becomes overexcited and makes careless choices. He manages to keep the lab a secret from his clueless, cheerful parents, who amusingly never notice any evidence of the laboratory, even when it was right before their eyes. Despite coming from a typical all-American family, Dexter speaks with an accent, a reference to Tartakovsky's own accent that he spoke with during childhood. Dexter's favorite superhero is Major Glory. Dee Dee Dee Dee (born July 6 1997) is a main character, in the animated series Dexter's Laboratory. Dee Dee is Dexter's extremely ditzy, simple-minded, 14 year old sister. She usually, in one way or another, sabotages his experiments and destroys the lab in every episode of the show, even though she seems to show care or love for her brother. Dee Dee also loves ballet, puppies, unicorns, messing around in Dexter's laboratory, and generally depicts all the stereotypes concerning normal girl activities. Mendark Susan Astronominov (born September 9, 1983), or commonly known as Mandark, is the main antagonist in the Cartoon Network animated series Dexter's Laboratory. Dexter's arch-nemesis. Approximately equal in intelligence to Dexter, he too possesses his own laboratory, which has a very red-and-black color scheme (although it was a normal shaped, brightly lit building before it was rebuilt) and may be organic-based. In spite of her role in his setbacks, Mandark has a crush on Dee Dee, who initially resented the attention, but developed an easier relationship with him in the later series. He was originally referred to as "Mandark" though his true name was revealed to be "Susan", a name which humiliated him in his early phases in life and a case of horrible parenting. In one episode called Dee Dee's Rival, it is revealed that he has a sister named Olga Astronominov, also called Lalavava, who seems to have total control over him, although she hasn't been seen or heard of since.

OTHER CHARACTERS
Mom
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Mom (born September 13, 1957) is Dexter's and Dee Dee's red-haired mother; a Mysophobe who has trouble being around the rest of the family without her rubber gloves. She is rarely seen without her gloves, and, should she happen to lose them, starts to go insane (as in she starts having nightmarish hallucinations, featuring oversized bugs and germs) in an episode - "Pslightly Psycho" to be exact - when they have gone missing from her nightstand. Although a stereotype housewife, a few episodes imply most of Dexter's personality comes from her, including her perfectionist streaks, red hair, intelligence, and her penchant for dramatics. She speaks in a kind of Minnesotan accent. Even though Dexter's Mom was smart, Dexter's mom has been shown to be nowhere near as moronic as her husband. In fact sometimes she has been shown to be very smart. Dad Dad (born May 4, 1956) is Dexter and Dee Dee's blond-haired father is the stereotypical husband and head of the household, falling directly above his wife in authority. Loves bowling, golf, fishing, and has an unnatural affinity for his wife's muffins, of which she can expertly create. Dee Dee's traits inherited from Dad include his innocence, cluelessness, naivite and blonde hair, though Dexter has inherited his need for glasses and obsession over petty things from him as well. Like his wife, his real name has not been revealed and he is referred to as "dear", "honey", etc. His workplace may also be in an office as when Dee Dee takes pictures of him dressed as mom and she says "Wait till the boys at the office see these" in "The Muffin King The only thing close to being named was in the episode "Bad Cable Manners" where everyone refers to him as "Mr. Dexter's Dad". Lee Lee & Mee Mee Lee Lee (born October 26, 1984) and Mee Mee (born February 20, 1984) are two of Dee Dee's friends. They like the same things that she does and often cause havoc in Dexter's lab with her when they come for a visit. Or play with the ponies they love so much! Lee Lee and Mee Mee are shown to be nearly identical to Dee Dee. However, Mee Mee is African-American while Lee Lee is Asian. Mee Mee has a bit of an attitude, as shown quite a few times. While Lee Lee seems to have possible feelings for Dexter, as shown in one episode when she openly calls him cute.

BACKUP SEGMENTS
In season 1 of Dexter's Laboratory (and a few episodes of season 2), the middle segment would have centered around characters from the Dexter's Laboratory universe other than Dexter's family. Two kinds of these segments were shown, primarily during the first season, running during 22-minute slots: Dial M for Monkey and The Justice Friends. Dial M for Monkey appeared in the first half of the first season, while The Justice Friends appeared in the second half of the first
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season. Monkey often appeared in the Justice Friends segments and vice versa, having teamed with his fellow superheroes while Dexter and Dee Dee sometimes appeared in the Monkey segments. Dial M for Monkey The Dial M for Monkey shorts feature Dexter's pet lab monkey, Monkey (vocal effects by Frank Welker), who, unknown to Dexter, has superpowers and fights evil with his lovely secret agent and a team of superhero partners. Villains range from a cranky and irritable lava monster that just wants silence because it needs to sleep, to a woman obsessed with making fur coats from endangered species across the universe, to a bounty hunter who wants to kill Monkey for use as a hunting trophy. Monkey's true identity is revealed to Dexter in the episode "Last But Not Beast", although Dexter's memories are erased shortly afterward. On April 13, 2012, this segment will return to Cartoon Network to show re-runs on the revived block, "Cartoon Planet". The Justice Friends The Justice Friends are a group of superheroes who exist in the "universe" of Dexter's Laboratory and occasionally appeared in back-up segments of that show. The Justice Friends is considered to be a spoof or a parody for DC Comics' Justice League and Super Friends, and Marvel Comics' Avengers. Major Stars: Major Glory is a semi-effective, caped American hero given to over-dramatic, patriotic dialogue. He is an obvious parody of both Captain America and Superman. His love for publicity and of the paparazzi can often present more harm than good. His secret identity is concealed by several masks instead of just one, he is the nephew of Uncle Sam (currently a hippie), and he is allergic to cats. He is voiced by Rob Paulsen. Val Hallen is a guitar-wielding Viking god of rock with Southern Californian mannerisms. He is a parody of both the Mighty Thor and rock music guitarist Eddie Van Halen. Val Hallen's guitar is his source of divine power, as seen in the episode "Val Hallen's Room" where he was reduced to a nerd having lost it. Upon finding it, the power of the guitar restored him to his true form. However, it seems that the guitar itself does not supply an infinite amount of energy as he had to retrieve his power when Mental Mouse claimed it in the episode "Can't Nap". It's also powered by static electricity as well. Valhallen can also fly on his guitar, much the same way Mjolnir grants Thor the ability of flight in the Marvel Universe. It can be noted that his guitar bears resemblance to the Gibson "Flying" V (Most likely an inside joke for guitar players). He has been seen using various means of transportation throughout the series, such as a cross between a Viking long ship and a jeep, or a chariot pulled by a goat (named Billy), similar to the chariot used by Thor in Norse mythology which is pulled by two goats. He is voiced by Tom Kenny. The Infraggable Krunk (or Krunk for short) is an overgrown muscle-man with arrested mental development. He obviously parodies both the Incredible Hulk and The Thing. He wears green pants and has purple skin - an opposite to the
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Hulk's purple pants and green skin. His favorite television show is TV Puppet Pals. He is voiced by Frank Welker.

List of Other Justice Friends Justice Friend White Tiger Counterpart Black Panther Description

Sam-R-I Living Bullet

Phan Tone Rat Man

iki Torch

Miss Pell

Commander

White Tiger is the feline superhero member of The Justice Friends. Despite being called "White Tiger," he acts more like a common house cat. Silver Samurai Sam-R-I is a samurai-themed superhero and his interests are fighting crime and his honor. Iron Man, Quicksilver, The Living Bullet is an armored Flash, and/or Colossus superhero who can move at the speed of a bullet. He is the fastest member of the The Justice Friends. He has children, which Major Glory calls the "'lil copperheads'". Vision Phan Tone is a musical and paranormal themed superhero. Batman (with Spider-Man's Rat Man is a pudgy, short and personality) near sighted member of The Justice Friends who mainly acts as the team's repairman due to his extensive knowledge of household electronics and plumbing. Human Torch and Shaman He is a tiki-themed Polynesian superhero and his interests are fighting crime and making drinks. Scarlet Witch She is a superhero sorceress who fights using her magical spells. She is the only female member. Her name is a play on "Miss Spell". Nick Fury The Commander is the head of Global Security whose main
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Capital G

duty is to monitor the Earth for any signs of danger. Apparently, he's "trapped" inside the TV since he's never seen outside of it. Black Goliath, Giant Man, or Capital G has the ability to Apache Chief change the size of his body by growing or shrinking.

CHAPTER III OVERVIEW

EPISODES
As of November 20, 2003, there is a total of 78 half-hour episodes of Dexter's Laboratory produced, not including the "Ego Trip" TV special. Three hip hop music videos were also aired on Cartoon Network beginning in fall 2002 as a promotion for the music CD Dexter's Laboratory: The Hip-Hop Experiment. In 2012, new episodes will return with a 5th season (and probably a sixth one too) and will air the 100th episode of the series. Notably, one episode made intentionally for adults entitled "Dexter's Rude Removal" features excessive use of profane language (albeit censored) and was only screened at certain animation conventions. Due to network standards, the episode has never been broadcast on television. MEMORABLE QUOTES [whenever his mother calls him] Dexter: What do you want, woman? [repeated line] Dee Dee: Oooh! What does THAT button do? Mandark: Yes, Dexter, I can read your thoughts, and I am smarter than you. Mandark: Gather round, all you mortals, and behold the fury that you cannot deny! And you won't be disappointed, either. Mandark: Excellent! My sneaky ways have put me in the lead! I'd give myself a pat on the back, but I'm driving, so I'll have to do it later! Mandark: Blast you, Dexter! Now there's an idea... blast Dexter. Yes, blast Dexter! Dee Dee: Uh, Dexter? Sorry to wake you... Dexter: You mean like you did the last 20 times? Dee Dee: Well, I went into your lab, see? And I pushed a button...
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Dexter: Oh, you mean like you did the last 20 MILLION times? Dexter: So what kind of stuff do you like? Girl: Oh, I like peace, quiet, and especially solitude! Dexter: We'll call you! Dexter: Omlette du fromage. Dexter: [laughing] Dee Dee, I heard this great joke! Okay, here it goes: A physics professor and his assistant are working on liberating negatively-charged hydroxyl ions, when all of a sudden, the assistant says, "Wait, professor, what if the salicylic acids do not accept the hydroxyl ions?" And the professor responds, "That's no hydroxyl ion; that's my wife!" [He breaks into hysterical laughter, while Dee Dee is unimpressed]. Dexter: You fool! Mothers do not get sick; they take care of the sickly!

REVIEW
Still being a kid at heart, I'm a large fan of animation. I grew up on Scooby Doo, Looney Tunes, and the original Tom and Jerry and can remember a time before so many cartoons were just toy advertisements or committee-designed slush meant for mass appeal or message preaching that wound up completely lacking in passion. Artists with the same sense of nostalgia as I have seen to it that animation began a slow revival in the 1990's. The Simpsons really led the way for intelligent cartoons that can appeal to adults without forgetting that animation should be a playground for the imagination. Certainly, there's still plenty of slush out there, but the ratio of quality stuff to filler has grown considerably in recent years. As a case in point there is Dexter's Laboratory. It's the best thing I've seen come out of Cartoon Network's originally produced efforts so far. Dexter is a red headed third grader with a super keen intelligence that allows him to build devices quite fantastic by our 21st century standards, but all still firmly grounded in our science fiction culture that began in the 1950's (and this is sure to appeal to any fan of sci-fi who can appreciate humor). While being smart, he is still very much a child, and prone to all of the problems that would plague your average third grader. His normal attire is a white lab coat, large rubber gloves and boots, and he speaks in a quasiGerman accent, which makes him even more fun. His dress and accent are no doubt homage to the super intelligent "mad genius" character popularized by so many horror and b-films over the years, and fits his character perfectly. He has a gigantic laboratory filled with incredible technology that, while mostly being background scenery, looks the part perfectly (think Frankenstein's lab). All of this is hidden in and under his house, and he somehow manages to keep his fantastic playground hidden from his parents, who are replicas of the 1950's sitcom blissfully married perfect couple. While he keeps his lab hidden from his parents, he can't seem to keep anything safe from his sister. Dee Dee is the free spirited spoil to Dexter's scientific rationalism with blond hair and gigantic blue eyes. She's not the least bit malicious, just terribly curious. She always seems to inadvertently foil Dexter's latest grand invention or scheme with her obsession to press every button she sees or randomly dance about, crashing through the scenery. Together they form a sort of ying and yang,
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their differences in nature successfully driving many stories along. They're still very much brother and sister, however, and sibling rivalries are constant, but hilarious against the backdrop of sci-fi plots the two are thrown into. While the show does have plenty of action, adventures, and fantastic gadgets, it would still be pretty stale without such well fleshed out characters to enjoy. They are all caricaturistic enough to be funny, yet human enough (they all have theirs flaws and foibles) that you will want to see how they act and react to the latest crisis, typically brought on by Dexter's dabbling with science. While Dexter may deeply resent his sister's habit for unintentional destruction and her "older sibling" status, he still cares for her and never fails to bail her out of a tight spot. While the characters might occasionally display fondness through their actions (Dexter builds a robotic likeness of his mother, the father arm wrestles truckers to defend family honor), emotions are never handled in a sappy or overly sentimental manner. The ability to display heart so subtly without having to hit audiences over the head with it is difficult and rarely done so well. The show abounds with references to popular culture any child of the 80's will be familiar with. From giant monsters to fighting robots and even to an episode dedicated to spoofing Dungeons and Dragons which is quite funny. To sum it up, the series really just aims to entertain against a sci-fi backdrop. And in that respect it succeeds greatly. When an episode is done, you probably haven't learned any great lesson; you've just had a good time, much like watching an old Looney Tune or Tom and Jerry short. The episodes are out of production, which is a shame. I sincerely hope that Dexter and Dee Dee get to make a comeback someday.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dexter's Ink(Dexter's Laboratory Chapter Books) [Mass Market Paperback] By Howie Dewin, Amy Keating Rogers, Chris Savino The Cartoon Network Book by Wikipedia

Internet sources: http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.wikia.com/Wikia http://www.imdb.com/

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