Jimmy Zoppi Movies

The first new entry in the G.I. Joe franchise for the 21st century--a franchise that stretched back to Hasbro Toys' introduction of the "G.I. Joe" action figure back in 1964, and included three previous cartoon programs--the animated G.I. Joe Sigma 6 was a coproduction of Hasbro and Japan's Gonzo Studios. The "team" concept was carried over from the earlier cartoon versions, as a group of six multiethnic "Joes" (men and women), each endowed with incredible strength and resilience and boasting the latest in secret-agent technology, did weekly battle against their traditional enemies, the minions of the evil organization COBRA. Motivating many of the plotlines was the race between Sigma Six and Cobra to locate the mysterious Power Stones, which yielded unbelievable technological powers. The character lineup on this occasion (eminently adaptable to Hasbro playthings) included, of course, the six main Joes: Duke, Snake Eyes, Tunnel Rat, Long Haul, Heavy Duty and Scarlet. Also on hand were Commander Cobra, Overlord Vector, General Hawk, Kamukara, Hi-Tech, Machete, Destro, Zaratan, Storm Shadow, Torch and Jinx the Ninji, Spirit the Indian, The Baroness, Tomax, Flint, Overkill, Scott, and Spud the Robo Dog. Introduced with a 5-part pilot episode, G.I. Joe Sigma 6 was added to the Fox Network's Saturday-morning "4Kids" cartoon lineup on August 27, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of several Japanese animé series seen on the Fox Network's "Fox Box" Saturday a.m. lineup during the 2002-2003 season, Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy was a spinoff of the Kinnikuman cartoon weekly that had been running in Japan since 1983. The heroes of the piece were the good-guy members of the Muscle League Champions, an aggregation of wrestlers. Having just met defeat at the hands of their perennial enemies, the dMp, the Champions recruited an alien wrestler named Kid Muscle, the son of a legendary grappler. Not wishing to have the playing field leveled, the dMp dispatched the villainous Addversarious to eliminate Kid Muscle, the better to wipe out the rest of the heroes and take over the Earth. Coming to the rescue was Meat, the trainer of Kid Muscle's father, who endeavored to teach the boy his dad's celebrated "secret moves." First broadcast in Japan in 2001, Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy made its American TV debut on September 14, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi