¡Mucha Lucha! is a 2002–2005 American animated television series that premiered on Kids' WB on August 17, 2002. It was created by Eddie Mort and Lili Chin and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is the first animatedtelevision series intended for children created with Adobe Flash, a program which became widely used as a medium for animation in the years following. In 2005, the direct-to-video feature film ¡Mucha Lucha!: The Return of El Maléfico was spun-off from the series. The show also contained music by Michael Tavera, who previously made music for Cartoon Network's Time Squad.
Premise
The show is set in Luchaville, a fictional Southern California town centered on lucha libre where nearly everyone in that town wears a mask and costume and a signature move. The series mainly focuses on three friends, Rikochet, Buena Girl, and the Flea, as they struggle through the Foremost World-Renowned International School of Lucha, where they study.
Episodes
Characters
Rikochet – A young wrestler who is the protagonist. He considers himself the bravest of the group, but sometimes leaps before he looks.
Buena Girl – A smart, young female wrestler who always plays by the rules. She can also be very arrogant and obnoxious at times.
The Flea – A friend of Rikochet and Buena Girl who is always dirty and refers to himself in third person. As well as having a few disgusting habits, he is also the most nervous, but often proves to be a useful ally.
El Rey – An action figure which represents Rikochet's conscience. He's carried in a backpack, but can move and talk on his own, as if he were alive. It is stated that this action figure is just part of a large merchandising euphoria related to a supreme undefeated Mexican wrestler with the same name. Along in the series, several other El Rey toys appear and often causes trouble with Rikochet's.
A toy line based on the show was released by Jakks Pacific in 2004. In this toy line included "Mix-a-Lot" action figures; these had removable body parts that could be placed on the bodies of other action figures in the series. "Signature Move" action figures were also put out, along with a toy wrestling ring. However, the second series of the toy line was cancelled. During summer of 2003, DC Comics published a three-issue mini-series of comic books based on ¡Mucha Lucha! All three of the stories featured in these comic books were written by Eddie Mort, and have even been occasionally referenced in the TV series.
The show was licensed for a Game Boy Advancevideo game, Mascaritas of the Lost Code, in late 2003, and also a Sony PlayStation 2 video game, Mysterioso Grande, was slated for release, but was cancelled around 2004 as the creators could not find a publisher.
Proposed revivial
In 2014, a revival called ¡Mucha Lucha! Para Siempre was proposed which would have focused on Rikochet, Buena Girl, and the Flea as teenagers.
