Captain Planet and the Planeteers is an American animated environmentalist television program created by Ted Turner and Barbara Pyle.
Our world is in peril. Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, can no longer stand the terrible destruction plaguing our planet. She sends five magic rings to five special young people: Kwame, from Africa, with the power of Earth… From North America, Wheeler, with the power of Fire… From the Soviet Union/Eastern Europe, Linka, with the power of Wind. From Asia, Gi, with the power of Water… and from South America, Ma-Ti, with the power of Heart. When the five powers combine, they summon Earth’s greatest champion, Captain Planet.
— Opening Narration
Kwame (voiced by LeVar Burton) – Hailing from Ghana,[15] Africa, Kwame possesses the power of Earth. The unofficial leader of the Planeteers.
Wheeler (voiced by Joey Dedio) – From New York, U.S.A, Wheeler controls the power of fire.
Linka (voiced by Kath Soucie) – From the Soviet Union (in later episodes stated as being from Russia after the communist regime’s collapse), Linka has the power of wind.
Gi (voiced by Janice Kawaye) – Hailing from South Korea, Gi controls the power of water.
Ma-Ti (voiced by Scott Menville) – From the Amazon of Brazil Ma-Ti wields the power of heart.
Suchi (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) – Ma-Ti’s pet monkey.
Hoggish Greedly (voiced by Ed Asner) – A pig-like human who represents the dangers of overconsumption and greed, Hoggish is the first villain Captain Planet and the Planeteers encounter. In the episode “Smog Hog”, it’s revealed Hoggish has a son named Hoggish Greedly Jr. (Voiced by Jacob Doughty) who appears only once. In the episode “Hog Tide,” it is revealed that he has a grandfather named Don Porkaloin (portrayed as a parody of Vito Corleone from The Godfather) who in the past was defeated by another group of Planeteers. Unlike Hoggish Greedly, Porkaloin became environmentally friendly as shown in the episode “The Ghost of Porkaloin Past”.
Rigger (voiced by John Ratzenberger) – Greedly’s main henchman. He once claimed that the main reason he works for Greedly is because no one else would hire him. He does sometime question Greedly’s orders and shows concern when Greedly’s actions hurt the environment though it never has any effect on his boss, and Rigger, for the most part, remains loyal to Greedly.
Verminous Skumm (voiced by Jeff Goldblum in 1990, Maurice LaMarche in 1991–1995) – The second villain to appear on the series, he is a part-human, part-rat creature; he represents urban blight, disease, and drug abuse. Skumm can control rats and has his own personal helicopter called The Scum O’Copter. Skumm is responsible for the death of Linka’s cousin Boris via drugs in the episode “Mind Pollution.”
Duke Nukem (voiced by Dean Stockwell in 1990–1992, Maurice LaMarche in 1993–1995) – A doctor who changed himself into a radioactive mutant who represents the misuse of nuclear power, and the third villain to appear.
Dr. Blight (voiced by Meg Ryan In the episode “Hog Tide,” it is revealed that Dr. Blight had a grandmother named Betty Blight who assisted Don Porkaloin in his plot. In the episode “Hollywaste”, it is revealed that Dr. Blight has a sister named Bambi (voiced by Kath Soucie). Bambi calls Blight by her first name “Babs”, a shortened form of “Barbara”.
Mal (voiced by David Rappaport in 1990, Tim Curry in 1991-1996) – Dr. Blight’s A.I. computer husband and henchman.
Looten Plunder (voiced by James Coburn in 1990–1992, Ed Gilbert in 1993–1996) – A wealthy poacher and crooked businessman who represents the evils of unethical business actions. Looten is the sixth villain to appear on Captain Planet in the seventh episode, “The Last of Her Kind”. He is also shown to have a nephew named Robin Plunder. His name was a play on the term “Loot and Plunder”, and he was always in the ending credits of every episode when the singer mentioned “Bad guys who like to…loot and plunder!”, taken from footage of one episode where a disshelved Plunder sees his scheme in ruins and screams “You will pay for this, Captain Planet!”
Pinehead Brothers (voiced by Dick Gautier and Frank Welker) – Oakey and Dokey are two oversized lumberjacks that are Looten Plunder’s henchmen in the final season of “The New Adventures of Captain Planet.”
Sly Sludge (voiced by Martin Sheen in 1990–1992, Jim Cummings in 1993–1995) – An unscrupulous waste collector who represents laziness, ignorance, and the dangers of apathy and short-term thinking. However, as many of his schemes involve waste management, which is a legitimate environmental issue, he often uses that to gain apparent respectability. Sludge is the last villain to be revealed. He is also the only villain to defect to the Planeteers where a recycling program of his makes a lot of money by the end of “No Small Problem” enabling Sludge to propose plans to mass-produce an affordable, eco-friendly way to safely dispose of waste.
