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Cartoons: Street Sharks
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Episode Review
Filmography
Gallery
History of Street Sharks
Quick Facts
Voice Cast
History of Street Sharks:
This is
such a ripoff of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Only
it's sharks! Just like the Turtles, there are four of them.
They all happen to be brothers. They have similar personas.
For instance, Big Slammu is the crude one (like Raphael) and Jab is the
surfer-party-dude type (like Michaelangelo). They have an
arch-nemesis like Shredder, only they call theirs Dr.
Piranoid. The mad Dr. Piranoid, out to conquer the world,
also has two mutant henchman like Bebop and Rocksteady, only he calls
his Slobster and Slash. Instead of the Foot Clan, Dr.
Piranoid calls his force the Seaviates. The Street Sharks drive
shark-styled motorcycles (kind of like the Turtles with their
vehicles). The Street Sharks even have a human female sidekick
named Lena, like April O'Neil, only Lena is a scientist, and not a
reporter. The only thing missing is a humanoid rat mentor!
The animation is good. I like the action. The writing is decent. The annoying catchphrase "Jawsome!" like Ninja Turtles' "Cowabunga!" is a bit annoying. They overdo the "Jawsome!" quite a bit, where "Cowabunga!" was a bit more casual and not as overused. But basically, the Street Sharks were too inspired by the Turtles. I think anybody would've enjoyed seeing something that wasn't already done.
This is another case where the action figures were made first and the cartoon series was an afterthought. The action figures sold somewhat well for a few years, but they never reached the popularity of the Turtles. The cartoon series is not as well remembered, nor did it become the phenomenon the Turtles had become. I think the whole Street Sharks idea was just put together quickly so they could ride on the Turtles bandwagon. The bad thing was, the Turtles were pretty much done by 1994, just when this show was starting. A lot of the popularity for the Turtles was down, as the green teens had been exploited in just about every way imaginable. The public had no interest in making such a similar thing as equally popular. Had this show come out a few years earlier, it might have come close in popularity with the Turtles.
The figures for Street Sharks looked cool! But they did not have a lot of movement or accessories. Only their arms and waist moved. They were too big and bulky to be jointed. And their possibilities for vehicles were limited. The characters look awesome, but their playability is not too high. If you want a cool-looking Shark-man figure, though, seek out the Street Sharks.
I think the Street Sharks character ideas could have worked, but they should have taken the time to make them their own distinct entities. As they did it, they were too close to the Turtles to be considered anything more than a fly-by-night marketing ploy.
The Street Sharks first appeared in animation as a three-part mini-series in April of 1994. In 1995-1996, a regular season of the cartoon appeared. But after 96, the Street Sharks were done. The first three episodes (the mini-series) are compiled onto a VHS tape called "Street Sharks- The Gene Slamming Begins" released by DIC in 1995.
The animation is good. I like the action. The writing is decent. The annoying catchphrase "Jawsome!" like Ninja Turtles' "Cowabunga!" is a bit annoying. They overdo the "Jawsome!" quite a bit, where "Cowabunga!" was a bit more casual and not as overused. But basically, the Street Sharks were too inspired by the Turtles. I think anybody would've enjoyed seeing something that wasn't already done.
This is another case where the action figures were made first and the cartoon series was an afterthought. The action figures sold somewhat well for a few years, but they never reached the popularity of the Turtles. The cartoon series is not as well remembered, nor did it become the phenomenon the Turtles had become. I think the whole Street Sharks idea was just put together quickly so they could ride on the Turtles bandwagon. The bad thing was, the Turtles were pretty much done by 1994, just when this show was starting. A lot of the popularity for the Turtles was down, as the green teens had been exploited in just about every way imaginable. The public had no interest in making such a similar thing as equally popular. Had this show come out a few years earlier, it might have come close in popularity with the Turtles.
The figures for Street Sharks looked cool! But they did not have a lot of movement or accessories. Only their arms and waist moved. They were too big and bulky to be jointed. And their possibilities for vehicles were limited. The characters look awesome, but their playability is not too high. If you want a cool-looking Shark-man figure, though, seek out the Street Sharks.
I think the Street Sharks character ideas could have worked, but they should have taken the time to make them their own distinct entities. As they did it, they were too close to the Turtles to be considered anything more than a fly-by-night marketing ploy.
The Street Sharks first appeared in animation as a three-part mini-series in April of 1994. In 1995-1996, a regular season of the cartoon appeared. But after 96, the Street Sharks were done. The first three episodes (the mini-series) are compiled onto a VHS tape called "Street Sharks- The Gene Slamming Begins" released by DIC in 1995.