Tak and the Power of Juju is an American animated television series that aired from August 31, 2007, to January 24, 2009. Loosely based on the 2003 video game of the same name, the series consists of two eleven-minute stories per half-hour episode. It was co-produced by THQ and Nickelodeon. The series was produced by Nick Jennings and directed, among others, by Mark Risley, Jim Schumann, and Heiko Drengenberg. It was the second Nickelodeon series to be made with CGI, after The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius and is also the first one to be fully overseen by Nickelodeon Animation Studio. The show continued to air reruns on Nicktoons until September 3, 2012. 26 episodes were produced.
Contents
Characters
Main
Tak (voiced by Hal Sparks) is a 14-year-old errand boy and a lowly apprentice who lives with his mentor Jibolba. He wields various forms of magic derived from the Jujus, magical creatures from another dimension. Tak's mother is the Aurora Juju and Tak's father is a Pupununu.
Jeera (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) is the Chief's daughter and Tak's best friend. She is a tomboy and will often punch Tak as a sign of endearment or annoyance. It is heavily implied that she has romantic feelings for Tak.
Jibolba (voiced by Lloyd Sherr) is Tak's mentor, uncle and shaman of the Pupununu tribe. He is 177 years old.
Lok (voiced by Patrick Warburton) is a cowardly Pupununu warrior. He often refers to himself in third person.
Keeko (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a careless, daydreaming, laid-back orphan. He is a skilled inventor, but his inventions rarely work.
Zaria (voiced by Dannah Phirman) is Jeera's 16-year-old sister and the heir to the Pupununu. She is spoiled, bossy, and brags that she is the most beautiful in all the tribe.
The Chief (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is the leader of the Pupununu and father of Jeera and Zaria. A bumbling but harmless figurehead, he constantly gets furious at Tak due to his mistakes in the use of his Juju power.
Pupununu Tribe
Slog (voiced by Megan Cavanagh) is a heavy-set woman who is incredibly strong. She is Lok's biggest fan and harbors a crush on him.
Blod and Bleeta Oongachaka (voiced by Rene Mujica and Kari Wahlgren) are the children of the tribe's wealthiest family, the Oongachakas. Blod is a hot-headed oddball and likes to brag about his wealth and has taken a romantic liking to Zaria, but she hates him. Bleeta is optimistic and curious about the world outside of her lifestyle.
Chaka and Oonga Oongachaka (voiced by Mindy Sterling and Lloyd Sherr) are the parents of Blod and Bleeta and friends of the Chief.
Mask Guy (voiced by Lloyd Sherr) is a villager who wears a oversized voodoo mask to hide his unhumanly beautiful face.
Log Hermit (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a villager who wears a log. He is also revealed to have a good singing voice.
Linda (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) is a bipedal sheep and friend of Tak.
Donna (voiced by April Winchell) is a talking sheep in Linda's herd.
Navis is Jeera's pet Gratch.
Traloc (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is an evil shaman who attempts to replace Jibolba as the Pupununu shaman. However, he is defeated and transformed into a donkey.
Jujus
Jujus are magical creatures who originate from the Juju Realm.
Aurora Juju (voiced by Danielle Schneider) is Tak's mother, who created the crystal that powers his staff.
Belly Juju (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a hungry Juju with no brain whose body is controlled by his stomach.
Big Boss Juju is a powerful, fiery rock monster.
Brain Juju (voiced by Nick Jennings) is a brain-themed Juju.
Bug Juju (voiced by Wayne Knight) is a small beetle-like Juju who can manipulate other insects.
Caged Juju is a cranky, horned Juju who lives in a cage and is obsessed with eating others.
Darkness Juju (voiced by Mitch Watson) is a demonic Juju and Aurora Juju's former fiancé.
Dinky Juju (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a short-tempered Juju with powerful magic. He is an adult, but many confuse him for a baby because of his small size.
The Devour Juju Brothers (both voiced by S. Scott Bullock) are troublemaking Jujus and the brothers of Caged Juju.
Feet Juju are a disembodied pair of blue legs who enjoy dancing.
The Gremlin Jujus (voiced by Jeff Bennett) are short anglerfish-faced creatures who serve as law enforcement.
Head Juju is a green floating head with arms and the coach of a Gratchball team.
Episodes
Home media
Tak and the Power of Juju: The Trouble with Magic was released on June 24, 2008, and contained the episodes Woodiefest, Loser, A Shaman's Shaman, The Gift, The Three Chiefs, The Party, The Beast, To Zaria with Love, Girls Only, and Secession. Tak and the Power of Juju: Season 1 was released on October 17, 2011, and contains all 26 episodes. On September 22, 2021, the series was added to Paramount+, though originally reported for August. As of December 31, 2023, the show was removed from Paramount+.
KCA preview
During the Nickelodeon 2007 Kids' Choice Awards, hosted by Justin Timberlake, a preview was shown of the new show in Nick.com. The site included the preview, a character page and a story page minimally different from the game.
Differences from the games
Tak, Jibolba, and Tlaloc are recast, being voiced by Hal Sparks, Lloyd Sherr, and Jeff Bennett rather than Jason Marsden, John Kassir, and Rob Paulsen. Additionally, Tlaloc is renamed Traloc.
Tak's tribe is named Pupununu rather than Pupanunu.
Dead Juju and Mind-Reader Juju are respectively renamed Party Juju and Psychic Juju. Additionally, S. Scott Bullock voices the latter rather than Rob Paulsen.
Reception
Common Sense Media rated the show a 3 out of 5 stars, stating "Based on a popular Nickelodeon video game, Tak and the Power of Juju is an entertaining CG-animated series full of colorful characters and outlandish scenarios sure to entertain older school-age kids and young tweens. Tak's mix of good intentions and general mischief lays the groundwork for plenty of fun in each episode, and parents will like that there's not much to worry about here, aside from mild, typical cartoon violence. Just be ready for your kids to begging [sic] for the tie-in games once they've developed an affection for the jungle-dwelling cast."
