Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil

Plot

The show follows a young boy named Clarence Francis "Kick" Buttowski who aspires to become the world's greatest daredevil with the help of his loyal friend, Gunther.

Characters

Main

Clarence Francis "Kick" Buttowski (voiced by Charlie Schlatter) is a 10-year-old amateur, thrill-seeking, often reckless daredevil. His main goal in life is to embrace each day as if it were his own personal action movie. He embraces his persona to the point taking opportunities and disregarding his wellbeing. Despite this, he otherwise has a good heart, and always does the right thing in the end if his reckless behavior goes too far. He is skilled at stunt work despite his age, though some of his stunts backfire. He is rather short and wears a signature daredevil outfit: a white jumpsuit with red stripes down the sleeves, a white helmet with a red stripe, and yellow boots and gloves. Some of his more notable catchphrases are "It's show time", "Fail? I don't do fail," "Aw, biscuits," "That's a rat", and "Chimichanga". He is the middle child in his family. His middle name was announced in "Rank of Awesome", as a reference to his original name, Francis Little. He is picked on by his older brother, Brad Buttowski, who often refers to him as "dillweed". He has 3 arch-rivals: Kendall Perkins, Ronaldo, and Gordie Gibble.

Gunther Magnuson (voiced by Matt Jones) is Kick's 11-year-old best friend and stunt coordinator who is chunky, skeptical, kindhearted, worrisome, and easily distracted by shiny objects. It is also shown that Gunther can whistle very well. Gunther, unlike Kick, does not enjoy living on the edge and can drink large amounts of Cheetah Chug without getting sick. He has Viking ethnic heritage and his family owns a successful restaurant. His Viking side shows when Gunther gets serious or angry. Anyone (except Kick) can be intimidated at this side of the character. He wears blue shorts and a shirt with a red cap and orange Crocs.

Recurring

Bradley "Brad" Buttowski (voiced by Danny Cooksey) is Kick's 15-year-old older brother. He bullies and insults Kick and Gunther, and is in charge when their parents are away. Brad also has poor personal hygiene and thinks he is popular. His favorite phrase is "dillweed", which he uses to refer to Kick and "Yeah, Brad", which is his catchphrase. He is a self-proclaimed "ladies' man" and will try to woo women. He usually fails in this goal. He has lackeys, who sometimes do his bidding or achieve his goals such as bullying Kick and Gunther. He is good at manipulating people, especially his parents, to get out or get people in trouble. His manipulations backfire at times.

Brianna Buttowski (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is Kick's spoiled 7-year-old younger sister. She's mainly known for being a "pageant girl". Being the youngest, she usually gets her way by saying "I want..." When not participating in pageants, she likes to annoy her brother Kick, holding on to anything that's valuable to him, like his favorite cereal and tricycle. Unlike their eldest brother Brad, she seems to have mutual respect for Kick. She is capable at working with him, provided that it is on her own terms. She appears to dislike Brad. Her favorite show is Teena Sometimes, which is why she is always dressed like its main character.

Harold Buttowski (voiced by Brian Stepanek) is Kick's overcautious and neurotic father. He is usually cheery and easygoing but is also attentive about possible sources of danger. He also has an unhealthy love for his 1979 AMC Pacer Wagon, calling it "Monique", and his wife does the same by calling her car "Antonio". He is obsessed with his wife's homemade cookies to the point of harming or bribing anyone who gets in his way. He seems to enjoy opening letters. He was a master at ping pong when he was growing up, as shown in "Bad Table Manners".

Honey Buttowski (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) is Kick's mother. She is infrequently at home, as she and her husband take their daughter Brianna to compete in beauty pageants. She is caring and protective of Kick, and although she's often worried about him, she acknowledges his daredevil nature, sometimes even helping him with his stunts. In "Kickin' Genes" it is revealed that she was once a famous daredevil and speedboat racer called "Honey Splash". She gave up her life as a daredevil when she became pregnant. It is also shown that she was the one who gave Kick his trademark white jumpsuit as a present, to show him how much she supports him. Her home baked cookies are tasty, to the point of driving people crazily obsessed and wanting more, even herself.

Production

Development

Corsaro has stated that he was thinking about his own childhood when he drew the character in 2002 and subsequently began developing the idea for a TV series. Originally named Kid Knievel, Kick was renamed for legal reasons and slightly redesigned from his initial concept. He was much smaller. He had blue stars on his helmet and blue stripes on his clothing in an apparent homage to Evel Knievel. Many of the show's characters and locations were inspired by Corsaro's hometown of Stoneham, Massachusetts.

Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil started production on December 19, 2008, under the name Kid Knievel. The title was changed to Kick Buttowski on April 4, 2009. In early December 2009, it was announced that the series would premiere on February 13, 2010, exactly one year after the launch of Disney XD (replacement of Jetix and Toon Disney), and the premiere of its first original series, Aaron Stone. The series's stunt coordinator is Robbie Knievel, the son of Evel Knievel.

The pilot was written and developed by Devin Bunje and Nick Stanton, who eventually left the project to work on another Disney XD series, Zeke and Luther. The pilot was later split into the first two episodes of the series, "Dead Man's Drop" and "Stumped".

In January 2010, it was announced that the series would debut on Disney XD on February 13, 2010, premiering exactly one year after the launch of Disney XD, with two episodes airing on the first day.

In June 2010, Disney XD ordered a second season for the spring of 2011. In March 2011, it was announced that second season would premiere on April 30.

Animation

Animation for the show was made in Toon Boom Animation software by Mercury Filmworks, with some 3D-animated elements.

Broadcast

Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil had been set to air in November 2009, but Disney announced it would instead air in February 2010. The show debuted on Disney XD on February 13, 2010 at 8:30 A.M. ET with two episodes airing that day. Sneak peeks and promos were shown on Disney XD, DisneyXD.com and Disney Channel. The series sometimes aired Saturday mornings at 8:30 A.M. on Disney XD.

On April 2, 2010, the series first aired on Disney Channel as a special presentation, with the episode "Obsession: For Kick / Flush and Release" as part of the "Get Animated" marathon. Another presentation was shown on Disney Channel on May 22, 2010, featuring three episodes.

On June 18, 2011, Kick Buttowski was moved to an off-and-on spot on Disney Channel with its incorporation into Toonin' Saturdays, Disney Channel's new Saturday morning cartoon block. The show last aired on Disney Channel on December 25, 2011.

In November 2012, Disney XD announced that Kick Buttowski had been cancelled and it would air its final episode on December 2. Various episodes were broadcast in different timeslots, likely causing low ratings and leading to the show's cancellation. Sandro Corsaro posted a video on his YouTube channel announcing the show's cancellation. The series finale "Last Fan Standing" aired on December 2, 2012. However, after the show's cancellation, reruns still aired on Disney XD until 2024.

The entire series is available to watch on Disney+, with the episodes placed in their proper production order.

Reception

Viewership

The pilot episode, "Dead Man's Drop/Stumped", was watched by 842,000 viewers, the second highest-rated series premiere in Disney XD's history. The second episode, "If Books Could Kill/There Will Be Nachos", was watched by 972,000 viewers.

Critical reception

The series received mixed reviews from critics, but has received a more positive reception from audiences and has gathered a cult following over time for its characters, writing, humor, and action. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the show 1 out of 5 stars, saying that "this pointless cartoon totally misses the mark for kids", arguing that "Kick lives in a fantasy world where responsibility and respect for authority take a backseat to danger and adventure, and his risky actions never result in any physical harm or discipline, as they would in real life. His older brother bullies him with name-calling and teasing, and Kick treats his best friend with similar disrespect."

A website of Toonopolis gave 2 out of 5 Giant Cartoon Mallets, writing: "My initial feel for this show was not a positive one. The show itself is a little annoying to watch, especially in the world of prominent flash animation on the Internet. Creator Sandro Corsaro is known for his preference for Flash and the show definitely feels like it was drawn in Flash. It might be unique in a way for usage in a mainstream show, but it feels a little amateurish to me." He argued that Kick and Gunther "aren't really funny as a pair. And the rest of the characters don't bring a lot to the table." He also said "It definitely has an air of 'figuring it out as we go'... another staple of Western animation. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely explains why so many of the characters have no real depth. Because it isn't completely unwatchable... just mostly."