King - Theme Song
King was a Canadian children's animated series, originally produced by Decode Entertainment for the TV channel Family. The series revolves around a 12-year-old boy named Russell Wright, who enters a portal under his bed to another world where he is crowned king. He is joined by his robot advisor, his court jester, his talking dog, and a former princess as he goes on numerous adventures. At this time of writing, only half of the series has been found.
Series
King is known for being one of Canada's longest-running animated television series, featuring a large voice cast and a number of international animation teams. At times, it is also one of the more extreme examples of the gross-out and slapstick cartoon genre, which was popularized in the mid-1990s to early 2000s. King particularly takes influence from cartoons such as Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and Spumco-era Ren & Stimpy.
An image from Family's original King site
The series spanned 52 episodes, produced from 2003 to 2005. Episodes 1-26 make up season one, episodes 27-39 make season 2, and episodes 40-52 make season 3. King primarily aired on the Canadian channel Family. In the United Kingdom, it aired on Pop and Nicktoons TV from 2006-2007. At least the first 26 episodes of the series were dubbed into French, Spanish, and Portuguese. In Canada, the series ran for a total of four years before being removed from Family's programming lineup in early 2008. The series has been off the air for nearly a decade, and as a result, has become increasingly obscure.
King's production company, Decode Entertainment, merged with Halifax Film Company in 2006 to become DHX Media. This was after King concluded production, and thus did not have any effect on the show itself, but may have complicated licensing and distribution.
Availability
The DHX Media catalogue listing for King
At this time of writing, media conglomerate DHX Media currently holds the distribution rights to King. However, as advertised on their site and in their show catalogue, DHX only has access to 26 out of 52 episodes in English. King was briefly shown through the short-lived on-demand TV station Kids DHX, which is no longer operating. King's first 26 episodes are currently only available through the digital service OverDrive, which provides North American libraries with electronic media such as ebooks and television programming. King, along with other OverDrive content, can only be accessed by individuals with a valid library card in the states of California, Utah, or Tennessee.
In 2014, Youtube user Ashley uploaded the first 8 episodes of King to Youtube, ripped from Kids DHX and featuring the channel watermark. Later, in mid-2017, Youtube user HakkiriMotto accessed one of the OverDrive-enabled online libraries and ripped the remaining 18 episodes. These 26 episodes are now freely accessible from their Youtube playlist.
At this time, only four episodes from seasons 2 and 3 have been found. DHX Media only discloses having 26 episodes available to license at this time, which can mean a number of things; either these episodes are simply not available at this time in favour of a smaller, more licensee-friendly package, or there are legal issues keeping the remaining 26 episodes vaulted.
Season 2 and 3 Episodes
| Episode No. and Title | Status |
|---|---|
| 27. Artificial Intelligence | Found |
| 28. Random Opportunity Knocks | Found |
| 29. The Lawn of the Lurber | Found |
| 30. Good Stenches Make Bad Neighbors | Lost |
| 31. Despot School Confidential | Lost |
| 32. El Spectaculo Del Squumpo | Lost |
| 33. Slow Plums & Krenits | Lost |
| 34. Return of the Moon | Lost |
| 35. Continent Adrift | Lost |
| 36. Escape from Frolicking Island | Lost |
| 37. The Coming of Kleng | Lost |
| 38. Ride'em Squump Boy | Lost |
| 39. Stolen Voices | Lost |
| 40. A Glass of Memory (Season 3 Premiere) | Lost |
| 41. The Monster Who Wouldn't Arrive | Lost |
| 42. The Museum of Tomorrow | Lost |
| 43. Treasure of the Zinkas | Lost |
| 44. Run Russell Run | Lost |
| 45. The Egg Effect | Lost |
| 46. Russell Thussle Tussle | Lost |
| 47. King Russell the Repellant | Found |
| 48. As Good As Gus | Lost |
| 49. Thoosh Got Mail | Lost |
| 50. Terrier of the Ocean | Lost |
| 51. If This, Then That | Lost |
| 52. The Gag Pune Comes Out (Series Finale) | Lost |