Captain Flamingo is a Canadian animated superhero comedy television series produced by Breakthrough Films & Television, Heroic Film Company, Atomic Cartoons, and PASI Animation Studios. Loosely based on the Deke Wilson's Mini-Mysteries spin-off episode (of the same name) by John May (which originally was going to be a 1990s live-action teen series focusing only on Arthur), it premiered on YTV on February 7, 2006, and ended on December 19, 2010.
Plot Milo Powell is an ordinary young Japanese-Canadian boy, living in Halverston-in-Area (a fictional neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario) until a kid is in trouble. Any time a kid yells "Uh-oh! Flamingo!", Milo transforms into Captain Flamingo, whose mission is to help little kids who need assistance. Captain Flamingo is aided in his missions by his best friend Lizbeth Amanda Zaragoza, who apparently has a not-so-secret crush on him. CF also has a little brother named Thor.
Quite often, when called upon to carry out a mission, Captain Flamingo is busily engaged with something else, a personal goal or problem (such as waiting in line to buy an ice cream before the truck leaves or runs out of ice cream, but someone calls to him, needing his help); like a true hero, he must, and usually does, put aside his own needs to help others (although, quite often, his actions in successfully aiding the person in distress lead to a successful outcome for his personal goals). Captain Flamingo seldom successfully solves a problem on his first try; in fact, it is not uncommon for his initial attempts to make things worse. In trying to solve the simple problems of other little kids he encounters (such as, say, a lost pencil or a missing sock), Captain Flamingo often gets into tight spots. He has, in various episodes, gotten trapped in a bubble with a full bladder (Water You Worried About?), gone underwater to battle an eel (Sink or Swim), and got trapped in a deadly matrix of bouncing superballs (Ball of Confusion). Despite this, he never gives up and meets every failure or setback with a new attempt. He eventually gets out of these situations by using his "Bird Brain"; this can be his own instincts, but it usually is Lizbeth. A random thought he speaks aloud might be picked up on by Lizbeth and elaborated into an actual, detailed plan (which Lizbeth will assume was what Captain Flamingo planned to do all along), or he can assume that a suggestion spoken aloud by Lizbeth is his "Bird Brain" speaking to him (although he usually misinterprets her suggestion; however, his misinterpretation usually works). In the end, Captain Flamingo always seems to stumble upon a solution either through Lizbeth's cleverness, persistent refusal to give up, and constantly trying new novelty items and plans until he succeeds, or sheer luck (or, quite often, some combination of the three).
Characters Main Milo Powell/Captain Flamingo: (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain) Motivated, driven Milo Powell is equipped with the imagination and faith to become a superhero. He stands proudly in his homemade super-tights, his unwieldy flamingo-beak helmet, and terry cloth cape, ready to take on an outsized world! With Milo, things rarely turn out as planned, but somehow they do always manage to turn out all right. He carries a heavy heroic burden because kids everywhere rely on him, so he approaches their problems with utmost seriousness—as if the fate of their world depended on it (and maybe it does!). In the episode "Switch Hitch", where Wendell and Milo switched lives, Milo seemed quite jealous of Wendell's feelings towards Lizbeth. It is later revealed that he may love her. When Lizbeth and the rest of his friends were walking away with an imposter in that episode, he shouted "Lizbeth, I love you-I mean how you...". He was also impersonated in "Captain Copycat" by the Warrior Monkey (Milo managed to counter the incident by impersonating the Warrior Monkey). He is a Lemming Scout, a fan of horror movies, and can understand animal languages. The titular character is of unspecified age. Captain Flamingo has no notable superpowers, just a desire to help "li'l kids" in trouble. His "superpowers" take the form of novelty items, such as a whoopee cushion. During production, he was going to be a teenager named Arthur (who is the main sidekick of the titular character in Deke Wilson's Mini-Mysteries) when it was first conceived as a live-action spin-off that aimed towards a teen audience then Milo Howell during the later animated pilot. Lizbeth Amanda Zaragoza: (voiced by Melanie Tonello) The Captain's best friend, sidekick, and not-so-secret admirer. She is a girl of Chinese-Filipino Canadian descent. Lizbeth is focused and organized, however, she is just a puddle of emotions when it comes to Milo Powell, her favourite square-shaped boy. She is a devoted follower and chronicler of his heroics, and, unbeknownst to him, is the voice of the "birdbrain" that often inspires the Captain to save the day. Lizbeth is strong and smart but a bit of a loner because of it. Her best friend, besides Milo, is her monocled stuffed elephant confidante, Chester. Lizbeth is secure in the knowledge that girls mature faster than boys, so she knows one day Milo will catch up and appreciate her. So, for now, she is willing to guide him along and wait patiently for that special day. She acts so because Milo saved her life when they were babies when Lizbeth nearly fell out of the sandbox onto the concrete sidewalk and Milo threw himself in front of her to save her, and never forgets about it (although witnesses say that what really happened was that Milo became distracted by a butterfly, and, unable to concentrate and keep himself up at the same time, fell into a heap, unintentionally saving her). She has a sneezing allergy to several animals and plants, according to "Rare Basement Window". Thor Powell: (voiced by Nissae Isen) Thor is Milo's diaper-clad baby brother. Thor likes to crawl after Milo and ride his cape. And he likes to slobber on Milo's tights. As Thor's primary babysitter, Milo often has to juggle his younger brother and his work—sometimes literally. Margerie Powell: (voiced by Kathy Greenwood) Milo's Japanese mother has her own life as an ornithologist. She loves her boys, but adult schedules and family events come first before little kids' desires. She is very huggy and supportive, but also extremely practical and firm. If she has said 'no' twice, Milo knows asking a third time would be foolhardy. Her first name was revealed to be Margerie by a young Mr. Powell in the episode. She is also the daughter of a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (RCMP Security Service back in the 1980s) agent. David Ignacius Powell: (voiced by Richard Waugh) Deadpan, monotone, and humourless, Milo's father ironically runs a humour and novelty store where Milo gets his joke products from. With a voice that borders on deep-funereal, David is still somehow a warm guy, despite his overall stiffness. His full name was revealed in the episode "Fault Line" by Milo's mother. Kirsten McBradden (voiced by Stephanie Beard) - Kirsten is a red-headed sweet Irish Canadian girl who really believes in Captain Flamingo and is even doing a project on him for school and once became the subject of a play where only he had speaking lines. She asks him all sorts of fangirl questions, always proceeded by, "I was just wondering...", and like Lizbeth, she has a huge crush on Milo and often concocts fake troubles to get Milo to "rescue" her and to possibly spend time with him. Her crush on Milo seems to border a bit on the psychotic and Milo seems more aware of her crush than he is of Lizbeth's. Her last name was revealed to be McBradden in the episode "Bug Out". Max Roderick (voiced by Isabel de Carteret) - Max is one of the smartest, most sophisticated kids on the block (who is of English Canadian descent). It is not his fault he is two feet tall and has a ridiculous Elmer Fudd or Tweety-like (a reference to Looney Tunes characters) speech problem where his r's turn into w's, and he often adds w's to his l's. Therefore, 'really' becomes 'reawwy' and 'small' becomes '.' Luckily, Captain Flamingo gets him out of trouble. A lot. Max reveals his last name is Roderick in the episode "Max Invader, Scourge Of The Universe". Also in that episode, he has his own alter ego, "Max Invader". He is known to make pretty good voice impressions. Rutger (voiced by Demetrius Joyette) - Rutger is an Afro-Brazilian Canadian kid, who always bites off more than he can chew. He is excitable, somewhat like a puppy, and has no lack of confidence. But with his maverick demeanour, he is always getting himself into trouble by taking stuff on before he is ready or big enough to do it. For instance, rather than ride a dumb little dinghy in the wading pool, he'll construct a massive Titanic-like behemoth out of random floatie toys—only to have it sink dramatically, with him on board. The only kid who thinks as big as he does is the Captain; a good thing, as Rutger frequently requires his services. Rutger is a goalie in one of Halverston-in-Area's hockey teams. Wendell Howell (voiced by Cole Caplan) - Wendell is Milo's cousin and nemesis. He and Milo are always competing against each other. Wendell loves to point out how much better he is than Milo at everything (due mostly to the fact that he is, as he never lets Milo forget, an eighth of an inch taller than Milo, but that is the only way he is superior to him). A bit of a geek, Wendell always looks for a mathematical or scientific way to gain the upper hand over Milo. He later invents his own superheroic alter ego, Commander Whooping Crane (He chose this name because Whooping Cranes are taller than Flamingos by a good eighth of an inch) who almost replaced Milo as the neighbourhood hero until he got into trouble and had to be saved by CF. In the episode "Switch Hitch", where Milo and Wendell switched lives, Wendell seemed to have feelings for Lizbeth. However, these feelings were not given back. Wendell's last name is revealed to be Howell in "Scrambled Legs". In the episode "Beach Blanket Flamingo", he has a fear of animal fluids when he shrieks after seeing seagull poop. Owen-Only: (voiced by Scott Beaudin) Owen is the sole overprotective Cuban Canadian kid. He has been padded, helmeted, and parentally locked out of most of the thrills of being a kid. And pop-culturally, he is way behind. This character has never tasted junk food, felt the wind in his hair while riding his scooter, or told a joke where the punch line was "poo." As a result, he does not get jokes, and states the obvious, to the point of being annoying to other characters. Sugar makes Owen extremely hyperactive; his personality goes from sensible to lunatic if he gets even a taste of sugar. Avi (voiced by Matthew Ferguson) - Avi, aka 'The Avalanche Kid' is an American Canadian kid that has a real knack for disaster. Is it a bad moon that hangs over his head or just the overlong bangs that hang in his eyes? Whatever the cause, Avi is seriously dexterity-challenged. All it takes from him is one "uh-oh" move to start an inevitable chain of mounting disasters. Captain Flamingo does not mind cleaning up Avi's messes, usually, but sometimes he wishes Avi would plan and call ahead, because if he is going with his mother to the china shop on Monday, Milo really should book the week off. Avi has three identical-looking younger sisters, who seem to have inherited Avi's ability to be a walking disaster, which also seems to run in his family.