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Ghostforce (also named Ghost Force) is a French CGI animated series created by Jeremy Zag. It is a co-production between Zagtoon, Method Animation, Disney Channel EMEA, SAMG Animation, and KidsMe S.R.L.
As of mid-2024, only one season has aired; comprised of fifty-two 11-minute episodes, three special episodes, and an additional eight 11-minute bridge episodes. The release of the remaining three bridge episodes and the "Origins" special episode is currently unknown, but it is estimated to be premiered in late 2024. Season 2 is set to air in 2026 which would be comprised of twenty-six 22-minute episodes.[1][2][3]
Alongside the main series, a live-action featured film is planned.[4]
Synopsis
For an episode list, see Episode guide.
- Liv, Andy, and Mike are three teens who form the ultra-secret Ghostforce, a squad of superheroes with ghostly powers! With the help of the mysterious Glowboo and an arsenal of high-tech invented by their mentor, Miss Jones, our heroes battle and capture the ghosts that haunt New York City… before racing back to school for their next class![5]
Cast and Crew
- To view a complete list of everyone who has worked on Ghostforce related material, see Ghostforce/Credits.
Main Cast
| Voice Actor | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Jordan Quisno | Andy Baker/Fury |
| Ogie Banks | Mike Collins/Krush |
| Cassandra Lee Morris | Liv Baker/Myst |
| Tara Sands | Miss Jones |
| Cedric Williams | Glowboo |
Recurring cast
| Voice Actor | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Cedric Williams | Drake Miller |
| TBA | Bobby |
| TBA | Charlie |
| TBA | Carla |
| TBA | Marlo |
| TBA | Rajat |
| TBA | Stacy |
| TBA | Jane |
| Nick Hudson Murdoch | Professor Pascal Mr. Vladovsky Roland Jay Baker |
| TBA | Melissa Baker |
| Christopher Smith | Nolan Kasenti |
| Nisa Ward | Alice Spancer |
| Ogie Banks | Michael Collins |
| TBA | Officer Callaghan |
Production history
One of the many early designs for the main characters of Ghostforce.
The original concept for the Ghostforce was conceived by Jeremy Zag around 2011.[6] He found inspiration from the Ghostbusters franchise to create a television series featuring a superhero team who hunts ghosts that haunt New York City. A pre-visual bible for the series was created in 2012.[7][8]
Ghostforce went through multiple changes during pre-production. According to an Animation Magazine article in 2013, the series was originally going to be a CGI/live-action hybrid.[9][10] However, it was later changed to be fully CGI-animated after Zagtoon signed a three-year distribution deal with PGS Entertainment. Man of Action, the studio behind the creation of Zak Storm: Super Pirate, was also involved in developing the series. It was originally pitched to feature three high school students recruited by their science teacher Professor Richenbach to form a superhero team known as the Ghostforce.[11] An early animation reel was created in 2014 featuring Andy transforming into a blue Ghostforce member while a demo of the theme song was playing in the background. The reel was featured at the 2014 MIPCOM trade show in Cannes, France.[12] The series was ultimately purchased by TF1 in 2016 for development as part of the channel's TFOU children's programming block.[13]
During early development, Jeremy Zag posted multiple concept art pieces for the series on his Instagram from 2015 to 2019. The team was originally consisted of Andy, Nathalie, and Sam.[14] Eventually, the three main characters evolved throughout the development process. Andy was originally a blue member of the team before he switched color scheme and personality with Sam; Nathalie was renamed Liv, and Sam was renamed Mike. The team mentor Professor Richenbach was also replaced by a woman known as Miss Jones who was the co-founder of the Ghostforce in the final product.
International releases
The series' international premiere was on July 25, 2021, on Disney Channel in Israel. Its French premiere was on August 21 of the same year on TF1. In the USA, it initially premiered on Disney XD on October 1st before it later aired on Disney Channel on November 1st. Disney Channel is the main (and oftentimes only) broadcaster in most countries/languages it's available in, although a few other broadcasters have exclusive rights in countries such as France and Mexico. Depending on the region, the series are available to stream on either Disney+, Max, or Amazon Prime.
- To view a full worldwide list, see Ghostforce (TV series)/International Releases.
Trivia
- Ghostforce is often considered a sister show to Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, another television series within the ZAG Heroez label.
- Every episode of both series (except for the fifth season of Miraculous Ladybug) is named after a titular antagonist. Ghostforce episodes are named after a featured wild ghost, while the majority of the Miraculous Ladybug episodes are named after either akumatized villains or sentimonsters.
- They are both ZAG television series airing on a network owned by Disney.
- Both series have an opening sequence that begins with a landmark of a city. Miraculous Ladybug opens with the Eiffel Tower to indicate it takes place in Paris, while Ghostforce opens with the Statue of Liberty that is miles away from New York City.
- They were both formerly animated by SAMG Animation before the switch from using Autodesk Maya to Unreal Engine 5 as their animation software. As a result, the location asset for Manhattan in Ghostforce is reused for the Miraculous Ladybug TV movie "Miraculous New York".
- There are posters of the Miraculous Ladybug main characters appearing multiple times in the background of Ghostforce.
- There was a Miraculous & Ghostforce crossover special planned, but was ultimately delayed.
- Many series synopsis would misidentify the main characters as teenagers attending high school instead of preteens in middle school. The most likely reason is that the main trio was originally depicted as students of a school known as Central High when the series was in early development. However, the final product changed to have the main trio be middle school students since their class's age range is between 11 to 13.
- The only known character who is technically a teenager is Andy Baker who is 13 years old. The rest of his classmates are considered preteens.
- The original French version of the series has a lot of noticeable differences from the international releases, including the English version:
- The French version of the opening sequence has a scene featuring Freezofear scaring people at Central Park. However, the international version replaced it with a scene of Mastaar scaring a citizen near the entrance of the subway.
- Instead of a chibi scene transition, the French version featured the Ghostforce emblem spinning transition.
- An animation error occurred in the French version where the title cards in Season 1 are missing the underground laboratory in the background. As a result, the title cards have a blue background behind the computer interface.
- Every episode within the first season production is animated by SAMG Animation, including the specials. However, the series begins switching animation software for the production of Season 2. As a result, eight additional episodes known as bridge episodes were released when they were animated by SAMG before the switch.
External links
Gallery
 Click here to view the gallery. |
References
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/C8wDS8PglLh/
- ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jun-violet-55875599/
- ↑ https://x.com/thestellarblog_/status/1838899766534570479
- ↑ https://www.animationmagazine.net/features/miraculous-studio-zag-sets-10-picture-family-film-slate-with-cross-creek/
- ↑ https://ghostforce.com/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/reel/CSJ1VIkAKlo/
- ↑ https://zerply.com/myriamfourati
- ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/myriam-fourati/
- ↑ https://kidscreen.com/2013/10/16/pgs-partners-with-zagtoon/
- ↑ https://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/pgs-and-zagtoon-sign-three-year-distrib-deal/
- ↑ https://ypsilonfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Ghost-Force_Brand-Overview-Edit-YF-LR.pdf
- ↑ https://vimeopro.com/pgsentertainment/ghostforce
- ↑ https://groupe-tf1.fr/en/communiques/tfou-announces-development-ghost-force-zagtoon
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140426142109/http://www.pgsentertainment.com:80/property/8/ghostforce/