¡Mucha Lucha!

is an American-Mexican animated television series created by Eddie Mort and Lili Chin as the show follows The Three Mascaritas - Rikochet, Buena Girl and The Flea - who study and live the "Code of Masked Wrestling"... hoping to someday become great masked wrestlers.

The test pilot was screened exclusively at Warner Bros. Animation in 2001 before the series was greenlit for a full series. The show premiered on Kids' WB on August 17, 2002, and later aired in Cartoon Network on March 5, 2004. On November 24, 2002, it was picked up by the network for Season 2 for a 2003-2004 season. On January 12, 2004, Season 3 (as ¡Mucha Lucha!: ¡Gigante!) was officially picked up by the network for a 2004-2005 season.

In August 2003, it was announced that the direct-to-video feature "The Return of El Maléfico" went into production around the same time as producing Season 2. Then, in May 15, 2004, it announced that it will first screen in public during San Diego Comic-Con 2004 event. The movie premiered at San Diego Comic-Con on July 25, 2004, then released on home video on October 5, 2004.

Plot
Rikochet, Buena Girl, and The Flea attend the hot spot for masked wrestling "The Foremost World-Renowned International School of Lucha". They're three kids facing the everyday challenges that growing up brings like learning how to match wits and skill against their pesky archrivals at The Hairy Knuckle Wrestling Academy. But if they study hard and live by The Code of Masked Wrestling, then someday they will become great masked wrestlers.

Main Cast

 * Carlos Alazraqui/Jason Marsden (Season 3) as Rikochet
 * Kimberly Brooks as Buena Girl
 * Candi Milo as The Flea

Supporting Cast

 * Benito Martinez as Lonestar
 * Michael Donovan as El Rey, Sonic Sumo, Botas Del Fuego, Megawatt, El Pacifico
 * Kimberly Brooks as Snow Pea and Cindy Slam
 * Candi Milo as Headmistress, Mama Maniaca, Pulgita, La Flamencita, Electricity, Cindy Slam (Season 3)
 * Scott McNeil as Sr. Hasbeena, Minotoro, Coco Demento, Francisco of the Forest, El Perrito, and Heavy Traffic
 * Carlos Alazraqui as Mr. Midcarda and Tibor the Terrible
 * Tabitha St. Germain as Penny Plutonium
 * Cusse Mankuma as Potato Patata Jr., Zero Kelvin, and Tic Tac Toe
 * Garry Chalk as El Haystack Grande, Protozoa, and El Kolor De Kurtz
 * Brian Drummond as Buena Dad, Double Ninja Ninja, and El Evil Cheese Grande
 * Lee Tockar as French Twist, El Gundamo, El Loco Mosquito, Private Reinhardt, Ensalada De Frutas, and Carlton Cold Jones
 * Janyse Jaud as Dragonfly and Zebrita Twin
 * Kathleen Barr as Buena Mom, La Piñata, Primadonna Hodges, and Mrs. Flea
 * Colin Murdock as Mr. Flea and El Cientifico
 * Terry Klassen as Abuelito and Ring Announcer
 * Jason Marsden as Mr. Midcarda (Season 3)
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Tibor the Terrible (Season 3)
 * Frank Welker as Masked Dog

Guest Stars

 * Blue Demon Jr. as Himself
 * Tim Curry as El Maléfico
 * Wilmer Valderrama as La Mariquita
 * Freddy Rodriguez as El Silver Mask Jr.
 * Penn & Teller as Themselves
 * Benito Martinez as Rey Dinamico
 * Lee Majors as Kentucky Conrad
 * George Lopez as El Evil Dentista of Doom
 * Hector Elizondo as El Fundador
 * Erik Estrada as El Custodio, Count Bob, and Dr. Terrorrifico
 * Los Lobos as Themselves
 * Nicole Oliver as Chinche
 * Los Mariachis as The Masked Mariachis
 * James Arnold Taylor as Kid Wombat Jr.
 * Tara Strong as Rollerita

Episodes
For more information: List of Episodes

Creation of "Lucha School" (1999-2001)
Under Construction!

Development (2001-2002)
Under Construction!

Series Production (2002-2005)
Under Construction!

Popularity and Merchandise
Under Construction!

Broadcast
The original "Lucha School" pilot was never aired in public, but was pitched in Warner Bros. Animation studio on December 17, 2001. The pilot was released and only can seen in Fwak! Animation's website along with other animated projects and commissions. Some of the clips and drawings from the pilot was also seen in "The Lucha Behind the Mucha!" as part of "Heart of Lucha (DVD)". Although, the original animated pilot was released exclusively on "The Return of El Maléfico (DVD)".

The series first premiered on Kids' WB on August 17, 2002 starting with the first two segment, "Back to School" and "Weight Gaining". The last episode of the first season aired on February 8, 2003 with the first half-hour episode "Mask-Away". The second season premiered on September 13, 2003 during The Big Kids' WB! Really Really Big Big Premiere! and ended with the third half-hour episode "Attack of the Luchabots" on May 8, 2004. The third season which was later renamed as "¡Mucha Lucha!: ¡Gigante!" premiered on September 11, 2004 and concluded the series on February 25, 2005 with the final half-hour episode, "The Magnificent Three". Most ¡Mucha Lucha! episodes are aired on Saturday mornings on Kids' WB and the final airing of the show was May 7, 2005.

In 2003, the ratings of the show has been successful on Kids' WB and Cartoon Network acquired the show to air worldwide. ¡Mucha Lucha! aired the first episode on March 5, 2004, starting with "Back to School" and "Weight Gaining" and ended on May 8, 2004. The second season aired from July 2004 and ended on December 4. 2004. The third season doesn't have an exact air date, but would air episodes out of order due to airing the third season's airing on Kids' WB. "The Return of El Maléfico" movie premiered on Cartoon Network during Cartoon Network's Friday on March 5, 2005.

After May 2005, Kids' WB was no longer airing ¡Mucha Lucha!, while Cartoon Network continues to air the show and the movie in reruns until 2010. However, some countries rarely airs ¡Mucha Lucha! after 2010 such as Latin America, Arabia, UK, and etc. ¡Mucha Lucha! have also aired outside of Cartoon Network such as Teletoon, Kix!, Tooncast, Canal 5 and more. Some countries would aired random episodes as well as the movie due to the popularity of the show after the cancellation.

Reception
Under Construction!

Cancellation
In July 2004, Mort confirmed that "The Magnificent Three" would be the final episode for the third season. He had some stories planned for the fourth season of ¡Mucha Lucha! and one of the story would involve El Santo's animated appearance just like Blue Demon Jr.'s appearance. The last audio post-production of the season and the series was completed on January 8, 2005. The show had a total of 52 half-hour episodes and a direct-to-video movie.

On February 2005, Toonzone had released Kids' WB's Fall 2005 schedule and ¡Mucha Lucha! will no longer air the show on Kids' WB. The fourth season of the show wasn't picked up and it lead to the cancellation of the show. It would be replaced with Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island, one of the new Kids' WB shows that premiered in Fall 2005 along with Loonatics Unleashed and Johnny Test. However, it continued in reruns on Cartoon Network until 2010.

¡Mucha Lucha! Para Siempre
In 2014, Mort and Chin had plans for a ¡Mucha Lucha! revival called "¡Mucha Lucha! Para Siempre". They have produced a 15-minute animatic with the original cast of the series. However, since 2014, Warner Bros. wasn't interested in revisiting the series and has not yet picked up the revival. The plot for the revival would focus on the main characters - Rikochet, Buena Girl, and The Flea as they are their teenage years along with other characters from the original series growing up.

¡Mucha Lucha!: Tales From The Coliseo
In 2017, Mort has created his own online comic "¡Mucha Lucha!: Tales From The Coliseo" exclusively at ISSUU. He noted readers that it isn't a reboot or a revamp, but to think as a continuation of the show. The first issue was released on March 31, 2017 and was published by Frogtown Comics. The second issue is in the works, but no date has been confirmed yet.

Trivia

 * It is the first animated series to be produced and animated with Adobe Flash (also known as Macromedia Flash/Flash 8) until the program was discontinued in December 2020.
 * It is also the first animated series to feature all Latino characters.
 * The show delivers the target demographics of all Boys from ages 6-11.
 * The title of the show, "¡Mucha Lucha!" means lots of fighting.
 * The show inspired by the popular theatrical style of Mexican pro wrestling: Lucha Libre along with masks, costumes, and signature moves used by each character.
 * According to Eddie Mort, the show allows storyboard artists to work from the story outline allowed them to express the creativity instead of focusing on the script.
 * The difference from the episode airing outside of Kids' WB is most episodes from Season 1 and 2 aired in production order rather than airing episodes in order. The same issue occurred during Season 3's airing due to Kids' WB airing.
 * During the series' run, some fans recognized other animated series with a similar premise/theme to ¡Mucha Lucha!:
 * Both The Powerpuff Girls and Teamo Supremo involve the three superheroes to fight crime and saving the world from evil.
 * Jorge R. Gutierrez created another animated show: "El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera" produced with Adobe Flash. Both animated shows have a similar "Heroes and Villains" theme and contain Mexican cultures and references throughout the series.
 * Roman Laney, Gabe Swarr and Ricky Garduno have also worked on El Tigre series. Both Carlos Alazraqui and Candi Milo have also voiced the main characters of both shows.
 * Many fans have compared the show to the successful manga/anime, My Hero Academia. Both series have the similar premise and the character's role of the story.