August 4, 2012 (2012-08-04) – March 5, 2015 (2015-03-05)
Robot and Monster is an American CGI animated television series created by Dave Pressler, Joshua Sternin and Jennifer Ventimilia.[1] Main characters Robot and Monster are voiced by Curtis Armstrong and comedian Harland Williams, respectively.[1] It began production in 2009 and was ordered for a full 26-episode season in 2010, before finally premiering on Nickelodeon on August 4, 2012.[2] Most episodes aired on Nickelodeon, but several episodes were left unaired on the channel. Some of these episodes later premiered on Nicktoons, and the remaining unaired segments were released on the Noggin streaming app on March 5, 2015.
Premise
The series follows the day-to-day adventures of Robot Default, a genius inventor, living with his roommate Monster Krumholtz, a cheerful and enthusiastic purple creature, and their pest-turned-pet Marf.
The duo work at the Blinking Light Factory, owned by Robot's snobby older brother, Gart, who loves to make his little brother as miserable as possible; as well as run-ins with their neighbor Ogo, who is obsessed with the both of them.
Characters
Main
Monster Krumholtz (voiced by Harland Williams) is a purple minotaur-like monster. Monster is the eternal optimist living by the motto that "Good things happen to good people," and that all people are good. Monster is an extremely outgoing Organic that is endlessly fascinated by the little things in life. Monster is driven to make everyone happy, and the need to explore the "shiny thing." But because of Monster's fascination with the world, he is very gullible. Unlike Robot, Monster feels like everything goes his way, although it does not, making him a very good friend to have around.
Robot Default (voiced by Curtis Armstrong) is an orange robot who works as a quality control at the Blinking Light Factory. Robot always feels like the world is trying to keep him down, even his know-it-all brother Gart does not help at all. Luckily, after meeting Monster, who believes in him all the way, Robot is now best friends with Monster. He is the smarter, more cunning of the duo. He frequently tries to invent new devices, usually without success. He and Monster had been friends since they were kids, despite Monster being warned to stay away from him and his dangerous inventions.
Marf (voiced by Curtis Armstrong and Jeff Bennett in "Speak, Marf, Speak") is a pet of Robot and Monster. He is a block of metal who acts like a dog, and only says "marf".
Ogo (voiced by Jonathan Slavin) is the third wheel of Robot and Monster's friendship. He has an obsession with Robot and Monster, which tends to annoy Robot. He constantly tries to involve himself in the duo's doings, and just cannot seem to grasp that he is not part of the team. Ogo has been known to survive near death experiences. In "Ogo's Cool", Ogo zaps himself with Robot's cool ray to become popular, thus causing Robot and Monster to become obsessed with Ogo and he is creeped out. In "Ogo's Birthday" Monster still cherishes Ogo as one of his friends, though Robot does not. He is allergic to bacon which makes him drowsy/nauseous.
Perry (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a robot co-worker of Robot and Monster's. He always has a smile on his face, but it's due to a function problem, as revealed in "Come On, Get Happy". He is very unlucky, and when something is thrown, it almost always hits him. He usually feels miserable and the only thing that makes him genuinely happy is Robot's misfortunes. He is shaped like a sewage pipe, colored in orange with a yellow "2".
J.D. (voiced by Megan Hilty) is a cool, rebellious biker chick whose best friend is her equally hip robotic bike Spitfire. She is also good friends with Robot and Monster. Robot, Monster and nearly every guy at the Makin' Bacon have a huge crush on her. Robot and Monster at times try to impress J.D. but end up failing.
Spitfire (voiced by Cree Summer) is JD's equally hip robotic bike. They are inseparable best friends and regulars at the local bacon joint, Makin' Bacon. They are like the cooler, female versions of Robot and Monster. JD can be hot-headed at times while Spitfire is more rational and willing to avoid fights, but will fight for her friend. Spitfire can be bossy, as stated in "Biker Girls". Robot has shown slight interest in Spitfire before.
Gart Default (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is Robot's arrogant, overbearing older brother. He is selfish and always teasing Robot. He runs their family's Blinking Light factory. He is gold-tinted, is shinier than Robot, has six wheels for feet, while Robot has four, and has actual hands as opposed to Robot's claws.
Recurring
Nessie (voiced by Rhea Perlman) is the six-tentacled owner and manager of the Makin' Bacon.
Punch Morley (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) was once a Pole-O player and then he retired. He is now the handyman at the Blinking light factory. He has had short-term memory loss ever since he hit his head with a pole from a Pole-O game.
Crikey (voiced by Nolan North) is a sadistic Cockney-accented robot. He also has an identical cousin named Blimey and usually torments Robot & Monster and gets beaten up by J.D. and Spitfire in a few episodes.
Mr. Wheelie (voiced by Kurtwood Smith) is Robot and Monster's irate and sarcastic landlord with a big blue spiky head and bicycle wheels for feet. He threatens to kick Robot and Monster out of their apartment if he finds their pet Marf, since pets are not allowed.
Master Grabmirist (voiced by Ping Wu) is a sensei who meets up with Robot & Monster whenever they need help, however his methods tend to fail quickly.
Hal Worth-a-ton (voiced by Nolan North) is a Texan-accented salesman who lies about his products on the tube.
Pendulum Depot (voiced by Nolan North) is a Mechanical who owns the Solid Light Factory and is the main rival to the Defaults and their Blinking Light Factory. He plans on stealing the Default's Blinking Light Formula, and make them out of business. He usually carries around a rocket umbrella for show.
Arpa Default (voiced by April Winchell) is Gart and Robot's mother whose arrogance Gart takes after. Despite her preference in Gart, it has been shown on few occasions that Arpa still loves her other son, Robot, by keeping a picture of him in her chest compartment.
Grandma Default (voiced by April Winchell) is Gart and Robot's grandmother and Arpa's mother, a cranky family member who speaks computer binary (says only "one" and "zero") and hates Organics.
Gizmo Default (voiced by Alan Tudyk) is Robot's crazy cousin who talks to imaginary people and is considered an embarrassment to the Default family.
Uncle Kuffley Krumholtz (voiced by Nolan North) is Monster's loud-mouth uncle who is a police officer and a teacher of the Traffic Walking School.
Globitha Krumholtz (voiced by Cree Summer) is Monster's hyperactive little sister who has a large (and annoying) affection towards Robot (Much to Monster's jealousy). Still, Monster shows her his affection/empathy. Robot does not want her to help him with inventions because she ruins everything she touches.
Lev Krumholtz (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) is Monster's dad whose horns are bigger than him. His horns make him talented but are revealed to be false in "Hornica".
Lucy (voiced by Jennifer Cody) is a Mechanical who is Robot's long-time rival. To outsmart Robot in a contest to make a two-color blinking light, she befriended Ogo so she can use his brain as a processor chip to power the blinking light in "Ogo's Friend". She always denies Robot's existence, saying that she has no idea who he is.
The Prince of Scamtown (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) is a Mechanical who is of royal descent. He is generous despite his name. In "The Prince of Scamtown", Robot does not believe he is an actual prince although Monster does.
Loudmouth (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a tiny but very angry Mechanical who is one of Robot and Monster's co-workers at the Blinking Lights Factory.
Snap Winsome (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is an Organic and the host of various shows such as That's Amazing! and Ow! That Hurts!.
Dame Lady Madame (voiced by Ruth Williamson) is a prestigious female Mechanical of high-society.
Bea Holder (voiced by Harriet Sansom Harris) is a cycloptic Organic who is a trendsetter.
Howly (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a cyber monkey that flies into rage when having photos taken. Monster befriended it in "The Dark Night".
Lil' Lugnuts (voiced by Nolan North) is an Organic and was Monster's idol until Robot found that Lil' Lugnuts was actually a criminal.
Katie (voiced by Carol Ann Susi) is a mechanical lady, and the owner of Narf. She finds Robot and Monster to be annoying, and thinks Marf is a stupid name.
The Organic Pole-O Players are a series of players who seem to dislike Robot, Monster, and Punch Morley.
Episodes
The chronological order of the series is by production code, rather than by how the episodes are aired or how they are listed on the DVD.
Monster is shocked to discover that Robot had played a practical joke on him during their childhood. Monster decides to get even by pulling an elaborate prank on Robot. However, practical jokes do not come naturally to Monster and the joke he pulls ends up being on himself.
Monster helps Robot achieve his life-long dream of playing in a Pole-O game (this world's most popular sport, a cross between football and caber tossing). This could very well be the highlight of Robot's life, assuming he survives despite his failure.
When Robot's mean-spirited older brother Gart becomes the landlord of Robot & Monster's building, the boys must put their heads together to get their apartment back.
2b
"Safety First"
Sam Levine
Gary Conrad
August 10, 2012 (2012-08-10)
113
N/A
After another injury at the Blinking Light Factory, Gart commissions Robot and Monster to make a safety film. Robot is the director, a position he relishes, until he has to replace Monster, the film's star, with Ogo.
3a
"How to Train Your Marf"
Adam Henry
Julia Miranda
August 10, 2012 (2012-08-10)
111
N/A
Marf's behavior takes a destructive turn for the worse, forcing Robot & Monster to institute emergency pet training. They each draw on their personal strengths to devise training methods for their beloved pet, only to discover he may not be all that he appears.
3b
"Blinking Light"
Sam Levine
Dave Schiff
August 10, 2012 (2012-08-10)
112
N/A
Gart leaves the factory to receive an award. Due to this, he leaves Robot in charge of the Blinking Light Factory, but things don't go as planned.
Robot and Monster want to buy a blimp, but their obsession with bacon gets in the way. What will they do when they have so much bacon grease in their bodies that the blimp is unable to fly with them in it?
When Robot and Monster discover Perry, a mechanical co-worker of theirs who always seems to be smiling, Monster is distressed that he may no longer be The Happiest Guy in the World. Robot takes it upon himself to help his friend regain his smile, but then Perry's smile turns out to be just the way his face is stuck.
When Nessie takes her first vacation, Robot and Monster agree to fill in for her - cooking and serving bacon at The Makin' Bacon. The arrangement, however, soon sends the eatery out of control.
When Globitha (Monster's younger sister who has a fanatical crush on Robot) comes to stay with the boys, she inadvertently wreaks havoc on Robot's preparations for the city's Big Blimp Race.
After Mr. Wheelie raises their rent, Robot and Monster set out to discover what makes him so angry in the hopes that, once they cheer him up, he'll stop being cruel to everybody.
Ogo befriends Robot's nemesis, Lucy. Together, they create a two-color blinking light before Robot can create even one, to Robot's surprise and jealousy.
Monster starts giving all of the money Robot gives him to pay the house bills to a strange figure called The Prince of Scamtown who promises to pay Monster back.
Robot invents a device to translate Marf's speech into English, but when the pet tires of being treated as such, he enslaves Robot and Monster through blackmail.
While attempting to avoid attending Ogo's birthday party, Robot and Monster visit the city's Sewage Treatment Plant and discover it is a wondrous theme park. Soon, they discover they were the only ones invited to Ogo's party and they end up going anyway.
After contracting a disease called "robies" from being bitten by Marf, Robot decides to endure the ever-worsening symptoms in order to avoid seeing a doctor. Unfortunately, he soon turns into a mime as a side-effect of the robies, so Monster has to find a way to help him.
Robot creates laser-pointed pop-bacon and hopes for it to become a great invention. However, he becomes jealous when Monster creates a head-scratching invention made of found objects that becomes an overnight success.
Monster and Robot find out about "letterology," a new form of horoscopes that has to do with what "letter" you are. When Monster finds out Robot's "letter," he tries to keep Robot awake because he thinks Robot will wake up to disaster.
Robot and Monster want to be caught up on the newest trend, "Giggle Sticks." They think it's their lucky day when they find money on the ground, but problems arise when they argue about what to do with the money.
17b
"What J.D. Wants"
Sam Levine
Julia Miranda
December 26, 2013 (2013-12-26) (Nicktoons)
128
N/A
Robot and Monster compete and try to impress J.D. to see who can win her over.
Robot and Monster decide to make a little extra money for a color Tube by delivering a secret package to a series of suspicious characters, but they realize too late that they've entangled themselves into something much bigger.
When it appears that J.D. has fallen for Gart, Robot sets out to reveal Gart's true character to J.D., while Monster desperately clings to his ideals of true love. Note: This episode was first released November 17, 2012 on Amazon Video, and later on November 11, 2014 on DVD.
21b
"Misery Date"
Gary Conrad
Julia Miranda
February 13, 2015 (2015-02-13) (Nicktoons) [DVD 1]
Robot is forced to be Globitha's date to the school dance. Note: This episode was first released on November 17, 2012 on Amazon Video, and later on November 11, 2014 on DVD.
Robot and Monster are growing bacon trees. Robot tries to engineer one with an invention, but fails. Monster successfully grows a bacon tree exclusively with love, so when the bacon tree becomes jealous, it turns evil and attacks all of his friends.
Robot and Monster recount on how they got their pet Marf. They found a mysterious mechanical creature living in the wall of their apartment, which they named Marf and made their pet.
Robot and Monster lie to Perry that his homemade, terrible-smelling cologne smells good. To keep up the lie, they must continue to buy and wear the cologne, no matter how much it makes them stink.
Robot and Monster become a musical sensation when Robot's invention creates a catchy song for Monster to perform. In a not-so-subtle parallel to the break-up of The Beatles, Monster then falls for a rival performer, the screeching "Robo Ono", whom everyone else considers terrible; Ono proceeds to drive a wedge between Robot and Monster, jeopardizing the latter's chance at stardom.
Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series 4 out of 5 stars; saying that, “Robot and Monster is a hilarious animated series that celebrates friendship and explores kid-related issues with comedy and quirkiness. [...] Each story includes a lesson about being a good friend, overcoming fear, or some other issue that kids will relate to.”[21]
Home media
On November 11, 2014, the series was released on DVD as a manufacture on demandAmazon exclusive in region 1 (though two episodes remain unaired at the time it was released until the first episode aired on Nicktoons and the second episode was released through the Noggin app).[citation needed]
The complete series was made available for streaming as part of Nickelodeon's Noggin app on March 5, 2015.[19]
The show was also available on Paramount+ from November 10, 2020, until January 1, 2024.[22]
^Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 20–21. ISBN9781476672939.
