El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera

El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera
Genre	Superhero fiction Action-adventure Slapstick Comedy
Created by	Jorge R. Gutierrez Sandra Equihua
Directed by	Dave Thomas Gabe Swarr
Voices of	Alanna Ubach Grey DeLisle Eric Bauza Carlos Alazraqui April Stewart
Composer	Shawn Patterson
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	26 (whole) 50 (separate)
Production
Executive producers	Sandra Equihua Jorge R. Gutierrez
Producer	Dave Thomas (supervising)
Running time	11 minutes (short-length episodes) 22 minutes (long-length specials)
Production companies	Mexopolis Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Distributor	MTV Networks
Release
Original network	Nickelodeon (2007-2008) Nicktoons (2008)
Picture format	NTSC
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	February 19, 2007 (2007-02-19) – September 13, 2008 (2008-09-13)
External links
Website

El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera (sometimes shortened to El Tigre) is an American flash-animated television series created by Jorge R. Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua for Nickelodeon.^[1] It was the first Nicktoon to be animated with Adobe Flash. The first screening of the show was on January 19, 2007, in the first-ever Nickelodeon Creative Summit held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as a special treat for the 60 exclusive attendees. Later sneak peeks aired on February 19, with the series television debut on March 3, 2007, for both networks. The series finished its original run on September 13, 2008.

Premise[]

Set in the fictional crime-ridden Mexican-American metropolis of Miracle City, El Tigre follows the adventures of Manny Rivera, a 13-year-old boy with superpowers trying to choose between being good or evil. Manny's father is a superhero known as White Pantera and wants Manny to grow up to be good and fight evil. Manny's Grandfather is a supervillain known as Puma Loco who thinks Manny should go to the dark side.

Characters[]

• Manny Rivera/El Tigre (Alanna Ubach)
• Frida Suárez (Grey DeLisle)
• Rodolfo Rivera/White Pantera (Eric Bauza)
• Grandpapi/Puma Loco (Carlos Alazraqui)
• Maria Rivera/Plata Peligrosa (April Stewart)

Production[]

El Tigre was created by a husband-and-wife team named Jorge Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua along with others who were employed to make the show. The couple made the project from experiences they had when they were younger. Manny Rivera is based on Jorge's young self. Many things known in the show were based on actual events or parts of Jorge's life. His father was an architect (which was viewed as good) and his grandfather was a general in the military (which was viewed as evil). That idea was exaggerated to the idea of superheroes and supervillains. The city Miracle City is likely based on Tijuana, where Jorge grew up.

El Tigre's Decision of Destiny[]

On January 25, 2008, Nickelodeon allowed viewers to vote on an ending deciding El Tigre's fate on a brand-new episode that premiered on the same day.^[2] The ending was chosen as a hero, in which he defeated Django and Sartana. If evil had been chosen, he would have helped Django and Sartana conquer the world, but turned against them to take the empire for himself and Frida, and ruled over the world into old age.

Episodes[]

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Storyboard by	Original air date
Nickelodeon
1a	"Sole of a Hero"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer Story by: Dave Thomas, Scott Kreamer, and Jorge R. Gutierrez	Fred Gonzales	March 3, 2007 (2007-03-03)
While "borrowing" Rodolfo's supercharged Bronze Boots of Truth, Manny and Frida break them. Manny covers it up until Rodolfo slips into a depression after being beaten by El Oso.
1b	"Night of the Living Guacamole"	Dave Thomas	Doug Langdale Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez, Dave Thomas, and Bill Motz & Bob Roth	Fred Osmond	February 19, 2007 (2007-02-19) (preview) March 3, 2007 (2007-03-03) (official)
Manny spends money on a laser tattoo maker instead of some expensive guacamole, so Manny gets some for free from a disguised Dr. Chipotle Jr. which turns Rodolfo and Grandpapi into guacamole zombies.
2a	"Enter the Cuervo"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer	Ricky Garduno	March 3, 2007 (2007-03-03)
Manny spends his time with a new supervillainess named Black Cuervo, nearly ruining his friendship with Frida (and her fiesta) in the process.
2b	"Fistful of Collars"	Dave Thomas	Scott Gimple Story by: Scott Gimple and Jorge R. Gutierrez	Luke Cormican	March 3, 2007 (2007-03-03)
While making some roller skates, Manny and Frida earn money for finding the town's lost pets so they can buy Luxe roller skates and scooters then earn a bigger cash reward if they return a Chihuahua named Taco to his rightful owner.
3a	"Fool's Goal"	Dave Thomas	Rob Humphrey & John Behnke and Doug Langdale Story by: Scott Kreamer	Kevin Kaliher and Dave Thomas	March 10, 2007 (2007-03-10)
Grandpapi decides to coach Manny's soccer team, with disastrous results.
3b	"El Tigre, El Jefe"	Dave Thomas	Scott Gimple Story by: Scott Gimple and Jorge R. Gutierrez	Eddie Trigueros	March 10, 2007 (2007-03-10)
Manny helps his friends and classmates at Escuela get better grades. but when he gets carried away, Frida and classmates unknowingly consult a supervillain to go against him.
4a	"Zebra Donkey"	Dave Thomas	Scott M. Gimple Story by: Dave Thomas	Brandon Kruse and Dave Thomas	March 17, 2007 (2007-03-17)
Manny cares for the town's mascot Zebra Donkey but after accidentally killing him, Manny and Frida use Sartana of the Dead's Golden Guitar of Doom to resurrect him, unaware of the grave consequences.
4b	"Adios Amigos"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer Story by: Dave Thomas, Jorge R. Gutierrez, and Scott Kreamer	Ricky Garduno	March 17, 2007 (2007-03-17)
During a dangerous day at a carnival, Manny encounters the Titanium Titan, a former superhero with shapeshifting titanium arms. To keep Frida out of harm's way from the Titan, Manny must end his friendship with Frida.
5a	"The Mother of All Tigres"	Dave Thomas	Scott M. Gimple Story by: Scott M. Gimple and Jorge R. Gutierrez	Eddie Trigueros	April 7, 2007 (2007-04-07)
When Manny's mother, Maria, comes to visit, Manny and friends are afraid he'll be forced to live with her due to Miracle City's bad status. They then decided to show her that Miracle City isn't all that bad.
5b	"Old Money"	Dave Thomas	Scott M. Gimple Story by: Scott M. Gimple and Jorge R. Gutierrez	Fred Gonzales	April 7, 2007 (2007-04-07)
Manny and Frida help a group of retired supervillains get their money back from Sartana of the Dead. But just because they're retired, doesn't mean they are no longer supervillains.
6a	"The Late Manny Rivera"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Luke Cormican	April 21, 2007 (2007-04-21)
Manny and Frida must be at the Escuela in time or they will be forced to go to separate schools.
6b	"Party Monsters"	Dave Thomas	Tracy Berna Story by: Tracy Berna, Jorge R. Gutierrez, and Dave Thomas	Ben Jones	April 21, 2007 (2007-04-21)
Manny and Frida accidentally ruin a group of geeky kids' game night but when The Mustache Mafia attack, they must work together to defeat them.
7a	"The Mustache Kid"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Ricky Garduno	May 5, 2007 (2007-05-05)
Manny is tired of being a kid so he enlists the help of Dr. Chipotle Jr. to give him a sentient mustache named Raul in exchange for his El Tigre belt.
7b	"Puma Licito"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer	Brandon Kruse	May 5, 2007 (2007-05-05)
When Manny overhears Rodolfo and Maria voice their concern over Grandpapi being a bad influence on him, Manny and Frida uses his suit to do heroic things to prove he isn't a bad influence. But Grandpapi might not be ok with this.
8a	"Miracle City Worker"	Dave Thomas and Gabe Swarr	Scott M. Gimple Story by: Scott M. Gimple and Doug Langdale	Luke Cormican	May 12, 2007 (2007-05-12)
Maria tries to reform supervillains into becoming good citizens but Manny isn't convinced they can change.
8b	"Dia de los Malos"	Dave Thomas	Tracy Berna Story by: Tracy Berna and Dave Thomas	Luke Cormican	May 12, 2007 (2007-05-12)
Manny is rejected as a hero by other superheroes while attending a superhero convention. But when Sartana Of The Dead and other supervillains run amok and trap the heroes at the convention, it is up to Manny to prove them wrong and save the day.
9a	"Yellow Pantera"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Eddie Trigueros	June 16, 2007 (2007-06-16)
Upon learning Rodolfo retreated from a fight with El Mal Verde, Manny is disappointed his father acted cowardly and tries to face El Mal Verde himself.
9b	"Rising Son"	Dave Thomas	Tracy Berna Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Tracy Berna	Fred Gonzales	June 16, 2007 (2007-06-16)
When The Seventh Samurai visits the Rivera household, Manny and Frida take his son, Toshiro, around Miracle City for him to become a real independent superhero.
10a	"The Curse of the Albino Burrito"	Dave Thomas	Tracy Berna Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Tracy Berna	Dave Knott and Dave Thomas	September 21, 2007 (2007-09-21)
When an aspiring superhero kid named Davi asks Manny to help him become a hero, Manny and Frida trick him into doing their chores. But when Manny and his family are in danger, it's up to Davi to be a hero and save them.
10b	"La Tigresa"	Dave Thomas	Scott Gimple Story by: Scott Gimple and Jorge Gutierrez	Fred Gonzales	September 21, 2007 (2007-09-21)
Tired of being powerless, Frida "borrows" Manny's belt and becomes the superheroine "La Tigresa."
11a	"Ballad of Frida Suarez"	Dave Thomas	Scott M. Gimple Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott M. Gimple	Dave Knott, Luke Cormican, Gabe Swarr, Eddie Trigueros, and Dave Thomas	September 28, 2007 (2007-09-28)
After El Tigre suffers a humiliating defeat against Sartana Of The Dead, Frida writes a hit song about it. But she soon lets the fame go to her head.
11b	"Fool Speed Ahead"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Brandon Kruse	September 28, 2007 (2007-09-28)
Grandpapi and Manny must win the Supervillain Grand Prix or the Riveras will be forced to leave Miracle City forever.
12a	"Miracle City Undercover"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Eddie Trigueros	October 5, 2007 (2007-10-05)
When Raul the Mustache is framed for a crime, Manny must go undercover with the Mustache Mafia to prove Raul's innocence.
12b	"Bride of Puma Loco"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Sean Szeles and Brandon Kruse	October 5, 2007 (2007-10-05)
When Grandpapi and Sartana Of The Dead unexpectedly announce their engagement, Manny and Frida do everything they can to keep the wedding from happening.
13a	"Eye Caramba"	Dave Thomas	Tracy Berna Story by: Scott Gimple and Jorge R. Gutierrez	Ricky Garduno	October 12, 2007 (2007-10-12)
After winning Lady Gobbler's glass eye, Manny gives the glass eye to Rodolfo, both unaware the eye is actually a surveillance camera, with The Flock Of Fury watching White Pantera's every move.
13b	"Clash of the Titan"	Dave Thomas	Scott Gimple Story by: Scott Gimple and Jorge Gutierrez	Ricky Garduno	October 12, 2007 (2007-10-12)
When The Titanium Titan returns and claims he has become good again, he joins forces with White Pantera and El Tigre to fight crime. But has the Titan really changed his ways?
14	"The Grave Escape"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer and Doug Langdale Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Ricky Garduno and Eddie Trigueros	October 19, 2007 (2007-10-19)
In this two-part episode, Sartana Of The Dead attacks the Riveras during Dia De Los Muertos, which sends Manny and Frida to The Land Of The Dead. There, Manny must enlist the help of his ancestors to return to the living world and save his family before he and Frida become forever trapped as skeletons in The Land Of The Dead.
15a	"Burrito's Little Helper"	Dave Thomas	Tracy Berna Story by: Scott Kreamer	Fred Gonzales	November 2, 2007 (2007-11-02)
Manny is forced to become Davi's sidekick after Davi gets him out of trouble.
15b	"Crouching Tigre, Hidden Dragon"	Dave Thomas	Brandon Sawyer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Luke Cormican	November 2, 2007 (2007-11-02)
When a superhero trio asks Manny due to his street smarts, Rodolfo tries to impress them by being street smart as well.
16a	"The Cactus Kid"	Dave Thomas	Brandon Sawyer Story by: Scott Kreamer and Jorge Gutierrez	Brandon Kruse	November 9, 2007 (2007-11-09)
Grandpapi feels Manny isn't becoming the supervillain he wants him to be so he uses an aspiring supervillain named "The Cactus Kid" to make Manny jealous.
16b	"A Mother's Glove"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer Story by: Brandon Sawyer and Jorge R. Gutierrez	Sean Szeles	November 9, 2007 (2007-11-09)
Manny discovers his mother, Maria, used to be a superheroine known as "Plata Peligrosa" before she quit. But when Manny tricks Maria into becoming Plata Peligrosa, he'll discover why she quit being a superhero in the first place.
17	"The Good, the Bad, and the Tigre"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Luke Cormican and Fred Gonzales	January 25, 2008 (2008-01-25)
In the second two-part episode of the series, Manny is tired of being treated as a child by everyone. But when Sartana Of The Dead announces her retirement, Manny attempts to prove himself by entering Sartana's competition to find her successor, while slowly going into the supervillain side.
18a	"A Fistful of Nickels"	Dave Thomas	Thomas Hart and Doug Langdale Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Thomas Hart	Dave Thomas	2005 (2005) (original pilot verison)
					June 16, 2008 (2008-06-16) (remake)
After accidentally destroying The Rivera house and killing the family parrot, Manny tries to repay the damages by stealing money from supervillains.
18b	"Animales"	Dave Thomas	Story by: Sean Szeles, Scott Kreamer, Dave Thomas, Gabe Swarr, and Jorge Gutierrez	Sean Szeles	June 16, 2008 (2008-06-16)
The family pets, Little Mule and Señor Chapi, attempt to retrieve a stolen item from the pets across the street.
19a	"Tigre + Cuervo Forever"	Dave Thomas	Tracy Berna Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez	Ricky Garduno	June 17, 2008 (2008-06-17)
Manny begins to date Black Cuervo to retrieve information of The Flock of Fury's crimes to tip off his dad so he could stop them. But Manny soon learns why he shouldn't take advantage of a girl's feelings.
19b	"The Thing That Ate Frida's Brain"	Dave Thomas	Brandon Sawyer Story by: Brandon Sawyer and Jorge Gutierrez	Eddie Trigueros	June 17, 2008 (2008-06-17)
After Frida slowly starts to turn into a zombie hungry for brains, Manny must find a way to cure her before she turns into a complete zombie.
20a	"Stinking Badges"	Gabe Swarr	Scott Kreamer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Luke Cormican	June 18, 2008 (2008-06-18)
To win her father's respect, Frida begins to take the credit for all the crimes El Tigre stops. But her older twin sisters soon see through her scheme.
20b	"Mech Daddy"	Dave Thomas	Tracy Berna Story by: Jorge Gutierrez and Doug Langdale	Fred Gonzales	June 18, 2008 (2008-06-18)
Manny and Frida take control of a mecha supervillain named Giant Robot Sanchez.
21a	"The Return of Plata Peligrosa"	Gabe Swarr	Scott Kreamer Story by: Dave Thomas and Scott Kreamer	Gabe Swarr, Katie Rice, Fred Osmond, and Dave Feiss	June 19, 2008 (2008-06-19)
Rodolfo begins to fall for Maria after she becomes Plata Peligrosa. It's up to Manny and Frida to convince Rodolfo Maria isn't herself when she's a superheroine.
21b	"Chupacabros!"	Dave Thomas	Eddie Guzelian Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Sean Szeles	June 19, 2008 (2008-06-19)
After finding a chupacabra, Manny decides to keep it as a pet and name it "Chui". But when the local goats go missing, Manny learns Chui eats goats and must release him into the wild to keep him from eating more.
22a	"Love and War"	Dave Thomas	Tracy Berna Story by: Jorge Gutierrez and Tracy Berna	Eddie Trigueros	June 20, 2008 (2008-06-20)
When Dr. Chipotle Jr. and Señor Siniestro fall in love with Frida, they fight to win her affection. But when they realize she prefers to be with Manny, they come up with a plot to eliminate him.
22b	"Wrong and Dance"	Dave Thomas	Brandon Sawyer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Ricky Garduno	June 20, 2008 (2008-06-20)
Manny enlists the help of Grandpapi to attract a group of mean girls to go to the school dance with him.
Nicktoons
23a	"Oso Solo Mio"	Gabe Swarr	Brandon Sawyer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Ricky Garduno	August 7, 2008 (2008-08-07)
Manny and Frida try to help supervillain El Oso win the heart of his true love.
23b	"Silver Wolf"	Dave Thomas	Tracy Berna Story by: Eddie Trigueros and Jorge R. Gutierrez	Eddie Trigueros	August 7, 2008 (2008-08-07)
Manny and Frida's friendship deteriorates after Frida abandons Manny to spend more time with a popular teen supervillain named Silver Wolf.
24a	"The Cuervo Project"	Dave Thomas	Henry Gilroy Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez	Fred Gonzales	August 8, 2008 (2008-08-08)
Frida's nemesis, Zoe Aves, is grouped with Manny and Frida for a science fair project. But when Frida starts to suspect Zoe might be Black Cuervo, she and Manny try to prove it.
24b	"The Golden Eagle Twins"	Gabe Swarr	Scott Kreamer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Luke Cormican and Ricky Garduno	August 8, 2008 (2008-08-08)
Manny and Frida start to hang out with beloved local heroes, The Golden Eagle Twins, to learn how to be heroes like them. However, they soon realize The Golden Eagle Twins may not be as noble as they seem.
25a	"Dia de los Padres"	Gabe Swarr	Henry Gilroy Story by: Jorge Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Luke Cormican	September 13, 2008 (2008-09-13)
Manny teams up with Dr. Chipotle Jr. to give their fathers a gift for Father's Day. But can Dr. Chipotle Jr. be trusted?
25b	"Mustache Love"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Sean Szeles	September 13, 2008 (2008-09-13)
To help Raul The Mustache win the heart of his date, Manny agrees to go on a date with a not-so-attractive girl named Sophia.
26a	"Back to Escuela"	Dave Thomas	Scott Kreamer Story by: Jorge Gutierrez and Scott Kreamer	Eddie Trigueros	September 13, 2008 (2008-09-13)
To steal an artifact on display at Manny's school, Grandpapi decides to attend school with him.
26b	"No Boots, No Belt, No Brero"	Gabe Swarr	Doug Langdale Story by: Jorge R. Gutierrez, Sandra Equihua, and Scott Kreamer	Ricky Garduno	September 13, 2008 (2008-09-13)
The Riveras' reckless actions due to family tension causes them to be stripped from their powers and attend family counseling. They soon learn to put their differences aside and work together as a family to save Miracle City.

Home media[]

The complete series DVD was released as Season 1 on a six-disc set on November 23, 2011, as a manufacture on demand Amazon exclusive.^[3] It is also available to purchase on iTunes and Amazon Video digitally.

Reception[]

Critical[]

Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series three out of five stars; saying that, “Tweens will enjoy the zany characters and exaggerated stories, but parents might take issue with the young characters' penchant for troublemaking, the absence of a strong role model for Manny, and the overall lack of repercussions for his questionable behavior.”^[4] The first season received an approval rating of 100% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on six reviews.^[5]

Amid Amidi of Cartoon Brew wrote that "El Tigre offers hands down the most dynamic implementation of Flash I’ve ever seen in an animated TV series, seamlessly combining the cinematic possibilities more commonly associated with 3D CGI alongside the organic appeal of drawn animation," while also stating that the series has an "annoying tendency to stage too many scenes on slants and diagonals, voice acting performances that I couldn’t understand."^[6]

Awards and nominations[]

Award	Category	Nominee	Result
35th Annie Awards[7]	Best Animated Television Production for Children	El Tigre	Won
	Character Animation in a Television Production	Monica Kennedy – El Tigre	Nominated
	Character Design in an Animated Television Production	Jorge R. Gutierrez – El Tigre "Fistful of Collars"	Won
	Music in an Animated Television Production	Shawn Patterson – El Tigre "Yellow Pantera"	Nominated
36th Annie Awards[8]	Writing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form	Scott Kreamer – El Tigre "Mustache Love" – Nickelodeon	Nominated
	Character Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form	Jorge Gutierrez – El Tigre "The Good, The Bad and The Tigre"	Nominated
35th Daytime Emmy Awards[9][10]	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation	Sandra Equihua, Character Designer	Won
		Jorge Gutierrez, Character Designer	Won
		Gerald de Jesus, Art Direction	Won
		Eddie Trigueros, Storyboard	Won
36th Daytime Emmy Awards[11][12]	Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program	Dave Thomas, Gabe Swarr & Andrea Romano	Won

Other appearances[]

El Tigre has been licensed in the El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera video game, and is featured in the Nintendo DS version of Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots. He also makes a cameo appearance in Nicktoons MLB, but is not a playable character in it.

El Tigre has its own game at Nick Arcade, Festival De Las Piñatas, and is also a playable character in Nick Arcade's Nicktoons HoverZone.

The characters Manny, Frida, and Grandpapi/Puma Loco make an appearance during a 2D animated scene in The Book of Life which is Jorge R. Gutierrez' first feature-length film. A wallpaper with El Tigre's design can be seen in a later scene as well as White Pantera in another scene.

El Oso (renamed as Bear Killah) appeared as a recurring character in Maya and the Three (also created by Jorge R. Gutierrez).

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera

• El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera at IMDb
• El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• AnimationInsider.net Interview with Shawn Patterson, Composer for 'El Tigre'
• Interview with Jorge Guiterrez' co-creator of El Tigre.