Destination: Imagination
Encyclopedia
"Destination: Imagination" is a television special
of the animated
television series Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
. The plot of the special follows Frankie, who becomes trapped in a huge, mysterious world where she is treated like royalty but forced not to leave. Bloo, Mac, Coco, Eduardo, and Wilt journey through the world to rescue her, facing perils and challenges along the way.
Written by Lauren Faust
and Tim McKeon, "Destination: Imagination" was directed by Rob Renzetti
and series creator Craig McCracken
. The plot was conceived after the crew decided that they wanted to make an episode with adventure, featuring the characters going out on a large quest of sorts. Due to the dark and serious storytelling approach used, the special came out "edgier" than most episodes of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
The special originally broadcast on Cartoon Network
on November 27, 2008, on Thanksgiving Day. It was well received and won the Primetime Emmy Award
for "Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming One Hour or More)". It was also nominated for two Annie Awards—one for "Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children" and another for McCracken and Renzetti's directing.
), later revealed to be the imaginary friend (even though he is given no name in the "Destination: Imagination" special, he has been named "World" by the crew of the show) who has been living in the world since his family left the box at the home.
Frankie adores the world and goes to visit it every day, being treated like royalty by the voice. But one day, when she goes to leave, the friend refuses to allow her and locks every exit in the castle they are abiding in. Bloo, Mac, Coco, Eduardo, and Wilt become curious with her sudden disappearance. They go up to the attic and enter the toy box, discovering for themselves the vast world that resides in it. They ask around a small town if anyone has seen a woman of Frankie's description but nobody has. A group of weeble
policemen discover they have entered the world and chase after them, but the gang are saved by a heroic man. He tries to warn them that their pursuit of Frankie will lead through extremely dangerous environments, but they are determined to rescue her.
After failing to cross a musical bridge, the gang falls into a pit where sticky material becomes their zombie
doppelgangers and moves to chase them. They escape and go to the house of a toy dog
, where they are set up for a trap to eat crumpets with sleeping powder. Mac does not eat the crumpets (since the sleeping powder was thought to be powdered sugar
, and he is not allowed to eat sugar) and is able to save the others. As they try to escape, they discover that the heroic man and several others they have met on their journey are all controlled by a single face—World—who can animate and control seemingly anything he latches onto. World is trapped in an apple and the gang leaves it at a desert; but a horse, truly the guise of Mac and the gang, rides by and World is able to move once more. It gallops of to the castle, where the gang reveal themselves and try to plead with Frankie to come home. She believes the pleas to be selfish and refuses to leave. World gasses them and they fall asleep, awaking to find themselves in a fake version of Foster's created by World, who shrank them into it.
Frankie begins to hear their tiny voices calling to her and, though World tries to distract her from it, she finally discovers her friends. World is furious and accuses Frankie of planning to leave him alone in the toy box forever. She calms him down enough to befriend and unshrink the gang, but Mr. Herriman storms into the attic and, discovering the toy box to be a friend, scolds World. World becomes furious and attacks them all, but they escape out of the toy box. Frankie climbs out as well and tries to convince everyone to let World out of the box. Herriman finally yields and releases World from the box. World adapts to the new environment and lives as a stuffed rag doll
in the home. Herriman, having learned a valuable lesson from the experience, creates a new Fair Chore Act to divide the chores between the imaginary friends and thus give Frankie a well-deserved break from her job. All the imaginary friends in the house are free to travel in and out of the toy box, where they enjoy themselves (They go to the tox box in a style similar to the show's theme.).
along with Tim McKeon. Other series co-founder Craig McCracken
directed it along with Rob Renzetti
. The special was conceived by the four, along with Darrick Bachman, Edward Baker, Vaughn Tada, and Alex Kirwan, as a means of creating an adventure story, to "send the gang on a fantastic quest."
The character of World was created as a means to have an imaginary friend that was an entire world instead of the usual "sentient being that you hang out with." Baker suggested that the character should be portrayed as a young child, which McCracken agreed because it brought originality to the story, and allowed him to "be more emotional, to not understand the bigger picture, to be confused and vulnerable and like a kid, to throw a fit when they don't get their way."
The special was written with the goal of "telling the story in the most honest and sincere way." The writers attempted to continue the tense and unpleasant relationship between Frankie and Mr. Herriman, which they had begun developing since the series began, but approaching it in a believable and sensible fashion. With the heavy plot running through the special, the writers tried to use Bloo and his companions as a means to add humor into it. They wrote Bloo to be more obnoxious and demanding than previously, but did not want him to be cruel or malicious.
A lot of the special was more "edgy" and dark then what had been done previously on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. A major reason behind this was the peril, danger, and conflict that constructed the plot so heavily. McCracken explains, "When we start a show one of the first things we think about is tone, is this a goofy one, is it a serious one, whatever it may be we stay true to that tone. This one had some higher stakes so we let it naturally unfold that way."
, on Cartoon Network
, at 8:00 P.M. EST
. It followed an afternoon-long marathon of the animated series Chowder
and a My Gym Partner's A Monkey
Thanksgiving special entitled "A Thanksgiving Carol". The first special for the series, entitled "Good Wilt Hunting," had also aired on Thanksgiving, back in 2006. At the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
, the special won the award for "Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming One Hour or More)", winning over Spike TV
's Afro Samurai: Resurrection. It was nominated for two Annie Awards in the categories "Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children" and "Directing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form". The special lost both to Nickelodeon's
Avatar: The Last Airbender
.
"Destination: Imagiantion" received generally positive reviews from television critics. Newsarama
reporter Steve Fritz called it "one of the best and—well--most imaginative chapters, ever." Fritz praised Tom Kane
and Grey DeLisle
's performance as Mr. Herriman and Frankie, calling it "stellar," along with the dark and "edgy" undertones of the special.
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
of the animated
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
television series Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is an American animated television series created and produced at Cartoon Network Studios by animator Craig McCracken, creator of The Powerpuff Girls. It first premiered on Cartoon Network on August 13, 2004, as a 90-minute television movie, which led to a series...
. The plot of the special follows Frankie, who becomes trapped in a huge, mysterious world where she is treated like royalty but forced not to leave. Bloo, Mac, Coco, Eduardo, and Wilt journey through the world to rescue her, facing perils and challenges along the way.
Written by Lauren Faust
Lauren Faust
Lauren Faust is an American born animator of Polish and German descent. She grew up in Severna Park, a suburb of Annapolis, Maryland. She studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts....
and Tim McKeon, "Destination: Imagination" was directed by Rob Renzetti
Rob Renzetti
Robert "Rob" Renzetti is an American animator and director who created the animated television series My Life as a Teenage Robot and is currently story editor on the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.-Background:...
and series creator Craig McCracken
Craig McCracken
Craig McCracken is an American animator and creator of The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.-Biography:...
. The plot was conceived after the crew decided that they wanted to make an episode with adventure, featuring the characters going out on a large quest of sorts. Due to the dark and serious storytelling approach used, the special came out "edgier" than most episodes of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
The special originally broadcast on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
on November 27, 2008, on Thanksgiving Day. It was well received and won the Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for "Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming One Hour or More)". It was also nominated for two Annie Awards—one for "Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children" and another for McCracken and Renzetti's directing.
Plot summary
During the pouring rain, a family leaves a heavily chained toy box at the doorstep of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends with instructions to never open. The next day, Frankie has become outraged at her job as caretaker of the house; Mr. Herriman has been giving her endless chores to take care of every day without thanking her for any of it. When Frankie discovers the box left on the doorstep, Herriman commands her to leave it in the attic. In her curiosity, she ignores the instructions given in the box and peeks inside it. She falls inside of it, only to discover it is a vast world filled with anthropomorphic toys and delectable treats. She hears and sympathizes with a young boy's voice (Max BurkholderMax Burkholder
Maxwell Henry Wolf "Max" Burkholder is an American child actor most noticeable for his role Max Braverman, who has Asperger Syndrome, in the NBC series Parenthood. Prior to that, he became known as a voice actor, among his many roles were those of Chomper in The Land Before Time television series...
), later revealed to be the imaginary friend (even though he is given no name in the "Destination: Imagination" special, he has been named "World" by the crew of the show) who has been living in the world since his family left the box at the home.
Frankie adores the world and goes to visit it every day, being treated like royalty by the voice. But one day, when she goes to leave, the friend refuses to allow her and locks every exit in the castle they are abiding in. Bloo, Mac, Coco, Eduardo, and Wilt become curious with her sudden disappearance. They go up to the attic and enter the toy box, discovering for themselves the vast world that resides in it. They ask around a small town if anyone has seen a woman of Frankie's description but nobody has. A group of weeble
Weeble
Weebles is a trademark for several lines of children's roly-poly toys originating in Hasbro's Playskool division on July 23, 1971. Tipping an egg-shaped Weeble causes a weight located at the bottom-center to be lifted off the ground...
policemen discover they have entered the world and chase after them, but the gang are saved by a heroic man. He tries to warn them that their pursuit of Frankie will lead through extremely dangerous environments, but they are determined to rescue her.
After failing to cross a musical bridge, the gang falls into a pit where sticky material becomes their zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
doppelgangers and moves to chase them. They escape and go to the house of a toy dog
Toy dog
Toy dog traditionally refers to a very small dog or a grouping of small and very small breeds of dog. A toy dog may be of any of various dog types. Types of dogs referred to as toy dogs may include Spaniels, Pinschers and Terriers that have been bred down in size. Not all toy dogs are lapdogs,...
, where they are set up for a trap to eat crumpets with sleeping powder. Mac does not eat the crumpets (since the sleeping powder was thought to be powdered sugar
Powdered sugar
Powdered sugar, also known as confectioners' sugar or icing sugar, is very fine sugar. When intended for home use, it typically contains a small amount of anti-caking agent....
, and he is not allowed to eat sugar) and is able to save the others. As they try to escape, they discover that the heroic man and several others they have met on their journey are all controlled by a single face—World—who can animate and control seemingly anything he latches onto. World is trapped in an apple and the gang leaves it at a desert; but a horse, truly the guise of Mac and the gang, rides by and World is able to move once more. It gallops of to the castle, where the gang reveal themselves and try to plead with Frankie to come home. She believes the pleas to be selfish and refuses to leave. World gasses them and they fall asleep, awaking to find themselves in a fake version of Foster's created by World, who shrank them into it.
Frankie begins to hear their tiny voices calling to her and, though World tries to distract her from it, she finally discovers her friends. World is furious and accuses Frankie of planning to leave him alone in the toy box forever. She calms him down enough to befriend and unshrink the gang, but Mr. Herriman storms into the attic and, discovering the toy box to be a friend, scolds World. World becomes furious and attacks them all, but they escape out of the toy box. Frankie climbs out as well and tries to convince everyone to let World out of the box. Herriman finally yields and releases World from the box. World adapts to the new environment and lives as a stuffed rag doll
Rag doll
A rag doll is a children's toy. It is a cloth figure, a doll traditionally home-made from spare scraps of material. They are one of the most ancient children's toys in existence; the British Museum has a Roman rag doll, found in a child's grave dating from 300 BC.Rag dolls have featured in a...
in the home. Herriman, having learned a valuable lesson from the experience, creates a new Fair Chore Act to divide the chores between the imaginary friends and thus give Frankie a well-deserved break from her job. All the imaginary friends in the house are free to travel in and out of the toy box, where they enjoy themselves (They go to the tox box in a style similar to the show's theme.).
Production
"Destination: Imagination" was co-written by Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends co-creator Lauren FaustLauren Faust
Lauren Faust is an American born animator of Polish and German descent. She grew up in Severna Park, a suburb of Annapolis, Maryland. She studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts....
along with Tim McKeon. Other series co-founder Craig McCracken
Craig McCracken
Craig McCracken is an American animator and creator of The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.-Biography:...
directed it along with Rob Renzetti
Rob Renzetti
Robert "Rob" Renzetti is an American animator and director who created the animated television series My Life as a Teenage Robot and is currently story editor on the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.-Background:...
. The special was conceived by the four, along with Darrick Bachman, Edward Baker, Vaughn Tada, and Alex Kirwan, as a means of creating an adventure story, to "send the gang on a fantastic quest."
The character of World was created as a means to have an imaginary friend that was an entire world instead of the usual "sentient being that you hang out with." Baker suggested that the character should be portrayed as a young child, which McCracken agreed because it brought originality to the story, and allowed him to "be more emotional, to not understand the bigger picture, to be confused and vulnerable and like a kid, to throw a fit when they don't get their way."
The special was written with the goal of "telling the story in the most honest and sincere way." The writers attempted to continue the tense and unpleasant relationship between Frankie and Mr. Herriman, which they had begun developing since the series began, but approaching it in a believable and sensible fashion. With the heavy plot running through the special, the writers tried to use Bloo and his companions as a means to add humor into it. They wrote Bloo to be more obnoxious and demanding than previously, but did not want him to be cruel or malicious.
A lot of the special was more "edgy" and dark then what had been done previously on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. A major reason behind this was the peril, danger, and conflict that constructed the plot so heavily. McCracken explains, "When we start a show one of the first things we think about is tone, is this a goofy one, is it a serious one, whatever it may be we stay true to that tone. This one had some higher stakes so we let it naturally unfold that way."
Reception
"Destination: Imagination" was originally broadcast on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 20082008 in television
The following is a list of events affecting American television in 2008. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel launches.-January:-February:-March:-April:-May:-June:-July:-August:...
, on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, at 8:00 P.M. EST
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
. It followed an afternoon-long marathon of the animated series Chowder
Chowder (TV series)
Chowder is an American animated television series which ran from November 2, 2007 to August 7, 2010 on Cartoon Network. The series was created by C. H...
and a My Gym Partner's A Monkey
My Gym Partner's a Monkey
My Gym Partner's a Monkey is an American animated television series created by Timothy and Julie McNally Cahill and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It premiered on December 26, 2005 and ended in November 27, 2008 following a marathon of its final regular-run episodes...
Thanksgiving special entitled "A Thanksgiving Carol". The first special for the series, entitled "Good Wilt Hunting," had also aired on Thanksgiving, back in 2006. At the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
61st Primetime Emmy Awards
The 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place on September 20, 2009. CBS broadcast the Primetime event and E! the Creative Arts event; both take place at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominations for the Awards were announced on July 16....
, the special won the award for "Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming One Hour or More)", winning over Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
's Afro Samurai: Resurrection. It was nominated for two Annie Awards in the categories "Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children" and "Directing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form". The special lost both to Nickelodeon's
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The series was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who served as executive producers along with Aaron Ehasz...
.
"Destination: Imagiantion" received generally positive reviews from television critics. Newsarama
Newsarama
Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
reporter Steve Fritz called it "one of the best and—well--most imaginative chapters, ever." Fritz praised Tom Kane
Tom Kane
Tom Kane is a prominent American voice actor with over 25 years of experience. He is most widely known for his animation work...
and Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. To date, she has released four solo albums and has featured on the tribute album Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash and film soundtrack of Loggerheads...
's performance as Mr. Herriman and Frankie, calling it "stellar," along with the dark and "edgy" undertones of the special.
External links
- "Destination: Imagination" at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- "Destination: Imagination" at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...