“ | We're going to Lucha School! | ” |
— Theme Song
|
"Lucha School" (also referred to as "Rikochet’s Rude Awakening") is the 3-minute unaired original pilot that was screened on December 17, 2001. The pilot was created by Eddie Mort and Lili Chin, who are also the creators of the show. It was produced through the commission for Warner Bros. Animation that leads to the creation of ¡Mucha Lucha!, which was produced in the following year.
Synopsis[]
Rikochet begins to worry about how he can do in school.
Plot[]
The pilot begins with the opening theme song, where Rikochet, with his mask on, wakes up from his bed. As he yawned, Rikochet’s Mama reaches the cereal from the shelf as he is seated at the table. She places the cereal on the table. Rikochet searches in the cereal box and with joy, he finds an El Rey de Dolor figurine inside the box and places it in his bedroom shelf with other El Rey de Dolor figurines. Then, the school bus arrives and Rikochet, wearing a backpack, waves goodbye and runs for the school bus.
As the school bus travels through streets, Mrs. Cucuracha gave out lunch bags to both La Cucuracha and his little sister before they took off. Mr. Cucuracha pops in for the kiss as Mrs. Cucuracha grabs him and his face droops. Meanwhile, the school bus continues to drive as both Rikochet and La Cucuracha are seated inside the bus. While waiting, Super Niña and Psiclone are playing thumb wrestling with their masked wrestling puppets. The school bus arrives, so both Super Niña and Psiclone go into the school bus.
Rikochet, La Cucaracha, Super Niña, and Psiclone and the rest of the masked students are in the school bus seated as seen from the window. As the school bus arrives to Lucha School by the school grounds, the theme song ends with the sign, revealing the title card.
Inside the classroom, Psiclone and Señor Midcarda are arguing. Then, Psiclone grips on his arms, performing an arm lock position and claiming to tap out. Still attached to his arms, Señor Midcarda stops and tells him that he was worthy as a true luchador. Psiclone thanks him as he is lowered to his desk. As he is seated with other students, Señor Midcarda takes roll and calls out each student starting with Ninja Blanco, followed by Minotoro, then La Cucaracha, Tiki Tornado, Miracle, Super Niña. Other students like Influenza and El Loco Mosquito poses as well as Potato Suicida Jr. As he calls Rikochet, he is still seated until he salutes with his arms up. However, Señor Midcarda was not convinced of his act. Next to Rikochet, a determined La Cucaracha tells him to project.
Sadly, Rikochet worries that he might get kicked out of Lucha School, if he doesn’t act like other masked students. As he processes his thoughts, he also worries that there are other consequences other than just getting kicked out, but for the future. Sad Rikochet bawls into tears as he is interrupted by Señor Midcarda’s voice. Now in the wrestling ring, Rikochet is held by La Cucuracha in a submission pose, demonstrated by him as Señor Midcarda tells him that he was supposed to feel pain.
As Rikochet is in trouble, The narrator explains how he will be able to act and stay in Lucha School. The next scene introduces Titania, Heavy Traffic, and Carlton Cold Jones as they challenge La Cucaracha, Super Niña, and Psiclone to a match. As the narrator continues with the other scene, Rikochet seeks help from a talking El Rey de Dolor figure that can help him with the match between him, his friends, and The Real Deal. The pilot ends with Rikochet revealing that he cheated. When other students stopped fighting outside the wrestling ring, they were in disbelief to see he actually cheated and Rikochet could possibly be disqualified for the match.
Characters[]
- Rikochet (debut)
- El Rey (as El Rey de Dolor) (debut)
- Mama Maniaca (debut)
- The Flea (as La Cucaracha) (debut)
- Pulgita (debut)
- Mr. Flea (as La Cucaracha's Father) (debut)
- Mrs. Flea (as La Cucaracha's Mother) (debut)
- Buena Girl (as Super Niña) (debut)
- Psiclone (debut)
- Mr. Midcarda (as Señor Midcarda) (debut)
- Double Ninja Ninja (as Ninja Blanco) (debut)
- Minotoro (debut)
- Tiki Tornado (debut)
- Miracle (debut)
- Influenza (debut)
- El Loco Mosquito (debut)
- Potato Patata Jr. (as Patata Suicida Jr.) (debut)
- Primadonna Hodges (as Titania) (debut)
- Heavy Traffic (debut)
- Carlton Cold Jones (debut)
- Masked Bus Driver (debut)
Transcript[]
Click here to view the script.
Gallery[]
Click here to visit Lucha School's Gallery!
Trivia[]
- The pilot episode was never aired in public on or any network, as it was only screened at Warner Bros. Animation Studio.
- It can only be seen as part of the Bonus Features of "The Return of El Maléfico" DVD.
- Some of the clips from the pilot are seen and mentioned by Eddie Mort and Lili Chin in "The Lucha Behind the Mucha!" on the DVD version of Heart of Lucha!.
- It can also be seen on Youtube by Sonic Delay, who uploaded the pilot in 2017.
- The pilot was approximately 3 minutes, but a first draft of the script includes most of the scenes from an animated version of the pilot.
- The pilot was produced around 1999 before being pitched to Warner Bros. in 2001.
- The first draft of the script was completed on February 7, 2001.
Differences from the Main Series[]
- Both Buena Girl and The Flea appeared under different names: Super Nina [1] and La Cucaracha .[2]
- The Flea did not refer to himself as the third person.
- Several of the students from the pilot did not make it to the main series for various reasons:
- Psiclone was originally one of the main characters from the main series, but it was scrapped after when the series was greenlit.[3] The rest of the characters were also scrapped when it was greenlitted for the series.
- Magnetico did appeared in a storyboard sequence and a script, but he was cut and never made to the final script.
- Chad From Chad was cut because one of the WB Animation staff would think that his character might not be suitable for children.
- Almost all of the characters from the main series had different designs in the pilot, and none of the original voice actors were present.
- El Rey also had a different design and voice, but he was originally known as "El Rey De Dolor".
- Penny Plutonium was originally known as "Amy Nitrate".
- Lonestar was originally known as "Silver Bullet".
- Primadonna Hodges had slight changes to the design such as skin colors. She was also originally known as "Titania".
- Hairy Knuckles Academy was originally known as "The Real Deal".
- "Schmack Downs" cereal was censored due to a copyright holder's claim that it resembled WWE's "Smackdown".
- Some of the elements from the pilot such as Midcarda's Technicos and Rudos speech was later introduced as a theme in "The Match Before Xmas".
- Rikochet's arrival to Rudo class at the end of the pilot was used as a plot for "Heart of Lucha", but with The Three Mascaritas and Snow Pea in "Heart of Lucha".
- Midcarda's class roll is the only scene that remained in the main series, but with new characters added for the main series and the animation improved from the pilot.
Videos[]
External Links[]
- Lucha School Pilot @ Tumblr
- Lucha School Flash Demo (Wayback Machine)
References[]