title: Louis Prima

text: Louis Leo Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he formed a seven-piece New Orleans-style jazz band in the late 1920s, fronted a swing combo in the 1930s and a big band group in the 1940s, helped to popularize jump blues in the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s, and performed frequently as a Vegas lounge act beginning in the 1950s.


title: Louis Prima

text: From the 1940s through the 1960s, his music further encompassed early R&B and rock 'n' roll, boogie-woogie, and Italian folk music, such as the tarantella. Prima made prominent use of Italian music and language in his songs, blending elements of his Italian and Sicilian identity with jazz and swing music. At a time when ethnic musicians were discouraged from openly stressing their ethnicity, Prima's conspicuous embrace of his Sicilian ethnicity opened the doors for other Italian-American and ethnic American musicians to display their ethnic roots.


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima is also known for providing the voice for the orangutan King Louie in the 1967 Disney film "The Jungle Book".


title: Louis Prima

text: Louis Leo Prima was from a musical Italian American family in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father, Anthony Prima, was the son of Leonardo Di Prima, a Sicilian immigrant from Salaparuta, while his mother, Angelina Caravella, had emigrated from the island of Ustica north of Sicily as a baby. Prima was the second child of four; his older brother, Leon, was born in 1907, while his sisters Elizabeth and Marguerite were younger. Marguerite died when she was three years old. Leon, Louis, and Elizabeth were all baptized at St. Ann's Parish. They lived in a house at 1812 St. Peter Street in New Orleans.


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima's mother was a music lover, and she made sure that each child played an instrument. Louis was assigned the violin and started out playing at St. Ann's Parish. He became interested in jazz when he heard black musicians, including Louis Armstrong. Italian immigrants, Italian-Americans, and African-Americans in New Orleans at the time frequently socialized together in the same clubs and bars. Local clubs tailored to the ostracized Italian community, such as Matranga's, Joe Segrettas, Tonti's Social Club, and Lala's Big 25, were all Italian-American clubs owned and operated by Italians; African Americans were always welcomed in these clubs and often played music and fraternized with Italians and Italian-Americans. Prima's interest in jazz was sparked while frequenting these clubs and observing black and Italian jazz artists playing together.


title: Louis Prima

text: According to author Garry Boulard in his book "Louis Prima", Prima paid attention to the music coming from clubs and watched his older brother Leon play the cornet. When Leon left the house to spend one summer in Texas, Prima practiced continuously on his worn-down cornet. He formed a band in 1924 with his childhood friends "Candy" Candido (bass), Irving Fazola (clarinet) and Johnny Viviano (drums).


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima attended Jesuit High School but transferred to Warren Easton High in the fall of 1926. At Warren Easton, he played with the "Eastonites", the school band. In 1927, he partnered with fellow musician Frank Federico and the pair played at "The Whip", a run-down French Quarter nightclub. By the spring of 1928, Prima decided he would become a professional musician.


title: Louis Prima

text: After finishing high school in New Orleans, Prima had a few unsuccessful gigs, including when he joined the Ellis Stratako Orchestra in 1929. Prima, Federico and saxophonist Dave Winstein drove to Florida for a gig but no one showed up. They made it to a relative's house, where they were given money for gas and a meal. Prima did not give up. He joined Joseph Cherniavsky's Orchestra in 1929 at Jefferson Parish. He got a temporary job playing on the steamship "Capital" that docked on Canal Street.


title: Louis Prima

text: Although the "Capital" did not provide him with a big break for his career, he did meet his first wife Louise Polizzi there. They married on June 25, 1929. From 1931 to 1932 Prima occupied his time by performing in the Avalon Club owned by his brother Leon. His first break was when Lou Forbes hired him for daily afternoon and early evening shows at The Saenger.


title: Louis Prima

text: New York was an attraction for hungry musicians during the Great Depression. It posed numerous risks, but all of the best artists in the nation made it in New York if not anywhere else. Guy Lombardo met Prima while he was performing at club Shim Sham during the Mardi Gras season of 1934.


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima's first gig in New York City was supposed to be at a club called Leon and Eddie's, located at 33 West 52nd street. Eddie Davis, one of the owners of the club, did not hire Prima because he thought he was black.


title: Louis Prima

text: In September 1934, Prima began recording for the Brunswick label. He recorded "That's Where the South Begins", "Long About Midnight", "Jamaica Shout", and "Star Dust".


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima and his New Orleans Gang featured Frank Pinero playing piano, Jack Ryan bass, Garrett McAdams guitar, and Pee Wee Russell clarinet. The band had their first performance at a club called the Famous Door, owned and operated by Jack Colt. Prima's recordings from 1935 were a combination of Dixieland and swing. In May 1935, Prima and Russell recorded "The Lady in Red", a national jukebox hit. They also recorded "Chinatown", "Chasing Shadows" and "Gypsy Tea Room".


title: Louis Prima

text: Martha Raye played a role in Prima's professional and personal life. She was a comedian with potential to become a singer. The two featured a show at the club that granted Prima his first national debut on "The Fleischman Hour". In March 1936, Prima recorded "Sing Sing Sing", which subsequently became a hit for Benny Goodman.


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima moved to California to expand his music. During this time there was a movement for big bands and orchestras. Prima hired Louis Masinter on the string bass, a New Orleans native. He fired McAdams so that he could have Frank Federico, his childhood friend, play the guitar.


title: Louis Prima

text: With all of his success, his marriage back in New Orleans had already failed. He and Louise were divorced in 1936, following infidelities going back at least to the French Quarter in 1933. A few months later, he was involved in a new fling with Alma Ross, an actress.


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima and Ross were quite serious and after only a few months together he asked her to marry him while he started his tour out in the Midwest. The couple faced problems in Wisconsin and Chicago because they did not meet the marital requirements. Guy Lombardo helped them out by arranging a place in South Bend, Indiana. They wed on July 25, 1936.


title: Louis Prima

text: The couple had a few problems; one of the worst was that Louis denied much about his past. He never confessed to Alma that he had a daughter until she found out from a tax return. Prima also pushed Ross into signing with Paramount in 1937. He continued to travel along the East Coast with his band.


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima struggled to upgrade to big band style. It was not supported by his mentors in New York or Los Angeles. With the help of Guy Lombardo he traveled to Chicago to promote his new format at the Blackhawk in October 1936. The new format was unsuccessful.


title: Louis Prima

text: In 1937, Prima and his smaller gang (Federico, Masinter, Pinero, and Meyer Weinberg on clarinet) returned to the Famous Door in New York to perform. He also appeared at Billy Rose's Casa Mañana club in May 1938. He earned nearly a quarter million dollars throughout seven weeks at Casa Mañana.


title: Louis Prima

text: He was booked by William Morris Agency in late 1938, which sent him to Boston, New York, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Miami Beach, New Orleans, and St. Louis. The band traveled by car, since it was the cheapest option.


title: Louis Prima

text: In 1939 Prima was under contract to appear in black theatres in New York, Baltimore, Boston and Washington D.C. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt attended his performance in Washington D.C., and formally invited him to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's birthday celebration. He appeared in photographs with the President, which ultimately boosted his publicity. Deemed unfit for military service in World War II because of a knee injury, Prima continued performing.


title: Louis Prima

text: By the mid-1940s, Prima was experiencing great success. People were purchasing tickets early in the morning for shows later on that evening. Despite the anti-Italian sentiment during the war, Prima continued to record Italian songs, the most famous being "Angelina", named after his mother. Others included "Please No Squeeza Da Banana", "Baciagaloop (Makes Love on the Stoop)", and "Felicia No Capicia."


title: Louis Prima

text: He performed the Italian songs at the Strand Theatre in New York. He brought in $440,000 in six weeks. In Detroit he could bring in about $38,000 for an afternoon performance. With all of this success, he decided to go back to Chicago to prove himself; he sold out the "Panther Room" in that city.


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima had several big hits in the summer of 1945, including "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" and "Bell-Bottom Trousers". As his career grew, however, his marriage with Alma simultaneously failed. They got a divorce when she discovered he had been cheating on her with another actress. Alma was supposed to receive $15,000 a year or 7.5% of his earnings. Prima ignored the payments until they piled up to about $60,000, which forced him to write a settlement check of $45,000 plus $250 per week. Later he married his secretary, Tracelene Barrett.


title: Louis Prima

text: By the end of the war years, the popularity of big band music was diminishing, and by 1947 Prima was playing more jazzy versions of his music. Under a new contract with RCA Victor, he recorded "Civilization"; "You Can’t Tell the Depth of the Well"; "Say it with a Slap"; "Valencia"; "My Flame Went Out Last Night"; "Thousand Islands"; "Mean To Me"; and "Tutti Tutti Pizzicato".


title: Louis Prima

text: Fans knew Prima as a genial and patient celebrity: he always signed autographs or posed for pictures with a smile. To the record companies and big corporations, however, Prima showed little deference, and he was uncompromising in seeking maximum compensation for his work.


title: Louis Prima

text: Warner Brothers offered him $60,000 to be in a movie based on the life of Helen Morgan, but he rejected it; when the studio increased the offer to $75,000, it was still not enough. Prima wanted $100,000 and creative control of his role, which was rejected by Warner Brothers. He had protracted disputes with the Strand Theatre in New York City and Majestic Records, and he flatly refused to allow a former songwriter to advertise herself as "formerly featured with Louis Prima's orchestra".


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima had expensive tastes: he shopped at luxury clothing stores and always wore top-brand suits. He spent great sums on horse racing and his own private stable of horses. He said he enjoyed gambling because it relaxed him; riding was another one of the things that relaxed him the most outside of his busy performing life. He knew each of his horses well and read about training. Another hobby was boating. He purchased a boat for his third wife Tracelene Barrett for their honeymoon on the Hudson River.


title: Louis Prima

text: Keely Smith was twenty when she met Prima in August 1948. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, she made a point to stop by the Surf Club in Virginia Beach to visit him. To her surprise, Prima was looking for a new female vocalist to replace Lily Ann Carol. Smith was wearing a bathing suit and was not allowed into the club until she put on proper attire. Luckily, someone was able to lend her some acceptable clothing and she auditioned. She landed the part and was soon traveling with his band.


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima signed with Columbia Records in the fall of 1951 to keep up with the rapid changes in the marketing industry. Throughout his sixteen-month contract, his top hits consisted of "Chop Suey, Chow Mein", "Ooh-Dahdily-Dah", and "Chili Sauce". To support his horses and manage his expenses, he chose to drop his big band and play in lesser clubs. On top of it all, he divorced his third wife Tracelene on June 18, 1953. Less than a month later he married Keely. She was open to criticism, and he wanted to make her a star. He tried to find the style that fit her correctly, especially since rock and roll was emerging. Prima was not against rock 'n' roll like some other artists, such as Frank Sinatra and Jackie Gleason. He accepted that "the kids had an instinct for the kind of music that's fun to listen to and dance to."


title: Louis Prima

text: In 1954 Prima was offered a stay at The Sahara in Las Vegas to open his new act with Keely Smith. He enlisted New Orleans saxophonist Sam Butera and his backing musicians, "The Witnesses". The act was a hit, and ultimately led Prima to sign with Capitol Records in 1955. The act performed regularly in Las Vegas for the rest of the decade.


title: Louis Prima

text: He released his first album with Capitol Records, "The Wildest!", in September 1956. Some of the popular songs include his medley of "Just a Gigolo" and "I Ain't Got Nobody". In 1957, the couple released "The Call of the Wildest". Keely worked with other artists to release the album "I Wish You Love", and received a Grammy for it in 1958.


title: Louis Prima

text: She earned "Billboard" and "Variety’s" number one female vocalist award in 1958–59, and the Playboy Jazz Award in 1959. The duo also redid "That Old Black Magic", which was a Top 40 hit for two months. It earned the duo a Grammy. The couple also had two daughters together, one of whom, Toni, became an actress and singer in her own right. Prima decided to relocate his acts to the Desert Inn because he would take in $3 million for producing twelve weeks' worth of acts a year for five years.


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima signed with Dot Records in 1959 and produced eight albums, headlined by "Wonderland By Night" and "On Stage" in 1961. The couple was constantly performing and it affected their marriage. An attempted vacation boating down the Atlantic coast ended up grounded in the Intracoastal Waterway until rescued by the Coast Guard.


title: Louis Prima

text: In January 1961, Prima was invited by Frank Sinatra to perform at the inaugural gala for President John F. Kennedy; the two played "Old Black Magic" together. The constant performances and Prima's infidelities were too much for Smith. After finishing up their contract at the Desert Inn, she filed for divorce at the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court of Nevada in Las Vegas.


title: Louis Prima

text: After Keely was out of his life and his performances, Prima tried to prove that he did not need her. In the "New York Post", there was a suggestion that Keely should rejoin for an act in New York's Basin Street East nightclub. Prima said, "I have no desire whatsoever to have any dealings with Keely Smith under any conditions…There is nothing in the world or no one that could ever make me accept this woman in our act."


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima's father died in 1961, the same year as the divorce from Smith. His mother died in the winter of 1965.


title: Louis Prima

text: In 1962, he tried to form his own recording company called "Prima One Records". He filled Smith's spot with Gia Maione, a waitress who was 21 years old. He did his best to make her famous by producing her first album "This Is … Gia." It was funded entirely by him, and it was unsuccessful. They married and had a daughter, Lena, later a New Orleans-based singer and recording artist with Basin Street Records, and his only son, Louis Prima Jr., the last of his six children. He was also in the middle of making appearances in Las Vegas and promoting the film "Twist All Night".


title: Louis Prima

text: In 1967, Prima landed a role in Walt Disney's animated feature "The Jungle Book", as the raucous orangutan King Louie. He performed the hit song "I Wan'na Be like You" on the soundtrack, leading to the recording of two albums with Phil Harris: "The Jungle Book" and "More Jungle Book", and covering MC duties and singing the theme song "Winnie the Pooh", for the 1967 album entitled "Happy Birthday Winnie the Pooh", all of these on Disneyland Records. He can be heard on the soundtrack of another cartoon feature, "The Man Called Flintstone". One of Prima's final television appearances was as a "mystery guest" on "What's My Line?" in 1970.


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima was married five times and had six children. Prima was married to Louise Polizzi from 1929 to 1936; Alma Ross from 1936 to 1945; Tracelene Barrett from 1945 to 1952; Keely Smith from 1953 to 1961; and Gia Maione in 1963. All but his marriage to Maione ended in divorce.


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima suffered a heart attack in 1973. Two years later, following headaches and episodes of memory loss, he sought medical attention, and was diagnosed with a brain stem tumor. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and went into a coma following surgery. He never recovered, and died three years later, in 1978, having been moved back to New Orleans. He was buried in Metairie Cemetery in a gray marble crypt topped by a figure of Gabriel, the trumpeter-angel, sculpted in 1997 by Russian-born sculptor Alexei Kazantsev. The inscription on the crypt's door quotes the lyrics from one of his hits: "When the end comes, I know, they'll say, 'just a gigolo' as life goes on without me…"


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima's expected visit to a small Italian restaurant drives the plot of the critically acclaimed 1996 film "Big Night."


title: Louis Prima

text: On July 25, 2010. the centenary year of his birth, Prima received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


title: Louis Prima

text: In 2018, Prima's 1936 single "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin’)" was sampled by Kids See Ghosts on the song "4th Dimension", which appeared on their album "Kids See Ghosts".


title: Louis Prima

text: Prima's New Orleans-based daughter, Lena Prima, performs throughout the nation. His son, Louis Prima Jr. leads his own band, performing music composed and played by his father and popular music of many genres.


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is an American interactive computer-animated children's television series which aired from May 5, 2006, to November 6, 2016 on the Disney Channel. Produced by Disney Television Animation, it is the first computer-animated series aimed at preschoolers. The series was created by Disney veteran Bobs Gannaway. 126 episodes were produced.


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto interact with the viewer to stimulate problem solving during each episode's story.


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: Once the problem of the episode has been explained, Mickey invites the viewers to join him at the Mousekedoer, a giant Mickey-head-shaped computer whose main function is to distribute the day's Mouseketools, a collection of objects needed to solve the day's problem, to Mickey.


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: One of them is a "Mystery Mouseketool" represented by a Question Mark, in which, when the words "Mystery Mouseketool" are said, the question mark changes into the Mouseketool the viewer gets to use. Another one is a "Mouseke-Think-About-It Tool" represented by a silhouette of Mickey's head with rotating gears, in which characters must think of what to use before telling the Tool "Mouseke-Think-About-It-Tool, we pick the (object)". Once the tools have been shown to Mickey on the Mousekedoer screen, they are quickly downloaded to Toodles, a small, Mickey-head-shaped flying extension of the Mousekedoer. By calling "Oh, Toodles!" Mickey summons him to pop up from where he is hiding and fly up to the screen so the viewer can pick which tool Mickey needs for the current situation. Rhymes are used throughout the show. For example, in "Mickey's Silly Problem", when the "Silly switch" turned on, Mickey for some reason, spoke in rhymes for half of the episode.


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: The show features two original songs performed by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, including the opening theme song, in which a variant of a "Mickey Mouse Club" chant ("Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse!") is used to summon the Clubhouse. They Might Be Giants also perform the song used at the end of every episode, "Hot Dog!", which echoes Mickey's first spoken words in the 1929 short "The Karnival Kid".


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: This is the first time that the major Disney characters have regularly appeared on television in computer-animated form. The characters previously appeared in CG form in 2003 at the Magic Kingdom theme park attraction Mickey's PhilharMagic, and then appeared in the 2004 direct-to-video special "Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas".


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: After the show ended in 2016, it was succeeded by "Mickey and the Roadster Racers" (later renamed "Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures"), which ran from 2017 to 2021, and "Mickey Mouse Funhouse", which started in 2021.


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: Mickey Mouse was originally voiced by Wayne Allwine with Bret Iwan taking over the role following Allwine's death in 2009 (however, the final episode to feature Allwine as Mickey premiered posthumously on September 28, 2012). Bill Farmer, the voice actor for Goofy and Pluto, said in February 2014 that the recording of dialogue for new episodes has ceased, but that "it would be quite a while before the show runs out of new episodes for TV. We have been on the air consistently since 2006 and we started recording in 2004. So there is always a long lead-in time between recording and seeing it on TV. So don't worry more is still to come, we just are not making any more."


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: Since the show has ended its run, reruns air on Disney Junior. The show was also released on Disney+ on its launch date of November 12, 2019.


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: Alessandra Stanley of "The New York Times" compared the television series to "Wonder Pets!", saying that ""Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" is simpler, and sometimes less is more," writing, "For much of his television career, the mouse was more a master of ceremonies than a comic lead. Now he has been whittled down to a Mister Rogers role — kindly and didactic." Stuart Heritage of "The Guardian" included "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" in their "Best shows to watch on Disney+" list, stating that preschoolers will respond enthusiastically and accept eagerly the show, compared to older children and adult who are likely to have no interest. Charles Curtis of "USA Today" ranked the television series 9th in their "20 best shows for kids right now" list, asserting, "Whether it's "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", "Mickey and the Roadster Racers" or "Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures", they're all good." Larisa Wiseman of "Common Sense Media" rated the show a 4 out of 5 stars, complimented the educational value, saying the series teaches early mathematics skills, and praised the depiction of positive messages and role models, citing, teamwork, positive interactions, and encouragement of social interactions.


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: David Perlmutter in "The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows" says that the show "was yet another case of vintage cartoon characters embarrassing themselves for the enjoyment of preschoolers in a heavily dumbed-down format. While it demonstrated the wide appeal of the Disney brand, it also indicated that this brand could be compromised as any other could through association with an inferior product."


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: "Minnie's Bow-Toons" is a spin-off series which premiered in the fall of 2011 and concluded in 2016. It aired in the daytime Disney Junior programming block for younger audiences. It is based on the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" episode "Minnie's Bow-tique" and depicts Minnie's continuing adventures in business as proprietor of her own store which makes and sells bows for apparel and interior decoration with her friend Daisy. She interacts with many of the characters seen in the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" series.


title: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

text: The show has been revived with new episodes starting April 2021, renamed to Minnie’s Bow-Toons: Party Palace Pals, with the animation style of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’s successor, Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures.


title: Axiom

text: An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or fit' or 'that which commends itself as evident'.


title: Axiom

text: The term has subtle differences in definition when used in the context of different fields of study. As defined in classic philosophy, an axiom is a statement that is so evident or well-established, that it is accepted without controversy or question. As used in modern logic, an axiom is a premise or starting point for reasoning.


title: Axiom

text: As used in mathematics, the term "axiom" is used in two related but distinguishable senses: "logical axioms" and "non-logical axioms". Logical axioms are usually statements that are taken to be true within the system of logic they define and are often shown in symbolic form (e.g., ("A" and "B") implies "A"), while non-logical axioms (e.g., ) are actually substantive assertions about the elements of the domain of a specific mathematical theory (such as arithmetic).


title: Axiom

text: When used in the latter sense, "axiom", "postulate", and "assumption" may be used interchangeably. In most cases, a non-logical axiom is simply a formal logical expression used in deduction to build a mathematical theory, and might or might not be self-evident in nature (e.g., parallel postulate in Euclidean geometry). To axiomatize a system of knowledge is to show that its claims can be derived from a small, well-understood set of sentences (the axioms), and there are typically many ways to axiomatize a given mathematical domain.


title: Axiom

text: Any axiom is a statement that serves as a starting point from which other statements are logically derived. Whether it is meaningful (and, if so, what it means) for an axiom to be "true" is a subject of debate in the philosophy of mathematics.


title: Axiom

text: The word "axiom" comes from the Greek word ("axíōma"), a verbal noun from the verb ("axioein"), meaning "to deem worthy", but also "to require", which in turn comes from ("áxios"), meaning "being in balance", and hence "having (the same) value (as)", "worthy", "proper". Among the ancient Greek philosophers an axiom was a claim which could be seen to be self-evidently true without any need for proof.


title: Axiom

text: The root meaning of the word "postulate" is to "demand"; for instance, Euclid demands that one agree that some things can be done (e.g., any two points can be joined by a straight line).


title: Axiom

text: Ancient geometers maintained some distinction between axioms and postulates. While commenting on Euclid's books, Proclus remarks that "Geminus held that this [4th] Postulate should not be classed as a postulate but as an axiom, since it does not, like the first three Postulates, assert the possibility of some construction but expresses an essential property." Boethius translated 'postulate' as "petitio" and called the axioms "notiones communes" but in later manuscripts this usage was not always strictly kept.


title: Axiom

text: The logico-deductive method whereby conclusions (new knowledge) follow from premises (old knowledge) through the application of sound arguments (syllogisms, rules of inference) was developed by the ancient Greeks, and has become the core principle of modern mathematics. Tautologies excluded, nothing can be deduced if nothing is assumed. Axioms and postulates are thus the basic assumptions underlying a given body of deductive knowledge. They are accepted without demonstration. All other assertions (theorems, in the case of mathematics) must be proven with the aid of these basic assumptions. However, the interpretation of mathematical knowledge has changed from ancient times to the modern, and consequently the terms "axiom" and "postulate" hold a slightly different meaning for the present day mathematician, than they did for Aristotle and Euclid.


title: Axiom

text: The ancient Greeks considered geometry as just one of several sciences, and held the theorems of geometry on par with scientific facts. As such, they developed and used the logico-deductive method as a means of avoiding error, and for structuring and communicating knowledge. Aristotle's posterior analytics is a definitive exposition of the classical view.


title: Axiom

text: An "axiom", in classical terminology, referred to a self-evident assumption common to many branches of science. A good example would be the assertion that "When an equal amount is taken from equals, an equal amount results."


title: Axiom

text: At the foundation of the various sciences lay certain additional hypotheses that were accepted without proof. Such a hypothesis was termed a "postulate". While the axioms were common to many sciences, the postulates of each particular science were different. Their validity had to be established by means of real-world experience. Aristotle warns that the content of a science cannot be successfully communicated if the learner is in doubt about the truth of the postulates.


title: Axiom

text: The classical approach is well-illustrated by Euclid's Elements, where a list of postulates is given (common-sensical geometric facts drawn from our experience), followed by a list of "common notions" (very basic, self-evident assertions).


title: Axiom

text: A lesson learned by mathematics in the last 150 years is that it is useful to strip the meaning away from the mathematical assertions (axioms, postulates, propositions, theorems) and definitions. One must concede the need for primitive notions, or undefined terms or concepts, in any study. Such abstraction or formalization makes mathematical knowledge more general, capable of multiple different meanings, and therefore useful in multiple contexts. Alessandro Padoa, Mario Pieri, and Giuseppe Peano were pioneers in this movement.


title: Axiom

text: Structuralist mathematics goes further, and develops theories and axioms (e.g. field theory, group theory, topology, vector spaces) without "any" particular application in mind. The distinction between an "axiom" and a "postulate" disappears. The postulates of Euclid are profitably motivated by saying that they lead to a great wealth of geometric facts. The truth of these complicated facts rests on the acceptance of the basic hypotheses. However, by throwing out Euclid's fifth postulate, one can get theories that have meaning in wider contexts (e.g., hyperbolic geometry). As such, one must simply be prepared to use labels such as "line" and "parallel" with greater flexibility. The development of hyperbolic geometry taught mathematicians that it is useful to regard postulates as purely formal statements, and not as facts based on experience.


title: Axiom

text: When mathematicians employ the field axioms, the intentions are even more abstract. The propositions of field theory do not concern any one particular application; the mathematician now works in complete abstraction. There are many examples of fields; field theory gives correct knowledge about them all.


title: Axiom

text: It is not correct to say that the axioms of field theory are "propositions that are regarded as true without proof." Rather, the field axioms are a set of constraints. If any given system of addition and multiplication satisfies these constraints, then one is in a position to instantly know a great deal of extra information about this system.


title: Axiom

text: Modern mathematics formalizes its foundations to such an extent that mathematical theories can be regarded as mathematical objects, and mathematics itself can be regarded as a branch of logic. Frege, Russell, Poincaré, Hilbert, and Gödel are some of the key figures in this development.


title: Axiom

text: Another lesson learned in modern mathematics is to examine purported proofs carefully for hidden assumptions.


title: Axiom

text: In the modern understanding, a set of axioms is any collection of formally stated assertions from which other formally stated assertions follow – by the application of certain well-defined rules. In this view, logic becomes just another formal system. A set of axioms should be consistent; it should be impossible to derive a contradiction from the axioms. A set of axioms should also be non-redundant; an assertion that can be deduced from other axioms need not be regarded as an axiom.


title: Axiom

text: It was the early hope of modern logicians that various branches of mathematics, perhaps all of mathematics, could be derived from a consistent collection of basic axioms. An early success of the formalist program was Hilbert's formalization of Euclidean geometry, and the related demonstration of the consistency of those axioms.


title: Axiom

text: In a wider context, there was an attempt to base all of mathematics on Cantor's set theory. Here, the emergence of Russell's paradox and similar antinomies of naïve set theory raised the possibility that any such system could turn out to be inconsistent.


title: Axiom

text: The formalist project suffered a decisive setback, when in 1931 Gödel showed that it is possible, for any sufficiently large set of axioms (Peano's axioms, for example) to construct a statement whose truth is independent of that set of axioms. As a corollary, Gödel proved that the consistency of a theory like Peano arithmetic is an unprovable assertion within the scope of that theory.


title: Axiom

text: It is reasonable to believe in the consistency of Peano arithmetic because it is satisfied by the system of natural numbers, an infinite but intuitively accessible formal system. However, at present, there is no known way of demonstrating the consistency of the modern Zermelo–Fraenkel axioms for set theory. Furthermore, using techniques of forcing (Cohen) one can show that the continuum hypothesis (Cantor) is independent of the Zermelo–Fraenkel axioms. Thus, even this very general set of axioms cannot be regarded as the definitive foundation for mathematics.


title: Axiom

text: Experimental sciences - as opposed to mathematics and logic - also have general founding assertions from which a deductive reasoning can be built so as to express propositions that predict properties - either still general or much more specialized to a specific experimental context. For instance, Newton's laws in classical mechanics, Maxwell's equations in classical electromagnetism, Einstein's equation in general relativity, Mendel's laws of genetics, Darwin's Natural selection law, etc. These founding assertions are usually called "principles" or "postulates" so as to distinguish from mathematical "axioms".


title: Axiom

text: As a matter of facts, the role of axioms in mathematics and postulates in experimental sciences is different. In mathematics one neither "proves" nor "disproves" an axiom. A set of mathematical axioms gives a set of rules that fix a conceptual realm, in which the theorems logically follow. In contrast, in experimental sciences, a set of postulates shall allow deducing results that match or do not match experimental results. If postulates do not allow deducing experimental predictions, they do not set a scientific conceptual framework and have to be completed or made more accurate. If the postulates allow deducing predictions of experimental results, the comparison with experiments allows falsifying (falsified) the theory that the postulates install. A theory is considered valid as long as it has not been falsified.


title: Axiom

text: Now, the transition between the mathematical axioms and scientific postulates is always slightly blurred, especially in physics. This is due to the heavy use of mathematical tools to support the physical theories. For instance, the introduction of Newton's laws rarely establishes as a prerequisite neither Euclidian geometry or differential calculus that they imply. It became more apparent when Albert Einstein first introduced special relativity where the invariant quantity is no more the Euclidian length formula_1 (defined as formula_2) > but the Minkowski spacetime interval formula_3 (defined as formula_4), and then general relativity where flat Minkowskian geometry is replaced with pseudo-Riemannian geometry on curved manifolds.


title: Axiom

text: In quantum physics, two sets of postulates have coexisted for some time, which provide a very nice example of falsification. The 'Copenhagen school' (Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born) developed an operational approach with a complete mathematical formalism that involves the description of quantum system by vectors ('states') in a separable Hilbert space, and physical quantities as linear operators that act in this Hilbert space. This approach is fully falsifiable and has so far produced the most accurate predictions in physics. But it has the unsatisfactory aspect of not allowing answers to questions one would naturally ask. For this reason, another 'hidden variables' approach was developed for some time by Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrödinger, David Bohm. It was created so as to try to give deterministic explanation to phenomena such as entanglement. This approach assumed that the Copenhagen school description was not complete, and postulated that some yet unknown variable was to be added to the theory so as to allow answering some of the questions it does not answer (the founding elements of which were discussed as the EPR paradox in 1935). Taking this ideas seriously, John Bell derived in 1964 a prediction that would lead to different experimental results (Bell's inequalities) in the Copenhagen and the Hidden variable case. The experiment was conducted first by Alain Aspect in the early 1980's, and the result excluded the simple hidden variable approach (sophisticated hidden variables could still exist but their properties would still be more disturbing than the problems they try to solve). This does not mean that the conceptual framework of quantum physics can be considered as complete now, since some open questions still exist (the limit between the quantum and classical realms, what happens during a quantum measurement, what happens in a completely closed quantum system such as the universe itself, etc).


title: Axiom

text: In the field of mathematical logic, a clear distinction is made between two notions of axioms: "logical" and "non-logical" (somewhat similar to the ancient distinction between "axioms" and "postulates" respectively).


title: Axiom

text: These are certain formulas in a formal language that are universally valid, that is, formulas that are satisfied by every assignment of values. Usually one takes as logical axioms "at least" some minimal set of tautologies that is sufficient for proving all tautologies in the language; in the case of predicate logic more logical axioms than that are required, in order to prove logical truths that are not tautologies in the strict sense.


title: Axiom

text: In propositional logic it is common to take as logical axioms all formulae of the following forms, where formula_5, formula_6, and formula_7 can be any formulae of the language and where the included primitive connectives are only "formula_8" for negation of the immediately following proposition and "formula_9" for implication from antecedent to consequent propositions:


title: Axiom

text: Each of these patterns is an "axiom schema", a rule for generating an infinite number of axioms. For example, if formula_13, formula_14, and formula_15 are propositional variables, then formula_16 and formula_17 are both instances of axiom schema 1, and hence are axioms. It can be shown that with only these three axiom schemata and "modus ponens", one can prove all tautologies of the propositional calculus. It can also be shown that no pair of these schemata is sufficient for proving all tautologies with "modus ponens".


title: Axiom

text: Other axiom schemata involving the same or different sets of primitive connectives can be alternatively constructed.


title: Axiom

text: These axiom schemata are also used in the predicate calculus, but additional logical axioms are needed to include a quantifier in the calculus.


title: Axiom

text: This means that, for any variable symbol formula_18 the formula formula_19 can be regarded as an axiom. Also, in this example, for this not to fall into vagueness and a never-ending series of "primitive notions", either a precise notion of what we mean by formula_19 (or, for that matter, "to be equal") has to be well established first, or a purely formal and syntactical usage of the symbol formula_21 has to be enforced, only regarding it as a string and only a string of symbols, and mathematical logic does indeed do that.


title: Axiom

text: Another, more interesting example axiom scheme, is that which provides us with what is known as Universal Instantiation:


title: Axiom

text: Where the symbol formula_22 stands for the formula formula_5 with the term formula_24 substituted for formula_25. (See Substitution of variables.) In informal terms, this example allows us to state that, if we know that a certain property formula_26 holds for every formula_25 and that formula_24 stands for a particular object in our structure, then we should be able to claim formula_29. Again, "we are claiming that the formula" formula_30 "is valid", that is, we must be able to give a "proof" of this fact, or more properly speaking, a "metaproof". These examples are "metatheorems" of our theory of mathematical logic since we are dealing with the very concept of "proof" itself. Aside from this, we can also have Existential Generalization:


title: Axiom

text: Non-logical axioms are formulas that play the role of theory-specific assumptions. Reasoning about two different structures, for example, the natural numbers and the integers, may involve the same logical axioms; the non-logical axioms aim to capture what is special about a particular structure (or set of structures, such as groups). Thus non-logical axioms, unlike logical axioms, are not "tautologies". Another name for a non-logical axiom is "postulate".


title: Axiom

text: Almost every modern mathematical theory starts from a given set of non-logical axioms, and it was thought that in principle every theory could be axiomatized in this way and formalized down to the bare language of logical formulas.


title: Axiom

text: Non-logical axioms are often simply referred to as "axioms" in mathematical discourse. This does not mean that it is claimed that they are true in some absolute sense. For example, in some groups, the group operation is commutative, and this can be asserted with the introduction of an additional axiom, but without this axiom, we can do quite well developing (the more general) group theory, and we can even take its negation as an axiom for the study of non-commutative groups.


title: Axiom

text: Thus, an "axiom" is an elementary basis for a formal logic system that together with the rules of inference define a deductive system.


title: Axiom

text: This section gives examples of mathematical theories that are developed entirely from a set of non-logical axioms (axioms, henceforth). A rigorous treatment of any of these topics begins with a specification of these axioms.


title: Axiom

text: Basic theories, such as arithmetic, real analysis and complex analysis are often introduced non-axiomatically, but implicitly or explicitly there is generally an assumption that the axioms being used are the axioms of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory with choice, abbreviated ZFC, or some very similar system of axiomatic set theory like Von Neumann–Bernays–Gödel set theory, a conservative extension of ZFC. Sometimes slightly stronger theories such as Morse–Kelley set theory or set theory with a strongly inaccessible cardinal allowing the use of a Grothendieck universe is used, but in fact, most mathematicians can actually prove all they need in systems weaker than ZFC, such as second-order arithmetic.


title: Axiom

text: The study of topology in mathematics extends all over through point set topology, algebraic topology, differential topology, and all the related paraphernalia, such as homology theory, homotopy theory. The development of "abstract algebra" brought with itself group theory, rings, fields, and Galois theory.


title: Axiom

text: This list could be expanded to include most fields of mathematics, including measure theory, ergodic theory, probability, representation theory, and differential geometry.


title: Axiom

text: The Peano axioms are the most widely used "axiomatization" of first-order arithmetic. They are a set of axioms strong enough to prove many important facts about number theory and they allowed Gödel to establish his famous second incompleteness theorem.


title: Axiom

text: We have a language formula_31 where formula_32 is a constant symbol and formula_33 is a unary function and the following axioms:


title: Axiom

text: The standard structure is formula_39 where formula_40 is the set of natural numbers, formula_33 is the successor function and formula_32 is naturally interpreted as the number 0.


title: Axiom

text: Probably the oldest, and most famous, list of axioms are the 4 + 1 Euclid's postulates of plane geometry. The axioms are referred to as "4 + 1" because for nearly two millennia the fifth (parallel) postulate ("through a point outside a line there is exactly one parallel") was suspected of being derivable from the first four. Ultimately, the fifth postulate was found to be independent of the first four. One can assume that exactly one parallel through a point outside a line exists, or that infinitely many exist. This choice gives us two alternative forms of geometry in which the interior angles of a triangle add up to exactly 180 degrees or less, respectively, and are known as Euclidean and hyperbolic geometries. If one also removes the second postulate ("a line can be extended indefinitely") then elliptic geometry arises, where there is no parallel through a point outside a line, and in which the interior angles of a triangle add up to more than 180 degrees.


title: Axiom

text: The objectives of the study are within the domain of real numbers. The real numbers are uniquely picked out (up to isomorphism) by the properties of a "Dedekind complete ordered field", meaning that any nonempty set of real numbers with an upper bound has a least upper bound. However, expressing these properties as axioms requires the use of second-order logic. The Löwenheim–Skolem theorems tell us that if we restrict ourselves to first-order logic, any axiom system for the reals admits other models, including both models that are smaller than the reals and models that are larger. Some of the latter are studied in non-standard analysis.


title: Axiom

text: A deductive system consists of a set formula_43 of logical axioms, a set formula_44 of non-logical axioms, and a set formula_45 of "rules of inference". A desirable property of a deductive system is that it be complete. A system is said to be complete if, for all formulas formula_5,


title: Axiom

text: that is, for any statement that is a "logical consequence" of formula_44 there actually exists a "deduction" of the statement from formula_44. This is sometimes expressed as "everything that is true is provable", but it must be understood that "true" here means "made true by the set of axioms", and not, for example, "true in the intended interpretation". Gödel's completeness theorem establishes the completeness of a certain commonly used type of deductive system.


title: Axiom

text: Note that "completeness" has a different meaning here than it does in the context of Gödel's first incompleteness theorem, which states that no "recursive", "consistent" set of non-logical axioms formula_44 of the Theory of Arithmetic is "complete", in the sense that there will always exist an arithmetic statement formula_5 such that neither formula_5 nor formula_52 can be proved from the given set of axioms.


title: Axiom

text: There is thus, on the one hand, the notion of "completeness of a deductive system" and on the other hand that of "completeness of a set of non-logical axioms". The completeness theorem and the incompleteness theorem, despite their names, do not contradict one another.


title: Axiom

text: Early mathematicians regarded axiomatic geometry as a model of physical space, and obviously, there could only be one such model. The idea that alternative mathematical systems might exist was very troubling to mathematicians of the 19th century and the developers of systems such as Boolean algebra made elaborate efforts to derive them from traditional arithmetic. Galois showed just before his untimely death that these efforts were largely wasted. Ultimately, the abstract parallels between algebraic systems were seen to be more important than the details, and modern algebra was born. In the modern view, axioms may be any set of formulas, as long as they are not known to be inconsistent.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: Avengers Assemble is an American animated television series based on the fictional Marvel Comics superhero team known as the Avengers. Designed to capitalize on the success of the 2012 film "The Avengers", the series premiered on Disney XD on May 26, 2013, as the successor to "".


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: It previously aired alongside "Ultimate Spider-Man" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" as a part of the "Marvel Universe" block. Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau and Steven T. Seagle, known collectively as "Man of Action", developed the series and were executive producers on seasons 1 and 2.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: Falcon is the newest member of the Avengers. Falcon is the main eyes and ears of the viewer as he fights evil and saves the world with his teammates. The Avengers team consist of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: When Red Skull is dying due to his imperfect Super Soldier Serum, he allies with MODOK who upgrades HYDRA's tech from A.I.M. to kidnap Captain America and has him transfer his mind to Captain America's body. After his defeat by a reassembled team of Avengers, Red Skull takes Iron Man's armor for its life support system. Red Skull attacks them at their mansion. Red Skull is once again defeated. The Avengers Mansion is destroyed during the fight. Red Skull plans to take away everything the Avengers hold dear from their lives to their country by trying to have them hated by the people for failing to save the day.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: To even the playing field, Red Skull brings together his team of power giants called the Cabal. Red Skull's invitational transmissions are shown to have been received by Attuma, Doctor Doom, and Dracula. Attuma and Dracula accept the invitation while Doctor Doom declined. The Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. intercept the transmission, and decide to remain together to battle the Cabal. To stay close to each other after Avengers Mansion blew up, they set up their base in Avengers Tower. The Cabal later on adds Justin Hammer's robot creation Super-Adaptoid and Hyperion, an alien psychopath believing himself to be a superhero, to their team. With the threat of the Cabal, the Avengers fight them at every end as well as other threats that come to Earth.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: The Avengers encounter Red Skull's master, Thanos, who is on the hunt for the Infinity Stones to power his Infinity Gauntlet after Red Skull stole the Power Stone from him. After the Avengers collect all five infinity stones and manage to defeat Thanos, the gems are drained of their power by Ultron who threatens to exterminate the human race after possessing Arsenal's body. After the Avengers ultimately defeat Ultron, Ant-Man becomes a new member of the team. Around the end of season two, Thanos manages to escape from a galactic prison that was meant to contain him with aid of the Black Order. Thanos then makes one final attempt to defeat the Avengers. With help from the people of Earth, the Avengers are able to defeat Thanos and the Black Order. In the aftermath, Captain America and Iron Man plan to make Earth an "Avengers World" by recruiting other heroes.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: There is also a subplot detailing the arrival of the Squadron Supreme, Hyperion's old team which also consists of Nighthawk, Power Princess, Doctor Spectrum, and Speed Demon. While Hyperion served as the "Hammer" for the Squadron Supreme, Nighthawk served as the "Architect" of the team. Thought to have perished when their old planet blew up, they come to Earth in an attempt to conquer it with Hyperion re-joining their team when he hears of their survival. The Squadron Supreme has plans to become the superheroes of Earth and save the world their way. Their plan is put into motion, where they do different plots in their battle with the Avengers. This leads up to the restoration of the Squadron Supreme's sixth member named Nuke. After going into hiding, the Avengers manage to defeat the Squadron Supreme by waiting until the Squadron Supreme's members divide rule of the planet's continents, then they pull a surprise attack and trap each member of the Squadron Supreme one by one. Desperate to win, Nighthawk tries blowing up the planet by having Hyperion absorb Nuke's powers and destroy the planet's core. Nighthawk tries to flee to find another planet, but is defeated by Iron Man. The rest of the Avengers stop Hyperion from blowing up the Earth by slowing him down until his powers wear off. The Squadron Supreme is imprisoned in a special section of the Vault.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: The Avengers are forced to cancel their expansion plans and Ant-Man leaves the team due to a lack of global threats. After dealing with A.I.M.'s Scientist Supreme, the Avengers are shocked when Ultron returns after his apparent demise and absorbs A.I.M.'s Super-Adaptoid technology and the unknown space metal used to make the Adaptoids. Now Ultron is seeking revenge on the Avengers for foiling his plans with the Infinity Gems' power, while continuing his plot to replace humanity with robots. One plot to eliminate humanity involved the attack on the Inhumans' city of Attilan where he planned to use Black Bolt to power his cannon which ended with Black Widow and Hulk throwing the Terrigen Mist into the cannon resulting in some the humans who are Inhuman descendants to undergo their Terrigenesis including the fiery Inferno and superhero fangirl Kamala Khan who gains shape-shifting powers while taking on the mantle of Ms. Marvel. Black Bolt and his fellow Inhuman Royal Family members Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, and Lockjaw work to find the recently emerged Inhumans.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: One subplot details Baron Helmut Zemo, son of Captain America's old nemesis Baron Heinrich Zemo, finding a working vial of the Super-Soldier Serum and uses it on himself to gain the youth and strength to face the Avengers, defeat, and destroy them in order to avenge his father's death. Then he recruits the Masters of Evil (which consists of Beetle, Goliath, Screaming Mimi, Fixer, and Moonstone) and steals a device from Stark Industries called the Inversion Stabilizer that allows them to masquerade as the Thunderbolts (with Zemo going under the alias Citizen V while each of the Masters of Evil above become MACH-IV, Atlas, Songbird, Techno, and Meteorite respectively) in a plot to undermine the Avengers. But after being saved from death by Hawkeye during the robbery and seeing what it's like be a hero, Songbird convinces the rest of the team to turn on Zemo. Together, the Avengers and Thunderbolts expose Zemo and defeat him.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: The Avengers must also contend with Kang the Conqueror when he arrives in the present following his brief fight with Iron Man in his time and discovering that some A.I.M. Agents have been using his technology to upgrade some supervillain gear like they did to Whiplash and Spymaster. When most of the Avengers follows Kang the Conqueror back to his time, the Avengers team up with an elderly Thor, a future Black Widow named Layla, and a group of rebels in order to fight the forces of Kang the Conqueror.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: When the President signs the New Powers Act, the Avengers are given Truman Marsh as their government liaison who even replaces the Bruce Banner-regressed Hulk with Red Hulk until the incident where Leader gamma-enhances him enough for Hulk to return.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: As the Avengers disassociate themselves with Marsh during the Inhuman Registration Act that involves Registration Disks placed on them, Marsh assembles Red Hulk, Black Panther, Songbird, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Vision as the Mighty Avengers. The superhero fight lasts when the Inhumans Karnak, Gorgon, Inferno, Haechi, Flint, Iso, and Ms. Marvel get mind-controlled through the disks by Marsh (who is revealed to be Ultron in disguise) as he starts the Ultron Revolution. When the Inhumans are freed from the mind-control, Ultron plans to collect radiation to "sanitize" Earth of all human life. With help from Doctor Strange at the time when Ultron takes control of Iron Man's body, the Avengers were able to place Iron Man in a no-tech dimension until they can find a way to drive Ultron out. Setting up in an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, the Avengers operate from there as Falcon sets up an inter-dimensional frequency for Tony Stark to speak to them through.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: The Avengers' plans to bring Tony Stark back from another dimension experience a major setback when a new version of the Cabal (consisting of Leader, Arnim Zola, Enchantress, Executioner, and Kang the Conqueror) is formed, with Leader, the head of the group, destroying the communication link with Stark and planning to use his Static Expander device on the captive Avengers. Black Panther forms the New Avengers to rescue them, which consists of Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, Vision, and Wasp. Even though Leader is defeated, the Cabal reveal their treachery against the Leader as they activate the fail-safe that activates the Static Expander to scatter the captive Avengers across time and space. Before disappearing, Captain America instructs Black Panther's group to continue in their place until they can be found and returned. The New Avengers work to find a way to bring the Avengers home while combating various threats in their place. After Jane Foster locates the Avengers, she provides the New Avengers special tether bracelets to allow her to send them to rescue the Avengers from each location where a member of the Cabal is overseeing. Vision and Wasp find that Falcon had spent a few years in a dystopian future New York City to help Kang stop a black hole and they prevent Kang from using it to further his conquest, Ant-Man helps Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow escape from the Earth of Dimension Z and to free it from Arnim Zola's control, Black Panther finds Hulk has been endlessly hunted by Executioner in the Asgardian wilderness and the two escape him, and Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel free Thor from the Enchantress' control on her icy asteroid kingdom in deep space. Afterwards, both teams return to Earth to find the Cabal's true leader Loki has taken over Earth with the Casket of Ancient Winters and the use of a swarm of dragons, an army of Frost Trolls and the World Breaker ships that will destroy Earth upon his signal. Both teams of Avengers defeat Loki and imprison him in their base as he vows that his plans aren't over.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: As it turns out, Loki had told a powerful being, who comes to be known as the Beyonder, about Earth's existence. To Loki's dismay, Beyonder uses the Bifrost Bridge to take various parts of Earth, places across the universe such as Asgard, and other realities including the one where Tony Stark was stranded, and randomly slap them all together in order to form Battleworld for his "experiment", taking those who live there with them, including the Avengers. With Iron Man back with them, the Avengers must form an unlikely alliance with Loki to rebuild the Bifrost Bridge and get everyone back to Earth. During the final battle against Beyonder, Doctor Strange gives Loki the Orb of Agamotto to begin activating the Bifrost Bridge and Thor throws Mjolnir to Jane Foster to save her from the quicksand transforming her into a female Thor. Through their efforts, they finally undo Beyonder's experiment, but Loki reveals that Doctor Strange giving Loki the Orb of Agamotto was the purpose of his telling the Beyonder about Earth, and with his new power plans to conquer Asgard, Earth, and other locations. With help from Jane Foster's Thor form, the Avengers defeat Loki who is consumed by the All Dark. After Thor regains Mjolnir, Odin has a new weapon created for Jane Foster where her weapon is dubbed Thunderstrike.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: Following the defeat of Loki and end of the Secret Wars, The Avengers invite Shuri to a party at their tower. However, after an attack by Atlanteans, Black Panther and Shuri find themselves on a secret quest to stop a new incarnation of the Shadow Council, including Black Panther's teacher N'Jadaka, Attuma's former general Tiger Shark, and shapeshifting Inhuman Princess Zanda. T'Challa tries to keep this mission a secret, telling none of his fellow Avengers except Captain America. With help from his step-brother, White Wolf, he discovers M'Baku and some of Wakanda's civilians to be part of the Shadow Council, while also gaining an unlikely ally in Baron Zemo, whose father led a previous incarnation. N'Jadaka in his Killmonger alias gains allies in Ulysses Klaue and Madame Masque.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: The artifact the Shadow Council is after is the Crown, which contains a pocket dimension allowing for one to connect to and analyze the memories of the deceased. Zemo tries to take it for himself but it becomes unstable due to its distance from Wakanda, the only place where it can be stable. Captain America sacrifices himself by using his shield to absorb the blast, after which an arriving Black Widow accuses Black Panther of killing him. With the Avengers and the world now against him, T'Challa frees Klaw from incarceration to learn of Killmonger's plan. He, Shuri and Klaw enter the Hall of Royals, a burial ground for Wakanda's deceased royalty, where T'Challa researches the Shadow Council's plan through the memories of his grandfather T'Chanda, ancestor Yemandi, and Wakanda's founder, Bashenga. In the process, he is attacked by Bashenga's sister, Bask, possessed by the core of the Vibranium asteroid, and also discovers Captain America to have been absorbed into the Crown, pulling both of them out of its pocket dimension.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: After learning his ancestor's pasts that are somehow connected to the crown and Killmonger's plan, T'Challa tries to contact the Avengers, who have traveled to Atlantis to deliver Killmonger and Tiger Shark into their custody. As Black Widow answered his message, Black Panther tries to prove his innocence by presenting Captain America alive to her. However, they then learned that Black Widow has been held captive by the Shadow Council and replaced by Princess Zanda. While the Avengers converse with Attuma and his daughter, Lady Elanna, Zanda hides an explosive in Tony's armor. Black Panther and White Wolf attempt to reveal the truth to the Avengers, but are unable to prevent an ensuing conflict that ends in Hawkeye injured, Attuma killed, and Elanna plotting war on the surface world with a betrayed Tiger Shark as her ally. The Avengers, having come to forgive T'Challa, search for information on Black Widow's whereabouts.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: Black Widow is found, but when T'Challa returns to Wakanda, the Shadow Council recruits the awoken Bask, who defeats him in a duel to become the new ruler of Wakanda. While Black Panther and White Wolf flee, Bask has Madame Masque invent a beam fired at Atlantis, causing a war between Wakanda and Atlantis. During the battle, Black Panther faces Killmonger and defeats him once and for all, and Shuri convinces Bask to not be obsessive about protecting her people. After this, Bask allows Black Panther to use the Crown to defeat Elanna before Wakanda is sunk beneath the water, while she sacrifices herself to destroy the laser. She passes on to the next life naming Shuri her successor while the Crown is destroyed as a side-effect. Black Panther then defeats Tiger Shark after he takes White Wolf's life. While Wakanda takes Tiger Shark as a prisoner, Black Panther allows Elanna to take Killmonger as Atlantis' prisoner. With Shuri now watching over Wakanda and most of the Shadow Council defeated, Black Panther tracks Madame Masque to a HYDRA base where he reunites with the Avengers. When Madame Masque attacks, she captures Iron Man and Red Skull causing the Avengers and the HYDRA operatives to work together. After healing Hawkeye's hands, Madame Masque sees that Black Panther is right about his claims and ends her own life. With Hawkeye having forgiven Black Panther, he rejoins the Avengers and the Avengers are told by Black Panther that he knows a place that they can dine in.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: On July 26, 2014, Disney XD renewed it for a second season. It premiered on September 28, 2014. A third season is titled "Avengers: Ultron Revolution". It premiered on March 13, 2016.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: On January 5, 2017, Disney XD renewed "Avengers Assemble" for a fourth season titled "Avengers: Secret Wars".


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: On July 22, 2017, Disney's official PR feed announced that "Avengers Assemble" has been renewed for a fifth and final season at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 as "Avengers: Black Panther's Quest" on Disney XD.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: According to Jeph Loeb, the Head of Marvel Television and a producer on the series, "Avengers Assemble" is intended to closely echo the tone and feel of the 2012 "The Avengers" film. The series features a combination of 2D and CGI animation.


title: Avengers Assemble (TV series)

text: "Avengers Assemble" debuted on May 26, 2013 as an hour-long preview. It was followed by the official premiere on July 7, 2013. The first episode was made available free on iTunes on May 21, 2013. The series premiered on Teletoon in Canada on September 6, 2013. It premiered on Disney XD in Australia on October 12, 2014. It premiered on Disney XD in Africa on October 15, 2013. The second season premiered in Africa on March 9, 2015. It premiered on Disney XD in India on December 15, 2013.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Máxima (born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti; 17 May 1971) is Queen of the Netherlands as the wife of King Willem-Alexander.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Argentine by birth, she worked in marketing when she met Willem-Alexander, eldest son and heir apparent of Queen Beatrix, in 1999. They married in 2002, and became king and queen on the abdication of her mother-in-law on 30 April 2013. Máxima has promoted social integration of immigrants, LGBT rights, and financial inclusion. She and Willem-Alexander have three daughters, Princesses Catharina-Amalia, Alexia, and Ariane, who are first, second, and third, respectively, in the line of succession.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 May 1971. She is the daughter of Jorge Zorreguieta (1928–2017), who served as Secretary of Agriculture under General Jorge Rafael Videla during Argentina's last civil-military dictatorship (1976–1983), and his second wife, María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart (born 1944). She has two brothers, a sister (deceased), and three half-sisters by her father's first wife, Marta López Gil. She is named after her paternal great-grandmother Máxima Bonorino González (1874–1965), of Italian descent. Her father was a scion of the Zorreguieta family who had been landed gentry, professionals, regional politicians, and statesmen for generations. Her maternal great-grandfather was also from the landed gentry; Domingo Carricart Etchart (1885–1953) was a landowner, politician, Director of the "Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires", first mayor of González Chaves, and mayor of Tres Arroyos. She also has Portuguese ancestry through her father's side, being a descendant of King Afonso III of Portugal.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: She grew up in the Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires and studied at Northlands School, a bilingual school of the city of Olivos. She graduated with a degree in economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (UCA) in 1995. This private university is governed by a directory of local bishops, including the current Pope Francis, then Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Grand Chancellor of UCA. During her student years, Francis presided over the traditional Mass at the beginning of classes. She later completed her studies with a master's degree in the United States.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: From 1989 to 1990, while still in college, she worked for Mercado Abierto Electrónico S.A. From 1992 to 1995, she worked in the sales department of Boston Securities SA in Buenos Aires, where she conducted research on software for financial markets. From July 1996 to February 1998, she worked for HSBC James Capel Inc. in New York City, where she became vice president of institutional sales for Latin America. From then until July 1999, she was vice president of the emerging markets division of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in New York. From May 2000 to March 2001, she worked for Deutsche Bank in Brussels. She also worked as a teacher of English to children and adults, and of mathematics for high-school students and freshmen.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Máxima met Willem-Alexander in April 1999 in Seville, Spain, during the Seville Spring Fair. In an interview, they stated that he introduced himself only as "Alexander", so that she did not know he was a prince. She thought he was joking when he later told her that he was not only a prince, but the Prince of Orange and heir apparent to the Dutch throne.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: According to the unauthorised biography "Máxima. La construcción de una reina", she was invited to Seville by a friend living in New York who openly said she would introduce her to two European princes.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: They agreed to meet again two weeks later in New York, where Máxima was working for Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Their relationship apparently began in New York, but she did not meet his parents, Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus, for some time.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: The news of the couple's relationship and eventual marriage plans caused controversy in the Netherlands, due to the involvement of Máxima's father Jorge Zorreguieta as a cabinet minister during the National Reorganization Process, the most recent Argentinian dictatorship. Her father's tenure as a minister took place during the beginning stages of the Dirty War (1974–82), a period of repression that saw about 30,000 people killed or disappeared during the seven-year military regime. At the request of the States General, Michiel Baud, a Dutch professor in Latin American studies, carried out an inquiry into the involvement of Zorreguieta in the Dirty War. Zorreguieta claimed that, as a civilian, he was unaware of the Dirty War while he was a cabinet minister. Baud determined that Máxima's father had not been directly involved in any of the numerous atrocities that took place during that period. However, Baud also concluded that Zorreguieta was almost certainly aware of them; in Baud's view, it was highly unlikely that a cabinet minister would not have known about them.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: The couple announced their engagement on 30 March 2001; Máxima addressed the nation in Dutch (which at the time she only spoke at a basic conversational level) during the live televised broadcast. Máxima was granted Dutch citizenship by a royal decree on 17 May 2001 and now has dual citizenship: Argentine and Dutch. The engagement was formally approved by the States General later that year—a necessary step for Willem-Alexander to remain in line to the throne.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Máxima and Willem-Alexander married on 2 February 2002 in a civil ceremony in the Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam, which was then followed by a religious ceremony at Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk (""New Church""). The couple has three daughters: The Princess of Orange, Princess Alexia, and Princess Ariane.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Máxima's parents were not present at the wedding; her father was told he could not attend due to his role as a cabinet minister during the National Reorganization Process, and her mother chose not to attend without her husband.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Queen Máxima has a particular concern for the integration of immigrants into Dutch culture. She was a member of a special parliamentary commission which sought to recommend ways to increase the participation of female immigrants in the workforce. Máxima stresses the importance for immigrants of learning the Dutch language (as she did) in order to fully participate in Dutch society. Dutch is the Queen's third language; she is also fluent in Spanish (her native language) and English. She speaks French at a conversational level.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: In 2007, Máxima inadvertently caused a wave of massive criticism when in a speech to the Scientific Council for Government Policy she said that in the seven years that she had been in the Netherlands, she had been unable to "find the Dutch identity". Maxima is quoted as having said the following:


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: She participates in conferences around the world representing the Netherlands. She was granted a seat in the Dutch Council of State on 20 October 2004, the highest advisory body and court of administration. She was a member of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Women's Participation from July 2003 until 2005. She has a seat on the board of governors of the Chair on the Management of Diversity and Integration at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; she (along with her husband) is a patron of the Orange Fund (established to promote social welfare and cohesion in the Netherlands); and she also chairs the Board of Trustees of the Prince Claus Chair in Development and Equity of the International Institute of Social Studies and the University of Utrecht.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Máxima is one of the few members of royal families anywhere in the world to be an open supporter of gay rights, and was the first member of a royal family to attend an LGBT rights conference, having attended a conference concerned with LGBT rights on 5 March 2008.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Queen Máxima has been honorary chair of the Money Wise Platform since 2010. In this capacity, the Queen focuses attention on the importance of financial education and managing money sensibly, especially where children and young people are concerned. The Queen acts as special advisor to the Platform and consults with interested parties on ways of increasing people's financial awareness and resilience.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Since 10 June 2015, Queen Máxima has been the honorary chair of the Ambassadors for Music at School Platform. Queen Máxima has for some years been committed to giving as many children as possible the opportunity to create music.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Queen Máxima is a member of the Committee for Enterprise and Finance, which succeeded the Microfinance Council in 2011. The Queen is committed to extending the reach of various financing opportunities, both through coaching and by providing credit for new and existing small businesses in the Netherlands. She also works to increase the number of women entrepreneurs and the scope they have to expand their businesses.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Since March of 2022 Queen Máxima is a Honorary President of "MIND Us" – a mental health platform created in collaboration with the MIND Foundation.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Queen Máxima currently serves as the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon designated her to this role in September 2009 in order to raise awareness on the importance of inclusive financial systems for achieving economic and development goals such as poverty alleviation, food security and education. In her work as UNSGSA, the Queen focuses on how formal financial services such as savings, insurance, and credit can prevent people from falling into poverty due to expenditures on healthcare, and people who are not able to protect themselves against rising food prices and poverty because they do not have access to basic savings accounts. The role of the UNSGSA is to foster action by governments, private sector, financial system standard setters, and others towards a more inclusive financial system that works for the poor. In later years, her focus as a special advocate expanded to advocating digital financial inclusion, financial health, responsible technology for financial inclusion to support Sustainable Development Goals and agricultural finance. Máxima is also an advocate for increase access to financial services, improve consumer protection and enhance financial literacy. According to the UNSGSA website, she "aims to unlock development opportunities and economic inclusion for all."


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Queen Máxima visited several countries on behalf of the United Nations. She also recorded video for the launch of the Global Findex Database 2021. Queen Máxima is also the honorary patron of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) since June 2011. In this role she works with governments and partners to advance the G20 Action Plan on Financial Inclusion, and the G20 Financial Inclusion Peer Learning Program. Previously, the Queen was a member of the Advisors Group for the United Nations' International Year of Microcredit 2005 and until 2009, was a member of UN Advisors Group on Inclusive Financial Sectors. She also work as the Global Agenda Trustee for the World Economic Forum's Global Challenge Initiative on the Future of the Global Financial System. Máxima convened the CEO Partnership for Economic Inclusion.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: By a decree issued on 25 January 2002, upon the solemnization of marriage, Máxima Zorreguieta was granted the titles Princess of the Netherlands and Princess of Orange-Nassau, and the style Royal Highness was formally conferred upon her. She also became "mevrouw van Amsberg" (Mrs. van Amsberg).


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Another decree issued on the same day also granted her own personal coat of arms and a personal standard.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: On 13 May 2011, the Dutch parliament confirmed that Máxima would become queen consort of the Netherlands upon her husband's accession, after a debate over her future title and style. On 28 January 2013, it was announced that Queen Beatrix would abdicate on 30 April in favour of Willem-Alexander. Máxima is the kingdom's first queen consort since Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the second wife of William III. She is the first Dutch queen to have been born as a commoner, and the first to have been born outside Europe.


title: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

text: Máxima's full title is: Her Majesty Queen Máxima, Princess of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: Michael John Kricfalusi ( ; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, voice actor and former animator. He is the creator of the animated television series "The Ren & Stimpy Show", which was highly influential on televised animation during the 1990s. From 1989 to 1992, he was heavily involved with the first two seasons of the show in virtually every aspect of its production, including providing the voice of Ren Höek and other characters. In 2009, he won the Inkpot Award.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: Born in Quebec, Kricfalusi spent his early childhood in Germany and Belgium before returning to Canada at age seven. He acquired his skills largely by copying cartoons from newspapers and comic books as a child, and by studying cartoons and their production systems from the 1940s and 1950s. His main influence is Bob Clampett. After moving to Los Angeles in 1978, he collaborated with Ralph Bakshi and worked for Filmation, Hanna-Barbera, and DIC Entertainment on various shows. In 1989, Kricfalusi co-founded the animation studio Spümcø, with which he remained until its dissolution in 2005.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi from "Ren & Stimpy" due to creative differences and his failure to meet production deadlines; the show continued for three additional seasons without his involvement. Following this, he directed and produced animated television commercials and music videos for entertainers such as Björk and Tenacious D. In the late 1990s, he created the first cartoons made exclusively for the Internet: "The Goddamn George Liquor Program" and "Weekend Pussy Hunt". He returned to television with "The Ripping Friends" and the adult animation spin-off "Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"". Since 2006, Kricfalusi has maintained a personal blog dedicated to cartoons and animation. There, he coined "CalArts style", a pejorative used for a widespread 2010s cartoon aesthetic.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: In 2018, Kricfalusi was accused by two former Spümcø artists of grooming and sexually abusing them in the late 1990s, when they were teenagers. Kricfalusi released an apology for his behavior, blaming his mental health and "poor impulse control". He has since declared his withdrawal from the professional animation industry.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: Michael John Kricfalusi was born on September 9, 1955, in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada to Michael Kricfalusi, who was of Ukrainian descent, and Mary Lou Kricfalusi (née MacDonell), who was of Scottish and English descent. He has one sister named Elizabeth. He spent his early childhood in Germany and Belgium while his father was serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He would watch weekend screenings of European feature-length cartoons such as "The Snow Queen" at Air Force cinemas. At age seven he returned with his family to Canada. After their return they moved from Montreal to Ottawa in the middle of a school season, and Kricfalusi spent much of his time that year at home, watching Hanna-Barbera cartoons and drawing them. Kricfalusi's interest in golden-age animation crystallized during his stay at Sheridan College, where he attended weekly screenings of old films and cartoons at Innis College held by film archivist Reg Hartt, among them the cartoons of Bob Clampett and Tex Avery, which left a deep impression on Kricfalusi. After he was expelled from Sheridan College at the end of 1978, Kricfalusi moved to Los Angeles, California, intending to become an animator.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: After moving to Los Angeles, Kricfalusi was introduced to Milt Gray by Bob Clampett, suggesting he should join Gray's classical animation class. Gray was working for Filmation at the time, and soon Kricfalusi found work there as well, getting his start on shows like "Super Friends" and "The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show". His first independent cartoon was a short called "Ted Bakes One", which he produced with Bill Wray in 1981 for a cable channel. From 1979 to the mid-1980s, Kricfalusi worked for Filmation and later Hanna-Barbera and DIC Entertainment on various shows that he once described as "the worst animation of all time". However, he did enjoy his work as a layout artist on the 1985 series of "The Jetsons" as he was able to train a team of Taiwanese animators to draw characters more emotive and wild, which at the time was considered radical. He recalls being "saved" from having to work on these cartoons by director Ralph Bakshi, who had worked with him before in 1980 and 1982. They began working on the designs for the film "Bobby's Girl", which was sold to TriStar Pictures but was later cancelled. Under Bakshi, Kricfalusi directed the animation for The Rolling Stones' 1986 music video "Harlem Shuffle".


title: John Kricfalusi

text: The team's most successful project was "" for CBS, based on the classic Terrytoons character. The series was well-received, and it is considered the forerunner of creator-driven cartoons. Kricfalusi directed eight of the twenty-six episodes and supervised the series. At the beginning of the second season, Kricfalusi left the show. The production of "Mighty Mouse" was very different from other cartoons at the time, gaining creative and artistic leeway thanks to the success of the irreverent "Pee-wee's Playhouse" on CBS a year before. The animators had much more creative input, driven by Kricfalusi's production system that emphasizes artistic contribution in every step of the process, from outline to storyboard to layout to the animation.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: "Mighty Mouse" was cancelled amidst controversy for allegedly depicting the main character snorting cocaine. Bakshi maintained that neither he nor Kricfalusi had the character sniffing cocaine, and that the character was sniffing the crushed petals of a flower, which were handed to him in a previous scene in the cartoon. In 1994, Kricfalusi pitched a revival series of Mighty Mouse to Paramount, which would have featured other Terrytoons characters such as Deputy Dawg, but they rejected the idea.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: Kricfalusi left Bakshi's studio to work on "The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil" for ABC, where he teamed up with many of the people who would later work with him on many of his Spümcø projects. ABC had been negotiating for the production of the show with the Clampett family, who insisted that Kricfalusi be part of the production as he was a strong proponent of Bob Clampett's cartoon style. The long negotiations delayed the start of production to mid-July, causing much of the animation to be rushed in order to meet the September deadline. Tensions rose between Kricfalusi and ABC over the tone of the show, leading to an uncomfortable atmosphere for the show's crew. The more ABC strove to soften the show, the more Kricfalusi pushed for shocking and offensive material. The Clampett family were ultimately not very happy with the cartoon, but remained supportive of Kricfalusi. ABC canceled the show after six episodes, finding the humor not suitable for children's programming.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: Kricfalusi formed Spümcø animation studio with partners Jim Smith, Bob Camp and Lynne Naylor. They began working on a pilot for "The Ren & Stimpy Show" on behalf of Nickelodeon, after the eponymous characters were favored by Nickelodeon producer Vanessa Coffey in a presentation by Kricfalusi. The show came to garner high ratings for Nickelodeon, and at the time was the most popular cable TV show in the United States, but the network disagreed with Kricfalusi's direction of the show, and disapproved of his missed production deadlines. Kricfalusi points specifically to the episode "Man's Best Friend", which depicts the character George Liquor as an abusive father figure, as the turning point in his relationship with Nickelodeon. One of the episodes, "Nurse Stimpy", did not meet Kricfalusi's approval because of the low quality of the rough cut of the episode that they received from the overseas studio, leading him to use the alias Raymond Spum in its credits. Nickelodeon terminated Kricfalusi's contract late September 1992, leaving it to Nickelodeon's Games Animation studio, which continued producing it for three more seasons before its cancellation.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: Fox Kids started airing the television series "The Ripping Friends" in 2001, created by Kricfalusi and Jim Smith. Kricfalusi had previously tried pitching the show in the late 1980s, but networks considered it "too extreme" so did not pick it up. Kricfalusi felt the show's supervisors were doing away with the Spümcø style and was displeased with the direction of the show. He considers the episodes he was involved in to be experimental. One of his contributions to the show was directing the voice-actors, which he "really worked-out" so much that he was afraid he'd give one of them a heart attack.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: In 2003, Spike TV produced a new show featuring Ren & Stimpy, which was written and directed by Kricfalusi. The first three episodes were based on fan ideas and scripts that were rejected by Nickelodeon during the original show's run. According to Kricfalusi, Spike pushed for more "South Park"-like themes in the new show. While he was initially pleased with the added freedom afforded to him by Spike, he later expressed disappointment in the series due to its slow pacing and overuse of toilet humor. Only three episodes aired before Spike's entire animation block was "put on hold", and the complete series was ultimately released in 2006 on DVD including three additional episodes that never aired. Kricfalusi also wanted to release an episode titled "Life Sucks" straight to DVD, but the episode remains unproduced.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: After leaving "The Ren & Stimpy Show", Kricfalusi consulted, and other Spümcø animators worked for Donovan Cook's "2 Stupid Dogs", which was put into production by Hanna-Barbera president Fred Seibert. The cartoon's credits read "Tidbits of Poor Taste Supplied by John Kricfalusi" for the three "Little Red Riding Hood" episodes: "Red", "Red Strikes Back", and "Return of Red". In 1994, Hanna-Barbera and Seibert started production on "What a Cartoon!", also known as "World Premiere Toons" for Cartoon Network. Siebert approached Kricfalusi for advice and for recommendations for personnel to head the shorts, among them David Feiss, Tom Minton, Pat Ventura, and Eddie Fitzgerald.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: Kricfalusi directed Icelandic singer Björk's animated music video for the song "I Miss You" in 1997, which features Björk and the character Jimmy the Idiot Boy. Jack Black of Tenacious D approached Kricfalusi to produce a music video for the song "Fuck Her Gently" from their debut album, released in 2001. Black browsed Kricfalusi's website and, since both he and his bandmate Kyle Gass held "Ren & Stimpy" in high regard, he asked Kricfalusi to produce the video. The costs amounted to $40,000. Initially, Sony Music did not allow the video to be placed on Tenacious D's website and instead placed it on the record label Grand Royal's website, but later relented. In 2006, Kricfalusi directed two music videos, and served as art director for an animated musical segment. The first music video, for "Close but No Cigar" by "Weird Al" Yankovic, was released in September, on the DVD side of the DualDisc album "Straight Outta Lynwood", which features Kricfalusi's character "Cigarettes the Cat". The second music video was for "Classico" by Tenacious D, starring the band members as cartoon characters. He animated them again in a THX logo parody for the band's feature film, "The Pick of Destiny". Kricfalusi served as art director for a musical segment in the show "Class of 3000" entitled "Life Without Music", which first aired on November 3, 2006. In 2014, he produced art for Miley Cyrus' Bangerz Tour.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: Venturing into Internet cartoons, Kricfalusi created "Weekend Pussy Hunt" in 1996 for MSN, which was billed as "the world's first interactive web-based cartoon". The cartoon, which was released in segments, was scheduled to be completed in June 1997, but production under MSN stopped before it was finished. Production later resumed under Icebox.com after the release of Spümcø's own web-based Flash cartoon, "The Goddamn George Liquor Program". Between 1998 and 2001, Kricfalusi worked on several Hanna-Barbera cartoons for Cartoon Network: three Yogi Bear parody cartoons he directed and animated, "Boo Boo and the Man", "A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith" and "Boo Boo Runs Wild", and two "Jetsons" parody cartoons he produced, "The Jetsons: Father & Son Day" and "The Jetsons: The Best Son".


title: John Kricfalusi

text: Kricfalusi contributed several articles in 1993 and 1994 for the magazines "Film Threat" and "Wild Cartoon Kingdom" under various aliases. Kricfalusi appears in several bonus featurettes and provides audio commentaries for the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" volumes , and , for cartoons directed by Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones. On February 13, 2006, Kricfalusi started his own weblog, "John K Stuff", posting about cartoons and the animation industry. The site was originally intended for other artists and entertainers, and specifically other cartoonists.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: Kricfalusi directed commercials for Comcast and Voice over IP company Raketu in 2007. He was developing a series of cartoon commercials in 2008 for Pontiac Vibe starring George Liquor and Jimmy The Idiot Boy, but the series remained unreleased after General Motors discontinued the Pontiac Vibe auto line in 2009. He developed and animated a series of bumpers using Toon Boom Harmony for Adult Swim in 2011 and again in 2015. He animated the opening couch gags of two episodes of "The Simpsons", "Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts", which aired in October 2011 and "Treehouse of Horror XXVI", which aired in October 2015. He collaborated with streetwear brand Stüssy to create a short series of apparel based on his designs in 2012, which he promoted with a commercial featuring some of his characters.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: The advertising agency Muhtayzik-Hoffer hired Kricfalusi in 2013 for an ad campaign for F'real milkshakes. He was involved in the early development of many Reel FX projects such as the 2013 film "Free Birds", a pitch for a film adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book "Happy Birthday to You!" and a pitch for a film he created with Jim Smith. He posted the concepts for these projects on his blog. He partnered with animator Mike Judge to produce a series of shorts for UFC that aired on Adult Swim throughout 2016.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: In 2012, Kricfalusi funded through Kickstarter a cartoon short entitled "Cans Without Labels", starring the character George Liquor (with Michael Pataki reprising the role for the final time before his death in 2010, having recorded his lines beforehand), with the initial delivery date of February 2013. The cartoon was due to be screened at the 2016 Annecy International Animated Film Festival for the first time, however at the last minute it was announced that it was not ready. However, on August 6, 2017, the Kickstarter was updated, announcing the film's completion. On May 27, 2019, Kricfalusi announced the DVD masterings' completion and released it on his MyShopify store within a week or two, with backers receiving first priority.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: The short received negative reviews for its animation, humor, sound design, storyline and repeatedly delayed production, as well as Kricfalusi's decision to release it following the sexual abuse allegations made against him the previous year. However, some praised Pataki's voice acting performance.


title: John Kricfalusi

text: In the 2020 documentary "", Kricfalusi stated in an interview that he was "officially retired" from the animation industry, "though not by choice".


title: John Kricfalusi

text: Kricfalusi says he is mostly self-taught, having only spent a year in Sheridan College, barely attending class. He acquired his skills largely by copying cartoons from newspapers and comic books as a child, and by studying cartoons and their production systems from the 1940s and 1950s. His main influence is Bob Clampett, and he also names Chuck Jones, Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas, Milt Gross, Tex Avery, Peter Lorre, The Three Stooges, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, Don Martin and Robert Ryan. Michael Barrier, an animation historian, said that Kricfalusi's works "testify to his intense admiration for Bob Clampett's Warner Bros. cartoons" and that no cartoonist since Clampett created cartoons in which the emotions of the characters "distort their bodies so powerfully".


title: John Kricfalusi

text: In March 2018, former Spümcø employees Robyn Byrd and Katie Rice claimed to BuzzFeed that Kricfalusi sexually harassed and groomed them while they were underage. Byrd told the website that she was in a sexual relationship with Kricfalusi in 1997 at age 16, and flew to California to live with him when she was 17. Rice said that Kricfalusi had flirted with her and made overt sexual comments towards her starting when she was 14, and sexually harassed her when she turned 18 and began working at his animation studio, Spümcø. Documents Rice and Byrd had saved from those years corroborate their stories, and several people who worked with Kricfalusi referred to his sexual harassment as an open secret in the animation industry. Kricfalusi was also alleged to possess child pornography on his computer. Though the allegations were eventually reported to the police, they could neither arrest nor investigate Kricfalusi because the statute of limitations had passed.