Captain Planet and the Planeteers: A Hero for Earth

In A Hero for Earth, the first episode of Captain Planet and the Planeteers, viewers are introduced to Gaia, the spirit of Earth, played by Whoopi Goldberg. Gaia awakes to find humans are destroying the planet. To save the Earth, she creates five magic rings, each with the power to control an element of nature and one controlling the extra element, heart — and presents the rings to five special young people she selects from across the globe: Kwame from Africa, Wheeler from the United States, Linka from the Soviet Union, Gi from Asia, and Ma-Ti from South America. These are the Planeteers. When they encounter situations they cannot handle alone, they combine and magnify their powers to summon Captain Planet, who possesses all of their powers magnified.

In A Hero for Earth, the Planeteers battle Hoggish Greedly, played by Ed Asner, whose oil rig operation is jeopardizing the coastline.

Created by Ted Turner in 1990, Captain Planet and the Planeteers was the first environmentally themed animated series. In 2009, the world needs him more than ever. For the next 12 months, MNN will unveil more than 20 episodes of this classic cartoon as well as never-before-seen bonus footage. (HERE)