Is the team aware of this? Do the brothers share this secret? Or as far as the team knows the brothers simply vanish after each adventure for who knows how long? :0

The Kratt Team/villains/kratt kids/whoever else not being aware that they're in a cartoon, that the Kratt bros come from another world, that maybe this is a game? for the brothers, a fantasy made reality for a couple of seconds (cuz technically not a lot of time happends in the "real world")

tbh i really love the idea of the team knowing about it all and thats why they're a team. They exchange their world's technology for their animal knowledge (which lacs severely in this world)

Asked for by @herloverharmony , thank you for the suggestion!

Right off the bat, Chris says “Hey Martin, after that big adventure in the freezing Arctic, I can’t wait to snooze on a beach for a whole day.”

Well, this episode is the first of Season 3, so he must be referring to a Season 2 adventure. Well the last two episodes of Season 2 are Journey to the Subnivean Zone (episode 25) and Groundhog Wake-up Call (episode 26, the last of the season), if the Wild Kratts episode wiki is to be believed.

He can’t be referring to Groundhog Wake-up Call because that episode ends in the springtime. And he can’t be referring to Journey to the Subnivean Zone because that episode takes place in the “temperate forests of eastern North America”, according to its wiki, not the Arctic. No other episodes in Season 2 take place in the snow, except Snow Runners, but that one didn’t take place in the Arctic either.

So what this means is, the Crew must’ve had another adventure in the Arctic in between Season 2 and 3, that we didn’t get to see. I wonder what it was about?

Also, I feel like sometimes the Bros act they’re incapable of taking a day off from creature-adventuring, but Chris wanting to “snooze on a beach for a whole day” is proof that they do know how to take a day off. It just has to be on their terms.

Chris manages to prank Martin once, but Martin pranked Chris twice. Then when Martin tried to call for a truce (despite it clearly not being even) Chris then proceeded to trip over a shell.

Poor Chris, lol. (Guess who wrote this episode. Go on, guess.

… it was Martin. Lmao.)

omg they’re so scaredddd without shells poor babiesss. I really enjoy the concept of the Bros being extra nervous/anxious/flighty bc of prey instincts, it’s a lot of fun to me. Like yeah, if you are a small prey animal like a hermit crab (a life-size one anyway), or a hare, or a small bird or something, you have to be lucky enough to evade your predators over and over and over again. But the predators only need enough luck to catch you once.

You should be afraid. One slip up and you’re done.

Also I find it telling that Chris chose to hide behind Koki specifically. I have a feeling she’s the one they’re most intimidated by, so it makes sense that if they feel like they need someone to protect them, they’d choose Koki. They see her as the toughest and strongest, so of course they’d hide behind her.

Them running for their lives from a seagull when they’re obviously wayyy too big for it to be a threat is hilarious, ngl.

Obviously their crying is portrayed as very cartoonishly-over-the-top and dramatic, for comedic purposes, but it’s still sad to see.

It just shows how severely altered their minds are by these hermit crab instincts. They are sobbing just bc they can’t find a shell. Somebody give them a hug and a giant shell STAT.

AAAAAA

I will NEVER be used to those eyessss

Eugh they creep me out, it’s always a jump-scare whenever they use their eye stalks 😭

AVIVA THEY ARE DROWNING STOP EXPLAINING AND HELP THEM ALREADY

Wait a minute, the shell isn’t part of the hermit crab, we’ve explained this already, so how are they reactivating by touching the shell? Eh, whatever it’s not that important.

Martin fearing for Chris’s life, we love to see it 💕

Martin finding a new shell and saying “I’ll take this and you can have mine”.

And then all the hermit crabs arranging in line from biggest to smallest.

I don’t know why, but whenever the show acknowledges that Martin is the big brother and Chris is the little brother (both in age and in literal size) it always makes me really happy for some reason. It’s like… cute? I guess or something? I don’t know. Am I the only one?

The movie villains always attacking the protagonist one at a time:

Gourmand: “No crab is stronger than me! I’m on a special vitamin program!”

Gourmand is on steroids confirmed. /j

Now for 5 fun facts about hermit crabs that the episode doesn’t tell you:

1. Hermit crabs are able to change their sex during a moult. It is not known how common this is or why they do it. (Source A)

2. Hermit crabs are actually mostly nocturnal, doing most of their scuttling around during the night. (Source B)

3. Hermit crabs take their shell-finding seriously. They may fight to the death over a shell. (Source B)

4. Despite their name, hermit crabs are not true crabs. They are more closely related to squat lobsters. (And funnily enough, squat lobsters aren’t true lobsters!). (Source C)

5. Some sea hermit crabs will form a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with anemones, where the hermit crabs will place an anemone on its shell so that its stinging tentacles will protect it from predators, and the anemone gets carried around to food sources and gets to eat the hermit crabs scraps. Sometimes the crab will even move the anemone from one shell to another when it changes shells. (Source C) Watch this cool video of a hermit crab moving its anemones from one shell to the next! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYFALyP2e7U&t=150s

Sources:

A. https://www.happyhermie.com.au/post/30-interesting-hermit-crab-facts

B. https://www.seattleaquarium.org/animal/hermit-crab/

(For context: I headcanon/strongly believe that Martin has ADHD)

Martin is canonically insecure about his ADHD.

Ok so we all know that Martin has ADHD, and is very disorganized, forgetful, and easily distracted because of it. Usually it’s portrayed as comedic, except for this one time in Neck and Neck, the giraffe episode:

Aviva: “I mean, I never lose things! I’m not Martin.”

Martin: “Oh, that hurts!”

Here’s the thing: insults only hurt if you believe them to some extent, and believe that they really are a reflection of your character/worth. Because people with really strong self-esteem aren’t phased by insults.

So the fact that Martin was hurt when Aviva directly implied that he loses things a lot, tells us that he’s insecure about it. He never shows it except for this one time, but deep down he must feel some kind of shame or self-loathing for being disorganized. And since his disorganization is directly caused by his ADHD, that means by extension Martin feels bad about being ADHD. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone in the past (like in school) bullied him for it (perhaps Zach?). (This is all Prime Fanfic Material)

(To be fair, don’t most neurodivergent/disabled people experience some kind of self-esteem issues bc of their neurodivergence/disability at some point in their life? I know I had a lot of self-loathing because of my ADHD that’s taken me a while to unlearn.)

Poor Martin. I know what it’s like to feel bad about yourself because of your ADHD, so it just makes me feel even more bad for him. I just wanna give him a hug 😭.

All characters can have flaws; that's what makes them feel more real and gives them more room to grow. This time, I wanted to analyze some of the flaws within the Kratt crew based on what we've seen in the canon. Which, by the way, might be useful if someone wants to write something based on these qualities, lmao. This is my terribly long analysis - I hope you like it

Chris: "Science and Glory"

Chris is deeply passionate about his profession as a field biologist. Faced with any mystery, he's willing to give his all to bring knowledge to the world. He's studious, tenacious, and dedicated. But all this passion can take a very different turn.On several occasions, he's been willing to risk his life to gain knowledge about certain animal species. To the point that his brother Martin, who knows him best, has had to physically restrain him to prevent him from pursuing danger.

This same passion has also led him to conduct potentially risky experiments, involving himself and Martin, and even neglecting some of his personal relationships, as seen in Fossa Palloza.

This is where we arrive at what he perceives as his greatest dream: discovering a new species and the implicit glory that this entails, not only for him but for his entire team.

This dream has been evident in multiple episodes, and it also comes with a price to pay. There have been times when he has faced the dilemma of "Discovering a new species" versus "Ensuring the well-being of friends, family, or other species," and.... he ends up hesitating. What should be a simple decision for the "hero" of the story makes him hesitate.

But that's when his true character and morals emerge. Beyond any doubt, beyond his own dreams, he always ends up choosing to support those in need. That's why he gives up on finding a fossa despite his sadness, that's why he chooses to leave mysteries for later or unsolved (even though the plot takes care of it), and that's why he even gave up the possibility of fulfilling his greatest dream when they were at the bottom of the ocean.

Chris Kratt is passionate about biology. He can be stubborn and become careless once something captures his attention, but at the end of the day, his heart is always beating to keep him on the right side, caring for the people and animals around him.

Martin: "Courage or Impulsiveness"

Martin is a cheerful, playful man, terribly committed to his duty not only as an adventurer but also as a rescuer. However, there is another characteristic that defines him, and that is impulsiveness. Impulsiveness is a tendency to act quickly, unexpectedly, and without prior reflection, generally in response to internal or external stimuli without considering the long-term consequences.

Martin displays these behaviors in different episodes, whether it's giving answers without much prior thought or secretly using technology that wasn't ready for use, exposing himself to danger, even though it only took a couple of hours for Aviva to finish building it.

We can see this impulsiveness more explicitly in the firefly rescue, where his determination to save them from Donita's clutches proved useless due to the lack of a solid strategy. It is through this example that we can also denote the positive side of this behavior of his.

Impulsiveness can also be extremely useful in emergencies, where there is no room for thought. Their courage, their ability to act under pressure and improvise, especially considering that in many of these scenarios the lives of animals are often in danger, are invaluable. These characteristics are clearly a double-edged sword, but for this very reason they can be useful in certain situations.

Aviva Corcovado: "Ego vs. Confidence"

Aviva Corcovado is undoubtedly the most talented engineer on the entire show. She's the one who has created inventions capable of defying not only biology, but also time and space themselves. Her life is marked by repeated success in academic and competitive settings, whether science camps or sporting events. She has always been a "winner," so there's no doubt why she has such high self-esteem and confidence in her abilities.

This is of great importance given that it's not uncommon for series to portray girls as insecure about their abilities or only able to act humbly and timidly in the face of their achievements. Aviva's confidence and pride in her talent are important not only for her character development but also for the role model she is for the audience. (And let's be honest, if I had a QUARTER of this woman's talent, I'd also think I was greater than the sun itself.)

But it's this same confidence that sometimes leads her astray. Especially in the early seasons, you can see how she comes to believe that her technology can easily surpass nature, how she continues to compete against Zach even though it brings her no benefit beyond the satisfaction of winning, in the Cheetah Race, and even in the way she emphasizes the superiority of her work in certain episodes.

However, these behaviors are part of her narrative construction. Throughout the series, Aviva often acknowledges her mistakes, learns from them, and with each passing episode, she gains a greater appreciation for nature and its role as the engineer of all living species.

MASSIVE MASSIVE POST!! I have finished my full redesigns of the Wild Kratts crew! It’s been so long I just decided to redraw everyone in a simpler style more reminiscent of the source material, a decision I am happy I made- let’s go over these in unnecessary detail shall we?

First off my beautiful amazing QUEEN Koki (headcanon) Corcovado ;) i changed both her outfit and her body shape, let girly have some muscles! I gave her a tool belt so she’d have an easier time running repairs on the Tortuga, and some matching gloves! She wouldn’t wear these all the time but I wanted to draw them anyway :)

She’s wearing a ring on a necklace because she’d always be losing it otherwise— yes in my head her and Aviva are married. I also changed her hair to be put up, I figured that’d be a little safer when she’s say up in the Tortuga’s shell or repairing the computers from underneath and such. I added cute carabiner because LESBIAN, also I headcanon she loves space because of the stars on her shirt, and that she was studying to be a spaceship engineer in college before meeting Aviva— anyways yeah- fuck I can’t stop talking onto the next!

Which is the wife Aviva! I wanted to give her a bit of edge because honestly her belt always gave me an alt vibe- so I gave her earrings and emphasized the shredding of her jeans, and gave her some converse! (Also she has a wolf cut when her hair is down me thinks) I also have a turtle on her hoodie cause she’s very very proud of her ship, and turtles are her favorite animal :)

I gave her a little holster for a creature pod because I feel like it’d fall out of her pocket too often if she had it in there. I headcanon she’s lowkey just as forgetful as Martin but goes to obsessive lengths to hide it. Also, ring, she also wears a necklace, so it won’t slip off, an also so she has something to fidget with while she’s coding!

Jimmy was unexpectedly fun to design, he’s probably the one i changed the most from his original design! First of all, he’s a hoodie guy, so I gave him this one, I think it actually used to belong to Chris back when he was a kid. He noticed Jimmy was always cold and decided to give it to him :) Jimmy treasures it, and it’s very comforting to him because it came from a friend. He’s pretty short, probably because he never ate anything nutritious growing up, and uh pizza socks because he looks like a silly sock guy to me. Him and Martin bond over that. Overall I just love this anxious dude, I think he met Martin in college (roommate situation) and they became really close because Martin was Martin and was very friendly. I don’t think Jimmy had much of that brotherly affection before he met Martin.

But excuse me, I should be writing this in a headcanon post… anyways yeah! Slightly greasy hair, same shorts, same shirt and shoes, hoodie, silly socks! I’m endeared by this fool now. Also he’s the shortest person on the team now because it made sense.

And finally we get to a bro! Chris Kratt! I didn’t really change the brothers that much because I think they’re the best designed in the show, but I did give them some more contrast with eachother! Chris is obviously more neat with his well fitting socks, and his buttoned up shirt, organizational pockets on his cargos- but I think out of the two, he tends to push himself more, and gets injured more often, so I gave him a scar on his head because he definitely seems like the type to crack his head open on a table corner as a kid, and I imagine he’s always got a skinned knee or something, exemplified by the bandage on his elbow.

Lastly Martin Kratt! I didn’t change him much at all, but I gave him freckles unlike Chris because i think his blonde ass is more sensitive to the sun, and I wanted to show his youthful attitude through his design! Also fun socks to match with Jimmy, his creature pod is always on his arm because he’s prone to losing it. Somehow, even with it stuck to his glove he manages to loose it.

Lmk if you have any questions abt these designs, I hope you like them!! Here’s the timelapse of me sketching them out below!

Last week I’ve started rewatching Wild Kratts once more :D

Nobody asked but my thoughts about these are below + a clip from a wk episode about it

You guys-

You guys have no idea the actual genius of 9 Story Entertainment and BrownBag Films (The Production and Animation Studio for the Wild Kratts Episodes)

First of all. This is not traditional 2D animation.

This is Cut-Out Animation, also known as 2D Rigged Animation or Puppet Animation. Other shows you might be familiar with that use this technique are Bluey, Hilda, Rick and Morty, or the Big Hero 6 TV Show. There are more but these came to my mind first.

Cut Out Animation can be very limiting, because you work with 2D sprites in a 3D environment almost. The Tech Artists, sometimes called Character Builders, are the ones that take the design of the characters and creatures and build a 2D skeleton of sorts, putting bones inside of the png drawing and allowing it to move. It might sound easy, but trust me when I say it is a tiring process and the node-view is horrifying, haha.

I don't know if people would care for an actual deep-dive into the animation of the show, because believe me, I can talk a lot about it, as someone who is familiar with the animation technique, the technical/character building aspects of it, as well as someone who has actually access to the Software the Animation Studio is using to make these episodes (I kid you not when I say that I am in possession off all the tools to make my own Wild Kratts episode, minus the backgrounds because I hate doing those)

For those that care, THIS is what the animator sees before the episode gets finished, lol

Say hi to "Chad", he was part of the Shortfilm I made with some others in my third Semester at uni.

The purple plots are controllers with which you move the character around.

The green lines and dots are deformers which make the character able to bend and stretch.

Also, the thing in the right window is the beloved node view, or at least a small aspect of it. All these small squares have meaning and I won't even try to explain

Soooo I drew another thing for @littlecrittereli’s reprogrammed au,,,,

Tw: Blood and Injury under the cut