History WesternAnimation / WildKratts

%%* AnAesop: Usually {{green|Aesop}}. This is a Kratt brothers show, and a PBS show to boot.

As of January 2021, it reaches its [[LongRunner 10th year mark]].

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wild-kratts-300_2219.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[ThemeTune We're gonna save some animals today with Creature Powah!]]]]

* {{Acrofatic}}: Gourmand. It's almost [[BadassNormal a superpower]].
* AnAesop: Usually {{green|Aesop}}. This is a Kratt brothers show, and a PBS show to boot.
* {{Ahem}}: The girls are subject to using these to attract the brothers' attention from time to time, usually to indicate they've been caught doing something.

* AmusingInjury: Staple of the Kratt Brothers. Also with [[ButtMonkey Zach and Jimmy Z]].

** Martin's is pressed in "Flight of the Draco". See PunctuatedForEmphasis.

** As mentioned in BerserkButton, just don't make Aviva mad at all.

* BigDamnHeroes: Being a series about creature rescue, Chris and Martin pull this on a regular basis, occasionally even to each other (such as Martin saving Chris in "Raptor Roundup").

* EldritchAbomination: Seven in "Octopus Wildkratticus". Even though the Creature Power Suits are ultimately the reason, still...
* ElephantInTheLivingRoom:
** If you've ever seen Elephant in the Room, this trope is self-explanatory.
** This could also apply to Nubs and the lion cub in "Let the Rhinos Roll!", along with a few episodes in Season 2 and none in Season 3...yet.

* FoodPorn: For those who like brownies, "A Bat in the Brownies".

** Actually, this trope could be proven wrong--Nina and Javier have been known to mention their grandparents in their starring episodes. But then, the other adults would be described as TheFaceless, right? Absolutely.

* FriendlyPlayfulDolphin: Expect this trope if the episode stars dolphins. Including if they're orcas.

* FreudianTrio: There are two- Chris/Martin/Aviva, and Aviva/Koki/Jimmy. In each trio, the roles shift from episode to episode.
* FromBadToWorse: "Whale of a Squid" is the ''embodiment'' of this. While Chris the sperm whale is fighting a losing battle against a colossal squid, and Martin the giant squid is trying to save the Animal of the Day's mother:

* GravityIsAHarshMistress: Especially to the Bros.

* HartmanHips: Aviva has these.
* HeadPet: Not a pet, but an elf owl lands on Chris' head in "Desert Elves".
* HeterosexualLifePartners: The titular Kratt bros, naturally.

* HilarityEnsues: Pretty much every episode, whether in the dictionary sense or the trope sense of the word.

* HumongousMecha: All the airships can qualify (the Tortuga, Zach's jet, Donita's jet and Gourmand's plane). They all do so much more than fly.

* {{Idiosyncrazy}}: Donita's live-animal fashion line and Gourmand's endangered-only restaurant. Zach doesn't qualify since his motives and plans change based on the situation.

* InevitableWaterfall: Played straight in "Build It Beaver" (where Chris sought it out), and subverted in "Platypus Café" (when Martin was blindfolded, there was one, but it was a little one).

** Zach.

* LackOfEmpathy: The main thing that makes the villains the villains.

* LiteralMinded: The Zachbots.
* LonersAreFreaks: Zach.

* MindControlEyes: When Zach uses the mind control skull caps on his victims.

** Not always, though. Food instincts seem to be a big problem with these two, as with the occasional territorial reaction (or random preening).

* MixAndMatchCritters: Happens to a poor octopus in "Octopus Wildkratticus". He had walrus tusks, shark teeth and a ''whale body'' for crying out loud!

* MotionlessChin: Averted. It's hard to tell, but they move.

** The first of them was "Back in Creature Time", which was really just two episodes lazily sewn together to make a movie.

* NakedPeopleAreFunny: If you can believe it, this happens to the brothers in "To Touch a Hummingbird", losing their clothes in the middle of a rescue and ending up shamefully slinking away covering their modesty with giant leaves. Played with in "Pangolin Rescue", when the outer scales fall off Chris's prototype Pangolin Power-mode, and he covers his crotch and dives behind the bushes ''even though he's still fully clothed'' by the Power Suit's inner layer.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Twice in a row! A beaver steals Chris's paddle and puts it in his dam. Chris's attempts to get it back somehow manage to destroy ''the entire dam''. When they finally manage to fix it, Martin leans on a half-chewed-down tree, which manages to set off a domino chain of half-chewed-down trees, which of course breaks the dam ''again''. And then the beavers steal the paddle ''again'', but Chris decides enough is enough.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Donita's henchman/male model Dabio.

* NoodleIncident: Due to the out-of-order airing by PBS. If they were showing it in order, there likely wouldn't be any.

* OddCouple: Chris and Martin. Also slightly subverted as RedOniBlueOni- with Martin being the Red Oni and Chris being the Blue Oni.

* OhCrap: Quite a lot. A notable one was when the brothers got stuck ''between'' a fighting squid and sperm whale.
* OnlySaneMan: Koki.

* PlentyOfBlondes: Ronan, Gavin and Aidan team-up to help the Kratts (Martin the blond one) in "Happy Turkey Day".
* PlotHole: The out-of-order airing has caused these. This page is full of examples.

** This also was the case for a previous trope, and one fan said it could even be passed off as a Sparta Remix request.

** Might I mention that these are noticeable in every episode from '''all three seasons.'''
* ReadTheFinePrint: Notably in Race for the Hippo Disc. Apparently Chris wanted to create conflict in the first scene. (Chris claims that Martin's Bat Disc "is probably somewhere in your pile." The bat disc is visible if your eyes move quick enough.)

** Later in "Stuck on Sharks". 3 words: Shark Fin Soup.
** In early 2014, Martin found a snowy owl outside...and was inspired to create a Season 4 (yes, 4) episode titled "Snowy Owl Invasion".

** This happens ''again'' in "Birds of a Feather." Not only is Aviva lent a power suit to use with ''male'' Bird-of-Paradise power, but Martin activates off of a female one later, which even becomes a plot point.

* SayMyName: Martin gets a ''huge'' kick out of this trope in "The Other Martins".
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl:
** "Termites Vs. Tongues", with Martin's and Chris's "girlish screams".
** In "Octopus Wildkratticus", with Chris. He yelled and screamed for his life...and he was ''this close'' to sounding like a girl. Example? Right here.
-->'''Chris, Martin, Aviva''': [[AndIMustScream *scream and yell*]]\\

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: All the villains to a minor extent, but mostly Zach by far.

* SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism: As plot dictates.

* SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish: Chris and Martin's [[FakeBrit British accents]] in "Where the Bison Roam".

** In the live segments, but it was too young to use its fartillery. During a Creature Quiz segment starring the young skunk, Martin fanned the air and asked Chris if he'd showered... whence came Chris' almost deadpan, "It's not me, it's the creature…"

* SpoiledBrat: Zach. Big time.

* TelescopingRobot: Most of the phlebotinum is guilty of this, including the creature power suits, the shrink ray, and the Tortuga's feet.

* TenorBoy: By trope definition, Zach. By musical definition, both Zach and Jimmy.

* TitleDrop: Usually done OncePerEpisode, with a few exceptions.

* TopHeavyGuy: Dabio and Gourmand.

* UnableToCry:
** In a way. Chris in both Flight of the Draco and Flight of the Pollinators. He says no actual words about being upset, but you can tell by his actions and facial expressions that he's feeling down.
** However, in "Koala Balloon", "The Hermit Crab Shell Exchange", and Liturgusa Krattorum, both brothers did shed a few tears (Koala Balloon in exhaustion, "The Hermit Crab Shell Exchange" in exposure, exclusion and sadness, and Liturgusa Krattorum in joy) once in each episode. The brothers also cried OcularGushers in "The Dhole Duplicator" when they miss their chance in touching a dhole for their creature power transformation. Compare PuppyDogEyes above.
* UnholyMatrimony: Some [[PeripheryDemographic older fans]] sense a bit of BelligerentSexualTension between Zach and Donita; they even go out on a date once [[ShipTease in canon]]. Although, if there is any actual attraction between them, it seems [[AllLoveIsUnrequited one-sided]] on Zach's part.

* UnusualEuphemism: Gummed up gears, Koki uses these a lot!

* WaterIsDry: Varies from episode to episode.
* WhatDoesThisButtonDo: Martin's ''exact'' words in "When Fish Fly".

* WoundedGazelleGambit: Chris, literally, in The Food Chain Game. Martin pulled a Wounded Pigeon Gambit in Falcon City.

** Chris in "Let the Rhinos Roll!" But they only got so far.

* BrutishBulls: In “Where the Bison Roam”, a dominant bull bison tosses Jimmy into the air after he invades its personal space while trying to get a teleportation ring that ended up around his horn. Martin dubs said bison Raging Bull.

* {{Fanservice}}: Kratt brothers in wetsuits for female viewers (both animated and live segment), and Aviva in a wetsuit for males. Arguably, any time they butt-shot one of the characters (has happened to Chris in "Polar Bears Don't Dance," Aviva in another episode, and Martin in yet another). Weak, perhaps, but that's probably the closest we're getting to real fanservice with this one. Let's not forget some of the Creature suits...

* ComedicUnderwearExposure: Happens to Gaston Gourmand in one episode.

* NotADate: Donita and Zach in "Mystery of the Weird Looking Walrus". Maybe Donita was there for just the pearl (and money making opportunity), but Zach was in a different emotional zone than [[DatingCatwoman she]] was.

%%* JustForPun

** Gourmand, Zach and Danita each have their own nicknames for the Bros. Gourmand calls them Blueberry and Green Grape. Zach calls them Blue Boy and Green Guy. Danita calls them Martino and Chrisangelo, perhaps to distinguish herself as one who comes up with unique and artistic ideas, unlike the others, whose nicknames are based on [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience their favourite colours.]]

''Wild Kratts'' is an [[LongRunner long-running]] educational TV show produced for PBS Kids and TVO Kids which premiered in January 2011 and is currently ongoing. It's an animated and live action-mixed cartoon starring Martin and Chris Kratt of ''Series/KrattsCreatures,'' ''Series/{{Zoboomafoo}},'' and the short-lived ''Series/{{Be the Creature}}'' fame. They travel around the world in a turtle-shaped, go-wherever transport they call Tortuga HQ along with three techies: Aviva, the head techie who built the creature power suits and other gadgets, Koki, who does a lot of data monitoring and communications work, and Jimmy Z, whose jobs seem to be teleport master, pilot, and eater of pizza. With the Creature Power Suits (devices that scan an animal's DNA and allow the user to transform into that animal), Martin and Chris can become any animal in the world, in a rather {{mecha}}-like way. Like its predecessors, the show's focus is on animal education and conservation, but because of the animated environment it's not limited by what the brothers happen to catch on tape. This means that they can show rare, ridiculously cool things like [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny a bull sperm whale and a colossal squid battling it out]].

* PandaingToTheAudience: Highlighted in Season 3's "Panda Power-Up!" episode as the Kratt brothers rescue the giant pandas from Zach Varmitech, "Red Panda Rescue" featuring both the red and giant panda varieties, and mentioned in "A Creature Christmas" holiday episode amongst other animals, in addition to "The Colors of China" episode.

* CatchPhrase:

** In the live action segments: "We'll see you on the creature trail!" and "Keep on creature adventuring!"
* CatchphraseSpoutingDuo: most episodes of the show end with Chris saying his SigningOffCatchphrase and Chris complimenting it with his own.

* TheMetricSystemIsHereToStay: The PBS airings of the series have the characters use Imperial units, while the Canadian airings have the characters use metric units instead.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to other Kratt shows, and PBS Kids in general -- some of the villains are genuinely threatening, and the show doesn't shy away from showing animals killing and eating their prey.

* BadassBaritone: Gourmand for the villain team.
* BadassBookworm: Chris.

* RidingInThePalmsOfGiantHands: Since the Wild Kratts have a device that can change the size of anyone or anything by either making it a lot bigger or smaller, there are several episodes where one of the main cast members lift their shrunk teammate on their hand.

* ARideOnThePalmOfYourHand: Since the Wild Kratts have a device that can change the size of anyone or anything by either making it a lot bigger or smaller, there are several episodes where one of the main cast members lift their shrunk teammate on their hand.

---> '''Zach''': I must be dreaming! Somebody pinch me! *A Zachbot pinches him* OW! I didn't mean literally!