The Miniavengers ("Les Minijusticiers") is a French comic book and cartoon series created by Zep, the creator of Titeuf, and Hélène Bruller. The premise is simple: a city with children who are represented by animals, each with a fault (laziness, stutters, small, big, mischievous, discreet ...) which will become a super power. At the end of each episode, they give the audience a little advice...Their slogan is "Great default but max power". It is alternatively titled The Minimighty Kids. The animated series currently consists of three seasons with 78 episodes of 7 minutes each.
Connecting the first and second seasons is a half-hour special in which five of the 78 kids who experienced being superheroes (Greg, Yvon, Marion, Nathan and Éliette) wish to have their powers back, regaining them thanks to a mysterious magical star. This time, they now have their powers permanently (as long as they keep the magic star with them), and decide to form a little Super Team. The stories now have improved plots in which these five kids help their classmates and other people from the neighborhood while also having predicaments of their own. It is shown that if another group takes the magical star, they will get powers, so the bad guys take this chance but they're ultimately foiled by the new team. Officially, the second season is known as La Bande des Minijusticiers / The Minimighty Squad. The third season reverts to the first one's format.
Other than France, it has also aired in Mexico under the name Grandes Minipoderosos (a loose translation of the alternative title seen above). The Mexican dub is basically a gag one, adding idioms and references to Mexican pop culture. It also airs in Spain as Superminihéroes.
Most tropes can be found on the character page.
Tropes:
- A Day in the Limelight: Every character has their own episode centred around their grievences with their main fault.
- Adults Are Useless: Do we ever see them do anything?
- Animorphism: The cast turns into animals.
- Author Appeal: Zep sure likes pigs and ducks, doesn't he.
- A Wizard Did It: It is never explained how the kids get their powers.
- Star Power: In the half-hour special, its revealed that the power comes from a magical star.
- Badass Adorable: Some of the kids get pretty cool powers (Simon for example) and look both cool and cute using them.
- Be Yourself: A huge part of the series orbitates around this message, sometimes to the point of implying that people can't really overcome their flaws and that it is better to accept them.
- "Blind Idiot" Translation: Read the description.
- Brought Down to Normal: As soon as, or right before the super powered kid learns their lesson, their power vanishes along with all the effects it had. In the second season, the five kids who regain their powers are no longer under this effect.
- Depending on the Writer: Which of the kids (excluding the focus character) are nice and which are little jerks.
- Fatal Flaw: Every character has one, going from petty blemishes to rather serious personality flaws.
- Gang of Bullies: The antagonists.
- Growing Muscles Sequence: When a kid gets their super power, their bodies buff up to an absolutely absurd degree, until they're bigger than the Earth itself. Fortunately the sequence reverses soon afterwards, or the series would end up being something else entirely.
- Kids Are Cruel: Although it varies as to exactly which kids are cruel.
- Lighter and Softer: This series is a lot more kid-friendly than Zep's other works.
- No Antagonist: The closest thing to actual villains in the show are Big Wolf and Sacha
- Personality Powers: The superpower a kid gets is related to their personal fault.
- Psycho Rangers: In season 2, Jade attempts to create one cosisting of other kids for the sole purpose of stealing the attention from the Minimighty Squad, however they lack the superpowers and fail at rescuing a kid trapped in an elevator.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Most of the cast, excluding the bullies. Yvon's
◊ a good example. - Rule of Three: Yvon and Rock both have to say "Small small small" and "Big big big" to activate their respective powers.
- Superpowers for a Day: See Brought Down to Normal.
- Shout-Out:
- Tons of references to Spider-Man
- Igor uses his snot power to swing around town like Spider-Man.
- Marie's costume resembles Spider-Man's classic costume.
- Bob's superpower is to Wall Crawl.
- Amandine can shoot a sticky gum-like substance from her palms, similar to Spider-Man's web shooters.
- Tons of references to Spider-Man
-
The Other Darrin: Various characters voices change from episode to episode.
