Ted Turner and Barbara Pyle
created the animated series “Captain Planet and the Planeteers” in the 1990s as
a way of inspiring children to care about the environment. Turner was inspired
by Jacques Cousteau’s effect on his sons and wanted a way to connect children
with the environmentalism movement. Famous actors, from Whoopi Goldberg to Meg
Ryan to Ed Asner, frequently voiced characters on the show. The show ran for
six seasons from 1990 to 1992 and then from 1993 to 1996 on TBS. It continues
to be shown today in syndication. “Captain Planet” has been translated into
twenty-three languages and shown in over one hundred countries.