The only cartoon to the best of my knowledge that includes gangsta rap in it’s theme tune! Okay so if you listen to the end theme tune, it may not seem like that now, but when I was ten - I couldn’t get enough of it, the Planeteers were the new MC Hammer!
The show involved five young people, from five different countries that all came together as eco-warriors to fight all of the looting & polluting that was happening. The twist was that Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, had given these five people some magic rings. Each ring gave them a specific power: Earth, Wind, Water, Fire and Heart?!?!?! (poor old Ma-ti got the lame one). These powers helped the Planeteers (as they were known) to fight the environmental injustices that were happening across the planet. But when they were in the direst need, they could link their five powers together, and ‘By your powers combined - I am Captain Planet!’. Captain Planet would come to their rescue (he was basically a superman type hero, that could use elemental powers to beat the bad-guys). The show was obviously aimed at getting kids to think about environmental issues, recycling, polluting etc, but it also managed to turn out a good quality cartoon at the same time.
Captain Planet
'By Your Powers combined I am Captain Planet!'. Captain Planet is a super-man like hero who can fly and has the various powers that the rings give him (Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Heart) at his disposal. He is the classic example of teamwork being stronger combined than seperated!
Whenever the Planeteers get into real trouble, they call for Captain Planet, the other thing that you may not remember from the cartoon is that while Captain Planet is here, the rings are in effect useless (the Planeteers give all their powers to Captain Planet) and so they are at their most vulnerable.
Captain Planet's kryptonite is anything harmful to the planet e.g. smog, pollution, toxins - he weakens in the presence of these harmful substances, whereas he can gain strength from the sun, water etc. Captain Planet's catchphrase is 'The Power is Yours' which he says whenever he leaves the Planeteers and returns to the rings, this is of course designed to drive the key message of the cartoon home to the audience that they should take action to help the planet (hopefully non-violent action e.g. picking litter etc. rather than attacking chemical plants!)
Gaia - The Spirit of the Earth
Gaia is the Spirit of the Earth. In episode One she awakes after taking a nap, (a century long nap mind you!) and she is horrified at how much damage humans have caused to the environment in just 100 years.
And from there you know the story - Gaia gives five special rings to five young people . . . and so the Planeteers are formed. Gaia brings all ofthe Planeteers to Hope Island, where they effectively form a task force to fight the bad guys who are polluting the planet.
At the end of each show there would normally be some sort of warning to children regarding environmentally harmful actions that are occurring in the 'real world'. This draws a clear line between the fictional characters of Gaia, Captain Planet etc. and the real life environemntal crises that the show is trying to draw to the attention of its audience.
Gi
The Planeteers are drawn from the five corners of the Earth, Gi is from Asia and has the power of Water. Gi is the brains of the group, she is studying Marine Biology ansd she often explains various scientific principles and introduces the group to lots of academics etc. as the storyline requires.
Linka
Linka is from the Soviet Union (later this became Eastern Europe) and she has the power of Wind. Linka is the only Planeteer to have a sibling (her brother Mikha) and she is also a whizz with computers, hacking into the networks of evil- doers and causing them problems.
Ma-Ti
Ma-Ti is from South America and has the power of Heart. Although the power of Heart is the least physically active of power sit is probably the most important to the group. Through the power of Heart Ma-Ti can talk with animals and telepathically communcate with both the group and Gaia. So when they are fighting eco-criminals on a global scale Ma-Tio is key to co-ordinating their plans.
Kwamee
Kwamee is from Africa and has the power of Earth. As an interesting side note he is voiced by LeVar Burton (the guy that plays LeForge in Star Trek TNG!).
Kwame is probably the most serious and level-headed of the Planeteers and although he is never officially given the title he acts as the leader of the group, particularly when they are out and about 'in the field'. It is always Kwamee who will say the famous words 'Let our Powers Combine!'
Wheeler
Wheeler is from America, and unlike many of the other Planeteers we can actualy be quite specific, he is from Brooklyn, New York City, and he has the power of Fire - the cool one that all the kids wanted to have!
Wheeler is the street-smart member of the group, who probably was the only one not really interested in environemntal issues before he was called by Gaia, and he also has romantic feelings for Linka, which she takes great pleasure in quashing!
Captain Planet: The Lyrics
Earth!
Fire!
Wind!
Water!
Heart!
GO PLANET!
With your powers combined I am Captain Planet!
Captain Planet, he's our hero,
Gonna take pollution down to zero,
He's our powers magnified,
And he's fighting on the planet side
Captain Planet, he's our hero,
Gonna take pollution down to zero,
Gonna help him put us under,
Bad guys who like to loot and plunder
"You'll pay for this Captain Planet!"
(chanting)
We're the planeteers,
You can be one too!
'Cause saving our planet is the thing to do,
Looting and polluting is not the way,
Hear what Captain Planet has to say:
Captain Planet Intro 
Captain Planet Closing Theme 
