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"The Colors of China" is the 16th episode of the fourth season of Wild Kratts, originally airing on PBS Kids on July 25, 2016. Overall it is the 108th episode of the series.
Synopsis[]
While Chris and Martin are looking for cool creatures in the bamboo forest of China, they encounter golden pheasants. The vivid colors of the male pheasant cause the Kratt brothers to wonder why golden pheasants-and all the other amazing animals of China-are colored the way they are. But when Donita Donata captures several different species of Chinese animals and fades their colors, planning to use the now-gray animals as statues in a fashion show, the Wild Kratts must rescue the creatures and restore the animals' unique colors and patterns. Along the way, the team discovers the important roles that color plays in the lives of animals everywhere.
Plot[]
The episode opens with the Kratt brothers in China. They talk about brightly colorful and uniquely patterned animals in the creature world. Such creatures range from striped zebras and spotted giraffes, to multicolored chameleons, tropical fish, and birds (mostly male.) And China has many colorful creatures too like the golden pheasant, a bird with a rainbow of colors. The brothers then wonder what it would be like to know what creature color is all about and the show transitions into the cartoon segment.
Chris and Martin Kratt are hiking in China, admiring the country's ornate and beautiful artwork, much of which is inspired by nature. As the bros delve deeper into the wilderness, they're nearly blinded by a golden flash. But as soon as their eyes adjust, the duo discover a golden pheasant. And golden pheasants aren't just gold. They also have blue, red, green, chestnut, and orange. Just then, the pheasant nibbles on a few berries from the sunlit bush and quickly scurries to the shade again. This behavior baffles the brothers until Aviva explains that the sun's ultraviolet light can bleach color. So male golden pheasants take a lot of pride in keeping their feathers bright and colorful. Why? Well, females, who are a more beige, are attracted to male pheasants with brighter feathers. And that means those pheasants will father the most chicks. Every creature relies on being colorful for a lot of different reasons.
Meanwhile, Donita Donata, who just so happens to be in China as well, is completely overwhelmed by the bright colors and elaborate patterns today and is favoring a more neutral color scheme. So and so, she's even changed her typical attire for more subtle, earthly tones. However, the evil fashion designer still plans to use animals in her line, regardless of patterns and color. Because Donita has a device that can "fix" that particular problem and Dabio go fetch it. The gadget in question is a Fader Wand. This little gizmo enhances the power of ultraviolet radiation, bleaching colors with just a flick of the wrist. Donita uses the wand until the entire interior of her jet looked like a black-and-white photo. Now to prepare for her fashion show, she wants to capture the animals of China, pose beam them, and then drain the color right off of their bodies. So Donita sends her henchman to apprehend as many Chinese creatures as he can get a hold of.
Characters[]
Animals[]
Animation[]
Note: Featured animals are in bold.
- Red Panda: Lost and Found
- Giant Panda: Stuffo
- Golden Snub-nosed Monkey: Blue Goggle, Golden Ice
- Golden Pheasant
- Lichtenfelder's Gecko (called Chinese leopard gecko)
- Chinese Luna Moth (called Luna moth)
Live Action[]
Note: Live action animals are linked to Wikipedia.
- Grant's zebra (called Zebra)
- Rothschild's giraffe (called Giraffe)
- Jaguar
- Ring-tailed lemur
- Parson's chameleon (called Chameleon)
- Princess parrotfish (called Reef fish)
- White-necked jacobin (called Hummingbird)
- Blue jay
- American flamingo (called Flamingo)
Trivia[]
- This is the second time the Creature Power Suits have been malfunctioned by a villain and the first time it was done by Donita.
- It is unknown how the Creature Power Suits were restored to their original colors even after Donita disabled them.
- This episode features the facts and functions of animal colors.
Key Facts and Creature Moments[]
- Many animals have colours for camouflage to hide from predators or prey, like the Chinese leopard gecko.
- Some animals have warning colours that indicate they are poisonous like the Chinese lunar moth.
- Some animals are theorized to have colours for interspecific recognition.
- Some animals have colours that are sexually dimorphic, male golden pheasants are more colourful to attract females, while the females are duller coloured to camouflage and protect their eggs.
- A male golden pheasant trying to attract a female by displaying his colourful feathers.
Gallery[]
