Fandom Spotlight: Animorphs
The Beginning
One night, five regular kids were hanging out in the mall. As it got dark, the two girls asked two boys to walk with them since they were good little kids and didn't want to get mugged in the dark. Another boy joined them as well. They decided to cut though an old abandoned shopping mall, to make the trip go a little faster. And then a space ship fell on them and changed their lives forever.
The Story
The Earth is being invaded by aliens, but don’t bother alerting the media, because there’s a good chance they’ve been taken already and know all about it. There’s no Independence Day like invasion with buildings being blow apart or space ships over New York. It’s quiet, it’s peaceful, and every day, more and more humans are being turned into slaves by the Yeerks. And Earth’s only defense are five teenagers who have to be home by dinner and an alien who’s very, very far from home.
The only power the teens have is the ability to morph into any animal who's DNA they have acquired through touching said animals. Then, through a process that takes a few minutes and is disgusting to watch. (Unless you're Cassie, then it's very graceful because she's Cassie, the wonder butterfly. No, seriously, she really is the wonder butterfly, just read the 19th book.) They can only spend two Earth-hours in morph and can only morph skin tight clothing like biker shorts, tight t-shirts, and leotards. Marco keeps holding out for matching uniforms, but everyone just ignores him.
The books were aimed at the junior high age group, however, the themes they tackled were often more appropriate for a much older age group. They were mostly sci-fi, however, you also go a lot of history and animal trivia out of them. The Animorphs universe was very developed with hundres of races, space ships, and planets. Along with the core 54 books, there were also 2 Alternamorphs (Please, don't ask, I beg you), four kind of awesome Megamorph books, 3 Chronicles following the lives of important characters of other races, and a book covering Visser One, but more on her later.
The Aliens
Yeerks: They’re parasites who in their original form resemble small worms. They’re blind, and can’t do much more than swim. However, they are intelligent and very, very ruthless. Through the kindness of one Andelite, they’re given the power to fly through the stars, and fly they do. Not happy with what their home world offers them in the way of host bodies, they go through the universe, enslaving the various races they stumble across while searching for the perfect race: good bodies, and large numbers. They find that perfect race on planet Earth. However, they can't live for more than three days without exposure to Kandora Rays, so once every three days? They feed. Except a few special cases that apparently include Arnold Schwarznagger. (See Oatmeal.)
Andelite: Imagine a blue centaur with a long tale that ends in a blade, two eye stalks as well as eyes, and no nose or mouth. That's an Andelite. They're herbivores who digest nutrients through their hooves and use thought-speak to communicate. They're fond of open spaces, have only three cities, and are generally claustarphobic. That blade on the end of their tales? Is their number one weapon. They have very advanced technology, including Z-space travel and morphing technology. They're kind of the universe's police, however, they're very hesitent to pass on their technology to other cultures. (See Yeerks.) During the series, their main role is to be the police is fighting the Yeerks, but never makes it to Earth. The leading powers pretty much ignore the war, and various Prince's are the ones who try to get control. Of course, their brilliant plant is to kill off all humans along with the Yeerks...
Chee: The Chee are robotic dogs. They were created by an extincit alien race and now live on Earth. They are eternal and cannot commit violence because they remember everything. Hobbies include seeing how many books its possible to read at the same time and raising dogs. Some of them attend high school. Through out the series, a Chee named Erik helps the Animorphs not get grounded by posing as them when they need to go on longer missions. Marco's dad is always very suspicious afterwards, since Erik has the bad habit of cleaning Marco's room - something Marco himself would never do.
Hork-Bajir: Hork-Bajir are perfectly described by Marco: walking can openers. They're seven feet tall, green, and have eight to ten blades, plus spikes on their tales. They heal very fast and have great endurance and strength. They're very dim herbivores who harvest bark. They were genetically engineered by the Arn to help balance the atmosphere of their home planet. At the start of the series, there are no free Hork-Bajir. Every once in a while, a Seer is born among them. The life of one such Seer is followed in the Hork-Bajir chronicles, and another is around for the final fight in book 54.
Taxxons: Ew. They're huge centipeeds who eat non-stop. They will even eat their own body when dying. The entire race (except for a rebellion group) voluntary became Controllers just to be given exotic food. Even the Yeerks can not control their hunger.
The Vocabulary
There were tons upon tons of made up words, but these are the ones you need to get through this thingy.
Nothlit: Someone stuck in animal morph beyond the two hours time limit. The letters rearrange to spell Hilton. This is not a coincidence. Look, my canon is not known for being sane. (See Tobias and David)
Seer: Hork-Bajir generally have the intelligence of a four-year-old, however, sometimes they have Seers. Seers have above average intelligence and are the leaders of their tribes. (See Toby)
Controllers: Someone who has a Yeerk in their brain contorlling them. (See 3/4 of the bad guys including Marco's mom, the vice-principal of the high school, that one Andelite, and a huge crowd of red shirts humans, Hork-Bajirs, and Taxxons.)
The Sharing A social group started by Visser One to bring in loners and turn them into Controllers.
The Books
There are 54 core books each written in first person by one of the six main characters. There are then the two books that I pretend where never written. (Second person choose your own adventure type books. Gyah. Yes, those are the Alternamorphs. No, I don't know why they were written.) There are also the special books:
Megamorphs
The Andalite's Gift: Pretty much a regular book, just told from all six points’ of view. It’s also one of the few books whose plot was used during the television show. Rachel gets amnesia, so apparently it was funny.
In The Time of Dinosaurs: Is kind of awesome because, come on. Dinosaurs. Again, told by all six. There’s bad jokes by Marco, a T-Rex, and alien ants and crabs. It’s crack, but crack with dinosaurs. And actually kind of logical crack. Which I think really summarizes the entire series. Personally? I loved the Megamorphs because they let us into the brains of all the characters, and this one is one of my favorites. Dinos. Really.
Elfangor's Secret: Is kind of weird. Basically, there’s a time machine, and Visser Four (Who? Exactly. Most random one off character ever.) got his hands on it and is changing human history to make it easier for Yeerks to take over the world. If you think about it too much, you get a headache, but it does raise a lot of questions about what you would be willing to do/sacrifice for the greater good. Plus, George Washington, hippies, knights, very confused Frenchmen, bell-bottoms, and Shakespeare. ... His plays, not the guy from Stardust.
Back to Before: The alternative universe one. The kids don’t go through the construction site, so the world ends. It explains a lot of things about the actual series (like why it had to be these six kids, what's so special about pretty perfect butterfly Cassie, etc.) and is one of my favorite books. It also has Marco and Rachel dating, so you just know the world is going to end.
Visser Is my favorite book. For some weird, weird reason it has Visser Three on the cover, but the whole book is about Visser One. Anyone who can explain this to me gets a cookie. Visser One is brought to trial and her life and deeds are evaluated through flash-back. She, while Yeerks have no gender all the hosts she takes are female so...she, is incredibly ambitious and wants to be more than just another slug. It follows her and her partner to a small planet with six billion intelligent beings and their crash landing in Hollywood No one notices. It then follows her as she switches hosts from a junkie, a doctor, and finally, Eva - Marco's mother. The reason I like it is that there are absolutely no good or bad guys in this story. Visser One is ambitious and cold-hearted, but is willing to take longer to invade Earth if it means her daughter, who honestly is not her daughter biologically but she still sees her as such, gets to stay free.
The Andalite Chronicles The story starts at the end, with Elfangor dying and leaving behind two things: his memories and the Morphing Cube. Through flashback, we learn a lot about the Andelite culture, where Visser Three comes from, and Tobias's origins. It's a really cool look into what happened before and the events that shaped the future and present.
The Ellmilist Chronicles: I think I've read that book at least a dozen times. It still makes no sense. I don't think its even trying to make sense. The Ellmilist Chornicles starts with the Ellmilist coming to an Animoprh, post-mortem (revealed to be Rachel at the end of the series) and trying to answer the question "Does it matter?" by recounting his own life story. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's a god. It's a robot. It's an Andelite. It's a black hole. It makes my brains hurt. There's a good/evil thing also going on, but when Father gets introduced my brain sort of collapses in on itself and then just aches for awhile.
The Hork-Bajir Chronicles: Told through several different eyes, it recounts the story of the loss of the Hork-Bajir world. Mostly, it's back story, just like the rest of the Chronicles. But it's very sad back story. While most of the series is dark and a bit depressing at times, Hork-Bajir Chronicles seriously make you wonder what the point of it all is.
If you're going to read part of the series, the Chronicles just provide back story to the big bads and big goods and Megamorphs are just longer stories. Personally? Most of my favorite books in the series are Megamorphs and Chronicles and they are the ones I find myself reading and re-reading. And re-reading some more.
The Characters
Animorphs
Ax:
Ax: "We have twenty of your minutes remaining."
Marco: "They're everyone's minutes."
Ax is a little lost. And by a little, I mean he would fit right in Fandom. His older brother was Elfangor, the same Andelite who gave the Animorphs their morphing power. Ax was stuck between worlds and roles. He was the soldier, calling Jake his prince and waiting for command. He was the kid, who loved playing with words and eating Cinnamon Buns (and cigarette butts). He was the Andelite, looking down on primitive human technology. But he was also living among humans and had begun to admire them. Ax’s best friend on Earth is Tobias, the bird-boy. He loves watching commercials which he calls “these messages”. He also likes day time soaps like the Young and Restless. He goes by Phillip, Jake’s and Rachel’s Canadian cousin and No. The later is because Marco told him to say “no” to all questions his father asked him. This included “What’s your name?”
Cassie: Cassie has the interesting position of being the most hated character on the series. The only daughter of veterinarians, her main role was to give out animal facts and find animals for the group to morph. She was dating Jake for a large part of the series. Theoretically, her role was of the soul of the group. Practically, you kind of wanted to strangle her. In one book, she wants to quit being an Animorph because it’s too violent. This was also the book she got around being stuck in morph after two hours by turning into a butterfly. She can usually be found in her parent’s barn (also known as the Animorphs’ headquarters) in overalls. How she and Rachel wound up best friends is a mystery of all time. Did I mention the butterfly thing?
Jake:
Ax: "...Prince Jake."
Jake: "Don't call me prince."
Ax: "Yes, Prince Jake."
Jake Berenson (as he cheerfully informs us in the last book. He also informs us he was 13 and has been fighting for 3 years. Thank you Jake, now can you tell us what city you’re from?) Jake became the Animorphs’ leader by accident. Tobias informed him that he was in charge and he sort of stayed in charge. Jake’s older brother, Tom, was a human-controller from the start of the series and Jake’s one wish was to see his brother free. Jake’s best friend was Marco and before the war they used to play a lot of video games together. He’s also Rachel’s cousin, and dates Cassie for most of the series. Of all the characters, the war weighs the most on Jake, since he is the leader.
Marco:
< Marco? >
< Yeah, Jake. >
< Don't talk to the UPN guy. Poodles do not pitch show ideas. >
Marco is the comedian and joker. Two years before the start of the series, his mother took the family yacht out into the ocean and was never seen again and believed dead. At the start of the series, Marco’s father is still stuck in his depression and Marco is hesitant to get involved in anything that could potentially leave his father alone. Of course, that’s before he finds out that his mother is actually the host-body of Visser One. Marco is the tactician in the group, the one who sees what needs to be done to get from point A to point B. He’s very focused on the big picture. He also likes to hit on pretty girls and often gets hit by them in return. The only time he gets a girlfriend is in an alternative universe where everyone dies.
Rachel: Rachel is scary. Before the war, she was very interested in fashion and gymnastics and did very well in school. (Up until the ghost-writers forgot that little detail and just went with the fact that she’s blonde.) Rachel’s best friend is Cassie and she and Jake are cousins. As the series progresses, she becomes more and more violent and ruthless. She develops some sadistic and rather sociopath tendencies and finds fighting almost thrilling. When her mother, after finding out about the war and the Animorphs, says that she’s scared for her daughter, Ax reassures her by telling her she should be afraid of her daughter, not for her. Okay, so it wasn’t really reassuring.
Tobias: Tobias is the ultimate emo-boy, he even has the bangs for it. His parents, supposedly, died when he was very young and he gets shuffled between an aunt who doesn’t care and an uncle who cares even less. In the second book, he gets permanently stuck as hawk. In book eleven (I think. I’m fairly sure it’s book 11), he gets the power to morph and then gets the power to morph into himself. That entire plot line made my head ache, so just go with it especially since it involved the Ellmilist and everything involving that thing gives me a head ache. Tobias is in love with Rachel through out the story and is usually the look-out. Later on, he meets up with his not-so-dead mom and finds out that his dad was Elfangor. So Ax and Tobias are not only best friends, they’re also related. (Ax is Tobias’s uncle.)
Others
Visser Three: The Big Bad of the entire series, he's the Yeerk in charge of the invasion of Earth. The Animorphs, who he thinks are Andelites, are the thorn in his side. He's the only Andelite-Controller. He wants to take over the Earth ala Independence Day and hates Visser One and Elfangor. He's arogant, has a temper, doesn't care who he kills, and is extremelly cruel. He also has a twin, which is his big shameful secret because Yeerk twins are bad. Towards the end, he is promoted to Visser One. Then he gets demoted to chocolate chip cookie by Marco, who puts him in a briefcase for chocolate chip cookies. Apparently, sweet tooths are universal.
Visser One: Visser One is the heighest rank Yeerk in the military. She is the one who discovers Earth and understands the potential the planet holds for her race. She's also the one who decides that the United States is a world power that needs to be seized first (this is the early 90's) and thinks that Hollywood is the capital. Visser One falls in love and has two children, twins Darwin and Madra, and starts the Sharing. She wounds up killing her lover and host body and leaves the children to be adopted on Earth. Her final host is of a random human woman who happens to Eva, Marco's mom. She hates Visser Three with a passion. What's interesting is that unlike Visser Three who hates humans and thinks them useless, Visser One admires and even loves humans.
Elfangor: Elfangor started out as a soldier on board a ship piloted by a disgraced War-Prince. But through a series of events, he meets and falls in love with a human woman (resulting in Tobias), becomes the arch-nemisis of Visser Three, and sees the birth of the first Andelite-Controller. By his death, he is a War-Prince, with a younger brother a very long story to tell. His final action is to give the Animophs the ability to morph and tells them of what's happening on Earth.
Tom: Jake’s older brother, Tom joined the Sharing to get closer to a girl. And he did get closer, he got the Yeerk that used to control her. Tom is the reason Jake keeps fighting.
David: David was scary. He ran into the Animorphs when Marco saw him carrying the Morphing Cube through school. He tries to sell it online and winds up attracting Visser One’s attention, and he’s not interested in making deals. The Animorphs give him the morphing power and he goes a little crazy. As in, he tries to kill them all because he wants to get his family back. David’s ending highlights just why this series isn’t just for kids: he’s turned into a rat, forever, and then Rachel is given the option of killing him (as he’s begging her to do) or returning him to the island where he is to remain a prisoner forever.
The Elmilist: Bzuh. Seriously, bzuh. It's ... a ... something. That is playing a huge game with the universe. It's generally good. Read the book. It won't make any more sense, but at least I won't be the only one with a headache. He hand picked the Animorphs. Except Rachel. Sort of.
The Crayak: Bzuh, take two. It's ... a ... something. That is playing a huge game with the universe. It's generally bad. It's a very large eye. Just...go with it? Please?
Toby: Toby is a Hork-Bajir Seer named after Tobias. She helps out in the final battle and just generally helps out and is awesome.
Erik King: Erik is a Chee who attends the same school as the Animorphs. He often helps cover for the kids when they go out of town and gives them information about various Yeerk plans and events.
Auxiliary Animorphs: Near the end of the series someone had the idea to take disabled kids and give them morphing powers. The morphing power sometimes cured the disability (when it wasn't genetic) and the children were not controllers since Yeerks didn't bother with the crippled. (Please note the author herself mixed up a few names in the process so the whole thing was very ... meh.) And then K.A.Applegate looked at it and was like WTF? and killed them all off. I kinda ... skimmed those sections because they were just that bad so um, Marco kinda doesn't remember that he sent them to their deaths half the time since...yes. Bad plot, no cookie.
The Author
K.A. Applegate was going to write all the books herself, but somehow, that all fell through. The first 25 are written by her, as are all the “special” books. However, the later books were ghost-written, and in the 30’s, you really begin to see the difference as continuity gets shaken up. Main things stay the same, but little details kind of get mixed up. Like Rachel's intelligence, the names of random characters, past adventures, etc.
The TV Show
In 1998, Nickelodeon decided to make a TV show out of the books. Everyone under twelve pretty much loved it. It was very, very bad. The actors all looked like they were in their twenties, the plot lines made no sense, and the “special effects” were very special. The only good thing about the show was that it has Shawn Ashmore as Jake, and in very memorable episode (as in, I can still remember it) had both Shawn and his twin in it. It’s around on youtube and video. Oh, and the video quality sucks. The actress playing Rachel has also guest starred on a bunch of shows including Supernatural, Without a Trace, Smallville, Charmed, and Everwood. And Ax's actor was hilarious and went on to play many similar roles, except he was human for them.
Why You Should Read the Series
1. Because for a book aimed for kids in middle school, the Animorphs tackled a lot of heavy topics. Themes included death, slavery, and free will. The extra books covered the rise to power of all the “bad guys” and gave them a very human (er, humanish) face. The extra books also covered the rise of the “good guys” and what they had done. At one point, it is revealed that the Andelites are willing to let the human race die if it means the Yeerks are stopped. It’s a series that forces the, rather young, characters into situations where there is no right or wrong or black and white.
2. Because it’s funny. Between Marco’s sarcasm and Ax’s inability to comprehend human pop culture (and Marco’s sarcasm) there are usually quite a few hilarious scenes. Because the scene that has stuck with my through out the years from those books has a bear and a gorilla looking into a room and seeing the Prime Minister of some country (probably Russia) drinking vodka in his boxers. Said Prime Minister takes one look at them, toasts them with his shot glass, and continues drinking. Rachel and Marco decide to leave the guy alone.
3. The pop-culture references. Rachel is referred to as “Xena, Warrior Princes” and AOL was invited by a cannibalistic Yeerk. Which actually explains a lot. They’re sprinkled mostly in the beginning and are quite funny. All the guys in the books are Star Trek fans and are constantly making bad jokes in reference to the show. Also? FOX network gets insulted. A lot. Which brings me joy.
4. The characters. There are no 2D characters in the series. (Except the disabled kids, but we're ignoring that plot.) Which for a children's book? Is kind of awesome. The bad guys don't twirl their mustaches, and the good guys get their hands dirty.
5. Each book is written like a TV episode. You can read it in about forty-five minutes, it has the Animorphs facing one problem, and solving it in some way by the end of the book. Keep in mind, however, that even though this is a children's book, the solutions are not always happy ones, and in the later books, very few are actually happy endings. The entire series ends on what was supposed to be a high note, but if you spend more than a second thinking about it, you realize that the only character to walk away is Cassie, the perfect butterfly.
6. Because it's on crack, but it's on logical crack and there really are few wholes in the canon.
7. Because you'll laugh, and cry, and actually think. Which...kids book. Warning, have a box of tissues at the hand during the last two books.
8. Because where else will a Buffalo morph into the Principal? Seriously. Oh, and the oatmeal thing. And Governor Grey Davis.
Where to Get Them
Borders used to have them all, but not anymore. I’m sure used-book stores probably have them by the pound, since they only cost a few dollars to buy originally. Amazon has them for hilariously low prices (most of the early books can be found for a penny) Oddly enough, book 49 costs ten dollars. E-bay often has full or partial sets. Garage sales usually have a few dozen of them stuck with Baby-Sitters Club and Goosebumps. Libraries have them by the dozen in the children's section. (You get the most awesome looks from the librarians when you don't look like a kid and are pocking around in that section. ... And walk in through the window.)
Note: Since Marco has gone through most of the 54 books in canon, the only things I was vague about were the last ten chapters or so of the last book. Everything else was open game. The links I provided ignored even that line.
Oatmeal
It's poisonous to Yeerks. If they eat it, they can survive without Kandora Rays, however, they go mad. This has something to do with Arnold Schwarznagger.
Buffa-human
Buffa-human is a buffalo who accidentally acquires the power to morph, and absorbs Chapman's DNA. Cassie was convinced that the buffalo was learning, since it was mimicking human speech.
Marco's driving
He doesn't hate trash cans, really. He just thought it was a video game. And then he was a gorilla. Do you know how hard it is to drive as a gorilla?
One night, five regular kids were hanging out in the mall. As it got dark, the two girls asked two boys to walk with them since they were good little kids and didn't want to get mugged in the dark. Another boy joined them as well. They decided to cut though an old abandoned shopping mall, to make the trip go a little faster. And then a space ship fell on them and changed their lives forever.
The Story
The Earth is being invaded by aliens, but don’t bother alerting the media, because there’s a good chance they’ve been taken already and know all about it. There’s no Independence Day like invasion with buildings being blow apart or space ships over New York. It’s quiet, it’s peaceful, and every day, more and more humans are being turned into slaves by the Yeerks. And Earth’s only defense are five teenagers who have to be home by dinner and an alien who’s very, very far from home.
The only power the teens have is the ability to morph into any animal who's DNA they have acquired through touching said animals. Then, through a process that takes a few minutes and is disgusting to watch. (Unless you're Cassie, then it's very graceful because she's Cassie, the wonder butterfly. No, seriously, she really is the wonder butterfly, just read the 19th book.) They can only spend two Earth-hours in morph and can only morph skin tight clothing like biker shorts, tight t-shirts, and leotards. Marco keeps holding out for matching uniforms, but everyone just ignores him.
The books were aimed at the junior high age group, however, the themes they tackled were often more appropriate for a much older age group. They were mostly sci-fi, however, you also go a lot of history and animal trivia out of them. The Animorphs universe was very developed with hundres of races, space ships, and planets. Along with the core 54 books, there were also 2 Alternamorphs (Please, don't ask, I beg you), four kind of awesome Megamorph books, 3 Chronicles following the lives of important characters of other races, and a book covering Visser One, but more on her later.
The Aliens
Yeerks: They’re parasites who in their original form resemble small worms. They’re blind, and can’t do much more than swim. However, they are intelligent and very, very ruthless. Through the kindness of one Andelite, they’re given the power to fly through the stars, and fly they do. Not happy with what their home world offers them in the way of host bodies, they go through the universe, enslaving the various races they stumble across while searching for the perfect race: good bodies, and large numbers. They find that perfect race on planet Earth. However, they can't live for more than three days without exposure to Kandora Rays, so once every three days? They feed. Except a few special cases that apparently include Arnold Schwarznagger. (See Oatmeal.)
Andelite: Imagine a blue centaur with a long tale that ends in a blade, two eye stalks as well as eyes, and no nose or mouth. That's an Andelite. They're herbivores who digest nutrients through their hooves and use thought-speak to communicate. They're fond of open spaces, have only three cities, and are generally claustarphobic. That blade on the end of their tales? Is their number one weapon. They have very advanced technology, including Z-space travel and morphing technology. They're kind of the universe's police, however, they're very hesitent to pass on their technology to other cultures. (See Yeerks.) During the series, their main role is to be the police is fighting the Yeerks, but never makes it to Earth. The leading powers pretty much ignore the war, and various Prince's are the ones who try to get control. Of course, their brilliant plant is to kill off all humans along with the Yeerks...
Chee: The Chee are robotic dogs. They were created by an extincit alien race and now live on Earth. They are eternal and cannot commit violence because they remember everything. Hobbies include seeing how many books its possible to read at the same time and raising dogs. Some of them attend high school. Through out the series, a Chee named Erik helps the Animorphs not get grounded by posing as them when they need to go on longer missions. Marco's dad is always very suspicious afterwards, since Erik has the bad habit of cleaning Marco's room - something Marco himself would never do.
Hork-Bajir: Hork-Bajir are perfectly described by Marco: walking can openers. They're seven feet tall, green, and have eight to ten blades, plus spikes on their tales. They heal very fast and have great endurance and strength. They're very dim herbivores who harvest bark. They were genetically engineered by the Arn to help balance the atmosphere of their home planet. At the start of the series, there are no free Hork-Bajir. Every once in a while, a Seer is born among them. The life of one such Seer is followed in the Hork-Bajir chronicles, and another is around for the final fight in book 54.
Taxxons: Ew. They're huge centipeeds who eat non-stop. They will even eat their own body when dying. The entire race (except for a rebellion group) voluntary became Controllers just to be given exotic food. Even the Yeerks can not control their hunger.
The Vocabulary
There were tons upon tons of made up words, but these are the ones you need to get through this thingy.
Nothlit: Someone stuck in animal morph beyond the two hours time limit. The letters rearrange to spell Hilton. This is not a coincidence. Look, my canon is not known for being sane. (See Tobias and David)
Seer: Hork-Bajir generally have the intelligence of a four-year-old, however, sometimes they have Seers. Seers have above average intelligence and are the leaders of their tribes. (See Toby)
Controllers: Someone who has a Yeerk in their brain contorlling them. (See 3/4 of the bad guys including Marco's mom, the vice-principal of the high school, that one Andelite, and a huge crowd of red shirts humans, Hork-Bajirs, and Taxxons.)
The Sharing A social group started by Visser One to bring in loners and turn them into Controllers.
The Books
There are 54 core books each written in first person by one of the six main characters. There are then the two books that I pretend where never written. (Second person choose your own adventure type books. Gyah. Yes, those are the Alternamorphs. No, I don't know why they were written.) There are also the special books:
Megamorphs
The Andalite's Gift: Pretty much a regular book, just told from all six points’ of view. It’s also one of the few books whose plot was used during the television show. Rachel gets amnesia, so apparently it was funny.
In The Time of Dinosaurs: Is kind of awesome because, come on. Dinosaurs. Again, told by all six. There’s bad jokes by Marco, a T-Rex, and alien ants and crabs. It’s crack, but crack with dinosaurs. And actually kind of logical crack. Which I think really summarizes the entire series. Personally? I loved the Megamorphs because they let us into the brains of all the characters, and this one is one of my favorites. Dinos. Really.
Elfangor's Secret: Is kind of weird. Basically, there’s a time machine, and Visser Four (Who? Exactly. Most random one off character ever.) got his hands on it and is changing human history to make it easier for Yeerks to take over the world. If you think about it too much, you get a headache, but it does raise a lot of questions about what you would be willing to do/sacrifice for the greater good. Plus, George Washington, hippies, knights, very confused Frenchmen, bell-bottoms, and Shakespeare. ... His plays, not the guy from Stardust.
Back to Before: The alternative universe one. The kids don’t go through the construction site, so the world ends. It explains a lot of things about the actual series (like why it had to be these six kids, what's so special about pretty perfect butterfly Cassie, etc.) and is one of my favorite books. It also has Marco and Rachel dating, so you just know the world is going to end.
Visser Is my favorite book. For some weird, weird reason it has Visser Three on the cover, but the whole book is about Visser One. Anyone who can explain this to me gets a cookie. Visser One is brought to trial and her life and deeds are evaluated through flash-back. She, while Yeerks have no gender all the hosts she takes are female so...she, is incredibly ambitious and wants to be more than just another slug. It follows her and her partner to a small planet with six billion intelligent beings and their crash landing in Hollywood No one notices. It then follows her as she switches hosts from a junkie, a doctor, and finally, Eva - Marco's mother. The reason I like it is that there are absolutely no good or bad guys in this story. Visser One is ambitious and cold-hearted, but is willing to take longer to invade Earth if it means her daughter, who honestly is not her daughter biologically but she still sees her as such, gets to stay free.
The Andalite Chronicles The story starts at the end, with Elfangor dying and leaving behind two things: his memories and the Morphing Cube. Through flashback, we learn a lot about the Andelite culture, where Visser Three comes from, and Tobias's origins. It's a really cool look into what happened before and the events that shaped the future and present.
The Ellmilist Chronicles: I think I've read that book at least a dozen times. It still makes no sense. I don't think its even trying to make sense. The Ellmilist Chornicles starts with the Ellmilist coming to an Animoprh, post-mortem (revealed to be Rachel at the end of the series) and trying to answer the question "Does it matter?" by recounting his own life story. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's a god. It's a robot. It's an Andelite. It's a black hole. It makes my brains hurt. There's a good/evil thing also going on, but when Father gets introduced my brain sort of collapses in on itself and then just aches for awhile.
The Hork-Bajir Chronicles: Told through several different eyes, it recounts the story of the loss of the Hork-Bajir world. Mostly, it's back story, just like the rest of the Chronicles. But it's very sad back story. While most of the series is dark and a bit depressing at times, Hork-Bajir Chronicles seriously make you wonder what the point of it all is.
If you're going to read part of the series, the Chronicles just provide back story to the big bads and big goods and Megamorphs are just longer stories. Personally? Most of my favorite books in the series are Megamorphs and Chronicles and they are the ones I find myself reading and re-reading. And re-reading some more.
The Characters
Animorphs
Ax:
Ax: "We have twenty of your minutes remaining."
Marco: "They're everyone's minutes."
Ax is a little lost. And by a little, I mean he would fit right in Fandom. His older brother was Elfangor, the same Andelite who gave the Animorphs their morphing power. Ax was stuck between worlds and roles. He was the soldier, calling Jake his prince and waiting for command. He was the kid, who loved playing with words and eating Cinnamon Buns (and cigarette butts). He was the Andelite, looking down on primitive human technology. But he was also living among humans and had begun to admire them. Ax’s best friend on Earth is Tobias, the bird-boy. He loves watching commercials which he calls “these messages”. He also likes day time soaps like the Young and Restless. He goes by Phillip, Jake’s and Rachel’s Canadian cousin and No. The later is because Marco told him to say “no” to all questions his father asked him. This included “What’s your name?”
Cassie: Cassie has the interesting position of being the most hated character on the series. The only daughter of veterinarians, her main role was to give out animal facts and find animals for the group to morph. She was dating Jake for a large part of the series. Theoretically, her role was of the soul of the group. Practically, you kind of wanted to strangle her. In one book, she wants to quit being an Animorph because it’s too violent. This was also the book she got around being stuck in morph after two hours by turning into a butterfly. She can usually be found in her parent’s barn (also known as the Animorphs’ headquarters) in overalls. How she and Rachel wound up best friends is a mystery of all time. Did I mention the butterfly thing?
Jake:
Ax: "...Prince Jake."
Jake: "Don't call me prince."
Ax: "Yes, Prince Jake."
Jake Berenson (as he cheerfully informs us in the last book. He also informs us he was 13 and has been fighting for 3 years. Thank you Jake, now can you tell us what city you’re from?) Jake became the Animorphs’ leader by accident. Tobias informed him that he was in charge and he sort of stayed in charge. Jake’s older brother, Tom, was a human-controller from the start of the series and Jake’s one wish was to see his brother free. Jake’s best friend was Marco and before the war they used to play a lot of video games together. He’s also Rachel’s cousin, and dates Cassie for most of the series. Of all the characters, the war weighs the most on Jake, since he is the leader.
Marco:
< Marco? >
< Yeah, Jake. >
< Don't talk to the UPN guy. Poodles do not pitch show ideas. >
Marco is the comedian and joker. Two years before the start of the series, his mother took the family yacht out into the ocean and was never seen again and believed dead. At the start of the series, Marco’s father is still stuck in his depression and Marco is hesitant to get involved in anything that could potentially leave his father alone. Of course, that’s before he finds out that his mother is actually the host-body of Visser One. Marco is the tactician in the group, the one who sees what needs to be done to get from point A to point B. He’s very focused on the big picture. He also likes to hit on pretty girls and often gets hit by them in return. The only time he gets a girlfriend is in an alternative universe where everyone dies.
Rachel: Rachel is scary. Before the war, she was very interested in fashion and gymnastics and did very well in school. (Up until the ghost-writers forgot that little detail and just went with the fact that she’s blonde.) Rachel’s best friend is Cassie and she and Jake are cousins. As the series progresses, she becomes more and more violent and ruthless. She develops some sadistic and rather sociopath tendencies and finds fighting almost thrilling. When her mother, after finding out about the war and the Animorphs, says that she’s scared for her daughter, Ax reassures her by telling her she should be afraid of her daughter, not for her. Okay, so it wasn’t really reassuring.
Tobias: Tobias is the ultimate emo-boy, he even has the bangs for it. His parents, supposedly, died when he was very young and he gets shuffled between an aunt who doesn’t care and an uncle who cares even less. In the second book, he gets permanently stuck as hawk. In book eleven (I think. I’m fairly sure it’s book 11), he gets the power to morph and then gets the power to morph into himself. That entire plot line made my head ache, so just go with it especially since it involved the Ellmilist and everything involving that thing gives me a head ache. Tobias is in love with Rachel through out the story and is usually the look-out. Later on, he meets up with his not-so-dead mom and finds out that his dad was Elfangor. So Ax and Tobias are not only best friends, they’re also related. (Ax is Tobias’s uncle.)
Others
Visser Three: The Big Bad of the entire series, he's the Yeerk in charge of the invasion of Earth. The Animorphs, who he thinks are Andelites, are the thorn in his side. He's the only Andelite-Controller. He wants to take over the Earth ala Independence Day and hates Visser One and Elfangor. He's arogant, has a temper, doesn't care who he kills, and is extremelly cruel. He also has a twin, which is his big shameful secret because Yeerk twins are bad. Towards the end, he is promoted to Visser One. Then he gets demoted to chocolate chip cookie by Marco, who puts him in a briefcase for chocolate chip cookies. Apparently, sweet tooths are universal.
Visser One: Visser One is the heighest rank Yeerk in the military. She is the one who discovers Earth and understands the potential the planet holds for her race. She's also the one who decides that the United States is a world power that needs to be seized first (this is the early 90's) and thinks that Hollywood is the capital. Visser One falls in love and has two children, twins Darwin and Madra, and starts the Sharing. She wounds up killing her lover and host body and leaves the children to be adopted on Earth. Her final host is of a random human woman who happens to Eva, Marco's mom. She hates Visser Three with a passion. What's interesting is that unlike Visser Three who hates humans and thinks them useless, Visser One admires and even loves humans.
Elfangor: Elfangor started out as a soldier on board a ship piloted by a disgraced War-Prince. But through a series of events, he meets and falls in love with a human woman (resulting in Tobias), becomes the arch-nemisis of Visser Three, and sees the birth of the first Andelite-Controller. By his death, he is a War-Prince, with a younger brother a very long story to tell. His final action is to give the Animophs the ability to morph and tells them of what's happening on Earth.
Tom: Jake’s older brother, Tom joined the Sharing to get closer to a girl. And he did get closer, he got the Yeerk that used to control her. Tom is the reason Jake keeps fighting.
David: David was scary. He ran into the Animorphs when Marco saw him carrying the Morphing Cube through school. He tries to sell it online and winds up attracting Visser One’s attention, and he’s not interested in making deals. The Animorphs give him the morphing power and he goes a little crazy. As in, he tries to kill them all because he wants to get his family back. David’s ending highlights just why this series isn’t just for kids: he’s turned into a rat, forever, and then Rachel is given the option of killing him (as he’s begging her to do) or returning him to the island where he is to remain a prisoner forever.
The Elmilist: Bzuh. Seriously, bzuh. It's ... a ... something. That is playing a huge game with the universe. It's generally good. Read the book. It won't make any more sense, but at least I won't be the only one with a headache. He hand picked the Animorphs. Except Rachel. Sort of.
The Crayak: Bzuh, take two. It's ... a ... something. That is playing a huge game with the universe. It's generally bad. It's a very large eye. Just...go with it? Please?
Toby: Toby is a Hork-Bajir Seer named after Tobias. She helps out in the final battle and just generally helps out and is awesome.
Erik King: Erik is a Chee who attends the same school as the Animorphs. He often helps cover for the kids when they go out of town and gives them information about various Yeerk plans and events.
Auxiliary Animorphs: Near the end of the series someone had the idea to take disabled kids and give them morphing powers. The morphing power sometimes cured the disability (when it wasn't genetic) and the children were not controllers since Yeerks didn't bother with the crippled. (Please note the author herself mixed up a few names in the process so the whole thing was very ... meh.) And then K.A.Applegate looked at it and was like WTF? and killed them all off. I kinda ... skimmed those sections because they were just that bad so um, Marco kinda doesn't remember that he sent them to their deaths half the time since...yes. Bad plot, no cookie.
The Author
K.A. Applegate was going to write all the books herself, but somehow, that all fell through. The first 25 are written by her, as are all the “special” books. However, the later books were ghost-written, and in the 30’s, you really begin to see the difference as continuity gets shaken up. Main things stay the same, but little details kind of get mixed up. Like Rachel's intelligence, the names of random characters, past adventures, etc.
The TV Show
In 1998, Nickelodeon decided to make a TV show out of the books. Everyone under twelve pretty much loved it. It was very, very bad. The actors all looked like they were in their twenties, the plot lines made no sense, and the “special effects” were very special. The only good thing about the show was that it has Shawn Ashmore as Jake, and in very memorable episode (as in, I can still remember it) had both Shawn and his twin in it. It’s around on youtube and video. Oh, and the video quality sucks. The actress playing Rachel has also guest starred on a bunch of shows including Supernatural, Without a Trace, Smallville, Charmed, and Everwood. And Ax's actor was hilarious and went on to play many similar roles, except he was human for them.
Why You Should Read the Series
1. Because for a book aimed for kids in middle school, the Animorphs tackled a lot of heavy topics. Themes included death, slavery, and free will. The extra books covered the rise to power of all the “bad guys” and gave them a very human (er, humanish) face. The extra books also covered the rise of the “good guys” and what they had done. At one point, it is revealed that the Andelites are willing to let the human race die if it means the Yeerks are stopped. It’s a series that forces the, rather young, characters into situations where there is no right or wrong or black and white.
2. Because it’s funny. Between Marco’s sarcasm and Ax’s inability to comprehend human pop culture (and Marco’s sarcasm) there are usually quite a few hilarious scenes. Because the scene that has stuck with my through out the years from those books has a bear and a gorilla looking into a room and seeing the Prime Minister of some country (probably Russia) drinking vodka in his boxers. Said Prime Minister takes one look at them, toasts them with his shot glass, and continues drinking. Rachel and Marco decide to leave the guy alone.
3. The pop-culture references. Rachel is referred to as “Xena, Warrior Princes” and AOL was invited by a cannibalistic Yeerk. Which actually explains a lot. They’re sprinkled mostly in the beginning and are quite funny. All the guys in the books are Star Trek fans and are constantly making bad jokes in reference to the show. Also? FOX network gets insulted. A lot. Which brings me joy.
4. The characters. There are no 2D characters in the series. (Except the disabled kids, but we're ignoring that plot.) Which for a children's book? Is kind of awesome. The bad guys don't twirl their mustaches, and the good guys get their hands dirty.
5. Each book is written like a TV episode. You can read it in about forty-five minutes, it has the Animorphs facing one problem, and solving it in some way by the end of the book. Keep in mind, however, that even though this is a children's book, the solutions are not always happy ones, and in the later books, very few are actually happy endings. The entire series ends on what was supposed to be a high note, but if you spend more than a second thinking about it, you realize that the only character to walk away is Cassie, the perfect butterfly.
6. Because it's on crack, but it's on logical crack and there really are few wholes in the canon.
7. Because you'll laugh, and cry, and actually think. Which...kids book. Warning, have a box of tissues at the hand during the last two books.
8. Because where else will a Buffalo morph into the Principal? Seriously. Oh, and the oatmeal thing. And Governor Grey Davis.
Where to Get Them
Borders used to have them all, but not anymore. I’m sure used-book stores probably have them by the pound, since they only cost a few dollars to buy originally. Amazon has them for hilariously low prices (most of the early books can be found for a penny) Oddly enough, book 49 costs ten dollars. E-bay often has full or partial sets. Garage sales usually have a few dozen of them stuck with Baby-Sitters Club and Goosebumps. Libraries have them by the dozen in the children's section. (You get the most awesome looks from the librarians when you don't look like a kid and are pocking around in that section. ... And walk in through the window.)
Note: Since Marco has gone through most of the 54 books in canon, the only things I was vague about were the last ten chapters or so of the last book. Everything else was open game. The links I provided ignored even that line.
Oatmeal
It's poisonous to Yeerks. If they eat it, they can survive without Kandora Rays, however, they go mad. This has something to do with Arnold Schwarznagger.
Buffa-human
Buffa-human is a buffalo who accidentally acquires the power to morph, and absorbs Chapman's DNA. Cassie was convinced that the buffalo was learning, since it was mimicking human speech.
Marco's driving
He doesn't hate trash cans, really. He just thought it was a video game. And then he was a gorilla. Do you know how hard it is to drive as a gorilla?