Captain Planet and the Planeteers (TV Series)

Losing Game (1992)

Joey Dedio: Wheeler

Quotes 

• Wheeler : Wow. This sure doesn't look like how I pictured this part of Africa. It looks more like Mars.

  Kwame : Since the cattle-projects began, there have been many changes here. And not for the better. Believe it or not, this area used to be grassland.

• Ma-Ti : Kwame, what was it like to grow up here?

  Kwame : Hm... ah. I will tell you of my first hunt. Game was plentiful then, and the land rich and fertile. One day, three young men from our tribe went out to find food. Mabutu was the leader. He was like, a big brother to me. I wanted to see what the hunt was like, so I followed them. As I watched, Mabutu shot a gazelle. Our tribe needed the food, but I felt sorry for it. The gazelle had seemed happy and free. That night, I told Mabutu I was sad that we must kill to eat. But he said to me:

  Mabutu : It is the way of nature, Kwame. We are part of the food chain, too. Like the lion, we must hunt, we kill only to survive. That is our way.

  Kwame : And so I lived in harmony with nature, thanks to Mabutu.

  Linka : Mabutu. Is this the same Mabutu?

  Wheeler : Ohh, yeah. The guy with the game ranch where all the strange stuff is happening?

  Linka : Thank you, Wheeler.

• Wheeler : It sure is quiet.

  Kwame : They say that if you very listen carefully, you can hear the spirits of the animals that once lived here, calling to each other.

  [something growls] 

  Wheeler : [gasps]  What about the ones that are still here? And hungry?

• Wheeler : Steers don't grow *that* big. Not even in Texas.

  Gi : [flying over]  I'm gonna scare 'em off.

  Wheeler : Uhh, Gi - I think you just made 'em mad. But if it's any consolation, I-*I'm* scared.

• Ma-Ti : Look! Zebras ahead!

  Linka : Elephants. How beautiful!

  Mabutu : Welcome to my game ranch, Planeteers.

  Gi : Oh, look at the giraffe!

  Mabutu : We also have gazelles, wildebeest, and elands. They're game animals we harvest for food. We are not the only ones who feed on these animals, but when nature is in balance, there is enough for lions and humans alike.

  Wheeler : Feed? You mean you eat these animals?

  Mabutu : Yes. It is a game ranch, Wheeler.

  Wheeler : But - they're wild.

  Mabutu : They have helped feed my people for thousands of years. There are not as many predators as there once were. So if we did not harvest these animals, there would be too many for the land to support.

  Ma-Ti : Wheeler, you saw what happened to the land where cattle are being raised.

  Wheeler : Yeah, but gazelle-burgers? Yuck.

• Mabutu : [of the gazelle meat]  What did you think?

  Gi : Very good.

  Linka : Mm, just like venison.

  Wheeler : *Pass.* Give me a good old hamburger any day.

  Mabutu : If you knew how many chemicals went into most beef, you might change your mind.

• Wheeler : [seeing enlarged and some mutated cows' rampages]  It's a zoo out there!

  Gi : A very bizarre zoo.

• [last lines] 

  Kofy : From now on, my people will use the land for game-ranching.

  Mabutu : I will help you get started.

  Wheeler : [chomping on a gazelle-burger]  And *I* will help you finish.

  [everyone laughs] 

• Ma-Ti : [Planeteer Alert]  People are destroying our forests to make land for grazing cattle.

  Kwame : When cattle are introduced to areas where they are not needed, they can destroy fragile eco-systems with their voracious appetites.

  Wheeler : The cattle eat everything and move on. Then the earth erodes, turning to desert.

  Linka : What can you do to help?

  Gi : Eat less red meat, and less land will be needed for cattle. You'll be healthier.

  Captain Planet : The power is yours!