Monkey Wrench
Entry updated 9 March 2026. Tagged: TV.
New Zealand animated online series (2022-current). Awfraq Studios. Created, directed and written by Joshua and Ashley Palmer. Voice cast includes Jacob Barrens, Jean-Francois Donaldson, Joshua Palmer, Niko Vargas, Zane Schacht and Chris Zito. Five 17-33 minute episodes to date. Colour.
In the Far Future four wealthy supporters of The League of Aligned Worlds (L.A.W.) have been murdered by hired assassin Kara. Her next target, called Norbert (Palmer), employs mercenaries Shrike Sanchez (Barrens) and Bulldog "Beebs" Browns (Donaldson) – known as Monkey Wrench – as his bodyguard; as they cannot even afford artificial Gravity in their Spaceship, this seems an unwise choice. Shrike is a former L.A.W. officer and Bulldog a tuskless Walrinian (that is, walrus-like: many Aliens resemble humanoid Earth animals). The pair discover the bird-like Norbert has a large bounty on his head, attracting the attentions of reptilian pirate Queen Tyneen (Vargas) and a cat (intelligent but not humanoid) called Scratch (Zito), among others. It turns out that Norbert has nothing to do with the L.A.W. murders, but is a runaway prince from a Galactic Empire, with Kara merely hired to return him.
The first couple of episodes introduce the main characters and the setting; then a pair of L.A.W. officers have Monkey Wrench deliver a crate, not mentioning there might be some danger involved – as Kara has been tasked with stealing it, this is considerable. However – after some shenanigans – it is delivered to a L.A.W. Space Station, only for Dolion Methuselah Kroe (Schacht) to steal the crate and announce it will be used to wreak great change. Shrike manages to use his ship to retrieve it just as Kroe enters the Cataclysm Zone, but he and Bulldog end up stranded there – with something having entered Bulldog (Parasitism and Symbiosis might be inferred).
Regarding the Cataclysm: Shrike mentions how the "Terrans ... were a HUGE part of history! They brought us cartoons ... pizza ... The galactic wide Cataclysm". Eight centuries ago this killed or corrupted the inhabitants of many planets (see Disaster). The affected region is now a quarantine zone enforced by L.A.W., who seek to help and relocate displaced intelligent species. Despite the dangers, scavengers like Scratch (and his silent brother Scritch) skirt the fringes seeking treasures. In episode 5 further lore is imparted: "in the beginning there was a flash of white" from which "the three colours emerged, Primaries Red, Yellow and Blue ... they painted the galaxy's blank canvas with life ... But the eldest of their children, the Terrans" sought to create "a new colour. A new form of life! ... it FAILED", causing the Cataclysm. Kroe is a creature of the Cataclysm, whilst the Primaries Red, Yellow and Blue are god-like beings (see Gods and Demons) – or implied to be so by what might be no more than propaganda: they have so far remained off-stage. As for our heroes, Shrike is rash and temperamental, but a talented pilot and fighter when pushed; he also has a yet unexplained gem portal in the back of his head and seems to be the last of his species. Bulldog is the team's moral compass, calm, intelligent and doubting his chosen profession; he has three cybernetic limbs (see Cyborgs) whilst his lack of tusks is culturally a cause of shame.
Travel between the stars is achieved via something called the Blue (see Hyperspace), presumably connected with the Primary of that name. Save for a dip with the second episode (which is still enjoyable), Monkey Wrench starts well and improves (in both narrative and art) with each instalment, the fifth being particularly strong. In its early days, with many loose ends, this is already an impressive Space Opera series, exciting and funny (see Humour) with an interesting plot and worldbuilding. The show is an example of an independently produced animated web series using the monetization platform Patreon to gain funding, then being released on YouTube. The first four episodes have all exceeded one million views to date (March 2026). [SP]
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