Captain (CityKids)

Captain is a muppet character from the T.V. series, CityKids. He is part of a trio of muppets who make recurring appearances in the Inside the Head segments and they dwell inside the functioning mind. As a personification of one of the Freudian ideas, he represents ego and acts as a mediator between his cohorts, Lieutenant and Libido. He was puppeteered by Joey Mazzarino.

About Captain

In "Pilot", Captain and the other Inside the Head muppets are shown in the mind of David, who has fallen for a girl named Freida. Captain comments on her beauty and an eager, and excited, Libido repeats the word "Kiss!", a few times, wanting desperately to get David to do so. Captain tells him, "Easy, Libby." Lieutenant tells Captain David literally has butterflies in his stomach. Captain gives the order to go speed ahead. Lieutenant, doubting this is a good idea, tries to tell him they should go back. But Captain just tells him to get a hold of himself. After Freida turns down David's request to go out with him, the inside of his mind is shown again, an alarm goes off, Captain, in a state of panic, calls for a mayday as he and Lieutenant flee before David faints.

In "Becoming a Man", David wants to have a bar mitzvah just so he can get a new CD player as a gift. Captain is in pursuit of the same thing and tells Lieutenant to run the course. When David meets with a priest to whom he lies, Lieutenant feels guilty and comments about what David just did, but Captain tells him to keep his "eyes on the prize", still fixated on the goal of obtaining the CD player.

In "The Curse of Ali Baba", Captain and his cohorts are shown in Tito's mind and Tito is angry when he sees his sister talking to a guy he doesn't approve. Captain commands Lieutenant to have Tito confront his sister when the alarms sound off and Lieutenant mentions Tito's vital signs. Tito is about to lose his temper and Libido's cage is opened as he escapes, and presses a button that indicates seeing red.

In "Pack of Lies", Captain and the others are shown in the mind of Snoopy, who freezes up when his professor calls on him to give his answer to a question and he's stumped. Captain tells Lieutenant to keep Snoopy's system steady, but Lieutenant mishears it as "study". Captain clarifies he said "steady" rather than "study" and smacks Lieutenant aside with the book he was reading. After cutting back to Snoopy and his teacher, then back to Captain and the others, the three are shown panicking as Captain tries to change Snoopy's course to regain control.

Physical Appearance

The version of Captain that appeared in the pilot episode is the prototype and different from the version that appears in other episodes. The first version looks like somewhat of a superhero type, but he is more of a pilot in the mind's control room. Originally, he was burly; had visibly fair skin on the lower part of his face; wore a red aviator cap with blue flaps, yellow outlines, and a small ornament on top shaped like a brain; a blue mask or goggles around his eyes; a red body suit with a yellow collar, yellow shoulder pads of some kind with stems, and yellow gloves.

Captain as he appears in the pilot.

The redesigned Captain retains the superhero/pilot persona, but is slimmer; has visibly pink skin on the lower half of his face; wears a cap that's shaped like a baby blue brain made of twisted wires with turquoise blue and red layers, the brain sometimes lifts up and down like a lid; a turquoise blue, plastic visor; matching ear coverings; and a red body suit with yellow rings around the shoulders and yellow gloves.

Personality

Since Captain personifies ego, he is egotistical, overconfident, proud, positive, optimistic, mostly coolheaded, and impulsive, often getting ahead of himself, not thinking before acting. He believes, in his mind, that he is a natural born leader. Although he is the leader of the two, other Inside the Head muppets, he also acts as the middle ground between Lieutenant and Libido, and he also has to make sure that he keeps the others in check so that the mind continues to work properly, and one Freudian idea doesn't overtake the others.

Appearances

• Pilot (prototypical Captain)
• Becoming a Man (redesigned Captain from this point onward)
• The Curse of Ali Baba
• Pack of Lies

Trivia

• The redesigned Captain was among the members of the muppet backup band, playing keyboards during Cee-Lo Green's performance of "Forget You", at the 2011 Grammy Awards.
• The redesigned Captain, as well as other muppets from this show, appeared in other projects including the Miskreant Puppet shows such as Puppet Up!.
• Captain and the others were shown in the minds of three of the main, human characters: David, Tito, and Snoopy.
• Prototypical Captain and the other prototypical Inside the Head muppets don't appear in the intro prior to the pilot episode nor do the other muppets from the show. However, the redesigned Inside the Head muppets do appear in the opening before other episodes with Captain shown at the wheel.