Notice how the boy in the middle has dragon ears, wings and a tail?note
"It could only happen to me..."
— Martin Morning, at the end of the theme tune
Martin Morning (fr: Martin Matin) is a 2002 French cartoon series created by Denis Olivieri, Claude Prothée and Luc Vinciguerra and produced by Les Cartooneurs Associés.
The show stars Martin Morning, a perfectly normal nine-year-old boy... except for the fact that every morning, he wakes up to find himself transformed into something different, and finds himself thrown into all sorts of adventures as a result of his transformations, on which he is accompanied by his friend Gromo and his girlfriend Roxanne.
In 2018, after sixteen years of no new episodes, the show was renewed for a fourth season, which also brought about an art shift to Flash animation.
Martin Morning contains examples of:
- Ace Pilot: Martin's transformation in both "Smooth Glide for Martin" and an episode in season 5, though in the latter example, he is a test pilot.
- Alien Animals: In "Planet of the Dogs", Martin, Roxanne, Gromo, and an anthropomorphic dog named Ralph travel to a planet inhabited by other anthropomorphic dogs.
- Aliens Are Bastards: Averted with the ones from "Martin's Space Odyssey". Although they abduct Martin, it is only because they mistake him for their lost captain due to his transformation for that day being an alien. However, it's definitely played straight with the alien from "Martin Meets A Moonatic".
- Aliens Speaking English: Averted with the aliens in "Martin's Space Odyssey," who need a translator device to be able to talk to Martin. Played straight in other episodes, however.
- Animate Inanimate Object: In the episode "The Talking Key," Martin, instead of transforming like usual, wakes up with a talking key around his neck.
- Animorphism: Some of Martin's transformations are animals.
- Arranged Marriage: In "Martin The Invisible", Martin is almost forced to marry a countess, and in "Upside Down And Backwards", Roxanne is almost forced to marry a prince.
- Art-Shifted Sequel: Starting from Season 4, the show is done in Flash animation.
- Bewitched Amphibians: A variant occurs in the episode "Martin's Magic Potion," where Martin, who is a witch that day, comes across a frog on the way to school that asks him to kiss it. When he does, it turns into a Princely Young Man who seems to attract Martin's Roxanne, much to his jealousy. He turns back into a frog when he kisses Martin under the influence of the Love Potion he had prepared for Roxanne.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: In the episode "Did You Say Normal?", Martin himself has no transformation, but everyone else have been transformed into human-sized insects. However, at the end, it turns out that was All Just a Dream, and Martin has actually transformed into a bee. "Martin Busy Bee" also features bugs that are big enough for Martin, Roxanne, and Gromo to talk to.
- Big Red Devil: Martin's transformation of the day in "A Good Little Devil."
- Black Bead Eyes: Everyone except the aliens, which makes sense because they are, well, aliens.
- Blob Monster: Pannonos, the servant of the alien from "Martin Meets A Moonatic", is one of these.
- Born Unlucky: Or rather, Martin wakes up unlucky in "Martin's Unlucky Day," where he has incredibly bad luck and falls victim to all kinds of disasters.
- The Bully: Romeo is Martin and his friends' main tormentor at school aside from Vice Principal Grindsel.
- Cessation of Existence: The show implies that this happens to the beings whose existence is a byproduct of Martin's transformations when he transforms into something else the next morning.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Roxanne can sometimes act like this when other girls have Martin's attention.
- Colony Drop: In "Martin Stops A Meteorite", Martin has to stop a meteorite before it collides with the Earth and causes The End of the World as We Know It.
- Contemporary Caveman: Martin's transformation of the day in "Cro-Magnon Martin" is a caveman. The same deal in an episode in season 4, but this time the entire world around him has reverted back to prehistoric times, too.
- Cooking Duel: Martin participates in one in "Chef's Cook Off".
- Cowboy: Martin wakes up as one in "The Lonesome Cowboy".
- Damsel in Distress: Roxanne, sometimes. This often leads to Rescue Romance on Martin's part.
- Deal with the Devil: Martin is almost tricked into signing a contract with the actual Devil himself in order to become a normal boy in "A Good Little Devil." Thankfully, Roxanne and Gromo are able to stop him from signing it in time.
- Embarrassingly Dresslike Outfit: For this reason, Martin does not like it when he wakes up wearing a kilt in "Mac Martin Mac Morning."
- Expository Theme Tune: Martin Morning!/Every morning when you open your eyes/You're in for a big surprise!
- Family-Friendly Firearms: Surprisingly, this is actually Averted, as some episodes feature actual guns.
- Fanboy: Gromo is described in the theme tune as Martin's biggest fan.
- Fantasy Kitchen Sink: The show features all sorts of mythical and strange beings and places, including dragons, aliens, wizards, gods, ghosts, Talking Animals and Funny Animals, genies, robots, witches, Horny Vikings, Living Statues, Sea Monsters, elves, Santa Claus, Living Toys, mermaids, ogres, giants, fakirs, Man Eating Plants, a minotaur, ninjas, and even demons, Hell and Satan!
- Fisher King: Martin's transformations tend to also alter the world around him to suit his new forms. For example, when he wakes up as a movie star, his bedroom wall is plastered with posters for movies he has acted in, and the bathroom in his house is a dressing room.
- Frankenstein's Monster: Martin transforms into this in "Martin Son Of Frankenstein".
- Funny Animal: In "Planet Of The Dogs", Martin and co. travel to a planet where the inhabitants are all anthropomorphic dogs. There's also the yellow dog from "Martin's Dog Day", and Patapoff the lion from "Lion Tamer Martin".
- Gender Bender: Martin transforms into a girl in episode 12 of the first season. And retains his voice. Also, Mr. Grindsel gets turned into a woman in "The Ogre of Castle Hill" after drinking a magic potion.
- Girlish Pigtails: Roxanne has them.
- Grade-School C.E.O.: Martin in "The Zillionaire" is the wealthy CEO of a large company. Justified since he, as per usual, Just Woke Up That Way.
- Hellevator: How Martin, Gromo and Roxanne enter S.A.T.A.N.'s headquarters in "A Good Little Devil."
- Hell: Yes, the place does indeed appear in the episode "A Good Little Devil", complete with an appearance by Satan himself, albeit it is portrayed as Evil, Inc. rather than a place of eternal torment.
- Honey Trap: A (relatively) kid-friendly example in "A Good Little Devil," where a demoness almost cons Martin into making a Deal with the Devil by impersonating his crush Roxanne. Thankfully, the real Roxanne shows up in time to expose the ruse to Martin.
- Horny Vikings: Martin transforms into one in the episode "Voyage To The Edge Of The World", and gets to go on the titular voyage with other Vikings like this.
- Hot Witch: In "Martin's Love Potion", another witch other than Martin appears, and she's a total bombshell.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: A constant source of angst for Martin throughout the series is that he would like to just be a normal boy and not have weird things happen to him every day. In "A Good Little Devil," he almost accepts a deal with the literal Devil to make this happen.
- Improbable Age: Some of Martin's transformations lead him to do things that would normally be way beyond a kid his age.
- Incredible Shrinking Man: The episode "Mini Martin" has Martin transform into a version of himself that's the same size as his alarm clock.
- Intangibility: Martin wakes up with this power in "The Joke's On Grindsel!". Averted in "Martin The Invisible," where he does not have this ability despite waking up as a ghost. Another character in that episode mentions that some other ghosts also have a condition that prevents them from phasing through solid matter.
- Invisible to Normals: When Martin wakes up as a ghost in "Martin the Invisible", all the other human characters are unable to see him.
- Involuntary Shapeshifting:
- Just Woke Up That Way: The basic premise of the show is that Martin wakes up as something different each morning.
- Kid Hero: Martin is a nine-year-old boy who often saves people during his adventures.
- Kids Love Dinosaurs: In the episode "Martin's Prehistoric Pal", Martin has no transformation; instead, he is accompanied by a baby dinosaur. Unlike most of the weird stuff that happens to him on a daily basis, Martin is actually upset that the dinosaur will no longer be around the next day.
- Living Statue: One appears in "Voyage To The Edge Of The World".
- Living Toys: Martin transforms into a puppet in the episode "Trouble In Toy Paradise", and that episode also features other examples of this trope. He also transforms into a toy soldier in "Good Soldier Martin".
- Love Potion: Martin makes one he planned to use on Roxanne in the episode "Martin's Magic Potion". Unfortunately, another boy ended up drinking it instead and falling for him.
- Man in a Kilt: When Martin wakes up as a Scotsman in "Mac Martin Mac Morning," he naturally has a kilt on.
- Meaningful Name: Martin Morning's surname refers to the fact that he wakes up as something different every morning.
- Me's a Crowd: Martin's "transformation" in "Martin Multiplied"; he has to spend that whole day accompanied by two copies of himself, one of whom is aggressive and the other nice.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Mortibus from "Doctor Martin, laugh therapist" is a doctor who attempts to poison a king, who is his client's brother, because his brother wants the throne for himself.
- Morphic Resonance:
- Most of Martin's transformations, even the ones that completely change his body shape, usually retain his glasses and the three strands of hair on his forehead.
- When a demoness impersonates Roxanne in "A Good Little Devil," her devil tail still remains, allowing the real Roxanne to expose her to Martin by showing him the tail.
- Mummy: Martin wakes up as one in "Beware Of The Mummies".
- The Musketeer: Guess what Martin wakes up as in "Martin Musketeer".
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: Played straight in "Oh The Crocodiles", what with the episode being a Shout-Out to Indiana Jones and all. Also featured in the episode "Ancient Egyptian Martin", where Roxanne almost falls into a Trap Door with hungry crocodiles waiting at the bottom.
- No Full Name Given: Everyone except Martin Morning, his parents, and a few One Shot Characters.
- No Hugging, No Kissing: Averted; Martin and Roxanne are clearly in Puppy Love, and there are many instances where Roxanne gives Martin a kiss on the cheek.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Justified. The extraterrestrial characters are the only ones without Black Bead Eyes.
- The Omniscient: In the episode "Martin The know-it-all," Martin wakes up with the ability to know anything and everything. Unfortunately, two crooks coerce him into abusing this power to help them cheat at gambling.
- One-Shot Character: Most episodes have at least one. Their one-shot status is often Justified by the implication that their very existence is a byproduct of Martin's transformation of the day and that they will cease to exist the next night when he transforms into something else.
- Our Fairies Are Different: Martin wakes up as the "tiny humanoid" variety in "Good Morning Fairy Martin."
- Our Vampires Are Different: Martin's transformation in "Martin Is Missing."
- Pick on Someone Your Own Size: Most of the one-shot bad guys Martin faces off against are fully-grown adults.
- Overnight Age-Up: Martin transforms into a middle-aged man in "Middle Aged Martin."
- Pirate: Martin's transformation of the day in "Ahoy Matey Martin".
- Playing Card Motifs: Martin wakes up as the Jack of Hearts in "Martin On his Game." He also finds a passageway to some kind of bizarre alternate world themed around playing cards in his school.
- Prince Charming: In the episode "Charming Martin", Martin's transformation of the day is this.
- Private Investigator: Martin's transformation of the day in "Martin Leads The Investigation".
- Protagonist Title: Martin Morning is the actual name of the protagonist.
- Pun-Based Title: The French title of the show — and by extension, the French name of the title character — plays off the phonetic similarity between "Martin" and the French word for morning, "matin." The wordplay is lost in the English release, which translates the title and character name literally to ease the dubbing process by keeping the syllable count consistent.
- Puppy Love: Martin and Roxanne are referred to in-show as "boyfriend and girlfriend", despite being just kids.
- Refugee from TV Land: "Super Martin" features the titular villain from the Fictional Video Game Super Monster coming out into the real world. It is up to Martin, who is a Superhero that day, to force him back.
- Riddle for the Ages: The series never reveals why Martin is subject to Just Woke Up That Way every single day.
- Robot Me: Martin wakes up as a robot in "Mechanical Martin", and it comes with all the quirks of being one (i.e he can have malfunctions and needs to recharge). He also wakes up as one in one episode of Season 4.
- Saving Christmas: The premise of the episode "Martin Saves Santa"; Santa Claus has been kidnapped and it's up to Martin and friends to save him!
- Shout-Out: In some episodes, Martin wakes up as a character from popular culture, e.g. Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock Martin", and Indiana Jones in "Oh The Crocodiles!".
- Superhero: Martin's transformation of the day in "Super Martin".
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Martin wakes up with this ability as opposed to transforming like usual in the aptly-named episode "Martin Talks to the Animals." His transformations into an animal park doctor and a farmer in season 4 also come equipped with this ability, though with the latter one, it's restricted to farm animals.
- Spotting the Thread: In "A Good Little Devil", Roxanne exposes a demoness impersonating her to Martin by showing him her devil tail, which she'd kept hidden behind herself up until that point.
- Superpower Silly Putty: Though he doesn't always turn into something superpowered, this trope is the nature of Martin's condition.
- Teleportation: In "The Amazing Mr. M", Martin wakes up with the ability to do this.
- Third Wheel: Gromo is this to Martin and Roxanne.
- Threatening Shark: In "Martin On The Lam", Martin and Gromo are tied up above a pool of sharks, and Roxanne has to save them.
- Time Travel: In "It WAS A Dog's Life!", Martin has a skateboard that allows him to do this. Also, he wakes up in the future in "Martin Has A Future".
- Unexpectedly Dark Episode: "A Good Little Devil" features actual demons who almost convince Martin to make a deal with Satan... er, sorry, Luciferis so he can finally become a normal boy by having a demoness impersonate Roxanne. In addition, the name of the company Luciferis is the CEO of is acronymized as S.A.T.A.N., and Gromo actually uses the word "Hell," albeit referring to the actual place rather than as an expletive.
- Wake Up, Go to School & Save the World: Martin has both his transformation-related adventures and school on his table. In fact, he is often late for school because of them.
- Weredragon: Martin transforms into a green dragon in "Mighty Dragon Martin". And that's the first episode!
- Winged Humanoid: In "The Lucky Duckling", Martin wakes up with the wings, tail, and pinfeathers of a duck.
- You Are Not Alone: Over the course of the series, Martin discovers the existence of other 'morning people', including an alien girl and, bizarrely, the sun god Ra.
