Yann

Yann is an intrepid 16-year-old and experienced scuba diver who is terribly awkward around girls. Particularly, around Timeti, on whom he has a crush.

Yann is the main character in the series. He’s a boy who, although reserved, loves action.

He’s inventive, resourceful, courageous and sometimes a little obstinate. He’s stubborn as a mule but has a heart of gold. Yann adores his little sister, Marina, for whom he feels responsible, and he has a great deal of admiration for Uncle Patrick.

In this third season, Yann has finally  succeeded in obtaining an internship at the Veterinary Center and Institute of Oceanographic Research of Manava, headed by Uncle Patrick.

Walking in his uncle’s footsteps, Yann, with the help of his friends, will do all he can to preserve the flora and fauna of Maotu and its surrounding area.

He’s Yann’s best friend. Perfectly white, with blue-ringed eyes. He isunique. He’s an intelligent, playful and free animal – closer to humans than to his fellows. His family is Yann, Marina and Patrick.  He adopted them rather than the other way around. Brave and instinctive, Zoom faces every danger for Yann and his friends. To call Zoom, Yann beats the “Zoom Signal” – a recognizable rhythm that spreads out through the water. It can be played on the dock or on the hull of a boat.

It’s fair to say that, in addition to his other talents, Zoom has a perfect understanding of the language of all animals. We shall continue to pay very special attention to the acting of the cetaceans to render their dialogue comprehensible to our audience.

The protector of Maotu

We don’t exactly know where he comes from but Zoom seems to have a close bond with the island of Maotu. In fact, many of the island’s legends mention the “white dolphin, protector of the island of Maotu”.

Marina

Marina is a bright, bubbly, very girly 8-year-old. She talks non-stop which proves tiresome to Yann and Uncle Patrick. She is often disobedient, but she’s so adorable that she is always forgiven. Armed with a sharp sense of curiosity and an adventurer’s spirit, she loves all kinds of animals, especially
Raoul, her pet koala, she calls him, “my baby,” takes him everywhere with her, and generally treats him like a doll.

Marina is bursting with energy and has an infectious happiness. On the other hand, she needs a lot of affection and attention. Despite her young age, she often manages to understand the signals that the “grown-ups” don’t immediately pick-up. That’s why she has no hesitation in pushing her big brother towards Timeti and vice versa.

When interacting with her friends, Kai, Onaku and Tevaiti, Marina can behave like a big sister. That way she comes to understand that, although Yann may sometimes bug her, he always has good intentions.

Timeti

Timeti is a pretty 15-year-old Polynesian. She lives with her mother, Maeva, who runs a store/restaurant in the village.

This young, athletic, sparkling and mischievous girl is Yann’s best friend. She’s got a soft spot for him, but she’s also close to Auru, the son of the chief.

She knows all the traditional dances, plays the ukulele and is proudly protective of her traditions. She is an excellent surfer and kitesurfer and likes to meet up with her friends Yann and Auru during competitions or to embark on adventures. Formerly apprentice shaman, Timeti is now Ramana’s assistant. In spite of his support, she still needs to prove herself and thus gain the complete confidence of Maotu’s villagers.

For this third season, Timeti proves she can take over from Ramana once he’ll decide to retire.

Auru

Auru is a 15-year-old Polynesian.

He’s the son of Papa-Tuanaku, the village chief. As Papa Tuanaku’s heir, Auru sometimes thinks he’s already chief and he “acts like it”.

He’s a boaster, a show-off who likes to joke and show off his muscles, but who can also prove to be a bit of a coward, especially when faced with unexplained phenomena.

He likes to taunt Yann by laying down challenges. But confrontation between the two young roosters conceals a very real spirit of mutual support and camaraderie, even though, they will never admit it.

In Season 3, Auru is still very much in love with Clarissa. He’s no longer in competition with Yann for Timeti’s heart but that doesn’t stop Auru from teasing him. In this new season, Auru tries to spend as much time as possible with his friends.

Now possessor of a Poti-Marara, Auru intends to become the best fisherman in the entire archipelago!

Uncle Patrick

Uncle Patrick is a 56-year-old seadog, a bit gruff, but with rather free-spirited hippie tendencies.

He’s a reputed oceanographer, settled on the island of Maotu in order to carry out his research on the underwater world and the preservation of species in peace. Until the day when his nephew and niece, Yann and Marina, turned up on the island to move in with him. Since then,  he regards them as his own children.

Uncle Patrick represents parental  authority, but he also knows that he can rely upon Yann under any circumstances and is soft on Marina, totally unable to deny her anything.

He’s also a great inventor: “The Turtle” and his boat, “The Taaora” are his major achievements.

In this third season, we can see Uncle Patrick in his professional setting. He is, in fact, the director of the Manava Center. This post brings huge responsibilities that cause him to be less present for his niece and nephew than he might wish to be.

Raoul

Raoul was brought back from Australia by Uncle Patrick after he was abandoned by his mother. He’s Marina’s pet and she calls him all sorts of nicknames: “My baby! Fat pudding! Pops!”.

Raoul makes himself understood by uttering little sounds: yips of joy, snarls for John-Sebastian, who squabbles with him non-stop, squeals of fright when it’s time for his bath, whimpering when he’s done something really silly and Marina scolds him.

Raoul, with his funny faces and endless pranks, represents a breath of air that is both cute and comic in the series. We will feel sorry for him when we see Marina trying, for the nth time, to give him a bath.

John-Sebastian

John-Sebastian is a talking mynah bird. He can imitate any sound.
However, although he speaks, his language is still very limited. He’s a birdbrain, who misunderstands everything. He often raises the alarm to Uncle Patrick when the kids are in trouble.

John-Sebastian is secretly jealous of the affection Marina heaps on her koala Raoul. There’s a constant stream of taunting and squabbling between them. John-Sebastian finds comfort on Uncle Patrick’s shoulder and he’d willingly lose his last feather for him.

Nino

Nino is a 40-year-old Polynesian and a native of Maotu. He is Tapuna’s younger brother and, so, Auru’s uncle.

A great scientist, Nino runs the lab, where he carries out biological research inspired by the marine world. Always seeking some new clean energy, a medicine or revolutionary diving gear, he is really devoted to putting his intelligence to the service of others to make the world a better place.

However, that has not always been the case. When young, he was actually working for the merciless Werner, but when his daughter, Maimiti, was born he decided to change path and work for the common good.

Both brilliant and scatter-brained, Nino, it must be said, is terribly clumsy. Not a day goes by without him tripping over a cable or falling head-first into a pool!

Pleasant and nutty, Nino is a mad, flamboyant scientist, whom Patrick sometimes finds hard to channel. Despite their very different characters, they complement each other and form a team that is both efficient and competent!

Maimiti

Maimiti is Nino’s daughter. She lives at the Manava Center with her father and Anita.

She’s a 12-year-old endowed with a formidable intelligence. Passionate about computers, she spends her time developing software and incredible devices to help the Center preserve the flora and fauna. With her nose always glued to her screens, she’s really good at irritating her cousin, Auru, with whom she quarrels all the time. Plus, family reunions are not really her thing. She’s always looking for a good excuse to stay at home.

Timid by nature, she genuinely admires Yann, Auru and Timeti, who never flinch from going into action to rescue animals and their friends… To tell the truth, the mere idea of having to dive into the depths, fight bad guys or even just climb onto a surfboard is sheer torture for her. So, she often remains at the Center, where she acts as technical officer.

However, she can overcome her worst fears and go into action when the situation demands it. Sharp-witted and sarcastic, she has a stinging sense of humor that often hits home… especially when it’s a question of pricking her cousin’s ego!

Daisy

Daisy is a pretty sea lion that lives at the Center. She’s very playful and spends her time taunting her fellow resident, Bobby, the octopus, constantly hounding him, and playing with Zoom, who she adores!

She’s extremely skillful and can juggle with almost anything you toss her way. In fact, she used to work in a water park where Anita sometimes attended as vet. Falling under the sea lion’s charm and saddened to see her suffering ill treatment, Anita brought her back to live with her at the Center.

Too tame to be set free, she is forced to live in the Center’s large pools. However, Patrick and Anita do everything to make her feel as happy as possible. And she does! Her communicating joy is a real ray of sunshine for Manava.

Bobby

Bobby is an octopus, both curious and fearful. He lives in a large and splendid aquarium near Uncle Patrick’s office. He can get out whenever he likes, but he usually prefers to hide in the diver’s helmet that decorates his little home.

He tends to be averse to a lot of movement, but when his curiosity is pricked, he always ends up by coming out of his hiding place to see what’s going on at the Center.

His camouflage skills enable him to change color as he pleases and to melt into the background to escape from Daisy, who wants to play with him constantly, but also from all his potential enemies.

Remarkably intelligent, Bobby is equally skilled and agile underwater so, good luck to anyone who tries to catch him!