The Backyardigans
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| The Backyardigans | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | Animated television series |
| Creator(s) | Janice Burgess |
| Starring | Zach Tyler Eisen LaShawn Tináh Jefferies Reginald Davis, Jr. Jonah Bobo Naelee Rae |
| Country of origin | USA, Canada |
| Language(s) | English, French |
| No. of episodes | 32 (As of 23 Mar 2007) (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Janice Burgess Robert Scull |
| Running time | approx. 24 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Nick Jr. |
| Original run | November 22, 2004 – Present |
| Links | |
| Common rating | |
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| Canada | C |
| Great Britain | U |
| United States | TV-Y |
The Backyardigans is a CGI-animated children's TV series, created by Janice Burgess. It is a joint production of Nick Jr. and the Canadian animation studio Nelvana. Debuting on November 22, 2004, it originally had 20 episodes. It aired on CBS from October 2004 until September 2006. Music for the show is written by Evan Lurie, of The Lounge Lizards, and Douglas Wieselman. The characters are designed by children's book author and illustrator Dan Yaccarino.
On April 30, 2006, Nelvana and Nick Jr. jointly announced that twenty new episodes were ordered for the upcoming fall schedule.[1] In the UK, the second season debuted on 30 October 2006, although by the start of 2007, only the first five episodes of the second season had been aired, interwoven with repeats of season one.
The show has developed a small cult following among adult viewers.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The show focuses on five friends who play together every day in their shared backyard. Using their imagination, they "transform" the backyard into completely different worlds, in which they have many adventures. Such adventures range from finding the secret of the River Nile to discovering uncharted lands as Vikings.
The show is a musical film, and each episode has four songs (sometimes reprised more than once in an episode), some of them reworkings of traditional tunes. A different musical genre is featured in every episode, ranging from R&B and jazz to tango and reggae.
No matter the timescale of the adventure (some of which – such as "Riding the Range", "Viking Voyage", "Mission to Mars", and "The Swamp Creature" – take place over a day or more), each one comes to a successful resolution when someone's stomach rumbles loudly announcing that it's time for a snack.
[edit] Characters and voice cast
Each of the five characters on the show has two vocal actors: one for the speaking parts, and one for the singing parts. They are all actual children.
The dancing on the show is first done by live-action dancers, and their movements are later transported to animation. Choreographer Beth Bogush describes the process: "What we do is we film live footage in the studio and then they send that off and they do a Leica, and then they send it to the animators. And the animators just watch, and they're pretty precise. What we film for that day is pretty close to what you see in the character."[2]
[edit] Pablo
Pablo, a bubbly blue penguin, famous for his blue bow tie and propeller hat, he is the one that most often has the ideas. Due to his energy and impetuousness, he takes the lead in many situations, but often goes into a "panic attack" when he faces an obstacle, running around in circles and blabbering nonsense – "Oh boy! Oh boy! Don't lose your heads! We'll find a way out! Oh, boy! Oh no! Oh man! Oh man!" – until someone interrupts him to propose a solution with "Pablo...Pablo?...PABLO!", when he stops, turns to the character and calmly asks "Yeah?"
"The Yeti", "Monster Detectives", and "It's Great to Be a Ghost" are the only episodes in the first series in which Pablo does not have one of his "panic attacks". In the latter, Tyrone has a similar "attack". Pablo does not have any "panic attacks" in the second season episodes "Mission to Mars", "Whodunit" and "Samurai Pie". In "Pirate Treasure" he has two attacks (once before crossing a palm tree bridge and the other when the treasure is buried again, and lost.) In "The Legend of the Volcano Sisters", both Pablo and Tyrone panic until Austin interrupts.
Speaking voice: Zach Tyler Eisen (Season 1), Jake Goldberg (Season 2)
Singing voice: Sean Curley
Dancer: Tasha Cooper
[edit] Tyrone
A good-natured (and sometimes fearful) red-haired orange moose, he is Pablo's best friend, and almost his complete opposite in terms of personality. He is laid-back, cool-headed, and known for his ironic comments – for example, "That certainly is convenient!" upon the arrival of some sort of deus ex machina. At the end of every episode, he remarks, "That was an excellent (type) adventure, don't you think?" Despite not appearing to wear trousers (except on rare occasions, such as "Race Around the World"), Tyrone somehow manages to put his hands in his pockets.
Speaking voice: Reginald Davis, Jr. (Season 1), Jordan Coleman (Season 2)[3]
Singing voice: Corwin C Tuggles (Season 1), Leon G Thomas III (Season 2)
Dancer: Greg Sinacori
[edit] Uniqua
A curious, self-confident and high-spirited pink creature with polka dots, she is almost always sweet and friendly, though her strong opinions and occasional stubbornness get in the way sometimes. She is more tomboyish than Tasha, and often imagines herself in roles requiring brains and fortitude (scientist, pirate captain, etc). More than once she has got the mystery solved and interjects with a "You guys!" Much controversy has been raised over what species she belongs to. Suggestions included a ladybug (due to her pink polka dots), an ant (due to her antennae), and even an alien. But actually, she is a unique creature that is unlike any other in the world, and Uniqua is also the name of her species.[4] Sometimes her species is also called a "Pink".
Speaking voice: LaShawn Tináh Jefferies
Singing voice: Jamia Simone Nash
Dancer: Hattie Mae Williams
[edit] Tasha
A playful and authoritative yellow hippo, and Uniqua's best friend. Very feminine and classy most of the time, but her attitude sometimes causes her to act bossy and try to make the others act the way she wants them to. Choreographer Bogush describes her as "absolutely full of herself all the time. She's the know-it-all."[5] But she is as tough as she is fun and good-humored. Tasha often uses the expression, "Oh, for goodness sakes!"and all they hate it to behave as I replace of Austin, Austin is better than she.
Speaking voice: Naelee Rae
Singing voice: Kristin Klabunde
Dancer: Darlene Dirstine
[edit] Austin
A fun-loving purple kangaroo, he moved into the block recently,[6] which makes him a little shy on some occasions, and reluctant to join in. But he is also very self-confident, and tries to help his friends whenever they need, sometimes in quirky ways. Says Bogush: "Austin's usually the one pulling up the rear. He's kind of a get-along guy."[7] although he has not appeared much, he was voted the second-favorite character in a poll, only behind Pablo (although Uniqua and Tyrone were thought to be second favorite).
Speaking voice: Jonah Bobo
Singing voice: Thomas Sharkey
Dancer: Kristine Frost
In season one, Austin was present in eleven of the twenty episodes, while Tasha appeared in twelve. Uniqua, Pablo and Tyrone were featured in all episodes. The five characters were together in five episodes, and both Tasha and Austin were absent in two episodes. There is no official explanation to Austin and Tasha's occasional absence, though some fans suggest that they are simply not available to play all the time. In season two, episodes featuring all five characters are much more frequent, but Tasha and Austin are still occasionally absent.
[edit] Other characters
Two episodes, "Polka Palace Party" and "Heart of the Jungle", feature a character called Sherman the Worman, an intelligent worm who talks in jibberish. Sherman is present before the backyard is transformed via imagination, and so is presumably "real" in the context of the show.
"Mission to Mars" features an alien mom, voiced by Alicia Keys; an alien baby, voiced by Shakira Lipscomb; and Rover, a dog-like surface vehicle, as guest stars. In the UK version of the show, the baby alien is voiced by Maria Darling, but this has the unfortunate effect of having the baby sound exactly like Tasha (also voiced by Darling). Alicia Keys vocal is not affected by the normal "Anglicization" that is common in the UK version of the show.
"It's Great to Be a Ghost" and "Secret Mission" include voices near the end of the episode that do not come from any of the main characters. They're rumored to have come from Evan Lurie, one of the show's composers.
[edit] Setting
The characters live in houses adjoining a large, common backyard that is transformed by imagination (and computer animation) into various adventure settings. Each house roughly corresponds to the colour scheme of the character: Pablo lives in a blue house, Uniqua in a pink one, Tasha's is yellow and Tyrone's is orange. Austin's is partially obscured by a fence but what is seen is purple. The fence has an Austin-sized door in it, through which Austin sneaks into the adventure after the other characters are playing (as in "Castaways", "Surf's Up" and "High Tea"). The curve of the street allows the play area to be roughly equal in distance to each house's back door.
In Season One, none of the characters had snacks at Austin's, whose house is at opposite end of the backyard. Eleven of the episodes end at Uniqua's, four end at Tyrone's, five end at Pablo's, and one ends at Tasha's. In Season Two's "Whodunit", Austin suggests the snack for the first time.
Presumably some gardening has taken place between the first and second series. In the first series houses which stand "over the road", could barely be seen through quite dense shrubbery between the main character houses; those of Tyrone, Pablo and Uniqua. However, in the second series, the shrubbery is much reduced, and the houses and street outside can be more clearly seen.
[edit] Props
The characters often pull items out of thin air, or from behind their backs – a technique known in animation as Hammerspace. The episode "Eureka!" had a running gag in which Pablo would search for certain items on his saddlebag, pulling out enormous objects in the process (e.g. a tuba, a surfboard and a fully inflated rubber dinghy). (Several of the items in Clementines' saddle-bag in "Eureka!" reference other episodes from the first series, including Tyrone's tuba from "Polka Palace Party", Pablos' blue surfboard from "Surf's Up!" and the painting from "It's Great To be a Ghost". In "Secret Mission" three Tiki statues, exactly the same as the one in "Surf's Up!" can be seen.)
In "Riding the Range", Tyrone could produce a seemingly inexhaustible supply of apples. In "Snow Fort", Tasha and Uniqua each has a rucksack that contains a rescue kit including shovels, hooks, and suction cups. In "Race Around the World", Austin has a racing pack in which he keeps numerous items, such as a hook, rope, plasters, and a water bottle. In "High Tea", Tasha manages to store tea-leaves, a teapot and four cups and saucers in a small clutch handbag. Irrespective of this feat, she is able to produce a fifth identical cup and saucer from behind her after Austin arrives at the end.
There must be a veritable treasure trove of items in the backyard, since the characters never go in for their snack carrying any items, even those that they had in their hands before going into the adventure. Some of the items that are presumably lying around in the garden include ski-poles, a stetson hat, face masks and a tuba.
[edit] UK version
In the UK, The Backyardigans are shown daily on Nick Jr., Nick Jr. 2 and Nick Jr. on TMF (formerly "Noggin on TMF"). The characters have been redubbed and are voiced by three British actresses; Maria Darling (Tasha, Uniqua, and Austin), Janet James (Pablo), and Lizzie Waterworth (Tyrone).
In the British version, certain words and phrases that are not in common usage in British English are translated, such as "soccer" to "football" and "diapers" to "nappies". This naturally leads to some minor lip-synch issues, but most children would not notice these. Also in the British version, several of the snacks are different, since items like s'mores and granola bars are not generally known in the UK.
[edit] DVD releases
As of February 2007, twenty-eight episodes will be released on DVD. There are seven collections of four episodes each: It's Great to Be a Ghost (2005), The Snow Fort (2005), Polka Palace Party (2006), Cave Party (2006), Surf's Up (2006), Mission to Mars (2006), and The Legend of the Volcano Sisters (2007). In addition, "The Quest for the Flying Rock" and "Race to the Tower of Power" appear on volumes 2 and 3, respectively, of the Nick Jr Favorites DVDs.
In the UK, only the Cave Party and Polka Palace Party DVDs have been released, as of February 2007
The second through fifth DVD collections include a second audio track in French. Nelvana, the company producing the animation for The Backyardigans, is based in Canada, which is officially bilingual. Several song tempos are changed to match the French lyrics, and the characters refer to themselves as "Les Mélodilous" in the opening and closing songs. Also, Tyrone is known as Théo and Uniqua as Victoria.
[edit] Episodes
For more details about these episodes, see List of Backyardigans episodes.
Series One
- "Knights Are Brave and Strong"
- "The Yeti"
- "Pirate Treasure"
- "The Heart of the Jungle"
- "Secret Mission"
- "Riding the Range"
- "The Key to the Nile"
- "The Snow Fort"
- "It's Great to Be a Ghost"
- "Viking Voyage"
- "The Quest for the Flying Rock"
- "Surf's Up!"
- "Race to the Tower of Power"
- "Castaways"
- "Cave Party"
- "High Tea"
- "Eureka!"
- "Polka Palace Party"
- "Monster Detectives"
- "Race Around the World"
Series Two
- "Mission to Mars"
- "Samurai Pie"
- "Scared of You"
- "Whodunit?"
- "The Legend of the Volcano Sisters"
- "Swamp Creature"
- "Horsing Around"
- "Special Delivery"
- "The Secret of Snow"
- "Movers of Arabia"
- "Cops and Robots"
- "Save The Day"
[edit] Toys, Books, Games etc.
Activision released the Backyardigans PC game, Mission to Mars in October 2006.
A book, titled Here Come the Backyardigans is due for release in the UK in March 2007. The story involves Uniqua searching for Pablo; Uniqua is later accompanied by Tyrone, Tasha and Austin. Also due for release in June 2007 are story books for the "Pirate Treasure" and "The Secret of the Nile" episodes. Other, more educational books (dealing with things like numbers, counting etc.) are also scheduled for release by the end of 2007.
Numerous cuddly toys and interactive character toys (mostly Pablo, Uniqua and Tyrone) are also available. Some involve the toy singing songs and using well-known phrases from some of the episodes.
[edit] Opening theme
(Spoken) Pablo: Hi, I'm Pablo.
Tyrone: My name's Tyrone.
Uniqua: I'm Uniqua.
Tasha: I'm Tasha.
Austin: And my name's Austin.
All: And we're...
All: (Sung) Your backyard friends, The Backyardigans.
Together in the backyard again.
Pablo: In the place where we belong
Uniqua: Where we'll probably sing a song
Tasha: And we'll maybe dance along.
All: We've got the whole wide world in our yard to explore.
We always find things we've never seen before.
That's why every day we're back for more
With your friends, the Backyardigans.
[edit] Closing theme
All the characters sing and dance during the closing song. When there is an even number of boy and girl characters – that is, when Tasha is present and Austin is not – they pair off and dance together. When there is an uneven number of boy and girl characters, they all dance together. Uniqua and Tyrone always dance together and Pablo and Tasha always dance together.
All: We've got the whole wide world in our yard to explore! Now it's time for us to have a snack! Meet you next time when we're back with your friends, the Backyardigans!
While the end music fades, all the characters then run into the house of the character that offered the snacks and the view expands to a "birds-eye-view". One character (or more) opens the door back up, jumps into the doorway and uses the catchphrase of the respective episode, going back inside just then.
[edit] Notes
- ^ www.corusent.com/corporate/press_room/pressReleaseDetail.asp?id=1033. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
- ^ www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1542683_3_0_,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
- ^ Reginald Davis Jr was Tyrone's speaking voice for "Mission to Mars", "Scared of You", and "Samurai Pie".
- ^ http://nickjr.co.uk/shows/backyardigans/uniqua.aspx http://www.nelvana.com/shows/characters_template.asp?sid=125&cid=528&#char
- ^ www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1542683_3_0_,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
- ^ www.nelvana.com/shows/characters_template.asp?sid=125&cid=530&char. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
- ^ www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1542683_3_0_,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
