Curious Buddies
Curious Buddies is a series of direct-to-video specials narrated by Cathy Richardson.[1] It was produced by Spiffy Pictures for Nickelodeon. The series was released across seven videos from August 31, 2004, to April 12, 2005.
| Curious Buddies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Early childhood series |
| Created by |
|
| Written by |
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| Directed by | David Rudman |
| Narrated by | Cathy Richardson |
| Theme music composer | Third Wave Productions |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | David Rudman Todd Hannert Adam Rudman |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Spiffy Pictures Nick Jr. Baby |
| Release | |
| Original release | August 31, 2004 – April 12, 2005 |
| Related | |
| Jack's Big Music Show | |
The series is aimed at babies and toddlers. It was made to compete with the Baby Einstein line.[2][3] Every video was written with the supervision of developmental psychologist Rachel Barr, and the DVDs feature a voiceover from Barr.[4] The main characters are five animal puppets that were built by Rollie Krewson (known for her work with The Muppets).
One of the DVDs, "Helping at Home", was the recipient of a Spring 2005 Parents' Choice Award.[5]
Summary
Dog, Cat, Bear, Pig and Elephant are the Curious Buddies, a group of five animal puppets who have fun exploring the world around them. Every episode features real-life kids helping the puppets and original music clips.
According to a New York Post article, Curious Buddies was designed as an alternative to the successful Baby Einstein series. To differentiate itself, Curious Buddies features a pop song soundtrack (instead of the classical music found in Baby Einstein) and videos of real-life situations rather than indoor close-ups of toys.[2]
Episodes
Nine episodes were made.
| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Look and Listen at the Park" | August 31, 2004 | |
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The Curious Buddies go to the park, where they play peekaboo, bounce a ball and smell flowers. Songs: "Look and Listen", "It's a Ball!" (tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It"), "Tickle Me, Tickle You" (tune: "Frere Jacques"), "If You're Happy and You Know It", "Up and Down", "Peekaboo", "Flower Song", "Picnic" | |||
| 2 | "Exploring at the Beach" | August 31, 2004 | |
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The Curious Buddies go to the beach, where they listen to the waves and discover sea creatures while playing in the sand. Songs: "Let's Go to the Beach", "I Like Sand" (tune: "This Old Man"), "The Water Song", "Have You Ever Seen a Fishy?" (tune: "The More We Get Together"), "Walking on the Beach" | |||
| 3 | "Helping at Home" | August 31, 2004 | |
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The Curious Buddies help a family with chores. Songs: "I Can Help You", "Fruit Salad", "In and Out (Washing the Dog)", "My Baby Brother", "I Can Help You Too" | |||
| 4 | "Let's Go to the Farm!" | April 12, 2005 | |
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The Curious Buddies visit a farm, where they go on a hayride and meet the different animals. Songs: "Cows and Chickens and Pigs", "Curious Buddies Had a Farm" (tune: "Old MacDonald Had a Farm"), "Quack Quack Waddle Waddle", "Curious Buddies Square Dance", "I Love You", "On a Farm" | |||
| 5 | "Let's Build!" | April 12, 2005 | |
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The Curious Buddies watch construction vehicles in action and build their own buildings out of blocks. Songs: "Build it Up", "My Excavator", "Try Try Again", "Kids and Tools Instrumental", "Every Dog Needs a House" | |||
| 6 | "Let's Move!" | April 12, 2005 | |
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The Curious Buddies discover different forms of music and dance. Songs: "I Like the Way You Move", "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", "Curious Buddies Move Along Song", "Shake-a-Rama Go Go Go", "Time to Get Loose", "Ring Around the Rosie", "I Still Like the Way You Move" | |||
| 7 | "Let's Make Music!" | April 12, 2005 | |
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The Curious Buddies experiment with different instruments and discover how to make music. Songs: "Let's Make Music!", "Twinkle Twinkle", "Mary Had a Little Lamb", "Musical Birds", "Bang, Blow, Strum" | |||
| 8 | "I Can Do It!" | Unreleased | |
| This episode did not get a DVD release, but it was listed on the Spiffy Pictures website.[6] | |||
| 9 | "It's Story Time!" | Unreleased | |
| This episode did not get a DVD release, but it was listed on the Spiffy Pictures website.[6] | |||
References
- Rathbun, Andy (August 19, 2005). "Curious Buddies: How did a Chicago pub rocker get involved with kids' videos?". Chicago Tribune.
- Gould, Jennifer (August 27, 2004). "Kids' video wars rattle industry". New York Post.
- "Nickelodeon Grows Beyond TV-Based Products". Los Angeles Times. October 12, 2004.
- "A teacher in the living room? Educational media for babies, toddlers and preschoolers" (PDF). Kaiser Family Foundation. December 2005.
- "Nick Jr. Baby Curious Buddies". Parents' Choice Foundation. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- "Curious Buddies - SpiffyPictures.com". Archived from the original on 2006-12-05.