Hoops & Yoyo

Hoops & Yoyo (stylized as hoops&yoyo) is an animated franchise by Hallmark Cards that centers around the titular pair of hyperactive and rambunctious characters. The characters were created by Bob Holt and Mike Adair in 2003, who also voice the duo. While the franchise is primarily a line of greeting cards, the characters also had a website that featured: e-cards, animated episodes, an "Ask hoops & yoyo" section, desktop and phone wallpapers, audio snippets, IM icons, fan photos, interactive monthly calendars, a blog, a podcast, games, and merchandise available for purchase. The plotlines for Hoops & Yoyo-related content center around the titular characters having fun and enjoying life, occasionally alongside their other friends.[1][2] The last piece of content produced for the franchise to date was the fourth episode of its podcast in 2015.[3]

Hoops & Yoyo
Hallmark (Hallmark Cards, Hallmark Channel) character
Hoops (left), Yoyo (right), Piddles (center)
First appearanceSeptember 11, 2003
Created byBob Holt & Mike Adair

Characters
  • Hoops (voiced by Mike Adair) – Hoops is a sassy pink cat who is best friends with Yoyo. He often gets excited and starts yelling or talking fast. He likes coffee, donuts, and his two best friends, Yoyo and Piddles.
  • Yoyo (voiced by Bob Holt) – Yoyo is a green rabbit. He is excitable and prone to mistakes. Yoyo shares the same hyperactive qualities and food preferences as his best friend, Hoops.
  • Piddles (voiced by Bev Carlson) – Piddles is a small, blue hamster who is a close friend to Hoops and Yoyo, and she has a high-pitched voice and is highly intelligent.
  • Chili Bear (voiced by Peter Martin) – Chili Bear is Hoops and Yoyo's boss at work. He only talks very rarely, and was mostly seen on the Hoops and Yoyo website.
  • Marshy (voiced by Mike Adair) – Marshy is a marshmallow monster that antagonizes Hoops and Yoyo, and also appears in their nightmares. He sometimes does things wrong, and always talks about him being so large.
  • Puck – Puck is a purple mouse that occasionally appeared on the Hoops and Yoyo website's homepages.
  • Bluebird – Bluebird is a bluebird that appeared on the Hoops and Yoyo website.

Television

The characters were used on the Hallmark Channel in November and December 2009-2010 as part of a programming block titled "Hallmark Channel's Movie Night with Hoops & Yoyo." This is the first time that Hallmark Cards and Hallmark Channel collaborated on a project together.[4] On November 25, 2011, CBS premiered a Hoops & Yoyo Christmas TV special produced by Hallmark, titled Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas.[5] On October 26, 2012, Hallmark Channel aired a sequel, Hoops & Yoyo's Haunted Halloween.

Albums

In December 2005, Hallmark released a Hoops & Yoyo holiday CD entitled Jingle Jingle Wiggle. It features both vocal and instrumental music. All of the music is played by Yoyo. The CD also features the animated short "A Bongo Christmas." They have also released a CD entitled One Donut a Day! on July 1, 2007. It includes 19 short songs.

Controversy

In 2010, Hallmark pulled an astronomy-themed Hoops & Yoyo "talking" graduation card off shelves after members of the Los Angeles, California chapter of the NAACP claimed that it contained a racist message. The greeting card contained the words: "And you black holes -- you're so ominous! And you planets? Watch your back!" However, the Los Angeles NAACP members felt that the card was offensive because "black holes" sounded like "black whores" in the recording. Hallmark denied that the card was in any way racist, but pulled it from its stores nonetheless.[6]

References
  1. Milligan, Mercedes (2009-07-24). "Hallmark's Furry Flash Friends". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  2. "Hoops & Yoyo Website". Archived from the original on June 26, 2012.
  3. hoops&yoyo Valentine's Day tubecast, retrieved 2022-12-19
  4. Eggerton, John (2009-10-19). "Hallmark Channel, Greeting Cards Get Together on Screen Animated greeting card characters to host channel's "Countdown to Christmas"". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  5. Crump, William D. (2017). How the Movies Saved Christmas: 228 Rescues from Clausnappers, Sleigh Crashes, Lost Presents and Holiday Disasters. McFarland & Co. pp. 122–123. ISBN 9781476664880.
  6. "Is this Hallmark graduation card racist?". Orange County Register. 2010-06-03. Archived from the original on 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
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