Peep and the Big Wide World

Peep and the Big Wide World (PATBWW) is an animated children's television series created by Danish-Canadian animator Kaj Pindal. It revolves around the lives of Peep, Chirp, and Quack, as viewers discover, investigate, and explore the world around them.[3]

Peep and the Big Wide World
Also known asPeep
GenreEducational
Children's television series
Comedy
Created byKaj Pindal[1][2]
Directed byRick Marshall
Voices ofScott Beaudin (1-3)
Shawn Molko (4)
Maxwell Uretsky (5)
Jamie Watson
Amanda Soha
Narrated byJoan Cusack
Theme music composerSteve D'Angelo
Terry Tompkins
Opening theme"Peep and the Big Wide World" performed by Taj Mahal
Ending theme"Peep and the Big Wide World" (instrumental)
Country of originCanada
United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes60 (240 segments)
Production
Executive producerKate Taylor
ProducersVince Commisso
Marisa Wolsky
Running time22–25 minutes
Production companiesWGBH Boston
9 Story Entertainment
TVOntario
Discovery Kids
Eggbox LLC
National Film Board of Canada
Release
Original networkTVOKids (Canada)
TLC (2004–08) and Discovery Kids (2004–10) (seasons 1-3) (U.S.)
PBS Kids Member Stations (seasons 4-5) (U.S.)
Original releaseOriginal series:
April 12, 2004 (2004-04-12) – September 14, 2007 (2007-09-14)
Revival series:
January 4, 2010 (2010-01-04) 
October 14, 2011 (2011-10-14)

The show was based on the 1988 short film of the same name produced by the National Film Board of Canada,[4] which itself is based on the 1962 short film The Peep Show,[5] also produced by the National Film Board of Canada. The series premiered on April 12, 2004, on Discovery Kids and on TLC as part of their Ready Set Learn children's block in the United States, and on TVOKids in Canada. It was produced by WGBH Boston (through its kids division WGBH Kids) and 9 Story Media Group (formerly 9 Story Entertainment), in association with TVOntario and Discovery Kids and is distributed by Alliance Atlantis (through AAC Kids).

Carriage on the Discovery children's networks ended on October 10, 2010 with the discontinuation of Ready Set Learn and the replacement of Discovery Kids with The Hub, and now, Discovery Family. From April 1, 2007 through January 2, 2018, it was offered to public television stations via independent public television distributor American Public Television. Beginning January 1, 2018, the series was distributed by PBS Kids. U.S. broadcasts ended December 26, 2021.

Throughout its run, it has been underwritten by the National Science Foundation, with Northrop Grumman underwriting season four in 2010.

Each episode consists of two 9-minute stories, which are animated segments, and two 2-minute live action segments, in which children explore and demonstrate the same topic presented in the animated segment. The show is narrated by Joan Cusack.

Overview

Viewers follow Peep, Chirp, and Quack as they investigate and explore the world around them. Following the 9-minute animated episode, there is a 2-minute live-action segment which features children exploring and demonstrating the same topic presented in the episode. The animation consists of bright colors and simple shapes, which simulates and reflects a youthful art style.

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
126April 12, 2004 (2004-04-12)May 17, 2004 (2004-05-17)
213May 2, 2005 (2005-05-02)September 27, 2006 (2006-09-27)
310April 16, 2007 (2007-04-16)September 14, 2007 (2007-09-14)
46January 4, 2010 (2010-01-04)February 12, 2010 (2010-02-12)
55October 10, 2011 (2011-10-10)October 14, 2011 (2011-10-14)

Season 1 (2004)

Episode № Segment names Original airdate
Total Season First segment Second segment
11Spring ThingSpringy Thingy12 Apr 2004
22A Duck's TaleQuack's Tracks13 Apr 2004
33Quack and the Very Big RockShadow Play14 Apr 2004
44Current EventsQuack Loses His Hat15 Apr 2004
55Night LightSounds Like...16 Apr 2004
66The Windy DayPeep Feet19 Apr 2004
77Newton's Big AdventurePeep Crosses the Road20 Apr 2004
88Stormy WeatherPeep in Rabbitland21 Apr 2004
99Quack's Stuck StickPeep's Can22 Apr 2004
1010Under DuckAll Fall Down23 Apr 2004
1111The Perils of Peep and ChirpHoop Tricks26 Apr 2004
1212Save It For LaterThe Red Ballmoon27 Apr 2004
1313Chirp Builds a NestStuck Duck28 Apr 2004
1414The Real DecoyPeep's Lost Leaf29 Apr 2004
1515Birds of a FeatherThe Incredible Shrinking Duck30 Apr 2004
1616Go West Young PeepA Delicate Balance3 May 2004
1717The Fish MuseumPeep's Night Out4 May 2004
1818There's No Place Like HomeFlipping Newton5 May 2004
1919Chirp's Flight ProgramMirror Mirror in the Dump6 May 2004
2020Bridge the GapMeeting Half-Way7 May 2004
2121Peep Plants a SeedThe Root Problem10 May 2004
2222Hide and Go PeepA Peep of a Different Color11 May 2004
2323That's a CatFaster than a Duck12 May 2004
2424Quack Hatches an EggThe Whatchamacallit13 May 2004
2525Wandering BeaverPeep's New Friend14 May 2004
2626The Trip to Green IslandGive Me a Call17 May 2004

Season 2 (2005-2006)

Episode № Segment names Original airdate
Total Season First segment Second segment
271Finders KeepersQuack Quiets the Universe2 May 2005
282Peep's Moon MissionThe Many Moons of Quack the Duck3 May 2005
293The Mystery of the Thing That Went and Came BackPeep's Color Quest4 May 2005
304Reflection AffectionPeep Deep in the Big Muddy5 May 2005
315Chirp Sorts it Out (Sort Of)Hear Here!6 May 2005
326Dry Duck9 May 2005
337Snow DazeFlower Shower10 May 2005
348Who Stole the Big Wide World?M-U-D Spells Trouble11 May 2005
359Finding TimeSmaller than a Peep12 May 2005
3610Quack QuackOne Duck Too Many13 May 2005
3711Count Them OutPeep Prints25 Sep 2006
3812Stick With MeTree Feller26 Sep 2006
3913A Daring DuckThe Trouble With Bubbles27 Sep 2006

Season 3 (2007)

Episode № Segment names Original airdate
Total Season First segment Second segment
401The Tooth, the Whole Tooth, and Nothing but the ToothThe Winter of Quack's Discontent16 Apr 2007
412Nosing AroundThe Last Straw17 Apr 2007
423The Disappearing DrinkDoor Tour18 Apr 2007
434In a BindStar Light, Star Bright19 Apr 2007
445Bedtime StoryThe Deep Duck Woods20 Apr 2007
456I Spy a SpiderRobin in the Bat Cave10 Sep 2007
467Marble MoverFair Shares11 Sep 2007
478The Feats of PeepQuack Goes Nuts12 Sep 2007
489The Sounds of Silence13 Sep 2007
4910Big BirdChirp Flies the Coop14 Sep 2007

Season 4 (2010)

Episode № Segment names Original airdate
Total Season First segment Second segment
501Magic Duck DancingChirp Chirp Tweet Tweet Chirp4 Jan 2010
512You Can Count on BunniesFalling Feathers8 Jan 2010
523Bringing SpringQuack's Pond Party25 Jan 2010
534An Inconvenient Tooth29 Jan 2010
545Trading PlacesThe House of Sand and Frog8 Feb 2010
556The Lurmies are ComingQuack's Square Deal12 Feb 2010

Season 5 (2011)

Episode № Segment names Original airdate
Total Season First segment Second segment
561Two's a Crowd10 Oct 2011
572The Road Not Taken11 Oct 2011
583Soap OperaDiva Duck12 Oct 2011
594Quack and the Amazing Sandy MagicDuckball13 Oct 2011
605Things That Go Peep in the NightMud Muddle14 Oct 2011

Characters

Main

  • Peep (Voiced by Scott Beaudin[6] in the first 3 seasons, Shawn Molko in Season 4 and Maxwell Uretsky in Season 5): A male, yellow chicken who is very curious. He is the youngest bird of the group. The show's title is derived from his name. Peep is female in the original short film.
  • Chirp (Voiced by Amanda Soha): A female, red robin who is also curious, and attempts frequently to fly, with unsatisfying results, until "A Daring Duck", when she flies from the ground. In "Big Bird" she meets a real robin for the first time. She is Peep and Quack's friend. Chirp is male in the original short film.
  • Quack (Voiced by Jamie Watson): A male, blue-purple duckling who wears a white sailor's hat. He is older than Peep and Chirp, as they are still chicks. He frequently boasts about himself and ducks as a whole, and unwittingly makes many discoveries. Quack is purple in the original short film and is now referred to as blue, but is still quite indigo. He also seems to have a hoarding issue, as evidenced in the episode "An Inconvenient Tooth, Part 1."
  • The Narrator (Voiced by Joan Cusack): The Narrator tells the episode's story, although the characters rarely have any interaction with her. In the episodes "Dry Duck, Part 1" the birds did have a short interaction with her and in "Quack Quiets the Universe" she and Quack interact as well.

Minor

  • Ant (Voiced by Robert Tinkler): A busy male ant who appears in some episodes.
  • Beaver Boy (Voiced by Tessa Marshall): A young naïve male beaver who lives in an adjoining pond to Quack's. He appears in several episodes. His desire to please his mom and dad often results in him chewing down too many trees. He often calls Quack "Blue Sailor" Peep "Yellow Guy" and Chirp "Red Round".
  • Beaver Mom: (Voiced by Debra McGrath) Beaver Boy's workaholic mother.
  • Beaver Dad (Voiced by Phillip Williams): Beaver Boy's businesslike father.
  • Dragonfly (Voiced by Catherine Disher): A quiet dragonfly.
  • Fish: Cohabitants of Quack's pond.
  • Frog: A frog who lives in Quack’s pond. He rarely talks.
  • Hoot (Voiced by Corinne Conley): A menacing, but kind purple female owl who lives in the Deep Dark Woods.
  • Nellie (Voiced by Marium Carvell): A red female dog who acts as a seemingly maternal figure for the birds.
  • Newton (Voiced by Colin Fox): An old, male, dark-green turtle who lives under an apple tree.
  • Quack #2 (Voiced by Megan Mullally): An annoying pink female duck who has her own pond, built by Quack, Peep, Chirp, Beaver Boy and his parents.
  • Rabbit (Voiced by Jayne Eastwood): An excitable and somewhat distracted rabbit.
  • Robin (Voiced by Holly Hunter): An adult robin.
  • Skunk (Voiced by Adrian Truss): A rather deadpan skunk who lives near Quack's pond.
  • Bat (Voiced by Ron Rubin): A shy bat.
  • Squeak (Voiced by Kathleen Laskey): An anxious pink, female mouse who lives under a brick and always worries about what could go wrong.
  • Tom (Voiced by Alex Hood and Matthew Knight): A sly, male blue & black kitten who often tries to eat Peep, Chirp, and Quack. He is the sole antagonist.
  • Raccoon (Voiced by Jeff Lumby): A gobbo, male brown & black raccoon who often tries to wear his sun glasses in "A Peep of a Different Color"
  • Blue Jays (Voiced by David Hudson): Silly blue and white birds who love to cause trouble when they see stuff.

Music composition

Music for Peep and the Big Wide World is composed by Terry Tompkins and Steve D'Angelo, from Eggplant. The opening theme is performed by Taj Mahal.[7]

Broadcast

United States

Peep and the Big Wide World was originally broadcast on TLC and Discovery Kids — the latter as part of the Ready Set Learn preschool block —, from April 12, 2004 to September 14, 2007. Reruns of the first three seasons continued to air until October 8, 2010 when Discovery Kids discontinued the block to make way for the new network to launch known as The Hub on October 10.

The last two seasons were broadcast exclusively on select local public television stations with episodes distributed by APT from January 4, 2010[8] to October 14, 2011, though second-runs of previous episodes began as early as April 1, 2007.[9] APT continued distributing reruns through December 2017, well after commercial networks dropped the program. A total of 60 episodes (120 segments) were broadcast.

On January 1, 2018, reruns of Peep and the Big Wide World began airing on the 24-hour PBS Kids channel, marking the first time the series aired nationally on PBS Kids. Despite being a production of PBS station WGBH, Peep and the Big Wide World was turned down by PBS in 2003 in favor of developing programming directed at "slightly older children".[10] (The series was geared toward preschool children ages 3–5; meanwhile, PBS eventually launched the PBS Kids Go! block in 2004 which was intended for children above the preschool level.) The broadcast of the series ended on December 26, 2021, when it was replaced with reruns of Dinosaur Train to the 7:30 a.m. weekend morning timeslot.

APT and PBS Kids broadcasts of Peep and the Big Wide World were paired with a short episode from Pocoyo which aired immediately after each show from 2010 to 2021.

Media

Home video

WGBH Boston Video released the episodes of the first season on DVD in 2005. The 2005 DVD releases each contained six segments of the specified subject; Peep Explores, Peep Finds, Peep Floats, Peep's New Friends, Chirp Flies, and Quack Knows It All. The 2007 DVD release, Peep Figures It Out contained six segments as usual, plus two bonus segments. In 2011, PBS Kids Video released two DVDs; Seasons of Adventure, and Star Light, Star Bright, which contains episodes from seasons two and three respectively. In 2012, PBS Kids Video released two more DVDs; Finders Keepers and Bringing Spring. In 2014, PBS Kids Video released two more DVDs; Diva Duck, and Peep Discovers (which was once available as a limited release to retail stores). As of 2020, all of these DVDs are now out of print and very hard to find, but commonly found at public libraries. In Canada, Entertainment One released three DVDs in both English and French languages; Stick With Me, Peep's Moon Mission, and Flower Shower.

References

  1. "Peep and the Big Wide World". National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  2. Lerner, Loren Ruth (1997). Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature, Volume 1. University of Toronto Press. p. 218. ISBN 0802029884.
  3. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 447–448. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  4. "Peep and the Big Wide World". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  5. "The Peep Show". National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  6. "Peep and the Big Wide World Credits 2004". YouTube. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  7. Opening video, with lyrics and credits on official page
  8. "Entry not found in index season NOT FOUND". Archived from the original on 2015-09-10.
  9. "PEEP FAQ". Archived from the original on 20 April 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  10. Finucane, Martin (27 May 2003). "WGBH to Produce Commercial Show for Kids". Edwardsville Publishing Company. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
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