Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! is an American children's educational Flash animated television series created by Bob Boyle.[1] The series was produced by Bolder Media (a joint venture of Frederator Studios and the Mixed Media Group) and Starz Media in association with Film Roman, and it was animated by Bardel Entertainment using both Toon Boom and Adobe Flash software.[2] Boyle submitted his original concept as a book to Frederator Studios, the lead creative partner in Bolder Media. After more than 6000 children's book concepts were reviewed, his submission was selected for development into an animated series for preschoolers. Bob Boyle, Susan Miller, Mark Warner, and Fred Seibert served as executive producers.

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
GenreComedy
Created byBob Boyle
Based onThe Tail of Flopsy, Mopsy, and Ted
by Viviana Ogawa
Voices of
Theme music composerBrad Mossman
Opening theme"Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Theme"
Ending theme"Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Theme" (instrumental)
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes52 (104 segments)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerAndrea Romero (S1)
Editors
  • Mechele Boyett (S1)
  • Bill Charnega (S2)
Running time22-24 minutes (7-11 minutes per segment)
Production companies
Release
Original network
Original releaseAugust 21, 2006 (2006-08-21) –
February 21, 2010 (2010-02-21)
Related
Yin Yang Yo!

Two seasons were produced, totaling 52 episodes (each consisting of two segments).[3] Starz Media owns and distributes the series, and select episodes were aired on the Starz Kids & Family channel. The show has received an Emmy, a KidScreen Best TV Movie award (for Wubb Idol, starring Beyoncé),[4] and a Telly award.

Premise

The show focuses on an anthropomorphic, yellow, rectangular mouse-like creature named Wubbzy, who has various antics with his friends, Widget, a rabbit-like creature who can build; Walden, a bear-like creature who is a brainiac; and since the second season, Daizy, a dog-like creature who loves flowers. They all live in the town of Wuzzleburg, a fictional location with lots of creatures of every type, and all kinds of events are happening in it, especially with Wubbzy.

Episodes
Main article: List of Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
126August 21, 2006 (2006-08-21)June 20, 2008 (2008-06-20)
Specials2August 29, 2008 (2008-08-29)May 1, 2009 (2009-05-01)
226September 2, 2008 (2008-09-02)February 21, 2010 (2010-02-21)

At the end of most episodes of the series, there are songs, composed and sung by Brad Mossman with lyrics by creator Bob Boyle, whose topics that involve social skills, such as friendship, are related to those episodes.

Characters

Main
  • Wubbzy (voiced by Grey DeLisle in the US and Janet James in the UK) is a childish and friendly yellow mouse-like creature. He is small, cute and obsessed with his tail, on which he can bounce like a pogo stick.
  • Widget (voiced by Lara Jill Miller in the US and Julie-Ann Dean in the UK) is a pink rabbit-like creature. She is a mechanical whiz with an incredibly heavy stereotypical Southern accent. She is a builder and engineer who has built all sorts of inventions.
  • Walden (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui in the US and Wayne Forester in the UK) is a purple bear-like creature who speaks with an Australian accent. He is a polymath, brainiac, and scientist. His intellectualism and love for science are a common thread in the show.
  • Daizy (voiced by Tara Strong in the US and Lynn Cleckner in the UK) is a cheerful dog-like creature who is Wubbzy's neighbor. As her name suggests, she loves flowers. She was introduced in Season 2.

Supporting
  • Buggy, Huggy, and Earl (voiced by Grey DeLisle, Lara Jill Miller, Carlos Alazraqui respectively) are 3 friends who sometimes hang out with Wubbzy. Buggy is turquoise, Huggy is light blue, and Earl is orange.
  • Kooky Kid (voiced by Grey DeLisle in the US and Janet James in the UK) is an orange-colored creature who appears when something bizarre happens stating that it's "kooky" while wiggling his fingers.
  • Shine, Shimmer, and Sparkle (voiced by Beyoncé, Tara Strong, and Grey DeLisle respectively) are pop singers known as the Wubb Girlz. All 3 are light-blue colored. Shine is blonde, Shimmer is pink-haired, and Sparkle has green hair.

Recurring
  • Ty Ty the Tool Guy (voiced by Ty Pennington) is an orange-colored resident appeared in the eponym episode, titled Ty Ty the Tool Guy.
  • Policeman (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) is a light orange-colored resident who is a police officer of Wuzzleburg.
  • Chef Fritz (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui in the US and Wayne Forester in the UK) is an orange-colored chef who is a chef of Wuzzleburg.
  • Madame Zabinga (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is a yellow-colored resident who is the only teacher of the local ballet school. She speaks with a French accent.
  • Mayor Whoozle (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) is the eccentricly-dressed mayor of Wuzzleburg.
  • News Reporter (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui in the US and Wayne Forester in the UK) is a news reporter of Wuzzleburg. He is seen in the episode "Widget Gets the Blooey Blues"
  • Miss Bookfinder (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is a librarian of the Wuzzleburg Library. She is first seen in the episode "A Little Help From Your Friends"
  • Moo Moo the Magician (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui in the US and Wayne Forester in the UK) is a magician in Wuzzleburg. He first appears in "Magic Tricks" where he helps Wubbzy learn to do magic tricks.

Reception

Drew Magary of Deadspin criticized the program as "the loudest goddamn show on television... like someone took a bag of sound effects and bludgeoned you to death with it." Magary concludes that the series is "not merely bad, it’s actively harmful. It’s everything a children’s program should never be: shrill, inane, and overly stimulating."[5]

Broadcast

Starz currently holds most distribution rights. Nickelodeon had aired the series[6] from August 21, 2006, to February 21, 2010, and in Canada, Treehouse TV had aired episodes before moving to Playhouse Disney (later Disney Junior). The last airing on Nickelodeon was on December 20, 2010.[7] Reruns aired on the separate sister channel, Nick Jr. from 2009 to 2014, when Nickelodeon and Paramount Global's broadcast rights in the United States expired. All mentions of the show were completely removed from the Nick Jr. website. Since that time, Starz Media has been the only worldwide distributor.

International

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! has aired internationally. In Latin America, the series was aired initially on Discovery Kids Latin America from October 8, 2007, to 2016.

It also aired on TG4 in Ireland, DR2 in Denmark, Baraem TV in Arab countries, Super RTL in Germany, Hop! Channel in Israel, and Discovery Kids in Latin America and Brazil. The series is shown on Canal Panda, Clan, and RTP2 in Portugal and Spain.

A British English dub was aired on Nick Jr. from 2006 to 2013. A translated version of the series has been a popular addition to the "Cúla 4" children's programming lineup on the Irish language television channel TG4 since January 2011. The show has been dubbed in 15 languages and aired in over 100 countries around the world.

Home media

In UK and Australia, Season 1, Volumes 1–2 (Episodes 1–14, and 15–26) were released as season DVD boxes; these were not released in the United States.

Starz's now-defunct subsidiary, Anchor Bay Entertainment (Lionsgate Home Entertainment) has released 21 DVD compilations, the first of which was released on September 23, 2008.

Title Season(s) Episode count Release date Episodes
Wubbzy's Big Movie! 1 8 May 12, 2009 "Wubbzy's Big Movie!"
A Tale of Tails September 23, 2008 "A Tale of Tails", "Special Delivery", "Widget's Wild Ride", "Attack of the 50-Foot Fleegle", "Come Spy with Me", "Wubbzy Tells a Whopper", "Mt. Fizzy Pop", and "Puddle Muddle"
A Little Help from My Friends February 3, 2009 "A Little Help From Your Friends", "Clean Sweep", "Mr. Cool", "Wubbzy in the Middle", "Gidget the Super Robot", "Broken Record", "Widget Gets the Blooey Blues", and "Where's My Wiggle Wrench?"
Pirate Treasure 1, 2 7 March 24, 2009 "Pirate Treasure", "Wubbzy in the Woods", "Walden on the Beach", "The Grass is Always Plaider", "Goo Goo Grief", "Everything's Coming Up Wubbzy", and "Save the Wuzzly"
Wubbzy Goes Boo! 6 September 8, 2009 "Wubbzy's Magical Mess-up", "Tea for Three", "Monster Madness", "The Last Leaf", "The Ghost of Wuzzleburg", and "March of the Pumpkins"
Wubbzy's Christmas Adventure October 20, 2009 "Snow Day", "O' Figgity Fig Tree", "The Snow Shoo Shoo", "Dash for Dolly", "Great and Grumpy Holiday", and "The Super Special Gift"
Go for Gold! 7 February 16, 2010 "Run For Fun", "What A Card", "The Wubbzy Shuffle", "Hoop Dreamz", "Wubbzy's Big Idea", "Rush Hour", and "The Tired Tail"
Wubbzy Goes Green 5 April 6, 2010 "Save the Wuzzly", "All Bottled Up", "Too Much Of A Doodle Thing!", "Zoo Hullabaloo", and "The Flight Of The Flutterfly"
Escape From Dino Island 7 May 4, 2010 "Escape From Dino Island", "Wubbzy the Hero", "Call of the Mild", "Wubbzy and the Sparkle Stone", "Daizy's Purple Thumb", "Mt. Fizzy Pop", and "Too Much of a Doodle Thing!"
Wubbzy Goes to School 6 August 3, 2010 "Who Needs School", "Gotta Dance", "Magic Tricks", "Wubbzy the Star", "New Kid on the Block", and "You Gotta Have Art"
Fly Us to the Moon November 16, 2010 "Warp Speed Wubbzy", "Fly Us to the Moon", "Tooth or Dare", "Wonder Wubbzy", "The Super Fixers", and "All Bottled Up"
Wubbzy Be Mine 3 January 4, 2011 "Mr. Valentine", "Cupid's Little Helper", and "My Speedy Valentine"
Wubbzy's Egg-Cellent Easter 6 March 1, 2011 "Eggs Over Easy", "Big Bunny Blues", "Flower Day Parade", "Watch The Birdie", "Wubbzy Bounces Back", and "The Flight Of The Flutterfly"
Wubbzy Saves the Day May 3, 2011 "Follow the Leader", "Bye Bye Birdies", "Moo Moo's Snoozity Snooze", "Woozy Walden", "The Nasty Nose", and "Daizy's Favorite Place"
Wubbzy and the Fire Engine September 13, 2011 "Wubbzy And The Fire Engine", "What Would Wubbzy Do?", "Ty Ty The Tool Guy", "Mr. Unlucky", "Wuzzleburg Express", and "Hangin' With Mr. Gummy"
The Wubb Club 7 January 3, 2012 "The Wubb Club", "Who's That Girl?", "Wubbzy's Big Move", "Wubbzy's Rainy Day", "Daizy's Hair Salon", "Quiet Wubbzy!", and "Meet the Wuzzles"
A Wuzzleburg Tale 2 6 April 3, 2012 "Once Upon a Wubbzy", "Big Birthday Mystery", "Welcome to the Dollhouse", "Happily Ever After", "Too Many Wubbzys", and "Focus Wubbzy"
Best of Wubbzy 1, 2 7 September 18, 2012 "Follow the Leader", "The Wubbzy Shuffle", "Wubbzy the Star", "Tooth or Dare", "Wubbzy's Big Makeover", "Wubbzy Bounces Back!", and "Wubbzy the Hero"
Best of Widget 1 January 8, 2013 "Widget's Wild Ride", "Gotta Dance", "Gidget the Super Robot", "Eggs Over Easy", "Widget Gets the Blooey Blues", "The Super Fixers", and "Where's My Wiggle Wrench?"
Best of Walden 1, 2 April 9, 2013 "Perfecto Party", "Mr. Cool", "Walden On The Beach", "Woozy Walden", "Goo Goo Grief", "The Last Leaf", and "Come Spy With Me"
Best of Daizy 2 July 9, 2013 "Who's That Girl", "Welcome To The Dollhouse", "Daizy's Hair Salon", "Daizy's Favorite Place", "Wonder Wubbzy", "Daizy's Purple Thumb", and "Once Upon A Wubbzy"

References
  1. Frederator Studios "Our Shows"
  2. "Meet Wubbzy's Creator". Nick Jr. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  3. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 345. ISBN 9781476672939.
  4. "Wubb Idol" DVD on Amazon
  5. "Why Your Children's Television Program Sucks: Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!". February 28, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  6. "Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Debuts on Nick Jr. | Animation World Network". August 29, 2006.
  7. "List of airings". Nickandmore.com. Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! last aired: Dec-20-2010
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