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The Backyardigans

From Nickelodeon

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The Backyardigans is a children's TV series, created by Janice Burgess and animated using computer-generated imagery, shown on Nick Jr. Debuting in 2004, it currently has 20 episodes. Music for the show is written by Evan Lurie, of The Lounge Lizards, and Douglas Wieselman.

Contents

[edit] The stories

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, 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.

[edit] Characters & voice cast

The members of the voice cast are actual children. Even though the show uses CGI, the dance scenes are based on live-action dancers.

Pablo, Tyrone and Uniqua appear in all 20 episodes. Tasha appears in 12 and Austin in 11. Even though Uniqua is described as "one-of-a-kind", her species has been a point of discussion among some of the show's fans. Many argue that she's a kind of bug, like an ant (because of her antennae) or a ladybug (because of the coloured spots over her body). Others suggest that she comes from another planet. The official Nick Jr website states that both her name and her species are Uniqua.

[edit] DVD releases

As of May 2006, all twenty episodes have been released on DVD. There are five collections of four episodes each: It's Great to Be a Ghost (2005), The Snow Fort (2005), Polka Palace Party (2006), Cave Party (2006), and Surf's Up (2006). In addition, "The Quest for the Flying Rock" and "Race to the Tower of Power" appear respectively on volumes 2 and 3 of the Nick Jr Favorites DVDs.

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.

[edit] Synopses and song listings

[edit] The Yeti

Tyrone and Uniqua track yeti Pablo through the Frozen North, accompanied by Frozen North expert Tasha, who insists that there's no such thing as a yeti.

  • Songs:
    • "Yeti Stomp"
    • "Keep On Snow Going"
    • "Row Your Boat" (tune: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat")
    • "No Such Thing As A Yeti"

Catchphrase: Yeti-yeti-yeti-yeti!

Genre: Funk

[edit] Knights Are Brave and Strong

Uniqua the Pink is sent by Queen Tasha to take a message to the castle of King Austin. She encounters Tyrone and Pablo along the way, and together the three overcome obstacles.

  • Songs:
    • "Queens Are Never Wrong / Knights Are Brave and Strong"
    • "A Message, A Message" (sung to the tune of "A Tisket, a Tasket")
    • "P.U.! (Stinky Swamp Song)"
    • "The Ballad of the Brave Pink Knight"

Catchphrase: Ta tadadaaa!

Genre: Big Band

[edit] Pirate Treasure

Two rival groups of pirates--Uniqua and Austin, and Pablo and Tyrone--each have half of a treasure map.

Catchphrase: Arrr!

Genre: Reggae and Ska

[edit] The Heart of the Rain Forest

Three Tarzans -- Tyrone, Pablo and Austin -- seek to return Sherman to his jungle home, accompanied by the scientist Uniqua.

  • Songs:
    • "I'm Tarzan"
    • "Where in the World"
    • "Into the Thick of It"
    • "Drizzling" (tune: "I'm Called Little Buttercup"} 
"We're Tarzans" {tune: "Two Worlds, One Family"}
 "You and me to the Rescue"
  {Movie logo: "Tarzan Lord of Apes"}


Catchphrase: Tarzan yell

Genre: Gilbert & Sullivan

[edit] Secret Mission

Secret agents Pablo, Uniqua and Tyrone have a mission: sneak into a museum to return a mysterious item to its rightful owner.

Catchphrase: Shhh

Catchphrase: Dun, Dun Dun!

Catchphrase: Doo, Doo-Doo!

Genre: Tango

[edit] Riding the Range

Cowboy Tyrone is on his way to Texas for a hoedown, and he comes across a trio of fellow cowboys - Pablo, Uniqua and Tasha - who're looking for a jumprope, supposedly stolen by a bandit.

  • Songs:
    • "Riding the Range"
    • "There's an Echo"
    • "Texas, Here I Come"
    • "Buffalo Girls & Boys" (tune: "Buffalo Gals")

Catchphrase: YAHOO!!!!

Genre: Hip Hop

[edit] The Key to the Nile

Princess Cleotasha (Tasha) and her loyal royal servants Pablo, Tyrone and Austin seek three presents for the sphinx Uniqua in order to learn the secret to restoring the Nile's flow.

  • Songs:
    • "I Love Being a Princess"
    • "Three Presents to the Sphinx"
    • "I Want My River Back"
    • "Please and Thank You" (tune: "Shine On, Harvest Moon")


Catchphrase (or lack thereof): "Please" and "Thank You".

Cleotasha's Catchphrases: "Bring my stuff!", "Time to wait on me!" (both followed by "Yes, oh Princess" from the servants), and "Oh, for goodness sakes!"


Genre: Broadway Musical

[edit] The Snow Fort

While Mounties Pablo and Tyrone defend the snow fort that guards the world's largest snowball, Ski Patrol members Uniqua and Tasha mistake them for people who need help.

  • Songs:
    • "I'm a Mountie" (tune: "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain")
    • "Ski Patrol to the Rescue"
    • "Snowball Duty"
    • "Who Could It Be?"

Catchphrases: Mounties on duty! & Ski Patrol to the rescue!

Genre: Western Swing

[edit] It's Great to Be a Ghost

In a haunted house, Ghosts Pablo, Uniqua and Tyrone try to scare unsuspecting stranger Tasha.

  • Songs:
    • "It's Great to Be a Ghost"
    • "What's So Scary 'Bout That?"
    • "Hide and Go Boo"
    • "When I'm Booin'" (tune: "When You're Smilin'")

Catchphrase: Boo!

Genre: 1920's jazz

[edit] Viking Voyage

Vikings Pablo, Tyrone and Uniqua seek to discover uncharted lands, though mermaid Tasha has other ideas.

Catchphrase: YAH!!!

Genre: Rockabilly

[edit] The Quest for the Flying Rock

Four explorers find a mysterious map for the legendary Flying Rock atop the Stone Step Hill, but upon a disagreement on what path to choose, Uniqua and Tasha compete with Pablo and Tyrone on a race filled with unknown obstacles.

  • Songs:
    • "Flying Rock Song" (tune: "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here")
    • "Questing, Questing"
    • "Shake Your Body"
    • "Trudge, Trudge, Trudge"

Catchphrase: Float, flutter, fly!

Genre: Disco/'70s pop music/dance pop

[edit] Castaways

Uniqua, Tyrone and Pablo happen to be castaways on a deserted island, and as they struggle to find food and a place to live in, they receive mysterious help. Could it be a mischievous intruder, or just a fellow castaway, maybe Austin, who's too shy to say hello to the others?

  • Songs:
    • "Castaways"
    • "Shy Guy"
    • "Hut by the Sea" (tune: "By the Beautiful Sea")
    • "Who's There?"

Catchphrase: Ahoy!

Genre: Bossa Nova/Brazilian

[edit] Race to the Tower of Power

Two wicked Supervillains, Dr. Shrinky and Yucky-Man - Tyrone and Pablo - are intent on stealing the Key to the World, which lies inside the Tower of Power, and taking over the World - and stopping them is the duty of the Superheroes Weather Woman and Captain Hammer - Uniqua and Austin.

  • Songs:
    • "Superheroes, Supervillians"
    • "Key to the World" (a.k.a. "The Tower of Power") (tune: "Three Blind Mice")
    • "The Sea of Gobbly Goo"
    • "You and Me to the Rescue"

Catchphrases: Wahahaha!! & To the rescue!!!

Genre: Mexican Salsa

[edit] Polka Palace Party

Cowboys Tyrone, Uniqua, Pablo and Austin -- united by a shared love of polka music -- need to get to Cheyenne by sundown in order to play at a surprise birthday party for Sherman the Worman's brother Herman.

  • Songs:
    • "The Worman Polka"
    • "Gotta Love the Clarinet"
    • "Feeding Time, Feeding Time"
    • "River Raft Song" (tune: "Clementine")

Catchprase: Yip yip yip!

Catchphrase: What a coincidence!!

Genre: Polka, naturally

[edit] Surf's Up

Surfer Pablo is on the lookout for Tiki Beach to ride the Perfect Wave, but he can't find it. Little does Pablo know that he must learn a lot of radical moves before he can ride the perfect wave, and he'll only do that with the help of other fellow surfers and a mysterious lifeguard.

  • Songs:
    • "Surf's Up (Ho Daddy)"
    • "Cruisin' the Dunes"
    • "The Rad Moves"
    • "Mystery Lifeguard" (tune: "Guantanamera")

Catchphrase: Cowabunga!

Catchphrase: Ho Daddy!!

Genre: Afro-beat

[edit] Eureka!

On the South Dakota mountains, two brilliant scientists - Uniqua and Tasha - look for the bones of the legendary Flappassaurus, and in their way, they come across two dusty old prospectors - Pablo and Tyrone - in search of gold.

  • Songs:
    • "Those Bones" (tune: "Dem Bones")
    • "Digging for Gold"
    • "Eureka"
    • "One Good Turn Deserves Another"

Catchphrase: "Eureka", of course!

Catchphrase: Gold, I tell ya!!

Genre: Township Jive

[edit] Race Around the World

Austin has never won a race before, but he's well prepared for the diffcult "Race Around the World". And he'll compete with veterans Pablo, Tyrone and Uniqua for his first gold medal.

Catchphrase: Dun da da!

Catchphrase: You never know what happens in a race.

Genre: Zydeco

[edit] Monster Detectives

When Pablo the Soccer Monster takes Uniqua's soccer ball away, she seeks the help of Detective Tyrone to retrieve it from the Soccer Monster's castle, which is devoted to the game of soccer - including pictures of Pelé, Ronnie Radford and (at least in the UK version) Manchester United. Note that in the UK version of the program, all references to "soccer" are translated to "football" instead.

  • Songs:
    • "I Am a Soccer Monster"
    • "The Rules Song"
    • "Hide and Seek" (tune: "When the Saints Go Marching In")
    • "Get the Job Done"

Catchphrase: Soccer! (or "Football" in the UK!)

Genre: Rock and roll

[edit] Cave Party

The Mountain Cave People - Austin and Tasha - invite the Valley Cave People - Uniqua, Pablo and Tyrone - to howl at the moon when it hits the highest peak. And while the three Valley Cave People must get there on time, the two Mountain Cave People must fill their time, all with the help of handy new inventions.

  • Songs:
    • "Three Cheers for Ugh!"
    • "Drumming Song"
    • "Skate Ahead"
    • "The Hokey Pokey"

Catchphrase: Ugh! (which means anything)

Genre: Calypso

[edit] High Tea

When Pablo, Tyrone and Uniqua can't agree on what to do, they let Tasha decide -- and she leads them on a quest for the perfect cup of tea that takes them to Borneo, the Ming Empire (ruled by a grumpy Emperor Austin) and the Gobi Desert.

  • Songs:
    • "Pip Pip Cheerio" (tune: "Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight")
    • "Zip Zip Zip From Tree to Tree"
    • "The Grumpy Emperor"
    • "Galloping Song"

Catchphrase: Pip pip cheerio!

Genre: Irish (traditional)

[edit] Opening Theme

The show opens with the five characters introducing themselves and singing the theme tune.

'Spoken:'

Jack I: Hi, I'm Jack Inglis!

'Jack A: My name's Jack Aldridge!

Tashana: I'm Tashana!

Natti: I'm Natti!

Khailque,and Jerry: Khailque,Jerry.

All: Roo,Ryan:-

'Sung:'

All: Your Backyard friends, the Backyardigans, together in the Back Yard again!

Jack I: In the place where we belong,

Tashana: Where we'll probably sing a song,

Natti: 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! We're 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, they pair off and dance together, but in the case of an uneven number of boy and girl characters, they all dance in a circle.

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!

[edit] Catchphrases

Several characters have phrases that they say in most of their respective episodes, such as:

Pablo (upon discovering a fairly minor problem!): Oh no! Oh boy! Don't lose your heads! We'll find a way! Oh, boy! Oh dear! Oh dear! Uh-oh!

Tyrone (upon the arrival of some sort of deus ex machina): That certainly is convenient!

Tasha (at any time): Oh, for goodness sakes!

Tyrone (at the end of every episode): That was an excellent (type) adventure, don't you think?

Uniqua (On Pablo's catchphrases) : Pablo Pablo

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://nickelodeon.wikia.com/wiki/The_Backyardigans"