| Smeshariki (GoGoRiki) | |
|---|---|
Logo (in Russian) and characters. Back row, L to R: Bobo, Olga, Doco, Chiko, Pogo, Bigo. Front row, L to R: Rosa, Wolli, Otto. |
|
| Genre | Cartoon series |
| Directed by | Denis Chernov |
| Voices of | (See article) |
| Composer(s) | Marina Landa Sergey Vasilyev |
| Country of origin | Russia |
| Language(s) | Russian / English / German / Ukrainian / Italian / Kazakh |
| No. of episodes | 31 (cartoon shorts) (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Ilya Popov |
| Running time | 6 min., 30 sec. (cartoon shorts) (including 20 sec. intro) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel |
CTC |
| First shown in | Russia |
| Original airing |
July 7, 2004 April 15, 2009 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
GoGoRiki, known in Russia as Smeshariki (Russian: Смеша́рики), is a Russian animated television series consisting of 208 episodes of 6 minutes and 30 seconds each, aimed at children of 3 to 8 years. The first episode premiered in Russia on July 7, 2004. English-language distribution rights to the series were acquired by 4Kids Entertainment from worldwide distributor Fun Game Media, Munich[1] and began airing as part of The CW4Kids block on The CW on September 27, 2008.[2] Fun Game Media is also producing a German version, named Kikoriki, which began airing on KI.KA on December 8, 2008.[3][4]
The Smeshariki (the name is derived from "smeshnye" meaning "funny", and "shariki" meaning "little balls") are stylized rounded animals. Each of the 9 characters has a unique personality and a range of interests with no negative characters among them. Plots are built not on the battle of opposing forces but on the unexpected situations the animated characters stumble upon in their interactions deemed similar to the ones that children may encounter in their everyday lives. Much attention was devoted to the humor in the series, some of which has attracted adults as well.
GoGoRiki began its second season in the US on August 22, 2009.
The series was created as part of the cultural-educational project "World Without Violence" as part of the federal program "Forming bulwarks of tolerance and preventing extremism in Russian society". It is made with the help of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and with the participation of the company "Master-Film" at the computer animation studio "Peterburg", which was created in March 2003 specifically for Smeshariki.
In the English version, all nine of the main characters' English names have the suffix "-riki" in them.
Smart Pogo is a sky blue rabbit who firmly believes that everything in the world must be interesting and fun. He loves doing adventurous things such as hiking in the mountains (in the episode "Good News") and diving for treasures. He does not like to fulfill his promises if it is difficult (in the episode "Hives of Boboriki"). He once lost his entire crop of carrots to a slot machine (in the episode "Big Whoop"). Even his house reflects his character: it has two entrances, with an outside ladder leading to the second one on which it is possible to run up. He comes from Hong Kong, China. He was voiced by Dan Green.
Russian's name Krosh (Russian: Крош) derives to Russian word кролик ('krolik' rabbit), it is also an abbreviation of the word Russian: крошка which means "baby" or "crumb".
Loyal Chiko is a magenta hedgehog with purple spiky hair who is quiet and behaved. He is not adventurous like his best friend Pogo; this is because those adventures almost always end poorly for him (in the episode "Good news"). He tries to fulfill all of his promises, no matter how unpalatable they are (in the episode "Promises"). Unlike Pogo, he believes in "Father Frost" ("Santa Claus" in english (in the episode "Operation 'Father Frost'")). His house is in the form of a mushroom and is surrounded by a small garden with apples. Chiko likes to collect various things, and this once almost cost him his friendship with Pogo (in the episode "Collection"). He likes to grow cacti. He looks for them in the desert, where the Big Races take place. He is the only GoGoriki main character to wear glasses. He comes from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was voiced by Jason Anthony Griffith.
Russian's name Yozhik or Ezhik (Russian: Ёжик) formed from the word Yozh (Russian: Ёж, hedgehog) with the Russian diminutive suffix -ik (-ик), which means "a little".
Beautiful Rosa is a light pink pig with red hair who wants to become a princess. More than anything else, she likes to beautify herself and read books about princes and knights (in the episode "A Prince for Nyusha"). She's afraid of scary stories (in the episode "A Scary Story for Nyusha" aka "Scary Stories"). She dreams of becoming a beauty queen (in the episode "Miss Universe"). She can't cook blintzes, but is learning how to (in the episode "Maslenitsa"), and one time went on a submarine to look for pirate gold as ballast (in the episode "Ballast") aka "Treasure Hunt". She loves when guests come to visit her, rather than when she comes as a guest to someone else's place (in the episode "How to Quickly Gather Friends" aka "It's About Time"). She seems to be attracted to Wolliriki and both she and Chikoriki appear to be the youngest. She comes from Paris, France. She also helps Olga cook. Her love interest is Wolliriki and her dream is to marry him. She was voiced by Bella Hudson.
Russian's name Nyusha (Russian: Нюша) means a little name from Russian Anastasiya, Anna or Tanya girl names. Also it can mean Piggy (as rhyme for Hryusha (Russian: Хрюша) or a shortening for svinyusha (Russian: Свинюша), a colloquial affectionate diminutive word for Свинья, pig).
Confident Wolli is a lavender ram with violet horns who is a poet. He loves to create poetry, though it doesn't always come to him. He sometimes goes to extraordinary lengths to find inspiration (in the episode "Play, Soccer!"). Wolli is a "night owl" in that he goes to sleep late and wakes up late (in the episode "Live Clocks"). He's afraid of heights (in the episode "Talisman"). He dabbles in music sometimes, though sometimes with poor results (in the episode "La"). Sometimes through outside circumstances he finds himself in an adventure (in the episode "Goodbye, Barash."). He feels that becoming sick is a good thing. Wolli appears to be attracted to Rosa in turn, but is much less outgoing about it. He comes from Tokyo, Japan. His love interest is Rosariki and his best friend is Bigoriki. He was voiced by Wayne Grayson.
Russian's name Barash (Russian: Бараш) means a cute ram
Lazy Bigo is a dark blue crow who is an artist in the widest sense of the word. Sometimes, his artistry leads to some bad results: for example, he once hit a goal into his own net because he tried to hit a goal into the opposing net in an artistic way ("Football, First Time"). He believes that one should sleep during the day as well. One time this helped Otto, who took a nap while steering a seaplane which then accidentally picked up the sleeping Bigoriki in his rocking chair (in the episode "Flights in Dream and Feel") aka "Dreams in the Sky". Bigo once destroyed eight telegraph devices with a hammer that Pogo and Chiko found in Otto's stores, after they started communicating with each other exclusively through them (in the episode "The Telegraph"). His house is peculiar in that it is painted only on the front. Despite being a crow, he appears incapable of flight. He comes from Rio Claro, Trinidad. His love interest is Olgariki. He was voiced by Mike Pollock.
Russian's name Kar Karych (Russian: Кар Карыч) stands for name and patronymic. "Kar" means Caw. So, i suppose, he can be named Caw Cawson.
Sweet and sensible Olga is a purple owl who is the doctor of the village. She can cure anything, though she often tends to misdiagnose illnesses. She lives in the den of a big tree on a high hill in the north-east of the country. She teaches Rosa how to cook pancaкes (in the episode "Pancake week") and had a book of recipes for almost any occasion until Rosa accidentally ruined it. If anyone is depressed, she tries to raise their spirits (in the episode "Plywood Sun"). She can be a bit scatterbrained at times, as she often tries to do many things at once. As with Bigoriki, she, too, appears incapable of flight. Though nobody's age is revealed, she and Bigo seem to be the oldest and the two of them are revealed to be the parents of the rest of the main characters in the movie, Gogoriki:The 1st Generation. She comes from Moscow, Russia. Her love interest is Bigoriki and she hopes to fall in love with him. She was voiced by Jessica Calvello.
Russian's name Sovunya (Russian: Совунья) formed from the word Sova (Russian: Сова, owl) with Russian suffix -unya (-унья), which mean "attend to", "someone who does it".
Artistic Otto is a black and white penguin with a red bill and legs who a self-taught inventor who speaks with a German accent. He constructs anything from anything and doesn't care how well it works; to him, the process is the most important thing. He once constructed a garbage incinerator that ate half of his own fence and notebook and Chiko's doormat (in the episode "The Energy of the Snore"). This machine helped them later when they found in their lagoon several dozen barrels of oil which were leaking (in the episode "Small Big Sea"). He made a computer for Docoriki (in the episode "Triumph of Reason"), a lawn mower for Boboriki (in the episode "Repair is a Collective Job"), a snowmobile for himself (in the episode "Where Does the Old Year Go?"), a fireworks machine (in the episode "Day of Fairness"), a robot for Pogo and Chiko, whom they couldn't take (in the episode "Metallic Nanny"), and the robot Robo. He has an irrational distaste for gaspacho, a soup traditionally served chilled (which Otto considers wrong, as he feels soup should be hot). He sleeps in a specially-equipped refrigerator which stands in his home. He comes from London, United Kingdom. He was voiced by Darren Dunstan.
Voice: Michail Chernyak (Russian), Darren Dunstan (English)
An intelligent, yellow and silver robot which Ottoriki created. First he learned everything that Ottoriki could teach him, and then disappeared (in the episode "Roboriki and His Dad"). After some time he came back and it was found out that he had been in space and had come to visit for a little while (in the episode "Roboriki's Holidays"). After some time Ottoriki decided to go and look for him (in the episode "Cosmic Odyssey"). He comes from Berlin, Germany.
Irripressable Doco is a golden yellow moose with beigh antlers who is a real scientist. His home is filled with books and a computer built by Otto. He can predict the weather (in the episode "Meteorology") and the future (in the episode "A Gift of Fate"). At the time of Pogo, Chiko, and Wolli's ascent up the tallest mountain, he had a communication station at his home, with the second belonging to Pogo (in the episode "Good News"). He tends to be quite patronizing when explaining something to someone, though he does often know what he's talking about. He comes from Cairo, Egypt. His best friend is Boboriki. He was voiced by David Wills.
Russian's name Losyash (Russian: Лосяш) formed from the word Los' (Russian: Лось, moose) with Russian suffix -yash (-яш), which mean "little", "cute".
Voice: Michail Chernyak (Russian), David Wills (English)
Shy Bobo is a golden beige bear who is a farmer, capable of growing everything except pineapples. It's him who grows the best carrots for Pogo, some mushrooms for Chiko, and the best cherrys for the pirogs of Bigo. He has several fields adjoining his property, on which he grows wheat and fagopyrum. Otto sprays them with insecticide them with his seaplane (in the episode "Flights in Dream and Feel"), and it is there that Chiko drew his portrait. Bobo owns several beehives and has occasional honey binges, which isn't good for him because he is allergic to it. He comes from a desert in Chihuahua, Mexico. He is also a beekeeper in Mexico. When his cheeks turn red, Rosariki gives him a kiss, flowers, or when she makes him blush from side to side. His best friend is Docoriki. He was voiced by David Wills.
Also Bobo is superhero in the past what you can see in the movie "GoGoRiki The Movie: Begin" which will start in Russian cinemas December 22th 2011.
Russian's name Kopatych (Russian: Копатыч) formed from the word Kopat' (Russian: Копать, to dig, to shovel) with Russian patronymic suffix -ich (-ич or -ыч)
Voice: Michail Chernyak (Russian), David Wills (voice actor) (English)
A character from a ghost story that Pogo and Chiko had told to Rosa; she later encountered a mysterious stranger who might have been the handsome prince (although it isn't made clear if the meeting actually took place or if it was just a dream of Rosa's). From the cartoon "Scary Stories." He makes cameo appearances in other episodes. He was voiced by Eric Stuart.
Voice: Eric Stuart (English)
A robot which Ottoriki invented, but it went out of control due to its programming; it sees everyone as a toddler and treats them as such. Seen in two episodes: "Movie Madness" and "What a Chore". She comes from a garage station in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
A clone of Docoriki, who he had created years ago; his personality is arrogant and destructive, just like Doco's used to be. From the cartoon "Double Doco." He was voiced by David Wills.
Voice: David Wills (voice actor) (English)
A pretty female hedgehog whose picture Chiko found in the ocean near the shore; Chiko believed that she was real and needed to be rescued, but later found out that the picture was just a label from a lemonade bottle. From the cartoon "Sweet Lily." She comes from Rome, Italy. She was voiced by Sarah Heinke.
A Scientist that is related to Docoriki. He told Rosariki about how to make a magic wand in a dream.
Seen in the episode "Pluto's Hero", they gave Doco a planet badge for going on a hunger strike to protest Pluto no longer being considered a planet. They also planned to destroy the Earth in retaliation for the insult, but Doco managed to talk them out of it. Voiced by Eric Stuart (English)
On January 24, 2007, it was announced that a Smeshariki feature film is being made by the St. Petersburg company "Marmelad-media" (which owns the brand) for a planned release of late 2011. An initial budget of $1 million was given to produce a "test film" to show to international partners. This movie will be in 3D unlike the series. According to Marmelad-media's general director Ilya Popov, the final budget will depend on a number of factors, such as whether it will be sold internationally (in which case the budget would be up to $15 million) or limited to Russian theatres (in which case it will cost around $3–4 million). If the film is limited to Russia, Popov considers spending anything over $5 million to be unprofitable (the highest-grossing Russian animated film to date, Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber, cost $2.5 million and made just under $10 million;[5] since around half of the profits usually go to the distributors, if it had cost over $5 million it would not have been profitable).
Characters' names are changed. References to Russian culture are removed or sometimes changed to more American things. The episode "Operation Father Frost," is changed to "Operation Santa Claus" to Americanize the show. Some instances of Russian text (mostly the characters names when written) have been changed to English to make the show understandable for American children.