Life with Louie

Life with Louie
Life with Louie title screen
Format	Animated television series/Comedy
Created by	Matthew O'Callaghan Louie Anderson
Voices of	Louie Anderson Debi Derryberry Edie McClurg Miko Hughes Justin Shenkarow Mary Wickes
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	39
Production
Producer(s)	Louie Anderson Ahmos Hassan Matthew O' Callghan Martha Carrol
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company(s)	Fox Children's Network Hyperion Studios The Anderson/Hassan Company
Broadcast
Original channel	FOX KIds
Original run	December 18, 1994 (1994-12-18) – March 2, 1998 (1998-03-02)

Life with Louie is an American animated series. The show is based on the childhood of stand-up comedian Louie Anderson, growing up with his family in Wisconsin, although Anderson himself is from Minnesota.^[1][2][3]

The first two episodes aired in primetime on Fox.^[1][4][5]

The series has since aired on the European version of Jetix and was popular enough to merit a few DVD releases in the region.

Characters

• Louis "Louie" Anderson - Main character; based on series producer and creator Louie Anderson's younger self. Louie is an eight-year-old child, living in fictional Cedar Knoll town, Wisconsin. He's a very sensitive and impressionable, but also intelligent young boy. He often uses his gifted sense of humor to deal with difficult situations. Always stands up for his own rights and principles, but also for those of others.
• Jeannie Harper - Louie's best friend. She often defends Louie from local bullies. Louie has a crush on her.
• Michael "Mike" Grunewald - Louie's friend with a sarcastic sense of humor. He has a somewhat chill attitude and comes from a rather wealthy family, much to Louie's jealousy.
• Toddler - Louie's other friend. He is somewhat shorter than the others, about the same height as Louie, and loves activities like recess.
• Scott Jensen - One of Louie's friends. He appears quite often in the 1st and 3rd seasons. But he is rarely seen in the 2nd season.
• Andrew "Andy" Mortimer Anderson - Louie's difficult, but caring father. He is a veteran of World War II and likes to tell his family stories about his experience at the front in Europe. Much of the humor regarding Andy, involved his comic superiority complex and equally comical unawareness of his own limitations. Though he often appeared out of touch with reality, Andy was secretly a very gifted chess player, a skill Louie briefly displayed possessing, but he hid his gift during the latter half of his life because of the way he was supposedly mistreated for it in his youth (he even went so far as to disguise himself at chess tournaments so he wouldn't be recognized). His catchphrases: "For crying out loud!" and "I heard that." Despite his appearance, he is a very caring and loving person.
• Ora Anderson - Louie's kind, loving and sweet natured mother. She usually acts as the voice of reason for Louie and Andy.
• Thomas "Tommy" Anderson - Louie's youngest brother. Louie teases him a lot in the beginning.
• Glen Glenn - A local bully. Who teases Louie and the other children. His mother Jen Glenn has a huge temper and loud voice which the other citizens don't like.
• Craig Eric, Paul George - Glen Glenn's friends.
• The Melvins - A group of chess nerds. One of them is actually named Franklin but is still called Melvin.
• Henrietta Shermann - Louie's grandmother, mother of Ora. She dies in one of the episodes.
• Pepper - Louie's obese pet goldfish.
• Sid Anderson, John Anderson, Danny Anderson, Peter Anderson - Louie's older brothers.
• Mr. Jensen, Earl Grunewald, Gus Williams, Mrs. Stillman - Louie's neighbors
• Laura Anderson, Carol Anderson, Charlie Anderson, Julie Anderson - Louie's older sisters.

Episode list

Specials

No.	#	Title	Original air date
01	01	"A Christmas Surprise for Mrs. Stillman (Christmas special/pilot)"	December 18, 1994 (1994-12-18)
It's Christmas time. Ora asks Andy to decorate Mrs. Stillman's house by the Christmas lights. Andy seeks Louie's help and both decorate the house with the help of Louie's friends who arrived at the house for singing.

Season 1: 1995-1996

No.	#	Title	Original air date
02	02	"Dad Gets Canned"	June 18, 1995 (1995-06-18)
Andy gets fired from his job for giving his friend the day off for the birth of his child. Louie gets upset because he wanted to spend his vacation relaxing and sitting around, but Andy forces him to work. Ora gets a job selling cosmetics to her neighbours. While Louie accompanies Ora, he learns the true reason behind Andy's job loss.
03	03	"Raindrops Keep Falling on My Bed"	September 9, 1995 (1995-09-09)
The Jensen family moves into the house next to the Andersons. While Andy fights with Mr. Jensen about their property lines, a rain storm appears and floods the town.
04	04	"Lake Winnibigoshish"	September 16, 1995 (1995-09-16)
The Anderson family goes to Lake Winnibigoshish for their vacation where Louie meets Kelly Busset, who has a crush on him. But Louie doesn't like her.
05	05	"A Fish Called Pepper"	September 23, 1995 (1995-09-23)
Jeannie moves because her father is given a new job. Afterwords, Louie's grandma comes to visit and, because of her, Louie sends a letter to Jeannie telling her he loves her. Meanwhile, the family gets a pet fish, because they can't afford a dog and cats lick the butter. In the end, Jeannie returns because her father's new job failed.
06	06	"Behind Every Good Coach"	October 7, 1995 (1995-10-07)
Louie joins the baseball team but during their first game, the coach gets hurt and Andy becomes the new coach. With the team unable to win, Ora gives the team a few pointers and they win their final game.
07	07	"Alive! Miracle in Cedar Knoll, Wisconsin"	November 4, 1995 (1995-11-04)
While Andy and Ora leave to visit Grandma, Louie and Tommy are left alone at the house as a blizzard hits and causes a blackout in Cedar Knoll.
08	08	"Pains, Grains, and Allergy Shots"	November 11, 1995 (1995-11-11)
Louie suddenly develops a food allergy.
09	09	"The Fourth Thursday in November"	November 18, 1995 (1995-11-18)
All of the Anderson family comes to Louie's house for Thanksgiving dinner, including Ora's brother, who Andy hates.
10	10	"Tracks of My Deers"	November 25, 1995 (1995-11-25)
While on a deer hunt with Andy and his friends, Louie meets a lonely deer and decides to keep it until the hunt finishes.
11	11	"When Cedar Knoll Freezes Over"	February 3, 1996 (1996-02-03)
The winter carnival begins in Cedar Knoll and The Anderson family loses every competition they enter. Meanwhile, Louie develops a crush on Jeannie's sister and tries to learn how to skate to get close to her.
12	12	"A Fair to Remember"	February 10, 1996 (1996-02-10)
The Anderson family goes to a fair where Ora tries to win the best cooking contest, and Andy wins a pig. Meanwhile, Tommy gets upset because Louie always takes him to the childish fair rides.
13	13	"Born a Rambler Man"	February 17, 1996 (1996-02-17)
When Andy's Rambler gets damaged, Ora decides to buy him a new car for his birthday. After Andy complains and returns the car, Louie fixes the Rambler with the help of a repair man named Smitty.

Season 2: 1996-1997

No.	#	Title	Original air date
14	01	"Caddy on a Hot Tin Roof"	September 14, 1996 (1996-09-14)
Louie needs some money and is hired as a caddy on a golf game.
15	02	"Summer of My Discontent"	September 21, 1996 (1996-09-21)
Louie tries to escape from Glen Glenn, so he joins the trip to Chakami camp. The bad news: Glen Glenn and his gang also join. While on a trip, Louie and Glen Glenn get lost inside a forest.
16	03	"Anderson Ski Weekend"	September 28, 1996 (1996-09-28)
Earl Grunewald is promoted to be a main worker of the tractor factory. While the Grunewald family goes for a ski trip, Louie pretends to be a ski master, so the Anderson family also joins.
17	04	"Roofless People"	October 5, 1996 (1996-10-05)
A tornado attacks the Cedar Knoll which makes Louie afraid of the tornado, so he stays in his room and doesn't want to leave until the cow, which was trapped on a tree because of the tornado, confronts him.
18	05	"How to Succeed in Washington Without Really Trying"	October 19, 1996 (1996-10-19)
Louie's class must give a speech and if someone wins, the class will go to Washington. Louie buys a speech from Glen Glenn and he wins. Andy accompanies the trip because he was in a war with the president. After Andy tells Louie he must always tell the truth, Louie tells the truth about the speech.
19	06	"An Anderson Dozen"	November 2, 1996 (1996-11-02)
Ora gets a call from the doctor, telling her she's going to have a baby. Louie thinks if the baby is born, someone will leave the family and he thinks it might be him. It is revealed in the end that the doctor made a mistake and she's not pregnant.
20	07	"Buzz Stop"	November 9, 1996 (1996-11-09)
Andy wants to have a bigger rv than the Jensens' , so he buys bees to make more money and becomes obsessed.
21	08	"The Masked Chess Boy"	November 23, 1996 (1996-11-23)
Louie learns he's so talented in playing chess that he writes to a chess competition. When Andy confronts him about people laughing at the chess players, Louie decides to disguise himself as the Masked Chess Boy.
22	09	"For Pete's Sake"	December 25, 1996 (1996-12-25)
While out shopping, Louie gets rescued from an accident by a homeless man named Pete and he decides to keep him in the garage of his house.
23	10	"The Good, the Bad, & the Glenns"	December 27, 1996 (1996-12-27)
Glen Glenn's mother, Jen Glenn, scares the entire town of Cedar Knoll with her loud voice. When she suddenly loses her voice and goes to the hospital, Cedar Knoll is happy and Glen Glenn becomes pals with Louie.
24	11	"Kazoo's Coming to Dinner"	February 1, 1997 (1997-02-01)
Louie meets a joker who is Ora's ex-boyfriend, Marty Kazoo. Ora, however, isn't too happy about the new friendship.
25	12	"Mr. Anderson's Opus"	February 15, 1997 (1997-02-15)
Louie gets jealous because Jeannie has a crush at the new kid at school. Meanwhile, Andy and Ora are arguing about the date of their wedding anniversary.
26	13	"The Thank You Note"	February 22, 1997 (1997-02-22)[6]
For Louie's birthday, his grandma gives Louie a sweater which she made for him. While trying to write the thank you letter, Louie decides to instead play with his friends. When he finally writes the letter, he finds out his grandma has died.

Season 3: 1997-1998

No.	#	Title	Original air date
27	01	"Louie's Gate"	September 6, 1997 (1997-09-06)
A new movie theater opens and Louie goes all the time, so Andy and Ora become worried. They decide to give him a movie camera, which causes Louie to decide to shoot a movie.
28	02	"The Making of a President"	September 13, 1997 (1997-09-13)
Louie and Mike Grunewald try to win a school election by making lies about the other people.
29	03	"Military Reunion"	September 20, 1997 (1997-09-20)
Louie doesn't want to listen anymore to Andy's war stories. While at the Military Reunion, Andy admits to Louie he was called Corporal Keister and he was a cook, though his friends from the military insist that he did save them.
30	04	"Go Packers!"	September 27, 1997 (1997-09-27)
Andy takes Louie to the Packers game.
31	05	"The Undergraduate"	October 11, 1997 (1997-10-11)
When Louie's teacher gets ill, Louie gets a crush on the replacement teacher. Louie begins reading Shakespeare, much to Andy's chagrin. Andy tries to order the principal to fire Mrs. Robertson, the replacement teacher. Mrs. Robertson explains she's from the military family and Andy gets her a job at the military academy.
32	06	"Louie's Harrowing Halloween"	October 25, 1997 (1997-10-25)
While shopping, Louie ends up stealing candy, so he tries to get rid of it during Halloween.
33	07	"Mr. Louie's Wild Ride"	November 1, 1997 (1997-11-01)
The Anderson family goes to Snifferland for their vacation. After arrival, they learn Snifferland moved to Orlando, Florida.
34	08	"Close Encounters of the Louie Kind"	November 8, 1997 (1997-11-08)
Louie and Mike create a spaceship which causes Andy to be declared ambassador of the Earth.
35	09	"The Kiss is the Thing"	November 15, 1997 (1997-11-15)
Louie must play the prince for the school performance about Sleeping Beauty. Meanwhile, Andy replaces his boss.
36	10	"Family Portrait"	December 20, 1997 (1997-12-20)
Louie learns one of his friends is an orphan and invites him to his house for Christmas.
37	11	"Blinded by Love"	February 16, 1998 (1998-02-16)
Louie wants to have a dog much to Andy's chagrin. Louie takes a dog that has been trained to be a guide for the blind.
38	12	"Do it or Donut"	February 23, 1998 (1998-02-23)
Louie feels he's good at basketball and Andy tries to support him. Ora decides to eat healthy food.
39	13	"Project: Mother's Day"	March 2, 1998 (1998-03-02)
Andy's mother comes to visit for Mother's Day. Meanwhile, Ora gets sick and Louie does all of her jobs, so he doesn't have time to buy her gift for Mother's Day.

Intro and theme song

The show's intro involved the main character running toward a TV set, turning one of the set's dials, and showing a live-action video of Louie Anderson as an adult saying, "Let me tell you about my family." Then after that showing clips of the show from Andy Anderson being pulled by sled dogs, Louie sticking chopsticks in his nose, to Louie jumping off a diving board at a swimming pool nearly wasting all the water and getting most of the other participants wet due to the fact of him being overweight, then the show's logo (in Pink) appears on the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, while the main character (wearing sunglasses) eats a dot while sitting on a raft while watching TV on a tire. The intro was used from season 2 to the last season. Season 1 episodes used a live-action intro by Louie Anderson talking to the audience about his childhood, then dissolving into the show.

Home videos and merchandise

Based on the popularity of the show, various merchandise was released including apparel, videos of various episodes, a "Lake Winnibigoshish" CD-ROM comic book,^[7] and a book series for children. The book series was based on the various episodes of the show and contained six books in total. Kids' meal toys were also produced for several fast-food restaurant chains including Taco Bell (1996), Hardee's (1997), Jack in the Box (1997), and Dairy Queen (1999).

In early January 2006, TVShowsOnDVD.com^[8] posted a news story that Life with Louie was going to be released on DVD in the US. The information came from Louie Anderson himself who mentioned this news on a radio program he was a guest on, KQRS-FM. There has been no other news since then and it is now unknown if this series will ever be released on DVD in the United States. However, three 2-episode sets were released in the United Kingdom in summer 2007 as Life with Louie: Volume 1, 2, and 3. The sets were released through Boulevard Entertainment as part of the Jetix programming brand.

Reception

As of 2011, based on 1528 votes, Life with Louie holds an 8.3 rating on the Internet Movie Database. It also holds an 8.1 rating based on 150 votes on TV.com.

Awards

The series won two Emmy Awards. It also won the Humanitas Prize three times, which is more than for any other animated series.

• Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing - Special Class - Rick Hinson, Rick Hammel, Les Wolf Thomas Syslo and Timothy Borquez - 1996 (nominated)
• Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program - Louie Anderson - 1997
• Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program - Louie Anderson - 1998
• Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing - Special Class - Timothy Borquez, Timothy J. Garrity and Brad Brock - 1998 (nominated)
• Emmy Award for Outstanding Outstanding Sound Editing - Special Class - Timothy Borquez, Rick Hinson and Eric Freeman - 1998 (nominated)
• Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program - Louie Anderson - 1999 (nominated)
• Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program - 1999 (nominated)
• Genesis Award - 1997^[9]
• Humanitas Prize for Children's Animation - 1996
• Humanitas Prize for Children's Animation - 1997
• Humanitas Prize for Children's Animation - 1998^[10]

References

External links

• Life with Louie at the Internet Movie Database
• Life with Louie at TV.com