Happy Monster Band
The opening credits' logo.
Happy Monster Band is an interstitial program that airs on Playhouse Disney, and is produced by Kickstart Productions. The series was created by Don Carter. The show is about a group of monsters that performs songs about friendship, love, exercising, chores, and other preschool related themes. Season 2 and 3 follows the Happy Monsters on their tour around the world. On March 23, 2012, when Disney Junior started its own channel, the show returned to airing with only reruns. But starting in 2013, the starting, backstage, announcing, and judge segments of Season 1 were cut off, allowing the show to skip right ahead to the song.
Characters
Major characters
There are four monsters that make up the Happy Monster Band: Ink, Bluz, L.O., and Frred. All of the monsters' names echo their colors: Ink's trademark color is pink, Bluz's is blue, L.O.'s is yellow, and Frred's is red. The main characters were designed by Don Carter. All four of the band members are parodies of the members of the band The Black Eyed Peas.
- Frred is the 8-year-old band's vocal output who plays electric guitar and is red, referring to his name. While Ink may appear to be the leader, many fans often tend to view and consider that Frred himself is the actual leader. He is also voiced by Rob Cantor and later Kurt Doss and the parody of apl.de.ap.
- L.O. voiced by Zubin Sedghi and later Trevor Gagnon is the other 9-year-old lead singer, and plays bass guitar. He is yellow. L.O. is the only monster in the band that goes against traditional thinking, preferring to paint and draw instead of scaring and happens to be viewed and considered a shy introvert, although he sometimes can be quite successful in that. He is the oldest in the band. He is yellow and the parody of will.i.am. He is 9-years-old.
- Bluz is the 6-year-old band's keyboardist, and has four legs. He often contradicts L.O.'s opinions, stating that monsters should scare and not care about art. He is blue. During the World Tour, he doesn't know about foreign languages, making him almost ditzy, though he is not fully air-headed and also naturally hates seeing others frustrated, down or in a conflict, even if they are his friends in fact. He is also the youngest in the Happy Monster Band. He is also voiced by Jonah Lees and later Jake T. Austin, while Joe Hawley (singer) provides his singing voice and additionally the parody of Taboo.
- Ink is the 7-year-old band's drummer. She has three eyes and is pink. Unlike the other band members, Ink only sings in choruses. However, she did get a solo verse in do the monster stomp. During the World Tour, she carries a globe and is fluent in several languages. She is the only girl in the Happy Monster Band and appears to be the leader. She is voiced by Hannah Leigh and also the parody of Fergie.
Minor characters
The first season introduced several characters that paralleled the existing TV series American Idol.
- Roc and Raoul (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal and Sam Riegel respectively) are a two-headed purple monster that are the shows hosts, parodying the original Idol hosting duo of Brian Dunkleman and Ryan Seacrest (who, in turn, were based on the British duo Ant and Dec). They speak in rhyme to introduce the show and the judges, but they don't speak in rhyme while backstage. They are also in season 2 and 3.
- La, Dee, and Da are the show's judges, who parody Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell respectively. They do not return in season 2 and 3. All 3 are bright green.
World Tour characters
- Akito is the band's pen pal in Tokyo, Japan.
- Joey is a kangaroo in Sydney, Australia.
- Dwight is a giant Italian monster who is often hungry.
- Ravi is a 4 year old boy who is energetic.
Episode list
Season 1 – Direct from Monsterland (Fall 2007)
- I Will Be Your Friend – L.O. makes friendship bracelets for the rest of the band because he's happy to be their friend. (10-1-2007)
- Do The Monster Stomp – The band practices their dance moves until Bluz finds what's missing—the stomp. (10-2-2007)
- Monster Hoe Down – The band members dress up as cowboys and cowgirl and are ready to hoe down. (10-3-2007)
- Dirty, Smelly Monster Chores – L.O. arrives late because he has many chores to do. (10-4-2007)
- Scare Up Some Fun – Roc and Raoul see the room empty and no band, but...BOO! They're just trying to scare the twins. (10-5-2007)
- I'm The Best At Being Me – L.O. doesn't want to be as scary as Bluz prefers. (10-8-2007)
- Do Re Me-Me-Me – Ink tries to do the rhyming with little success and doesn't want any help. (10-9-2007)
- Even Monsters Cry Sometimes – Frred is sad because his dad has a flat tire and he might not make it to the concert. (10-10-2007)
- Get Up And Go Go Go – The band has a conversation about getting ready for their day. (10-11-2007)
- Practice Makes Progress – Ink practices jump rope for the jump rope contest. (10-12-2007)
Season 2 – World Tour (Fall 2008)
- At The Rodeo – The band visits a Texas rodeo after being invited by a ranch owner. (10-25-2008)
- A Wonderful Time In France – The band are in hot pursuit of a monster wearing a beret in Paris, France. (10-11-2008)
- The Italian Way – The band visits Italy. (10-26-2008)
- The Monster Tangle – The band visits Argentina and learn a new dance move; the monster tangle. (10-11-2008)
- Here In Australia – The band visits Australia after receiving fan mail from Joey. (10-11-2008)
- In India – The band visits India. (10-11-2008)
- Siesta, Siesta – The band enters the soccer stadium in Spain to play soccer. (10-11-2008)
- Konichiwa! – The band travels to Tokyo, Japan to see their pen pal, Akito and learn how to say hello in Japanese. (10-11-2008)
- Yin & Yang – The band shops Hong Kong and meets Yin and Yang. (10-11-2008)
- London Town – Since their own bus has a flat tire, the band had to take a double-decker bus to go the Buckingham Palace to perform for the Queen of the United Kingdom. (10-11-2008)
Season 3 – World Tour 2 (Summer 2014)
- At New Zealand – The band members are back after 6 years, and goes to New Zealand to look at the Sky Tower. (6-14-2014)
- Kazakhstan is Beautiful – The band visits Kazakhstan. (6-15-2014)
- Grabbed by the Russian Federation – The band are performing a concert at the Red Square in Moscow. (6-16-2014)
- Brazil Is The Best – The band is making Brazil the best. (6-17-2014)
- Let's Rock and Roll in Mongolia – The band puts hands together and after counting to 3 & before raising hands together, the band shouts "Let's rock and roll!" as the band's new catchphrase in Ulaanbaatar. (6-18-2014)
- Doha Is The Capital Of Qatar – The band members are having a good work in Doha. (6-19-2014)
- Here and There in Sri Lanka – The band visits Sri Lanka. (6-20-2014)
- The New Irish Way – The band is having a great time in Ireland. (6-21-2014)
- Welcome to South Korea – The band tried to play 4 gayageums but they will make it in Seoul. (6-22-2014)
- Mess Up in Venezuela – The band shops Venezuela. (6-23-2014)
Season 4 – World Tour 3 (Winter 2014-2015)
- Monstrous Ivory Coast – The band guides to the Ivory Coast. (12-25-2014)
- Best Of Indonesia – The band heads to Bali, Indonesia for the big concert. (12-26-2014)
- Special Ways In China – The band visits China to perform a concert in Beijing. (12-27-2014)
- Lucky Mexico – The band is in Mexico to get lucky in no time. (12-28-2014)
- Portuguese Monster Lovers – The band members are in Portugal to have a big concert to beat the Unhappy Monster Band. (12-29-2014)
- Right Here In Singapore – The band is in Singapore to perform in Marina Bay. (12-30-2014)
- New Year, New York – The band celebrates New Year's to perform in Times Square in New York. (12-31-2014)
- Help In Canada – The band asks for help in Vancouver, Canada. (1-01-2015)
- Monster Friend or Foul, Pakistan – The band gets to Pakistan to perform. (1-02-2015)
- Hot in Honolulu – Winter's getting a little hotter with the band costing Honolulu. (1-03-2015)
Season 5 – Direct from Monsterland (Summer 2015)
Happy Monster Band facts
The actual music and vocals were written and performed by Tally Hall, an American rock band. The characters and concept for the show were created by children's book author/illustrator, Don Carter. His work can be seen at .
External links
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