Peep and the Big Wide World
| Peep and the Big Wide World | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Kaj Pindal[1][2] |
| Starring | Peep, Quack, and Chirp |
| Voices of |
Peep: Scott Beaudin Quack: Jamie Watson Chirp: Amanda Soha |
| Narrated by | Joan Cusack |
| Country of origin |
United States Canada |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 55 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time |
25 minutes (Canada) 22 minutes (United States) |
| Production company(s) |
WGBH Boston 9 Story Entertainment WGBH Kids |
| Distributor | American Public Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel |
Discovery Kids (2004-2010) TLC (2004-2010) PBS Kids (2004-Present) TVOntario(2004-Present)(Canada) V-me (2006-Present)(Spanish Language) |
| Picture format | 16:9 480i (SDTV) |
| Audio format |
Mono (2004-2006) Dolby Surround (2006-2008) Dolby Digital (2008-2011) |
| Original run | April 12, 2004 – October 14, 2011 |
Peep and the Big Wide World is an American/Canadian produced Flash-animated television series created by Canadian Animator Kaj Pindal and based on the 1988 short film Peep and the Big Wide World produced by the National Film Board of Canada. The series premiered on April 12, 2004, on Discovery Kids and on TLC as part of their Ready Set Learn children's block, and on the same day as part of PBS Kids. It was produced by WGBH and 9 Story Entertainment. The series ran on April 12, 2004, through October 14, 2011, with 55 episodes produced.
Carriage on the Discovery children's networks ended on October 10, 2010 with the discontinuation of Ready Set Learn and the replacement of Discovery Kids with The Hub. It continues to be offered to public television stations stations via independent public television distributor American Public Television to the present day. Throughout its run, it has been underwritten by the National Science Foundation, with Northrop Grumman underwriting season four in 2010.
Overview
Young viewers follow Peep, Chirp, and Quack as they investigate and explore the world around them. Following the 9-minute animated segment, there is a 2-minute live-action segment with children exploring and demonstrating the same topic presented in the animated segment. Animation consists of bright colors and simple shapes..
Episodes
Main article: List of Peep and the Big Wide World episodes
Characters
Main article: List of Peep and the Big Wide World characters
Main characters
- Peep (Voiced by Scott Beaudin): a male, yellow chicken who is very curious. The show's title is derived from his name.
- Chirp (Voiced by Amanda Soha): A red, female robin who is also curious, and attempts frequently to fly, with unsatisfying results. She is Peep's friend.
- Quack (Voiced by Jamie Watson): a male blue duck who wears a white sailor's hat.
- The Narrator (Voiced by Joan Cusack): The Narrator tells the episode's story, although the characters rarely have any interaction with her.
Minor characters
- Ant (Voiced by Robert Tinkler): A busy male ant who appears in several episodes.
- Beaver Boy (Voiced by Tessa Marshall): A young naïve male beaver lives in an adjoining pond to Quack's.
- Beaver Mom: Beaver Boy's workaholic mother.
- Beaver Dad (Voiced by Phillip Williams): Beaver Boy's businesslike father.
- Dragonfly (Voiced by Catherine Disher): A quiet dragonfly.
- Fish: Cohabitants of Quack's pond.
- Hoot (Voiced by Corinne Conley): A menacing, but kind purple female owl who lives in the Deep Dark Woods.
- Nellie (Voiced by Marium Carvell): A red female dog who acts as a seemingly maternal figure for the birds.
- Newton (Voiced by Colin Fox): An old, male dark-green turtle who lives under an apple tree.
- Quack #2 (Voiced by Megan Mullaly): An annoying pink female duck who has her own pond, built by Quack, Peep, Chirp, Beaver Boy and his parents.
- Rabbit (Voiced by Jayne Eastwood): An excitable and somewhat distracted rabbit.
- Robin: An adult robin (Voiced by Holly Hunter).
- Skunk (Voiced by Adrian Truss): A grumpy skunk who lives near Quack's pond.
- Squeak: (Voiced by Kathleen Laskey) An anxious pink, female mouse who lives under a brick and always worries about what could go wrong.
- Tom: A sly, male blue-and-black kitten who often tries to eat Peep, Chirp, and Quack.
- Sporty: The strongest and fittest who is eldest, with a trampoline and a conveyor belt.
Music composition
Music for Peep and the Big Wide World is composed by Terry Tompkins and Steve D'Angelo, from Eggplant. The opening theme is performed by Taj Mahal.[3]
References
- ↑ "Peep and the Big Wide World". National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ↑ Lerner, Loren Ruth (1997). Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature, Volume 1. University of Toronto Press. p. 218. ISBN 0802029884.
- ↑ Opening video, with lyrics and credits on official page
External links
- Official website
- Peep and the Big Wide World (Current series) at the Internet Movie Database
- Peep and the Big Wide World (1988) at the Internet Movie Database
- Kaj Pindal at the Internet Movie Database
- WGBH
- 9 Story Entertainment
- National Science Foundation grant information
- Watch the original Peep and the Big Wide World at NFB.ca
- Read Goodman Research Group's executive summary of the Peep website evaluation
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