Team Umizoomi
| Team Umizoomi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Children's television series |
| Created by |
Soo Kim Michael T. Smith Jennifer Twomey |
| Directed by | Matt Sheridan |
| Voices of |
Sophia Fox (season 1) Madeleine Rose Yen (season 2-present) Ethan Kempner (season 1-3) Juan Mirt (season 4) Donovan Patton |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 76 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Soo Kim Michael T. Smith |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Curious Pictures Nickelodeon Productions |
| Distributor | MTV Networks International[1] |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Nick Jr |
| Picture format |
480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original run | January 25, 2010 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Team Umizoomi is a computer animated fantasy musical series with an emphasis on preschool mathematical concepts, such as counting, sequences, shapes, patterns, measurements, and comparisons.[2] The team consists of mini superheroes Milli and Geo, a friendly robot named Bot, and the child who is viewing the show. Milli, Geo and Bot refer to the child viewer as their Umifriend and encourage him or her to develop their "Mighty Math Powers!" The action generally takes place in and around Umi City, a colorful city where the streets are paved with origami inspired patterns.
In the United States Team Umizoomi is shown on both Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon. It is also available on iTunes. It first aired on January 25, 2010.
On February 20, 2014, a crew member of Team Umizoomi stated that the series had not been renewed for a fifth season by Nickelodeon.[3]
General characteristics
Each episode of Team Umizoomi features several or all of the following:
- A task or quest to be completed, usually to assist a child in need. Completing the main task requires completion of several sub-tasks, and there are often unforeseen difficulties that must be surmounted. Each sub-task generally involves mathematical reasoning about patterns, sequences, counting, geometric shapes, or other age-appropriate mathematical concepts.
- Breaking the fourth wall, where the characters on screen communicate directly to the child viewing the show and encourage him or her to participate with the show.
- A mixture of live-action and animation. The team and the surroundings are animated, but the person being helped is often a real child, or sometimes an adult. In the city, or in other crowd scenes, other real people are shown in the background. In comparison to the regular people, the animated characters on the team are less than a foot tall.
- Once the main task has been completed the team sings a song and performs a dance called the Crazy Shake, which involves shaking and wiggling back and forth quickly. The Crazy Shake was called the "Umi Shake" in the first season. The child viewing the show is encouraged to participate in the dance.
- "How does it work? " In some episodes a simple explanation is given of an everyday process, such as how milk gets from farm to market, or how packages are sorted at the post office.
Characters
Milli
A girl[4] (voiced by Sophia Fox and later Madeleine Rose Yen) who has abilities related to patterns and measuring. She can change her pink dress to any pattern and can then project that pattern by singing "Pattern Power". Milli is usually the one to interact with the child viewing the show when it is necessary to complete the next element in a pattern in order to accomplish something. Her ponytails can be used to measure things, which is initiated by singing "Milli Measure".
Geo
Milli's younger brother (voiced by Ethan Kempner and later Juan Mirt) who zooms everywhere on his Super Skates and wears a blue helmet and shirt. He also has abilities related to geometric shapes. Geo wears a shape belt and can create anything by assembling shapes and then singing "Super Shapes". Often when Team Umizoomi is stuck and needs some type of vehicle to assist them Geo will figure out what they need and present a blueprint for the thing that needs to be built and then interact with the child viewing the show to figure out which shapes are needed to fill in the blue-print. He also has a Shape Magnet to help him find shapes through obstacles and a Shape Splitter to help him split shapes.
Bot
A green robot friend (voiced by Donovan Patton) who likes to sing and dance and has a fun-loving, childlike personality. His abilities are more functional than math-related. His arms and legs can be extended to reach things, by saying "Arms Extendo" or "Legs Extendo" Sometimes "Jaw EXTENDO!". He has a small receiver (like a satellite dish) on his head to receive calls (called the Umi Alarm). He also has a screen on the front (called a "Belly Belly Belly Screen" stylized as "Belly Belly, Belly Screen!") that they can view videos/pictures on as well as have a video call with someone who needs their help. He also has a storage compartment on the back of his body, called a Bot-o-mat, which frequently is carrying whatever the team happens to need. In each episode, he is introduced, usually by Milli, as their "Best Robot Friend."
UmiCar
The team's beloved little orange car who drives the team wherever their help is needed. He is seen playing basketball with the team against the "Basketball Robots" in the episode "The Umigames" Season 2. Until the middle of season one, he lacks a face and zooming sound. Later, he is styled with a face and personality, becoming a character rather than an inanimate object.
Doormouse
The security mouse of Umi City and sometimes friends to Team Umizoomi. He often blocks the team's entry into parks or buildings, stating a key is needed for access. The team must then complete a math-related challenge to retrieve the key. Voiced initially by Joe Narciso, and later Chris Phillips, who also provided voice work for Nick Jr.'s mascot, Face from 1994 to 2004.
The Troublemakers
The Troublemakers are a group of antagonists from Season 4. Their only goals in life are to cause havoc, chaos, and trouble in Umi City, as well as defeat Team Umizoomi. They have a secret weapon called the TroubleRay, which fulfills their malicious troublemaking ways, and a vehicle they call the TroubleTruck, which they use to get away. Little Trouble is voiced by Nick Heatherington and Big Trouble is voiced by Jason Harris Katz.
Episode list
Cancellation
A crew member of Team Umizoomi has confirmed that Nickelodeon will not be renewing Team Umizoomi for a fifth season.[5]
Toys and merchandising
Fisher Price released the first official "Team Umizoomi" toys in early 2012. The first products available included plush dolls, bath toys, and figurines featuring characters and vehicles from the show.[6]
Preschool Math Kits
The first products released included a series of math kits designed to build preschool math skills. Each of the three kits included an episode of the show on DVD, a storybook, math activity book and math mission cards.[7]
1. Sorting, Classification & Reasoning Pre-K Math Kit (Playground Heroes) (ISBN 1612630871)
2. Shapes, Measurement & Positioning Pre-K Math Kit (Aquarium Fix-It) (ISBN 1612630855)
3. Numbers, Counting & Patterns Pre-K Math Kit (Carnival) (ISBN 1612630863)
Little Golden Books
1. Find the Dinosaurs! (ISBN 0307929957)
2. Purple Monkey Rescue! (ISBN 0307975894)
Step Into Reading Books
1. Outer-Space Chase (ISBN 044981890X)
2. Top Cops (ISBN 0385374941)
3. Dog Days (ISBN 044981436X)
4. Super Soap (ISBN 0449813878)
Pictureback Books
1. UmiCar's Big Race (ISBN 044981386X)
2. Santa's Little Helpers (Glow-in-the-Dark) (ISBN 0449818810)
3. Legend of the Blue Mermaid (ISBN 044981758X)
4. Save the Kitten!/Buster's Big Day (Deluxe Pictureback) (ISBN 0385375204)
5. Happy Love Day! (ISBN 0385375190)
Board Books
1. Follow that Egg! (ISBN 0385375182)
2. Count with Us! (ISBN 0449818772)
3. First Look and Find (ISBN 1450854265)
Coloring and Activity Books
1. Kite Riders! Coloring Book (ISBN 037586119X)
2. Painting Power! Painting Activity Book (ISBN 0375861610)
3. The Big Boat Race! Hologramatic Sticker Book (ISBN 0375862153)
4. Mighty Adventures Coloring Book with stickers (ISBN 0307930858)
5. Join the Team! Big Coloring Book (ISBN 0307931382)
6. Christmas Countdown Painting Activity Book (ISBN 0449818535)
7. Zoom to the Rescue! Painting Activity Book (ISBN 0307981983)
8. Umi Egg Hunt Activity Book with stickers (ISBN 0307982114)
DVD releases
| Title | Format | Description | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team Umizoomi | DVD | Includes "The Rolling Toy Parade", "Kite Festival", "Wild West Toy Train Show" and "The Legend of the Blue Mermaind" | June 28, 2011 |
| Team Umizoomi: Journey to Numberland | DVD | Includes the 2-part special "The King of Numbers!", "Picnic" and "The Dinosaur Museum Mishap" | September 6, 2011 |
| Nickelodeon Favorites: Merry Christmas | DVD | Includes "Santa's Little Fixers", plus episodes from Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, The Wonder Pets, Blue's Clues, and Ni Hao, Kai-lan | October 4, 2011 |
| Nickelodeon Favorites: Dance to the Music | DVD | Includes "The Butterfly Dance Show", plus episodes from Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, The Wonder Pets, Bubble Guppies, and Ni Hao, Kai-lan | February 28, 2012 |
| Team Umizoomi: Umigames | DVD | Includes "Umi Sports Games", "Boardwalk Games", "Crazy Skates" and "Carnival" | June 5, 2012 |
| Nickelodeon Let's Learn: ABC | DVD | Includes "To the Library", plus episodes from Blue's Clues, Ni Hao, Kai-lan, Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go! and The Wonder Pets | January 15, 2013 |
| Nickelodeon Let's Learn: 1, 2, 3 | DVD | Includes "Counting Comet" and "Super Soap!", plus episodes from Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go! and The Wonder Pets | January 15, 2013 |
| Nickelodeon Favorites: Once Upon a Rhyme | DVD | Includes "The Umi City Treasure Hunt", plus episodes from Bubble Guppies, Fresh Beat Band, Dora the Explorer, The Wonder Pets and Blue's Room | April 30, 2013 |
| Team Umizoomi: Animal Heroes | DVD | Includes "Purple Monkey Mission", "Buster the Lost Dog", "Cuckoo Bears" and "Animal School House!" | May 14, 2013 |
| Nickelodeon Let's Learn: Colors | DVD | Includes "Kite Festival", plus episodes from Bubble Guppies, Blue's Clues, The Wonder Pets and Dora the Explorer | July 23, 2013 |
| Nickelodeon Favorites: Rootin' Tootin' Wild West | DVD | Includes "The Wild West Train Show", plus episodes from Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, Bubble Guppies, The Wonder Pets and Fresh Beat Band | August 6, 2013 |
| Bubble Guppies / Team Umizoomi: Into the Snow We Go! | DVD | Includes "A Sledding Snow Day" & "City of Lost Penguins", plus episodes from Bubble Guppies | October 15, 2013 |
Video Games
These video games based on the show are all published by Take-Two Interactive's label, 2K Play.
| Title | System | Release date | Developer(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Umizoomi | Nintendo DS | November 1, 2011 | Black Lantern Studios | 2K Play |
| Team Umizoomi & Dora's Fantastic Flight | Nintendo DS | November 12, 2012 | Black Lantern Studios | 2K Play |
References
- ↑ Leffler, Rebecca (October 4, 2010). "MTVNI touting 5,000 hours of programming". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
|chapter=ignored (help) - ↑ Team Umizoomi Curriculum from NickJr, accessed 30 December 2011
- ↑ http://ashleyfontones.tumblr.com/post/77252470488/my-staff-hoodie-came-in-the-mail-today-now-im
- ↑ Team Umizoomi - Milli, Geo, Bot from NickJr. Accessed 30 December 2011
- ↑ http://ashleyfontones.tumblr.com/post/77252470488/my-staff-hoodie-came-in-the-mail-today-now-im
- ↑ Nickelodeon Debuts Its Strongest Entertainment Portfolio Ever from marketwatch.com, accessed 12 April 2012
- ↑ For Team Umizoomi Fans: Math Kit for Preschoolers from Mommieswithstyle.com, accessed 12 April 2012
External links
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