Ricky Sprocket: Showbiz Boy

Ricky Sprocket: Showbiz Boy is an Canadian animated TV series that aired on Teletoon. Its first airing was as a sneak peek on August 31, 2007 in Canada,^[1] with regular airings in the country beginning on September 8, 2007.^[2]

The series was produced in 2007 and it is seen in over 150 countries. In Canada, it is aired on Teletoon. In the UK, it aired on Nickelodeon UK in the United Kingdom starting on September 1, 2007. It is a Canadian production made in Vancouver, British Columbia. On January 21, 2008, it aired on Nicktoons Network.

Production

The series was created by Alison Snowden and David Fine, who also created the primetime animated series, Bob and Margaret as well as the Oscar winning short, Bob's Birthday. They co-directed the series along with Josh Mepham.

The series was produced at Studio B Productions in Vancouver, BC and was a production of Studio B, Snowden Fine and Bejuba Entertainment. There are 52, 11 minute episodes which air as half hours with two eps in each show. It was produced using Flash animation which was done partly at Studio B and partly in the Philippines at Top Draw Animation.

Writers on the series include Russell Marcus (who also served as an executive story editor), Louise Moon, Bill Motz and Bob Roth, Brandon Sawyer, Shane Simmons, Ian Boothby, Roger Fredericks and others.

Voices were recorded in Vancouver and Toronto.

Summary

Ricky Sprocket is the world's biggest child film star. He works for Wishworks studio (a parody of DreamWorks Studio) and for Mr. Louie Fischburger, his boss. Despite the fact that Ricky stars in some of his favorite movies, lives in a mansion, and sometimes performs brain surgeries for actor patients, otherwise he is a very normal kid who doesn't let celebrity fame go to his head. He likes to hang out with his friends and shares a rivalry with a spoiled female child star named Kitten Kaboodle. Still, Ricky has chores and homework he must do sometimes when he isn't battling animatronic props.

Characters

• Ricky Sprocket (Jillian Michaels) – Ricky is the world's biggest child movie star. At the age of ten he's famous, adored, has everything a kid could want, but at heart, he's still a normal kid with normal kid problems. He loves hanging with his pals as much as he loves making movies. One minute he's on set battling aliens, the next he's doing his homework or taking out the garbage.

• Bunny Sprocket (Jayne Eastwood) – Bunny is a down-to-earth, unsophisticated, no-nonsense mother. She is loving and devoted and only sees Ricky as a typical boy. She is more concerned with his homework and taking out the garbage than "showbiz shenanigans". She also used to be a trapeeze artist in high school.

• Leonard Sprocket (Jeff Lumby) – Ricky's Dad, Leonard is a goofy guy, but he always means well. He's a dedicated father, but not very sophisticated. Despite his son's fame and fortune, he still works in a sausage factory and often imparts wisdom to his son with stories about sausages. Ricky's father is well-meaning, but not that bright. In fact, he can be a bit of a buffoon, which causes Ricky acute embarrassment. He loves his job at Wishworks Sausages.

• Ethel Sprocket (Kathleen Barr) – Ethel is Ricky's younger sister and as charming and fun as Ricky is, Ethel is pretty much the opposite. She is smart and scheming and if she can get Ricky into trouble, all the better. She has no interest in her stupid brother's movie business. Occasionally, Ricky has come to Ethel when he needs her.

• Benny Newford (Tabitha St. Germain) – Ricky's biggest fan and pal. Often doesn't understand what Morris is talking about, but then, few people do. Benny isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he makes up for it with his enthusiasm and his sheer dedication to Ricky. Also colorblind.

• Morris Moony (Ashleigh Ball) – Morris Moony is Ricky's brainy pal. He loves science and biology and excels in all academic subjects. He is exceptionally bad in art, drama and gym. However, he is a good rope holder and apparently good at video games. If there's a technical way of looking at anything, Morris will find it. Often refers to facts on his laptop, which he seems to have with him almost all the time. He is a good rope holder and apparently good at video games.

• Jamal Pennycook (Dorla Bell) – Ricky's pal. Jamal has some attitude, but he's still just a regular kid. He's a little more streetwise than Benny and Morris, but that's not really saying much. Always ready for action, Jamal is the cool kid.

• Alice Applewood (Chiara Zanni) – Alice is sweet, clever, and often has good ideas when a problem needs solving. She's kind of goofy and far more down to earth than Morris in her approach in problem-solving. She is the least seen of Ricky's friends.

• Kitten Kaboodle (Andrea Libman) – Kitten is another child actor who is often cast in the same projects as Ricky. She is precocious, competitive, demanding, and terribly jealous of Ricky and his success. She drives everyone crazy, which may be due to the example her mother sets as her domineering agent. Her father is a milquetoast. Kitten is jealous of Ricky and loves to see him fail, but when they were lost on a deserted island she gave some indication that she may actually have feelings for Ricky.

• Mr. Louie Fischburger (Scott McNeil) – Mr. Fischburger is the head of Wishworks Studios, where Ricky works. He's a little man with a big voice. He treats Ricky a blood relation. He may have fired his own son, but there is a bond between Ricky and himself. Ricky' boss, the head of Wishworks studios (a parody of DreamWorks). He's an old time Hollywood boss and movies are his life. He treats Ricky like his own son. Well, better than his own son due to fact that he fired his own son and because Ricky pays the bills.

• Wolf Wolinski (Jamie Watson) – Wolf is Ricky's regular director at Wishworks. He is driven, passionate, and demands the best from Ricky, but he also has a short fuse, which makes dealing with Ricky and Kitten something of a trial for him. He can come across as obsessive and manic, but the stereotypical genius sometimes comes across this way.

• Vanessa Stimlock (Tabitha St. Germain) – Showbiz Buzz Entertainment reporter at lager. If there's a media scrum, she's leading it. Vanessa reports on all things showbiz, but seems to be especially assigned to cover Ricky Sprocket.

Episodes

DVDs

The first DVD was released in the US with 8 episodes. A Canadian DVD was released on March 2009.

See also

• Bob and Margaret

References

1. ↑ Gazette, The (2007-08-25). "Boogie Beebies to Zula Patrol". Canada.com. Retrieved 2013-11-30. 
2. ↑ "Watch for these new shows". City Parent. 2007-09-07. Retrieved 2013-08-13. 

External links

• News Article from C21Media.net
• Snowden / Fine's website
• Bejuba! Entertainment website
• Ricky Sprocket: Showbiz Boy at the Internet Movie Database
• Ricky Sprocket: Showbiz Boy at TV.com