The Doodlebops

The Doodlebops
The Doodlebops Live! in Ottawa, Ontario April 2006.
Background information
Origin	Canada
Genres	Pop rock
Labels	DHX Media Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Playhouse Disney (USA) Playhouse Disney Tiny Pop (UK)
Website	http://www.doodlebops.com
Members	Chad McNamara — Rooney Doodle Lisa J. Lennox — Deedee Doodle Jonathan Wexler — Moe Doodle
Notable instruments
Guitar Ukulele Piano Drums

The Doodlebops is a Canadian television series. "Rock & Bop with The Doodlebops", (Disney Records USA), was released in 2004 and continues to top the children's charts in North America. Its 2004-2007 TV broadcasting run, produced by Cookie Jar Entertainment, airs as reruns on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Canada in the Kids' CBC morning broadcast programming schedule, and on Playhouse Disney (UK) and Tiny Pop in the UK. The show used to air on the Disney Channel in the USA as part of the Playhouse Disney morning programming schedule, but is no longer a part of that lineup. The Doodlebops had a live concert tour. The Doodlebops stars are Lisa J. Lennox as Deedee Doodle, Chad McNamara as Rooney Doodle, and Jonathan Wexler as Moe Doodle.

The Doodlebops' characters are members of a children's band, The creators of The Doodlebops are Cookie Jar executive Michael Hirsh and musical director Carl Lenox. Jamie Waese is the producer and director of the TV series. David W. Connolly is the choreographer. Andrea Nevitt is the Line Producer. Gord McLennan is the Technical Producer. Ian Harvey is the Senior Editor.

The show features a mix of music, dancing, humor and skits that teach social lessons. The show always includes scenes from a concert in front of a preschool audience who actively participate in the singing and dancing.

The band members wear heavy makeup and/or prosthetics to look like live action cartoon characters. During the first season, they wore cloth hoods with fake ears.

Characters

The Doodlebops

• Deedee Doodle (Keyboards, piano, vocals) – Deedee is dressed in purple and pink with a pink "bob" haircut and a purple headband. She plays the keytar and the keyboard and is a lead vocalist for songs called "Different Things", "Tick Tock", and "You Are My Friend" including some of her solo performances like "Tap, Tap, Tap" and "When The Lights Go Out". She is portrayed by Lisa Lennox. Deedee is the only female Doodlebop throughout the series.
• Rooney Doodle (Guitar, vocals) – Rooney is dressed in all blue. He also plays the guitar. Like his outfit, both his hair and ukulele are blue. He has a red beret on his head with his matching shoes. He is an inventor and likes to watch demolition derbies.^[1] In one of the episodes, he struggles to play his invention called the Honkophone which is a mix of horns. He is portrayed by Chad McNamara.
• Moe Doodle (Drums, vocals) – Moe is dressed in yellow and orange and has orange, shaggy hair. He plays the drums, and is known for his loud and messy antics. Moe likes to watch silent films. In the segment called "Don't Pull the Rope", in each episode, he always pulls the rope and the water falls on him. He is portrayed by Jonathan Wexler.

Supporting

The Doodlebops and Bus Driver Bob at a Doodlebops Live! concert in Anaheim, California on February 29, 2008.

• Bus Driver Bob – Bob drives the Doodlebop bus. He is portrayed by John "Giovanni" Catucci. He knows how to play the guitar, but is shy about it and only plays for himself.^[2] He is also a big fan of trains.^[3] Bob has an identical twin brother named Rob and another off-screen brother named Obear.^[4]

• Jazzmin – The manager of the Doodlebops at the start of season two. She is portrayed by Jackie Richardson. Jazzmin aspires to be a stage actress, and is able to play the harp.^[2] She can disappear by snapping her fingers.
• Jumping Judy – Mazz's cousin who bounces when she moves. She was portrayed by dancer Stacey Bafi-Yeboa (billed as Stacey Martin).^[5]
• Mazz – The Doodlebops manager during season one. She was portrayed by Kim Roberts.
• Audio Murphy – Audio Murphy is a blue dog who acts as the Doodlebops' video producer. He is voiced by Jason Hopley and is a puppet. Murphy claims that his middle name is "A Surprise" although this may just be a common expression.^[2] Murphy also loves to knit.^[2]
• Mudge – Mudge is a purple cat who is often the victim of Deedee's knock-knock jokes. He lives in a cupboard and he is voiced by Ron Stefaniuk.
• Mr. Moosehead – Mr. Moosehead is the head of a moose which hangs on the wall of the Doodlebops' clubhouse and he is voiced also by Ron Stefaniuk.

Recurrent themes

• Where's Moe? – Deedee and Rooney enter through a door and introduce themselves, and subsequently can't find Moe, Deedee or Rooney whenever each of them says either "Uh-oh, where's Moe?" as a rhyme. This initiates the recurring "Where's Moe?" theme, in which the two Doodlebops search for Moe, sometimes acquiring help from Moosehead or Mudge. Eventually, Moe reveals himself, after the Doodlebops are not successful in finding him. However, sometimes, the two Doodlebops find him.
• The Pledge – The Doodlebops all line up together and recite the Doodlebop pledge, waving their flags in the process (and the lights going dark in the studio). Once they finish, they all engage in acrobatic activities for a few seconds.
• It's Jazzmin! – After the Doodlebops pledge, their manager Jazzmin appears from behind a bookshelf, scat singing before speaking in rhyme to the Doodlebops. She departs by snapping her fingers and disappearing, which the Doodlebops then try to copy and wonder how she does it.
• Don't Pull the Rope! – Just before the Doodlebops head into the recording studio to meet with Audio Murphy, a rope falls from the ceiling, which Moe pulls down, regardless of the others warnings of pulling the rope. When Moe pulls the rope, he is drenched in water and subsequently shakes it off.
• Get on the Bus! – The Doodlebops each join Bus Driver Bob on his bus after their session at the recording studio ends. Bob honks the bus' horn, the Doodlebops board, and dance and sing their way to the Doodlebops concert.

Changes from Season one to Season two

There were several production and design changes that occurred on the TV show between season one and season two. Among them:

• The opening montage ends with a computer generated version of the Doodlebops play room. In season one a jib arm was used for a real shot of the room.
• Doodlebops wore a Spandex hood that matched their makeup with fake ears attached to make them appear more cartoon like. In season two, the stick out style ears were removed as was the head/neck wrap. Slight makeup alterations were also made to Rooney and Deedee in season two.
• In season one, there was at least two songs performed in the concert segment, sometimes three or even four. In season two, the concert is two songs maximum, and in five episodes, only one song was performed.
• Deedee's bouffant hair style became slightly bigger, and more stylish between season one and two. Her skirt also appears to be less hoop style and slightly more form fitting.
• Deedee's keytar is different and so is Rooney's guitar. Moe sometimes uses a portable version of his drums during the video.
• Moe frequently shrinks himself in order to hide from his fellow Doodlebops (as is the custom "Where's Moe?" sequence). In season one, Moe did not display his shrinking ability, opting to hide behind props, inside of boxes, etc.
• "The Pledge" on season two has a longer introduction, including a playful acrobatic sequence at the end.
• In season two, the Doodlebops manager, Jazzmin, is able to snap her fingers then disappear when she leaves, only to have the Doodlebops to ask, "How does she do that?" at every occurrence. In season one, the manager was Mazz, an entirely different character, who left the scene the way she came in which was through a secret passage on the wall, while singing a jazzy scat style lyric.
• "Don't Pull the Rope" Although not a very big change, the splash that hits Moe's head after he pulls the ropes is a much bigger splash in season two than in season one.
• After Moe pulls the rope, the Doodlebops head straight to their recording studio where they record and shoot the video for their upcoming concert with Audio Murphy. In season one, no recording studio was used and the Doodlebops would normally head outdoors to play and go about having fun.
• The "Get on the Bus" sequence underwent several changes from season one to season two. The bus itself was increased in size (from the outside), slight artistic alterations in the interior, the dance music was re-recorded adding in more instruments, such as horns or percussion; the Doodlebops no longer performed a "musical break" in the middle of the song.
• In season two, while on stage the Doodlebops each have an article of clothing that is more sparkly than their usual everyday attire. However, when they are backstage and about to run onto the stage and start singing, they still have their casual costumes on. It is only when the curtains go up that their concert outfits have seemed to magically appear on them when they ran onstage.
• "Knock, knock" - Deedee performs the joke in every episode with Mudge, and it takes place at a hot dog stand where Mudge is the hot dog attendant. In season one, this skit was performed in front of Deedee's mirror.
• The ending song is cut down in most episodes for timing reasons.

Changes made in Season three

• Deedee's keyboard on the concert stage is now more like a benchtop.
• The "Knock Knock" joke goes back to taking place in front of the mirror, and has shifted the emphasis off the "knock-knock" variety. Also, the curtain doesn't come down during this segment anymore. Two or three episodes, all in the second half of the season, don't even have the joke due to time constraints.
• A lower proportion of the season's episodes than those in season two have a second song on stage, with only two of the first seven episodes having two songs at the end before the joke. If one episode has two songs, one of them is always "Floating Like a Feather".
• The Doodlebops do the dance they did in Audio Murphy's studio again on stage. The dance is known as the Dance of the Day and is shown to the kids before the concert.
• To change into their tour jackets and their concert gear, the Doodlebops spin around. On the later costume change, they say "We're the Doodlebops!" while changing.
• The bookcase spins around instead of sliding outwards when Jazzmin comes in.
• The "Get on the Bus" song is sometimes cut down to save time.
• The background during the credits is changed to one of the Doodlebops meeting and greeting their fans before the show. In a few episodes, this is instead one of the ending song.

Character changes from Season one to Season two

• Two talking mannequin heads, who looked and sounded like a mocked up version of British royalty, were gone after season one.
• Mazz, the band manager who rhymed every sentence, was no longer on the show after the second season. Jazzmin replaced Mazz as the Doodlebops manager in season two.
• Occasional appearances from a chicken, a small alien and other smaller creatures during the search for Moe, have disappeared from the show.
• Audio Murphy appeared in the newly added recording studio as the band's engineer.

Rockin' Road Show

Although The Doodlebops TV series was cancelled, the Doodlebops have a new TV series called Doodlebops Rockin' Road Show, and is rated TV-Y. Jazzmin, Audio Murphy, Mr. Moosehead and Mudge no longer appear, for the Doodlebops are on tour. The only characters seen in every episode are Bus Driver Bob, Deedee Doodle, Rooney Doodle, Moe Doodle, and a small pink dog. In each episode, Mail Snail delivers the Doodlebops a DVD sent by a child in need of help. The child is then turned into an animated character and sent to the bus to be a "Doodle for a Day".

The Doodlebops: Together Forever Tour

A live theatrical show entitled The Doodlebops: Together Forever Tour has been developed and toured Canada in early 2009. The show includes musical performances of signature favorites as well as new songs. The live version incorporates giant screens and original sets and costumes. This production features a new cast of performers portraying the Doodlebops.^[6]

The show was produced by Koba Entertainment,^[7] and presented by Paquin Entertainment.^[8]

Exposure

• The Doodlepops began releasing CDs and DVDs in 2004. See Doodlebops Discography for more information.
• The Doodlebops toured America from August 2006 through March 2007.^[9]
• The Doodlebops second American tour began in September 2007, and finished in April 2008.
• The Doodlebops has been professionally dubbed into Irish and is broadcast as part of the children's afternoon package Cúla 4 on the Irish Language television station TG4 (including the songs).

The Doodlebops Together Forever World Tour

The Doodlebops performed in these cities in 2011-2012

• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Singapore City, Singapore
• Bangkok, Thailand
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Kingston, Jamaica
• Moscow, Russia
• San José, Costa Rica
• Athens, Greece
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Tokyo, Japan
• Kyoto, Japan
• Kobe, Japan
• Nagoya, Japan
• Osaka, Japan
• Niigata, Japan
• Chiba, Japan
• Fukuoka, Japan
• Caracas, Venezuela
• Munich, Germany
• Berlin, Germany
• Shanghai, China
• Guadalajara, Mexico
• Beijing, China
• Madrid, Spain
• Barcelona, Spain
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Hong Kong, Hong Kong
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Oslo, Norway
• Mexico DF, Mexico
• Rome, Italy
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Monterrey, Mexico
• La Paz, Bolivia
• Seoul, South Korea
• São Paulo, Brazil
• Paris, France
• Melbourne, Australia
• Sydney, Australia
• New York City, United States
• Los Angeles, United States
• Dallas, United States
• Houston, United States
• Miami, United States
• Orlando, United States
• Chicago, United States
• Washington, D.C., United States
• London, United Kingdom
• New Delhi, India
• Bogota, Colombia
• Santiago, Chile
• Auckland, New Zealand
• Lima, Peru

Zach and Dec and Friends

An upcoming program for Tiny Pop, it stars live children. Some of them are Declan (Dec) Browne, Zachary (Zach) McDonald and Tanya Gibbons. The antagonists of the show will be Big Sue and Big Lou, large elephant-headed kangaroos with human hair that speak English with an "Aussie" accent. They are nicknamed Kangaphants.

References

1. The Doodlebops episode "TheSoloSurprise"
2. "The Solo Surprise". The Doodlebops are really cool.
3. "All Aboard the Doodle Train". The Doodlebops. 2006-03-15.
4. "Don't Use It, Don't Need It". The Doodlebops. 2006-11-20.
5. "Greta Leeming Studio of Dance". gretaleemingdance.com. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
6. "Doodlebops". doodlebops.com. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
7. "doodlebops". koba-entertainment.com. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
8. "Paquin Artists Agency, Doodlebops Live! Together Forever". paquinentertainment.com. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
9. "Doodlebops Press Release". Feld Entertainment. April 5, 2006. Retrieved 17 December 2014.

External links

• Doodlebops.com (official site)
• DeedeeRooneyMoe.net (Fansite)
• The Doodlebops at the Internet Movie Database
• The Doodlebops at TV.com