Pocoyo
| Pocoyo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Preschool education |
| Created by |
Guillermo García Carsí David Cantolla Luis Gallego Colman López |
| Written by |
Guillermo García Carsí Andy Yerkes Ken Scarborough (series 2) |
| Directed by |
Guillermo García Carsí David Cantolla Alfonso Rodriguez |
| Narrated by |
Jose María del Río (Castilian Spanish) Stephen Fry (English) Stephen Hughes (English, 3rd and 4th seasons) |
| Theme music composer | Daniel Heredero |
| Country of origin |
Spain United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) |
Castilian Spanish English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 104 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Kathryn Hart for Zinkia Entertainment Anne Brogan for Granada Kids Jonathan Doyle for Cosgrove Hall Films |
| Producer(s) |
Carolina Matas Pilar Cubría |
| Running time | 7 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Zinkia Entertainment Cosgrove-Hall Films (2004–2009) |
| Distributor | ITV, Granada Kids and Granada International (UK) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Clan TVE |
| Original release | 7 January 2004 – 24 December 2009 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| Production website | |
Pocoyo (Pocoyó in Spanish) is a Spanish-British pre-school animated television series created by Guillermo García Carsí, Colman López, Luis Gallego and David Cantolla, and is a co-production between Spanish producer Zinkia Entertainment, Cosgrove-Hall Films and Granada International. Two series have been produced, each consisting of 52 seven-minute episodes. English actor and comedian Stephen Fry narrates the English-language version and José María del Río narrates the Castilian Spanish version of the first two seasons, while Stephen Hughes narrates the third season, called Let's Go Pocoyo.
Set in a 3D space, with a plain white background and usually no backdrops, it is about Pocoyo, a 4-year-old boy, interacting with his friends Pato (a duck), Elly (an elephant) and Loula (a dog). Viewers are encouraged to recognise situations that Pocoyo is in, and things that are going on with or around him. The narrator usually speaks explicitly to the viewers and to the characters as well. Each character has its own distinctive dance and also a specific sound (usually from a musical instrument), and most episodes end with the characters dancing. Many episodes also involve parties.
In the United Kingdom, it was originally broadcast on CITV, a children's strand on the ITV network. In September 2007, Channel 5 acquired terrestrial rights in the United Kingdom to the first and second series, making it part of the Milkshake! strand. The show, however, will continue to air on the CITV Channel.[1] Other broadcasters in the English speaking countries include RTÉ in the Republic of Ireland, Nick Jr. in the U.S. nationwide and local station KCET-TV as well as KLCS-TV channel 58-2 in Los Angeles and on Univision in LATAM Spanish, Treehouse TV in Canada,[2] ABC in Australia and TVNZ in New Zealand.
In Russia, Pocoyo is aired on Карусель (Carousel) children's channel.
In the Philippines, Pocoyo was aired on Disney Junior.
In Spain, TVE2 started broadcasting the second series in April 2008.[3] The third season began airing in 2009 under the title Let's Go Pocoyo and was designed to teach English to Spanish preschoolers. The makers also wish to embark upon other projects, one of which may be a Pocoyo movie.[4]
In June 2006, Pocoyo was awarded the Cristal Award for the "Best TV Production" at the 30th Annecy International Animated Film Festival.[5]
Development
Pocoyo's name was provided by David Cantolla, one of the creators, after his then three-year-old daughter used it in her nightly prayers saying "Eres niño poco yo" ("You're a child little me") instead of "Eres niño como yo ("You're a child like me"). "Pocoyó" could roughly be translated to English as "little me", "not much me" or "a little bit me", though it is a made-up construction.[6]
The show is created with Softimage XSI software.[2]
Main characters
- Pocoyo is the eponymous main character of the series. He is a four-year-old boy[7] who is full of curiosity and loves to play games and discover new things. He is very acrobatic and moves at a quick speed. He is always shown wearing blue clothes and a hat. His best friends are Pato, Elly, and Loula. He has a vehicle called the Vamoosh which he can use to travel under the water, in the air or through space. Although he is very friendly and sweet and almost always in a good mood, Pocoyo is also highly self-centered, distracted by the simplest things, easily frustrated, frequently jealous of his friends, and disobedient, but tries his hardest to fight his flaws and learn morals. He is voiced by Montana Smedley most of the time, but occasionally, by Alex Marty.
- The Narrator (del Rio, Fry or Hughes) speaks over the entire show, and often communicates directly with the characters. Pocoyo has a good relationship with him, and is always to delighted to see (hear) him. The narrator is also at times physically involved in the events of the episodes, making him more of an heard-but-not-seen character rather than a strict narrator.
- Pato is a yellow duck who wears nothing but a small green hat. He has a fondness for gardening, and is often seeing watering plants and flowerbeds. Pato means duck in Spanish, Portuguese, Filipino, Tok Pisin and Papiamento. He is a favourite amongst the young children due to his enjoyable dancing and the fact that his beak turns 360 degrees. Although friendly, Pato is the most fussy and impatient character (indicated by his beak that bends in an angle when disappointed or shocked); on occasion he completely loses his temper, jumping up and down and quacking furiously with his beak spinning rapidly. He is used as a jackhammer or missile and can become a helicopter. In the pilot episode in 2003, he was first called Ducky then changed the name to Pato.
- Elly is a pink elephant who always wears a blue backpack. She loves making biscuits and tea, and has a doll that she loves very much. Despite her size, she is graceful and gentle, capable of ballet dancing. She is, however, very bossy and generally does things her way. She usually rides around on her pink scooter.
- Loula is Pocoyo's orange-yellow pet puppy and companion. She is also strictly a dog as she walks on all four of her legs. She sometimes hops as she is walking. Originally, the character's name was Lucas, in tribute to creator and director Guillermo García Carsi's dog but due to a shortage of female characters, the character was renamed Loula.
- Sleepy Bird is a teal-coloured bird. It does little but sleep and usually flies with its eyes closed. It is named "Pajaroto" in the Spanish version (reportedly named after a Zinkia employee nicknamed "Maroto", and bearing a strong resemblance to him) The character also known as "Pajaro Dormilon" in the LATAM-Latin American Spanish version.
- The Children are a group of kids who, like The Narrator, speak over the show, answering questions asked by The Narrator in order to assist Pocoyo in solving a problem or to let Pocoyo in on what's going on. Like the Narrator, the children's consistent involvement in the plot make them a sort of character in the show.
Recurring characters
- Aliens are sweet big and little green, pink, and blue tripedal beings that Pocoyo finds in space in search of his toy plane and other adventures. They communicate with one another using staccato 'clicking' noises.
- Baby Bird is the small, always active (he has not inherited his mother's fondness of sleeping) and loud baby of Sleepy Bird, who gets into tricky situations from which he is rescued by Pocoyo. He is best friends with Caterpillar. Named "Pajarito" in Spanish version ('little bird').
- Ball Orchestra is a group of three ball-like creatures who play the trumpet, drums and cymbals.
- Butterfly is a very hungry butterfly which Pocoyo occasionally catches.
- Caterpillar (named "Valentina" or "Oruga" in Spanish) is a yellow caterpillar with a blue bow on top of her head. She speaks in gibberish and has the ability to change into a butterfly and back when she wants. She is best friends with Baby Bird. When overjoyed or frustrated, she tends to slam her face forward into the ground.
- (Fred the) Octopus (AKA Pulpo in the Spanish version) is a lunatic red octopus (although shown with only 4 legs, as to make animation rendering simpler) who speaks in gibberish like Caterpillar, and is very fond of opera singing. He appears in random episodes, sometimes as a major character, sometimes in passing. As of Season Two, he is sometimes referred to as 'Fred'. His vocal style is reminiscent of Pee-wee Herman.
- Music Flower & The Band are musical characters who play music that Pocoyo likes.
- Whale is a huge white whale with red cheeks whom Pocoyo meets under the sea.
- Baby Spider is a small blue spider that hatched out of an egg that Pato finds.
Episode list
To date three series have been produced, each with 52 episodes. There is also an unreleased episode entitled "The See-Saw",[8]
Pilot (2003)
Series 1 (2004–06)The following is based on the YouTube Pocoyo Channel:
Series 2 (2006–09)
Movies
Let's Go PocoyoIn 2009, a third season was made called Let's Go Pocoyo. It was designed to teach basic English to Spanish preschoolers. It features games, songs, activities, numbers, and letters. Spin-offIn 2016, a new spin-off show called "Pocoyo Planet" was created. Episodes of the new show can be found on the Noggin app. DVD releasesRegion 2 (UK/England)
Pocoyo Friendy Fun Episodes 1.41–1.13 Region 1 (US/Canada)
Region 4 (Australia/New Zealand)
References
External links
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