Tayo the Little Bus

Tayo the Little Bus
Genre Children, comedy
Written by Choi, Jong-Il
Directed by Kim, Min-sung
Voices of Robyn Slade - Tayo
Nolan Balzer - Rogi
Kami Desilets - Lani
Kerri Salki - Gani
Opening theme Tayo the Little Bus
Ending theme Vroom, Vroom, Vroom!
Country of origin South Korea
Original language(s) Korean
English (Dubbed)
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 78
Production
Running time 15 minutes per episode
Production company(s) Iconix Entertainment
Distributor Educational Broadcasting System
Release
Original network Educational Broadcasting System
Disney Channels Asia and Korea
Original release 2010 (2010) – present
External links
Official website .95em; font-weight:bold; color:#555;">(English)</span>
Production website

Tayo the Little Bus (Hangul: 꼬마버스 타요,; RR: Kko-ma-beo-seu Ta-yo) is a South Korean computer-animated television series created by Iconix Entertainment and Educational Broadcasting System of Seoul.[1] The show was produced with the help of Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon's administration.[2] It began airing in South Korea on EBS in 2010, and an English-dubbed version of the series began airing on Disney Junior (Asia) in 2012, with Disney Junior (Australia and New Zealand) following in 2013. In the United States and Canada, Hulu is the exclusive distributor of the series.[3]

The series is available in Korean, English and Spanish on the production company's Tayo YouTube channel.[4]

Characters

Main characters

The series features four main characters. Tayo (Bus 120, blue) is a playful and sometimes mischievous. Rogi (Bus 1000, green) is his brother and best friend, although the two often get into fights with each other. Funny and mischievous himself, Rogi also has an interest in detective work, as can be seen in "Rogi the Detective!" and "Prank Call Madness". Both friends resemble a Hyundai Super Aero City. Lani (Bus 02, yellow) is youngest of the four. She is cheerful and kind. Possessing little tolerance for arguments, she often acts as a mediator between Tayo and Rogi. The main cast is rounded out by Gani (Bus 1339, red), who is hardworking, warm-hearted, and shy. He is the oldest of the four.

Supporting characters

Many supporting characters feature in the series as well. Hana is a kind mechanic, who takes care of the little buses and works in the bus depot repair shop. Citu (who's original name was Cito), a red double-decker tour bus, serves as a father-figure for Tayo, Rogi, Lani, and Gani. He often reprimands Tayo and Rogi for getting too rough. However in "Cito's Secret" it is revealed that he had a boisterous past himself. An old mentor of his, Bubba, appeared in this episode.

Frequent supporting characters

Recurring supporting characters

Guest characters

Reception

At a Vietnamese seminar for addressing the struggles of the Vietnamese animation industry, Korean animators named Tayo the Little Bus as a series that has been "dominating" the Korean market. These animators also noted that the series is popular in China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.[5]

Cultural impact

Route 9401 bus that received Gani wrap

In 2014, the Seoul Metropolitan Government commissioned buses designed as the characters Tayo, Gani, Rogi, and Lani, to run around the Gwanghwamun Square area of the city. This was done as part of an initiative to teach children how to use the bus. The initiative was a massive success, drawing crowds of over 40,000 in a single day. People from all across the country came to see the buses. Although the buses were originally set to run from March 26 until Public Transport Day at the end of April, their popularity led to an extension until Children's Day on May 5. The number of buses was also expanded from the original four to 100. In wake of this success, the local governments of other cities in South Korea have considered adopting the campaign.[6] Although officials for the city of Seoul initially opposed this, on copyright grounds,[7] they consented in April to letting other cities use the characters for non-commercial purposes.[2]

Jaeyeon Woo of The Wall Street Journal's blog Korea Real Time, speculated in an April 2014 article that the success of this initiative led both of Gyeonggi Province's gubernatorial candidates, Kim Sang-gon and Nam Kyung-pil, to adopt public transportation issues as a key part of their campaign platforms. Seoul-mayor Park Won-soon, who began the initiative, has been criticized by some of his political rivals, who feel that he took credit for the series, even though the series was began by his predecessor's administration.[2]

On October 16, 2014, a South Korean group called the Teen Astronauts, launched a space balloon designed as the character Tayo from the Space Science Park in Korea's National Science Museum.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Tayo the Little Bus: About"
  2. 1 2 3 Jaeyon Woo (April 11, 2004). "All Aboard the Election Express". Korea Real Time. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 3, 2004.
  3. ↑ "Tayo the Little Bus on Hulu"
  4. ↑ "Tayo YouTube channel"
  5. ↑ "Vietnam cartoons of good quality, yet still unappealing to viewers". tuoitrenews.vn. October 13, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  6. ↑ Yoon Sojung (April 8, 2014). "Have fun riding the bus with Tayo & friends". Korea.net. Government of South Korea. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  7. ↑ Bae Myeong-jae (April 7, 2014). ""Tayo Bus" Craze in Seoul, "Can't People in Other Areas Ride Tayo?"". The Kyunghyang Shinmun. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  8. ↑ M.H. Lee (October 18, 2014). "Space Balloon and Tayo Mini Bus Travel to Space — for Short Time". The Korea Bizwire. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
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