Zoboomafoo
Encyclopedia
Zoboomafoo is an American
children's television series
that aired from January 25, 1998, to April 21, 2001, and is still shown today in syndication
depending on the area, and it is regularly shown on PBS Kids Sprout
. A total of 65 episodes were aired. A creation of the Kratt Brothers (Chris
and Martin Kratt
), it features a talking Coquerel's Sifaka
, a type of lemur
named Zoboomafoo, or Zoboo for short, and a collection of repeat animal guests. Every episode begins with the Kratt brothers in "Animal Junction", a peculiar place in which the rules of nature change and wild animals come to visit and play. On January 19, 2004, the show was pulled from its weekday airing.
leaping across a field to reach them. When the lemur reaches Animal Junction, the Kratt brothers offer him a snack, generally some lemur-appropriate food like garbanzo beans, sweet potato
or mango
slices, whereupon the "real" lemur spins around on a turntable (yelling, "ZOBOOMAFOOOOOOOOO!!!") and becomes a talking lemur puppet. This change enables Zoboomafoo to lead into the main segment of the episode, which he begins by describing a "Mangatsika!" (a Malagasy
word literally meaning "cold," but incorrectly used in the show to mean "cool!") animal that he saw as he traveled to Animal Junction.
As he describes the animal, a song is played wondering "Who Could It Be?", while a cartoon shows the characteristics of the "mystery animal". At the end of the song, Chris and Martin attempt to guess the animal Zoboomafoo has described, and the mystery is solved when the animal or animals arrive at Animal Junction. Each episode has a theme, for example, baby animals, frightening animals, or the importance of play, and the arrival of the "mystery bum" leads the Kratts and Zoboo into a conversation about various aspects of that particular animal.
Once an episode, Zoboomafoo says that some event in Animal Junction reminds him of a time in Zobooland, where Zoboo tell stories about his friends in Zobooland, such as: Gooble, Narchi, Sensit, Wiggy Waxwing, Green Puppy, Slimantha, Noggendrill, Snow Lemur, Baby Zoboomafoosaurus, Zoboomafoosaurus, Buggly, Phibby and Cy. These segments are animated using clay animation
and feature distinct voices for each character. Chris and Martin also leave Animal Junction near the end of each episode to better demonstrate the theme of the day, travelling to exotic places like India
or Africa
to visit the creatures there.
s of the show include the Kratt brothers (and sometimes Zoboo) falling in a swimming pool, a mud puddle, and even falling down. The most prominent of these recurring jokes, the "closet" gag, involves a crammed closet which the brothers open to gather needed items for an exploration. As the Zoboomafoo puppet sings a song about the brothers' preparations for "going on a trip", the brothers open the door and an avalanche of outdoor items and clothing fall on them, knocking them over and resulting in laughter from the brothers. They then emerge from the pile of gear, fully equipped for their trip; in one episode, the brothers open the closet, expecting to be buried under its contents, only to find a clean and organized closet. A form of slapstick comedy shown in the show is when the Brothers or Zoboo gets hit by flying items, such as pies, balls, and even yarn thrown by animals. An example would be in the episode "Fling". Zoboomafoo's catchphrases are "Mangatsika!", "I meant to do that", and "I can't believe my mind!" Also, just before the trip, there is always a bird that flies down towards Animal Junction, causing the brothers to yell, "Incoming, Duck!" The bird isn't always a duck; sometimes it is an eagle, a falcon, or an owl.
, a vulture
, a duck
, and several others. The letters lead into short stories illustrating the Animal Helpers' interactions with the animals in their environment, performing small tasks such as placing a baby bird back in its nest, or leading a calf back to a mother cow.
Zoboo would also give the animals interesting names that have to do with their appearance, behavior, or personality. Examples: A male elephant was given the name "Toothbrush" because of his bristly hair; a young female chimp was named "Brainiac", because chimps are very intelligent; two sloths were named "Slow" and "Slower", because sloths are very slow; a dog was given the name "Lostnfound", because he was a lost dog, but was then found; and a tiger was named "Popper", because she pops balls, along with her sister "Pepper"; a white-fronted capuchin monkey was named "Fling" because he likes to throw things around; and a horse was named "Fuzz", because she's very soft.
Other segments include: "Zoboomafoo", "I Feel (whatever Zoboo is feeling like today)" and "Come Make an Animal Friend Today".
Before the credits of each episode, the Kratt brothers mention animal facts that lead Zoboo to a joke. For example, "Knock-Knock. Who's there? Panther. Panther Who? Panther no pants, I'm going swimming."
in Durham, North Carolina
. Partial filming for the show took place on location at the Lemur Center. Although the last new episode aired on PBS on Saturday April 21, 2001, PBS Kids Sprout
airs reruns twice every afternoon, at 12:30 p.m. and again at 4:17 p.m. In 2003 the Kratt Brothers committed to a new show, Be the Creature
, on the National Geographic Channel
. Zoboomafoo still continues to air regularly on many PBS stations.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
children's television series
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
that aired from January 25, 1998, to April 21, 2001, and is still shown today in syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
depending on the area, and it is regularly shown on PBS Kids Sprout
PBS KIDS Sprout
PBS Kids Sprout is a U.S. digital cable television channel, video-on-demand service, and website providing PBS Kids shows and original programming for preschoolers and their families...
. A total of 65 episodes were aired. A creation of the Kratt Brothers (Chris
Chris Kratt
Christopher F. "Chris" Kratt is an American host of television programs Wild Kratts, Kratts' Creatures, Zoboomafoo, and Be the Creature, which airs on the National Geographic Channel....
and Martin Kratt
Martin Kratt
Martin William Kratt is an educational nature show host. He and his brother Chris Kratt grew up in Warren Township, New Jersey, and together created the children's television series Kratts' Creatures and Zoboomafoo as well as Be the Creature, which runs on the National Geographic Channel...
), it features a talking Coquerel's Sifaka
Coquerel's Sifaka
Coquerel's sifaka is a medium-sized lemur of the sifaka genus Propithecus. Like all lemurs, it is endemic to Madagascar.-Description:...
, a type of lemur
Lemur
Lemurs are a clade of strepsirrhine primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. They are named after the lemures of Roman mythology due to the ghostly vocalizations, reflective eyes, and the nocturnal habits of some species...
named Zoboomafoo, or Zoboo for short, and a collection of repeat animal guests. Every episode begins with the Kratt brothers in "Animal Junction", a peculiar place in which the rules of nature change and wild animals come to visit and play. On January 19, 2004, the show was pulled from its weekday airing.
Premise and structure
Upon their arrival at Animal Junction, the Kratt brothers lean out the window and summon Zoboomafoo, who is shown in a live-action segment as an actual lemurLemur
Lemurs are a clade of strepsirrhine primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. They are named after the lemures of Roman mythology due to the ghostly vocalizations, reflective eyes, and the nocturnal habits of some species...
leaping across a field to reach them. When the lemur reaches Animal Junction, the Kratt brothers offer him a snack, generally some lemur-appropriate food like garbanzo beans, sweet potato
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
or mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
slices, whereupon the "real" lemur spins around on a turntable (yelling, "ZOBOOMAFOOOOOOOOO!!!") and becomes a talking lemur puppet. This change enables Zoboomafoo to lead into the main segment of the episode, which he begins by describing a "Mangatsika!" (a Malagasy
Malagasy language
Malagasy is the national language of Madagascar, a member of the Austronesian family of languages. Most people in Madagascar speak it as a first language as do some people of Malagasy descent elsewhere.-History:...
word literally meaning "cold," but incorrectly used in the show to mean "cool!") animal that he saw as he traveled to Animal Junction.
As he describes the animal, a song is played wondering "Who Could It Be?", while a cartoon shows the characteristics of the "mystery animal". At the end of the song, Chris and Martin attempt to guess the animal Zoboomafoo has described, and the mystery is solved when the animal or animals arrive at Animal Junction. Each episode has a theme, for example, baby animals, frightening animals, or the importance of play, and the arrival of the "mystery bum" leads the Kratts and Zoboo into a conversation about various aspects of that particular animal.
Once an episode, Zoboomafoo says that some event in Animal Junction reminds him of a time in Zobooland, where Zoboo tell stories about his friends in Zobooland, such as: Gooble, Narchi, Sensit, Wiggy Waxwing, Green Puppy, Slimantha, Noggendrill, Snow Lemur, Baby Zoboomafoosaurus, Zoboomafoosaurus, Buggly, Phibby and Cy. These segments are animated using clay animation
Clay animation
Clay animation or claymation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually Plasticine clay....
and feature distinct voices for each character. Chris and Martin also leave Animal Junction near the end of each episode to better demonstrate the theme of the day, travelling to exotic places like India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
or Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
to visit the creatures there.
Segments
- Zoboomafoo Theme Song
- Mystery Animal Song
- Zobooland Story #1
- Jackie and Animal Helpers
- "Going to the closet"/A Journey to Visit Animals
- Zobooland Story #2
- Animal Friends Song
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired (U.S. dates) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere Season premiere In North America, a season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a given television show. It often airs in September or October, after several months of reruns.-Evaluating the changes:... |
Season finale Season finale A season finale is the final episode of a season of a television program... |
|||
| 1 | 40 | |||
| 2 | 25 | |||
Running gags
The show has some forms of slapstick and situation comedy as well. Running gagRunning gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
s of the show include the Kratt brothers (and sometimes Zoboo) falling in a swimming pool, a mud puddle, and even falling down. The most prominent of these recurring jokes, the "closet" gag, involves a crammed closet which the brothers open to gather needed items for an exploration. As the Zoboomafoo puppet sings a song about the brothers' preparations for "going on a trip", the brothers open the door and an avalanche of outdoor items and clothing fall on them, knocking them over and resulting in laughter from the brothers. They then emerge from the pile of gear, fully equipped for their trip; in one episode, the brothers open the closet, expecting to be buried under its contents, only to find a clean and organized closet. A form of slapstick comedy shown in the show is when the Brothers or Zoboo gets hit by flying items, such as pies, balls, and even yarn thrown by animals. An example would be in the episode "Fling". Zoboomafoo's catchphrases are "Mangatsika!", "I meant to do that", and "I can't believe my mind!" Also, just before the trip, there is always a bird that flies down towards Animal Junction, causing the brothers to yell, "Incoming, Duck!" The bird isn't always a duck; sometimes it is an eagle, a falcon, or an owl.
Animal helpers
Another segment of the show features a group of children, including actress Genevieve Farrell who starred on the show for 26 episodes, known as the "Animal Helpers", who send messages to the Kratt brothers at Animal Junction via a series of birds; a barn owlBarn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
, a vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
, a duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
, and several others. The letters lead into short stories illustrating the Animal Helpers' interactions with the animals in their environment, performing small tasks such as placing a baby bird back in its nest, or leading a calf back to a mother cow.
Zoboo would also give the animals interesting names that have to do with their appearance, behavior, or personality. Examples: A male elephant was given the name "Toothbrush" because of his bristly hair; a young female chimp was named "Brainiac", because chimps are very intelligent; two sloths were named "Slow" and "Slower", because sloths are very slow; a dog was given the name "Lostnfound", because he was a lost dog, but was then found; and a tiger was named "Popper", because she pops balls, along with her sister "Pepper"; a white-fronted capuchin monkey was named "Fling" because he likes to throw things around; and a horse was named "Fuzz", because she's very soft.
Other segments include: "Zoboomafoo", "I Feel (whatever Zoboo is feeling like today)" and "Come Make an Animal Friend Today".
Before the credits of each episode, the Kratt brothers mention animal facts that lead Zoboo to a joke. For example, "Knock-Knock. Who's there? Panther. Panther Who? Panther no pants, I'm going swimming."
Production notes
The actual lemur that portrays Zoboomafoo is Jovian, a captive Coquerel's Sifaka housed at the Duke Lemur CenterDuke Lemur Center
The Duke Lemur Center is an sanctuary for rare and endangered prosimian primates, located at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. It is the largest sanctuary for prosimian primates in the world....
in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
. Partial filming for the show took place on location at the Lemur Center. Although the last new episode aired on PBS on Saturday April 21, 2001, PBS Kids Sprout
PBS KIDS Sprout
PBS Kids Sprout is a U.S. digital cable television channel, video-on-demand service, and website providing PBS Kids shows and original programming for preschoolers and their families...
airs reruns twice every afternoon, at 12:30 p.m. and again at 4:17 p.m. In 2003 the Kratt Brothers committed to a new show, Be the Creature
Be the Creature
Be the Creature is a creation of the Kratt Brothers . A wildlife series designed to immerse both the brothers and the viewers in the world of animals, Be the Creature features 13 episodes. Unlike other Kratt Brothers programs, Kratts' Creatures and Zoboomafoo, Be the Creature is oriented towards a...
, on the National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
. Zoboomafoo still continues to air regularly on many PBS stations.
Response
Zoboomafoo received the 2001 Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series and a Parent's Choice award.Funding For Zoboomafoo
- Park Foundation (1998-2004)
- Danimals Yogurt (1998-2000)
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(1998-1999) - Northwestern Mutual (1998-2004)
- CNET.comCNET.comCNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
(1999-2000) - SprintSprint NextelSprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
(2000-2005) - National Science FoundationNational Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
(1998-2004) - Corporation for Public BroadcastingCorporation for Public BroadcastingThe Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
(1998-Present) - Viewers Like You (1998-present)