The Backyardigans

Plot

The show centers around a group of five animal neighbors named Uniqua, Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, and Austin.^[4][5] They share a large backyard between their houses. In each episode, they meet in the backyard and imagine themselves on a fantastical adventure. Their adventures span a variety of different genres and settings; many episodes involve visiting different parts of the world, traveling back or forward in time, and using magic or supernatural powers. The characters give themselves different jobs or roles depending on the episode's imaginary setting, such as detectives, knights, or scientists. From the second season onward, many episodes are parodies of action-adventure films such as James Bond, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, and Ghostbusters.

The openings and endings of the episodes follow a similar pattern. The stories begin with the characters in the backyard, introducing themselves and explaining the scenario they are about to imagine, which causes the backyard to transform into an environment fitting their scenario they are imagining. When the Backyardigans finish their adventure, their stomachs begin to growl, leading to them deciding to have a snack at one of their houses. As they return home, the fantasy sequence fades, restoring the original backyard setting. The characters sing a closing song, say their goodbyes to the audience, then walk inside the house that belongs to the snack inviter and close the door. As the episode ends, at least one character reopens the door and shouts a phrase related to the adventure.

The show follows the format of a stage musical. Each episode is set to a different genre of music and features four songs. The characters sing and dance to the songs with original choreography. The song and dance routines are often used to introduce a character's imaginary role, further the plot, or explain a problem. In addition to singing songs in a new genre each episode, the show's background music changes to match, scoring all of the Backyardigans' actions.

Characters

Each of the five characters on the show has two voice actors: one for speaking, and the other for singing, while in the UK dub, the same voice actor is for both speaking and singing. Live-action dancers first performed the dancing on the show, and their movements were later transported to animation. The choreographer, Beth Bogush, described the process: "What we do is we film the live footage in the studio, send that off, and they do a Leica, and then they send it to the animators. The animators watch and were pretty precise. What we film for that day is pretty close to what you see in the character."^[6]

Main

• Uniqua (speaking voice by LaShawn Jefferies, singing voices provided by Jamia Simone Nash in Seasons 1 to 3 and Avion Baker in Season 4 in the US and voiced by Lizzie Waterworth in the UK) is a pink-spotted unique creature who is curious, self-confident, and adventurous. She likes to tell jokes and make her friends laugh. The series uses the name "Uniqua" for both the character and her species. She usually imagines herself having roles that require brains and courage, such as a scientist or pirate captain. Creator Janice Burgess described Uniqua as the child she wished she was like as a child. She is the only Backyardigan to appear in every episode.^[7]
• Pablo (speaking voices by Zach Tyler Eisen in Season 1, Jake Goldberg in Seasons 2 to 4 and singing voice provided by Sean Curley in the US and voiced by Janet James in the UK) is a blue penguin who is high-strung, frenetic, and tends to overreact. Due to his energy and impetuousness, he often goes into a "panic attack" when he faces an obstacle, running around in circles and telling everyone not to worry until someone gets his attention by calling his name three times. Pablo's panic attacks became less prominent after the first season, though in the later episode "The Flipper!", his propensity for getting overexcited is the main plot point.
• Tyrone (speaking voices by Reginald Davis Jr. in Season 1 and the first 3 episodes from the second season,
  Jordan Coleman in Seasons 2 and 3, Chris Grant Jr. in Season 4 and singing voices provided by Corwin C. Tuggles in Season 1, Leon Thomas III in Seasons 2 and the first 5 episodes from the third season, Damani Roberts in 3 episodes of Season 3 and Tyrel Jackson Williams in Seasons 3 to 4 in the US and voiced by Maria Darling in Seasons 1 & 2 and Emma Tate in Seasons 3 & 4 in the UK) is a red-haired orange moose
  who is laid-back and cool-headed. He is best friends with Pablo, and he is almost the complete opposite of Pablo in terms of personality, with his calm and easygoing character. Tyrone is known for his sarcastic comments, one of them being "That certainly was convenient." At the end of most episodes, he says, "That was an excellent (type) adventure, don't you think?" Despite not appearing to wear pants, Tyrone somehow manages to put his hands in his pockets.
• Tasha (speaking voices by Naelee Rae in Seasons 1 and 2, Gianna Bruzzese in Seasons 3 and 4 and singing voices provided by Kristin Klabunde in Seasons 1 and the first 5 episodes from the third season and Gabriella Malek in Seasons 3 to 4 in the US and voiced by Maria Darling in Seasons 1 & 2 and Emma Tate in Seasons 3 & 4 in the UK) is a strong-willed yellow hippopotamus who is rational, skeptical, and highly motivated to get her own way. She is the most serious of the Backyardigans, though she can be just as easy going as the others from time to time. Her catchphrase is "Oh, for goodness sakes." Nickelodeon describes Tasha as "deceptively sweet" and "tough-as-nails."
• Austin (speaking voice by Jonah Bobo, singing voices provided by Thomas Sharkey in Seasons 1 to 3 and Nicholas Barasch in Season 4 in the US and voiced by Lizzie Waterworth in the UK) is a shy but fun-loving purple kangaroo. In the first season, he is reserved and soft-spoken due to recently moving into the neighborhood. In later episodes, Austin becomes more outgoing and is revealed to be smart and imaginative. Austin rarely appears in the spotlight, but takes the role of the lead character in several episodes. Beth Bogush described him as "the one pulling up the rear. He's kind of a get-along guy."^[6]

Recurring

• The Wormans are a fictional species of colorful worm-like creatures who speak in squeaks and gibberish. They appear in every season.
  • Sherman (vocal effects by Oliver Wyman) is a small, orange-spotted yellow Worman. Sherman is easily scared due to his small size. He appears in "The Heart of the Jungle", "Polka Palace Party", and "Attack of the 50 Foot Worman".
• Dragon (vocal effects by Oliver Wyman) is a friendly, green-colored dragon who appears three times (the special "Tale of the Mighty Knights" and the episode "The Tale of the Not-So-Nice Dragon"). He hatched from a spotted egg and lives inside of Dragon Mountain.
• The Aliens are green-colored aliens with eyestalks who appear four times: "Mission to Mars", "News Flash", "Los Galacticos", and "The Big Dipper Diner".
• The Giant Clam is a hungry, irritable clam who appears in "The Legend of the Volcano Sisters" and "The Great Dolphin Race". He is very protective of his pearl. He pants and acts like a dog.
• The Voices were included in the episodes "Secret Mission" and "It's Great to Be a Ghost!" that do not come from any shown character.
• Robot Roscoe (vocal effects by Evan Matthew Weinstein) is a robot owned by Austin, who appears three times in the fourth season (the two-part special "Robot Rampage" and the episode "Elephant on the Run").

Episodes

Production

Janice Burgess drew inspiration from action films^[13] when writing episodes of the show, as she wanted to adapt high-stakes stories for a young audience.^[2] In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Burgess was asked what inspired the show; she responded, "I know this is going to sound very strange, but the things I really draw upon are action films. I like Die Hard, Star Wars, the Tolkien movies ... I thought it would be fun to take kids on that big adventure."^[14] The character of Uniqua was based on how Burgess viewed herself as a child; as a result, Uniqua was written as the leader of the Backyardigans, and Uniqua was the only character who appeared in every episode.

The main characters were based on designs by children's book author and illustrator Dan Yaccarino.^[15] Michael Lennicx, an artist at Nick Digital, co-designed the characters.^[16]

Before Nickelodeon ordered the first season, two pilot episodes of The Backyardigans were made. The first was a live-action pilot titled "Me and My Friends,"^[17] filmed at Nickelodeon Studios in September 1998.^[18] The characters were played by full-body puppets who danced on an indoor stage. The pilot was rejected by Nickelodeon, and Janice Burgess decided to rework the concept into an animated show. In 2002, a second pilot was created; it was a computer-animated short produced at Nickelodeon Digital.^[19] The second pilot was greenlit by Nickelodeon to become a full-length series. Nickelodeon called the show "a home-grown Nick Jr. property," as "the whole creative team... [had] been part of the Nick Jr. family for years."^[20]

In December 2009, Nick Jr. president Brown Johnson stated that Nickelodeon intended to keep the show running for "at least another five years. Maybe forever."^[2] Nickelodeon believed that The Backyardigans was an ideal "evergreen" property: a series that would stay in production for a long time through multiple generations. A fifth season was planned in 2009.^[2] However, in 2010, Janice Burgess decided to end The Backyardigans to start working on Nickelodeon's newer projects: a revival series of Winx Club. Burgess brought the former Backyardigans crew onto Winx Club as well. This included lyricist McPaul Smith; writers Jeff Borkin, Adam Peltzman, and Carin Greenberg; line producer Sara Kamen; and script coordinator Jonathan Foss. Burgess worked as a story editor, writer, and creative consultant on Winx Club.^[21] The crew considered it a natural progression, as Winx Club was also a musical action-adventure show, but it targeted an older audience, allowing them to branch out.

Reception

The Backyardigans received eight