Animal Crackers (TV series) facts for kids

Animal Crackers is a fun French-Canadian animated TV show. It was made by Cinar and Alphanim. The show is based on a comic strip called Animal Crackers. It's all about a group of animals living in a make-believe jungle in Africa called Freeborn.

The series first aired in Canada on Teletoon in 1997. In the United States, it was shown on Fox Family starting in 1998. Later, it also appeared on the Cookie Jar Toons block on This TV from 2008 to 2009.

Meet the Animal Crackers Characters

This show features a lively cast of animals. They all have unique personalities and often get into funny situations. Let's meet some of the main characters you'll see in Freeborn.

Main Characters in Freeborn Jungle

• Lyle Lion (voiced by Mark Camacho): Lyle is not your typical "King of the Jungle." He's a bit shy and insecure. He'd rather study philosophy or order a vegetarian pizza than hunt. His biggest goal is to go on a date with Lana. He also dreams of becoming an astronomer.

• Dodo (voiced by Teddy Lee Dillon): Dodo is the very last dodo bird alive. He's Lyle's best friend. Dodo is often impatient and a little self-centered. He strongly believes he can fly, even though he can't. This leads to many hilarious attempts to take off, using all sorts of strange methods.

• Eugene (voiced by Terrence Scammell): Eugene is a huge elephant, but he acts like a big baby. He loves being the center of attention. He can be quite bossy and uses his size to get what he wants. Secretly, he loves eating peanut butter and stomping on flowers. But watch out – a tiny mouse can make him freak out!

• Gnu (voiced by Marc Montgomery): Gnu is supposed to be the leader of his herd, but he's not very good at it. He's lazy, timid, and often gets lost. Despite his flaws, Gnu is kind-hearted and cares deeply for his herd. He's also a loving single dad to his son, Junior.

• Lana (voiced by Kate Hutchinson): Lana is smart, pretty, and strong-willed. Lyle has a big crush on her. She cares a lot about all the animals in Freeborn. Lana loves to read and is often seen with her nose in a book. Even though she doesn't always show it, she might have a secret crush on Lyle too!

Other Fun Characters in Freeborn

• Tito: Tito is a quiet chameleon who never speaks. He's often with the main characters. Because he's small and silent, he sometimes gets accidentally knocked, stepped, or sat on. People even mistake him for an object! But Tito is very smart and often helps solve problems.

• Lance: Lance is another lion. He often tries to get Lana's attention, competing with Lyle.

• Louie: Louie is Lyle's nephew, a lion cub still in diapers. We hear his thoughts, but the other characters don't. Louie is smarter than his uncle Lyle.

• Bud and Edna: These are two human tourists who visit Freeborn. They are often annoying and don't realize what's happening around them.

• Junior and the herd: Junior is Gnu's son. He's smarter and has more common sense than his dad. He loves and respects Gnu, even when Gnu is a bit embarrassing. The rest of the herd is as lazy as Gnu. They often avoid stampedes!

• Elmo the Crocodile: Elmo is a calm crocodile who usually just floats in the pond. Sometimes, other animals accidentally land on his head. He's usually friendly, but sometimes he tries (and fails) to convince smaller animals to let him eat them.

• Lamont the Hippopotamus

• Roxanne the Ostrich (voiced by Dawn Ford)

• Grandpa Tortoise and his grandsons

• Sergeant Rhino

• Snake

• Frog and Toad

About the Episodes

Animal Crackers has 3 seasons with a total of 39 episodes. Each episode is usually split into two shorter stories or "segments." This means you get two different adventures in one show! The series first aired in 1997 and finished in 1999.

Who Made the Show?

Many talented people worked behind the scenes to bring Animal Crackers to life.

• Executive Producers: Micheline Charest, Ronald A. Weinberg, Christian Davin
• Producer: Cassandra Schafhausen
• Directors: Nadja Cozic, Louis Piche, Pascal Pinon, Greg Bailey (supervising director)
• Comic Strip Creator: Roger Bollen
• Writers: Joseph Mallozzi, Ian Boothby, Wayne Millett, and many others helped write the fun stories.