Animalia (TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Animalia
Created by	Graeme Base (book)
Developed by	Graeme Base Tom Ruegger Ewan Burnett Doug MacLeod Robyn Base Bruce D. Johnson
Written by	Sherri Stoner John P. McCann Deanna Oliver Tom Ruegger Nicholas Hollander Mark Seidenberg John K. Ludin John Loy
Directed by	David Scott
Voices of	Brooke Anderson Katie Leigh Robert Mark Klein Kate Higgins Dean O'Gorman Christopher Hobbs Peta Johnson
Theme music composer	Graeme Base Yuri Worontschak
Composer(s)	Christopher Elves
Country of origin	Australia United Kingdom Canada United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	40 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Graeme Base Tom Ruegger Ewan Burnett Murray Pope Bruce D. Johnson
Producer(s)	Ewan Burnett Murray Pope
Editor(s)	Tom Ruegger
Running time	24 minutes
Production company(s)	Burberry Productions Animalia Productions PorchLight Entertainment Lux Animation
Distributor	Cyber Group Studios
Release
Original network	Network Ten (Australia) CBBC (United Kingdom) PBS Kids (United States) Kids CBC (Canada)
Picture format	NTSC (480i) 720p 1080i (HDTV)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	11 November 2007 (2007-11-11) – 11 May 2008 (2008-05-11)

Animalia is a fun animated TV show for kids, based on a popular picture book from 1986 by Graeme Base. The show first aired in Australia on November 11, 2007, on Network Ten. It ran for two seasons and finished on November 5, 2008.

Story of Animalia: What's It About?

The show Animalia follows two human kids, Alex and his friend Zoe. They discover a magical library that takes them to a world called Animalia. In Animalia, animals can talk and live like people! But strange things start to happen, causing problems for the Animalian world. Alex and Zoe team up with their new animal friends, G'Bubu the gorilla and Iggy the iguana. Together, they try to save Animalia from tricky villains.

Meet the Characters of Animalia

Human Characters

• Alex (Brooke Mikey Anderson) – Alex is an artist who loves to draw. He's calm and adventurous, and he's good at jumping! Alex can see special hidden doors (portals) that can take anyone anywhere in Animalia. This makes him very important.
• Zoe (Katie Leigh) – Zoe is a smart and sassy girl. She met Alex by accident and followed him to Animalia. Even though they sometimes argue, she becomes good friends with Alex, calling him "Sketch Boy." Zoe is also a great storyteller.
• Stanley – Stanley is the librarian of the Metro Library in the human world. He appears in a few episodes and is similar to Livingstone in Animalia.
• Emma – Emma is Zoe's friend. We don't see her, but we hear her voice when Zoe calls her on her PDA. Emma doesn't believe Zoe when she talks about Animalia.

Animalian Characters

Did you know? All the Animalian characters' names start with the same letter as their animal species, just like in the original book!

• G'Bubu (Chris Hobbs) – G'Bubu is a big, green gorilla. He lives in a treehouse with his best friend, Iggy. G'Bubu is a fun-loving teenager who enjoys playing around. He's also smart about Animalia and his family. He used to be scared of frogs but bravely overcame his fear to save his friends.
• Iggy (Robert Mark Klein) – Iggy D'Iguana is an iguana with a very excited personality. He thinks he's super important but often gets ahead of himself. He and G'Bubu were the first to become friends with Alex and Zoe. They always help their human friends. Iggy also has a crush on Zoe! He can change his body color to blend in.
• Livingstone T. Lion (Chris Hobbs) – Livingstone T. Lion is the young leader of Animalia and the protector of the Core. He knows a lot about the Core and everything in Animalia. Livingstone is kind and helpful, but sometimes he worries if he can fix Animalia's problems.
• Reenie (Peta Johnson) – Reenie Rhino is a Scottish Rhino. She works at Animalia's Great Library and helps Livingstone keep the Core stable. Reenie is very smart and friendly, with a big heart.
• Allegra (Kate Higgins) – Allegra is a teenage alligator who lives in the swamps. She loves herself and can be a bit snappy. She often acts like a villain in the show. Allegra dreams of being a singer, but her voice isn't very good, except to her two friends, Bitzy and Snitzy. Zoe helped her improve her singing! Her favorite saying is "dang-a-lang!"
• Tyrannicus (Dean O'Gorman) – Tyrannicus is a sly tiger who is the main bad guy. He believes he should rule Animalia instead of Livingstone. He often tries to get rich quickly. He really dislikes Alex and Zoe, calling them "stink bugs," and wants them gone. His helper is Fuchsia the fox.
• Fuchsia (Katie Leigh) – Fuchsia is a smart fox with pink fur. She is Tyrannicus's assistant and helps him with his plans. She's also a secondary villain. Fuchsia often seems amused by Tyrannicus but sometimes gets annoyed with him.
• Elni & Erno (Peta Johnson & Chris Hobbs) – Elni and Erno are two friendly elephants who run the Elephants Eatery, Animalia's local restaurant. Elni is warm and loved by everyone, while Erno's cooking is great, even though he tends to panic a lot.
• Herry & Horble (Dean O'Gorman and Robert Mark Klein) – Herry and Horble are two warthogs known as the "Horrible Hogs." They are a duo of criminals who can be a bit rude. They often ride loud motorcycles and sometimes work for Allegra or Tyrannicus.
• Melba & Melford – Melba and Melford Mouse are the main news reporters for Animalia News. They broadcast all the latest happenings on Fluttervision. Melba is calm and sensible, while Melford is a bit nervous and slow to think.
• Zee and Zed – Zee and Zed are zebras from Texas. They fly around in a big zeppelin-like balloon, giving news from high above Animalia. Zed is calm, but Zee is very excitable and talks a lot!
• Bitsy & Snitzy – Bitzy and Snitzy are Allegra's two female friends. They always do what she says and were the only ones who liked Allegra's singing before Zoe helped her.
• Victor & Verbal – Introduced in "Forget Me Not," Victor and Verbal are a vulture comedy team. Victor is the comedian, and Verbal is his funny ventriloquist dummy. They are popular because they are vegetarians (unlike most vultures) and have been making Animalians laugh for years.
• Rombolt – Rombolt is a Rhino and the boss of the Fluttervision Office. He first appeared in "Animalia's Talent-O-Topia."
• The Giraffe - A giraffe appears in the background of many episodes. We don't know if it's a boy or a girl, and it never speaks.
• The Creeper (Joey Lotsko) – The Creeper is a villain who used to be part of the Community Team. He was kicked out for using secret portals to steal from Animalians. Later, we learn the Creeper is actually a long-tailed weasel named Wooster Q. Weasel. He wants to take over Animalia by controlling the Core. He was defeated when Livingstone touched the Core while the Creeper was inside it, sending him away forever.
• The Toucans (Robert Mark Klein) – These colorful birds only speak one word in each sentence! They sometimes mix up their words, which can cause funny or even disastrous problems.
• Butterflies – In Animalia, people watch "Fluttervision" instead of TV. Big, beautiful butterflies fly to homes and arrange themselves to form a large screen. Animalians can watch the news on them, but only for a short time because the butterflies get tired.
• Peter Applebottom (Chris Hobbs) – Peter Applebottom is a crazy gorilla scientist. He is mentioned by G'Bubu and later appears when G'Bubu gets hit on the head and thinks he is Peter Applebottom.
• Dagmont Dragon – Dagmont is a character who first appears in "Over and Beyond." He captured Zee and Zed Zebra.
• Whim Unicorn (Peta Johnson) – Whim is a unicorn from the world of Over and Beyond. When Zoe and Iggy touched her horn, they were sent back to Animalia without Whim knowing why.

Core Spore Types: What They Do

The Core in Animalia releases different "Corespores" that cause all sorts of strange effects on the world and its animal inhabitants.

• Memory Spore: This spore makes all Animalians lose their memories. It looks like a compass.
• Rhyme Spore: This makes everyone in Animalia speak in rhymes. It looks like a ring.
• Time Spore: This spore makes time go crazy – it can loop, slow down, or stop completely. It looks like a pocket watch.
• Nature Spore: This causes all plants and nature to dry up and rot. It looks like a shell.
• Cooperation Spore: This makes Animalians unable to work together. It looks like gears.
• Generosity Spore: This spore makes Animalians become very greedy. It looks like a rainbow.
• Truth Spore: This causes Animalians to lie, and written truths disappear. It looks like a snowflake.
• Writing Spore: This makes all writing in Animalia vanish. It looks like a book of rights.
• Deep Thought Spore: This spore makes Animalians unable to think clearly. It looks like an orange light bulb.
• Hope Spore: This causes Animalians to lose all hope. It looks like seeds.
• Portal Spore: This special spore, lost long ago, lets all Animalians see the hidden portals.
• Word Spore: This makes Animalians forget words. It looks like sounds of words.
• Origin Spore: This gives Animalians the power to speak in their original animal languages. It looks like a chain.
• Speech Spore: This causes Animalians to lose their ability to speak. It looks like a mouth that switches voices.
• Stability Spore: This spore causes earthquakes. It looks like measuring scales.
• Peace Spore: This causes arguments and trouble among Animalians. It looks like Zoe's apology letter.
• Agreement Spore: This makes Animalians disagree with each other. It looks like a contract.
• Intelligence Spore: This spore makes Livingstone and Allegra switch how smart they are. It looks like tiny orbs.
• Superspore: Also called the miracle spore, this one completely heals the Core.

Where to Watch Animalia: Broadcast Info

The Animalia series was shown in many countries around the world!

• In the United States, it started on Animania HD on November 2, 2007, and later on PBS Kids on January 5, 2008.
• In Australia, it aired on Network Ten starting November 11, 2007, and also on Nickelodeon from May 2008.
• In the United Kingdom, you could watch it on CBBC on BBC One starting November 19, 2007.
• The show also aired in Norway on NRK from November 3, 2008.
• In Latin America, it was shown on Animal Planet and later on Tves in Venezuela.
• In India, the show was broadcast on Cartoon Network India.

Other channels involved in making the show include the BBC in the UK and CBC in Canada. It was also broadcast by SABC 2 in South Africa, Al Jazeera, and in Israel.

International Broadcasts

• Australia
  • Network Ten
  • ABC3
• Brunei
  • RTB
• Finland
  • Yle TV2

Animalia Books and More

In 2008, BBC Children's Books and the Penguin Group released four books based on the Animalia TV series. These books were written by Mandy Archer. They included:

• The Animalia Colouring Book
• The Animalia Sticker Activity Book
• Two storybooks: Animalia: Hello, we must be going and Animalia: Goodbye, we must be staying. These storybooks were based on the first two episodes of the show.

All these books had text and designs by Children's Character Books. The storybooks and sticker book also featured many colorful pictures from the TV show!

See also

In Spanish: Animalia (serie de televisión) para niños