Happy Monster Band facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Happy Monster Band |
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Title card from the first season
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| Created by | Don Carter |
| Directed by | Chris Prynoski (season 1) Steve Loter (season 2) |
| Music by | Tally Hall |
| Country of origin | United States United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Loris Kramer Lunsford Jason Netter |
| Running time | 5 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Kickstart Productions Titmouse, Inc. |
| Release | |
| Original network | Playhouse Disney |
| Original release | October 1, 2007 – October 28, 2008 |
Happy Monster Band is a fun animated TV show for kids that first aired on Playhouse Disney. It ran from October 1, 2007, to October 28, 2008. The show was created by Don Carter and made by Kickstart Productions. It's all about a group of friendly monsters who sing catchy songs. These songs teach important lessons about friendship, being kind, staying active, and helping with chores. In its second season, the show was called Happy Monster Band: World Tour, taking the monsters on exciting adventures around the globe!
Meet the Happy Monster Band!
The Happy Monster Band features a group of four musical monsters. Each monster's name matches its main color. Don Carter designed these unique characters. Even though the monsters are kids in the show, their amazing singing voices come from the band Tally Hall. In the UK version, children's voices were used for the songs.
The Band Members
Frred: The Red Guitarist
Frred is the red monster and one of the band's lead singers. He plays a cool purple electric guitar. Many fans see Frred as the leader of the band. His singing voice was provided by Rob Cantor, and his speaking voice by Kurt Doss.
L.O.: The Yellow Bassist
L.O. is the yellow monster and another lead singer. He plays a green bass guitar with four strings. L.O. is a bit different from other monsters; he loves to paint and write poetry instead of trying to scare people. He's known for being a little shy and is the oldest member of the band. Zubin Sedghi provided his singing voice, and Trevor Gagnon (or Nathan Simpson in the UK) did his speaking voice.
Bluz: The Blue Keyboardist
Bluz is the blue monster and the band's keyboardist. He has four legs and plays a bright magenta keyboard with twelve black keys. Bluz sometimes disagrees with L.O., thinking monsters should be scary, not artistic. During the World Tour, Bluz showed he knew a little about different languages. He is also very kind and friendly. Bluz is the youngest member of the band. Joe Hawley was his singing voice, and Jonah Lees or Jake T. Austin were his speaking voices.
Ink: The Pink Drummer
Ink is the pink monster and the band's drummer. She has three eyes and her drums can glow in different shades of pink, magenta, or purple. Ink mostly sings during the choruses of songs, but she does have a solo part in the song "Do the Monster Stomp." On the World Tour, she carried a globe to show where the band was traveling and could speak several languages. Her singing voice was by Tara Sands, and her speaking voice by Hannah Leigh.
Other Fun Characters
Show Hosts and Judges
In the first season, you'll meet Roc and Raoul. They are two-headed purple monster brothers who host the show. They often speak in rhyme! They also appeared in the second season. The first season also featured three judges: La, Dee, and Da. They are all bright green and were inspired by famous TV judges.
World Tour Friends
As the band traveled the world in season two, they met many new friends:
- The Rancher: An introducer in Texas.
- The Beret Monster: A monster Bluz talked to in France.
- The Gondolier: A monster who rows a gondola in Italy.
- Dwight: A giant monster in Italy who was often hungry. He was humorously blamed for the Tower of Pisa leaning and for a missing part of the Colosseum wall.
- Joey: A friendly kangaroo in Australia.
- Ravi: An energetic four-year-old boy in India who knew a big Bollywood star.
- Akito: The band's pen pal in Japan, who had a robot named Robo-Dude.
- Johnny and Franklin: Introduced in Argentina in the episode "The Monster Tangle."
- The Queen: A three-eyed monster living in Buckingham Palace in England.
Adventures in Every Episode
The Happy Monster Band had two seasons filled with exciting songs and stories.
Season 1: Direct from Monsterland
This season had ten episodes, each with a special message:
- "I Will Be Your Friend" – The monsters celebrate how great their friendship is.
- "I'm the Best at Being Me" – L.O. learns it's okay to be different, even if he prefers art over scaring.
- "Do the Monster Stomp" – The band performs a fun dance.
- "Do Re Mi–Mi–Mi" – Ink gets help from her friends to write a song.
- "Monster Hoe Down" – The monsters dress up as cowboys and cowgirls for a lively dance.
- "Even Monsters Cry Sometimes" – Frred feels sad, and his friends show him it's perfectly fine to cry.
- "Dirty, Smelly Monster Chores" – L.O. learns about doing chores, even if they can be messy.
- "Get Up and Go Go Go" – The monsters share their morning routines, from brushing teeth to getting ready.
- "Scare Up Some Fun" – The band tries to surprise Roc and Raoul.
- "Practice Makes Progress" – Ink practices hard for a jump rope contest.
Season 2: World Tour
In this season, the band traveled to different countries, learning about new cultures:
- "At the Rodeo" - The band visits a ranch in Texas, where Frred becomes a rock-and-roll rodeo cowboy.
- "A Wonderful Time in France" - In France, Bluz wants to know where the Beret Monster got his cool hat.
- "The Italian Way" - The band is in Italy, and Frred is hungry, but L.O. accidentally drops his camera.
- "Yin and Yang" - The band explores Hong Kong.
- "Here in Australia" - The monsters perform at the famous Sydney Opera House in Australia.
- "In India" - The band makes a Bollywood movie in India with a tiger, a snake charmer, and an elephant.
- "Siesta! Siesta!" - The band plays soccer in Spain.
- "Konichiwa!" - The band rocks out in Japan.
- "The Monster Tangle" - In Argentina, the band performs their own "Monster Tangle" dance.
- "London Town" - The band finds a double decker bus in England after their own bus gets a flat tire.
Behind the Scenes
The catchy music for Happy Monster Band was created and performed by Rob Cantor, Joe Hawley, and Zubin Sedghi from the indie rock band Tally Hall. Don Carter, a children's book author and illustrator, came up with the characters and the idea for the show. Judy Rothman Rofé wrote all the episodes for the first season and five episodes for the second season.
Over time, the show's website mentions were updated. For example, if you watched it in the UK, it would mention playhousedisney.co.uk. After Playhouse Disney became Disney Junior, the website changed to disneyjunior.com.
Where to Watch
In the United Kingdom, Happy Monster Band was shown on Playhouse Disney (later Disney Junior) from October 5, 2007, until 2014.
