Kenny the Shark facts for kids

Kenny the Shark is an American animated TV show. It was made by Discovery Kids. The show first aired on NBC from November 1, 2003. It finished on February 19, 2005. There were two seasons with 26 episodes in total.

The series is about a tiger shark named Kenny. He is special because he acts like a human. Kenny is a big shark, about six feet long and weighing 800 pounds. He is tired of being a predator in the ocean. Instead, he wants to live with a regular family in the suburbs.

Before the TV show, Kenny appeared in short videos. These shorts were shown in the late 1990s. In those, you didn't see Kenny. You saw things from his point of view. Unlike many cartoons, this show takes place in a real town. It is set in Tiburon, California.

The theme song for the show was created by PFFR. This group also made music for other TV shows. After the series ended, reruns of Kenny the Shark continued to air. They were shown until March 25, 2012. The show briefly returned on Discovery Family in August 2017. It came back again in August 2020. The series first aired in the UK in April 2004 on CITV. Later, it was also shown on DMAX.

Meet the Characters

Here are some of the main characters from Kenny the Shark:

• Kenny the Shark (voiced by Jim Conroy): Kenny is a tiger shark with a funny and sarcastic personality. He's usually happy and carefree. Kenny got tired of living in the ocean. So, he moved to land where he can walk on his tailfins. He can also breathe air just like humans! But he gets super excited when he sees or hears a seal. Kenny lives with Kat and her family. He loves to eat chum, seal pops, and sushi.
• Katarina "Kat" Cassidy (voiced by Kelli Rabke): Kat is a young student. She is the only one who can understand Kenny's language. Kat loves sharks very much. She is Kenny's owner and his best friend. Kat is a positive and fun-loving person. She usually wears sandals. In one episode, it was revealed her full name is Katarina. Kat is 10 years old at the start of the series. She turns 11 in the episode "Goodbye, Old Chum."
• Karl Cassidy (voiced by Karen Culp): Karl is Kat's little brother. He is only about 1 ½ years old. He thinks Kenny is a dog! Karl doesn't appear in many episodes.
• Grace Cassidy (voiced by Karen Culp): Grace is Kat and Karl's mom. She is married to Peter. Grace is a psychiatrist. She runs her practice from their house. Grace is always kind and caring. She loves Kat, Karl, Kenny, and Peter equally. Sometimes, Kenny accidentally scares away her patients.
• Peter Cassidy (voiced by Russell Horton): Peter is Kat and Karl's dad. He is married to Grace. Peter is an eco-friendly person. He owns a store that sells organic groceries. He often gives Kat and Grace nicknames based on fruits and vegetables. Peter isn't always happy with Kenny. He gets annoyed by Kenny's constant eating, shedding teeth, and breaking things.
• Oscar (voiced by Nicolas King): Oscar is Kat's best human friend. He is very interested in the ancient Mayan people. He believes he is descended from them.
• The Phoebes: This is a group of three popular girls. They all share the same name. Kat tries to be friends with them. But she soon learns they are mean and rude. They become Kat's rivals. They call her a "sea dweeb" because she loves sharks. At first, they are scared of Kenny. But they start to like him after watching a movie called "Finding Nimoy." This movie is about a cute baby shark.
• Burton Plushtoy III (voiced by Oliver Wyman): Burton is a rich and annoying child. He is one of Kat's rivals. Plushtoy wants to add Kenny to his own collection of rare pets. Kat has stopped him twice. He speaks with a British accent.
• Merkins the Butler: Merkins is Plushtoy's butler. He helps Plushtoy when he tries to kidnap Kenny. He also has a British accent.
• Marty (voiced by Rob Bartlett): Marty is a Dachshund dog. He is Kenny's other best friend. Marty often gives Kenny advice. Kat seems to understand Marty just as well as she understands Kenny.
• Elly (voiced by Amy Love): Elly is a Bull shark from the aquarium. Kenny has a crush on her. She likes Kenny for who he truly is. She doesn't like it when he tries to be someone else.
• Capt. Ahearn: He is a local sailor captain. He can be a bit strange. He believes all sharks are dangerous. He tried to catch Kenny, thinking he was protecting Kat. After Kenny saved him, they became friends. He sometimes helps Kat and Kenny.
• Brock: Brock is a muscular former paperboy. He is a few years older than Kat. Kat used to have a crush on him. This made her pay less attention to Kenny. Kenny got jealous and scared Brock away twice.
• Grandma Pat: She is Kat and Karl's grandmother. She is Peter's mother. Grandma Pat loves Kenny very much. In one episode, Kenny took advantage of her kindness because she kept feeding him.
• Lola: Lola is Marty's girlfriend. She is seen in the episode Kenny in Love.
• Dr. Flossmore: He is the neighborhood dentist. He is seen in the episode The Check Up. His name is a funny play on words. He wants kids to "floss more."
• Ms. Hattie: She is an older, grumpy woman. She appears in Naughty Naughty Kenny. She seems nice at first, but then shows her mean side.
• Gezabelle: Gezabelle is Ms. Hattie's pet cat. She is seen in Naughty Naughty Kenny.
• Buster the Orca: Buster is a fierce-looking orca. He has a strong personality to match his looks. He looks down on Kenny because tiger sharks are natural prey for orcas. He often makes Kenny do what he wants by threatening him.

Episode List

DVD and Digital Releases

You could find Kenny the Shark on DVD in the US. Genius Products and Discovery Home Entertainment released two volumes in 2007. A third volume came out in 2008.

In Australia, Magna Pacific released three DVD volumes in 2005. These were called "First Bite," "Second Bite," and "Third Bite." Each had several short episodes.

The first 10 episodes also became available to buy online. You could get them on the iTunes Store in 2009.

See also

In Spanish: Kenny el tiburón para niños