Oobi: Dasdasi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Oobi: Dasdasi |
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The puppet characters in their costumes
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| Script error: The function "name_from_code" does not exist. | دس دسی صداش می آد |
| Genre |
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| Directed by | Amir Soltan Ahmadi |
| Starring |
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| Composer(s) | Amirali Razaghi |
| Country of origin | Iran |
| Original language(s) | Persian |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 78 |
| Production | |
| Production location(s) | Tehran, Iran |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 8 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting |
| Distributor |
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| Release | |
| Original network | IRIB TV2 |
| Picture format | NTSC (480i) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 22 September – 20 December 2012 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Oobi |
Oobi: Dasdasi (Persian: دس دسی صداش می آد; English translation: Dasdasi: Clapping Hands) is an Iranian children's television series created for channel IRIB TV2. It is an adaptation and spin-off of the American series Oobi. It was produced by and directed by Amir Soltan Ahmadi, two puppeteers who also starred on the program. The show featured performers , Banafsheh Samadi, and Isa Yousefipour.
Like on Oobi, the series follows a family of characters represented by bare-hand puppets. The American prop makers for Oobi supplied the puppet costumes, which are identical to those of the original show. Oobi: Dasdasi introduced new characters and locations, some of which highlight elements of Iranian culture. The stories have a heavy emphasis on comedy and typically follow the children of the family as they discover something new.
A total of 78 eight-minute episodes were made for the first season. They aired from 22 September to 20 December 2012, with six new segments premiering every week for three months. A second season was confirmed in a 2012 interview with the creators, but it did not play in Iran. In July 2013, the series was sold to international markets in Southeast Asia and Japan, becoming one of IRIB's first children's shows to air outside of Iran.
Contents
Plot
The main characters are a family of five: a boy and a girl, their parents, and their grandfather. The kids are mischievous and like to play tricks on their parents and each other; they are impressionable, easily amused, and known for frequently daydreaming. However, they are also genuinely curious about the world. They often ask their parents about science topics, like perception and the four seasons. Other times, they are interested in sillier things, like how to buy ice cream or play a mimicking game. No matter the episode's topic, the kids always learn about it in an awkward and humorous way.
The stories are eight minutes each with two or three intermissions. The intermissions are transition scenes in which a duo of puppets, called the Palms, have short adventures that relate to the episode's topic. They are sometimes joined by their friend Finger.
Cast
- Amir Soltan Ahmadi
- Banafsheh Samadi
- Isa Yousefipour
Production and broadcast
Negar Estakhr produced the series and Amir Soltan Ahmadi directed it. After the two watched a screening of the original Oobi in 2011, Estakhr pitched the idea of an Iranian version to IRIB TV2; her pitch focused on how Oobi had been successful with audiences in America and other international markets. IRIB told them to move forward with the show and the production team arranged sets and props. The American makers of acrylic eyes and hand-sized clothing from Oobi supplied the show with puppet costumes identical to those used on the American show. The Iranian crew added distinctive clothing, like Arab garments for the adult characters, to localize the puppet costumes.
Estakhr and Ahmadi hired veteran puppeteers from Kolah Ghermezi, one of Iran's longest-running puppet series. They cast male puppeteers with wide hands for the father and grandfather puppets, and female puppeteers with small hands for the children and women puppets. After assembling the cast, the actors held an impromptu photo shoot with their hand puppets to develop an understanding of their characters. Amirali Razaghi was hired to produce the show's music; he is a film score composer who previously worked as a music teacher at the Tehran University of Art.
The five main characters are represented by bare-hand puppets with eyes and accessories. The Palms characters are represented by upright hands with faces on the palms. The Finger character is represented by a male little finger with a brown wig.
The series was first announced in January 2012 when IRIB added it to the upcoming series section of its website. During filming, the writers worked closely with a think tank of IRIB staff members who ensured that each episode included the right blend of family-friendly humor. Production started on 21 May 2012 and ended on 20 September.
The first episode aired on 22 September. From then until 20 December, a new episode premiered once per day from Saturday to Thursday each week. Premieres were aired at 10:00 am, with an encore at 5:30 pm. Episodes were not broadcast on Fridays because Friday is a non-working day in Iran and the IRIB's children's block does not run. Reruns have continued to air in these time slots, but they are no longer played every weekday.
In July 2013, the series was screened and pitched to international broadcasters at a conference held by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. The Japanese station NHK obtained distribution rights for the series in Japan. It also aired in several Southeast Asian territories: Kuwait, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.
Second season
A second season entered development after the first. In an interview from December 2012, Estakhr confirmed that a second season was being made. The writers planned to introduce outdoor locations, namely a village and a forest, in addition to a cast of animal characters. The animals would be portrayed similarly to hand-shadow puppets. Season two would follow the family as the kids entered kindergarten, the family planted a garden, and the family learned about the water cycle. The season was never officially cancelled and it is possible that it finished production and aired outside of Iran.
