Squirt (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Squirt |
|
|---|---|
| Starring | Ryan Inglis, Jo Holley, Spike T. Penguin |
| Country of origin | New Zealand |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Single |
| Running time | 30 minutes (plus commercials) |
| Release | |
| Original network | TV3 (1996-1997) TV 2 (1997-2006) |
| Original release | 1 March 1996 – 26 November 2006 |
Squirt was a popular children's television show from New Zealand. It was made in Dunedin and first started showing in 1996 on TV3. Later, in 1997, it moved to TV 2 and continued until November 2006.
Squirt was a Saturday morning show. It used to be on for two hours, showing cartoons and fun segments. Later, it became a shorter, 30-minute show. During its time, Squirt showed many cool cartoons like Cow & Chicken, Batman of the Future, and Earthworm Jim. The show also had weekly competitions where kids could win prizes. Plus, there were interesting parts like "Out There!" and "Astounding Squirt Facts" that taught viewers new things.
Contents
How Squirt Was Made
Squirt was special because it used new technology for its time. The show was made by a company called TaylorMade and another called Animation Research Limited (ARL). They were pioneers in using "live" motion capture for a digital character.
Meet Spike the Penguin!
The show had a cool digital co-host named Spike The Penguin. Spike was a 3D animated character. To make Spike move and talk, a performer wore a special suit off-camera. This suit captured all their movements and voice. These actions were then instantly shown on a screen as Spike. This meant Spike could react in real-time to what the main host was saying! All of Spike's movements were recorded digitally. Later, these recordings were used to create the final, polished Spike. Then, Spike was added into the show's scenes, ready for everyone to watch. This was a very advanced way to make a character for TV back then.
Who Hosted Squirt?
Squirt had several hosts over the years who made the show fun and exciting.
Final Hosts
These were the hosts who were on the show towards the end:
- Ryan Inglis
- Jo Holley
- Spike The Penguin (whose voice and movements were done by Katie Brockie)
Past Hosts
Many other talented people also hosted Squirt before the final team. Some of them were:
- Matthew Gibb
- Dominic Bowden
- Thomas Robins
- Chris Dykzeul
- Beau Jeffries
- Jason Gunn
- Gordon (an animated fish)
- Hamish (another animated fish, voiced by Simon McKinney)
- Newt (also an animated fish)
Cartoons and Shows on Squirt
Squirt was well-known for showing a variety of popular cartoons and other children's programmes. Here are some of the shows that were featured:
