The Octonauts facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Octonauts |
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Kwazii, Barnacles and Peso
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| Genre | Children's Show Animation Action Adventure film |
| Created by | Meomi: Vicki Wong & Michael C. Murphy |
| Written by | Stephanie Simpson (head writer) Billy Aronson Glen Berger Ian Carney Cydne Clark Cusi Cram Sarah Durkee Steve Granat Carin Greenberg Jonathan Greenberg Peter Hirsch Adam Idelson Dave Ingham Susan Kim Catherine Lieuwen Myles Mcleod Allan Neuwirth Sascha Paladino Gabe Pulliam |
| Directed by | Darragh O'Connell Henry Lenardin-Madden (uncredited) |
| Creative director(s) | Stephen Robinson |
| Voices of | Simon Greenall Rob Rackstraw Paul Panting Keith Wickham Jo Wyatt Teresa Gallagher Michael C. Murphy |
| Theme music composer | Darren Hendley |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom Ireland |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 116 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Kurt Mueller Stephanie Simpson Cathal Gaffney Darragh O'Connell Jackie Edwards (CBeebies) |
| Producer(s) | Adam Idelson Karen Ialacci Gillian Higgins |
| Running time | 65 x 11 minutes 3 x 23 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Chorion (2010-12) Silvergate Media (2012-present) Brown Bag Films |
| Distributor | 9 Story International Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBeebies |
| Original release | 4 October 2010 – present |
The Octonauts is a popular British animated TV show made for children. It's produced by Silvergate Media for the BBC channel CBeebies. The animation is done in Ireland by Brown Bag Films, and British actors provide the voices. The TV series is based on fun children's books written by Vicki Wong and Michael C. Murphy from Meomi Design Inc.
The show is about an amazing underwater exploration team. This team is made up of eight animal characters who act like humans. They live in a special undersea base called the Octopod. From there, they go on exciting adventures deep in the ocean, using a fleet of cool underwater vehicles.
Even though their technology is make-believe, the amazing sea creatures and places they visit are based on real marine animals and their natural homes. The Octonauts is set to have a 6th series, which will bring new places, characters, and vehicles to explore!
Contents
The Octonauts Books
The original Octonauts books were first released in the USA in 2006. Later, in 2009, they were republished in the UK by HarperCollins. Meomi has published six books in this series:
- The Octonauts & the Only Lonely Monster: This story is about a Giant squid.
- The Octonauts & the Sea of Shade: In this book, everyone's shadows have disappeared!
- The Octonauts & the Frown Fish: This one features a very sad-looking catfish.
- The Octonauts & the Great Ghost Reef: This book teaches about coral bleaching, which is when coral reefs lose their color.
- The Octonauts Explore the Great Big Ocean: The Octonauts search for Tunip the Vegimal's home.
- The Octonauts & the Growing Goldfish: This story is about Dunkie, a huge goldfish that just keeps growing.
TV Show Books
A series of shorter books based on individual episodes from the TV show are also published. These books have an "As seen on TV" label on their covers. They are not written or illustrated by Meomi, but they share the same titles as the TV episodes they are based on.
The Octonauts TV Series
In 2010, The Octonauts was turned into a CGI animated TV series. It first aired in the UK on October 4, 2010, on CBeebies. The show became very popular and continued to air as repeats. A second series with new episodes started in November 2012.
The Octonauts also premiered in the US in January 2012 on the Disney Channel. For the US version, some characters' voices were changed to American accents. The show has been shown in many other countries too, including Ireland, Canada, and Australia. It has also been translated into languages like French, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Welsh, and Slovakian.
The TV series was created with help from real marine biologists, Dr. Lara A. Ferry-Graham and Dr. Michael H. Graham. They had also worked on the famous movie Finding Nemo.
Each episode of the TV show is about 11 minutes long. In every episode, the Octonauts meet an unusual but real sea creature as they explore different underwater worlds. They often need to learn an important fact about the creature to help it or themselves out of danger. The main characters in most stories are Captain Barnacles, Kwazii, and Peso. The other Octonauts usually help them in supporting roles.
The Octonauts use five special underwater vehicles called GUPs, from GUP-A to GUP-E. They also have the pedal-driven GUP-F, the narwhal-shaped GUP-S, the train-shaped GUP-V, and the strong GUP-X. The opening theme song ends with their motto: "Explore! - Rescue! - Protect!"
Meet the Octonauts Characters
The Octonauts team is made up of unique characters, each with their own special skills.
| Role | Name | Animal | Voice Actor | About Them |
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| Captain | Barnacles | Polar bear | Simon Greenall (speaking) Ross Breen (singing) |
Barnacles is the brave polar bear captain of the Octonauts. He can drive any vehicle and is strong enough to lift a giant clam. His catchphrases include "Octonauts, let's do this" and "Sound the Octo-Alert!". |
| Lieutenant and Creature Expert | Kwazii | Cat | Rob Rackstraw | Kwazii is a daring cat with a mysterious pirate past. He believes in many sea monsters and loves to drive fast in the Gup-B. He is afraid of spiders. His catchphrases are "Shiver me whiskers" and "Yeow!". |
| Medic | Peso | Penguin | Paul Panting (UK) Wayne Grayson (US) | Peso is the medic of the Octonauts. He can be scared sometimes, but he is very brave when someone is hurt. He has a younger brother named Pinto. His catchphrase is "Flappity flippers!". |
| Ocean Scientist and Founder | Professor Inkling | Grimpoteuthis (Dumbo octopus) | Keith Wickham | Inkling is an octopus who brought the Octonauts together. He wanted them to study the oceans and have adventures. His catchphrase is "Fascinating!" |
| Biologist | Shellington (Dr) | Sea otter | Keith Wickham | Dr. Shellington is a sea otter and a biologist. He helps the Octonauts on their missions. He is not the best driver. His catchphrases are "Jumping jellyfish!" and "Fascinating". |
| Engineer | Tweak | Rabbit | Jo Wyatt Jaimie Kelton (US, season 1) | Tweak is a rabbit who works in the launch bay. She often invents new things like the GUP-X and GUP-S. She calls Captain Barnacles "Cap". Her catchphrases include "Right away, Cap!" and "...faster than you can say 'buncha munchy crunchy carrots'!". |
| Computer Expert and Photographer | Dashi | Dog (Dachshund) | Teresa Gallagher (UK) Mary Murphy (US) | Dashi is the Octonauts' photographer. She also takes care of all the computers on the Octopod. Her catchphrase is "Already on it captain!". |
| Chef and Gardener | Tunip | Vegimal | Michael C. Murphy | Tunip is a Vegimal, which is a creature that is half-animal and half-vegetable. He loves to make kelp cakes and work in the greenhouse. He often speaks "Vegimalese," a language of chirps and warbles. |
Note: In newer UK books, Sauci's name was changed to Dashi to match the TV series.
Other Vegimals
Besides Tunip, there are many other Vegimals who help the Octonauts:
- Albachoy: half-bok choy and half-albacore.
- Barrot: half-bass, half-carrot. He can go super fast in emergencies.
- Carprika: half-paprika and half-carp.
- Codish: half-cod, half-radish. He is often clumsy.
- Grouber: half-grouper, half-tuber. He is big and can eat almost anything.
- Halibeet: half-beet and half-halibut.
- Maccoli: half-broccoli and half-mackerel.
- Perchkin: half-pumpkin and half-perch.
- Pikato: half-tomato and half-pike.
- Tominnow: half-minnow, half-tomato. She is the smallest but very daring.
- Salepeño: half-jalapeño and half-salmon.
- Sharchini: half-zucchini, half-shark.
- VegiBot: a robot Vegimal.
- Wallabaga: half-rutabaga and half-walleye.
- Yamchovy: half-anchovy and half-yam.
Friends and Family Characters
The Octonauts often meet other characters who are friends or family members:
- Calico Jack: Kwazii's pirate grandfather. He appears in the Amazon Adventure special.
- Pinto: Peso's little brother. He visits the Octopod and wants to be a medic like Peso.
- Sandy the sea turtle: A good friend of Tweak's. She travels long distances and meets the Octonauts often.
- Boris the narwhal: A friend of Captain Barnacles from when he was young. Boris lives in the Arctic.
- Pearl the sea otter: Shellington's married sister. She has a baby named Periwinkle.
- Bianca the polar bear: Captain Barnacles' twin sister. She and her cubs, Orson and Ursa, appear in The Great Arctic Adventure.
- Professor Natquik the Arctic fox: A polar explorer and old friend of Captain Barnacles.
- Ranger Marsh: Tweak's father and a park ranger.
- Koshi: Dashi's little sister.
The Octonauts Vehicles
The Octonauts use many different vehicles, called GUPs, to explore the ocean.
- The Octopod: This is their main mobile home base and the largest vehicle. It looks like a giant octopus.
- The GUP-A: This vehicle is powered by a propeller and is Captain Barnacles' favorite. It looks like an anglerfish.
- The GUP-B: This is Kwazii's favorite and the fastest GUP. It looks like a tiger shark.
- The GUP-C: This strong GUP has a towline and can even tow an elephant seal. It can also break ice. It looks like a blue whale.
- The GUP-D: This multi-purpose GUP has claws, drills, and legs. It is Tweak's favorite. It looks like a manta ray (or a crab when it uses its legs).
- The GUP-E: This green GUP is an ambulance. It has a tank that can be filled with water for creatures with gills. It looks like a guppy.
- The GUP-F: This was a pedal-powered vehicle seen only in one episode of series 1. It looked like a clownfish. It was later turned into an artificial reef.
- The GUP-H: This helicopter GUP looks like a dragonfly. It's used to fly above the sea and watch animals.
- The GUP-I: This is a tough polar exploration station and vehicle. It looks like a water bear.
- The GUP-K: This vehicle is half air-boat and half-tank. It can float on the surface and looks like a crocodile or alligator.
- The GUP-S: This is an Antarctic exploration vehicle. It can split into two parts, with the front becoming a snowmobile called the Octo-Sled. It looks like a swordfish or narwhal.
- The GUP-V: This vehicle was designed by the Vegimals. It is shaped like a train and made from different materials.
- The GUP-X: This is a strong, armored vehicle given to Captain Barnacles as a Christmas present from Tweak. It can split into three sections. It looks like a horseshoe crab.
- The Deep Sea Octolab: This is a movable base used to study the deepest parts of the ocean. It is dome-shaped and stands on springy legs.
- The Octo Servicing Station: This is a scaffold built on the seabed to fix and build vehicles like the GUP K and GUP H.
Other Octonauts Adventures
The Octonauts have also appeared in other fun activities and places:
- Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure: This is a themed rollercoaster at the Alton Towers theme park in the CBeebies Land area.
- Octonauts Live: This is a traveling live show that has toured in the U.S. and other countries.
- Octonauts App: An app for mobile devices was launched in 2016, made with Night and Day Studios.
See also
In Spanish: Octonautas para niños
