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The Toy Castle facts for kids

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The Toy Castle / Le Château magique
Genre Supernatural
Fantasy
Created by Katherine Jeans
Based on The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen
Developed by Sound Venture Productions
Written by Nancy Trites-Botkin
Rick Jones
Timothy Spain
Mike Laewen
Marc Charbonneau
Directed by Katherine Jeans
Narrated by Rick Jones and Marc Charbonneau
Composer(s) Andrew Huggett
Country of origin Canada
Original language(s) English
French
No. of seasons 3 + 1 pilot
No. of episodes 65 + 1 pilot
Production
Producer(s) Neil Bregman
Production location(s) Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Editor(s) Cheryl Gadoury
Kevin Kocvar
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Sound Venture Productions
Distributor American Public Television (United States)
France Télévisions and Groupe Canal+ (Worldwide)
Release
Original network Treehouse TV and PBS Kids (English)
TFO, Télé-Québec, France 3 and Piwi+ (French)
Original release 1992 (pilot)
3 January 2000 – 26 December 2003 (2003-12-26)

The Toy Castle (French: Le Château magique) is a Canadian children's television show that aired on Treehouse TV, TFO and Télé-Québec. It was produced from 3 January 2000 to 26 December 2003 by Sound Venture Productions. It was inspired by Sound Venture Productions' 1992 Christmas ballet special The Tin Soldier, which starred Frank Augustyn and was based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale. It is now shown during the Christmas season on Treehouse, TFO and Tele-Quebec. Told through ballet and narration, the stories are about a group of toys in a toy castle that magically come to life when the children are asleep. This series won a Gemini Award in 2003 for "Best Preschool Series".

Plot

The Toy Castle is a show about a group of toys that magically come to life when their children are asleep. When the children are about to wake up, the toys dash around fast until they are back in their former positions. Each episode consists of three story lines, in which the toys all dance around the castle and get into situations which the viewer may relate to.

Characters

  • The Soldier (Jorden Morris) - Soldier enjoys marching and dancing, and loves the lovely Ballerina. Judging by his accent, he is of British nationality (French nationality in the French-language version).
  • The Ballerina (Elizabeth Olds) - Ballerina enjoys dancing and loves the soldier. Judging by her accent, she is of French nationality (British nationality in the French-language version). She is best friends with China Doll and Rag Doll.
  • The China Doll (Jennifer Welsman) - China Doll enjoys dancing and tea. She is shy and prefers quiet activities. She is best friends with Ballerina and Rag Doll.
  • The Clown (Keir Knight) - Clown is a loud and wild toy. He likes joking around and playing. His best friends are Goblin and Rag Doll.
  • The Goblin (Yosuke Mino) - Goblin enjoys playing pranks on people and teasing. His best friends are Rag Doll and Clown.
  • The Rag Doll (Sayaka Karasugi) - Rag Doll enjoys twirling and playing. She dreams of being a pretty lady like Ballerina and China Doll. Her best friends are Goblin, Clown, Ballerina and China Doll.
  • The Sailor (Raven S. Wilder) - Sailor likes to tell tales and sail the seven seas. His favorite dance is the jig.
  • The Strong Man (David Lucas) - Strong Man likes lifting weights and his stuffed cat, Meow Meow. He may be in love with China Doll, as they dated in one episode, but that was the only time it was shown.
  • Freida (Andrea Mislan) - Freida enjoys dancing the frog-a-doddle-five and playing with her twin brother, Fredrick. She speaks with a Southern accent.
  • Fredrick (Sofia Costantini) - Frederick enjoys dancing the frog-a-doddle-five and playing with his twin sister, Freida. He speaks with a Southern accent.
  • Mama Mouse (Andrea Mistan) - Mama Mouse is shy. She is married to Papa Mouse, and has three children.
  • Papa Mouse (Micheal Flynn) - Papa Mouse is a caring man. He and his wife have three children.
  • Little Mouse (Corinne Vessey) - Little Mouse likes playing and imagining he is riding a horse. He was named Baby Mouse in the first season, but with two new siblings coming, they quietly changed his name to Little Mouse.
  • The Mouse Twins - They are twins who both cry often. They enjoy quiet things and swinging. They have never been given official names, being referred to simply as 'The Mouse Twins'.
  • The Dolly Bird - Dolly Bird wears extravagant make-up and loves dancing for people. She tends to be insecure about her dancing. She has appeared in the fewest episodes and is never mentioned on the official site.
  • The Little Boy (Billy Jeans) - The Little Boy sleeps in his bed while the toys are dancing and in motion, but when he turns his head around sleeping, the toys return to their former poses as regular figures. He is only shown in the series' opening, in the ending part of an episode, and in the credits background.
  • The Little Girl (Ivy Bregman) - The Little Girl sleeps in her bed while the toys are dancing and in motion, but when she turns her head around sleeping, the toys return to their former poses as regular figures. She is only shown in the series' opening, in the ending part of an episode, and in the credits background.

Episodes

Pilot (1992)

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date French airdate Prod.
code
French viewers
(millions)
Pilot "The Tin Soldier" Katherine Jeans Rick Jones and Marc Charbonneau December 1992 (1992-12) December 1992 (1992-12) 100 TBD

Season 1 (2000)

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date French airdate Prod.
code
French viewers
(millions)
1 "Cinderella"
"Duck, Duck, Goose"
Katherine Jeans Rick Jones January 3, 2000 (2000-01-03) TBA 101 N/A
2 "Cake Walk"
"A Ragdoll's Gift"
Katherine Jeans Rick Jones
Nancy Trites-Botkin
January 10, 2000 (2000-01-10) TBA 102 N/A
3 "A Party for One"
"I'm the Boss"
Katherine Jeans Nancy Trites-Botkin January 17, 2000 (2000-01-17) TBA 103 N/A
4 "A Frog is a Frog
Sailor's Delight"
Katherine Jeans Nancy Trites-Botkin January 24, 2000 (2000-01-24) TBA 104 N/A
5 "Goldilocks"
"London Bridge's Falling Down"
Katherine Jeans Nancy Trites-Botkin January 31, 2000 (2000-01-31) TBA 105 N/A
6 "Pirate Pshaw"
"Bubble Ballet"
Katherine Jeans Nancy Trites-Botkin March 6, 2000 (2000-03-06) TBA 106 N/A
7 "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
"Bluebird"
Katherine Jeans Timothy Spain March 13, 2000 (2000-03-13) TBA 107 N/A
8 "Strong Not Strong"
"Spring Junk Band"
Katherine Jeans Timothy Spain
Rick Jones
March 20, 2000 (2000-03-20) TBA 108 N/A
9 "Funny Man"
"Camp Out"
Katherine Jeans Rick Jones March 27, 2000 (2000-03-27) TBA 109 N/A
10 "Poor Invisible Me"
"Cricklecrack Thoozelah"
Katherine Jeans Timothy Spain April 3, 2000 (2000-04-03) TBA 110 N/A
11 "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
"Private Rag Doll"
Katherine Jeans Timothy Spain
Nancy Trites-Botkin
April 10, 2000 (2000-04-10) TBA 111 N/A
12 "Cirque de Ballet"
"Lost My Head"
Katherine Jeans Nancy Trites-Botkin April 17, 2000 (2000-04-17) TBA 112 N/A
13 "Be My Valentine"
"Best Friend Ballet"
Katherine Jeans Nancy Trites-Botkin April 24, 2000 (2000-04-24) TBA 113 N/A
14 "Perhaps Forever"
"Angel Wings"
Katherine Jeans Nancy Trites-Botkin May 6, 2000 (2000-05-06) TBA 114 N/A
15 "Copy Cat"
"Three Cool Pigs"
Katherine Jeans Nancy Trites-Botkin May 13, 2000 (2000-05-13) TBA 115 N/A
16 "Blunder Bluff"
"Sugar Plums Fairly"
Katherine Jeans Timothy Spain May 20, 2000 (2000-05-20) TBA 116 N/A
17 "Alone Not Lonely"
"Bo Bo's"
Katherine Jeans Timothy Spain May 27, 2000 (2000-05-27) TBA 117 N/A
18 "Little Miss Muffett"
"Dance With Me"
Katherine Jeans Rick Jones
Timothy Spain
June 3, 2000 (2000-06-03) TBA 118 N/A
19 "Hide and Seek"
"Little Frog"
Katherine Jeans Timothy Spain
Rick Jones
June 10, 2000 (2000-06-10) TBA 119 N/A
20 "Musical Chairs"
"Perfectly Perfect Party"
Katherine Jeans Rick Jones
Mike Laewen
June 17, 2000 (2000-06-17) TBA 120 N/A
21 "Tea Calamity"
"Pick a Picnic"
Katherine Jeans Mike Laewen June 24, 2000 (2000-06-24) TBA 121 N/A
22 "Tea Party"
"Waltz for Three"
Katherine Jeans Nancy Trites-Botkin July 1, 2000 (2000-07-01) TBA 122 N/A
23 "Phish Phobia"
"Twinkle Twinkle"
Katherine Jeans Nancy Trites-Botkin July 8, 2000 (2000-07-08) TBA 123 N/A
24 "She Shoots She Scores"
"Just Say No"
Katherine Jeans Nancy Trites-Botkin July 15, 2000 (2000-07-15) TBA 124 N/A
25 "The Pied Piper of Glum"
"Anything You Can Do..."
Katherine Jeans Timothy Spain July 22, 2000 (2000-07-22) TBA 125 N/A
26 "Giggle Girl"
"Nutcracker Sweet"
Katherine Jeans Timothy Spain July 29, 2000 (2000-07-29) TBA 126 N/A
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