Time Warp Trio facts for kids

Time Warp Trio is a fun animated TV show from Canada and the United States. It's based on the popular children's book series by Jon Scieszka. The show was made by Soup2Nuts and WGBH Boston.

This exciting series first aired on channels like Discovery Kids and The Hub (now Discovery Family) in the U.S. You could also watch it on CBBC in the UK, Cartoon Network in Australia, and HBO Family in Southeast Asia. It even appeared on NBC as part of a special block and on Jetix (later Disney XD) in India and Latin America. Today, you can still find it on PBS Kids.

The show finished its run on July 15, 2006, with its last six episodes. Its time on NBC ended on September 2, 2006.

Time Travel Adventures: The Plot

For his tenth birthday, a boy named Joe gets a super cool and mysterious blue book. It's just called "The Book." His uncle, Joe the Magnificent, a magician, gives it to him.

When Joe and his friends, Sam and Fred, read this book, they often accidentally get sent to different times and places in history! Imagine suddenly being in Ancient Egypt or the Old West!

In the future, specifically the year 2105, the trio meets their own great-granddaughters: Jodie, Samantha, and Freddi. They are also involved in time travel.

After each trip through time, the group has to find "The Book" again. They need it to get back to their own time, the present day.

Later in the series, Joe's evil uncle, Mad Jack, tries to steal "The Book." He uses tricky plans, like trapping the kids in Antarctica. "The Book" doesn't work in super cold places!

Meet the Characters

Main Characters: The Time Travelers

• Joseph "Joe" Arthur (voiced by Mark Rendall) – Joe is a young magician and the current owner of "The Book." His experiments with the book often start their adventures. His magic tricks also help them escape tricky situations. Joe is even given the title of Time Page and is told he will become a Warp Wizard. His future great-granddaughters, Freddi and Jodie, say Joe will have a big battle with his uncle, Mad Jack, to decide the future of time itself. Joe lives in Brooklyn with his family.
• Samuel “Sam” (voiced by Darren Frost) – Sam is Joe and Fred's friend. He's super smart and uses his knowledge of history to solve problems. He wears thick glasses and is allergic to wool. Sam is often worried about time travel, always thinking something bad will happen. He likes to invent things, and Freddi tells him he'll invent something very important in the future.
• Frederick “Fred” (voiced by Scott McCord) – Fred is another friend of Joe and Sam. He loves sports and is very determined, sometimes a bit too much! Fred is usually the one who wants to use "The Book" to find treasure or get rich by patenting future inventions.
• Jodie Arthur (voiced by Sarah Gadon then Tajja Isen) – Jodie is Joe's great-granddaughter from the year 2105. She loves fashion and can be a bit bossy and complain a lot. She's also allergic to cats. Jodie is a "third-level warper," which means she's really good at using "The Book."
• Samantha (voiced by Laurie Elliott) – Samantha is Sam's great-granddaughter from 2105. She's often teasing, brave, and a bit clumsy, which is the opposite of Sam! But like Sam, she can be sensitive. Samantha has a robot cat named Rivites and a special time-traveling pocket watch that used to belong to Sam.
• Freddi (voiced by Sunday Muse) – Freddi is Fred's great-granddaughter from 2105. She's usually shy, which is the opposite of Fred. However, like Fred, she can be very responsible when needed.

Recurring Characters: Family and Foes

• Anna Arthur (voiced by Annick Obonsawin) – Anna is Joe's younger sister. She can be annoying but seems to know more about "The Book" than Joe does!
• Joe the Magnificent (voiced by Tony Daniels) – This is Joe's uncle and his namesake. He's a magician who isn't very good at live shows. He gave Joe "The Book" but didn't know how to use it himself. Instead, he travels through time with a magical pocket watch. He believes in the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny.
• Mad Jack (voiced by Tony Daniels) – Mad Jack is the evil brother of Joe the Magnificent and Mrs. Arthur. He really wants to steal "The Book" so he can control all of time. He often follows the trio on their trips and once even had a face-off with his nephew Joe. Mad Jack uses a special scepter with an hourglass to travel through time.
• Mrs. Arthur (voiced by Susan Roman) – She is Joe and Anna's mother. She knows how to use "The Book" because she was the one who originally gave it to her brother, Joe the Magnificent.
• Mr. Arthur (voiced by Tom Arnold) – Joe and Anna's father. He is a famous archeologist who travels the world.
• Mike (voiced by Dan Petronijevic) – Fred's mean older brother. He appears in a couple of episodes.

Historical Characters: Real People from the Past

The Time Warp Trio meets many famous people from history during their adventures, including:

• Blackbeard
• Genghis Khan (as a child)
• Thutmose III
• Tokugawa Ieyasu
• Emperor Hadrian
• Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
• Sacagawea
• Eric the Red and Leif Ericson
• Thomas Edison
• Emily Roebling
• Black Kettle
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• Sophie Blanchard
• King Nebuchadnezzar II and Queen Amyitis
• Queen Jinga
• Plato
• Li Shimin
• Peter the Great
• Mary Shelley
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Robert Falcon Scott
• Amelia Earhart
• Selim II
• William Montagu
• Agnes Randolph

Episode Guide: Time-Traveling Adventures

Other Media: Books and Comics

The Time Warp Trio adventures also appear in other forms:

Comics

• Nightmare on Joe's Street
• The Seven Blunders of the World
• Plaid to the Bone
• Meet you at Waterloo (also known as "Able Was I, Ere I Saw Elba")

Chapter books

• You Can't, But Genghis Khan
• Lewis and Clark...and Jodie, Freddi, and Samantha
• Wushu Were Here