''Elinor Wonders Why'' is an animated television series created by

Jorge Cham Jorge Gabriel Cham (Spanish: �xorxe (born 1976) is an engineer-turned cartoonist, writer and producer, who writes the web comic strip ''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (''PhD Comics''). Cham was born in Panama and lives in the United States, where he ...

and Daniel Whiteson. The show premiered on September 7, 2020, on

PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Instead, ...

Plot

The exploration-themed show encourages children to follow their curiosity, ask questions when they don't understand, and find answers using science inquiry skills. The main character, Elinor, is the most observant and curious bunny rabbit in Animal Town just north of Natural Forest, California. She introduces children ages 3–6 to science, nature, and communities through adventures with her friends Olive and Ari. Each episode includes two 11-minute animated stories, plus interstitial content, where Elinor and her classmates enjoy either Señor Tapir singing about famous nature explorers or Ms. Mole reading stories.

Characters

Main

*Elinor (voiced by Markeda McKay) - A white

bunny Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit sp ...

girl with an inquisitive nature and a sweet personality. *Ari (voiced by Wyatt White) - A funny, imaginative light brown

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

boy who lives in a hollow boulder, and is one of Elinor's best friends. *Olive (voiced by Maria Nash) - An elephant calf girl who is one of Elinor's best friends. She often makes charts for whatever questions are being asked. *Ranger Rabbit (voiced by Lisette St. Louis) - Elinor's mom, who works as a park ranger. *Mr. Rabbit (voiced by Colin Doyle) - Elinor's dad. *Ms. Mole (voiced by Shoshana Sperling) - A brown mole who is Elinor, Ari and Olive's teacher. She wears glasses.

Recurring

*Olive's Mom (voiced by Ana Sani) *Señor Tapir (voiced by

Juan Chioran Juan Chioran (born June 18, 1963) is an Argentine-born Canadian actor primarily associated with stage roles at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada. He is based in Stratford, Ontario. Chioran is also known for his voice acting roles, suc ...

) - A Spanish-accented

tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inhabit ...

that sings about famous explorers and inventors during interstitials. *Mr. Raccoon (voiced by Dan Darin-Zanco) - A

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

who runs a

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who ...

. *Rollie (voiced by Eric Khou) - An

armadillo Armadillos (meaning "little armored ones" in Spanish) are New World placental mammals in the order Cingulata. The Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae are the only surviving families in the order, which is part of the superorder Xenarthra, along wi ...

who is one of Elinor, Ari, and Olive's classmates. *Ms. Llama (voiced by

Nicole Stamp Nicole Stamp is a Canadian television host, director, actor, filmmaker, playwright, and voice actress. Career Stamp works as a host, producer, and director, having started her career at TVOntario, where she co-hosted TVOntario's afternoon blo ...

) - A

llama The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with othe ...

who owns a fruit cart. *Mr. Dog (voiced by Paul Bates) - A

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

who loves to bury his things into the ground. *Tito Mouse (voiced by Leo Orgil) - A

mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

who is one of Elinor, Ari, and Olive's classmates. *Mr. Bat (voiced by

Raoul Bhaneja Raoul Bhaneja is an English-Canadian actor, musician, writer and producer. Early life and studies Bhaneja was born in Manchester. His father is an Indian Sindhi and mother is Irish. A graduate of The National Theatre School of Canada and O ...

) - Ari's dad. *Mr. Lion (voiced by Kevin Dennis) - A lion who likes to paint pictures. *Koa (voiced by Ian Ho) - A brown

quokka The quokka (''Setonix brachyurus'', ) is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. It is the only member of the genus ''Setonix''. Like other marsupials in the macropod family (such as kangaroos and wallabies), the quokka is herbivo ...

who is one of Elinor, Ari, and Olive's classmates. *Camilla (voiced by Norah Adams) - A

camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

who is a friend of Elinor, Ari, and Olive. *Sally Beaver (voiced by Royal Goodfellow) - A

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

who is one of Elinor, Ari, and Olive's classmates. *Mary and Lizzie Goat (voiced by Abigail and Grace Oliver) - Twin

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

girls who are Elinor, Ari, and Olive's classmates. *Alejandro Possum (voiced by

Sergio Di Zio Sergio Di Zio is a Canadian actor. He starred in the television series '' Flashpoint'' as Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti until the show concluded on December 13, 2012. His other works include '' The Lookout'', ''Cinderella Man'', '' Senior Trip ...

) - A possum whose name is never mentioned in the series. *Silas (voiced by Callum Shoniker) - A

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

who is one of Elinor, Ari, and Olive's classmates. *Baba and Bibi (voiced by

George Buza George Buza is an American-born Canadian actor who is best known for voicing Beast in the '' X-Men Animated Series''. Personal life Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he moved to Toronto, Ontario, as a young man and became a Canadian citizen in 1998. C ...

and

Linda Kash Linda Kash (born 17 January 1961) is a Canadian actress. Career An alumna of Second City, she played Trudy Weissman in the 1998 Jean Smart sitcom '' Style & Substance''. She has also played various roles in popular television series, such as ' ...

) - Elinor's paternal grandparents who live in Desert Town. *Deputy Mouse (voiced by

Ron Pardo Ron Pardo (born May 15, 1967) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He has performed roles in over 90 animated series. On ''PAW Patrol'', Pardo has voiced Cap'n Turbot since the first episode, and later voiced the breakout villain Mayor Humdinger as ...

) *Ms. Beaver (voiced by Diane Saleme) *Farmer Bear (voiced by Ellen Dublin) *Mrs. Tiger (voiced by Ella Jones Farlinger) - The mayor of Animal Town. *Ms. Bat (voiced by Shoshana Sperling) - Ari's mom. *Mr. Hamster (voiced by Cliff Saunders) - A hamster who is a substitute teacher in Elinor’s class. *Siggy (voiced by Simon Pirso) - A

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

. *Lola (voiced by Elana Dunkelman) - Koa's big sister. *Mr. Beaver (voiced by Mike Petersen) *Mr. Hippo (voiced by

Derek McGrath Derek McGrath (born June 4, 1951) is a Canadian actor and writer. Life and career McGrath was born in Timmins, Ontario. His career began as Linus in ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown''. He is known for his roles in '' Cheers'' as Andy Schroed ...

) *Mr. Antelope (voiced by

Eddie Glen Edward Glen (sometimes credited as Eddie Glen) is a Canadian actor, who has appeared in and provided voices in films, television shows and video games. He is best known for voicing Thomas the Tank Engine in the 2000 film ''Thomas and the Magic Ra ...

) *Hazel (voiced by Svea Ham) - Mr. Lion’s daughter.

Episodes

Development

Development of the show began in 2017, when Cham and Whiteson were approached by PBS. PBS found Cham's comic, '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', online and asked if he was interested in pitching to them. "I reached out to Daniel, and what inspires us beyond science is our children," Cham recalled. "They are curious, and it motivated us to create the show." Cham cites '' Pogo'' and ''

Calvin and Hobbes ''Calvin and Hobbes'' is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Bill Watterson that was syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. Commonly cited as "the last great newspaper comic", ''Calvin and Hobbes'' has enjoyed ...

'' as inspiration for the show's visual design, which he described as "something that felt natural and calming, as opposed to overloaded or frenetic." The character of Elinor was inspired by Cham's own daughter, Elinor. Cham said "She was about 4, which is just at that perfect age where she really does wonder why, all the time. Any answer you give her, she’ll (have) a follow-up question, another why." Cham and Whiteson went with animals as the show's characters to make them "appealing but also relatable at the same time", and to "highlight their range of skills and abilities."

Broadcast

The series premiered on

in the United States on September 7, 2020, as a sneak peek by showing the first 2 episodes, before regularly airing new episodes on September 8. Some episodes are available on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

in the United States. PBS International has licensed the series to Canada, Latin America, Finland, Israel, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates via

Knowledge Network Knowledge Network, also branded as British Columbia's Knowledge Network, is a Canadian publicly funded educational cable television network serving the province of British Columbia. It is owned by the Knowledge Network Corporation, a Crown co ...

Discovery Kids Discovery Kids (stylized as Discovery K!ds) is a brand name owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Starting as a television segment within the Discovery Channel, the brand expanded as a separate television channel. Most of its worldwide channels were e ...

Yle Yleisradio Oy ( Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, found ...

Hop! Air France Hop, formerly branded HOP!, is a French regional airline operating flights on behalf of its parent company Air France. The airline was founded on 21 December 2012http://www.verif.com/societe/HOP!-790151716/ after the merger of Airlin ...

, SVT and

E-Junior e-junior is the first UAE children TV channel created by e-Vision which is part of Etisalat the largest telecom operator in the Middle East. "e-junior" was launched in the year 2001, it targets kids up to 14 years old. the channel content is a ...

, respectively. The series airs on Australia on the PBS Kids channel, which was started as a venture with

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

in July 2021.

Home video

In early 2021, the series began to release its episodes on PBS Kids compilation DVDs.

Graphic novel series

''Elinor Wonders Why: Hiding in Plain Sight'', described as one of two launch titles for a graphic novel series based on the show, was announced in February 2022. Two titles, ''Hiding in Plain Sight'' and ''Forest Giants,'' will release on September 6, 2022.

Reception

Starr Rhett Rocque of ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

'' wrote, "This clever series...encourages curiosity."

Awards

References

External links

Official website
* {{PBS Kids shows 2020s American children's television series 2020s American animated television series 2020 American television series debuts 2020s Canadian children's television series 2020s Canadian animated television series 2020 Canadian television series debuts 2020s preschool education television series American children's animated adventure television series American preschool education television series Canadian children's animated adventure television series Canadian preschool education television series Animated preschool education television series English-language television shows Science education television series Nature educational television series PBS Kids shows PBS original programming CBC Television original programming Animated television series about rabbits and hares Animated television series about children Animated television series about families Television shows set in California