''Ella the Elephant'' is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

animated television preschool series based on the books by Carmela D' Amico & Steven Henry (né D'Amico). The series was produced by DHX Cookie Jar Inc. (owned by

WildBrain WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of childr ...

), in association with

TVOKids TVOkids (short for TVOntariokids and stylized as tvokids) is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by TVOntario (TVO) in Canada. It was launched on April 1, 1994 and runs from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily. The brand also operat ...

and FremantleMedia Kids and Family Entertainment, with animation provided by Atomic Cartoons, with the series' funding provided by The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and The Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit. The series' completion guarantee was provided by Film Finances Canada Ltd. The series follows the adventures of Ella (voiced by

Addison Holley Addison Holley (born May 18, 2000) is a Canadian actress who has had starring roles in several television series. Holley was born in Burlington, Ontario. In 2016, she was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Child ...

) and her friends on Elephant Island. Ella is a spirited anthropomorphic little girl

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

with a big heart, bigger imagination and a magic hat that can transform into almost anything. Every day, there's a fantastic new adventure as Ella and her friends, Frankie (voiced by Devan Cohen), Belinda (voiced by

Annick Obonsawin Annick Obonsawin (born October 12, 1983) is a First Nations Abenaki Canadian actress. Biography Obonsawin has played roles in many children's shows such as Inez in ''Cyberchase'' and Skunk in '' Franklin''. She also played Slappy the Dummy in ...

) and Tiki (voiced by Avery Kadish), get themselves into some tricky situations. With a little determination, teamwork, a few missteps, and a touch of magic, Ella and her friends work to make everything work out in the end. The first season of ''Ella the Elephant'' aired on

in Canada from September 2, 2013 to January 23, 2014. The first season of the series also aired on

Knowledge Kids 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 corp ...

and

Télé-Québec The Société de télédiffusion du Québec (; en, Quebec Television Broadcasting Corporation), branded as Télé-Québec (), is a Canadian French-language public educational television network in the province of Quebec. It is a provincial Cro ...

in Canada. The first season of ''Ella the Elephant'' aired on Disney Channel/

Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven y ...

in the United States from February 17, 2014 to December 13, 2014. It also aired on

Tiny Pop Tiny Pop (styled as tiny POP) is a British free-to-air children's television channel in the United Kingdom, owned by Narrative Entertainment UK Limited. Broadcast on many of the major digital television platforms in the UK, Tiny Pop, which was ...

Canal Panda Canal Panda was an Iberian pay television channel, the first one dedicated to kids programming, mostly animated series for children aged 6–14. The channel was founded in 1996 as ''Panda Club'' in Spain and Portugal, but the name was changed t ...

, Doordarshan, ABC Kids and

Hop! Channel Hop! Channel (Hebrew: , ''Arutz Hop!'') is an Israeli children's television channel intended entirely for preschool children. The channel caters for children between the ages of zero and seven years old, presenting programs specifically tailored f ...

Premise

The series follows the adventures of Ella and her friends on Elephant Island. Ella is a spirited little girl elephant with a big heart, bigger imagination and a magic hat that can transform into almost anything. Every day, there's a fantastic new adventure as Ella and her friends, Frankie, Belinda and Tiki, get themselves into some tricky situations. With a little determination, teamwork, a few missteps, and a touch of magic, Ella and her friends work to make everything work out in the end.

Production

The series was produced by DHX Cookie Jar Inc. for

and

, with animation provided by Atomic Cartoons, and distributed by FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment. The series' funding provided by The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and The Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, with the completion guarantee provided by Film Finances Canada Ltd. Carmela D' Amico & Steven D' Amico are the adapters of the series, while Larry Jacobs is the director. Executive producers includes Michael Hirsh, Toper Taylor, and John Vandervelde for DHX Cookie Jar Inc., Sander Schwartz and Alyssa Cooper Sapire for FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment and Patricia Ellingson for

. Other staff for the series includes Jonah Stroh as producer and Brad Birch as executive story editor. Development for the series started in 2012. On February 7, 2012, Chris Arrant, news editor of Cartoon Brew, announced that the series entered production. Toper Taylor, president and COO of Cookie Jar was pleasantly thrilled for the production of Ella the Elephant and said: "Ella is a magical property about an ever ebullient, optimistic, responsible, compassionate little elephant whose kindred spirit will delight our preschool audience." "We are thrilled to be working with both Disney and Fremantle on the series' global launch." Sander Schwartz, President, Kids & Family Entertainment, FME, said "We are very pleased to be partnered with Cookie Jar on what we believe will be a hugely successful series. Bringing these wonderful books to life is a labour of love for everyone working on this stunning series".

Characters

Main

*Ella (voiced by

) is the main character and a young elephant with a red magic hat that her grandma gave to her. Ella is a problem-solver who is nice and kind to all her friends. Her magic hat transforms into different items depending on what she needs it for. *Belinda (voiced by

) is an elephant who is lucky enough to have Elephant Island's mayor for her father, as well as a friend to Ella. Belinda loves to dance and is a total diva. *Tiki (voiced by Avery Kadish) is a smart female elephant who loves reading books and riding her bike. She has a pet monkey named Lola. *Frankie (voiced by Devan Cohen) is a friend of Ella's who is a young elephant as well and is the only male of the group. Frankie's catchphrase is "Great Wolly Mammoth!"

Recurring

*Lola (voiced by

Rob Tinkler Robert Tinkler is a Canadian voice actor who provides voices for a number of cartoons and anime shows. He voiced Max in '' The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police'', Delete in the children's animated series ''Cyberchase'', Pelswick Eggert ...

) is a pet monkey who is owned by Tiki. *Mrs. Briggs (voiced by Helen Taylor) is Ella, Belinda, Frankie, Tiki, Ada, and Ida's teacher who likes interpretive dancing. *Ada and Ida (voiced by

Sophia Ewaniuk Sophia Ewaniuk (; born May 10, 2002) is a Canadian actress who landed her first major role as Emma Conroy in ABC's series '' Happy Town'', a role for which she had been nominated as a recurring lead in a television series at the 2011 Young Artis ...

) are twin elephants who sometimes say things at the same time. When they do, they high-five and say "Jinx!" followed by a giggle. Ada and Ida are a little hard to tell apart, but they both love to sing. *Captain Kelp (voiced by

Neil Crone Neil Crone (born May 29, 1960) is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer and motivational speaker. He is known for portraying Fred Tupper in ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'', Jerry Whitehall in '' Cube 2: Hypercube'' and the voices of Gordon, Diesel ...

) is an elephant who works in a lighthouse. *Mrs. Grey (voiced by Stacey DePass) is Ella's mother, who is a baker. *Captain Shamus Grey (also voiced by Neil Crone) is Ella's father who is captain of the sea. *Mrs. Harriet Melba (voiced by Shoshana Sperling) is Frankie's mother, who owns a bakery. *Mr. Mercer (voiced by Phil Williams) is an elephant who sells many items. Ella and her friends visit him often. He is sometimes grumpy. *Georgie (voiced by Jaxon Mercey) is a little elephant who is Frankie's little brother. *Mayor Jeremiah Blue (voiced by

Danny Wells Jack Westelman (April 7, 1941 – November 28, 2013), known as Danny Wells, was a Canadian actor. He was best known for his role as Charlie, the bartender on ''The Jeffersons'', as well as his role as Luigi in the live-action/animated series '' ...

) is an elephant who is Belinda's father. The mayor of Elephant Island. *Grandma Grey (voiced by

Catherine Disher Catherine Disher is a British-born Canadian actress. She has won two Gemini Awards: in 2005 for Best Actress for her role in the Canadian mini-series '' Snakes and Ladders'', and in 2010 for her role in '' The Border''. She was also nominated for ...

) is an elephant who is Ella's grandma and the original owner of the magic hat. She appeared in the episode "Grandma's Visit". *Old Lady (voiced by

Julie Lemieux Julie Lemieux (born December 4, 1962) is a Canadian voice actress. Career Lemieux has provided the voice for characters such as Sammy Tsukino in ''Sailor Moon'', young Darien Shields in '' Sailor Moon R: The Movie'', and Peruru in '' Sailor Moon ...

) is a lady elephant with an unknown name who appeared in the episode "Hello Dolly", where Frankie accidentally sold Ella's doll to the lady. *Jasper (also voiced by Julie Lemieux) is a little mouse who causes trouble with Ella and her friends. *E.L. Weathers (voiced by Alyson Court) is an elephant who writes books. She appeared in the episode "Tiki's Quest". *Mrs. Everheart (voiced by Helen King) is an elephant who is a librarian. She also appeared in the episode "Tiki's Quest". *Mrs. Potter (voiced by

Susan Roman Susan Roman (born April 17) is a Canadian voice actress and voice director, best known for voice acting the role of Lita/Sailor Jupiter in the Canada DiC (and later Cloverway/CWi) dub of the anime, ''Sailor Moon''. She is one of the few voice ...

) is an elephant who carves pumpkins in Halloween time. She appeared in the episode "Frankie's Perfect Pumpkin". *Sammy (voiced by Peter DaCunha) is an elephant who does newspaper deliveries in Elephant Island. He appeared in the episode "Ella's Special Delivery". *Mikey (voiced by

Gage Munroe Gage Munroe (born January 4, 1999) is a Canadian actor. He has performed roles on television programs like '' Stoked'', '' Murdoch Mysteries'', '' Mr Moon'', '' Falling Skies'' and ''Alphas'', and has appeared in films like the 2008 Canadian drama ...

) in an elephant who helps Sammy do newspaper deliveries. He also appeared in the episode "Ella's Special Delivery". *Caretaker (voiced by John Stocker) is an elephant who operates the museum. He appeared in the episode "Jurassic Sleepover". *Mayor's Assistant (voiced by Catherine Disher) is an elephant who helps Belinda's dad. She appeared in the episode "Mayor Belinda". *Mrs. Brim (voiced by

Linda Ballantyne Linda Anne Ballantyne (born October 24, 1964) is a Canadian voice actress, who is best known for voicing the title role of Serena Tsukino/Sailor Moon in the second half of the original English version of ''Sailor Moon''. Early life Ballantyne ...

) is an elephant who works at a hat store. She appeared in the episode "Ella's Haywire Hat". *Max von Mastodon (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 ...

) is an elephant who is a famous filmmaker. He appeared in the episode "Lights, Camera, Ella".

Episodes

All episodes were directed by Larry Jacobs.

Distribution

Broadcast

''Ella the Elephant'' premiered on

and

in Canada on September 2, 2013. The series premiered on Disney Channel and

in the United States on February 17, 2014. Other broadcasters includes

in the UK,

ABC 4 Kids ABC Kids is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's part-time channel, broadcasting shows between the hours of 5am and 7:30pm for children under 6 years old in each local Australian channel. It shares the same bandwidth as ABC TV Plus which b ...

in Australia and

RTÉjr RTÉjr is an Irish free-to-air children's television channel operated by state-owned broadcaster RTÉ. The channel mainly targets a demographic of 2- to 7-year-olds, but some cartoons for older children also air. The channel is part of RTÉ K ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Since June 23, 2014,

(Latin America) started airing the show. TiJi (France), Clan (Spain),

MiniMini+ MiniMini+ is a Polish television channel owned and operated by ITI Neovision SA. Its programmes are aimed primarily at children aged 3–8. History Before the launch of MiniMini, Minimax (now known as Teletoon+) launched a programming bloc ...

(Poland), Minimax (Eastern and Central Europe),

KiKA KiKA (contraction of ''Der KinderKAnal von ARD und ZDF'' ARD and ZDF">ARD_(broadcaster).html" ;"title="he Children's Channel of ARD (broadcaster)">ARD and ZDF]) is a German free-to-air television channel based in Erfurt, Germany. It is man ...

(Germany) and

MTV3 Juniori C More Juniori (formerly ''Subtv Juniori'', ''Sub Juniori'', ''MTV3 Juniori'' and ''MTV Juniori'') is a Finnish television channel targeting children owned and operated by MTV Oy. The channel is part of the C More channels package and broadcasts ...

(Finland) had recently acquired the show and will add it to their lineup in 2014.

Home media

Episodes of ''Ella the Elephant'' are available for digital download through the iTunes Music Store, which are split into two volumes. FremantleMedia Home Entertainment released a 154-minute Region 4 DVD of the show on August 6, 2014. In 2014, Warner Home Video has released Volume 1 on DVD for Canada and the US. As of February 28, 2015, the series became available for streaming on the American

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Toys and merchandising

DHX Media and FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment have appointed Jazwares Inc. as the global master toy partner on preschool property Ella the Elephant for the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Latin America, Middle East, Australia, Spain and Norway. The deal will enable Jazwares to launch worldwide Plush, Dolls Figures and Play Sets, Vehicles, Role Play and Musical Instruments, based on the animated preschool series about an adventurous elephant and her magic hat. In December 2014, it was announced that DHX Brands and Penguin Young Readers were developing a series of books based on the series, which were released in late 2015.

Critical reception

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

rated the show 4 stars out of 5, with the review stating that "Strong messages of friendship and kindness are central to each story, and the young characters use their imaginations to solve the little troubles they and their neighbors face."

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Ella the Elephant''
at TVOKids.com
''Ella the Elephant''
at DisneyJunior.com 2010s Canadian animated television series 2010s Canadian children's television series 2013 Canadian television series debuts 2014 Canadian television series endings TVOntario original programming Disney Channel original programming Disney Junior original programming Animated television series about elephants Canadian children's animated adventure television series Canadian children's animated fantasy television series Canadian computer-animated television series Canadian preschool education television series Canadian television shows based on children's books Television series by Cookie Jar Entertainment Television series by FremantleMedia Kids & Family English-language television shows Animated television series about children Animated preschool education television series 2010s preschool education television series Television series by DHX Media