''Iggy Arbuckle'' is an
animated series
An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...
that premiered in Canada on
Teletoon
Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and "cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts an ...
in June 2007. Based on a
comic strip from
National Geographic Kids
''National Geographic Kids'' (often nicknamed to ''Nat Geo Kids'') is a children's magazine published by the National Geographic Society. Its first issue was printed in September 1975 under the original title ''National Geographic World'' (whic ...
, the show is created by Guy Vasilovich, and focuses on a
pig
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...
(Iggy Arbuckle) who happens to be a
forest ranger
A ranger, park ranger, park warden, or forest ranger is a law enforcement person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks.
Description
"Parks" may be broadly defined by some systems in thi ...
, known in the series as a "Pig Ranger". The plot involves Iggy's attempts to protect the environmental structure of the fictional Kookamunga National Park. It was produced by
Blueprint Entertainment, in association with
C.O.R.E. toons,
National Geographic Kids
''National Geographic Kids'' (often nicknamed to ''Nat Geo Kids'') is a children's magazine published by the National Geographic Society. Its first issue was printed in September 1975 under the original title ''National Geographic World'' (whic ...
, and
Teletoon
Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and "cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts an ...
and distributed by Oasis International. The series was cancelled on October 10, 2007 after a single season.
The series also aired in Australia on
ABC Kids, in the United Kingdom on
Jetix, and on
Pop. Oasis International, the Canadian distributor, also licensed the series to channels such as
Cartoon Network (in Korea, Southeast Asia, India, and the Philippines) and Canal + SA and TPS in France. It was also broadcast on Saturday mornings on ''
Toonattik'' on
ITV and
CITV
CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
, and weekday mornings on ''
Action Stations!'' on
ITV4
ITV4 is a British free-to-air television channel which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a line-up that consists of sports, cult classic ...
and
CITV
CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
.
Plot
The show takes place in a
fictional
national park known as the "Kookamunga" (The "Kook" for short, although there is the
Cucamonga Valley in California). The park is looked after by a white
pig
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...
named Iggy Arbuckle, who is the creator of the "Pig Rangers", a fictional type of forest ranger. He is accompanied by a
beaver named Jiggers, who is the only other canonical Pig Ranger in the show.
Iggy's
nemesis is a
catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive ...
named Stu, who is always trying to use the Kookamunga to obtain wealth. Most of the stories revolve around Iggy and Jiggers' efforts to save the park's ecosystem from Catfish Stu.
Recurring Locations
The most prominent locations in the park include a
volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the Crust (geology), crust of a Planet#Planetary-mass objects, planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Ear ...
called Mount Kaboom, which Jiggers is constantly afraid will erupt, despite Iggy saying it has been dormant for centuries. The
first story
First Story is an English non-profit organisation that encourages young people to write creatively, outside the curriculum, for self-expression, pleasure and agency. Its stated mission is to empower young people from low-income communities to find ...
in the debut episode focused on this matter. Three other recurring places are a
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
called Gottalottawatta, in which character Catfish Stu frequently dwells, an Iceland called Brainfreeze and a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
called Mooseknuckle.
Production
''Iggy Arbuckle'' began as a comic strip entitled ''Iggy Arbuckle: Nature Freak!'' that premiered in ''
National Geographic Kids
''National Geographic Kids'' (often nicknamed to ''Nat Geo Kids'') is a children's magazine published by the National Geographic Society. Its first issue was printed in September 1975 under the original title ''National Geographic World'' (whic ...
'' in the June 2004 issue.
It was, to date, the only issue of the comic strip; in which the characters Iggy Arbuckle, Jiggers and Zoop made their first appearances. The plot involved Iggy and Jiggers trying to find an acorn so Iggy could make an acorn squash pie for Zoop as a birthday present. Created by Guy Vasilovich, director of ''
Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.!'', writer for ''
Moville Mysteries
''Moville Mysteries'' is a Canadian animated horror adventure television series starring Frankie Muniz as Mosley "Mo" Moville. Two seasons were produced with 26 episodes from September 7, 2002, to May 14, 2003. The show was on YTV in Canada and F ...
'', and production designer for ''
Hey Arnold!: The Movie'', the series is loosely based on his childhood experiences while living in
Tomahawk, Wisconsin
Tomahawk is a city in Lincoln County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,346 at the 2010 census. The city is located to the northeast of the Town of Tomahawk and is not contiguous with it.
History
Before 1837, the land where Tomaha ...
.
On April 11, 2005,
Oasis International,
Blueprint Entertainment and
Teletoon
Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and "cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts an ...
announced that they were coproducing an animated series based on the comic. The series would be targeted at children ages six to eleven and feature twenty-six episodes each comprising two eleven-minute sub-episodes. The animation was done entirely in
Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Barry Allen)
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Wally West, the first Kid F ...
, with over 100 workers involved in the series' creation.
National Geographic holds the US distribution rights for the series, while Blueprint holds the international rights.
Jetix Europe acquired the European broadcast and DVD distribution rights to the series in February 2007.
In January 2008, Oasis International sold distribution rights of ''Iggy Arbuckle'' to
Canal + SA and
TPS in France, to
ABC in Australia, and to the variants of
Cartoon Network in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
,
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, Australia, and
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The series was licensed for US broadcast by
Animania HD
Voom HD Networks is a suite of 25 original high-definition television channels owned by AMC Networks. The channels were produced in Crystal Clear Hi-Definition with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and were the largest suite of HD channels in t ...
, and is currently licensed for distribution in a total of seventy territories.
Characters
The characters in the show are drawn as animal
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
, including many types of
mammals,
reptiles,
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s,
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
, and even
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...
s. Rather than referring to the male characters as "men" and the females as "women" in the appropriate contexts, the characters refer to each other by their species (though the words "lady/ladies," "gentleman/men," "girls," and "boys" exist in their vocabulary). The wild animals and the
anthropomorphized
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
characters understand each other quite well, and the wild ones seem quite intelligent.
A gag in the series is that whenever a character gets conked on the head,
bluebirds start flying around their heads. When the character comes to, they fly away.
Episodes
Reception
''Iggy Arbuckle'' has been received well in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, with Jetix Europe receiving strong sales on the show.
In the United Kingdom, its biggest timeslot is among young male viewers.
As of Autumn 2008, it ranks among the top shows viewed by European children, in the markets in which Jetix has aired the show.
Awards and nominations
As of March 2008, the sub-episode "Petition Impossible", of the episode "
Yawny Come Lately/Petition Impossible" was among the finalists of the children's programs nominated for the 2008 Canadian Screenwriting Awards. On April 14, the day the award winners were declared, the episode won the Children/Preschool category award. The episode "
Idle Worship/There's Something about Berries" won a
Gemini award for Best Writing in a Children's Series, during the 23rd anniversary of the Gemini awards. Jonathan Wilson and David Berni, the voices of Iggy and Jiggers, respectively, received a Gemini nomination for Best Individual or Ensemble Performance in an Animated Program or Series, for the same episode, although it lost to
Gordon Tootoosis
Gordon Tootoosis, (October 25, 1941 – July 5, 2011) was a First Nations actor of Cree and Stoney descent. Tootoosis was a descendant of Yellow Mud Blanket, brother of the famous Cree leader Pîhtokahanapiwiyin. He was acclaimed for his comm ...
, Raven Brass, Trevor Cameron,
Lorne Cardinal
Lorne Cardinal (born 6 January 1964) is a Canadian stage, television and film actor, best known for portraying Davis Quinton on ''Corner Gas''. He is a former rugby union player.
Early life
Cardinal was born on a reserve of the Sucker Creek ...
, Taylor Cook,
Eric Jackson
Eric Jackson may refer to:
*Eric Jackson (journalist) (born 1952), Panamanian politician, journalist, and radio talk show host
*Eric Jackson (kayaker) (born 1964), freestyle kayaker, kayak designer, and founder of Jackson Kayak
* Eric M. Jackson, ...
,
Andrea Menard, and DerRic Starlight, for ''
The Guardians''.
Merchandise
On November 1, 2007, an online game based on the series, ''The Great Kookamunga Challenge'', was launched. Hosted on the Teletoon web site and created by
Zinc Roe Design, the game was an online race in which players explored the Kookamunga National Park in search of 115 "checkpoints." At each checkpoint, they could earn points by playing games, answering trivia questions about the series, or completing group activities. The first players who completed the entire challenge won real-world prizes, including a digital camera and items from ''National Geographic Kids''. The game ran for six weeks.
The entire series of ''Iggy Arbuckle'' was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
in 2007 in Australia.
References
External links
*
{{Teletoon
2000s American animated television series
2000s American workplace comedy television series
2007 American television series debuts
2007 American television series endings
2000s Canadian animated television series
2000s Canadian workplace comedy television series
2007 Canadian television series debuts
2007 Canadian television series endings
American children's animated comedy television series
American flash animated television series
Animated series based on comics
Animated television series about pigs
Canadian children's animated comedy television series
Canadian flash animated television series
English-language television shows
Jetix original programming
National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming
Teletoon original programming
Television shows based on comic strips
Television shows filmed in Toronto
Television shows set in California