''Peep and the Big Wide World'' (''PATBWW'') is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

created by

Danish-Canadian Danish Canadians (Danish language, Danish: ''Dansk-canadiere'') are Canadian citizens of Danes, Danish ancestry. According to the 2006 Census, there were 200,035 Canadians with Danish background, 17,650 of whom were born in Denmark. Canada becam ...

animator

Kaj Pindal Kaj Gøtzsche Pindal (December 1, 1927–June 28, 2019) was an animator and animation educator who worked at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) beginning in 1957, and created such works as the Academy Award-nominated '' What on Earth!'' (1967 ...

. It revolves around the lives of Peep, Chirp, and Quack, as viewers discover, investigate, and explore the world around them. The show was based on the 1988 short film of the same name produced by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

, which itself is based on the 1962 short film ''The Peep Show'', also produced by the National Film Board of Canada. The series premiered on April 12, 2004, on

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 ei ...

and on

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an As ...

as part of their ''Ready Set Learn'' children's block, and on the same day on

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 operate ...

and

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, ...

. It was produced by WGBH Boston (through its kids division WGBH Kids) and

9 Story Media Group 9 Story Media Group Inc. (formerly known as 9 Story Entertainment) is a Canadian children's television series, children's media production company and international distributor founded by Vincent "Vince" Commisso, Steve Jarosz, and Blake Tohana o ...

(formerly 9 Story Entertainment), in association with

TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...

and

and is distributed by

Alliance Atlantis Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. (commonly known as Alliance Atlantis and commonly shortened to simply Alliance or Atlantis and formerly traded as TSX:AAC) was a Canadian media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operato ...

(through AAC Kids). Carriage on the Discovery children's networks ended on October 10, 2010 with the discontinuation of ''Ready Set Learn'' and the replacement of

with

The Hub The Hub may refer to: Places * The Hub, Bronx, an area of the South Bronx, New York, known for its convergence of subway and bus lines * The Hub (Edinburgh), former church in Edinburgh that is now home to the Edinburgh International Festival * T ...

, and now,

Discovery Family Discovery Family is an American cable television channel co-owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Hasbro Entertainment. The channel was originally launched by Discovery Communications on October 7, 1996 as Discovery Kids, a spin-off of Discover ...

. Since 2004, it continues to be offered to public television stations via independent public television distributor

American Public Television American Public Television (APT) is an American nonprofit organization and syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States. It distributes public television programs nationwide for PBS member stations and independ ...

to the present day. Since January 1, 2018, the series (alongside

Pocoyo ''Pocoyo'' ( in Spanish and stylised as ''POCOYO'') is a Spanish preschool interactive comedy computer animated television series created by Guillermo García Carsí, Colman López, Luis Gallego and David Cantolla, and is produced by the Spani ...

, which is seen after the program) is distributed by both

and APT. Throughout its run, it has been

underwritten Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liabilit ...

by the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

, with

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

underwriting season four in 2010. Each episode consists of two 9-minute stories, which are animated segments, and two 2-minute live action segments, in which children explore and demonstrate the same topic presented in the animated segment. the show is narrated by well-known actress

Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack (; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama ''Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In & Out'' (1997) ...

Overview

Viewers follow Peep, Chirp, and Quack as they investigate and explore the world around them. Following the 9-minute animated episode, there is a 2-minute live-action segment which features children exploring and demonstrating the same topic presented in the episode. The animation consists of bright colors and simple shapes, which simulates and reflects a youthful art style.

Episodes

Season 1 (2004)

Season 2 (2005-2006)

Season 3 (2007)

Season 4 (2010)

Season 5 (2011)

Characters

Main

* Peep (Voiced by Scott Beaudin in the first 3 seasons, Shawn Molko in Season 4 and Maxwell Uretsky in Season 5): A male, yellow chicken who is very curious. He is the youngest bird of the group. The show's title is derived from his name. Peep is female in the original short film. * Chirp (Voiced by Amanda Soha): A female, red robin who is also curious, and attempts frequently to fly, with unsatisfying results, until "A Daring Duck", when she flies from the ground. In "Big Bird" she meets a real robin for the first time. She is Peep and Quack's friend. Chirp is male in the original short film. * Quack (Voiced by Jamie Watson): A male, blue-purple duckling who wears a white sailor's hat. He is older than Peep and Chirp, as they are still chicks. He frequently boasts about himself and ducks as a whole, and unwittingly makes many discoveries. Quack is purple in the original short film and is now referred to as blue, but is still quite indigo. He also seems to have a

hoarding Hoarding is a behavior where people or animals accumulate food or other items. Animal behavior ''Hoarding'' and ''caching'' are common in many bird species as well as in rodents. Most animal caches are of food. However, some birds will a ...

issue, as evidenced in the episode "An Inconvenient Tooth, Part 1." * The Narrator (Voiced by

): The Narrator tells the episode's story, although the characters rarely have any interaction with her. In the episodes "Dry Duck, Part 1" the birds did have a short interaction with her and in "Quack Quiets the Universe" she and Quack interact as well.

Minor

* Ant (Voiced by

Robert 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 ...

): A busy male ant who appears in some episodes. * Beaver Boy (Voiced by Tessa Marshall): A young naïve male beaver who lives in an adjoining pond to Quack's. He appears in several episodes. His desire to please his mom and dad often results in him chewing down too many trees. He often calls Quack "Blue Sailor" Peep "Yellow Guy" and Chirp "Red Round". * Beaver Mom: (Voiced by

Debra McGrath Debra McGrath (born July 5, 1954) is a Canadian actress and comedian. Education Debra McGrath was born in Toronto in 1954. She studied theatre at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Toronto Metropolitan University). Career McGrath first star ...

) Beaver Boy's workaholic mother. * Beaver Dad (Voiced by Phillip Williams): Beaver Boy's businesslike father. * Dragonfly (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 ...

): A quiet dragonfly. * Fish: Cohabitants of Quack's pond. *Frog: A frog who lives in Quack’s pond. He rarely talks. * Hoot (Voiced by

Corinne Conley Corinne Alexandra Conley (born May 23, 1929) is an American actress who spent the majority of her career in Canada, notable for having won the Canadian Council of Authors and Artists' Best Actress Award. Conley is known for her voiceover work i ...

): A menacing, but kind purple female owl who lives in the Deep Dark Woods. * Nellie (Voiced by Marium Carvell): A red female dog who acts as a seemingly maternal figure for the birds. * Newton (Voiced by Colin Fox): An old, male, dark-green turtle who lives under an apple tree. * Quack #2 (Voiced by

Megan Mullally Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for playing Karen Walker on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'' (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award no ...

): An annoying pink female duck who has her own pond, built by Quack, Peep, Chirp, Beaver Boy and his parents. * Rabbit (Voiced by

Jayne Eastwood Jayne Eastwood (born December 17, 1946), also credited as Jane Easton or Jane Eastwood, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles as Anna-Marie Biddlecoff in the comedy film ''Finders Keepers'' (1984), Judy the Wai ...

): An excitable and somewhat distracted rabbit. * Robin (Voiced by

Holly Hunter Holly Patricia Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. For her performance as Ada McGrath in the 1993 drama film ''The Piano'', Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She earned three additional Academy Award nominations for ...

): An adult robin. * Skunk (Voiced by Adrian Truss): A rather deadpan skunk who lives near Quack's pond. * Bat (Voiced by Ron Rubin): A shy bat. * Squeak (Voiced by

Kathleen Laskey Kathleen Laskey, sometimes credited as Kathy Laskey, is a Canadian film and television actress."Second City's Laskey now every inch a leading lady". ''Toronto Star'', April 2, 1988. An alumna of The Second City's Toronto troupe, she is most common ...

): An anxious pink, female mouse who lives under a brick and always worries about what could go wrong. * Tom (Voiced by Alex Hood and

Matthew Knight Matthew Knight (born 1993/1994) is a former Canadian actor known for his roles in '' Queer as Folk'', as Ethan Morgan in ''My Babysitter's a Vampire'', and as Jake Kimble in ''The Grudge'' film series. Since then he has appeared in over a d ...

): A sly, male blue & black kitten who often tries to eat Peep, Chirp, and Quack. He is the sole antagonist. * Raccoon (Voiced by

Jeff Lumby Jeff Lumby (born 1956) is a Canadian actor. He is a member of the Lumby family, who created and produced the 1980s Canadian children's television series, ''Size Small'', where he performed as various characters and as a puppeteer. Lumby played "Wi ...

): A gobbo, male brown & black racoon who often tries to wear his sun glasses in A Peep of a Different Color * Blue Jays(Voiced by David Hudson): silly, blue and white birds who love to cause trouble when they see stuff

Music composition

Music for ''Peep and the Big Wide World'' is composed by Terry Tompkins and Steve D'Angelo, from Eggplant. The opening theme is performed by

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

Broadcast

United States

''Peep and the Big Wide World'' was originally broadcast on

and

— the latter as part of the Ready Set Learn preschool block —, from April 12, 2004 to September 14, 2007, with reruns of the first three seasons continuing to air until October 8, 2010 when Discovery Kids discontinued the block to make way for the new network to launch known as

on October 10. The last two seasons were broadcast on

with episodes distributed exclusively by

APT Apt. is an abbreviation for apartment. Apt may also refer to: Places * Apt Cathedral, a former cathedral, and national monument of France, in the town of Apt in Provence * Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France * A ...

from January 4, 2010 to October 14, 2011, making the total of 60 episodes (120 segments), while also airing on a limited number of PBS stations first-run, with the rest of the selected PBS stations airing the seasons second-run from the rest of 2010 and 2011 respectively. During the existence of Ready Set Learn, the series was also acquired to selected PBS member stations with only episodes from season one. After the discontinuation of Ready Set Learn preschool block, PBS stations started to pick up the remaining episodes from seasons two and three by early 2011. On January 1, 2018, Peep and the Big Wide World was picked up on the 24-hour PBS Kids channel, marking the first time to air the series for PBS member stations, which never acquired the series since its original run in 2004. The broadcast of the series ended on December 26, 2021, when it was replaced with reruns of

Dinosaur Train ''Dinosaur Train'' is a CGI-animated preschool musical television series aimed for preschoolers ages 3 to 6. Created by Craig Bartlett, who created Nickelodeon's ''Hey Arnold!'', the series features a curious young ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' named ...

to the 7:30 a.m. weekend morning timeslot.

Media

Home video

WGBH Boston Video released the episodes of the first season 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 kin ...

and VHS in 2005. The 2005 DVD releases each contained six segments of the specified subject; ''Peep Explores'', ''Peep Finds'', ''Peep Floats'', ''Peep's New Friends'', ''Chirp Flies'', and ''Quack Knows It All''. The 2007 DVD release, ''Peep Figures It Out'' contained six segments as usual, plus two bonus segments. In 2011, PBS Kids Video released two DVDs; ''Seasons of Adventure'', and ''Star Light, Star Bright'', which contains episodes from seasons two and three respectively. In 2012, PBS Kids Video released two more DVDs; ''Finders Keepers'' and ''Bringing Spring''. In 2014, PBS Kids Video released two more DVDs; ''Diva Duck'', and ''Peep Discovers'' (which was once available as a limited release to retail stores). As of 2020, all of these DVDs are now out of print and very hard to find, but commonly found at

public libraries A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamenta ...

. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Entertainment One Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...

released three DVDs in both English and French languages; ''Stick With Me'', ''Peep's Moon Mission'', and ''Flower Shower''.

References

External links