''Rastamouse'' is a

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

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 created by Genevieve Webster and Michael De Souza and produced by Three Stones Media/The Rastamouse Company and DHX Media for

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...

. The show follows crime busting

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' ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

band Da Easy Crew, who split their time between making music and solving mysteries for the President of Mouseland. The first 52

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning t ...

s of the initial series were shown in the afternoon beginning 31 January 2011 on CBeebies, a UK

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

channel. From 7 March 2011, the programme was repeated in the early mornings, on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. The second series, comprising a further 26 episodes, started on 20 August 2012. The third series, comprising the final 26 episodes, began on CBeebies 23 March 2015.

Characters

The series features an all-mouse reggae band, Rastamouse and Da Easy Crew, who play music at the 'Nuff Song Studio' when they're not solving mysteries for the President of Mouseland. All the characters speak with a Jamaican accent. * Rastamouse: Crime fighting mouse and

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

player for Da Easy Crew. Always knows how to "make a bad ting good." His catchphrase is "Irie, man!" * Scratchy: DJ and

bass player A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

for Da Easy Crew. Her catchphrases are "Sweet!" and "You know what I'm saying!" * Zoomer: Speediest mouse in Mouseland, bongo player in Da Easy Crew. His catchphrase is "Aww, man!" * Wensley Dale: President of Mouseland. He calls Da Easy Crew on his

transistor radio A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Following the invention of the transistor in 1947—which revolutionized the field of consumer electronics by introducing small but powerful, convenien ...

when there's a mystery that needs solving. * Bagga T: Hip-hop

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

mouse who looks after the orphanage. His catchphrase is "Me name's Bagga T, double trouble, double G!”. * Missy D: Dancer. Runs the dance studio. * Bandulu: Expert chef mouse who cooks at the orphanage. His specialty is cheese pies. * Fats: Mechanic who runs Fats' 4x4 Garage. * Mixie: Bagga T's cousin and beatboxer. * Natty Kass: Super stylish fashion designer. * Sasha: Wensley Dale's older sister. She's super tidy, but a little bit bossy. * Frank: Wensley Dale's nephew. He's a skateboarding artist mouse, who's a bit clumsy and stutters. * Aunt Janessa: Wensley Dale's aunt. Singer who runs the Mouseland Choir. * Lil' Patch: Operates Mouseland's famous radio station, 'For Real FM'. * Super: Owns and runs a supermarket. * Half Pint: Delivery mouse. * Ron: The Grovetown barber. * Stylus: Owns the record store. * Toots: Lead singer of The Mousetails. * Ice Popp: Rapper and Toots'

roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...

. * Orphans: Baby mice who live in the orphanage. * Spike Cheez: World-famous

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

Cast (voice actors)

* Rastamouse:

Reggie Yates Reginald (Reggie) Yates (born 31 May 1983) is a British writer and director with a career spanning three decades on screen as an actor, television presenter and radio DJ. Yates played Leo Jones in ''Doctor Who'' and has worked at the BBC in ra ...

* Scratchy:

Sharon Duncan Brewster Sharon Duncan-Brewster (born 8 February 1976) is a British actress. She is known for her role as Crystal Gordon in '' Bad Girls'' during the first four series; her role as Trina Johnson on ''EastEnders''; and her role as Maggie Cain in the aut ...

* Zoomer:

William Vanderpuye William Vanderpuye, also known as Will Vanderpuye or Will Vanders, is a British actor, broadcaster, writer, voice-over artist and producer. He played Zoomer and a cast of thousands in the BBC animation series Rastamouse and appeared as "Kobi" ...

* President Wensley Dale:

Cornell John Cornell Salmonn John (born 1963) is a British actor who has appeared in various film and television productions since 1999. He is most renowned for his role as Trife's uncle, Curtis, in the films ''Kidulthood'' (2006), ''Adulthood'' (2008) and ...

Origins

Rastamouse first appeared in 2004 in the children's books ''Rastamouse and the Crucial Plan'' and ''Rastamouse Da Bag-a Bling''. A third book, ''Rastamouse and the Double-Crossin' Diva'', was published in 2005. The stories were co-written by Genevieve Webster, an author and illustrator, and Michael De Souza, a

Rastafarian Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...

swimming instructor. They are written in

rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

and contain a

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

accent and some

Jamaican Patois Jamaican Patois (; locally rendered Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora. A majority of the non-English wo ...

terms. A pop song, "Ice Popp", was released in 2011.

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ''The Lenn ...

read two of the stories, ''The Crucial Plan'' and ''Da Bag-a Bling'', for the BBC's ''

Jackanory Junior ''Jackanory'' is a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the first story was the fairy-t ...

'', which was first shown in January 2008.

Ethos

The stories emphasise the importance of solving problems through mutual understanding, love and respect, without resorting to punishment. ''Rastamouse''s ethos is redemption and not retribution — "make a bad ting good" — helping wrong-doers to redeem themselves from their mistakes. Meaning good things can come from bad things.

Music

Rastamouse and Da Easy Crew's album ''Makin' A Bad Ting Good'' was released by EMI in July 2011. It includes the single "Ice Popp". A full second album of original music, ''Best Friends'', was released by the

Demon Music Group Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...

sublabel Little Demon on 24 June 2016. The lead single of the album was "Mi Love Mi Music". All music for the series was composed by Andrew Kingslow. The theme tune was sung by Martin "Sugar" Merchant, former singer in the rock/reggae band

Audioweb Audioweb are an English indie rock band, formed in 1991 in Manchester. They were initially called The Sugar Merchants. Career Audioweb scored two Top 40 hits in the UK Singles Chart - "Policeman Skank...(The Story Of My Life)", and a cover vers ...

. Reggae with medium to heavy base.

Puppets

The puppets were made by Mackinnon and Saunders, who previously made the puppets for ''

Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series follows the adventures of Bob, a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along with hi ...

'', ''

Postman Pat ''Postman Pat'' is a British stop-motion animated television series first produced by Woodland Animations. The series follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman who works for Royal Mail postal service in the fictional village of Greendal ...

'' and

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...

's ''

Corpse Bride ''Corpse Bride'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's Corpse Bride'') is a 2005 stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton with a screenplay by John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler based on char ...

''. The puppets are 5 mouse.

Critical reception

There was early speculation in the British media that the ''Rastamouse'' cheese was an

allusion Allusion is a figure of speech, in which an object or circumstance from unrelated context is referred to covertly or indirectly. It is left to the audience to make the direct connection. Where the connection is directly and explicitly stated (as ...

to marijuana, despite actual cheese being shown in the series. ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'', a newspaper that serves the

British African-Caribbean community British African-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens whose ancestry originates from the Caribbean or they are nationals of the Caribbean who reside in the UK. There are some self-identified Afro ...

, welcomed the show, albeit as a stereotype of Jamaican life: a ''The Voice'' website poll showed that over 60% considered it to be a positive programme.

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

commented that the BBC said that "Rastamouse is not racist". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' newspaper gave a differing view of Rastamouse, with the producer Greg Boardman stating that the producers "never intentionally put in innuendo or anything that isn't age-appropriate". Figures provided by broadcast regulator

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

indicate that the animated TV show received 12 complaints in 2011, though none of them were upheld. The BBC described ''Rastamouse'', aimed at children under six, as one of its most popular shows of 2011.

Episodes: Series I

Episodes: Series II

Episodes: Series III

Live performances

In June 2011, Rastamouse performed a series of shows in the Kidz Field at

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

. They also performed in 2011 on

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

breakfast show '' Daybreak''. On 13 March 2015, Rastamouse & Da Easy Crew took part in Dermot's Day of Dance for

Red Nose Day 2015 Red Nose Day 2015 was a fund-raising event organised by Comic Relief, broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of 13 March 2015 to early the following morning. It was part of the "Face the Funny" campaign and was held on BBC One ...

All Tings Rastamouse Shop

On 28 February 2015, the world's first official ''Rastamouse'' shop was opened by co-author Michael de Souza, in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

, South London.

References

External links

Rastamouse official site
* * * {{IMDb title, 1770211

* The whole catalog is available to stream a
qkids.com
and the Qkids app in the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

. Animated television series about mice and rats 2011 British television series debuts 2015 British television series endings 2010s British animated television series 2010s British children's television series 2011 Canadian television series debuts 2015 Canadian television series endings 2010s Canadian animated television series 2010s Canadian children's television series BBC children's television shows British children's animated comedy television series British children's animated musical television series British children's animated mystery television series British preschool education television series British stop-motion animated television series British television shows based on children's books Canadian children's animated comedy television series Canadian children's animated musical television series Canadian children's animated mystery television series Canadian preschool education television series Canadian stop-motion animated television series Canadian television shows based on children's books Children's television characters Jamaican culture Television series by DHX Media Television series by Sony Pictures Television CBeebies Animated preschool education television series 2010s preschool education television series English-language television shows