''The Koala Brothers'' is a British stop-motion animated children's television show that features the adventures of 2

koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the womb ...

brothers named Frank and Buster, as they seek to help their friends in a sleepy town in the

Australian outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

. Seventy-nine episodes were produced over 3 seasons. A notable quality of the TV show is that although there can be differences of opinion and some instances of anti-social or unthoughtful behaviour, there are no villains or antagonistic characters. Rather, the emphasis is on helping and being a good friend. The series originally premiered on

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 ...

on 1 September 2003 until the final episode's airing on 31 October 2007.

Format

Broadcast episode formats vary slightly between countries, though the main material of each episode, with the titular characters assisting one of their friends and overcoming a problem, such as jealousy, fear, or the failure to share, does not change. In Australia, the show runs in episodes of around 12 minutes' length, though these are broadcast in pairs on ABC Kids, with the opening song "Call the Koala Brothers" repeated in instrumental form over the credits. CBeebies eliminates the introduction and closing song to squeeze the program into a 10-minute format. In the 30-minute broadcast version, the show opens with a slightly longer version of the theme song and then before each segment, the narrator introduces Frank and Buster as they fly in their yellow two-seater propeller airplane above the outback. The supporting cast is introduced as the narrator asks, "Who do you think the Koala Brothers are going to help today?", followed by Frank's telescope showing the character they're going to help in each respective segment. Each 30-minute episode ends with "The Helping Song", in which all the characters gather at the Koala Brothers' homestead and sing about always trying to help and care for one another.

Inspiration

The show remarkably resembles, in visual style and ethos, a children's book and TV show proposal entitled "The Great Wungle Bungle Aerial Expedition", which featured characters specifically dubbed "The Koala Brothers" and focusing on the adventures of altruistic animal outback aviator rescuers in homemade flying contraptions at a comical desert airstrip, rescuing others or helping out friends with no thought of personal reward. The book first appeared along with accompanying specially designed animatronic character props at the "FirstState88" NSW Govt exhibition in

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central business district. Origin ...

in Sydney as part of the

Australian Bicentenary The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1988. It marked 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. History The bicentennial year marked Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival with the 11 ships ...

in 1988. The original three "Koala Brothers" characters first appeared here as supporting characters. In the 1990s, the book and exhibit's creator Greg McKee revised the concept as an animated TV show proposal called "Echidna Airways" which circulated at Cannes. Greg pitched the proposal to the producers of this show, who ultimately decided to develop their own version of the premise instead. The animation style itself is reminiscent of the popular children's series ''

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 ...

'' with production credits evidently shared between the two. Archival footage of the ''Echidna Airways'' characters and flying machines is viewable here:

Ownership and distribution

The show was purchased by Spellbound Entertainment and was pre-sold to CBeebies for a 2003 delivery. Spellbound would continue to sell the series worldwide until filing for liquidation in 2013. David Johnson, the show's creator, would purchase the rights to the series in February 2014 under a new joint-venture company called Koala Brothers Ltd. Union Media was signed as the new distributor for the series.

Characters

All the characters are anthropomorphic native Australian animals mainly speaking with correct accents, with the notable exceptions of Archie the Crocodile, who speaks in a British accent and Penny the Penguin, who only communicates through penguin sounds.

Main

*Frank the

Koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the womb ...

(voiced by

Keith Wickham Keith Wickham is a British voice actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is known for providing the voices of various characters in the children's television series ''Thomas & Friends'', and Polluto in '' Tommy Zoom''. Career Wickham voiced Chang ...

) is the male pilot of the airplane. Frank has demonstrated excellent skills in tennis and was the only member of the community able to defeat Archie, though Frank admitted it was probably just luck. Frank also fostered an interest in pottery at one point but did not have any great artistic ability. *Buster the

(voiced by

Rob Rackstraw Robert Rackstraw (born 31 October 1965) is a British voice actor who has worked in various animated films, television shows and video games. Career Rackstraw has an extensive voiceover career over 20 years. He voiced the main villain Pew in ' ...

) sits behind Frank in the airplane and uses his telescope to spot friends in need from the air. Buster is always willing to provide a pep talk or a hug to his friends. Buster speaks more softly than Frank and has a small tuft of hair on the top of his head. Buster loves to bake, especially butter cookies. Jonathan Coleman is the

Narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...

Supporting

*Mitzi the Possum (voiced by

Lucinda Cowden Lucinda Cowden (born 24 April 1965) is an Australian actress. Cowden was born in Ballarat, Victoria. She played Melanie Pearson Melanie Pearson (also Mangel) is a fictional character from Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' played by Lucin ...

) almost singularly wears flip flops exposing her toes (which implies an attachment though it is not brought up in stories) along with thick-rimmed glasses. Mitzi lives in part of the Koala Brothers' homestead made over as her living quarters and is young and impressionable, often relying on the Koala Brothers to keep in line with her perfection-seeking impulses. Mitzi can get bossy and upset her friends at times, but she means no harm and her friends always forgive her as she is still working out her limits. A recurring sight-gag shows Mitzi slipping out of either or both her flip flops due to being constantly on the go. *Ned the

Wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are adap ...

(voiced by Janet James) is apparently the youngest male member of the local community and lives in a caravan next door to the Koala Brothers' homestead. Ned is often not sure of himself, but dreams of adventure and longs to be a hero like his idols Frank and Buster. Ned is very determined and easily fixated on an idea, and often will come through with prompting. *George the

Turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

(voiced by Rob Rackstraw) is the local mail carrier. George has no established residence but is always seen delivering the mail with his trusty leather satchel. George is very proud of being a mail carrier and tells the best campfire stories in the outback. George also has an interest in stamp collecting. *Sammy the

Echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

(voiced by Rob Rackstraw) lives in town and owns the local general store, which sells fuel in addition to comestibles. His only employee is Josie. As one of the more senior citizens, Sammy has the fewest problems after the Koala Brothers. *Josie the

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

(voiced by Janet James) works at the general store with Sammy. Josie is shy, and wears a small red and white striped shirt that exposes her bright yellow tummy, a blue skirt with a deep pocket and shoes. She and Mitzi are the best of friends. *Alice the

Platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal Endemic (ecology), endemic to Eastern states of Australia, eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypu ...

(voiced by Lucinda Cowden) works at the local café and appears to be the lone employee, though it is unclear if Alice owns the café. Alice is very forgetful. She rides a green motor scooter around, which has its share of drastic engine problems. Alice loves to bake and is good at following recipes. Alice is also good at reading maps. *Archie the

Crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

(voiced by Keith Wickham) lives in a well-appointed cottage near the local water hole. Archie is cheerful and is always exercising, stretching, or playing tennis, and is also renowned at being the best at almost every sport. Archie is British and speaks in a memorable rich accent. *Penny the

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

(vocal effects provided by Janet James) is a young female explorer who lives in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

but has visited the outback on certain occasions and keeps up a regular written correspondence with the Koala Brothers. Penny communicates by chattering like a penguin or cooing like an infant and takes part in singing "The Helping Song". *Lolly the

Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

(voiced by Lucinda Cowden) is the female local ice cream vendor and can often be seen driving her ice cream truck around the Outback. Lolly greets people by saying "How can I cool you down?"

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (2003–04)

Series 2 (2004–05)

Series 3 (2005–07)

Telecast and home media

Originally aired on ABC Kids from 2003 until 2007 with repeats until the early-2010s. The show later aired on

in the United Kingdom and

Playhouse Disney Playhouse Disney was a brand of programming blocks and international cable and satellite television channels that were owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit (now Disney Branded Television) of The Walt Disney Company's Disney–ABC Televis ...

in the United States, as well as various foreign stations. As of 2022, the show is now streaming on the premium Amazon Prime. In the United States, several DVDs of the series were released by

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered in ...

. *DVDs Released in North America: **Meet the Koala Brothers! **A Day in the Outback! **We're Here to Help! **Ned's Buried Treasure **Mitzi's Big Adventure **Outback Christmas (A 50-minute special) *DVDs Released in the United Kingdom: **The Koala Brothers: A Letter for George and Other Stories **The Koala Brothers: Archie's New Home and Other Stories **The Koala Brothers: Ned the Pilot and Other Stories **The Koala Brothers: Alice Can't Remember and Other Stories **The Koala Brothers: Outback Christmas **The Koala Brothers: Mitzi's Day Out and Other Stories **The Koala Brothers: We're Here to Help!

Award nominations

BAFTA Children's Awards The British Academy Children's Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). They have been awarded annually since 1996, before which time they were a part of the main British Acad ...

2006 ** Nominated for ''Best Animation'' (for the episode ''The Koala Brothers Outback Christmas'')

References

External links

* *
vimeo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koala Brothers, The 2003 British television series debuts 2007 British television series endings British preschool education television series Animated preschool education television series 2000s preschool education television series British children's animated adventure television series British stop-motion animated television series Disney Channel original programming Treehouse TV original programming BBC children's television shows Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming S4C original programming Animated television series about brothers Television series about koalas Fictional wombats Television series about kangaroos and wallabies CBeebies English-language television shows