''The Toy Castle'' (french: Le Château magique) 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 ...

children's television show that aired on

Treehouse TV Treehouse TV is a Canadian English-language specialty channel for preschoolers aged 2 to 5 that was launched in 1997. Its name comes from YTV's former preschool block, " The Treehouse". The channel is owned by YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of ...

TVO TVO (stylized as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates flagship station CICA-DT (channel 19) in To ...

ntario, SCN,

Access Access may refer to: Companies and organizations * ACCESS (Australia), an Australian youth network * Access (credit card), a former credit card in the United Kingdom * Access Co., a Japanese software company * Access Healthcare, an Indian BPO se ...

Knowledge Network 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 corpo ...

TFO TFO is a Canadian French language educational television channel and media organization serving the province of Ontario. It is owned by the Ontario French-language Educational Communications Authority (OTELFO), a Crown corporation owned by the ...

and

TQS Noovo is a Canadian French-language terrestrial television network owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The network has five owned-and-operated and three affiliated stations throughout Quebec, although it can also be seen over-the-air ...

. It was aired from September 4, 2000 to December 26, 2003 and produced by Sound Venture Productions. It was inspired by Sound Venture's 1992 Christmas ballet special '' The Tin Soldier'', which starred

Frank Augustyn Frank Joseph Augustyn, (born January 27, 1953) is a Canadian ballet dancer and artistic director. He was principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada and the Berlin Opera Ballet. Background Frank Augustyn was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As ...

and was based on

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

's fairy tale. It is now shown during the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

season on Treehouse, TFO and Noovo. Told through ballet and narration, the stories are about a group of toys in a toy castle that magically come to life when the children are asleep. This series won a

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

in 2003 for "Best Preschool Series". The series also aired on public television stations in the United States, TF1,

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...

, M6 and

Piwi+ Piwi+ (formerly Piwi) is a French pay television channel for children aged 3 to 6, owned by the Canal+ Group. History Piwi was first launched on October 20, 2002 as a preschool block on Télétoon for Les Minitoons, and then on December 3, 2003 a ...

in France and

JimJam ''Jimjam'' (stylised as ''jimjam'') is a 2000 recording by UK jazz-funk guitarist Jim Mullen, featuring fellow-Scot Hamish Stuart on rhythm guitar, Pino Palladino on bass and Ian Thomas on drums. The professional collaboration between Mullen and ...

in Italy.

Plot

''The Toy Castle'' is a show about a group of toys that magically come to life when their children are asleep. When the children are about to wake up, the toys dash around fast until they are back in their former positions. Each episode consists of three story lines, in which the toys all dance around the castle and get into situations which the viewer may relate to.

Characters

* The Soldier (Jorden Morris) enjoys marching and dancing, and loves the lovely Ballerina. Judging by his accent, he is of British nationality (French nationality in the French-language version). * The Ballerina (Elizabeth Olds) enjoys dancing and loves the soldier. Judging by her accent, she is of French nationality (British nationality in the French-language version). She is best friends with China Doll and Rag Doll. * The China Doll (Jennifer Welsman) enjoys dancing and tea. She is shy and prefers quiet activities. She is best friends with Ballerina and Rag Doll. * The Clown (Keir Knight) is a loud and wild toy. He likes joking around and playing. His best friends are Goblin and Rag Doll. * The Goblin (Yosuke Mino) enjoys playing pranks on people and teasing. His best friends are Rag Doll and Clown. * The Rag Doll (Sayaka Karasugi) enjoys twirling and playing. She dreams of being a pretty lady like Ballerina and China Doll. Her best friends are Goblin, Clown, Ballerina and China Doll. * The Sailor (Raven S. Wilder) likes to tell tales and sail the seven seas. His favorite dance is the

jig The jig ( ga, port, gd, port-cruinn) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It is most associated with Irish music and dance. It first gained popularity in 16th-century Ireland and parts of ...

. * The Strong Man (David Lucas) likes lifting weights and his stuffed cat, Meow Meow. He may be in love with China Doll, as they dated in one episode, but that was the only time it was shown. * Freida (Andrea Mislan) enjoys dancing the frog-a-doddle-five and playing with her twin brother, Fredrick. She speaks with a Southern accent (Meridional accent in the French version). * Fredrick (Sofia Costantini) enjoys dancing the frog-a-doddle-five and playing with his twin sister, Freida. He speaks with a Southern accent (Meridional accent in the French version). * Mama Mouse (Daiva Preston, Andrea Mistan) is shy. She is married to Papa Mouse, and has three children. * Papa Mouse (Micheal Flynn) is a caring man. He and his wife have three children. * Little Mouse (Corinne Vessey) likes playing and imagining he is riding a horse. He was named Baby Mouse in the first season, but with two new siblings coming, they quietly changed his name to Little Mouse. * The Mouse Twins - They are twins who both cry often. They enjoy quiet things and swinging. They have never been given official names, being referred to simply as 'The Mouse Twins'. * The Dolly Bird wears extravagant make-up and loves dancing for people. She tends to be insecure about her dancing. She has appeared in the fewest episodes and is never mentioned on the official site. * The Little Boy (Billy Jeans) sleeps in his bed while the toys are dancing and in motion, but when he turns his head around sleeping, the toys return to their former poses as regular figures. He is only shown in the series' opening, in the ending part of an episode, and in the credits background. * The Little Girl (Ivy Bregman) sleeps in her bed while the toys are dancing and in motion, but when she turns her head around sleeping, the toys return to their former poses as regular figures. She is only shown in the series' opening, in the ending part of an episode, and in the credits background.

Episodes

Pilot (1992)

Season 1 (2000)

References

External links

*
The Toy Castle website archived by the Wayback Machine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toy Castle PBS Kids shows TF1 original programming M6 (TV channel) original programming France Télévisions children's television series Canal+ original programming Canadian children's fantasy television series Treehouse TV original programming TVO original programming TFO original programming Noovo original programming Sentient toys in fiction 2000 Canadian television series debuts 2003 Canadian television series endings 2000s Canadian children's television series Fiction about toys Fictional fortifications Canadian supernatural television series English-language television shows French-language television shows Christmas television series Television shows based on works by Hans Christian Andersen Television shows filmed in Winnipeg Television shows set in Manitoba Canadian television shows featuring puppetry Television about magic Works based on The Steadfast Tin Soldier Canadian preschool education television series 2000s preschool education television series