''Yakkity Yak'' is a
Flash animated television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
produced by the Vancouver-based animation studio
Studio B Productions
Studio B Productions (later DHX Media Vancouver) was a Canadian animation studio founded by Blair Peters and Chris Bartleman in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1988. The studio was acquired by DHX Media (now WildBrain) on December 4, 2007, and bec ...
and Kapow Pictures. It was created by Mark Gravas and aired 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 ...
in Canada and on
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
in Australia from 9 November 2002 to 12 December 2003. 26 episodes were produced.
The copyright to the show is owned by
DHX Media
WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children ...
(now known as WildBrain), which bought Studio B Productions in 2007.
Premise
The story centres around an
anthropomorphic
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 ...
yak
The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...
named Yakkity who aspires to become a famous
comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing
Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...
and his friends, Keo (an anthropomorphic
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
) and Lemony (a young human girl) in Onion Falls (based on
Lithgow, New South Wales
Lithgow is a town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the administrative center of the City of Lithgow local government area. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of Wil ...
).
Theme song
A modified version of the 1958 song ''
Yakety Yak
"Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for the Coasters and released on Atco Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as #1 on the R&B charts and a week as number one on the Top 100 pop list. This ...
'' by
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing ...
(in which children and some cast members sing some portions) is used as the series' theme song.
Characters
*Yakkity Yak (
Lee Tockar
Lee William Tockar (born 1969) is a Canadian voice actor and visual artist who works for several studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is also a writer of children's literature, a musician, sculptor, illustrator and collected painter ...
): A yak student (aged 12) in Onion Falls Junior High School and the school's mascot who wishes to be a
comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing
Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...
. Yakkity works as the school mascot since his grandfather also served as mascot when the (rugby) football team won the state championship in 1925. The football team, instead of the mascot, got all the glory (despite having not won a match since 1925), much to Yakkity's distaste. Yakkity now lives with his Granny and her boarder Professor Crazyhair. He wears a coat over his bare body. His closest friends are Keo (who lives next door) and Lemony. Over the course of the series, his parents have never been seen or mentioned.
*Keo (
Brian Drummond
Brian Drummond (born August 10, 1969) is a Canadian voice actor. He formerly served on the board of directors for the New Westminster-based Urban Academy along with his wife, Laura Drummond, also a voice artist. Usually working in Vancouver, h ...
): An anthropomorphic
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
who is actually a human with a pineapple for a head. He is very intelligent but is camera shy and has stage fright. He has rivalries with his father who is only a
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
, but deep down, he loves him.
*Lemony (
Andrea Libman
Andrea Eva Libman (born July 19, 1984) is a Canadian actress whose most popular on-screen appearances are in ''Little Women'', '' Andre'', and a guest role on ''The X-Files''. She is also known for providing voice acting in various animated show ...
): A blond-haired human girl and Keo's love interest who has a vivid imagination.
*Reginald Highpants (
Ian James Corlett
Ian James Corlett (born August 29, 1962) is a Canadian voice actor, animator, and author. He is the creator of Studio B Productions' animated series ''Being Ian'' and ''Yvon of the Yukon''. One of his best-known animation roles was the first En ...
): The town's leading vendor of candy and all things with sugar. He also runs many small businesses.
*Trilo (Jason Schombing): Yakkity's
trilobite
Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the At ...
agent and former circus performer who owns his own Entertainment Agency, does children's parties for the characters, and is always looking for money. His clients are Yakkity, Fairy Wanda and Chuck Damage, who he uses for parties.
*Granny Yak (
Pam Hyatt
Pamela "Pam" Hyatt (born April 9, 1936) is a Canadian actress who played Noble Heart Horse in 1986's '' The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation'' and the voice of Kaede in the English version of ''Inuyasha'', guest-starred in USA Network's '' ...
): Yak's grandmother. While she is a good sounding board in a parental way, she also has some of Yakkity's impulsive genes.
*Professor Crazyhair (
Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the best-known Canadian voice actors of all time, McNeil has provided voices to many characters in animated shows, most notabl ...
): A scientist and teacher at Onion Falls High whose hair changes colour like a
mood ring
A mood ring is a finger ring that contains a thermochromic element, or "mood stone", that changes colors based on the temperature of the finger of the wearer. Finger temperature, as long as the ambient temperature is relatively constant, is si ...
, hence his name. He lives in Yakkity's basement, where he built a laboratory. His egg salad recipe is very sought after by evil geniuses who wish to use it to take over the world.
*Penelope (
Tabitha St. Germain
Tabitha St. Germain, formerly known as Paulina Gillis Germain and also known as Tabitha or Kitanou St. Germain, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is known for a variety of roles across many different shows. She has been actively doing voi ...
): A robot who is Lemony's best friend and works as Professor Crazyhair's assistant but lacks any social skills or confidence. Whenever she's embarrassed, her face turns red and she squirts out
fire fighting foam
Firefighting foam is a foam used for fire suppression. Its role is to cool the fire and to coat the fuel, preventing its contact with oxygen, thus achieving suppression of the combustion. Firefighting foam was invented by the Russian engineer and ...
s from her arms transforming into fire hoses, squirting everything around her.
*Rondo (
Ian James Corlett
Ian James Corlett (born August 29, 1962) is a Canadian voice actor, animator, and author. He is the creator of Studio B Productions' animated series ''Being Ian'' and ''Yvon of the Yukon''. One of his best-known animation roles was the first En ...
): Lemony's (rugby) football playing brother who is a senior in junior high. He is one of Yakkity's main antagonists often competing for the spotlight.
*Keo's Dad (
Michael Daingerfield
Michael Daingerfield is a Canadian actor, acting coach and founder of On The Mic Training, a voice acting school in Vancouver, British Columbia.
He is best known for his voice roles of Ace Ventura in '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', playing Gordo ...
): A pineapple who can be bossy and rude at many times, and Keo's father. The identity of his wife (Keo's birth mother) is unknown and never explored; it can be assumed that she either died or got divorced before the events of ''Yakkity Yak''. He's only a disembodied pineapple head; as the only time he ever had a body with limbs was in "My Dad the Robot".
*Wanda Harper (Brenda Crichlow): a fairy who works as Onion Falls High's librarian.
*Jackie Pachyderm: An elephant comedian and successful movie star who is Yakkity's idol.
Broadcast
''Yakkity Yak'' debuted on Teletoon in Canada on 4 January 2003,
with the last episode airing on 28 January 2004.
[Alt URL]
/ref> It also aired on BBC Kids
BBC Kids is the international children's brand of BBC Studios, and has been applied to a number of TV services. It draws from the long history of children's programming on the BBC, and is strongly related to the CBBC channel in the United Kingd ...
. In the UK it aired on CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
. In Australia, it aired on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
and Network 10
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
, and would later air on ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, ABC1
ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel an ...
, and ABC3
ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3.
Hist ...
. In the United States, it briefly aired on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
, from 9 November 2003 to 4 September 2004. It was later run on the Nicktoons
Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...
channel starting from 22 May 2004 until 23 September 2007. The show also aired on Nickelodeon in Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
and 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 Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
Episodes
The episode list is listed by production code, not by airdate.
Awards
The show was nominated for a Leo Award
The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...
for "Best Musical Score" in 2004.
References
External links
*
{{Teletoon
Television series about cattle
Fictional comedians
2000s Canadian animated television series
2003 Canadian television series debuts
2004 Canadian television series endings
2000s Australian animated television series
2003 Australian television series endings
2002 Australian television series debuts
Australian children's animated comedy television series
Australian children's animated fantasy television series
Canadian children's animated comedy television series
Canadian children's animated fantasy television series
Nickelodeon (Australia and New Zealand) original programming
Television series by Corus Entertainment
Television series by DHX Media
Television shows filmed in Vancouver
Teletoon original programming
Yaks
English-language television shows
Canadian flash animated television series
Australian flash animated television series
Animated television series about children