''Oobi'' is an American

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

produced by Little Airplane Productions for the

Noggin Noggin may refer to: General * Noggin or gill (volume), a unit of volume * Noggin (cup), a small cup * Noggin, slang for head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, an ...

channel. The show's concept is based on a training method used by puppeteers, in which they use their hands and a pair of glass eyes instead of a full puppet. The main character is a bare

hand puppet A hand puppet is a type of puppet that is controlled by the hand or hands that occupies the interior of the puppet.Sinclair, A, ''The Puppetry Handbook'', p.15 A glove puppet is a variation of hand puppets. Rod puppets require one of the puppetee ...

named Oobi. The first season was a series of two-minute shorts. For its second and third seasons, it became a long-form series, with episodes lasting 13 minutes each. The show originally aired from 2000 to February 11, 2005, with reruns continuing until March 18, 2013. The series was created by Josh Selig, a former writer and actor for ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...

''. He came up with the idea for ''Oobi'' while watching bare-handed puppeteers audition for ''Sesame Street''. All of the show's puppeteers were veteran Muppet performers. The main characters were played by

Tim Lagasse Tim Lagasse (born 1968/1969) is an American director, puppeteer and puppet designer. He has worked on films and television programs for Sesame Workshop, Nickelodeon, Disney XD, and HBO. He is known for playing the title character on Noggin's '' ...

Stephanie D'Abruzzo Stephanie Ann D'Abruzzo (; born December 7, 1971) is an American actress, puppeteer and singer. She has performed various Muppets in the TV program ''Sesame Street''. She held starring roles on '' Oobi'' and ''The Book of Pooh''. She was one of ...

Noel MacNeal Noel MacNeal (born September 15, 1961), sometimes credited as Noel McNeal or Edward Noel MacNeal, is an American puppeteer, actor, director and writer of children's television who has performed since the early 1980s. He was the voice and puppetee ...

, and

Tyler Bunch Tyler Bunch, also known as H.D. Quinn, is an American puppeteer, puppet designer, director, and actor. Career In addition to his work for the Jim Henson Company, Bunch has created and performed puppets for PBS, Nickelodeon and Disney's Th ...

. The puppets' designs include glass eyes and accessories like hats and hairpieces. The puppeteers' thumbs are used to represent mouth movement, and their fingers flutter and clench to show emotions. The characters talk in simple sentences, using only two to three words at a time. The show's ending credits feature a montage of families making and playing with their own bare-hand Oobi puppets. ''Oobi'' was a breakout success for Noggin. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for the puppeteers' performances, the visual style, and the show's appeal toward multiple age groups. ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'' reported that the show developed a strong cult following among older viewers, and Noel MacNeal has said that the show's fans range from amateur puppeteers to "college-age stoners." The show received a variety of awards, including from the Television Academy and Parents' Choice. ''Oobi'' had a

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...

of 2.35 among Noggin viewers by 2004, becoming the highest-rated series ever to air on Noggin. It is the most widely distributed Noggin show, having aired in over 23 markets worldwide by 2005. A foreign adaptation titled '' Oobi: Dasdasi'' premiered in 2012 and ran for 78 episodes, airing in the Middle East and countries across Asia.

Plot

The show takes place in a quaint, old-fashioned neighborhood where hand puppets live and act like people. The main character is a curious four-year-old named Oobi who likes to explore the outside world. He lives in a single-story house with his little sister, Uma, and his grandfather, Grampu. Uma is very overdramatic and, depending on the day, she can be either excited or completely stressed out. Grampu is laid-back and encourages the kids to learn new things, but he is also rather unlucky and always has to clean up the kids' messes. Oobi has a best friend, Kako, who lives across the street and likes to visit. Most episodes are about Oobi learning about something for the first time, like a new place, a new game, or a holiday. According to Noggin, the show was meant to mirror the stage of early childhood "when everything in heworld is new and incredible" and "when each revelation helps build a sense of mastery and self-confidence." The characters use basic vocabulary, and they use simple sentences based on the speech structure of a child just starting to talk. For example, "Uma, school, first day" is said in place of "It's my first day of school." The show was meant to help develop social skills, early

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...

, and logical thinking. In season one, the episodes are simple shorts about Oobi making new discoveries. In season two, the episodes were extended and followed a format made up of three parts. The first part is a story like the earlier shorts. The second part is a set of interviews between the puppets and human families, centering on the main story's topic. The last part is an interactive game (usually rhyming, guessing, or memory). When ''Oobi'' started a third season in 2004, the game segments were dropped and replaced with longer stories. Interviews were still an important part of the show, but instead of being shown after the story, these segments were shortened and played as transitions between scenes.

Characters

Main

*Oobi (

) is a four-year-old boy. He is curious and always excited to learn something new. Unlike the other characters, he is a completely bare puppet aside from his eyes and wears no accessories or clothes. His eyes are brown in season one and hazel in later episodes. Oobi dreams of becoming a piano player and takes piano lessons from an old woman named Inka. He is very protective of his favorite toy, a red model car. He acts as a role model to his little sister, Uma. *Uma (

) is Oobi's three-year-old sister. She is shorter than Oobi and usually wears a barrette on her pinky finger. She loves singing, dancing, and pretending. Chickens are her favorite animal, and she likes to talk about and imitate them, which sometimes annoys Grampu. She has a habit of overreacting to small changes or problems. Her

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

s are "Nice!" and "Pretty." Because she is so young, she has trouble pronouncing long words. *Kako (

) is Oobi's excitable, confident, and sometimes arrogant best friend. Kako has a playful attitude and likes to make jokes, but he can prove to be insightful and sincere whenever Oobi needs advice. He has green eyes and usually wears a red knit hat. His catchphrase is " Perfecto," the Spanish word for "perfect." Kako lives with his parents, Mamu and Papu. *Grampu (

) is Oobi and Uma's wise and sometimes rather unlucky grandfather, who is their caregiver and mentor. His appearance is different from that of the kids; four of his fingers are curled instead of being extended, making him look taller. His favorite pastimes are cooking and gardening. He develops a romantic relationship with Oobi's piano teacher, Inka, throughout the series. His catchphrase is "Lovely!"

Recurring

*Inka (Stephanie D'Abruzzo) is Oobi's piano teacher and Grampu's girlfriend. She often takes Grampu on dates and flirts with him when she visits Oobi's house. She has visited Paris, likes to try foreign foods, and has an Eastern European accent. *Angus ( Matt Vogel) is a high-strung friend of Oobi's whose eyes are under his fingers rather than on top. He talks in a nasal voice and usually worries about how he looks in front of others. Ironically, he is a good actor and has a talent for singing, but he gets

stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

when he has to perform in front of an audience. *Mrs. Johnson (

Jennifer Barnhart Jennifer Barnhart (born March 11, 1972) is an American actress and puppeteer, with a portfolio of television and theatre performances.Frankie Cordero) are Kako's parents, who appear whenever Oobi visits Kako's house. Papu is a homemaker and a cook. Mamu works at an office and is usually away from home, but she still finds time to spend with her family. *Maestru (

James Godwin James Basil "Gib" Godwin III (born February 6, 1951), a retired Rear Admiral (upper half) of the United States Navy, was the Program Executive Officer – Enterprise Information Systems of the Department of the Navy. His responsibilities i ...

) is Oobi and Kako's

singing teacher Vocal pedagogy is the study of the art and science of voice instruction. It is used in the teaching of singing and assists in defining what singing is, how singing works, and how proper singing technique is accomplished. Vocal pedagogy covers a ...

, who works at the local community center. He is also in charge of the town events. He wears a bow tie and a black wig made to look like

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

's hairstyle. His index finger is always extended and he uses it as a conducting baton. *Frieda ( Cheryl Blaylock) is an upside-down foot puppet. She wears a flower-shaped pin on one of her toes. Oobi and Frieda like to play with each other at the park and teach each other how to play different games. She represents a person of a different race or culture from the hand puppets. *Moppie (

Heather Asch Heather C. Asch (born May 28, 1966) is an American puppeteer. Biography Heather Asch, who hails from Minneapolis, graduated from the University of Connecticut's Puppet Arts Program in 1991. Her first puppet project is ''Bosum Buddies'' which deal ...

) is Uma's best friend from preschool. She has curly red hair, and her fingers are curled up in a fist. She is high-spirited and energetic, but also afraid to try new things. She is an artist and likes to draw portraits of her classmates. *Bella (

Lisa Buckley This list of ''Sesame Street'' puppeteers includes all who have worked on the show, as a regular, backup, guest puppeteer, etc., and by no means should be taken as complete, as many Muppeteers only have done one skit on the show, and thus aren't c ...

) is a

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

owner and one of Grampu's close friends. She talks in an Italian accent and brings fruit wherever she goes.

Production

Concept and creation

Josh Selig was inspired to create the show after watching puppeteers perform with their bare hands on the set of ''Sesame Street''. Each puppeteer used their hand and a pair of ping pong balls in place of a puppet. This is a common technique among puppeteers in training, as it helps them learn the basics of lip-syncing and focusing the eyes of a puppet. Selig noted the amount of expression conveyed by the more skilled actors' hands, and it gave him the idea for a series that showcased the "raw emotion" of bare-handed puppetry. In 1999, Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop created a cable channel called Noggin. At its launch, the channel mainly aired reruns from Sesame Workshop's library, so both companies started to seek pitches for original shows. Selig had recently left ''Sesame Street'' when he was given the opportunity to propose his own show to Noggin. He pitched ''Oobi'' to them under the working title ''Pipo'', which he wanted to name the main character. He decided to rename the show ''Oobi'' after he found out that "Pipo" was already trademarked by an Italian brand of jeans. The new name was meant to mirror the characters' eyeballs with two O's. Selig's pitch was successful, and ''Oobi'' entered production. For the first season, Noggin ordered a collection of about 50 interstitials, which lasted 1 to 2 minutes each and would play during commercial breaks. The season was made as an experiment to see whether or not Selig wanted to continue his own production studio, Little Airplane Productions. Of the season, he said, "I set up a shop to produce that series. So we just signed a one-year lease, it was really an experiment for us... and after the first year we found that we loved having a company." The first season of shorts was filmed in 1999 and started airing in 2000 on Noggin.

Assembling the crew

Tim Lagasse was chosen to play Oobi because of his previous bare-handed puppetry in '' A Show of Hands'', a series of short films he made in the early 1990s. The show's main cast and crew members were all Sesame Workshop alumni.

Kevin Clash Kevin Jeffrey Clash (born September 17, 1960) is an American puppeteer, director and producer known for puppeteering Elmo on ''Sesame Street'' from 1984 to 2012. He also performed puppets for ''Labyrinth'', ''Dinosaurs'', '' Oobi'', and various ...

, best known for being the original performer of

Elmo Elmo is a red Muppet monster character on the long-running PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who has a falsetto voice and illeism, he hosts the last full five-minute segment (fifteen minutes prio ...

, was an ensemble puppeteer on ''Oobi'' and guest-starred as Randy in the "Babysitter!" episode. Matt Vogel, the current puppeteer for

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...

and

Big Bird Big Bird is a Muppet character designed by Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love for the long-running children's television show ''Sesame Street''. An eight-foot two-inch (249 cm) tall bright yellow anthropomorphic bird, he can roller skat ...

, played Oobi's friend Angus. Martin Robinson, who plays Telly Monster on ''Sesame Street'', built the puppets' glass eyes and accessories on ''Oobi''.

Lisa Simon Lisa Simon (April 4, 1951 — April 4, 2015) was an American television producer and Television director, director. Positions held * Assistant Director on ''Chavez (TV series), Chavez'' (2006) * Production Assistant on ''Law & Order: Special Victi ...

, who won 20 Daytime Emmys for her work as a director of ''Sesame Street'', was the producer for ''Oobi''. The show's background music was created by Sacred Noise, a music production company in New York. Additional music was composed by pianist Marianna Rosett and Christopher North Renquist. A few other composers were brought onto the crew for special songs. Jared Faber wrote the theme song. Broadway orchestrator

Larry Hochman Larry Hochman (; born November 21, 1953) is an American orchestrator and composer. He has won four Emmy Awards for his original music on the TV series '' Wonder Pets!'' and a Tony Award for his orchestrations for '' The Book of Mormon''. Early ...

wrote songs for the "Theater!" episode, which was a ten-minute musical.

Filming

''Oobi'' was filmed at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York. The show's set pieces were built on tall wooden poles, positioned to be level with the puppeteers' hands when they raised their arms. This kept the actors' heads out of the camera frame and allowed them to walk normally while performing, making their puppets' movements as smooth as possible. Television monitors were placed below the sets so that the puppeteers could watch their motions and position their characters according to each scene. The actors wore hands-free headsets that recorded their dialogue, making them able to perform and voice their characters at the same time. They sometimes dubbed over their lines in post-production, specifically for the song sequences in episodes like "Theater!", which required them to record different takes to match their voices to the music tracks. Many of the show's sets were made to evoke the look of old-fashioned home environments. To simulate natural window light in the studio, the crew of ''Oobi'' placed shades with foliage patterns over their studio lights; this gave the appearance of sunlight passing through trees. Green screens were used for the sky of the outdoor sets and for the windows of Oobi's house. Every week during production, the puppeteers visited a local manicurist to get their fingernails touched up. Most of the male puppeteers, such as Tim Lagasse, also had to shave their arms regularly if they played younger characters; Josh Selig said in a 2004 interview that Lagasse had to shave often so that Oobi would not "look like a hairy kid." Tyler Bunch was told specifically not to shave because his natural arm hair gave Grampu the appearance of an elderly, hairy grandfather. When Cheryl Blaylock was offered the role of Frieda the Foot, she had to revisit puppeteer training techniques to learn to use her foot as a puppet. She recounted in a 2012 interview: "I had to actually go back to Puppetry 101 to train my foot to lip sync. Oh yes, I was determined to do some kind of toe wiggle that could be convincing." For episodes with Frieda, the crew had to construct a new set that allowed Blaylock to raise her foot alongside the hand puppets. To do this, they assembled a ramp-like stage with a chair connected to it, resting on its side. Blaylock was able to lie down in the chair and rest her leg on the ramp, making her foot appear to be standing at the same height as Oobi.

Iranian adaptation

In May 2012, the Iranian cable channel

IRIB TV2 IRIB TV2 ( fa, شبكه دو, ''Shabakeh-ye Do'', lit. Channel 2) is one of the 40 national television channels in Iran. It broadcasts to the Persian-speaking areas of the Middle East and is headquartered in Tehran. The Islamic Republic of Iran ...

produced its own adaptation of the show, called '' Oobi: Dasdasi''. None of the original crew members were involved.

Amir Soltan Ahmadi Amir Soltan Ahmadi ( fa, امیر سلطان‌احمدی) is an Iranian actor and comedian who is one of Iran's foremost puppeteers. He is known for playing Pesar Ammeh Za on '' Kolah Ghermezi''. Filmography TV series * '' Kolah Ghermezi'' - ...

and Negar Estakhr, two of Iran's foremost puppeteers, directed and starred in the program. In an interview with the newspaper '' Jaam-e Jam'', Estakhr said that she watched episodes of ''Oobi'' in English and wanted to make a tailored version for an Iranian audience. Like the original show, it features brother and sister hand puppets who live with their grandfather, but the cast was expanded to include two parents. The three adult characters wore Arab garments. 78 eight-minute episodes were made. They aired from September 22 to December 20, 2012. In July 2013, ''Oobi: Dasdasi'' was sold to broadcasters in five countries: Kuwait, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. IRIB TV2 aired the show in Iran and

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

aired a subtitled version in Japan. IRIB's Art News Agency hosts full episodes of ''Oobi: Dasdasi'' on its website.

Broadcast

Episodes

48 shorts and 52 long-form episodes were made across three seasons. Each short is 1–2 minutes long, while the long-form episodes are 10–13 minutes each. The long-form episodes were usually aired in pairs to fill half-hour timeslots.

Airing history

In the United States, ''Oobi'' was mostly shown on Noggin. In April 2002, the first season of shorts was also shown during commercial breaks on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block. Four episodes of the second season were simulcast on both Noggin and Nickelodeon on April 7, 2003. The show was on Noggin's on-demand service from 2004 to 2009. In 2005, ''Oobi'' episodes were posted online to Nick Jr. Video, a broadband video channel. Later that year, the show was aired as part of "

Cox Cox may refer to: * Cox (surname), including people with the name Companies * Cox Enterprises, a media and communications company ** Cox Communications, cable provider ** Cox Media Group, a company that owns television and radio stations ** ...

Family Fun Night," a weekly event featuring Nickelodeon shows that was broadcast every Sunday on Cox systems. Throughout 2005, select General Motors cars had TVs preloaded with Nickelodeon shows, including ''Oobi''. Reruns of ''Oobi'' were shown on the Nick Jr. channel from September 28, 2009 until March 18, 2013. From May 2015 to March 2020, the show was available on the Noggin streaming app. The show has been available on

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

since June 2018. In January 2021, the series was added to

Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

(which was called CBS All Access at the time). By the end of its run in 2005, ''Oobi'' was aired in over 23 international markets. In Canada, TVOntario aired the first season of shorts. It carried the show from September 1, 2003 to September 2, 2006. On December 5, 2004, the series started airing on AFN Prime, a channel operated by the U.S. Armed Forces that is available worldwide. It was shown on the channel every Sunday until April 3, 2005. The Australian channel ABC Kids ran premieres of the show from February 8 to March 15, 2005, with reruns until February 2, 2007.

Nickelodeon Philippines Nickelodeon is a Philippine pay television channel that was launched on April 1, 2011, as a localised variant of American channel Nickelodeon, with programming aimed at children and teenagers. It is owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA in partners ...

aired ''Oobi'' from 2011 to 2012. The show was also shown in

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. ''Oobi'' has been one of Nickelodeon Pakistan's flagship series since 2009; as of 2022, it continues to air on the channel once a day. The show has been dubbed in different languages. From 2005 to 2006, an Icelandic-dubbed version of ''Oobi'' aired on Stöð 2. In China, a Mandarin Chinese dub aired on HaHa Nick from May 1 to August 5, 2005. In Israel, a Hebrew dub was made with Gilad Kleter and Yoram Yosefsberg as the voices of Oobi and Grampu. It aired on Nickelodeon Israel and BabyTV from 2008 to 2013. In France and Wallonia, a French dub aired on Nickelodeon France and

Nickelodeon Junior Nickelodeon Junior is a French 24-hour television channel broadcasting to France and Switzerland for a toddler audience. It is the French equivalent of Nick Jr., though with its French branding meeting domestic language policies, along with " ...

from 2005 to 2012. In June 2010, the episode "Make Music!" was featured in Nickelodeon France's Fête de la Musique event. A Polish dub called ''Rączusie'' aired on Nickelodeon Poland from July 19, 2009 to February 28, 2010. Nickelodeon Arabia, which broadcasts to the Middle East and North Africa, aired an Arabic dub from 2009 to 2011. ''Oobi'' was not part of

Nickelodeon Asia Nickelodeon is a pan-Asian pay television channel operated by Paramount Global, based in Singapore and broadcast to audiences in Southeast Asia and certain regions in Oceania like Polynesia and Papua New Guinea. The channel was launched on 16 J ...

's main lineup, but the channel's website featured games of the show until 2016.

Reception

Ratings

''Oobi'' had high ratings for the Noggin channel. In 2004, Noggin reported that three shows—''Oobi'', ''

Miffy and Friends ''Miffy and Friends'' ( nl, Nijntje en haar vriendjes) is a stop-motion animated television series, based on the ''Miffy'' book series by Dutch artist Dick Bruna. The series was produced by Big Tent Entertainment and Mercis BV in association with ...

'', and '' Connie the Cow''—increased the channel's daily viewership by 55 percent over the year before. The average number of viewers watching ''Oobi'' increased by 43 percent during the same time. Noggin also reported that ''Oobi'' had grown in ratings in each quarter of 2004: +8% from first to second, +22% from second to third, and +10% from third to fourth. The steady increase in ratings was reported by Multichannel News author Mike Reynolds, who attributed Noggin's popularity to its "breakout original series ''Oobi''." The show's growing audience led Noggin to order a third season. The premiere of the "Uma Preschool!" episode on September 6, 2004, posted a 2.35 Nielsen rating among the preschool age group, becoming the highest-rated premiere of a Noggin show to that date. In December 2004, Noggin published a press release with the subtitle: ''"Noggin's Oobi Delivers Highest Rated Original Premiere In Network's History."''

Critical reception

The puppeteers' performances and the show's style have been praised by critics.

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

reviewer Andrea Graham gave the show a five-star review, writing that "when it comes to preschool programming, ''Oobi'' really breaks the mold, succeeding in its simplicity." Jeanne Spreier of the '' Dallas Morning News'' called ''Oobi'' "the most imaginative and interesting preschooler program to debut in years," describing its characters as "amazingly expressive hands that show anger, fear, happiness, even age and youth." The Coalition for Quality Children's Media wrote positively of ''Oobi'', complimenting its concept, and calling it "thoroughly enjoyable" and "extremely well received." Diana Dawson of the '' Herald-Journal'' liked the show's old-fashioned look, stating that "in a world that too often forgets the innocent joy of playing kick-the-can and catching fireflies, there's something incredibly endearing about the bare-handed puppetry."

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

's Holly Ordway called ''Oobi'' "a clever way to encourage kids to be imaginative." Jaime Egan of Families.com commended the show's messages of inclusion and diversity, calling them "invaluable" and highlighting Frieda and Kako as stand-out characters. Ryan Ball of ''

Animation Magazine ''Animation Magazine'' is an American print magazine and website covering the animation industry and education, as well as visual effects. The print magazine is published 10 times a year in the United States. History and profile ''Animation Maga ...

'' called the show "an offbeat new entry" to Noggin's lineup, adding that "the fact that all the characters are played by hands just adds to the quirkiness." In 2010,

Babble.com ''Babble'' was an online magazine and blog network targeting young, educated, urban parents. Their site operated a large network of parent blogs, employing many bloggers on the subjects of parenting and child-raising. In early 2019, it was announ ...

listed ''Oobi'' second on their list of top twelve television series for young children. In 2018, writer Jon Weisman named ''Oobi'' one of the best kids' shows of the 2000s, calling it "low-key charming" and praising the theme song. Some critics have commended the show for its widespread appeal. In an interview with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', Tom Ascheim said that "the show's quirky appeal extended far beyond Noggin's target audience. 'The simplicity is really understandable by my two-year-old, but my ten-year-old really giggles at ''Oobi''. Andrew Dalton of '' The Stir'' said that he was a fan of the show himself, adding that ''Oobi'' is "just happy to be simple and gleeful, and that actually makes it more appealing to sit and watch as a grown-up." ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

''s Jane Clifford felt that it could be enjoyed by viewers of all ages, remarking that "if as a kid you ever drew eyes or a mouth on your hand and then 'talked' to a friend, you'll relate to this show." The '' Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' named ''Oobi'' the best cable premiere of April 2003, reporting: "I've seen every blessed minute of each general-audience premiere; they are good. But another new show outreaches the rest: ''Oobi''." In a 2018 interview, Noel MacNeal recounted, "Some of our biggest fans became ollegekids coming back from parties, who were just like really stoned, and would just sit and watch ''Oobi''."

Awards and nominations

In spring 2001, ''Oobi'' won a Parents' Choice Gold Award. Later in the same year, the show had two nominations from the Coalition for Quality Children's Media, winning one of them. In 2004, the show won a second Parents' Choice Award, and a nomination in the "Up to 6 Fiction" category at the Prix Jeunesse International Festival. In 2007, Common Sense Media named the show on its annual list of "Best Bets for Young Kids." In June 2009, Josh Selig won an Innovation Award from the Television Academy for his work on the show. In 2014, Prix Jeunesse named ''Oobi'' in its category "The Greatest Impact Programmes of the Last 50 Years."

Cultural impact

Oobi eyes hand puppet tattoo in Longview

''Oobi'' has made an impression on celebrities. Actress

Uma Thurman Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and former model. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 an ...

, who shares her first name with the character Uma, revealed to Stephanie D'Abruzzo (who plays Uma) that she was familiar with the show and its characters in 2004. In 2007, the author

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author, YouTube content creator, podcaster, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including '' The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is ...

(best known for writing '' The Fault in Our Stars'') featured Oobi in an episode of his video series ''

Vlogbrothers Vlogbrothers (sometimes stylized as VlogBrothers or vlogbrothers) is a video blog channel on YouTube. The Internet-based show is created and hosted by the Green brothers: John Green and Hank Green. The first incarnation of the brothers' online ...

''. Using his own hand, John Green pretended to be Oobi as he demonstrated how to write a book proposal. Also in 2007, two clips from the ''Oobi'' episodes "Showtime!" and "Uma Bathroom!" were shown on Joel McHale's talk show '' The Soup'' during the segment "What the Kids Are Watching", where McHale took scenes from children's shows out of context. During its run, the show developed a cult following of puppet fans and amateur filmmakers who created their own ''Oobi'' puppets. In 2003, the '' Boston Herald'' said that ''Oobi'' was "already very popular" with "those of the Muppet generation." In the same article, Tom Ascheim stated that Oobi "gets

fan mail Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or " fans". In return for a fan's support and admiration, public figures may send an autographed poster, photo, reply letter or note thanking their fans for th ...

," and he guessed that the show was catching on because viewers could easily make their own ''Oobi'' puppets with their hands. In 2004, '' The Melbourne Age'' reported that "the show - the work of various ''Sesame Street alumni'' - is developing a strong cult following; the real Uma hurmanis said to be a fan of hand Uma." An online shop of unofficial ''Oobi'' puppets and accessories, called OobiEyes.com, was operated from 2006 to 2013. OobiEyes.com held an advertising campaign with YouTube in 2008, which inspired a community of early YouTubers to make videos with their own ''Oobi''-style puppets. In November 2006, indie rock band

The Format The Format is an American indie rock band formed by Nate Ruess and Sam Means. Their style can be considered a mixture of indie, alternative, punk and folk music, with elements of 1960s and 1970s pop music. Though Means and Ruess are the foremost ...

released a music video for their song " Dog Problems" which was inspired by ''Oobi''. It featured hand puppets in the style of the show. In 2009, an advertising contest called the Cannes Young Lions Competition included an Oxfam commercial based on ''Oobi''. Titled "Let Your Hands Do the Talking," it starred spoofs of celebrities portrayed as hand puppets and given "Oo"-themed names like Oobi and Uma. In January 2014, the condom company Durex made a commercial that starred a parody version of Oobi named Elizabeth. In an interview with ''

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'', the commercial's director said, "Elizabeth is a parody of the television character Oobi, who is also a funny talking hand." In July 2016,

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven yea ...

made a one-off

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...

called ''Right Hand Guy'', which starred a pre-teen whose right hand becomes a puppet and befriends him. The creator, Dan Lagana, took inspiration from ''Oobi'' while developing the pilot. Lagana showed the ''Oobi'' episode "Babysitter!" to the actors so that they would be familiar with the hand movements. The show has been mentioned in books. In his autobiography ''Alternadad'', comedian Neal Pollack talks about ''Oobi'' and names Grampu his favorite character. He writes that ''Oobi'' "featured a hilarious character called Grampu ... he made funny faces when he had to eat the awful food the kids cooked for him, and he also flirted with Oobi's piano teacher." It is a plot point in Laura Lynn's novel ''Ariel's Office'', where the narrator's daughter watches Noggin and is "transfixed" by Oobi. It is described as a "Noggin show that use Señor Wences-style human hand puppets" in Dade Hayes's novel ''Anytime Playdate'', which studies the preschool TV business. The filmmaker

Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...

also talks about ''Oobi'' in his book ''The 1950s' Most Wanted''. Lisa Guernsey describes ''Oobi'' in her 2012 book ''Screen Time'', which reports on how electronic media affects children.

Related media

Video releases and books

Clips from ''Oobi'' were included as special features on ten Nick Jr. DVDs sold in 2003 and 2004. The first was '' Blue's Clues: Shapes and Colors!'', which featured the "Dance!" short. The last was ''

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: On-the-Go Oswald'', which featured a clip from the "Dance Class!" episode. Some of these videos have been repackaged and sold in DVD packs as recently as 2015. ''Oobi'' has also been featured in TV-related magazines. The August 2004 issue of ''Nick Jr. Magazine'' had a craft section about how to make ''Oobi'' hand puppets. In August 2004 and April 2005, ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' ran interviews with Stephanie D'Abruzzo and Josh Selig about the show. The show is mentioned in the September 2004 issue of ''Big Apple Parent''. The October 2004 issue of '' Playthings'' includes another interview with Josh Selig with pictures from behind the scenes of ''Oobi''. ''

Kidscreen Brunico Communications is a Canadian magazine publishing company."Desktop tabloid publishing firm sports 2 publications and a profit". ''The Globe and Mail'', October 9, 1989. The company specializes primarily in online trade magazines serving medi ...

'' included news about the show in July 2005 and in June 2007.

Online games

In 2001, Noggin's website added a page called "Oobi Online," which had a series of flash games starring Oobi. Noggin staff described the page as a place "where kids can match shapes with bubbles, colors with snacks, compose music, and draw and dance with Oobi." A few of the games were inspired by episodes of the show, while other games had their own unique stories. From 2004 to 2006, Noggin.com also hosted printables of Oobi. Four of the games were imported to NickJr.com in 2009.

Live events

From 2001 to 2007, Noggin held live events to promote the show. The first was an ''Oobi'' tour at the 2001 North American Trade Show in Minnesota. The tour featured a replica of the set for Oobi's house. The second event was Club Noggin, a monthly event held at GGP Malls across America in 2004. At Club Noggin, visitors could get ''Oobi'' puppet eyes and make crafts based on the show. The third event was the Noggin Auction, an online charity auction hosted on Noggin.com in November 2006. Viewers could bid on props from different Noggin shows, including hats and towels with Oobi on them. The last event was "Oobi Arts and Crafts," held at the Nick Hotel in Florida in November 2007. At these sessions, hotel guests were given plastic puppet eyes like Oobi's. Episodes of the show were also screened at a few promotions and festivals. In 2001 and 2002, the show was part of the Kids First Film Festival, an annual event held across the United States. From 2002 to 2004, the Jillian's restaurant chain held "Noggin Play Days" where it screened ''Oobi'' shorts. In August 2009, three episodes of ''Oobi'' were screened by Multikino, a chain of movie theaters across Poland. They were shown as part of a promotion called "Mornings with Nick," which advertised new shows on Nickelodeon's Polish channel.

Notes

References

External links

Page on Little Airplane Productions
(archive)
Page on Noggin.com
(archive) * {{Authority control 2000 American television series debuts 2005 American television series endings 2000s American children's comedy television series 2000s Nickelodeon original programming American preschool education television series American television shows featuring puppetry 2000s preschool education television series English-language television shows Nick Jr. original programming Noggin (brand) original programming Television shows filmed in New York City Television series about children Television series by Little Airplane Productions