''Panwapa'' 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 ...

. It is co-produced by the Merrill Lynch Foundation and Sesame Workshop, the latter of which supplied the cast of puppets. The series was first released online via iTunes in 2007 and later premiered on

PBS Kids Sprout Universal Kids is an American children's television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel launched on September 26, 2005, as PBS Kids Sprout, a preschool-oriented channel jointly ...

in January 2008.

Plot

Panwapa Island is a giant island that can freely float across planet Earth's oceans. This allows the residents of the island to visit freely with children from many lands and explore differing cultures.Panwapa: For Caregivers
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Characters

* Azibo the Monster (performed by

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 ...

) – The main character of the series. He is a green monster, who loves soccer and his favorite food is noodles with spice. When he first arrived on Panwapa Island, the other characters were afraid of him until Athena managed to convince him to keep trying to make friends with them which actually worked. In return, Azibo's new friends build him a palm frond shack on the beach. * Bill the Bug (performed by

Joey Mazzarino Joseph Mazzarino (; born June 4, 1968) is an American actor, puppeteer, writer and director. He is best known for his roles on ''Sesame Street'' as Murray Monster, Stinky the Stinkweed and other Muppets, and being Head Writer and Director on ' ...

) – A bug who tracks the location of Panwapa Island on the community globe. He is the inventor and go-to guy for gadgets and information. Bill lives in a tree house crammed full of objects he's collected over the years. Bill is a recycled version of Bug from ''

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland ''The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland'' is a 1999 American musical adventure comedy film directed by Gary Halvorson in his feature film debut. This was the second film to be based on the children's television series ''Sesame Street'', after '' ...

''. * Koko the Penguin (performed by

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph Leslie Carrara, sometimes credited as Leslie Carrara-Rudolph or the misspelling Leslie Carrera-Rudolph, is an American actress, performer, puppeteer, speaker, singer and artist. She is probably best known as a Muppet performer on ''Sesame Street' ...

) – A female penguin that wears pink sunglasses and enjoys

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

. She lives in a quaint cottage near the community area with a garden that she tends with great love and attention. After meeting Azibo and finally becoming friends with him, Koko helped Azibo to build his house. * Athena the

Owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

(performed by

Fran Brill Fran Brill (born September 30, 1946) is an American retired actress and puppeteer, best known for her roles on ''Sesame Street'', as well as playing Sally Hayes in the Hal Ashby film '' Being There'' (1979), Dana Mardukas in the Martin Brest fi ...

and voiced by Boitumelo Betty Maretle) – A female owl who acts the guide of Panwapa Island. She lives in a tree in a comfortable nest near the community area. Athena is the niece of the ''

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) ...

'' character Hoots the Owl. * Tungar the

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...

(performed by Martin P. Robinson and voiced by

Nigel Plaskitt Nigel Plaskitt (born 27 July 1950) is an English actor, puppeteer, producer, and stage and television director. Career His voice and puppetry talents have appeared on television shows such as ''Pipkins'' (for which he provided the narration, a ...

) – A tiger who coaches the new sheep players in the art of football including his specialty...the subtleties of head passing. He lives in a cave near the stream. Tungar is a recycled version of Butch the Tiger from ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a s ...

''. * Baabra

Sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

(performed by

Carmen Osbahr Carmen Osbahr-Vertiz (born April 21, 1962) is a Mexican-born American puppeteer, singer and voice actress who has performed Rosita in the popular hit children's series ''Sesame Street'', since 1991. Osbahr has also performed Kiki Flores in '' T ...

) – Baabra Sheep and her two children came to Panwapa Island to live there and can only speak sheep language. Baabra and her family were displaced by a circus until they came to Panwapa Island. They live in a modest house on the football field where they help by eating the grass. Baabra and her children have a habit of baaing to the sun each month.

Episodes

* Hello Panwapa Island! * Speaking Like Sheep * Baa to the Sun, Sing to the Moon * Snow Story

Cast

Puppeteers

* Pam Arciero – Koko the Penguin *

– Athena the Owl *

– Koko the Penguin *

– Azibo the Monster *

– Bill the Bug *

– Baabra Sheep * Martin P. Robinson – Tungar the Tiger * Matt Vogel – Sheep Kid #1 *

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 ...

– Sheep Kid #2 (uncredited)

Voices

* Boitumelo Betty Maretele – Athena the Owl *

– Tungar the Tiger

Later appearances

* The puppet for Tungar the Tiger appeared in some episodes of ''

'' as a normal tiger with one of these appearances being in the "Wild Animals" episode of "Elmo's World." Some of the recent instances had Tungar the Tiger's puppet performed by Matt Vogel. * For the week of 14–21 October 2008, Koko appeared with

Abby Cadabby Abby Cadabby, mostly referred to as just Abby, is a Muppet character on the PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street'', performed by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph. On August 14, 2006, Abby made her debut in the first episode of ''Sesame Stre ...

on th
Sesame Street website
to mark Wild Animal Day. Abby was trying to summon a tiger only for Koko to appear stating that Tungar is unavailable. * Matt Vogel also performed the puppet for Tungar the Tiger which appeared in the '' Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase'' attraction. * The puppet for Azibo was recycled in ''

The Furchester Hotel ''The Furchester Hotel'' is a puppet series that aired on CBeebies (the BBC's preschool network). It is the second British-American spin-off of ''Sesame Street'' that the BBC have made after '' Sesame Tree'' 6 years before. The show ran on CBeeb ...

'' episode "Monster Pox" as Mr. Cuddles, and as Elmo's cousin Marty in Episode 4812.

References

External links

{{Sesame Workshop series 2000s American children's television series 2008 American television series debuts 2009 American television series endings 2000s preschool education television series American preschool education television series American television shows featuring puppetry Sesame Street Television series by Sesame Workshop Television series about penguins Television series about insects Television series about birds Television series about monsters Television series about tigers Television series about sheep English-language television shows