''It's a Big Big World'' is an American
children's television series
Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...
that aired on
PBS Kids
PBS Kids (stylized as PBS KIDS) is the branding used for nationally distributed children's programming carried by the U.S. public television network PBS. The brand encompasses a daytime block of children's programming carried daily by most PBS ...
from January 2, 2006, to January 8, 2010. The series was created by
Mitchell Kriegman
Mitchell Kriegman (born June 4, 1952) is an American television writer, director, producer, consultant, story editor, and author.
He is the creator of ''Clarissa Explains It All'' (1991) for Nickelodeon, ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' (1997) an ...
, the creator of the
Muppet television series ''
Bear in the Big Blue House
''Bear in the Big Blue House'' is an American children's television series created by Mitchell Kriegman and produced by Jim Henson Television for Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney preschool television block. Debuting on October 20, 1997, it a ...
.'' After the series ended, reruns continued to air until April 30, 2010. The show revolves around a group of animals living in "The World Tree" in the
rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
along the
Amazon River with the Brazilian highest mountain
Pico da Neblina as the mountain background. The main character and host is Snook the
sloth
Sloths are a Neotropical realm, Neotropical group of xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant Arboreal locomotion, arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of move ...
.
The series was taped at Wainscott Studios (now the LTV (Local TV, Inc.) studios) at the
East Hampton Airport industrial complex in
Wainscott, New York. Wainscott Studios is the only studio to use
Shadowmation, a technique created by
Mitchell Kriegman
Mitchell Kriegman (born June 4, 1952) is an American television writer, director, producer, consultant, story editor, and author.
He is the creator of ''Clarissa Explains It All'' (1991) for Nickelodeon, ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' (1997) an ...
, to bring the puppets to life by combining live-action animatronic characters with
computer generated animation in
real time, high definition
virtual environments powered by
video game engines.
Characters
* Snook (performed by
Peter Linz
Peter Linz (born June 28, 1967) is an American puppeteer and actor. Known for his work with the Muppets, Linz's most prominent role is performing for the character Walter who was introduced in the 2011 feature film ''The Muppets''. Since 1991, L ...
) is a
pale-throated three-toed sloth
The pale-throated sloth (''Bradypus tridactylus''), occasionally known as the ai (), is a species of three-toed sloth that inhabits tropical rainforests in northern South America.
It is similar in appearance to, and often confused with, the bro ...
who serves as the host of the show. He lives in the World Tree and loves nothing more than to help his friends learn all about the 'Big Big World' around them. He's extremely slow-moving and often takes naps, but is always up for a scientific investigation. He also enjoys singing and dancing with all of his friends in the World Tree. In addition to interacting with the other characters, Snook regularly breaks the
fourth wall
The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...
, often to explain a certain fact or ask a certain question. Like Big Bird from ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, 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 Worksh ...
'' or Bear from ''
Bear in the Big Blue House
''Bear in the Big Blue House'' is an American children's television series created by Mitchell Kriegman and produced by Jim Henson Television for Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney preschool television block. Debuting on October 20, 1997, it a ...
'', Snook is a full-bodied character, as well as one of the only two not requiring 3 performers, the other being Madge.
* Burdette (performed by Melissa Creighton) is a
crested quetzal who sometimes seems like a controlling older sister, who thinks she knows much more than everyone around her. However, Burdette is very sincere, and while investigating things with her friends in the World Tree, she's sometimes surprised to learn new things about herself too.
* Bob (performed by
James Godwin) is a
southern tamandua
The southern tamandua (''Tamandua tetradactyla''), also called the collared anteater or lesser anteater, is a species of anteater from South America and the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. It is a solitary animal found in many habitats, from ...
who loves studying the ants that live all around him in the World Tree, and he's always trying new things out to make them like him more. Bob also worries a lot about things that he thinks might happen.
* Smooch (performed by Aymee Garcia) and Winslow (performed by
Tyler Bunch) are two playful sibling monkeys -
common marmosets to be exact - who're always stirring things up. Smooch is always trying to figure out the mysteries of the world around her, and Winslow is the goofy creative thinker. With such different personalities, these two monkeys don't always see eye to eye, but their little disagreements frequently lead to great adventures.
* Madge (performed by
Julie Westwood) is an old
yellow-footed tortoise. Madge has a map of the world on her shell. She's the oldest and wisest creature in the World Tree and the one everyone comes to when they have a certain problem to solve. She traveled all over the world and shares her experiences with everyone. Her library is the place to visit for answers to scientific questions. Like Snook, Madge is a full-bodied character. Madge no longer appears in Season 2. However, in one Season 2 episode, Snook mentions her name, and she can still be seen in the theme song. Her library also remains in Season 2 as well.
* Oko (performed by
Peter Linz
Peter Linz (born June 28, 1967) is an American puppeteer and actor. Known for his work with the Muppets, Linz's most prominent role is performing for the character Walter who was introduced in the 2011 feature film ''The Muppets''. Since 1991, L ...
) is an old
brown howler and a trickster who always shows up when least expected. Oko can be a bit grouchy and mischievous, but he also shares mysterious stories and little bits of wisdom with the others. A
tai chi
is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...
master, he carries an old walking stick that he can twirl from his feet to his hands and back again in the blink of an eye. He has a good friend named
Tsetse, who sometimes gives good advice. Oko no longer appears in Season 2.
* Wartz (performed by
Tim Lagasse) is a
red-eyed tree frog. Wartz has gone through his
metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...
, growing from a tadpole into a frog in the very first episode. He is best friends with Smooch and Winslow and wants to get along with everyone and will agree with anyone, no matter what they're saying. He was dropped from the show in Season 2, but he can still be seen in the theme song. He provides all of the comic relief moments in the series until Riona replaces him for that.
* Ick (performed by
Tim Lagasse) is a
redtail catfish who lives in the pond under the world tree. He's slightly crabby and mischievous, as shown through his love of playing pranks on whoever he comes across. Although Ick no longer appears in Season 2, his pond still remains in the theme song and in some Season 2 episodes.
* Riona (performed by
Tyler Bunch) is Snook's niece who is a baby sloth that serves as the co-host of Season 2 and provides all of the comic relief moments in that season.
Puppeteers
*
Peter Linz
Peter Linz (born June 28, 1967) is an American puppeteer and actor. Known for his work with the Muppets, Linz's most prominent role is performing for the character Walter who was introduced in the 2011 feature film ''The Muppets''. Since 1991, L ...
as Snook/Oko
* Melissa Creighton as Burdette
* Aymee Garcia as Smooch
*
Tyler Bunch as Winslow/Riona
*
James Godwin as Bob
*
Tim Lagasse as Ick/Wartz
*
Julie Westwood as Madge
Additional puppetry was provided by Patrick Holmes, Carol Binion, Frankie Cordiro, Eric Engelhardt, Jim Kroupa,
Paul McGinnis,
John Kennedy, Jodi Eichelberger,
Heather Asch, Amanda Maddock, David Jordan, and Lara MacLean.
Many of the puppeteers come from similar shows, primarily ''
Bear in the Big Blue House
''Bear in the Big Blue House'' is an American children's television series created by Mitchell Kriegman and produced by Jim Henson Television for Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney preschool television block. Debuting on October 20, 1997, it a ...
'', ''Jellybean Jungle'', and ''
The Book of Pooh
''The Book of Pooh'' is an American preschool educational children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on the Disney Channel. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based ...
'', another show involving
Shadowmation, a technique that combines live-action, bunraku-style puppetry, and computer-generated animation.
Episodes
Series overview
Typical episode format
Each episode begins with the opening
theme song
Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...
, "It's a Big Big World" that's followed by a short (10-12 minute) story involving some or all of the main characters. In season 1, this first story was followed by another song, called "Curve of the World", sung by all the characters. (In the Miss Lori and Hooper block, this song wasn't shown.) Then comes a second 10-12 minute story, which may be thematically linked to the first story but isn't usually a direct continuation of the plot. In season 2, both stories were followed by Snook singing "Tell Me 'Bout the Best Parts of your Day" to Riona, which led to a discussion about what the characters did and learned that day. At the end of all episodes, Snook sings the closing song, "Try to Touch the Sky", although this is often followed by short segments in which Snook ends an exploring or scientific activity and gives some fun facts about the various species of animals that live in the World Tree.
Season 1 (2006–2007)
Season 2 (2009–2010)
Broadcast
In the United States, the show aired on
PBS Kids
PBS Kids (stylized as PBS KIDS) is the branding used for nationally distributed children's programming carried by the U.S. public television network PBS. The brand encompasses a daytime block of children's programming carried daily by most PBS ...
from January 2, 2006 to April 30, 2010, and aired as part of the preschool block from September 4, 2006 to August 31, 2007.
The show internationally aired on
Nick Jr. in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and
Nick Jr 2 in
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
Home media
DVD
Six DVDs were released by
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony.
Background
SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
.
*''The Sky Above'' (January 30, 2007)
*''Investigate the World'' (January 30, 2007)
*''Safe and Sound'' (May 22, 2007)
*''The Earth Needs You'' ()
*''You Can Do It'' ()
*''The Big Big Sleep'' ()
Other DVDs:
*''Be Healthy and Happy'' ()
*''Everyone's Different'' ()
Streaming
Episodes of the show are currently available on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
since July 27, 2015. The show was added to
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
on August 12, 2022 after
PBS Kids
PBS Kids (stylized as PBS KIDS) is the branding used for nationally distributed children's programming carried by the U.S. public television network PBS. The brand encompasses a daytime block of children's programming carried daily by most PBS ...
acquired the streaming rights on July 27, 2022, officially marking the program's return to PBS Kids in any platform after 12 years.
References
External links
*
wainscottstudios.com*
It's a Big Big World' on
IMDb
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
{{Former PBS Kids shows
2000s American children's comedy television series
2010s American children's comedy television series
2009 American television series debuts
2013 American television series endings
American children's musical television series
American preschool education television series
American television series with live action and animation
American television shows featuring puppetry
American English-language television shows
2000s preschool education television series
2010s preschool education television series
Children's television series about talking animals
Fictional sloths and anteaters
Television series about mammals
PBS Kids shows
PBS original programming
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
Television shows set in Brazil
Television shows filmed in New York (state)