Zoboomafoo is a live-action/animated children's television series that originally aired on PBS from January 25, 1999, to November 21, 2001. After the original run on public television, reruns were shown on PBS Kids Sprout until 2012. A total of 65 episodes were aired. A creation of the Kratt Brothers (Chris and Martin), it features a four-(later five)-year-old talking lemur (a Coquerel's sifaka) named Zoboomafoo, performed by Canadian puppeteer Gord Robertson (who had also puppeteered on Jim Henson'sFraggle Rock), and mainly portrayed by a lemur named Jovian, along with a collection of returned animal guests.
The Kratt Brothers Arrive, Calling for Zoboo, and Snacktime
The Mystery Animal (Song: “Who Could It Be?”)
Zobooland Story #1
Mystery Animal Leaves (Song: "I Feel Different")
Duck/Animal Helpers with Jackie/Amy
A Journey to Visit Animals (Song: “Going to the Closet”)
Exploring the Wild and Seeing Animals
Back to Animal Junction and Another Mystery Animal
Zobooland Story #2
Ending Theme: Animal Friends
Zoboo and Kratt Brothers Leave Animal Junction
Kids Introducing Their Pets
Meeting Animals Disclaimer (PBS and Treehouse TV airings only, shown after the credits in the latter)
Jokes From Zoboomafoo (PBS airings only)
End Credits
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (1999–2000)
Season 2 (2000–01)
Production notes
Zoboomafoo was produced by PBS Kids, CINAR Corporation (now folded into WildBrain), and the Kratt brothers' Earth Creatures company.[2][3] Paragon Entertainment Corporation, who previously worked on Kratts' Creatures, was slated to be involved with Zoboomafoo before being replaced by CINAR.[4]
Partial filming for the series took place on location at the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, North Carolina.[5] The claymation segments were filmed at a studio in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. Although the last new episode aired on PBS Kids in November 2001, many PBS stations continued to rerun Zoboomafoo episodes in syndication through 2009. Select stations aired reruns as late as 2017. In addition, Sprout aired reruns until February 2012.[citation needed] The show was broadcast in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Middle East, and India.
Jovian (a captive Coquerel's sifaka housed at the Duke Lemur Center) portrayed Zoboomafoo in the live-action segments (with his parents Nigel and Flavia sometimes serving as stand-ins). On November 10, 2014, he died of kidney failure in his home at the age of 20.[6]
Awards and nominations
Zoboomafoo received the 2001 Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series[7] and a Parents' Choice Award for Spring 2001 and Silver Honor for Fall 2001.[8][9]
Other media
There are also several video games for the PC based on Zoboomafoo, where children learn the alphabet and animals that correlate to each letter. Some of the letters have interactive games to go with them, such as a coloring page.[10]
References
^ a b c d"WebVoyage". USA: US Copyright Office. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
^PBS Publicity (February 10, 2000). "PBS and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing To Launch PBS Kids Books". PBS. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
^"CINAR, PBS and the Kratt Brothers Become Partners on". Bloomberg. April 13, 1999. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
^"Remembering a star: Jovian, lemur host of Zoboomafoo, passes away". Duke Lemur Center. November 11, 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
^"Remembering a Star: Jovan, Lemur Host of Zobomoofaoo Passes". Duke Lemur Center. 2014. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
^Williams, Donna (May 21, 2001). "PBS Wins Two More Daytime Emmys at Televised Ceremony". PBS News Archive. New York, NY. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
^Fries, Laura. "Zoboomafoo". Parents' Choice Awards: Television. Parents' Choice. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
^"Zoboomafoo". Parents' Choice Awards: Television. Parents' Choice. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
^"Old Games Finder". Old Games Finder. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
Notes
^ a bInformation is taken from the opening and ending credits of each episode.