Rubbadubbers is a British stop-motionchildren's television series produced by HIT Entertainment and HOT Animation. The series was broadcast in the UK on BBC2 and CBeebies from 2002 to 2005.[1][2] Created by Peter Curtis, it focuses on seven friendly, sentient bath toys as they tell stories in imaginary worlds outside of their bathroom - the ringleader in the series being a pink frog named Tubb.[3] In the US, the series was broadcast on Nickelodeon, Noggin and PBS Kids Sprout.[4][5]
The series was originally announced under the working title "Plugg" (an early name for the character of Tubb).[6] BBC started commissioning the show in 2002 after two lost pilots were made: "Plugg" from 1999 and "Splish Splash Splosh!" from 2001. It is unknown if these pilots even exist, but an animator[who?] has stated that they did some test animations.[citation needed]Hasbro licensed Rubbadubbers for producing a toy line to promote the series.[7]
Plot
Seven anthropomorphic, friendly British bath toys called the Rubbadubbers live a peaceful life in the bathroom of a house somewhere in England. The toys belong to two children who live at the house named Benjie and Sis (however, they are never seen or heard by viewers). Whenever the children or anyone else are not present, the Rubbadubbers begin a fun activity.
But in every episode, one of the toys become dissatisfied with the way the activity or situation goes. they then wish for it to go as planned by beginning the wish with 'if only-' . Suddenly, they begin dreaming about an alternate reality where the wish comes true and they say 'I said, if only!'. Some of the other Rubbadubbers appear in their dream world as well, where they play different versions of their regular selves in order to either assist or hinder the character that made the wish.
It always turns out that the wish goes wrong in the dream world, much to the chosen Rubbadubber's disappointment. They then complain again with another 'if only-', wish which automatically stops the dream. From the dream said rubbadubber says 'oh, I'm back!' and they learn to be careful with what they wish for, and then decide that instead of changing the real-world situation to their will, they should simply leave it as it was and find a way to have fun with it. All the Rubbadubbers are then happy again. Every episode ends with Reg the robot, one of the Rubbadubbers, announcing to the others that Benjie and Sis are arriving for their bath. The toys then excitedly prepare themselves for it.
Characters
The main characters from the show excluding Winona. From left to right: Sploshy, Terence, Reg, Tubb, Amelia, and Finbar.
Rubbadubbers
Tubb the Frog (voiced by John Gordon Sinclair) is a male Scottish rubber frog sporting a yellow, green and red t shirt and patterned shorts. he is the ringleader of the Rubbadubbers and is admired by everyone for his cool attitude and enjoys cleaning anything with his cotton bud and floating on a green lilypad.
Sploshy the Starfish (voiced by Maria Darling) is the Rubbadubbers' silly mischief-maker. She has suction cups behind every one of her 5 arms, is dark reddish-pink at the front and yellow at the back, speaks with a childish English accent, is energetic (she is often seen cartwheeling) and is known to have a hot and short temper.
Finbar the great Mighty Shark (voiced by Sean Hughes) is self-centred and arrogant; he often calls himself in third-person as above, while often playing games involving pretend hunting and scaring. He also frequently uses the word 'mighty' in place of 'very' to describe things. In the dream worlds, he usually plays roles that rival the character that made the wish such as robbers, monsters and even his regular self.
Terence the Bubble-Bath Crocodile (voiced by John Gordon Sinclair) is Amelia's closest friend who can blow bubbles through his nostrils and dislikes getting splashed, often avoiding liquids and water altogether. He has a favourite, red toothbrush for cleaning his singular tooth.
Winona the Whale (vocal effects performed by Maria Darling) is the only Rubbadubber who cannot speak as well as cannot at all make 'If Only-' wishes, but she can still make squeaking sounds in order to communicate with the other Rubbadubbers in a similar way to Sweep from The Sooty Show. She can also squirt water from her small blowhole.
Reg the Robot (voiced by John Gordon Sinclair) is the Sentry of the Rubbadubbers who speaks with a distinctive stammer where he cannot finish saying a word and says a similar word to that instead. Just like Terence, he avoids water, as simply getting splashed makes him short-circuit. He plays with the others but is always on the lookout for Benjie and Sis' presence in order to make the Rubbadubbers prepare themselves for bath time. At the end of every episode, he announces their arrival with his catchphrase: 'Rubbadubbers! Rubba-dubbers! Benjie and Sis/the children are coming! It's Bathtime scramble!'
Amelia the Submarine (voiced by Maria Darling) is very athletic and has a large, red pair of retractable wings. Likely named after Amelia Earhart, she and the Rubbadubbers often call her 'the flying submarine'. She is very energetic (like Sploshy), rarely seen with a frown, loves to try new things, and takes great pleasure in flying around the bathroom and performing tricks.
Other
Lawrence (voiced by John Gordon Sinclair) is Terence's imaginary friend in the second episode of the first series. He is exactly identical to Terence, only he has two teeth and a blue tie. In the 'if only-' sequence, he demonstrated that he was better that Terence in every way possible.
Benjie and Sis are the two young owners of the Rubbadubbers that are never seen or heard on-screen. They are two human siblings that are presumably British. Whenever they need to use the bathroom, Reg the robot alerts the Rubbadubbers to prepare for their arrival. They also leave things in the bathroom that prompt the Rubbadubbers to start playing a game.
Episodes
Series 1 (2002)
Series 2 (2003)
Series 3 (2004)
Series 4 (2005)
Shorts
Fifteen shorts were produced[when?] but never aired on television in the United Kingdom, but six of them were released on DVD.
"Row, Row, Row"
"Steamy Mirror"
"On A Roll"
"Swimming Races"
"Hide And Seek"
"Great Skate"
"Swimmin'!"
"Drip"
"Being Choosey"
"All Wrapped Up"
"Something Sticky"
"Having A Ball"
"Can You Remember?"
"Floaty Feather"
"Clean and Groovy"
Release
United Kingdom
HIT Entertainment released three DVD and VHS releases of the series. "Here Come the Rubbadubbers" was released on May 12, 2003. "Splish! Splash! Splosh!" was released on September 1, 2003, and "Bathtime Scramble" was released on February 23, 2004. Each release contains four episodes, with the first two releases also containing some of the shorts. The three DVDs were reissued as part of a boxset on March 12, 2007, while an additional release – "Swimmin'", was released as a Carry Case DVD on April 9, 2007.
United States
HIT Entertainment released four DVD and VHS releases of the series, titled "Here Come the Rubbadubbers" on January 27, "Tubb's Pirate Treasure" on March 16, "High Noon in the Bathroom" on July 13, and "Finbar, the Mighty Movie Star" on October 12, released in 2004, respectively. Each release contained five episodes.
References
^ a b"Schedule - BBC Programme Index".
^"Thomas puts HIT profits on track". The Guardian. 18 March 2003.
^Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 691. ISBN 978-1476665993.
^"NOGGIN TV Schedule". 4 June 2004. Archived from the original on 4 June 2004.
^"PBS capitalizes on Sprout with refreshed look". The Post and Courier. 20 September 2009.
^"Hit unveils Plugg to the world". C21 Media. 25 October 2001.
^"HIT's bath toys look to build on Bob's success".
