Bob the Builder

Bob the Builder
Logo for the original series.
Genre	Children's animation
Created by	Keith Chapman
Directed by	Steven Feldman, Fred Holmes, Brian Mack, Liz Whitaker (Ep 1) Sarah Ball Brian Little
Voices of	Neil Morrissey Rob Rackstraw Kate Harbour Rupert Degas Colin McFarlane Maria Darling Emma Tate Stephen White June Whitfield Wayne Forester[1] Greg Proops Lee Ingleby Joanne Froggatt Blake Harrison Steven Kynman
Theme music composer	Paul K. Joyce
Country of origin	United Kingdom United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	20
No. of episodes	355 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Kate Fawkes Theresa Plummer-Andrews Peter Curtis
Producer(s)	Jackie Cockle
Editor(s)	Alex McNeel
Camera setup	Single camera (1998), Multi-camera (2004–present)
Production company(s)	Hot Animation (1998–2012) HIT Entertainment (1998–present) Rainmaker Entertainment (2015) Mattel Creations (2017–present) DHX Media Halifax (2017–present)
Distributor	BBC (1998–2012) DHX Media (2016–present)
Release
Original network	BBC (UK) Nick Jr. (US, 2001–2004)[2] PBS Kids (US, 2005–present) Channel 5 (UK, 2015–present) Rai YoYo
Picture format	4:3 (series 1) 16:9 (series 2–present)
Original release	Original series: 28 November 1998 (1998-11-28) – 28 September 2004 (2004-09-28) Project: Build It: 2 May 2005 (2005-05-02) – 3 October 2009 (2009-10-03) Ready, Steady, Build!: 5 August 2010 (2010-08-05) – 2 June 2012 (2012-06-02) Revived Series: 1 September 2015 (2015-09-01) – present
External links
Website

Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series, Bob appears in a stop motion animated programme as a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of anthropomorphised work-vehicles and equipment. The show is broadcast in many countries, but originates from the United Kingdom where Bob is voiced by English actor Neil Morrissey. The show was later created using CGI animation starting with the spin-off series Ready, Steady, Build!.

In each episode, Bob and his group help with renovations, construction, and repairs and with other projects as needed. The show emphasises conflict resolution, co-operation, socialisation and various learning skills. Bob's catchphrase is "Can we fix it?", to which the other characters respond with "Yes we can!" This phrase is also the title of the show's theme song, which was a million-selling number one hit in the UK.

In October 2014, Bob the Builder was revamped by Mattel for a new series to be aired on Channel 5's Milkshake! in 2015. Amongst the changes were a complete overhaul of the cast, with Harry Potter actor Lee Ingleby replacing Neil Morrissey as the voice of Bob, and Joanne Froggatt and Blake Harrison were also confirmed as the voices of Wendy and Scoop respectively. The setting and appearance of the characters also changed, with Bob and his team moving to the bustling metropolis of Spring City. An American localisation of the new series debuted on PBS Kids in November 2015. The changes have been criticized by fans of the original version.^[3][4]

Impact

Bob the Builder was nominated in the BAFTA "Pre-school animation" category from 1999 to 2009, and won the "Children's Animation" category in 2003 for the special episode "A Christmas to Remember".^[5] Of the show's success, Sarah Ball said:

I think diggers and dumpers fascinate kids in the same way that they are drawn to dinosaurs. They both have a timeless appeal. The technique of stop motion is very tangible - the characters look like you can just pick them up and play with them. It’s a safe, lovely, bright, colourful world, which is very appealing. Curtis Jobling did a fantastic job designing the show - it’s very simple and stylized but has such charm.

— Interview with Sarah Ball, Gurgle.com^[6]

Bob the Builder has been parodied by Robot Chicken in the episode "More Blood, More Chocolate", and by Comedy Inc. as Bodgy Builder.

Bob was also parodied on Cartoon Network's MAD in the episode "S'UP / Mouse M.D." In the episode when Mickey Mouse portrays Gregory House he goes to perform surgery on Bob who smashed his thumb asking similar to his famous catchphrase "Can we fix it?" Mickey then replies no and orders for it to be amputated. He later appears in another episode when Bob interacts with Manny from Handy Manny after they get into a fender bender and get into an argument with Bob saying "Stop copying my show!" He leaves then someone tells Manny he just got built. In another episode, "Kung Fu Blander / Destroy Bob the Builder Destroy", Mad parodies Bob the Builder and Destroy Build Destroy. In the episode, Andrew W.K. of Destroy Build Destroy, is portrayed as being a jerk towards Bob. Andrew destroys everything Bob builds. In the end, Bob transforms his construction vehicles into Build-Tron (a parody of Voltron). A New Yorker cartoon shows a parent in a toy store asking for toys depicting Alex the Architect, supposedly a white-collar equivalent to Bob the Builder.

Some have complained about technical errors and lack of proper safety practices in the programme, especially the absence of protective eyewear.^[7] However, in later episodes, Bob is seen using safety glasses.

Characters

Bob the Builder, the titular character, in his design used for the original series.

Merchandise

Various companies manufacture licensed Bob the Builder merchandise (e.g.: Brio, Lego Duplo, Hasbro, Learning Curve, etc.) since about 1999 to present. Sometimes some fans make fan-made merchandise for the television show, such as racing games that are not related to the show.

Kiddie rides

Bob the Builder video-optioned Scoop kiddie ride

Jolly Roger (Amusement Rides) Ltd. released two kiddie rides based on the series, a Scoop in January 2000, and a Roley in March 2003. In March 2003, Scoop was re-released with a new dashboard and a Stamar soundboard. Then, in 2004, versions of both rides were released with video screens.

Project Build It

In May 2005, a sort of spin-off series was released titled Bob the Builder: Project Build It. Bob hears of a contest to build a new community in a remote area called Sunflower Valley, outside of Bobsville. He moves from Bobsville (supposedly temporarily) with Wendy and the machines and builds a new Yard there. Bob convinces his father, Robert, to come out of retirement and take over the Bobsville building business. It is unknown whether Bob returned to Bobsville in the stop-motion series or not after this spin-off series was finished.

For the US version of the Project Build It series, different actors were found to do the voices for many of the human characters, including casting Greg Proops as the new voice of Bob, and Neil Morrissey, who played the original Bob, to be the voices of Spud the Scarecrow and Mr. Bentley. The show also added recycling and being environmentally friendly to its lessons, emphasising the phrase "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."

This series premiered on September 3, 2005 in the United States.

Ready, Steady, Build!

The third spin-off was titled Bob the Builder: Ready, Steady, Build! It was created by Keith Chapman and Mallory Lewis. The group, now joined by newcomer Scratch are now residing in the town of Fixham Harbour (which is very similar to Bobsville, and is even implied to be Bobsville in several episodes), deal with construction and other building tasks around the area. Unlike previous series, Ready, Steady, Build! is animated in full CGI animation, which allows for larger and more elaborate construction projects that would be too large or expensive for the model sets of the stop-motion series, though it still retains the theme song.^[9]

Bob the Builder (2015 series)

After the show originally ended in 2012, Mattel bought the Bob the Builder franchise for a revamped series which premiered on September 1, 2015 on Channel 5. The series was given a visual overhaul, for both the characters and the scenery, with Bob and his team moving to the bustling metropolis of Spring City. The CGI animation remained and the construction projects and buildings are significantly larger and more advanced. Mr. Bentley is now seen with a new character, Mayor Madison and a new builder named Leo joined the building team. Several new vehicles were also introduced, including a heavy delivery vehicle named Two-Tonne joining the team.

The entire cast was also replaced: Harry Potter's Lee Ingleby and Downton Abbey's Joanne Froggatt were confirmed to voice Bob and Wendy respectively. The music was also remastered but the rhythm of the main theme remained very much the same, and the lyrics were given only minor alterations due to the introduction of new characters.

The reboot was very poorly received by long time fans of the older series. Criticism focused on the new design of the characters.^[10]

Turner Broadcasting System later bought the UK broadcasting rights for the 2015 series to be repeated on Cartoon Network UK's sister pre-school channel Cartoonito UK. The channel began airing the series in January 2016.^[11]

The show also airs on Family Jr. in Canada.

Voice actors

Voice actors who have contributed to the original British version include Neil Morrissey, Rob Rackstraw, Kate Harbour, Rupert Degas, Colin McFarlane, Maria Darling, Emma Tate, Richard Briers, June Whitfield and Wayne Forester.

Celebrities who have provided voices for the series (usually for one-off specials) include John Motson, Sue Barker, Kerry Fox, Ulrika Jonsson, Alison Steadman, Stephen Tompkinson, Elton John, Noddy Holder, and Chris Evans (Bobsville's resident rock star Lennie Lazenby).

International broadcasts

Bob the Builder is shown in more than thirty countries, and versions are available in English, French, Spanish, Slovenian, German, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi and Croatian, among other languages. It was shown on CBeebies on BBC television in the UK.

The North American version of the show uses the original British footage and script, but dubs the voices in American accents and slang; for example, the word "soccer" is used instead of "football" to avoid confusion with the gridiron forms of the game. The original North American voice of Bob (and Farmer Pickles/Mr. Beasley/Mr. Sabatini) was William Dufris, however, he was replaced with comedian Greg Proops. More recently, Bob's US voice has been provided by Marc Silk, an English voice actor from Birmingham.^[12][13]

When being exported to Japan, it was reported that characters of Bob the Builder would be doctored to have five fingers instead of the original four. This was because of a practice among the Yakuza, the famed Japanese mafia, where members would "cut off their little fingers as a sign they can be trusted and have strength of character, and will stay through."^[14] In fact, Bob the Builder aired in Japan without such edits,^[15] as did other series including Postman Pat and The Simpsons.

Videos

Discography

References

External links

Channels

• Bob The Builder on ABC 4 Kids
• Bob The Builder on CBeebies
• Bob The Builder On Česká Televize
• Bob The Builder on Nick Jr. UK
• Bob The Builder on Sprout
• Bob The Builder on Télé-Québec
• Bob The Builder on TOGOLINGO
• Bob The Builder on Treehouse TV
• Official website on pbskids.org

Others

• Official website
• Bob the Builder on IMDb

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bob the Builder.