Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse

Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse
Genre Animated series
Fantasy
Country of origin Canada
China (worldwide releases)
Original language(s) English
French
Chinese
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 26 (52 Segments)
Production
Executive producer(s) Michael Hirsh
Patrick Loubert
Clive A. Smith
James Wang
Running time 12 mins. (approx)
Production company(s) Nelvana
Release
Original network Teletoon
Télétoon
CCTV3
Spacetoon
PBS Kids
Original release September 30, 2000 (2000-09-30)[1] – January 26, 2002 (2002-01-26)

Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse is a Canadian/Chinese animated television show produced by Nelvana. It tells the stories of a young horse named Marvin who is part of a carnival. Among the executive producers are Michael Paraskevas and Betty Paraskevas, creators of Maggie and the Ferocious Beast[2], who also created the book that the show is based on. The show first aired on the Treehouse block before moving to just before Tiny Pop. In the United States, the series also aired on PBS Kids as part of the PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch from 2000 to 2004. In 2007, reruns of the show began airing on Qubo Channel in the US.

Some episodes include original songs to help illustrate the theme or accompany montages that carry the story forward.

Characters

  • Marvin is a dancing brown horse with a black mane and tail who performs in Fast-Talking Jack's carnival. He used to be in movies and on Broadway; his first big break was in the musical movie 43rd Street (a takeoff of 42nd Street), although he's not proud of his performance in it. His hooves are tuxedo-themed and they make the tapping noises. He also wears a red bowtie around his neck. In the beginning of one of the episodes, it is taken off.
  • Eddy Largo (Edward Larue III): A 9-year old boy. In the first episode, he looks for a job and is hired on as a gofer and all around assistant to owner Fast Talking Jack. He changes his name to Eddy Largo because his real name was apparently too bland. He is very good at holding his breath underwater.
  • Diamonds the Elephant: A fancy pink elephant, she is the main attraction of the circus. She has a big cloth on her back with a yellow star as a decoration. Her act involves balancing on an inflated beach ball.
  • Elizabeth the Emotional Pig: Elizabeth the Emotional Pig is easily upset; she has a tendency to moan and cry. When things go right, she feels ecstatically happy. She wears a turquoise dress with two yellow lines on her skirt with matching buttons, collar flaps, and cuffs. Her specialty is juggling, usually pineapples. She also compulsively eats corn on the cob.
  • Stripes the Tiger: Stripes (the alley malicious green-eyed tiger) is rather grouchy, and has a soft spot for "Mr. Grizzly", his torn-and-tattered stuffed bear. It's mentioned in the episode "Stripes Takes Off" that he's a Bengal tiger and weighs 400 pounds. His favorite meals are 32 chickens for dinner and a giant bowl of Crunchy Creatures cereal (soaked for 10 minutes to have the right degree of sogginess) for breakfast. He also enjoys reading the newspaper. He is often seen inside a cage.
  • Fast-Talking Jack: The owner of the carnival and ringmaster of the big show (in which he also plays a lion tamer for Stripes' act).
  • Edna: The smart fortune teller who also makes the lemonade and lemon ice sold at the carnival. She is a stickler for using juice she hand squeezes herself. Her screechy singing voice can break glass.
  • Lyman Slime: The sleazy owner of a circus, who sees Jack's carnival as unwelcomed competition. He sometimes sends his three clowns to spy on the carnival or to sabotage it.
  • The Penguin's Five: Band that accompanies the acts at the performance tent, made up of 5 penguins.
  • Eddy's Grandmother: Can be somewhat formidable, has a habit of firmly tapping the floor with her cane when wanting to emphasize a point. Eddy is spending the summer at her house while he works at the carnival. She still calls Eddy his real name, Edward.
  • Squinty Pete: Proprietor of the Whomp-A-Weasel game in the carnival's midway.
  • Mr. P. Nutty: Sells peanuts during the big show and around the carnival. Wears a Peanut costume featuring a huge grin. His real name is Philbert; has a high-pitched voice and professes to be shy.
  • Lula Belle Rose: A tan mare with a light brown mane and tail with red lips and a daisy on her ear and Marvin's girlfriend. She is great a tap-dancing just like him. Her only appearance is "The Importance of Being Eddy".
  • Lucy: Jack's niece who appeared in the episode "Eddy's Charm". Eddy has a crush on her.
  • Boris: A Russian circus bear looking for work at the circus. He specializes in peeling peanuts and telling stories about Russia. He appeared in "Truth or Bear"
  • Clyde: A racehorse who is Marvin's younger brother (even though he's now bigger than Marvin). He appeared in "Marvin Keeps Track". He and Marvin used to do great things together when they were young and Marvin was always the winner, but now Clyde always beats Marvin. Marvin was not pleased to see him because he had forgotten that about their past, but then Clyde reminded him. So if not for Marvin, Clyde never would've been a racehorse.

Voice cast

Episodes

Season 1 (2000)

No.Cartoon 1Cartoon 2Canadian airdate (Teletoon)[3]U.S. airdate (PBS)
1Eddy's JobElephants Almost Never ForgetSeptember 8, 2001September 30, 2000
2Marvin's High DiveEddy's Wrong OrderSeptember 15, 2001October 7, 2000
3Stripes' Sticky SituationStripes Takes OffSeptember 22, 2001October 14, 2000
4The New BandEddy's VideoSeptember 29, 2001October 21, 2000
5Elizabeth's Biggest FanThe VisitOctober 6, 2001October 28, 2000
6Marvin's RoommateStripes' Dental FussOctober 13, 2001November 4, 2000
7Marvin's SurpriseEddy Learns to DanceNovember 10, 2001November 11, 2000
8Visit to Grandma'sGone FishingNovember 17, 2001November 18, 2000
9Marvin's Breakfast JamThe Iron ClawNovember 25, 2001November 25, 2000
10Elizabeth and the Haunted HouseMarvin Horses AroundNovember 30, 2001December 2, 2000
11The Big ShowEddy's FortuneFebruary 23, 2002December 9, 2000
12Eddy's CharmEddy and the CowboyMarch 29, 2002December 16, 2000
13When Pigs FlyMr. P. NuttyApril 19, 2002December 23, 2000

Season 2 (2001–02)

No.Cartoon 1Cartoon 2Candian airdate (Teletoon)[3]U.S. airdate (PBS)[4]
14Now You See It...When the Stars Come OutJune 1, 2002November 3, 2001
15Eddy and the RecordMarvin in the MoviesJune 21, 2002November 10, 2001
16Marvin and Eddy in the Middle of NowhereStripes' Mis-FortuneJune 28, 2002November 17, 2001
17Just for KicksEdna the Singing SensationJuly 5, 2002November 24, 2001
18Elizabeth in ChargeDare to DreamJuly 12, 2002December 1, 2001
19The Importance of Being EddyEddy's Sore ThroatSeptember 28, 2002December 8, 2001
20Little OlafJokers Go WildOctober 12, 2002December 15, 2001
21Pop Goes the WeaselMarvin's Lucky HatNovember 15, 2002December 22, 2001
22To Flea or Not to FleaEddy's SleepoverMarch 22, 2003December 29, 2001
23Marvin Keeps TrackDiamonds' Dance PartyMay 3, 2003January 5, 2002
24Paint Your WagonTruth or BearJuly 19, 2003January 12, 2002
25Elizabeth's Big SplashStripes' World TourJuly 26, 2003January 19, 2002
26Little Big ManFast Talkin' Jack's Real Class ActAugust 2, 2003January 26, 2002

References

  1. ↑ Heffley, Lynne (September 24, 2000). "Reading and Watching". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  2. ↑ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 379.
  3. 1 2 "Television Program Logs". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 2016-03-02. Archived from the original on 2016-05-16.
  4. ↑ "'PBS KIDS BOOKWORM BUNCH' Returns to PBS For a Second Season on Saturday, November 3" (Press release). Nelvana Limited. October 29, 2001. Retrieved June 13, 2018.

External reference

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.