Team Umizoomi

Team Umizoomi
Genre Children's animated
Musical
Created by
  • Soo Kim
  • Michael T. Smith
  • Jennifer Twomey
Directed by Matt Sheridan
Presented by
Opening theme "Team Umizoomi Title Theme"
Ending theme "Team Umizoomi Title Theme" (Instrumental)
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 78 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Jennifer Twomey
Producer(s)
  • Soo Kim
  • Michael T. Smith
Running time 24 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor MTV Networks International[1]
Release
Original network
Picture format
Audio format Surround
Original release January 25, 2010 (2010-01-25) – April 24, 2015 (2015-04-24)
External links
Website

Team Umizoomi is an American live-action and animated interactive musical children's television series with an emphasis on preschool mathematical concepts, such as counting, sequences, shapes, patterns, measurements, and comparisons.[2] The eponymous team consists of mini superheroes Milli and Geo and a robot named Bot who are the show’s hosts, and the audience who is viewing the show. Milli, Geo and Bot refer to the viewers as their Umifriend and encourage him or her to develop their "Mighty Math Powers!" The action generally takes place in and around Umi City, a colorful city where the streets are paved with origami inspired patterns.

In the United States, Team Umizoomi premiered on Nickelodeon on January 25, 2010. On February 20, 2014, an executive of the show stated that the series had not been renewed for a fifth season by Nick Jr.[3]

General characteristics

Each episode of Team Umizoomi feature each of the following:

  • A task or quest to be completed, usually to assist a child in need. Completing the main task requires completion of several sub-tasks, and there are often unforeseen difficulties that must be surmounted. Each sub-task generally involves mathematical reasoning about patterns, sequences, counting, geometric shapes, or other mathematical concepts.
  • Breaking the fourth wall, where the characters on screen communicate directly to the child viewing the show and encourage him or her to participate with the show, though it's done more times than most Nick Jr. shows, a common fourth wall break in this show is at the beginning where someone asks "Do You Like...".
  • A mixture of live-action and animation. The team and the surroundings are animated, but the person being helped is often a real child, or sometimes an adult. In the city, or in other crowd scenes, other real people are shown in the background. In comparison to the regular people, the animated characters on the team are less than a foot tall. The live-action actors are uncredited.
  • Once the main task has been completed the team sings a song and performs a dance called the Crazy Shake, which involves shaking and wiggling back and forth quickly. The Crazy Shake was called the "Umi Shake" in the first season. The child viewing the show is encouraged to participate in the dance.
  • "How does it work? " In some episodes, a simple explanation is given of an everyday process, such as how milk gets from farm to market, or how packages are sorted at the post office, though in the latter, possibly to add more conflict to the episode that featured it, it's said that if a letter or package doesn't have enough stamps it gets dropped into the "Do Not Delivery" basket, whereas in real life, it would just get sent back to the sender.

Characters

Hosts

  • Milli (voiced by Sophia Fox) – A girl who is Geo's younger sister who has abilities related to patterns and measuring. If, while on an adventure, it is necessary to complete the next element in a pattern in order to accomplish something, Milli can change her pink dress to any pattern and can then project that pattern by singing "Pattern Power". Her ponytails can be used to measure things, which is initiated by singing "Milli Measure". She is 6 years old.
  • Geo (voiced by Ethan Kempner) – A boy who is Milli's older brother who travels everywhere on his Super Skates while wearing a blue helmet and a matching shirt. He has abilities related to geometric shapes and wears a Shape Belt that can create objects by assembling shapes and then singing "Super Shapes". Often when Team Umizoomi is stuck and needs some type of vehicle to assist them Geo will figure out what they need, present a blueprint for the vehicle needed, and then interact with the child viewer to assemble shapes needed to fill in the blueprint. He also has a Shape Magnet to help him find shapes through obstacles and a Shape Splitter to help him split shapes. He is 8 years old.
  • Bot (voiced by Donovan Patton) – Bot is a green robot and friend of the siblings who likes to sing and dance with a fun-loving, childlike personality. His abilities are more functional than math-related. His arms and legs can be extended to reach things, by saying "Arms Extendo" or "Legs Extendo" and sometimes "Jaw EXTENDO!". He has a small receiver (like a satellite dish) on his head to receive calls (called the Umi Alarm). He also has a screen on the front (called a "Belly Belly Belly Screen" stylized as "Belly Belly, Belly Screen!") that they can view videos/pictures on as well as have a video call with someone who needs help. He also has a storage compartment on the back of his body, called a Bot-o-mat, which frequently is carrying whatever the team happens to need. In each episode, he is introduced, usually by Milli, as their "Best Robot Friend."
  • UmiCar (voiced by P.T. Walkley) – The team's beloved little yellow and orange car who drives the team wherever their help is needed. He is seen playing basketball with the team against the puppets. The UmiCar is adapted to fit the needs of the team by transforming or adding camouflage depending on the mission.

Recurring

  • DoorMouse (voiced by Joe Narcisco, and Chris Phillips) – The security mouse of Umi City and frenemy to Team Umizoomi. He often blocks the team's entry into parks or buildings, stating a key is needed for access. The team must then complete a math-related challenge to get the key back. Team Umizoomi have helped Door Mouse several times when he was sick or accidentally shot into space. Nevertheless, Door Mouse insists on Team Umizoomi's compliance with whatever minute bureaucratic impediments he is in charge of enforcing.
  • The Troublemakers (Little Trouble voiced by Nick Heatherington; Big Trouble voiced by Jason Harris) – The Troublemakers are a group of antagonists from the fourth season. Their only goals in life are to cause havoc, chaos, and trouble in Umi City, as well as defeat Team Umizoomi. They have a secret weapon named the Trouble Ray, which fulfills their malicious troublemaking ways, and a vehicle they call the TroubleTruck, which they use to get away. The Troublemakers are named Little Trouble and Big Trouble.

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 19 January 25, 2010 (2010-01-25) December 6, 2010 (2010-12-06)
2 20 October 18, 2010 (2010-10-18) October 13, 2011 (2011-10-13)
3 19 October 14, 2011 (2011-10-14) December 6, 2012 (2012-12-06)
4 20 February 4, 2013 (2013-02-04) April 24, 2015 (2015-04-24)

UK Version

When the show aired on Nick Jr. UK, the show was redubbed using British voice actors, replacing the original American soundtrack.

Teresa Gallagher as Millie

Joanna Ruiz as Geo

Tom Eastwood as Bot

Toys and merchandising

Fisher Price released the first official "Team Umizoomi" toys in early 2012. The first products available included plush dolls, bath toys, and figurines featuring characters and vehicles from the show.[4]

DVD releases

Title Format Description Release Date
Team Umizoomi DVD Includes "The Rolling Toy Parade", "Kite Festival", "Wild West Toy Train Show", and "The Legend of the Blue Mermaind" June 28, 2011
Team Umizoomi: Journey to Numberland DVD Includes the 2-part special "The King of Numbers!", "Picnic", and "The Dinosaur Museum Mishap" September 6, 2011
Nickelodeon Favorites: Merry Christmas DVD Includes "Santa's Little Fixers", plus episodes from Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, The Wonder Pets, Blue's Clues, and Ni Hao, Kai-lan October 4, 2011
Nickelodeon Favorites: Dance to the Music DVD Includes "The Butterfly Dance Show", plus episodes from Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, The Wonder Pets, Bubble Guppies, and Ni Hao, Kai-lan February 28, 2012
Team Umizoomi: Umigames DVD Includes "Umi Sports Games", "Boardwalk Games", "Crazy Skates", and "Carnival" June 5, 2012
Nickelodeon Let's Learn: ABC DVD Includes "To the Library", plus episodes from Blue's Clues, Ni Hao, Kai-lan, Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, and The Wonder Pets January 15, 2013
Nickelodeon Let's Learn: 1, 2, 3 DVD Includes "Counting Comet" and "Super Soap!", plus episodes from Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, and The Wonder Pets January 15, 2013
Nickelodeon Favorites: Once Upon a Rhyme DVD Includes "The Umi City Treasure Hunt", plus episodes from Bubble Guppies, The Fresh Beat Band, Dora the Explorer, The Wonder Pets, and Blue's Room April 30, 2013
Team Umizoomi: Animal Heroes DVD Includes "Purple Monkey Mission", "Buster the Lost Dog", "Cuckoo Bears", and "Animal School House!" May 14, 2013
Nickelodeon Let's Learn: Colors DVD Includes "Kite Festival", plus episodes from Bubble Guppies, Blue's Clues, The Wonder Pets, and Dora the Explorer July 23, 2013
Nickelodeon Favorites: Rootin' Tootin' Wild West DVD Includes "The Wild West Train Show", plus episodes from Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, Bubble Guppies, The Wonder Pets, and The Fresh Beat Band August 6, 2013
Bubble Guppies / Team Umizoomi: Into the Snow We Go! DVD Includes "A Sledding Snow Day" & "City of Lost Penguins", plus episodes from Bubble Guppies October 15, 2013

Video games

These video games based on the show are all published by Take-Two Interactive's label, 2K Play.

Title System Release date Developer(s) Publisher
Team Umizoomi & Dora's Fantastic Flight Nintendo DS November 12, 2012 Black Lantern Studios 2K Play

References

  1. ↑ Leffler, Rebecca (October 4, 2010). "MTVNI touting 5,000 hours of programming". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 18, 2010. |section= ignored (help)
  2. ↑ Team Umizoomi Curriculum from NickJr, accessed 30 December 2011
  3. ↑ http://ashleyfontones.tumblr.com/post/77252470488/my-staff-hoodie-came-in-the-mail-today-now-im
  4. ↑ Nickelodeon Debuts Its Strongest Entertainment Portfolio Ever from marketwatch.com, accessed 12 April 2012
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