What's with Andy?
| What's with Andy? | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Based on |
Just! by Andy Griffiths |
| Directed by |
|
| Creative director(s) | Jon Minnis (season 2) |
| Composer(s) |
|
| Country of origin |
|
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 78 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
|
| Producer(s) |
|
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
|
| Distributor |
|
| Release | |
| Original network |
|
| Original release | June 30, 2001[3] – March 4, 2007[3] |
What's with Andy? is a Canadian children's animated series loosely based on the Just! book series by Australian author Andy Griffiths. The protagonist of the series is Andy Larkin, a mischievous youth and the self-proclaimed "world's greatest prankster". The show follows him as he tries to perform elaborate practical jokes, or pranks, on people in the fictional town of East Gackle.
Andy's best friend, Danny Pickett, helps him out with almost every prank. His enemies include his older sister, Jen Larkin, and the bullies Peter Lik and Andrew Leech. Andy has a crush on a girl named Lori Mackney and usually tries to impress her. In the first season, he often breaks the fourth wall when the screen freezes.
Production
The show is based on Andy Griffiths' children's series of Just! books (which were illustrated by Terry Denton), although many episodes are not directly based on the books. Changes from the books to the TV series include Andy's last name, which was originally that of his creator, and other minor name changes, such as Lori's name being Lisa in the books.
It was originally an interactive Flash movie with completely different voice actors and a promotion for Fox Kids. Shortly after, a TV series was developed with new voice actors and it aired on Teletoon. The series was produced by CinéGroupe, with Saban International distributing the series for ABC Family (later moved to Toon Disney) and Fox Kids Europe (later known as Jetix).
The main production moved to Canada in season 2, which was co-produced with the French studio SIP Animation and in association with German channel Super RTL. All the voice cast had to be replaced with this move with the exception of Andy Larkin's voice actor Ian James Corlett, as he was Canadian himself. Season 3 was a collaboration between CinéGroupe and Super RTL.
Setting
The first season of What's with Andy? was set in the United States. In the second and third seasons, the show was relocated to Alberta. It is shown in the episode "Rhyme Time" that the characters lived in the U.S. because of the American history that Andy recited, and the second language they were taught was Spanish rather than French, which is taught as a second language in Canada. In the episode "Gnome for the Holidays", a building can be seen saying, "US Post Office". Also, an American flag can be seen in the mayor's office in the "Wag the Kid" and "Little Foot" episodes, and in the episode "It Came from East Gackle", FBI agents came to East Gackle.
Characters
Andrew "Andy" Larkin
Andy loves to prank people as well as annoy his friends and family (especially his sister), but often gets into trouble. His best friend is Danny and he has a crush on Lori. His catchphrase is "Check, please!".
Daniel "Danny" Tadeus Pickett
The best friend and Andy's right-hand man, helping him out with countless pranks. His last name has always been Pickett, even since the book series. The name Danny Pickett is derived from Jim Kjelgaard's Big Red.
Lori Mackney
Andy's crush but she is dismayed by his childishness due to his pranking. It is hinted that she returns Andy's feelings and dislikes Jen because Lori thinks that Jen abuses Andy. She wears a green tank top, blue skirt and sandals. She is known as "Lisa" in the books.
The Larkin family
- Alfred "Al" Larkin: Andy and Jen's Father and Freida's husband and possibly the Mystery Prankster, aka mystery pranker of East Gackle.
- Frieda Larkin: Andy and Jen's Mother and Al's wife.
- Jennifer "Jen" Larkin: Andy's older sister who is always cranky and irritable and blames her younger brother Andy for everything.
- Spank Larkin: Andy's fat and lazy dog. Spank seems to yawn constantly, especially after walking a little.
Recurring/minor characters
- Teri/Keri: Jen's best friend.
- Jervis Coltrane: A French stereotypical snob who has a crush on Lori Mackney and dream to be the Prime Minister of Canada.
- Peter Lik and Andrew Leech: Peter and Andrew are Andy's and Danny's nemeses. They are usually referred to as Lik and Leech.
- Craig Bennett: Jen's crush and one of the best athletes of East Gackle.
- Martin Bonwick: He is a stereotypically nervous nerd who very often gets bullied.
- Victor "Vic" Muskowitz (Mush): The pizza delivery man of East Gackle who is a good friend of Andy and Danny and he sometimes helps them with pranks.
- Steve Rowgee Jr.: A dumb police officer who is the incompetent son of Steve Rowgee Sr.
- Steve Rowgee Sr.: A police officer who is an old man, who always commands Steve Rowgee Jr. (his son) and is nicknamed the Iron Fisted Maniac.
- Principal DeRosa: He is the bad-tempered principal of the school in East Gackle and the main antagonist who is obsessed with punishing Andy.
- Mr. Hutchins: One of the many teachers at East Gackle school, Andy likes to prank him more than the other teachers.
- Mayor Henry K. Roth: The mayor of East Gackle.
- Mayor Simms: Mayor of West Gackle and Mayor Henry K. Roth's rival.
- Mr. Leech: Andrew Leech's dad.
- Clyde: The janitor of the school.
- Bryan: Andy's pranking rival and they battle for the best pranking and for Lori.
- Hazel Strinner: She has a crush on Andy and Lori's protecting friend.
- Louella Berman: Freida's best friend.
- Mrs. Wibbles: Principal DeRosa's secretary.
- Norman Larkin: Andy's grandfather who is also a prankster, implying that the male side of the Larkin family comes from a long line of pranksters, with the exception of Al Larkin (Andy's father), though hints have been given that he too is a prankster, even greater than his son or father.
- Mrs. DeRosa: Principal DeRosa's wife.
- Ms. Murphy is the school counselor who is also skilled in hypnosis. She is the main reason why the mystery prankster of East Gackle stopped his pranks 20 years prior to the show.
Voice actors
| Name | Season 1 VA | Season 2 VA | Season 3 VA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Larkin | Ian James Corlett | ||
| Danny Pickett | Bumper Robinson | Daniel Brochu | |
| Lori Mackney | Colleen Villard | Jaclyn Linetsky | Eleanor Noble |
| Jen Larkin | Jenna von Oÿ | Jessica Kardos | |
| Al Larkin | Dee Bradley Baker | Arthur Holden | |
| Freida Larkin | Catherine Cavadini | Susan Glover | |
| Teri | Catherine Cavadini | Holly Gauthier-Frankel | |
| Jervis Coltrane | Dee Bradley Baker | Bruce Dinsmore | |
| Peter Lik | Danny Cooksey | Mark Hauser | |
| Andrew Leech | Scott Parkin | Craig Francis | |
| Craig Bennett | Carlos Alazraqui | Matt Holland | |
| Martin Bonwick | Dee Bradley Baker | Michael Yarmush | |
| Mush | Mushond Lee | Mathew Mackay | |
| Steve Rowgee Sr. | André Sogliuzzo | Terrence Scammell | |
| Steve Rowgee Jr. | Tom Kenny | Craig Francis | |
| Mr. Hutchins | Ian James Corlett | Bruce Dinsmore | |
| Principal DeRosa | Maurice LaMarche | Terrence Scammell | |
| Mayor Roth | Tom Kenny | Rick Jones | |
Episodes
What's with Andy? has 78 episodes, divided into three seasons consisting of 26 episodes each. The series started airing on June 30, 2001[3] and ended on March 4, 2007.[3]
Home video releases
Three VHS volumes were released by CinéGroupe/Star on April 8, 2003[4] in both English[5][6][7] and French, containing episodes 10,[8] 1,[9] and 4[10] respectively. Each also includes an episode of The Kids from Room 402 and a music video from the Pig City soundtrack.
All 26 episodes from season 1, as well as the first 7 episodes of season 2, were released on DVD with English audio in the Czech Republic in 2010.[11][12]
References
- 1 2 "Casablanca Media Publishing - Search Results". Casablancamediapublishing.com. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- ↑ https://hgagnondistribution.com/en/titles/animation/whats-andy
- 1 2 3 4 "Television Program Logs". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 2016-03-02. Archived from the original on 2016-05-16.
- ↑ "Sacré Délire - Volume 1". Star.ca. 6 May 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ↑ "Double Trouble: What's with Andy? / The kids from room 40". Amazon.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018 – via Amazon.
- ↑ "Double Trouble: What's with Andy? / The kids from room 40 - vol :2". Amazon.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018 – via Amazon.
- ↑ "Double Trouble: What's with Andy? / The kids from room 40 - vol :3". Amazon.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018 – via Amazon.
- ↑ "Sacré Délire - Volume 1". Web.archive.org. 6 May 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ↑ "Sacré Délire - Volume 2". Web.archive.org. 6 May 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ↑ "Sacré Délire - Volume 2". Web.archive.org. 8 May 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ↑ Tvorbawww.cz. "Co je Andy? 01 (DVD)". Filmarena.cz. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ↑ Tvorbawww.cz. "Co je Andy? 10 (DVD)". Filmarena.cz. Retrieved 26 August 2018.