Elinor Wonders Why | |
---|---|
Created by |
|
Directed by |
|
Starring |
|
Theme music composer |
|
Opening theme | "Elinor Wonders Why Theme" by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson, performed by Markeda McKay |
Ending theme | "Elinor Wonders Why Theme" (instrumental) |
Composers |
|
Country of origin |
|
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 52 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Running time | 25 minutes |
Production companies |
|
Original release | |
Network | PBS Kids |
Release | September 7, 2020 – present |
Elinor Wonders Why is an animated television series created by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson. The series premiered on September 7, 2020 from PBS Kids. [1] The series is animated using Toon Boom Harmony.
The exploration-themed show encourages children to follow their curiosity, ask questions when they don't understand, and find answers using science inquiry skills. The main character, Elinor, is the most observant and curious bunny rabbit in Animal Town just north of Natural Forest, California. She introduces children ages 3–6 to science, nature, and communities through adventures with her friends Olive and Ari. Each episode includes two 11-minute animated stories, plus interstitial content, where Elinor and her classmates enjoy either Señor Tapir singing about famous nature explorers or Ms. Mole reading stories. [2]
Development of the show began in 2017, when Cham and Whiteson were approached by PBS. PBS found Cham's comic, Piled Higher and Deeper , online and asked if he was interested in pitching to them. "I reached out to Daniel, and what inspires us beyond science is our children," Cham recalled. "They are curious, and it motivated us to create the show." [3] Cham cites Pogo and Calvin and Hobbes as inspiration for the show's visual design, which he described as "something that felt natural and calming, as opposed to overloaded or frenetic." [2]
The character of Elinor was inspired by Cham's own daughter, Elinor. [1] Cham said "She was about 4, which is just at that perfect age where she really does wonder why, all the time. Any answer you give her, she’ll (have) a follow-up question, another why." [4] Cham and Whiteson went with animals as the show's characters to make them "appealing but also relatable at the same time", and to "highlight their range of skills and abilities". [1]
A second season of the series is currently in development with funding from a National Science Foundation grant. [5]
The series premiered on PBS Kids in the United States on September 7, 2020, as a sneak peek by showing the first 2 episodes, before regularly airing new episodes on September 8. [6] Some episodes are available on Amazon Prime Video in the United States. [7]
PBS International has licensed the series to Canada, Latin America, Finland, Israel, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates via Knowledge Network, Discovery Kids, Yle, Hop!, SVT and E-Junior, respectively. [8] The series airs on Australia on the PBS Kids channel, which was started as a venture with Foxtel in July 2021. [9]
In early 2021, the series began to release its episodes on PBS Kids compilation DVDs. [10]
Starr Rhett Rocque of Fast Company wrote, "This clever series...encourages curiosity." [11]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Preschool Children’s Animated Series | Elinor Wonders Why | Nominated | [12] |
Outstanding Directing Team for a Preschool Animated Program | Elinor Wonders Why | Nominated | [12] | ||
2022 | Writers Guild of Canada | WGC Screenwriting Awards – Preschool | "Olive's Tree" | Won | [13] |
2023 | Annie Awards | Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children | "Rest is Best" | Nominated | [14] |
Elinor Wonders Why: Hiding in Plain Sight, described as one of two launch titles for a graphic novel series based on the show, was announced in February 2022. [15] Two titles, Hiding in Plain Sight and Forest Giants, released on September 6, 2022. [16] [17]
Arthur is an animated television series for children ages 4 to 8, developed by Kathy Waugh for PBS and produced by WGBH. The show is set in the fictional U.S. city of Elwood City and revolves around the lives of Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily interactions with each other. The television series is based on the Arthur book series written and illustrated by Marc Brown. Production on the series was first announced in 1995 by WGBH Boston and Montreal-based animation studio CINAR, and aired its first episode on October 7, 1996. During its 25-season run, the show broadcast 253 half-hour episodes.
Max & Ruby is a Canadian children's preschool animated series based on the book series by Rosemary Wells and produced by Nelvana Limited. The series follows two young rabbit siblings in the 1940s and 1950s.
Caillou is an animated educational children's television series that aired on Teletoon – with the first episode airing on the former channel on September 15, 1997 – until the fourth season. After that, the fifth season channel was moved to Treehouse TV, and the series final aired on April 17, 2011. It also aired on PBS and the PBS Kids Channel.
Pepper Ann is an American animated television series created by Sue Rose and aired on Disney's One Saturday Morning on ABC. It first premiered on September 13, 1997, and ended on November 18, 2000. It was the first Disney animated television series to be created by a woman.
Peep and the Big Wide World is an animated children's television series created by Danish-Canadian animator Kaj Pindal. It revolves around the lives of Peep, Chirp, and Quack, as viewers discover, investigate, and explore the world around them.
Curious George is an American children's animated television series based on the children's book series of the same name for PBS Kids and a sequel series to the 2006 animated film Curious George. Frank Welker, who voiced George in the 2006 film, reprises the role in the series while Jeff Bennett co-stars as the voice of "The Man with the Yellow Hat", replacing Will Ferrell. The show premiered on PBS Kids on September 4, 2006, not long after the film's release, and originally ended after nine seasons on April 1, 2015 before returning in 2018. Later seasons were released on Peacock, and the series concluded on March 17, 2022 after a total of 15 seasons. This is the second animated series from Imagine Entertainment, following 1999’s The PJs.
Jorge Gabriel Cham is an engineer-turned cartoonist, writer and producer, who writes the web comic strip Piled Higher and Deeper. Cham was born in Panama and lives in the United States, where he started drawing PhD Comics as a graduate student at Stanford University. He has since been syndicated in several university newspapers and in six published book collections. He was featured on NPR on December 20, 2010. With physicist Daniel Whiteson, he is the coauthor of We Have No Idea (2017), a book about unsolved problems in physics. In September 2018, Cham and Whiteson debuted the podcast Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe, produced by iHeartMedia, in which the hosts aim to explain popular questions and complex topics about science, technology, and the universe, in the simplest way possible. In October 2024 the podcast ended as co-hosts Whiteson and Cham decided to pursue separate projects.
The Magic School Bus is an animated educational children's television series, based on the book series of the same name by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. Originally broadcast from 1994 to 1997, the series received critical acclaim for its use of celebrity voice talent, as well as combining entertainment with an educational series. The series stars Lily Tomlin as the voice of Ms. Frizzle. The theme song is performed by Little Richard.
Sid the Science Kid, also known as Jim Henson's Sid the Science Kid, is an American children's computer-animated educational television series produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with PBS affiliate KCET, that aired on PBS Kids from September 1, 2008, to November 15, 2012. The show is created using digital puppetry. Each character required two puppeteers working in concert, one performing the face and mouth using a remote manipulator or Waldo, and the other performing the body using motion capture.
Clifford the Big Red Dog is an animated educational children's television series, based upon Norman Bridwell's children's book series of the same name. Produced by Scholastic Productions, it was originally aired on PBS Kids from September 4, 2000, to February 25, 2003. A UK version originally aired on BBC Two in April 2002.
Miklos Perlus is a Canadian actor, writer, and story editor. Perlus has appeared on Canadian series Student Bodies, Road to Avonlea and Sidekick. He has written for Degrassi: The Next Generation and other series. He has also worked in television program development for several organizations.
Dinosaur Train is an animated television series aimed at preschoolers ages 3 to 6 and created by Craig Bartlett, who also created Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold!. The series features a Tyrannosaurus rex named Buddy who, together with the rest of his family, who are all Pteranodons, takes the Dinosaur Train to explore the Mesozoic, and have adventures with a variety of dinosaurs. It is co-produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with the Infocomm Media Development Authority, Sparky Animation, FableVision, Snee-Oosh, Inc., Reel FX, and Sea to Sky Entertainment. As of September 2018, PBS Kids had ordered 11 more episodes, taking the total number of episodes to 100. A film based on the series from Universal Pictures and Universal 1440 Entertainment titled, Dinosaur Train: Adventure Island premiered on April 12, 2021.
Juan Chioran is an Argentine-born Canadian actor primarily associated with stage roles at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada. He is based in Stratford, Ontario.
Martha Speaks is an animated educational children's television series based on the 1992 children's book of the same name by Susan Meddaugh and debuted on September 1, 2008 on PBS, on the PBS Kids programming block. The series was produced by WGBH Boston, with animation by DHX Media/Vancouver for the first four seasons and Oasis Animation for the final two seasons of the series.
The Magic School Bus Rides Again is an animated children's television series, based on the book series of the same name by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. It also serves as a continuation of the 1994–1997 PBS Kids series The Magic School Bus, with Lily Tomlin reprising her role as Ms. Frizzle. The series premiered on Netflix on September 29, 2017. The second season premiered on April 13, 2018.
Let's Go Luna! is an educational animated children's television series created by Joe Murray that aired on PBS Kids. Murray formerly worked on the Nickelodeon animated series Rocko's Modern Life and Cartoon Network animated series Camp Lazlo. It is co-produced by 9 Story Media Group. Judy Greer provides the voice of the titular Luna. In the first season, there are 38 half-hour episodes and a one-hour special. The second season has 26 episodes and premiered on May 10, 2021. Each episode consists of two 11-minute story segments, with a short segment of one of the characters telling a folktale, song or poem from that country in between.
Esme & Roy is an animated children's television series created by Dustin Ferrer and Amy Steinberg. The series is produced by Sesame Street producer Sesame Workshop and Canada-based animation studio Nelvana, in association with Corus Entertainment.
Super Why! is an animated superhero preschool educational television series created by Angela Santomero and developed by Santomero and Samantha Freeman Alpert for PBS Kids. Santomero and Alpert additionally serve as executive producers alongside Steven DeNure and Anne Loi. The series was produced by Santomero and Alpert's New York City-based production company Out of the Blue Enterprises in co-production with Decode Entertainment for the first season and DHX Studios Halifax for the second and third seasons. Animation was by Toronto-based C.O.R.E. Toons, Gallus Entertainment and DHX Media. The opening and closing theme songs were written by composers and lyricists Steve D'Angelo and Terry Tompkins, with D'Angelo also providing lead vocals for both. The background score for seasons 2 and 3 was composed by Lorenzo Castelli and Jeff Morrow.
Donkey Hodie is an American puppet live action musical children's television series created by David and Adam Rudman for PBS Kids, and is aimed at preschoolers ages 3 to 5. Inspired by characters created by Fred Rogers, the series premiered May 3, 2021, and is the second spinoff of Rogers' television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood after Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. The first full episode was initially set to premiere in winter 2021 on PBS Kids in the United States, but it was pushed back to May 3 of the same year. Sometimes, television airings are followed up by a series of shorts: "Super Why's Comic Book Adventures", "Tiny Time Travel", "Through the Woods", "What Can You Become?", and "Elinor Wonders Why: That's So Interesting!".
The new channel from Foxtel includes the Australian premieres of Fred Rogers Productions' puppet series Donkey Hodie and STEM-based animated show Elinor Wonders Why.
Elinor Wonders Why: Hiding in Plain Sight by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson, one of two launch titles for a graphic novel series based on the TV show about an inquisitive rabbit exploring the natural world...