Iris, The Happy Professor (also known as Iris and Professor Iris and in French as Iris, le gentil professeur or Professeur Iris) is a Spanish-Canadian-French-produced television show created by former Belgian-born comic book artist Henri Desclez, that aired from 1992 to 1994. It revolves around Professor Iris, a purple ibis who teaches a class of three students: Piano, Skeleton, and Plant. The Professor teaches a variety of subjects to his students and always wears a bowtie based on the topic of the lesson in each episode. 156 episodes were produced over six seasons.
A French-language version was made by Montreal's Cinélume Film et Vidéo. This version was made under the supervision of Vincent Davy for the first two seasons (uncredited on the first and credited on the second), and then of Christine Boivineau for the remaining episodes; Joey Galimi adapted the songs of the series to French.
Characters
Professor Iris: played by Pier Paquette (English); Pierre Auger (French) – A purple ibis and teacher at the unnamed school that serves as the series' setting. He is knowledgeable, optimistic, and the series' protagonist.
Skeleton: played by Frank Meschkuleit, Rob Mills (English); Jean Galtier (French) – A skeleton of an ibis with bones laid over a red cardigan.
Piano: played by Tim Gosley (English); Élise Bertrand (French) – A pink piano who loves music.
Plant: played by Tim Gosley (English); Gilbert Lachance (French) – A whimsical flower in a flowerpot.
Ms. Principal: played by Frank Meschkuleit, Rob Mills (English); Daniel Picard (French) – A yellow duck who is headmistress of the school. She often walks into the class to complain about the racket when it gets noisy.
Mr. Plumeau: played by Michel Lapointe (English); Edgar Fruitier (French) – A grey dog who serves as the school's janitor.
Kiwi: played by Jani Lauzon (English); Lisette Dufour (French) – A green frog who is Ms. Principal's niece.
International broadcasting
Aside from airing in its native Canada,[1]Iris, The Happy Professor was one of the first six shows featured on TLC's Ready Set Learn! block during its 28 December 1992 debut.[2] In Latin America, the series aired on Discovery Kids from the channel's launch on November 1, 1996 until the series got taken off the channel's schedule in 2000. It has also aired in several countries and territories including France, Israel, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Scotland, Brunei and Jordan.[citation needed]
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