It's a Big Big World

Last updated

It's a Big Big World
Title.bigbigworld.jpg
Title card
Created by Mitchell Kriegman
Starring
Opening theme"It's a Big Big World" performed by Peter Linz, Julie Westwood, Tim Lagasse, Aymee Garcia, Tyler Bunch, James Godwin and Melissa Creighton
Ending theme"It's a Big Big World" (instrumental)
ComposerTTG Music Lab
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes47 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersMitchell Kriegman
Marianne Culbert
Michael Klinghoffer
ProducersMary James
Anne Martin Richards
Production locationsWainscott Studios, Wainscott, New York
Running time27 minutes
Production companiesBig Big Productions
Sony Pictures Television (uncredited)
Original release
Network PBS Kids
ReleaseJanuary 2, 2006 (2006-01-02) 
January 8, 2010 (2010-01-08)
Related
Bear in the Big Blue House
The Book of Pooh

It's a Big Big World is an American children's television series that aired on PBS Kids from January 2, 2006, to January 8, 2010. The series was created by Mitchell Kriegman, the creator of the Muppet television series Bear in the Big Blue House. After the series ended, reruns continued to air until April 30, 2010. The show revolves around a group of animals living in "The World Tree" in the rainforest along the Amazon River with the Brazilian highest mountain Pico da Neblina as the mountain background. The main character and host is Snook the sloth.

Contents

The series was taped at Wainscott Studios (now the LTV (Local TV, Inc.) studios) at the East Hampton Airport industrial complex in Wainscott, New York. Wainscott Studios is the only studio to use Shadowmation, a technique created by Mitchell Kriegman, to bring the puppets to life by combining live-action animatronic characters with computer generated animation in real time, high definition virtual environments powered by video game engines.

Characters

Puppeteers

Additional puppetry was provided by Patrick Holmes, Carol Binion, Frankie Cordiro, Eric Engelhardt, Jim Kroupa, Paul McGinnis, John Kennedy, Jodi Eichelberger, Heather Asch, Amanda Maddock, David Jordan, and Lara MacLean.

Many of the puppeteers come from similar shows, primarily Bear in the Big Blue House , Jellybean Jungle, and The Book of Pooh , another show involving Shadowmation, a technique that combines live-action, bunraku-style puppetry, and computer-generated animation.

Episodes

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 40January 2, 2006 (2006-01-02)April 20, 2007 (2007-04-20)
2 7October 19, 2009 (2009-10-19)January 8, 2010 (2010-01-08)

Typical episode format

Each episode begins with the opening theme song, "It's a Big Big World" that's followed by a short (10-12 minute) story involving some or all of the main characters. In season 1, this first story was followed by another song, called "Curve of the World", sung by all the characters. (In the Miss Lori and Hooper block, this song wasn't shown.) Then comes a second 10-12 minute story, which may be thematically linked to the first story but isn't usually a direct continuation of the plot. In season 2, both stories were followed by Snook singing "Tell Me 'Bout the Best Parts of your Day" to Riona, which led to a discussion about what the characters did and learned that day. At the end of all episodes, Snook sings the closing song, "Try to Touch the Sky", although this is often followed by short segments in which Snook ends an exploring or scientific activity and gives some fun facts about the various species of animals that live in the World Tree.

Season 1 (2006–2007)

SeasonTitlesAirdates [1]
Season 1 Episode 01:“Not Found Here”January 2, 2006
Season 1 Episode 02:"Ant Ray Vision; Moving On Up"January 3, 2006
Season 1 Episode 03:"Balance; Ick Alone"January 4, 2006
Season 1 Episode 04:"Burdette Queen Ant; One Monkey Too Many"January 5, 2006
Season 1 Episode 05:"My Friend Will Bee Right Back; Learning to Fly"January 11, 2006
Season 1 Episode 06:"Spirit; Shell"January 12, 2006
Season 1 Episode 07:"Out on a Limb; The More Things Change"January 13, 2006
Season 1 Episode 08:"Dancing; King of the Tree"January 16, 2006
Season 1 Episode 09:"Burdette Bald Eagle; Hot Ice"January 31, 2006
Season 1 Episode 10:"Color My World; Smooch's Caterpillar"February 1, 2006
Season 1 Episode 11:"Mini Monkey; The Five Senses"February 2, 2006
Season 1 Episode 12:"Wartz's Workout; Hot Enough for You?"February 20, 2006
Season 1 Episode 13:"Windy Night; So Long Planty"February 21, 2006
Season 1 Episode 14:"Hold on Rainbow; Where Have All the Berries Gone?"February 22, 2006
Season 1 Episode 15:"Sappy Monkey; Growing Pains"April 4, 2006
Season 1 Episode 16:"The Big Sneeze; Go to Sleep Wartz"April 5, 2006
Season 1 Episode 17:"Down in the Dumps; Who Moved My Sunflower?"April 6, 2006
Season 1 Episode 18:"The Itch; Everything's Going to Be Just Fine"April 17, 2006
Season 1 Episode 19:"What a Wonderful Leaf; Roots Rock"April 18, 2006
Season 1 Episode 20:"Making Tracks; Map It Out"April 19, 2006
Season 1 Episode 21:"Hide and Seek; Take Care of Yourself"April 20, 2006
Season 1 Episode 22:"World Tree Day; World Tree Cuisine"April 21, 2006
Season 1 Episode 23:"The Sloth Must Be Crazy; Smarter Than You Think"July 10, 2006
Season 1 Episode 24:"Fish Out of Water; Burdette's Nest"July 11, 2006
Season 1 Episode 25:"Bones; Food and Plenty of It"July 12, 2006
Season 1 Episode 26:"The Sting; Growing"July 13, 2006
Season 1 Episode 27:"The Big Race; You Are What You Are"September 4, 2006
Season 1 Episode 28:"Madge Is Missing; The Anteater Songbook"September 5, 2006
Season 1 Episode 29:"Get Well Moon; Take Your Time"September 6, 2006
Season 1 Episode 30:"A Bird Tale; Friendship"September 7, 2006
Season 1 Episode 31:"Eyes and Noses; Snook's Songbook"January 15, 2007
Season 1 Episode 32:"The Hatch; Sounds of the Forest"January 16, 2007
Season 1 Episode 33:"Guardians of the Sappenwood Tree; Over the Hills and Far Away"January 17, 2007
Season 1 Episode 34:"Oko's Birthday; Spinning a Tale"January 18, 2007
Season 1 Episode 35:"Echoes; A Good Heartbeat"January 19, 2007
Season 1 Episode 36:"Big Big Waterhole; Oko's Songbook"April 16, 2007
Season 1 Episode 37:"Flying Fish; Smooch and Winslow's Songbook"April 17, 2007
Season 1 Episode 38:"Sloth Lessons; The Avocado Queen"April 18, 2007
Season 1 Episode 39:"In Good Voice; Wartz's Family Tree"April 19, 2007
Season 1 Episode 40:"Sleepover; The Disappearing Waterhole"April 20, 2007

Season 2 (2009–2010)

SeasonTitlesAirdates [1]
Season 2 Episode 01:"Hanging With a Sleepy Sloth; Enough Is Enough"October 19, 2009
Season 2 Episode 02:"Winslow Is It; The Fourth R"November 17, 2009
Season 2 Episode 03:"Making New Friends; Little Things"November 18, 2009
Season 2 Episode 04:"Things That Go Bump; What's That Smell"November 19, 2009
Season 2 Episode 05:"Why Can't I Fly; Big Big Dinner Party"December 28, 2009
Season 2 Episode 06:"Winslow's Gone Bananas; I Love Purple"January 1, 2010
Season 2 Episode 07:"Big Book of Babies; Club Craze" (series finale)January 8, 2010

Broadcast

In the United States of America, the show aired on PBS Kids from January 2, 2006 to April 30, 2010, and aired as part of the preschool block from September 4, 2006 to August 31, 2007.

The show internationally aired on Nick Jr. in Australia, and Nick Jr 2 in United Kingdom. [2]

Home media

DVD

Six DVDs were released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Other DVDs:

Streaming

Episodes of the show are currently available on YouTube since July 27, 2015. The show was added to Amazon Prime Video on August 12, 2022 after PBS Kids acquired the streaming rights on July 27, 2022, officially marking the program's return to PBS Kids in any platform after 12 years.

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References

  1. 1 2 "It's a Big Big World Episodes". LocateTv. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  2. "Nick Jr It's A Big Big World". October 13, 2011. Archived from the original on October 13, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2021.