Jacob Two-Two (TV series)

Jacob Two-Two
Title frame for Jacob Two-Two
Also known as	Jacob Jacob (VRAK.TV broadcasts)
Genre	Comedy
Based on	Jacob Two-Two by Mordecai Richler
Directed by	Lan Lamon Helen Lebeau Eric Flaherty
Voices of	Billy Rosemberg Marc McMulkin Kaitlin Howell Jeff Berg Rob Tinkler Jocelyn Barth Harvey Atkin Janet-Laine Green Julie Lemieux Kristopher Clark Dwayne Hill Fiona Reid Howard Jerome Bret "The Hitman" Hart James Rankin
Theme music composer	Martin Kucaj – Eurotrash Music
Composer	Martin Kucaj – Eurotrash Music
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	62 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Paul Robertson (seasons 1–2) Doug Murphy Scott Dyer Peter Moss Michael Hirsh (season 1) Vince Commisso (season 5) Steven Jarosz (season 5)
Producers	Wendy Errington (seasons 1–3) Marilyn McAuley (season 5)
Editor	Jamie Ebata
Running time	22–25 minutes
Production companies	Nelvana Limited Salter Street Films 9 Story Media Group (season 5 only)
Original release
Network	YTV
Release	September 7, 2003 (2003-09-07) – May 19, 2006 (2006-05-19)

Jacob Two-Two is a Canadian animated television series based on the Jacob Two-Two books written by Mordecai Richler. ^[1] The show first aired on September 7, 2003, on YTV in Canada. ^[2] The show also aired on Qubo (as one of the network's launch shows) in the United States, and on the French-language network VRAK.TV as Jacob Jacob. After Jacob and his family moved to Montreal from England, he encounters new challenges in his hometown. Jacob, his siblings, and his mother were named after Richler's children and wife.

Nelvana and 9 Story Media Group produced the series' 62 episodes, produced in association with YTV and Salter Street Films. Funbag Animation Studio Inc., Atomic Cartoons, and Nitrogen Studios provided animation. The series ended on May 19, 2006. ^[3]

In March 2004, Fox Kids Europe acquired the pay television rights to the show's first two seasons for the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands. ^[4]

Characters

Jacob's family

Jacob Two-Two

The youngest of five children, Jacob got his 'Two-Two' nickname because he always had to say everything twice to be heard amongst his large family when he was smaller. Now a little older, Jacob does not repeat himself as often, but still frequently falls back into this old habit. He inadvertently causes trouble because he always tells the truth. He looks up to his siblings, especially Daniel, (although he finds himself frequently left out of their activities), and wishes he had their experience and wisdom. His naïveté makes him a frequent target of twin siblings Noah and Emma and their fantastic yarns. Voiced and narrated by Billy Rosemberg best known in the United States as the voice of Max from Max & Ruby .

Morty

Loosely based on author and creator Mordecai Richler, Jacob's father is the writer of a series of adventure books about "The Amazing Ronald." He spends his time in his home office working out complex plots for his books, checking the hockey scores for his favorite team the Montreal Marvels (parody of the Montreal Canadiens), or most often snoozing on the sofa with the newspaper draped over his face. He also loves jokes and making gentle fun of his children. Voiced by Harvey Atkin.

Florence

Jacob's mother is an expert juggler of tasks, happiest when operating at full throttle. Besides keeping her family on the go and organized, she also holds down a full-time job. As busy as she is, Florence always manages to look very chic and 'pulled together', and breezes through each day with effortless grace. Voiced by Janet-Laine Green.

Daniel

The eldest sibling, Daniel, is an aloof and hopelessly cynical teen. Permanently garbed in black with blue hair, he is fully conversant in all the newest bands and music crazes. Daniel does not have much time for Jacob, but occasionally offers his youngest brother a unique 'teen view' of the world. He was first voiced by Jeff Berg and later voiced by Rob Tinkler.

Marfa

Jacob's elder sister, who is both academically and artistically inclined. Marfa is suffering through the toughest teen years and frequently takes it out on everyone around her. Preoccupied with her own concerns, Marfa has even less time for Jacob than Daniel. Convinced that Jacob ruins everything he touches, she does not like him going anywhere near her stuff. To Jacob, she occupies a mysterious world that he does not understand at all. Voiced by Jocelyn Barth.

Noah and Emma

Jacob's elder twin brother and sister. Energetic, athletic, full of daring and theatrical bravado. They have their secret club, Kid Power, and spend long hours in their clubhouse in the yard fighting imaginary battles as their alter egos the intrepid Shapiro (Emma) and the fearless O'Toole (Noah). They usually won't allow Jacob into their 'clubhouse' (which makes him long to get in there all the more), only letting him in whenever there's a job that either they don't want to handle or know he can do it. He often does their bidding in the hope that maybe this time they will let him inside. Noah is voiced by Marc McMulkin. Emma is voiced by Kaitlin Howell.

Auntie Good-For-You

Jacob's aunt who imposes her health-focused habits on Jacob's family. Whenever she babysits the siblings, she prohibits activities she deems unhealthy, like watching TV or using the internet. Each morning, she wakes them up with the sound of bagpipes and makes them do ninety jumping jacks. She has a strong preference for health shakes and bagpipe music. She often twists familiar phrases, mixing up expressions like "a sight for sore feet" and "busy little butterflies." Auntie Good-For-You affectionately calls Jacob "Jakey-poo" and often invades his personal space. It's suggested that Florence and Morty aren't fond of her; when she tries to offer them health shakes, they hurriedly rush out the door. Her real name is unknown nor mentioned.

Zadie Saul

Jacob's paternal grandfather, who comes around when Morty is preparing bagels.

Allies

Buford Orville Gaylord Pugh

An odd little kid with a string of unfortunate names. His lack of anxiety and worries are not due to a lack of intelligence but to difficulty focusing. He is prone to recounting pointless, meandering shaggy dog stories. Buford and Jacob are both new kids at school. He is Jacob's best friend. He also has a mother who he mentioned, but unseen. Furthermore, he mentioned that he has a father, but also unseen in the 2nd episode 'Jacob Two-Two and the Staff Room of Doom'. He also has mentioned and unseen aunts, cousins, and uncles as well. Voiced by Kristopher Clark.

Renée Ratelle

Though Renée and Jacob initially find themselves at odds with each other when they meet as classmates, Renée later joins forces with Jacob and Buford to solve a mystery. Since Renée is a hothead who does not always look before she leaps, it becomes Jacob's role to temper her enthusiasm. We know that she's French-Canadian due to her name and the way she speaks. She is voiced by Julie Lemieux.

X. Barnaby Dinglebat

A mild-mannered meter reader for the Montreal Gas Company on the surface, Dinglebat lets Jacob in on his secret profession: he is really an international spy. He is the only adult Jacob knows who always has time for him and treats him as an equal. Barnaby opens up a whole new world of adventure and possibility to his next door neighbour. Voiced by James Rankin.

Agent Intrepid

Dinglebat's pet hamster who is also a secret agent.

Miss Darling Sweetiepie

A nice, kind old lady who is Jacob's neighbor. Despite her elderly appearance, she is actually a secret agent.

Gary a.k.a. The Hooded Fang

The professional wrestler with the terrifying mask and bad guy image. His true nature, as Jacob discovers one day, is sweet and gentle. He only acts like a barbarian because it's written in his contract. He's really a big kid at heart, and becomes a great secret pal of Jacob's, occasionally helping out when a mission requires someone really huge. Voiced by Bret Hart.

Claude LaToque

The ghost of a coureur des bois (Canadian woodsman) who occasionally comes to Jacob's rescue.

Antagonists

Principal I.M. Greedyguts

The most recurring antagonist of the series. Jacob's school principal is an obese glutton. Greedyguts also suffers from an enduring dislike of children, which causes him to be rather severe with his pupils by giving them harsher punishments. Though he is extremely fond of eating, his greed also extends to material possessions. He's voiced by Dwayne Hill.

Leo Louse

Leo works as the janitor at the school. When Greedyguts needs dirty work done, or a mess swept under the carpet, Leo is the man for the job. A weaselly man, a miser and mooch, Leo will swipe whatever isn't nailed down. Morty is mysteriously fond of Leo, much to the children's disgust, and whenever Leo drops by he'll fill his pockets with Florence's sandwiches. He is voiced by Howard Jerome.

Ms. Sour Pickle

Jacob's geography teacher Miss Sour Pickle has a permanent scowl plastered on her face, like she smells something bad. She glories in catching her students not paying attention or talking in class, then giving them snap quizzes on the obscure capitals of equally obscure countries. The only thing Sour Pickle loves to do more than torment Jacob is cheer for her favourite team, the marvelous Montreal Marvels. It's her biggest secret that she simply adores hockey. She is voiced by Fiona Reid.

Wilson, Quiggley, and Duschane

Three bullies that always pick on Jacob and his friends. Wilson is the shortest one and the de facto leader, and mostly the brains, who is always seen with a sour apple lollipop in his mouth and wears a hockey jersey that mostly represents the Montreal Canadiens red/home jersey. Quiggley is the kid with his hair covering his eyes. Duschane is the boy with braces and is the tallest. They often call Jacob "Jacob Boo-Hoo" or "Jacob Two-Four". On rare occasions, they serve as allies to Jacob, but they usually serve as antagonists.

Carl Fester King

A pompous con man dressed in king garb and accountant style, desiring money.

Fish & Fowl

Criminal duo that commits crime to get quick money. Fish's appearance is based on a fish and Fowl's appearance is based on a bird.

Y.B. Greedyguts

Principal Greedyguts's twin brother, who is crueler than he is.

Other characters

Nurse Bunyan

The school nurse who has a crush on Leo Louse.

Miss Bella Bountiful

The school's lunch lady, who is kind and sweet and serves the kids a healthy and delicious lunch.

Ann

An android (hence her name) from Japan designed to be the perfect student. Voiced by Tajja Isen.

Brainy

An intelligent student who is a fan of the comics Jacob loves.

Lloyd

An overweight, arrogant student who is a fan of the comics Jacob loves.

Melinda Green

A mathematics genius who helped Jacob in the Scholars for Dollars training. She has an older sister named Phoebe, who Daniel has a crush on.

Miss Louse

Leo's miserly mother, who regrets having him as a son.

Episodes

Main article: List of Jacob Two-Two (TV series) episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	13		September 7, 2003 (2003-09-07)	November 30, 2003 (2003-11-30)
2	13		February 22, 2004 (2004-02-22)	June 22, 2004 (2004-06-22)
3	13		October 7, 2004 (2004-10-07)	January 30, 2005 (2005-01-30)
4	13		February 3, 2005 (2005-02-03)	January 16, 2006 (2006-01-16)
5	10		September 20, 2005 (2005-09-20)	May 19, 2006 (2006-05-19)

Reception

Jacob Two-Two received positive reviews from critics and audiences.

Deirdre Sheppard of Common Sense Media gave the show a rate of three stars out of five, saying it "successfully conveys useful life lessons in each episode, making it a fine choice for grade-schoolers." She also noted that the sibling rivalries are "sometimes overplayed" and the "name-calling and occasional slight innuendoes between Jacob's parents might raise a few parental eyebrows." On the other hand, in addition to "boasting hip music and cool animation," she remarks that the show "most kids should be able to relate to." ^[5]

References

1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 390. ISBN   978-1538103739.
2. "YTV Just Got Two Times Better With Jacob Two-Two". Corus Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019.
3. https://play.google.com/store/tv/show?id=F693DB9EF0AF58E5SH&cdid=tvseason-6338759B89C52793SE&gdid=tvepisode-F23B101E46032D1BEP ^{[ dead link ‍]}
4. "Fox Kids Europe adds two hot new properties, Megaman and Jacob two-two, to its programming portfolio". Jetix Europe. March 31, 2004. Archived from the original on July 26, 2004. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
5. Sheppard, Deirdre. "Jacob Two-Two TV Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved January 23, 2025.

External links

• The archived Jacob Two Two website, as seen on September 23rd, 2017
• Jacob Two Two on YTV