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] 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.
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. In the episodes "Jacob Two-Two and Spellbound Sibling" and "Jacob Two-Two and the Pet Peeve", she is revealed to be allergic to cats. 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. Like Florence, Renée is allergic to cats. 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 school principal of Dreary Meadows Elementary School, and the most recurring antagonist of the series. Greedyguts is an obese glutton and suffers from an enduring dislike of children, which causes him to be rather severe with his pupils by giving them harsher punishments. He eats a ton and has trouble fitting through doors. Beyond his fond of eating, his greed also extends to material possessions. He also owns a giant SUV that can hurt the kids. He's voiced by Dwayne Hill.
P.L. "Perfectly Loathsome" 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 both Florence and 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 identical twin brother, sharing both his appearance and voice. At first, Y.B. is depicted as a kind and gentle person who invites the students and staff of Dreary Meadows to his "school," called "Cheery Meadows." However, Jacob, Buford, and Renee are unable to attend because I.M. prevents them from going. During a match between the Dreary Meadows and Cheery Meadows hockey teams, however, the true nature of Y.B. is revealed when Miss Sour Pickle manages to escape his grasp, informing Jacob, Buford, and Renee that compared to I.M., Y.B. is actually much worse. His "school" is really a dirty power plant where the rest of the students and staff are trapped and forced to produce electricity for his profit. The teachers don't even receive coffee breaks, and Miss Sour Pickle describes the situation as an "endless nightmare." Following Jacob, Buford, and Renee's victory over Y.B.'s team from Cheery Meadows, the remaining students and staff are liberated from Cheery Meadows and transferred back to Dreary Meadows.
Other characters
Mr. Molecules
Jacob's science teacher has a quirky personality, evident from his UFO-shaped mobile lab and unusual experiments. Despite his eccentricity, he is the kindest teacher to Jacob and his friends, much to Greedyguts's dismay. Throughout the series, Mr. Molecules has created many inventions, most of which either fail or lead to chaotic outcomes.
Nurse Bunyan
The school nurse who has a crush on Leo Louse.
Miss Bella Bountiful
The school's lunch lady, who is kind, sweet and serves the kids healthy and delicious lunches.
Superintendent Fussbudget
The superintendent of the school board responsible for managing the budget of Dreary Meadows Elementary School. She has a strong dislike for Principal Greedyguts.
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.
Benny
Morty's friend who also owns a bagel restaurant. He and Morty occasionally play poker with Leo.
Jacob Two-Two first aired in Canada on September 7, 2003 on YTV, and its final episode was broadcast on May 19, 2006 after a total of five seasons, with reruns continuing until 2009. The show was also broadcast on the French-language network VRAK.TV as Jacob Jacob.[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]
In the United States, the show debuted on January 9, 2005 as Jacobo Dos-Dos on the Spanish-language network Telemundo through its Telemundo Kids block. On September 9, 2006, coinciding with the launch of the Qubo block, the show began airing in English on both NBC and Ion Television while maintaining its Spanish broadcast on Telemundo.[5][6] Reruns continued on the companion Qubo Channel from January 14, 2007 to December 30, 2017.
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 is something "most kids should be able to relate to."[7]
References
↑Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p.390. ISBN978-1538103739.
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