Pinky Dinky Doo

Last updated

Pinky Dinky Doo
PinkyDinkyDooTitle.png
The show's title with characters (Clockwise from bottom-right: Pinky Dinky Doo, Mr. Guinea Pig, Tyler Dinky Doo, Daddy, and Mommy)
Genre Animated series
Created by Jim Jinkins
Developed by
  • Jim Jinkins
  • Mark York
Voices of
Theme music composer
Opening theme"Pinky Dinky Doo Theme Song"
Ending theme"We're Going to the Story Box" (Instrumental)
ComposerDan Sawyer
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada [a]
  • Latin America [a]
Original languagesEnglish
Spanish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes52 (104 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Melanie Grisanti (season 1)
  • Clint Green (season 2)
Running time22 minutes (11 minutes per segment)
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseApril 5, 2005 (2005-04-05) [1]  –
January 9, 2010 (2010-01-09) (April 8, 2011 in USA)

Pinky Dinky Doo is an animated children's television series created by Jim Jinkins. [2] It was produced and co-owned by Jinkins' Cartoon Pizza and Sesame Workshop. The series was made in association with Discovery Kids Latin America, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (season 1). [b] For the second season, Abrams Gentile Entertainment, and the Canadian studio Keyframe Digital Productions [3] joined as production companies. Each episode follows an imaginative pink-haired girl named Pinky Dinky Doo, her brother Tyler and pet Mr. Guinea Pig as she makes up her own stories.

Contents

The character of Pinky Dinky Doo was created by Jim Jinkins as a bedtime story for his daughter. In 2002, he developed the idea into a two-part web series, produced by his company Cartoon Pizza alongside Sesame Workshop. [4] In 2003, Random House released a series of six children's books featuring the character, and on April 5, 2005, the show's first season made its worldwide premiere on Discovery Kids in Latin America. The show was first broadcast in English on CBC Television in December 2005. [5] The show would eventually aired in the United States on Noggin beginning in April 10, 2006 and aired until 2011, when it was rebranded as the Nick Jr. Channel in 2009.

From January 17, 2016 to January 2, 2021, the series aired in reruns on HBO Kids as part of HBO's deal with Sesame Workshop. [6] It was also added to the HBO Max streaming service upon its launch on May 27, 2020, before being taken off on January 2, 2021. [7] Until November 2022, the series was available on Sensical, a free streaming service by Common Sense Media. [8]

Premise

Pinky Dinky Doo is a 7-year-old girl who lives in Great Big City with her parents, her little brother Tyler, and their house pet Mr. Guinea Pig. She loves to write stories, especially for Tyler. Each episode begins with Tyler having a problem, such as not being able to find his shoes or not wanting to take a bath. At that point, Pinky says, "That gives me an idea." Tyler asks, "Pinky, are you going to make up a story?" and Pinky responds, "Yes-a-rooney, positooney!" (which means "Yes, positively!"), dancing to a cardboard box called the Story Box. Using chalk and her imagination, she tells a story. In the second season, whenever the Story Box is unavailable, Pinky uses the Story Pad, a notebook in which she draws pictures using a pencil for her newer stories.

Each story features Pinky herself as the main character, and the story plots are centered around Tyler's main issue. Because they are made up stories, there tends to be unusual or silly things that occur, something that Tyler typically points out although Pinky reminds him that anything can happen in a made up story.

At the climax of each story a problem starts to arise, so Pinky must "Think Big," at which point her head swells (like a balloon filling with air) and she comes up with an often wacky solution to the problem while singing "If I have a problem, don't know which way to go, I think and think and think and think, and suddenly I know." Some episodes feature different variations of the "Think Big" sequence:

After each story, Tyler solves his own problem and knows what to do.

Each episode has a "Great Big Fancy Word", that is said all throughout each story. Before it is spoken by a character, Mr. Guinea Pig blows his trumpet. At the end of each episode, both Pinky and Tyler invite the viewers to play a series of games on their cheese sandwich handheld, which typically questions the audience on what happened in a story. After the "Game Time" segment is over, Pinky ends every episode by saying, "I love to make up stories. I'll bet you can make up a story too."

Characters

Dinky Doo family

Friendly characters

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
1 52April 5, 2005 (2005-04-05)April 30, 2006 (2006-04-30)
2 52September 6, 2008 (2008-09-06)January 9, 2010 (2010-01-09)

Description

The show is intended to help preschool-aged viewers increase their vocabularies with its Great Big Fancy Word, which is featured several times during the episode. It also addresses problem-solving skills as well as the basics of narrative stories—character, dialogue, plot, details, main idea, and sequence of events. After Pinky tells her story and solves the problem of the day, kids are invited to play an interactive game on the Cheese Sandwich toy, where they review details about the story. At the end of each episode, Pinky says, "I love to make up stories. I'll bet you can make up a story too."

This series was created by Jim Jinkins, who originally made up Pinky's adventures as bedtime tales for his children. The executive producers are Jinkins and David Campbell. It is a production of Sesame Workshop, Cartoon Pizza, Keyframe Digital, and Abrams Gentile Entertainment. According to the show's website, it is intended to promote reading and imaginative storytelling. [9] [10]

History

Production

The series was created and produced by Cartoon Pizza and Sesame Workshop, which co-own the copyright to the series. [11] These two companies were the sole producers of the show's pilot episodes. For the first season, Discovery Kids and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation joined as co-producers. Abrams Gentile Entertainment and Keyframe Digital Productions joined as production companies in the second season. Abrams Gentile financed part of the season in exchange for licensing and merchandising rights, and Keyframe animated the season. The intro sequence for both seasons, as well as episodes from the first season, used flash animation via Macromedia Flash, while episodes from the second season switched over to computer animation via 3DS Max, with the characters being animated via a 3D rig as opposed to being completely 3-Dimensional. [12]

Pinky Dinky Doo was an international co-production. Cartoon Pizza, Sesame Workshop, Noggin, and Abrams Gentile were based in the United States; CBC and Keyframe Digital were based in Canada; [3] Discovery Kids was based in Latin America; and CBeebies was based in the United Kingdom. For season two, the budget was about 200,000 Canadian dollars per episode. [3]

Jim Jinkins originally created Pinky Dinky Doo in 2000 as a bedtime story for his then four-year-old daughter. In an interview with Animation Magazine , he admitted, "It wasn't pre-meditated as a kid's show." In 2002, Jinkins worked with Sesame Workshop to create two web-based pilot episodes starring Pinky, which were released online in 2003. [4] From 2003 to 2004, Random House published a series of six children's books centered around Pinky. Jim Jinkins said of his work with Sesame Workshop: "The Workshop was a beautiful partner ... they didn't overhaul it, but saw it as natural literacy project." [3]

Broadcast

Pinky Dinky Doo made its worldwide premiere on April 5, 2005, on Discovery Kids in Latin America. The show was first broadcast in English on CBC Television, which premiered the show in December 2005. [5] Other Canadian networks that aired Pinky Dinky Doo include TVOntario and Knowledge Network, as well as TFO in French Canada. [13] In most other territories, Sesame Workshop aimed to premiere the show in the first quarter of 2006.

Before the series premiere, Kidscreen announced that broadcast rights for Pinky Dinky Doo had been sold to ABC Television in Australia. [14] It was also announced that Sesame Workshop was "focusing on securing German and French [broadcast] partners," [14] which became Super RTL in Germany and France 5.

Pinky Dinky Doo was sold to over 35 international broadcasters. [15] The American Forces Network, a channel operated by the U.S. Armed Forces, aired Pinky Dinky Doo from 2006 to 2016. [16] In the United States, Noggin picked up Pinky Dinky Doo in 2006 and aired it as one of several acquired shows. [17] The show continued to air on Noggin's replacement, the Nick Jr. Channel, from September 28, 2009, until April 8, 2011. The Spanish-language U.S. network Univision aired Spanish dubs of the show as part of its Saturday morning programming block for children, Planeta U, from Planeta U’s launch on April 5, 2008, to September 3, 2011. HBO Kids aired the series in reruns as part of HBO's partnership with Sesame Workshop between 2016 and 2021. [6] The show was made available on the HBO Max streaming service upon its launch on May 27, 2020, and it was available until January 2, 2021. [7] Until November 2022, the series was available to stream on Sensical, a free streaming service by Common Sense Media. [8]

In the United Kingdom, the show was broadcast on the BBC's children's network CBeebies. It was redubbed and broadcast with British English voices, although the series was put on hiatus between December 31, 2006, and May 28, 2007. [18] [19] In Brazil, TV Cultura aired a Brazilian Portuguese dub. The series also aired on Rai Yoyo in Italian, Baraem in Arabic, and Hop! Channel in Hebrew (Hop! Channel being available exclusively in Israel).

Reception

Pinky Dinky Doo received favorable reviews from critics and audiences.

Larisa Wiseman of Common Sense Media rated the series four stars out of five, calling it "enlightening as well as silly, funny, and entertaining." She also said that the animation is "simple, colorful, and imaginative, combining photography with pictures that look as if they were drawn and colored in (rather skillfully) by a child." [20] Entertainment Weekly's Eileen Clarke gave the show a grade of 'A,' saying it "embraces storytelling and revs up the imagination—so it certainly pays to think Pink for a while." She also noted that the show's teaching is "unlike Dora ; the repetition involved in the lessons is barely noticeable." [21]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Pinky Dinky Doo was an international co-production. Cartoon Pizza, Sesame Workshop, Noggin, and Abrams Gentile were based in the United States; CBC and Keyframe Digital were based in Canada; [c] and Discovery Kids was based in Latin America.
  2. ↑ Noggin and CBeebies are listed in the credits, but do not have any additional crediting.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Electric Company</i> American childrens television series (1971–1977)

The Electric Company is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop. It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The series aired on PBS for 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971, to April 15, 1977. The program continued in reruns until October 4, 1985. The Electric Company later reran on Noggin, a channel co-founded by the CTW, from 1999 to 2003. Noggin also produced a compilation special for the show.

<i>Doug</i> (TV series) American animated sitcom (1991–1999)

Doug is an American animated sitcom created by Jim Jinkins and produced by Jumbo Pictures. It originally aired on Nickelodeon from August 11, 1991, to January 2, 1994, and on ABC from September 7, 1996, to June 26, 1999. The show focuses on the early adolescent life and zany hijinks of its title character, Douglas "Doug" Funnie, who experiences common predicaments while attending school in his new hometown of Bluffington. Doug narrates each story in his journal, and the show incorporates many imagination sequences. The series addresses numerous topics, including trying to fit in, platonic and romantic relationships, self-esteem, bullying, and rumors. Many episodes center on Doug's attempts to impress his classmate and crush, Patti Mayonnaise.

<i>Ghostwriter</i> (1992 TV series) Mystery television series

Ghostwriter is a children's mystery television series created by Liz Nealon and produced by Children's Television Workshop and BBC Television. The series revolves around a multiethnic group of friends from Brooklyn who solve neighborhood crimes and mysteries as a team of youth detectives with the help of a ghost named Ghostwriter. Ghostwriter can communicate with children only by manipulating whatever text and letters he can find and using them to form words and sentences. The series was filmed on location in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. It began airing on PBS on October 4, 1992, and the last episode aired on February 12, 1995. It reran on Noggin, a channel co-founded by the Children's Television Workshop, from 1999 to 2003.

James Jinkins is an American animator, cartoonist, and children's author. He is best known as the creator of the animated television series Doug, which was later the basis for a feature film. Jinkins also created PB&J Otter, as well as several other shows produced by his two companies, Jumbo Pictures and Cartoon Pizza.

<i>Play with Me Sesame</i> 2002 American childrens television series

Play with Me Sesame is an American children's television series, created by Sesame Workshop and Nickelodeon for their former joint venture Noggin. It is a spin-off of Sesame Street hosted by Ernie, Bert, Prairie Dawn, and Grover. The series' backgrounds and animated elements were made by Nickelodeon Digital in New York City. Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop developed the show to expand on Sesame Street by directly encouraging young viewers to interact with the characters. The series combines classic Sesame Street sketches with new segments, where the hosts invite preschoolers to join them in games.

<i>Out There</i> (2003 TV series) 2003 TV series

Out There is a drama television series produced by Sesame Workshop and Noggin LLC for the Noggin channel. It aired as part of Noggin's nighttime programming block, The N. When the show started development, Sesame Workshop co-owned Noggin, and Out There was launched as a tween-oriented project for the network. The show was written, produced, and commissioned in New York, and it originated as an entirely American series with a storyline set in New York. During development, it became an American-Australian co-production, and filming took place mostly in Australia.

<i>Cro</i> (TV series) 1993 American TV series or program

Cro is an American animated television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop and Film Roman. It was partially funded by the National Science Foundation. Every episode has an educational theme, introducing basic concepts of physics, mechanical engineering, and technology. The show's narrator is an orange woolly mammoth named Phil, who was found frozen in ice by a scientist named Dr. C and her assistant, Mike. After they defrost him, Phil tells both of them about life in the Ice Age, including stories about his friend Cro, a Cro-Magnon boy.

<i>Phred on Your Head Show</i> American childrens television series

Phred on Your Head Show is an American children's television series produced for Noggin, a cable channel co-founded by MTV Networks and Sesame Workshop. The first episode aired on June 6, 1999. Noggin aired encore showings of the first episode throughout June and started airing the show regularly on July 26, 1999. The show stars a small green character named Phred, voiced by Doug Preis, who resembles an athromporphic pickle and has his own variety show. In each episode, Phred hops across different people's heads to find a host, who then chooses a selection of Noggin programs to play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartoon Pizza</span> American animation company

Cartoon Pizza was an American animation studio located in Nashville, Tennessee. It was co-founded by Jim Jinkins and David Campbell as the successor to Jinkins' former company, Jumbo Pictures.

<i>Allegras Window</i> American childrens television series

Allegra's Window is an American musical children's television series that aired on Nickelodeon during its Nick Jr. block from October 24, 1994, to December 8, 1996, with reruns being shown until February 5, 1999; it was later shown on Noggin from February 2, 1999, to April 6, 2003. The series deals with the daily life of a precocious, imaginative puppet character named Allegra, and featured live actors, puppets and animation, that was the similar to Sesame Street. The show was created by Jan Fleming, John Hoffman and Jim Jinkins, the latter of whom is also the creator of Doug. Two of the puppeteers, Kathryn Mullen and Anthony Asbury, would later work together on the PBS series Between the Lions as the performers of Lionel and Leona Lion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Airplane Productions</span> Defunct American television production company

Little Airplane Productions was an American television production company co-founded by Josh Selig and Lori Shaer in 1999. The company produced Oobi for Noggin, Wonder Pets! for Nickelodeon, and 3rd & Bird for the BBC. It also released independent short films. In 2017, the company was bought by the Belgian-based Studio 100, which entered a co-production agreement to create the comedy series Doctor Space with Little Airplane.

Two syndication packages of Sesame Street episodes, titled Sesame Street Unpaved and 123 Sesame Street, were produced by the Noggin cable channel in 1999. At the time, Sesame Workshop co-owned Noggin and many of the company's older programs were replayed on the channel. Unpaved aired until 2002, and 123 aired until 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noggin (brand)</span> American childrens edutainment brand (1999-2024)

Noggin was an American edutainment brand that launched on February 2, 1999. It was co-founded by MTV Networks and Sesame Workshop. It started out as a cable television channel and a website, both centered around the concepts of imagination, creativity, and education. From 2015 to 2024, Noggin was a streaming service.

Ollie! The Boy Who Became What He Ate is an animated children's television series by Radical Sheep Junior. Each segment is 11 minutes, aired every morning, except for Sunday. It debuted on CBC Kids, Canada on February 18, 2017. The second season premiered on February 2, 2019. It is produced by Keyframe Animation Inc. who created Tee and Mo and Pinky Dinky Doo.

<i>Esme & Roy</i> Animated childrens television series

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.

HBO Kids was an American preschool/children's television morning programming block operated by Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO), a division of Warner Bros. Discovery. The block ran on HBO Family, HBO's sister station that targets children and families.

<i>The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo</i> American late-night talk show hosted by Elmo

The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo is an American late-night talk show hosted by the Muppet character Elmo. It is a spin-off of Sesame Street and was developed exclusively for the HBO Max streaming service. The series, consisting of 13 episodes, debuted on HBO Max on May 27, 2020. The first three episodes were available at launch, after which new episodes were premiered weekly. Each episode runs for 15 minutes. In March 2021, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on September 30, 2021, when the show moved to the service's Cartoonito section. However, in August 2022, the series was removed from HBO Max. The series aired on PBS Kids from February 10, 2023, to May 10, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The N</span> Programming block on the Noggin television channel

The N was a prime time and late-night programming block on the Noggin television channel, aimed at preteens and teenagers. It was launched on April 1, 2002, by MTV Networks and Sesame Workshop.

References

  1. ↑ "Pinky Dinky Doo Season 1 on HBO". Amazon Video . 2016. April 5, 2005
  2. ↑ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 465. ISBN   978-1538103739.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Strike, Joe (December 9, 2008). "'Pinky Dinky Doo': Keyframe Digital Does the Second Season". AWN.com. Animation World Network. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Connell, Mike (October 1, 2002). "Cool New Shows! 2002". Kid Screen. Brunico Communications Ltd. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Here's looking beyond you, kid…". Kidscreen. September 1, 2005.
  6. 1 2 Perez, Sarah (January 13, 2016). "HBO Takes On Netflix With A New Kids Section Featuring 'Sesame Street' And More". Techcrunch.com. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Nearly every movie and show now on HBO Max". Polygon . May 27, 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Watch Pinky Dinky Doo Streaming 100% Free!". Sensical. March 11, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Pinky Dinky Doo – Grown Ups – Educational Approach".
  10. ↑ "Pinky Dinky Doo Season 2 on HBO". Amazon Video . 2016. April 29, 2007
  11. ↑ "'Pinky Dinky Doo': Keyframe Digital Does the Second Season". Animation World Network .
  12. ↑ "Pinky Dinky Doo Goes 3D | Animation World Network".
  13. ↑ "Pinky Dinky Doo". TFO.org.
  14. 1 2 Lianne, Stewart (October 1, 2004). "Cool New Shows! 2004". Kid Screen. Brunico Communications Ltd.
  15. ↑ "Keyframe Digital Partners with Sesame Workshop to Help Pinky Dinky Doo 'Do 3D'". September 12, 2008.
  16. ↑ "AFN Family TV and Entertainment Guide" (PDF). American Forces Network. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Breaking News – MTVn's Noggin and the N Channels to Split Into Two Separate 24-Hour Services, DeC. 31, '07". TheFutonCritic.com. October 5, 2007. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  18. ↑ "CBeebies 31 December 2006 – BBC Genome".
  19. ↑ "CBeebies 28 May 2007 – BBC Genome".
  20. ↑ Wiseman, Larisa. "Pinky Dinky Doo TV Review". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  21. ↑ Staff, EW (April 13, 2006). "A review of Noggin's Pinky Dinky Doo, and more". EW.com . Retrieved January 3, 2025.
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.