Under the Umbrella Tree | |
---|---|
Created by | Noreen Young |
Starring |
|
Country of origin | Canada |
No. of episodes | 285 |
Production | |
Running time | 15 minutes 30 minutes (specials) |
Production companies |
|
Original release | |
Network |
|
Release | October 5, 1987 – June 20, 1993 |
Under the Umbrella Tree is a Canadian children's television series created by Noreen Young that originally aired on CBC from 1987 to 1993. It was produced by CBC and Noreen Young Productions, and later by The Disney Channel, which began airing it on May 7, 1990. [1]
The series centers on a quartet of main characters who share a house on Spring Street in a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario. The characters include Holly (a human), Iggy (an iguana), Jacob (a blue jay), and Gloria (a gopher). The show's title is derived from the fact that the characters live together in a home featuring a prominent indoor umbrella tree.
When production of the show ended in 1993, syndication continued on The Disney Channel and Canal Famille until 1997. Twenty-seven episodes of the show were released to DVD by Cinerio Entertainment in partnership with Noreen Young in 2006, following a long wait for expiration of ownership rights. In 2019, Gloria, Iggy and Jacob were featured in episode 1 of Cavendish , in Andy and Mark's childhood bedroom. In 2020, the original cast (Holly Larocque, Noreen Young, Stephen Brathwaite and Bob Stutt) reunited to make a video called Under the Umbrella Tree: The Mask Special, which was uploaded to YouTube [2] and Facebook. [3]
A total of 285 episodes were produced over the years, with 270 being 15 minutes long and 15 being 30-minute specials. Every episode focuses on a different theme, such as sports, holidays, singing, dancing, exercise and various other activities. Valuable life lessons are often woven into every story, such as the importance of keeping promises, being considerate of others or assuming responsibility for one's actions. The show's characters were created by Ken Sobol, who also wrote the majority of the series episodes. Sobol had previously worked closely with Noreen Young on Readalong and Téléfrançais , two other children's television series.
In 1997, Under the Umbrella Tree reruns were placed on hiatus, after The Disney Channel stopped allowing the airing of the program and shelved the episodes. Since Disney owned all rights to the show, airing reruns on another television station was not possible until the rights expired in 2005. From 2009 to 2011, Under The Umbrella Tree aired on TV3 Medford weekdays and weekends as part of the network's children's block.
Starting in 2018 a number of episodes had been made available on the Canada Media Fund's YouTube channel Encore+ in both English [11] and French. [12] However, on December 1, 2022, Encore+ shut down its French- and English-language YouTube pages. [13]
In 2006, Noreen Young Productions in unison with Cinerio Entertainment began selling several episodes on DVD. To date, eight volumes have been released, with Volumes 1, 2, 3 & 4 featuring all-new introductions to the episodes with Iggy, Gloria and Jacob, played by their original performers.
Sylvester J. Pussycat Sr. is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. Most of his appearances have him often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper. He appeared in 103 cartoons in the golden age of American animation, lagging only behind superstars Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Daffy Duck. Three of his cartoons won Academy Awards, the most for any starring a Looney Tunes character: they are Tweetie Pie, Speedy Gonzales, and Birds Anonymous.
Schoolhouse Rock! is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films which aired during the Saturday morning children's programming block on the U.S. television network ABC. The themes covered included grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and civics. The series' original run lasted from 1973 to 1985; it was later revived from 1993 to 1996. Additional episodes were produced in 2009 for direct-to-video release.
DuckTales is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It originally premiered on syndication on September 18, 1987, and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seasons, with its final episode airing on November 28, 1990. Based upon Uncle Scrooge and other Duck universe comic books created by Carl Barks, the show follows Scrooge McDuck, his three grandnephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and close friends of the group, on various adventures, most of which either involve seeking out treasure or thwarting the efforts of villains seeking to steal Scrooge's fortune or his Number One Dime.
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is an American satirical soap opera that was broadcast on weeknights from January 1976 to July 1977. The syndicated series follows the eponymous Mary Hartman, a small-town Ohio housewife attempting to cope with various bizarre and sometimes violent incidents occurring in her daily life. The series was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Joan Darling, Jim Drake, Nessa Hyams, and Giovanna Nigro, and starred Louise Lasser, Greg Mullavey, Dody Goodman, Norman Alden, Mary Kay Place, Graham Jarvis, Debralee Scott, and Victor Kilian. The series writers were Gail Parent and Ann Marcus.
Dawnn Jewel Lewis is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom A Different World from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in 1992, in addition to co-writing the opening theme song for the series.
The Big Comfy Couch is a Canadian children's prop comedy television series which is about a clown named Loonette and her doll Molly who solve everyday problems on their eponymous couch. It aired from March 2, 1992, until December 29, 2006. It was produced by Cheryl Wagner and Robert Mills, directed by Wayne Moss, Robert Mills and Steve Wright. It premiered on March 2, 1992, in Canada and on January 9, 1995, in the United States on PBS stations across the country. The program was also broadcast on Treehouse TV from 1997 to 2011.
Zachary Levi Pugh is an American actor. He starred as Chuck Bartowski in the action comedy series Chuck (2007–2012), and as the titular character in the superhero film Shazam! (2019) and its sequel.
Bob Stutt is a Canadian puppeteer and writer, who has starred in various children's television programs throughout his career.
Noreen Isabel Young CM is a Canadian producer, puppeteer and puppet builder. She grew up in Old Ottawa South, Ontario, with her two younger brothers, John and Stephen Brathwaite, then studied drawing and painting at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto.
Readalong was an educational Canadian television program for young children, first produced in 1975 for TVOntario. A total of 90 episodes were produced, each about 10 minutes in length. The first set of 30 shows were produced in 1975 and 1976, and focused on simple word recognition. The next 30 were produced in 1977, and began to incorporate more sophisticated reading skills. The final 30 episodes were produced in 1979, and had segments that focused on reading full sentences. The show was seen throughout Canada on various provincial educational networks, and throughout the United States on various PBS affiliates. Episodes continued to air in some markets through the 1980s and into the early 1990s.
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine Rolling Stone. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in a special issue of the magazine, issue number 963, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2010, Rolling Stone published a revised edition, drawing on the original and a later survey of songs released up until the early 2000s.
The All-New Dennis the Menace is an animated series based on the comic strip by Hank Ketcham that aired from September 18 to December 11, 1993 on CBS.
Todrick Hall is an American singer, rapper, choreographer, and YouTuber. He gained national attention on the ninth season of the televised singing competition American Idol. Following this, he amassed a huge following on YouTube with viral videos including original songs, parodies, and skits. A documentary series about his video-making process titled Todrick aired on MTV in 2015.
Rydel Mary Lynch is an American singer and actress. She is one of the founding members of the pop rock band R5.
Jacob Collier is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music incorporates a combination of jazz and elements from other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reharmonisations and close harmony. He is known for his energetic live performances, in which he often conducts the audience to sing harmony or play percussion parts. Collier demonstrates his harmonic expertise in lectures and master classes, particularly with his detailed analyses of songs like Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke" and his own music.
Big City Greens is an American animated comedy adventure television series created by The Houghton Brothers that premiered on Disney Channel on June 18, 2018. The series features the voices of Chris Houghton, Marieve Herington, Bob Joles, Artemis Pebdani, Zeno Robinson, and Wendi McLendon-Covey.
Puppy Dog Pals is an American animated television series created by Harland Williams. The series debuted on Disney Junior in the United States on April 14, 2017.
The Ghost and Molly McGee is an American animated supernatural musical comedy television series created by Bill Motz and Bob Roth that aired on Disney Channel from October 1, 2021 to January 13, 2024. The series features the voices of Ashly Burch, Dana Snyder, Jordan Klepper, Sumalee Montano, Michaela Dietz, and Lara Jill Miller.
Anne Savisa Boonchuy is the main protagonist of the Disney Channel animated series Amphibia, created by Matt Braly. Voiced by actress Brenda Song, the character debuted in the pilot, "Anne or Beast?" and made her last appearance in the series finale, "The Hardest Thing". Anne is a Thai-American human girl who, on her 13th birthday, gets magically transported to Amphibia alongside her friends Sasha and Marcy after opening a mysterious music box known as the Calamity Box. Upon her arrival, an anthropomorphic family of frogs called the Plantars find her, and over time they form a bond. She is also discovered by the town of Wartwood, who reluctantly let her stay with them.