Oswald | |
---|---|
Genre |
Animation Preschool education Children's animation |
Created by | Dan Yaccarino |
Developed by | Lisa Eve Huberman Dan Yaccarino |
Directed by | Debbie Bonzon Henry Lenardin-Madden |
Voices of |
Fred Savage Debi Derryberry David Lander Crystal Scales Laraine Newman Daran Norris J. Grant Albrecht Mel Winkler Dan Yaccarino |
Country of origin | United States United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 [1] [2] [3] |
No. of episodes | 26 (52 segments) [3] |
Production | |
Producer | Dan Yaccarino |
Running time | 22–24 minutes |
Production companies |
HIT Entertainment Nickelodeon Animation Studio (credited as Nick Jr. Productions) |
Original release | |
Network | Nickelodeon |
Release | 20 August 2001 19 September 2003 | –
Oswald is a preschool educational children's animated television series created by Dan Yaccarino and developed by Lisa Eve Huberman. The show was co-produced by HIT Entertainment and Nickelodeon. [4] [5] The main character is a thoughtful blue octopus named Oswald who lives in an apartment complex.
Overall 26 episodes were produced. In the United States, the series premiered on Nickelodeon (as part of its Nick Jr. block) on 20 August 2001. [6] Reruns were also broadcast on CBS (during the Nick Jr. on CBS block) and on Noggin. [7] When the Noggin brand was relaunched as a streaming service in 2015, all 26 episodes of Oswald were made available for streaming. [8]
Prior to release, Brown Johnson, senior vice president of Nick Jr. had this to say, "Dan Yaccarino has created an octopus who could be a pre-schooler's best friend". [4]
The series is set in Big City, a colorful world populated by anthropomorphic animals, mythological creatures and humanoid beings. Each episode follows the daily experiences of an anthropomorphic blue octopus named Oswald (voiced by Fred Savage), accompanied by his beloved hot dog-shaped dog, Weenie, and their life in the cheerful and whimsically-designed community of Big City. Commonly, the program concentrates on Oswald's experiences with friends, acquaintances and neighbors, including Henry, a penguin, and Daisy, a flower, among others and his patient methods of coping with or tolerating different situations and dilemmas, along with his thoroughly optimistic outlook on life.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboard by | Original air date [3] | |
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1 | "Chasing the Ice-Cream Truck" "The Camping Trip" | Nelson Recinos Henry Lenardin-Madden | Annie Evans Suzanne Collins | Jim Schumann Kelly James | 20 August 2001 | |
Oswald and Weenie chase after an ice cream truck. / Oswald, Weenie, Henry and Daisy go camping in the park but it begins to rain, so they rush back to Oswald's apartment and camp there instead. | ||||||
2 | "The Polka Dot Umbrella" "One More Marshmallow" | Nelson Recinos George Chialtas and Henry Madden | Gary Apple | Diane Kredensor Mike J. Smith | 21 August 2001 | |
Oswald finds a polka dot umbrella and though he tries many times to get rid of it, it keeps finding him. But in the end, it really comes in handy. / Oswald hosts a tea party for Henry and Daisy but when Weenie eats one of the marshmallows for Henry's hot cocoa, Oswald goes to the candy store and encounters many adventures in trying to make his way back to the tea party. | ||||||
3 | "Daisy Plays an Instrument" "The Ball of Yarn" | George Chialtas Henry Lenardin-Madden | Annie Evans J-P Chanda | Jim Schumann Mike Smith | 22 August 2001 | |
After listening to Oswald play his piano, Daisy wishes she could play an instrument, so Oswald takes her to the music store where she tries out different instruments. / A ball of red yarn is Weenie's favorite toy. When it begins to bounce, Oswald accidentally grabs a string of the yarn, making it unravel out of his apartment all the way out through the city. Oswald and Weenie chase after it as it entangles several of their friends along the way. | ||||||
4 | "Down in the Dump" "The Birdhouse" | Henry Lenardin-Madden Christine Kolosov | Gary Apple Suzanne Collins | Kelly James Jim Schumann | 23 August 2001 | |
Oswald cleans his apartment, but it did not turn out good. So Oswald decided to put the things he no longer needs in a wagon to take to the dump, but several Big City citizens find uses for them. / Oswald builds a birdhouse, added some color, and some flowers. But a rain advisory washed away the color, flowers, and bells making the birdhouse look plain, in which the birds like. | ||||||
5 | "Henry Needs a Haircut" "Flippy the Fish" | Henry Lenardin-Madden Nelson Recinos and Ken Kessel |
Fred Stroppel Annie Evans | Mike Smith Karen Heathwood | 24 August 2001 | |
Henry has a feather sticking out on top of his head, but his feather will not stay down and is scared to go to the barber because he keeps thinking the barber is too scary. / Oswald buys a pet fish that he names Flippy because of the flip that she does, jumping out of her bowl and splashing back in it. Unfortunately, Flippy keeps overeating and growing bigger and bigger. So Oswald and Weenie take her to the Big City public aquarium, where she becomes a big star at the seal show. | ||||||
6 | "Rollerskating" "I Guess You Never Know" | Henry Madden |
Frederick Stroppel Gary Apple | Kelly James Mike Smith | 27 August 2001 | |
Oswald learns to roller skate. / It is Henry's birthday, and Oswald tries to teach Henry to try new things on this special day. | ||||||
7 | "Sleepover" "Big Banana" | Henry Madden Nelson Recinos | Jeff Kindley Dan Yaccarino | Diane Kredensor | 28 August 2001 | |
Oswald and Weenie have a sleepover at Henry's apartment, and it's Weenie's very first sleepover ever. / Oswald plants a banana seed, and the next morning, finds that it has grown into a colossal banana overnight. It is so big that he decides to have a Big Banana Day and share it with everyone, resulting in a new holiday with a festival in the park. | ||||||
8 | "Leaky Faucet" "Catrina's Birthday Cake" | George Chialtas Nelson Recinos | Rick Groel Annie Evans | Jim Schumann Diane Kredensor | 29 August 2001 | |
Oswald's kitchen sink has sprung a leak causing Big City to flood and he and Weenie to get separated. / Oswald bakes a huge birthday cake for Catrina's birthday party. | ||||||
9 | "Cloud Collecting" "Pongo the Friendly Dragon" | George Chialtas Henry Lenardin-Madden | Dan Yaccarino Fredrick Stroppel | Diane Kredensor Jim Schumann | 10 September 2001 | |
Daisy collects leaves and Henry collects spoons, so Oswald wants to collect something too, so he tries to collect clouds. / Oswald meets a friendly dragon named Pongo, who wants to help, but only makes things worse. | ||||||
10 | "A Nice Quiet Picnic" "The Big Parade" | Ken Kessel | Suzanne Collins Kate Long | Kelly James Mike Smith | 17 September 2001 | |
Oswald, Henry, and Weenie set out to have a picnic and are soon joined by many of their friends. / Oswald hears parade music and thinks that a big parade is headed his way, so he convinces Henry and Daisy to go with him to watch the parade. | ||||||
11 | "The Go-Kart Race" "Autumn Leaves" | Henry Lenardin-Madden Ken Kessel | Annie Evans Frederick Stroppel | Karen Heathwood Diane Kredensor | 24 September 2001 | |
Oswald and his friends compete in a go-kart race. / Henry tries to rake the leaves, but Oswald and Weenie keeps jumping on them which made him frustrated. | ||||||
12 | "A Day at the Beach" "The Sand Sculpture Contest" | Henry Lenardin-Madden | Frederick Stroppel Geoff Stevenson | Karen Heathwood Kelly James | 15 February 2002 | |
Oswald and the gang go to the beach, but Henry does not like swimming, but when Daisy gets stranded on an island, it's Henry to the rescue! / Oswald is the judge of the Annual Big City Beach Sand Sculpture Contest. | ||||||
13 | "Fixing the Piano" "Henry Wants to Fly" | Ken Kessel Henry Lenardin-Madden | Justin Chanda Fredrick Stroppel | Jim Schumann Kelly James | 8 March 2002 | |
Oswald's piano is broken, and he takes it to Maestro Bingo to get it fixed. / Henry believes that he can fly. | ||||||
14 | "Daisy and the Duckling" "The Double Date" | Henry Lenardin-Madden Ken Kessel | Alana Burgi Sanko Susan Kim | Mike Smith Karen Heathwood | 15 March 2002 | |
Oswald and Daisy find a duckling who has lost her mother. / Oswald schedules two events at the same time. | ||||||
15 | "The Sniffles" "The Broken Vase" | Henry Lenardin-Madden Ken Kessel | Justin Chanda Suzanne Collins | Diane Kredensor Kelly James | 21 March 2002 | |
Oswald goes out into Big City to get some cocoa and a newspaper for Henry, who has a bad case of the Arctic Sniffles. But a rain cloud chases Oswald and Weenie until a rainstorm makes Oswald catch a cold. / Daisy accidentally breaks Henry's special vase. Oswald, Weenie and Daisy try to fix it in time before Henry gets back from his fly catching trip. | ||||||
16 | "The Big Balloon Rescue" "Snow to Go" | Robert Shellhorn Christine Kolosov | Susan Kim | Mike Smith Jim Schumann | 22 July 2002 | |
Catrina flies away on a balloon and Oswald must save the day. / During a heat wave, Oswald, Weenie, Henry and Daisy go on a trip to find the sweetest snow. | ||||||
17 | "Odd One Out" "Goodbye Best Friend" | Henry Lenardin-Madden | Dan Yaccarino | Mike Smith Jim Schumann | 16 September 2002 | |
Oswald is excited to meet Henry's cousin, Louie. But the two penguins have a great time all by themselves. Oswald feels left out, but once Henry and Louie catch up on old times, they seek Oswald out. / After Henry decides to move back to the frozen north with his cousin, the others prepare a going away party for him. In the end, Henry decides to stay in Big City after saving them from being blown away. | ||||||
18 | "The Tomato Garden" "Bird Watching" | Ken Kessel and Robert Shellhorn Henry Lenardin-Madden | Alana Burghi Sanko Kate Long | Karen Heathwood Kelly James | 17 September 2002 | |
Oswald eats his last tomato for breakfast, he decides to get more by planting tomatoes in the garden, Oswald was surprised and upset when he saw one of the tomatoes have been half eaten, he discovered the tomatoes were eaten by an entire group of snails but ends up making a restaurant for the snails. / Oswald finds a giant bird. | ||||||
19 | "Friends Indeed" "Perfect Match" | Henry Lenardin-Madden Robert Shellhorn | Suzanne Collins Dan Yaccarino | Mike Smith Jim Schumann | 23 September 2002 | |
Oswald finds himself stuck in the middle of a feud between Henry and Daisy. / Pongo wants to become friends with Laverne the elephant. | ||||||
20 | "The Pet Show" "Going Fishing" | Robert Shellhorn Henry Lenardin-Madden | Annie Evans | Diane Kredensor Mike Smith | 24 September 2002 | |
It's the grand pet show, but Weenie is behaving peculiarly of Steve's woodpecker Woodrow pecking down the tent. / Oswald, Weenie, Henry and Daisy go fishing but Henry whom is not catching a fish. | ||||||
21 | "The Naughty Cat" "The Giant Egg" | Robert Shellhorn Debbie Bonzon | Suzanne Collins Geoff Stevenson | Karen Heathwood Diane Kredensor | 25 September 2002 | |
Oswald pet-sits for Roderick Robot's pet cat, Tinsel but Tinsel runs away and make things worse and makes Oswald frustrated. / Oswald tries to find an egg's owner. | ||||||
22 | "A Sticky Situation" "Tutti-Frutti Pie" | Robert Shellhorn Henry Lenardin-Madden | Susan Kim Suzanne Collins | Kelly James Jim Schumann | 26 September 2002 | |
Oswald and Daisy make honey buns, but Daisy adds too much sticky honey, and they get stuck to each other, along with other friends and eventually it starts to rain and the friends got unstuck. / Oswald takes Catrina to pluck some tutti frutti berries, but only causing problems. | ||||||
23 | "Job for a Day" "Sammy Starfish Live" | Robert Shellhorn Debbie Bonzon | Alana Burghi Sanko Frederick Stroppel | Mike Smith Diane Kredensor | 27 September 2002 | |
Johnny is sick, so Oswald and Weenie go to make a special ice cream delivery. / Tickets are sold out for Sammy Starfish's concert and Oswald must find a way to see the show. | ||||||
24 | "Catrina's First Snow" "The Snow Festival" | Nelson Recinos Christine Kolosov | JP Chanda Susan Kim | Diane Kredensor Karen Heathwood | 17 September 2003 | |
Oswald babysits Catrina on a snowy day. / Oswald hopes for snow to fall on the day of Big City's snow festival. | ||||||
25 | "The Biggest Wish" "The Stopped Clock" | Henry Lenardin-Madden |
S : Jason Edward, T : Frederick Stroppel Frederick Stroppel | Diane Kredensor Karen Heathwood | 18 September 2003 | |
Oswald finds a firefly. / The clock in the Big City's bells somehow was not working and Big City was still asleep, it was up to Oswald, Weenie, Henry and Daisy to figure out what was causing this stroking catastrophe to make the clock work again to wake up Big City. | ||||||
26 | "Weenie Needs a Bath" "Hide and Seek" | Henry Lenardin-Madden Robert Shellhorn | Suzanne Collins Alana Burghi Sanko | Diane Kredensor Kelly James | 19 September 2003 | |
Weenie gets dirty before having her picture taken. / Weenie disappears during a game of hide and seek. |
In the United States, Oswald first aired on the Nick Jr. television block on Nickelodeon on 20 August 2001. [3] It was removed from the lineup on 24 May 2005. On 7 April 2003, Oswald started airing on Noggin [9] during its daytime preschool block. Reruns also aired on the 24-hour Nick Jr. Channel upon its launch in 2009, but they were removed on 11 December 2014. [10] The show aired briefly on Nick on CBS for one year from 15 September 2001, to 7 September 2002. [11]
When the Noggin brand was relaunched as a streaming service in 2015, all 26 episodes of Oswald were made available for streaming. [8] The series was added to Paramount+ (at the time CBS All Access) in January 2021. [12]
Paramount Home Entertainment is the VHS and DVD distributor for the series in the United States while HIT Entertainment is the VHS and DVD distributor for the series in Canada.[ citation needed]
Release Date | Name | Number of Episodes | Episode Titles |
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2 September 2003 [13] | Best Buddies | 4 |
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Outdoors with Oswald | 4 |
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Welcome to Big City! | 8 |
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27 January 2004 | On-the-Go Oswald | 8 |
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Release Date | Name | Number of Episodes | Episode Titles |
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24 May 2005 | Nick Jr. Favorites Vol. 1 | 2 |
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26 September 2006 | Nick Jr. Favorites Holiday | 2 |
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The series received four out of five stars on Common Sense Media. [14]