LaShawn Tináh Jefferies
| The Backyardigans | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Also known as | Backyardigans |
| Genre |
Adventure Musical Children |
| Created by | Janice Burgess |
| Directed by | Bill Giggie (Season 1) Mike Shiell (Season 1–2) Dave Palmer (Season 3–4) |
| Voices of |
LaShawn Tináh Jefferies Jake Goldberg Christopher Grant, Jr. Gianna Bruzzese Jonah Bobo |
| Composer(s) |
Evan Lurie (score/songs: music) Douglas Wieselman (songs: music) Paul Smith (songs: lyrics) |
| Country of origin | United States Canada |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 80 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Janice Burgess Robert Scull |
| Running time | 21–23 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Nickelodeon Productions Nelvana Guru Studios (S2–4) Pipeline Studios (S3–4) |
| Distributor |
Nelvana International FremantleMedia (uncredited) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nickelodeon (US and CA) Treehouse TV (Canada) |
| Picture format |
4:3 480p (Season 1–Season 3) 16:9 1080p (Season 3, episode 11–Season 4) |
| Original release | October 11, 2004 – May 31, 2010 |
The Backyardigans is a Canadian–American CGI-animated musical TV series created by Janice Burgess. It is a co-production of animation studio Nelvana and Nickelodeon Animation Studios. The series debuted on October 11, 2004 and ended on May 31, 2010; reruns of The Backyardigans continued to air on the Nickelodeon family of channels in the United States until 2015. The show airs on Treehouse TV in Canada. In 2015, the first season was included as part of Nickelodeon's Noggin app, a mobile application featuring episodes of older Nick Jr. programs.
The series was based upon a live-action pilot produced in 1998 titled Me and My Friends.
The series follows a ritualistic pattern and centers around an assortment of neighboring playmates depicted as bipedal, anthropomorphic animals: Uniqua, Pablo, Tyrone, Austin, and Tasha. Designed to encourage imaginative play, the characters communicate with the viewers by constantly breaking the fourth-wall, albeit the series rests particular focus on the role-playing games in which the friends participate varying with each episode, and said games are visualized through dream sequences lasting for a majority of the episode and serving as the primary focus of that certain episode. Usually, the group will visualize a unique scenario, ranging from prehistoric times to adventurous fantasies, and they are often presented with multiple dilemmas along the way to accomplishing a certain goal or priority, or may be challenged with a major single obstacle to defeat or problem to solve. The program also follows a musical format, featuring multiple musical numbers sung throughout the course of an episode regarding whatever imaginary predicament in which the characters have situated themselves or perhaps a challenge that they have met, every episode opening and concluding with a particular song. When the Backyardigans have achieved their mission or defeated any disadvantages, the fantasy sequence fades, restoring actuality to the setting of the episodes as the closing song is sung, the characters scurrying to their houses for a snack. The main character or characters then opens the snack host's house door, fence, or around the corner, and shouts the main catchphrase for the final time and then closes the door. The picture then is lifeless with some background bird noises often heard as iris closes, ending the episode.
Each of the five characters on the show have two voice actors: one for speaking, and the other for singing.
The dancing on the show is first performed by live-action dancers, and their movements are later transported to animation. Choreographer, Beth Bogush, describes the process: "What we do is we film the live footage in the studio, send that off and they do a Leica, and then they send it to the animators. The animators watch, and were pretty precise. What we film for that day is pretty close to what you see in the character."
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