LazyTown | |
---|---|
Genre |
Children's Musical comedy Puppetry Live action CGI |
Created by | Magnús Scheving |
Based on |
Áfram Latibær! by Magnús Scheving |
Starring |
Julianna Rose Mauriello Chloe Lang Magnús Scheving Stefán Karl Stefánsson Guðmundur Þór Kárason Sarah Burgess Kobie Powell Jodi Eichelberger David Matthew Feldman Julie Westwood |
Opening theme | "Welcome to LazyTown", performed by Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson |
Ending theme | "Bing Bang" |
Composer(s) | Máni Svavarsson |
Country of origin | Iceland |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 107 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
Magnús Scheving Ragnheiður Melsteð Raymond P. Le Gué Mark Read Brown Johnson Kay Wilson Stallings |
Running time | 24 minutes |
Production company(s) | LazyTown Entertainment |
Distributor |
Viacom International (international) Turner Broadcasting System (Europe) |
Release | |
Original network |
Nickelodeon (international) RÚV, Stöð 2 (Iceland) |
Picture format | HDTV |
Original release | 15 August 2004 | – 13 October 2014
Chronology | |
Followed by | LazyTown Extra |
External links | |
Website |
LazyTown is an Icelandic educational musical comedy program with a cast and crew from Iceland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It is based upon a children's book from 1991 titled Áfram Latibær! and was created by Magnús Scheving, a gymnastics champion who also plays the character Sportacus. The series was commissioned by Nickelodeon in 2003, following the production of two stage plays and a test pilot. Originally performed in American English, the show has been dubbed into more than thirty languages (including Icelandic) and aired in over 180 countries.
53 episodes were produced from 2004 to 2007, for the first and second seasons. It originally aired on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block in the United States and internationally. Turner Broadcasting System Europe acquired LazyTown Entertainment in 2011 and commissioned third and fourth seasons for a total of 28 new episodes, which premiered in 2013 on Turner's Cartoonito and later on Viacom's Channel 5.
Multiple spin-off projects were created, including stage productions and a short-format television program for younger children titled LazyTown Extra.
The series focuses on eight-year-old Stephanie, the newest resident of the LazyTown community. She has moved to LazyTown to live with her uncle, Mayor Meanswell, and is surprised to learn that all of her neighbors lead inactive lifestyles. With the help of an above-average superhero named Sportacus, she helps teach the other residents how to partake in more athletic pastimes. Her attempts are often nearly thwarted by Robbie Rotten, who prefers to lead a sluggish life and is agitated by the sudden boom of physical activity. On a regular basis, Robbie devises ill-judged schemes to make LazyTown lazy once again. However, his plans are never foolproof and always end with him losing.
Each of the children that Stephanie befriends embodies negative characteristics. Ziggy, who is kindhearted and wants to be a superhero when he grows up, has an unbalanced diet void of fruits and vegetables. Trixie is a troublemaker with little respect for rules and other people. Pixel is an inventor who displays anti-social behavior and spends too much time on his computer. Stingy has a self-centered attitude and is possessive of nearly everything in town. As the series progresses, the characters become less lazy in favor of a healthier way of living.