Zoboomafoo is a live-action/animated children's television series that originally aired on PBS from January 25, 1999, to November 21, 2001. It was formerly shown in public television (depending on the area) and was regularly shown on PBS Kids Sprout until 2012. A total of 65 episodes were aired. A creation of the Kratt Brothers (Chris and Martin), it features a four-(later five)-year-old talking lemur (aCoquerel's sifaka) named Zoboomafoo, performed by Canadian puppeteer Gord Robertson (who had also puppeteered on Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock), and mainly portrayed by a lemur named Jovian, along with a collection of returned animal guests.
| Zoboomafoo | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Comedy Educational Children's |
| Created by |
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| Starring |
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| Theme music composer |
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| Opening theme | "Me and You and Zoboomafoo" |
| Ending theme |
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| Composer | Pure West |
| Country of origin |
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| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 65 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Running time | 28 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | PBS Kids (U.S.) CBC Kids (Canada) |
| Release | January 25, 1999 (1999-01-25) – November 21, 2001 (2001-11-21) |
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 40 | January 25, 1999 (1999-01-25) | April 27, 2000 (2000-04-27) | |
| 2 | 25 | October 3, 2000 (2000-10-03) | November 21, 2001 (2001-11-21) | |
| No. overall | No.in season | Title [1] | Directed by [a] | Written by | Original air date [1] | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Nose Knows" | Daniel J. Murphy | Simon Muntner | January 25, 1999 (1999-01-25) | 101 |
| 2 | 2 | "Eye Spy" | Leo Eaton | Julie Strassman-Cohn | January 26, 1999 (1999-01-26) | 102 |
| 3 | 3 | "Dinosaurs" | Jesse Collins | Carol Commisso | January 27, 1999 (1999-01-27) | 103 |
| 4 | 4 | "Who's In the Hole" | Laurie Lynd | Chris Kratt | January 28, 1999 (1999-01-28) | 104 |
| 5 | 5 | "Happy Lemur Day" | Steve Wright | Martin Kratt | January 29, 1999 (1999-01-29) | 105 |
| 6 | 6 | "Swimming" | Tony Lefresne | Terry Saltsman | February 1, 1999 (1999-02-01) | 106 |
| 7 | 7 | "Slimy Buddies" | Jesse Collins | Terry Saltsman | February 2, 1999 (1999-02-02) | 107 |
| 8 | 8 | "Snow Day" | Jesse Collins | Martin Kratt | February 3, 1999 (1999-02-03) | 108 |
| 9 | 9 | "Night Time" | Jesse Collins | Carol Commisso | February 4, 1999 (1999-02-04) | 109 |
| 10 | 10 | "Climbing" | Tony Lefresne | Terry Saltsman | February 5, 1999 (1999-02-05) | 110 |
| 11 | 11 | "Fierce Creatures" | Leo Eaton | Anna Bourque | February 8, 1999 (1999-02-08) | 111 |
| 12 | 12 | "Homes" | Laurie Lynd | Julie Strassman-Cohn | February 9, 1999 (1999-02-09) | 112 |
| 13 | 13 | "Puppies" | Laurie Lynd | Martin Kratt | February 10, 1999 (1999-02-10) | 113 |
| 14 | 14 | "Tracks" | Leo Eaton | Carol Commisso | February 11, 1999 (1999-02-11) | 114 |
| 15 | 15 | "Fling" | Steve Wright | Martin Kratt | February 12, 1999 (1999-02-12) | 115 |
| 16 | 16 | "Itchy" | Leo Eaton | Brendan Smith | February 15, 1999 (1999-02-15) | 116 |
| 17 | 17 | "Ears Hear" | Daniel J. Murphy | Martin Kratt | February 16, 1999 (1999-02-16) | 117 |
| 18 | 18 | "Feeling Good" | Leo Eaton | Denise Fordham | February 17, 1999 (1999-02-17) | 118 |
| 19 | 19 | "Running" | Daniel J. Murphy | James Hurst | February 18, 1999 (1999-02-18) | 119 |
| 20 | 20 | "Animal Daycare" | Steve Wright | Anna Bourque | February 19, 1999 (1999-02-19) | 120 |
| 21 | 21 | "Giants" | Steve Wright | Chris Waters | February 22, 1999 (1999-02-22) | 121 |
| 22 | 22 | "Pets" | Steve Wright | Anna Bourque | June 21, 1999 (1999-06-21) | 122 |
| 23 | 23 | "Bears" | Chris Kratt | Chris Kratt | June 22, 1999 (1999-06-22) | 123 |
| 24 | 24 | "Lids" | Steve Wright | Anna Bourque | June 23, 1999 (1999-06-23) | 124 |
| 25 | 25 | "Great Singers" | Tony Lefresne | Carol Commisso | June 24, 1999 (1999-06-24) | 125 |
| 26 | 26 | "Playtime" | Martin Kratt | Anna Bourque | June 25, 1999 (1999-06-25) | 126 |
| 27 | 27 | "Fast and Slow" | Daniel J. Murphy | Chris Kratt | June 28, 1999 (1999-06-28) | 127 |
| 28 | 28 | "Horses" | Jesse Collins | Jill Golick | June 29, 1999 (1999-06-29) | 128 |
| 29 | 29 | "Bathtime" | Jesse Collins | Martin Kratt | June 30, 1999 (1999-06-30) | 129 |
| 30 | 30 | "Jumpers" | Jesse Collins | Chris Kratt | July 1, 1999 (1999-07-01) | 130 |
| 31 | 31 | "Funny Faces" | Leo Eaton | Steve Westren | July 2, 1999 (1999-07-02) | 131 |
| 32 | 32 | "Spots & Stripes" | Leo Eaton | Kim Harris | September 6, 1999 (1999-09-06) | 132 |
| 33 | 33 | "Sand Creatures" | Jesse Collins | Terry Saltsman | September 7, 1999 (1999-09-07) | 133 |
| 34 | 34 | "Water Creatures" | Jesse Collins | Dan Redican | September 8, 1999 (1999-09-08) | 134 |
| 35 | 35 | "Who's in the Egg?" | Daniel J. Murphy | Jennifer McAuley-Biasi | September 9, 1999 (1999-09-09) | 135 |
| 36 | 36 | "Hail to Tails" | Steve Wright | Jill Golick | September 10, 1999 (1999-09-10) | 136 |
| 37 | 37 | "Cats" | Jesse Collins | Steve Westren | April 24, 2000 (2000-04-24) | 137 |
| 38 | 38 | "The Four F's" | Jesse Collins | Julie Strassman-Cohn | April 25, 2000 (2000-04-25) | 138 |
| 39 | 39 | "Stinky" | Leo Eaton | Penny Gay | April 26, 2000 (2000-04-26) | 139 |
| 40 | 40 | "Bzzz" | Jesse Collins | James Hurst | April 27, 2000 (2000-04-27) | 140 |
| No. overall | No.in season | Title [1] | Directed by [a] | Written by | Original air date [1] | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 1 | "Green Creatures" | Jacques Laberge | Chris Kratt | October 3, 2000 (2000-10-03) | 201 |
| 42 | 2 | "Brain Power" | Jacques Laberge | Anna Bourque | October 10, 2000 (2000-10-10) | 202 |
| 43 | 3 | "Bovine" | Pierre Roy | Anna Bourque | October 17, 2000 (2000-10-17) | 203 |
| 44 | 4 | "Snakebellies" | Jacques Laberge | Martin Kratt | October 24, 2000 (2000-10-24) | 204 |
| 45 | 5 | "Humans" | Jesse Collins | Edith Rey | October 31, 2000 (2000-10-31) | 205 |
| 46 | 6 | "Super Lemur" | Pierre Roy | Chris Kratt | November 7, 2000 (2000-11-07) | 206 |
| 47 | 7 | "Pop Goes The Tiger" | Pierre Roy | Martin Kratt | November 14, 2000 (2000-11-14) | 207 |
| 48 | 8 | "Powerhouse" | Pierre Roy | Anna Bourque | November 21, 2000 (2000-11-21) | 208 |
| 49 | 9 | "Talk To Me" | Jacques Laberge | Martin Kratt | November 28, 2000 (2000-11-28) | 209 |
| 50 | 10 | "Flying Buddies" | Pierre Roy | Edith Rey | February 6, 2001 (2001-02-06) | 210 |
| 51 | 11 | "Creature Neighbors" | Pierre Roy | Chris Kratt | February 13, 2001 (2001-02-13) | 211 |
| 52 | 12 | "Buddies" | Pierre Roy | Anna Bourque | February 20, 2001 (2001-02-20) | 212 |
| 53 | 13 | "Can You Feel It?" | Martin Kratt | Martin Kratt | February 27, 2001 (2001-02-27) | 213 |
| 54 | 14 | "Fearfest" | Pierre Roy | Martin Kratt | March 6, 2001 (2001-03-06) | 214 |
| 55 | 15 | "Super Claw" | Jacques Laberge | Edith Rey | March 13, 2001 (2001-03-13) | 215 |
| 56 | 16 | "Grow, Zoboo Grow" | Pierre Roy & Jesse Collins | Chris Kratt | March 20, 2001 (2001-03-20) | 216 |
| 57 | 17 | "Don't Fence Me In" | Pierre Roy & Jacques Laberge | Anna Bourque | March 27, 2001 (2001-03-27) | 217 |
| 58 | 18 | "Families" | Pierre Roy & Jesse Collins | Chris Kratt | November 12, 2001 (2001-11-12) | 218 |
| 59 | 19 | "H2O" | Jesse Collins & Jacques Laberge | Mike Erskine-Kellie & John Erskine Kellie | November 13, 2001 (2001-11-13) | 219 |
| 60 | 20 | "Crocodilian" | Jacques Laberge | Anna Bourque | November 14, 2001 (2001-11-14) | 220 |
| 61 | 21 | "Hot and Cold" | Pierre Roy | Anna Bourque | November 15, 2001 (2001-11-15) | 221 |
| 62 | 22 | "Armour" | Pierre Roy & Jesse Collins | Edith Rey | November 16, 2001 (2001-11-16) | 222 |
| 63 | 23 | "Ants and Eaters" | Chris Kratt | Chris Kratt | November 19, 2001 (2001-11-19) | 223 |
| 64 | 24 | "World Of Legs" | Pierre Roy | Martin Kratt | November 20, 2001 (2001-11-20) | 224 |
| 65 | 25 | "Messy And Clean" | Pierre Roy | Edith Rey | November 21, 2001 (2001-11-21) | 225 |
Zoboomafoo was produced by PBS Kids, CINAR Corporation (now folded into WildBrain), and the Kratt brothers' Earth Creatures company.[2][3] Paragon Entertainment Corporation, who previously worked on Kratts' Creatures, was slated to be involved with Zoboomafoo before being replaced by CINAR.[4]
Partial filming for the series took place on location at the Duke Lemur CenterinDurham, North Carolina.[5] The claymation segments were filmed at a studio in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. Although the last new episode aired on PBS Kids in November 2001, most PBS stations continued to rerun Zoboomafoo episodes in syndication through 2009. Select stations aired reruns as late as 2017. In addition, Sprout aired reruns until February 2012.[citation needed] The show was broadcast in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Middle East, and India.
After production on the series ended, in 2003, the Kratt Brothers began another series titled Be the Creature on the National Geographic Channel. In 2011, they created the animated series Wild Kratts, which currently airs on PBS Kids and TVOntario.
Jovian (a captive Coquerel's sifaka housed at the Duke Lemur Center) portrayed Zoboomafoo in the live-action segments (with his parents Nigel and Flavia sometimes serving as stand-ins). On November 10, 2014, he died of kidney failure in his home at the age of 20.[6]
Zoboomafoo received the 2001 Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series[7] and a Parents' Choice Award for Spring 2001 and Silver Honor for Fall 2001.[8][9]
There are also several video games for the PC based on Zoboomafoo, where children learn the alphabet and animals that correlate to each letter. Some of the letters have interactive games to go with them, such as a coloring page.[10]
Television
