Curious Buddies

| network Nick Jr. Curious Buddies is a series of direct-to-video specials narrated by Cathy Richardson.[1] It was produced by Spiffy Pictures for Nickelodeon. The series was released across seven videos from August 31, 2004, to April 12, 2005.

Curious Buddies
GenreEarly childhood series
Created by
Written by
Directed byDavid Rudman
Narrated byCathy Richardson
Theme music composerThird Wave Productions
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes9
Production
Executive producersDavid Rudman
Todd Hannert
Adam Rudman
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesSpiffy Pictures
Nick Jr. Baby
DistributorNickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products
Release
Original releaseAugust 31, 2004 (2004-08-31) –
April 12, 2005 (2005-04-12)
Chronology
Related showsJack's Big Music Show

The series is aimed at babies and toddlers, and it was launched as a competitor to the Baby Einstein line.[2][3] Every video was written with the supervision of developmental psychologist Rachel Barr, and the DVDs feature a voiceover from Barr.[4] The main characters are five animal puppets that were built by Rollie Krewson (known for her work with the Muppets).

One of the DVDs, "Helping at Home", was the recipient of a Spring 2005 Parents' Choice Award.[5]

Characters
  • Bear, a purple bear puppet who finds loud roars amusing.
  • Pig, an orange pig puppet and Bear's best friend.
  • Dog, a green dog puppet.
  • Cat, a pink cat puppet and Dog's best friend who moves slowly and carefully.
  • Elephant, a blue elephant puppet, who makes a real trumpet sound instead of an ordinary elephant sound.

Summary

Dog, Cat, Bear, Pig and Elephant are the Curious Buddies, a group of animal puppets who have fun exploring the world around them. Every episode features real-life kids helping the puppets and original music clips.

According to a New York Post article, Curious Buddies was designed as an alternative to the successful Baby Einstein series. To differentiate itself, Curious Buddies features a pop song soundtrack (instead of the classical music found in Baby Einstein) and videos of real-life situations rather than indoor close-ups of toys.[2]

Episodes

Nine episodes were made.

No.TitleOriginal release date
1"Look and Listen at the Park"August 31, 2004 (2004-08-31)
The Curious Buddies go to the park, where they play peek-a-boo, bounce a ball and smell flowers.
2"Exploring at the Beach"August 31, 2004 (2004-08-31)
The Curious Buddies go to the beach, where they listen to the waves and discover sea creatures while playing in the sand.
3"Helping at Home"August 31, 2004 (2004-08-31)
The Curious Buddies help a family with chores.
4"Let's Go to the Farm!"April 12, 2005 (2005-04-12)
The Curious Buddies visit a farm, where they go on a hay ride and meet the different animals.
5"Let's Build!"April 12, 2005 (2005-04-12)
The Curious Buddies watch construction vehicles in action and build their own buildings out of blocks.
6"Let's Move!"April 12, 2005 (2005-04-12)
The Curious Buddies discover different forms of music and dance.
7"Let's Make Music!"April 12, 2005 (2005-04-12)
The Curious Buddies experiment with different instruments and discover how to make music.
8"I Can Do It!"N/A
This episode did not get a DVD release, but it was listed on the Spiffy Pictures website.[6]
9"It's Story Time!"N/A
This episode did not get a DVD release, but it was listed on the Spiffy Pictures website.[6]

References
  1. Rathbun, Andy (August 19, 2005). "Curious Buddies: How did a Chicago pub rocker get involved with kids' videos?". Chicago Tribune.
  2. Gould, Jennifer (August 27, 2004). "Kids' video wars rattle industry". New York Post.
  3. "Nickelodeon Grows Beyond TV-Based Products". Los Angeles Times. October 12, 2004.
  4. "A teacher in the living room? Educational media for babies, toddlers and preschoolers" (PDF). Kaiser Family Foundation. December 2005.
  5. "Nick Jr. Baby Curious Buddies". Parents' Choice Foundation. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  6. "Curious Buddies - SpiffyPictures.com". Archived from the original on 2006-12-05.
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