Oswald (TV series)

Oswald
Format	Children's television series, Animated television series
Created by	Dan Yaccarino
Developed by	Lisa Eve Hubman Dan Yaccarino
Directed by	Fredrick Stroppell Debra "Debbie" Bronzon Henry Lenardin-Madden
Starring	Fred Savage Debi Derryberry David Lander Crystal Scales Gianna Bruzesse
Country of origin	United States United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	24 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Dan Yaccarino
Producer(s)	HiT Entertainment
Running time	22-24 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Nick Jr.
Original run	August 20, 2001 (2001-08-20) – 2004

Oswald is an American children's cartoon series on Nick Jr. about a blue octopus and his friends, that first aired August 20, 2001 and officially ended in early 2004. The show was created by Dan Yaccarino and was co-produced by HiT Entertainment. It was also shown on Noggin in reruns. The show aired on Nick Jr. on CBS on September 22, 2001, to September 7, 2002. It currently airs on Nick Jr.. In addition, the Indian channel Zee TV currently airs a Hindi dubbed version.

Show summary

Oswald and his friends live in Big City, a fantasy New York City-like city where many of the buildings and vehicles are shaped like everyday objects.

Characters

Main characters

• Oswald (voiced by Fred Savage) - Oswald is a large blue octopus (four arms, four legs) who lives in an apartment complex with Henry the Penguin and several other animals including a turtle named Buster. A very gentle, polite and big-hearted octopus, Oswald is always willing to go out of his way to help his friends. His favorite hobby is playing the piano and singing (usually to comfort himself or to encourage a friend). He sometimes says "Oh, my gosh!". Oswald always wears a life preserver when he is around water and loves Swizzleberry Swirl ice cream. 

• Weenie (voiced by Debi Derryberry) - Weenie (sometimes referred to by Oswald as "Weenie-girl" or just "girl") is Oswald's pet; a "wiener-dog", very similar to a Dachshund.  Weenie bears a strong resemblance to a hot dog and only communicates in "bark-speak" (similar to Blue in Blue's Clues). Weenie accompanies Oswald everywhere he goes, and her favorite food is vanilla dog biscuits.

• Henry the Penguin (voiced by David Lander) - Oswald's downstairs neighbor and best friend. A persnickety penguin, Henry is a creature of habit in every way and usually shuns the idea of trying different things, though he can sometimes be persuaded otherwise. He does his best to maintain a rigid schedule, which includes taking care of his extensive spoon collection, ending every evening watching "Penguin Patrol", his favorite TV show, and doing the Penguin Polka before bedtime. Most of Henry's favorite foods are fish-flavored and he is a proven expert on snow. He has an identical cousin from the North named Louie (voiced by Michael McKean), and on occasion speaks of an Aunt Arctica. His motto is "slow and steady".   He always takes two (used to be three) marshmallows in his hot cocoa, saying "No more, no less".  He is also hates getting wet.

• Daisy (voiced by Crystal Scales) - Daisy is a tall orange/yellow/green daisy. Free-spirited and energetic, Daisy participates in sports and other activities. She is a close friend of both Oswald and Henry; the three of them often go on sojourns together. Daisy loves sunflower sundaes, riding her unicycle , has large leaf collection and loves peppermint tea. Daisy is very excitable and often has to be hushed by Oswald when she speaks too loudly.  She also has an Aunt Marigold and her pet expression is "Golly Tamale!".

Recurring characters

• Johnny Snowman (voiced by Mel Winkler) - Johnny is a laid-back snowman who operates an ice cream shop and also has an ice cream truck. Johnny wears a black hat, sports a carrot nose, and has a deep baritone voice. Johnny Snowman has a brother in the Frozen North named Phil.

• The Egg Twins - They are two identical twin eggs, named Egbert (voiced by Daran Norris) and Leo (voiced by J. Grant Albrecht). Leo always responds in conversations with an enthusiastic "Yes, yes!" while Egbert refers to everyone as "old boy".

• Catrina (voiced by Debi Derryberry) - Catrina is a baby caterpillar that is just learning how to speak. She is the only child of Madame Butterfly. Like other babies, Catrina is highly curious about everything around her, but is always surrounded by her mom or others to keep her curiosity in check.

• Madame Butterfly (voiced by Laraine Newman) - Madame Butterfly is the mother of Catrina and the owner and proprieter of the local diner, a favorite lunch stop for Oswald and his friends.

Minor characters

• Pongo (voiced by Richard Kind) - Pongo is a large yellow and red dragon with a long, thin, green mustache and is quite similar to the dragons in Chinese culture and folklore. He lives in a Chinese-style home in Big City. In sharp contrast to his otherwise intimidating size, Pongo is very shy and soft-spoken, and known for his occasional clumsiness.  He frequently sighs when sad and says "Oh drat!"  

• Buster (not voiced) - A very slow moving turtle living in the same apartment building as Oswald. He appears in several episodes.

• Cactus Polly (voiced by Laraine Newman) - Polly is a helpful cactus lady who carries a lasso and talks like a cowboy from the wild west.

• Sammy Starfish (voiced by Tony Orlando) - Oswald's musical idol, Sammy is a jazz singer. Oswald's dream is to play piano for Sammy Starfish, which becomes a reality when Sammy's show comes to Big City and the tickets are all sold out.

• Steve Tree (voiced by Fred Stoller) - Steve is a walking, talking tree. Sometimes his pet Woodrow the woodpecker pecks on him, usually on his head.

• Andy Pumpkin (voiced by Eddie Deezen) - Steve Tree's loopy best friend. He is a happy-go-lucky pumpkin person and works at a candy shop.  He tends to speak in hyper tones when working in the candy shop.

• Bingette Bunny (voiced by Kathy Najimy) - A ditsy rabbit who runs the gardening store where Oswald buys his tomato plants.  She is usually very unhelpful but usually says "Just doing my job!" when Oswald leaves the store.  

• Roderick Robot - A mechanical man with a mechanical cat named Tinsel. Oswald cat-sits for Roderick, and it turns out Tinsel is a very naughty cat.

• Bingo (voiced by Mac Davis) - Big City's barber, a quiet rabbit who also runs a news paper store from which Henry buys his news paper. He only talks in the episodes "The Naughty Cat" and "Henry Needs a Haircut".

• Flippy (not voiced) - A fish who Oswald bought at the pet store but had to give to the Big City Aquarium as the fish grew too large.

• Louie (voiced by Michael McKean) - Henry's cousin from the Arctic.

• Paper People (not voiced) - Silent humans made of paper who appear in several episodes as cameo characters.

• Woodrow (not voiced) - Steve Tree's pet woodpecker.

• Tinsel (not voiced) - Roderick's mechanical pet cat.

• Fish (not voiced) - Fish who appear in the episode "Goin' Fishing".

• Maestro Bingo - He runs a store of various musical instruments and appears in the episodes "Daisy Plays an Instrument" and "Fixing the Piano".

Airing

Oswald first aired on the Nick Jr. block on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 21, 2001 and stop airing sometime in 2002. It returned to Nick Jr. on September 2003 with a week of new episodes and ended in 2004. In 2003, Oswald started airing on Noggin and continued to air after September 28, 2009 when it was renamed as Nick Jr.. Oswald still continues to air on Nick Jr. in the early am slots. 

Episodes

Main article: List of Oswald episodes

Season 1 first aired August 21, 2001 with 12 episodes and ended on March 4, 2002. Season 2 began March 8, 2002 with another 12 episodes and ended on September 19, 2003 with the final episode, "Friends Indeed / Sammy Starfish Live".

Additional Guest Voices

• Singer Mac Davis
• Actor Eddie Deezen
• Actor Michael McKean as Henry's Cousin Louie from the Arctic. Both Michael McKean and David Lander (Henry) played the characters, "Lenny" and "Squiggy" on the ABC sitcom, "Laverne and Shirley."

External links

• Official website from Nick Jr.
• Oswald at the Internet Movie Database
• Oswald at TV.com
• Oswald at LocateTV.com