Zoboomafoo

*Zoboomafoo*
Zoboomafoo
Genre	Comedy; Educational; Children's
Created by	Martin Kratt; Chris Kratt; Leo Eaton;
Starring	Chris Kratt; Martin Kratt; Gord Robertson; Jovian; Samantha Tolkacz (Season 1); Genevieve Farrell (Season 2);
Theme music composer	Sterling Jarvis; Pure West;
Opening theme	"Me and You and Zoboomafoo"
Ending theme	"Animal Friends Song"; "Me and You and Zoboomafoo" (instrumental);
Composer	Pure West
Country of origin	Canada; United States;
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	65
Production
Executive producers	Leo Eaton; Micheline Charest (1999–2000, uncredited); Peter Moss (2000–01); Chris Kratt; Martin Kratt;
Running time	28 minutes
Production companies	Earth Creatures; Maryland Public Television; CINAR Corporation;
Original release
Network	PBS Kids (U.S.); CBC Kids (Canada)
Release	January 25, 1999 –; November 21, 2001

Zoboomafoo is a live-action/animated children's television series that originally aired on PBS from January 25, 1999, to November 21, 2001. After the original run on public television, reruns were shown on PBS Kids Sprout until 2012. A total of 65 episodes were aired. A creation of the Kratt Brothers (Chris and Martin Kratt), it features a talking Coquerel's sifaka lemur 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.

Production

Zoboomafoo was produced by PBS Kids, CINAR Corporation (now folded into WildBrain), and the Kratt brothers' Earth Creatures company.^[1]^[2] Paragon Entertainment Corporation, who previously worked on Kratts' Creatures, was slated to be involved with Zoboomafoo before being replaced by CINAR.^[3]

Partial filming for the series took place on location at the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, North Carolina.^[4] The claymation segments were filmed at a studio in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. Although the last new episode aired on PBS Kids in November 2001, many 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 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.^[5]

Cast

Chris Kratt as himself
Martin Kratt as himself
Jovian and Gord Robertson as Zoboomafoo
Samantha Tolkacz as Jackie (Season 1)
Genevieve Farrell as Amy (Season 2)

Segments

Zoboomafoo Theme Song
The Kratt Brothers Arrive, Calling for Zoboo, and Snacktime
The Mystery Animal (Song: “Who Could It Be?”)
Zobooland Story #1
Mystery Animal Leaves (Song: "I Feel Different")
Duck/Animal Helpers with Jackie/Amy
A Journey to Visit Animals (Song: “Going to the Closet”)
Exploring the Wild and Seeing Animals
Back to Animal Junction and Another Mystery Animal
Zobooland Story #2
Ending Theme: Animal Friends
Zoboo and Kratt Brothers Leave Animal Junction
Kids Introducing Their Pets
Meeting Animals Disclaimer (PBS and Treehouse TV airings only, shown after the credits in the latter)
Jokes From Zoboomafoo (PBS airings only)
End Credits

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes	Originally aired
Season	Episodes	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)

Season 1 (1999–2000)

No. overall	No. in season	Title ^[6]	Directed by ^[a]	Written by	Original air date ^[6]	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

Season 2 (2000–01)

No. overall	No. in season	Title ^[6]	Directed by ^[a]	Written by	Original air date ^[6]	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

Awards and nominations

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]

Other media

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]

References

^ PBS Publicity (February 10, 2000). "PBS and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing To Launch PBS Kids Books". PBS. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
^ "CINAR, PBS and the Kratt Brothers Become Partners on". Bloomberg. April 13, 1999. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
^ US Copyright Office Document No. V3455D786 / 2000-06-19
^ "Remembering a star: Jovian, lemur host of Zoboomafoo, passes away". Duke Lemur Center. November 11, 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
^ "Remembering a Star: Jovan, Lemur Host of Zobomoofaoo Passes". Duke Lemur Center. 2014. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "WebVoyage". USA: US Copyright Office. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
^ Williams, Donna (May 21, 2001). "PBS Wins Two More Daytime Emmys at Televised Ceremony". PBS News Archive. New York, NY. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
^ Fries, Laura. "Zoboomafoo". Parents' Choice Awards: Television. Parents' Choice. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
^ "Zoboomafoo". Parents' Choice Awards: Television. Parents' Choice. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
^ "Old Games Finder". Old Games Finder. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.

Notes

^ ^a ^b Information is taken from the opening and ending credits of each episode.

External links

Zoboomafoo at IMDb

[books-1] PBS Publicity (February 10, 2000). "PBS and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing To Launch PBS Kids Books". PBS. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.

[2] "CINAR, PBS and the Kratt Brothers Become Partners on". Bloomberg. April 13, 1999. Retrieved May 26, 2020.

[3] US Copyright Office Document No. V3455D786 / 2000-06-19

[4] "Remembering a star: Jovian, lemur host of Zoboomafoo, passes away". Duke Lemur Center. November 11, 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.

[5] "Remembering a Star: Jovan, Lemur Host of Zobomoofaoo Passes". Duke Lemur Center. 2014. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2017.

[copyright-6] "WebVoyage". USA: US Copyright Office. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2011.

[8] Williams, Donna (May 21, 2001). "PBS Wins Two More Daytime Emmys at Televised Ceremony". PBS News Archive. New York, NY. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2013.

[9] Fries, Laura. "Zoboomafoo". Parents' Choice Awards: Television. Parents' Choice. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2013.

[10] "Zoboomafoo". Parents' Choice Awards: Television. Parents' Choice. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2013.

[11] "Old Games Finder". Old Games Finder. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.

[cdarkredits-7] Information is taken from the opening and ending credits of each episode.

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v t e The Kratt Brothers
Martin Kratt Chris Kratt
Main series	Kratts' Creatures (1996) Zoboomafoo (1999-2001) Be the Creature (2003-04) Wild Kratts (2011-)
Related series	Odd Squad (Episode "Night Shift") Nature Cat (Episode "Wild Batts!") Molly of Denali (Episode "Cry Wolf")