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Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse

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Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse
GenreAnimated series
Fantasy
Created byMichael Paraskevas
Betty Paraskevas
Theme music composerGreat Big Music Inc.
Opening theme"Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse" by Ron Pardo
Country of originCanada
Original languagesEnglish
French
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes26 (52 segments)
Production
Executive producersMichael Hirsh
Patrick Loubert
Clive A. Smith
James Wang
Michael Paraskevas
Betty Paraskevas
Running time12 mins. (approx)
Production companiesNelvana Limited
Hong Guang Animation
Original release
NetworkTeletoon
CCTV3
ReleaseSeptember 30, 2000 (2000-09-30)[1] –
January 26, 2002 (2002-01-26)

Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse (also known as Edouard et Martin for the French dub in Quebec) is a Canadian children's animated television series co-produced by Nelvana Limited and Hong Guang Animation for Teletoon (now Cartoon Network) and PBS. Among the series' executive producers are Michael and Betty Paraskevas, who they created Maggie and the Ferocious Beast,[2] who they also made the book that the show is based on. It tells the stories of a young horse named Marvin who is part of a carnival.[3] Some episodes include original songs to help illustrate the theme or accompany montages that carry the story forward.

Characters

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  • Marvin (voiced by Ron Pardo, who also performed the theme song for Elliot Moose, another Bookworm Bunch program) is a dancing brown horse with a black mane and a tail who performs in Fast-Talking Jack's carnival. He used to be in films and on Broadway, his first big break, although he isn't proud of his performance in it. His hooves are tuxedo-themed and they make tapping sounds. He also wears a red bowtie around his neck. In the start of one of the episodes, it is taken off.
  • Edward Larue III ("Eddy Largo") (voiced by Marlowe Gardiner-Heslin) is a 9-year-old boy. In the first episode, he looks for a job and is hired on as a gofer and all-around assistant to owner Fast-Talking Jack. He changes his name to "Eddy Largo" because he felt that his real name was apparently too lackluster.
  • Diamonds (voiced by Fiona Reid) is a fancy pink elephant. She is the main attraction of the circus. She has a big cloth on her back with a yellow star as a decoration. Her act involves balancing on an inflated beach ball. She appears in almost every episode, most notably "Dare to Dream".
  • Elizabeth the Emotional Pig (voiced by Sheila McCarthy) is easily upset and has a tendency to moan and cry. When things go right, she feels ecstatically happy. She wears a turquoise dress with two yellow lines on her skirt with buttons, collar flaps and cuffs. Her specialty is juggling, normally pineapples. She also compulsively eats corn on the cob. She appears in almost every episode, most notably "Elizabeth in Charge".
  • Stripes the Tiger (voiced by Ron Pardo) is rather grumpy, but has a soft spot for "Mr. Grizzly", his torn-and-tattered stuffed bear. It's mentioned in the episode "Stripes Takes Off" that he weighs 400 pounds. His favourite meals are 32 chickens for dinner and a giant bowl of Crunchy Creatures cereal soaked for ten minutes to have the right degree of sogginess for breakfast. He also enjoys reading the newspaper. Being a tiger, most people are afraid of him, so he is often seen inside his cage.
  • Fast-Talking Jack (voiced by Dwayne Hill) is the owner of the carnival and a ringmaster of the big show in which he also plays a lion tamer for Stripes' act.
  • Edna (voiced by Robin Duke) is the smart fortune teller who also makes the lemonade and lemon ice sold at the carnival. She is a stickler for using juice she hand squeezes herself. Her screechy singing voice can break glass. Although she isn't in many episodes, her most notable appearances are in "Eddy's Fortune" and "Edna the Singing Sensation".
  • Lyman Slime (voiced by Rummy Bishop) is the sleazy owner of a clown circus, who sees Jack's carnival as unwelcomed competition. He sometimes sends his three clowns to spy on the carnival or to sabotage it.
  • The Penguin's Five are a band that accompanies the acts at the performance tent, made up of five penguins (hence the name).
  • Eddy's grandmother can be somewhat formidable, has a habit of firmly tapping the floor with her cane when wanting to emphasize a point. Eddy spends the summer at her house while he works at the carnival. She still calls Eddy his real name, Edward.
  • Squinty Pete is the proprietor of the Whomp-A-Weasel game in the carnival's midway.
  • Mr. P. Nutty sells peanuts during the big show and around the carnival. Wears a Peanut costume featuring a huge grin. His real name is Philbert, has a high-pitched voice and professes to be shy.
  • Lulabelle Rose is a tan mare with a light brown mane and tail with red lips and a daisy on her ear and Marvin's girlfriend. She is great at tap dancing just like him. Her only appearance is "The Importance of Being Eddy".
  • Lucy is Jack's niece who appeared in the episode "Eddy's Charm". Eddy has a crush on her.
  • Boris is a circus bear from Russia looking for work at the circus. He specializes in peeling peanuts and telling stories about the Russian country. He appeared in "Truth or Bear".
  • Clyde is a racehorse who is Marvin's younger brother (even though he's now bigger than Marvin). He appeared in "Marvin Keeps Track". He and Marvin used to do great things together when they were young and Marvin was always the winner, but now Clyde always beats Marvin. Marvin was not pleased to see him because he had forgotten that about their past, but then Clyde reminded him. So if not for Marvin, Clyde never would've been a racehorse.

Episodes

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Season 1 (2000)

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No. Episode 1 Episode 2 [4] U.S. airdate (PBS)
1 Eddy's Job Elephants Almost Never Forget September 30, 2000 (2000-09-30)
2 Marvin's High Dive Eddy's Wrong Order October 7, 2000 (2000-10-07)
3 Stripes' Sticky Situation Stripes Takes Off October 14, 2000 (2000-10-14)
4 The New Band Eddy's Video October 21, 2000 (2000-10-21)
5 Elizabeth's Biggest Fan The Visit October 28, 2000 (2000-10-28)
6 Marvin's Roommate Stripes' Dental Fuss November 4, 2000 (2000-11-04)
7 Marvin's Surprise Eddy Learns to Dance November 11, 2000 (2000-11-11)
8 Visit to Grandma's Gone Fishing November 18, 2000 (2000-11-18)
9 Marvin's Breakfast Jam The Iron Claw November 25, 2000 (2000-11-25)
10 Elizabeth and the Haunted House Marvin Horses Around December 2, 2000 (2000-12-02)
11 The Big Show Eddy's Fortune December 9, 2000 (2000-12-09)
12 Eddy's Charm Eddy and the Cowboy December 16, 2000 (2000-12-16)
13 When Pigs Fly Mr. P. Nutty December 23, 2000 (2000-12-23)

Season 2 (2001–2002)

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No. Episode 1 Episode 2 [4] U.S. airdate (PBS)[5]
14 Now You See It... When the Stars Come Out November 3, 2001 (2001-11-03)
15 Eddy and the Record Marvin in the Movies  () November 10, 2001 (2001-11-10)
16 Marvin and Eddy in the Middle of Nowhere Stripes' Mis-Fortune  () November 17, 2001 (2001-11-17)
17 Just for Kicks Edna the Singing Sensation  () November 24, 2001 (2001-11-24)
18 Elizabeth in Charge Dare to Dream  () December 1, 2001 (2001-12-01)
19 The Importance of Being Eddy Eddy's Sore Throat  () December 8, 2001 (2001-12-08)
20 Little Olaf Jokers Go Wild  () December 15, 2001 (2001-12-15)
21 Pop Goes the Weasel Marvin's Lucky Hat  () December 22, 2001 (2001-12-22)
22 To Flea or Not to Flea Eddy's Sleepover  () December 29, 2001 (2001-12-29)
23 Marvin Keeps Track Diamonds' Dance Party  () January 5, 2002 (2002-01-05)
24 Paint Your Wagon Truth or Bear  () January 12, 2002 (2002-01-12)
25 Elizabeth's Big Splash Stripes' World Tour  () January 19, 2002 (2002-01-19)
26 Little Big Man Fast Talkin' Jack's Real Class Act (final episode)  () January 26, 2002 (2002-01-26)

Telecast and home media

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In Canada, it aired on Teletoon (now Cartoon Network). In China, it aired on CCTV3. The show aired on PBS in the U.S. as a part of the Bookworm Bunch from 2000 until 2004. Three years later, now-defunct Qubo aired the show until 2020. In the United Kingdom, the show also aired on Tiny Pop. In the mid-2000s, Our Time Family Entertainment released the show on both VHS and DVD. All of the show's episodes were officially released onto YouTube on Treehouse TV's channel. As of 2023, the show is now streaming on Tubi.

References

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  1. ^ Heffley, Lynne (September 24, 2000). "Reading and Watching". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  2. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 379. ISBN 9781538103746.
  3. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 530–531. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  4. ^ a b "Television Program Logs". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 2016-03-02.[dead link‍] Alt URL
  5. ^ "'PBS KIDS BOOKWORM BUNCH' Returns to PBS For a Second Season on Saturday, November 3" (Press release). Nelvana Limited. October 29, 2001. Retrieved June 13, 2018.

External reference

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