Yo Gabba Gabba! was an American live action/puppet children's television show starring five costumed toys-come-to-life and their friend DJ Lance Rock. The series premiered on August 20 2007 and ended on November 12 2015. There is a single topic in each episode, e.g. "Adventure," "Friends," and "Dance," through songs and short storylines in the half-hour program. "Burns Part 4" became available for streaming on Netflix on November 23, 2017. Additionally, the show teaches children life and social skills, such as sharing and trying new foods. It also encourages viewers to move along with and dance with the characters in the program. The show is noted for its indie-culture guest stars and bands, and for drawing visual inspiration from 8-bit video games and H. R. Pufnstuf, among other television shows. Created by Christian Jacobs (lead singer of the Aquabats) and Scott Schultz, the show is written to appeal to children and their parents. The television program has spawned a touring live stage show, various toys and branded clothing. Trademarks relating to Yo Gabba Gabba! and its characters are held by GabbaCaDabra, LLC.
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Overview
Hosted by a character named DJ Lance Rock, the series featured a mix of live-action segments featuring cartoonish costumed characters--Muno (the red cyclops), Foofa (the pink flower bubble), Brobee (a little hairy green monster), Toodee (the blue cat-dragon) and Plex (the magic yellow robot)--and many short animated sketches and musical numbers.
Popular artists who have appeared on the show include Mos Def, Bootsy Collins, Ladytron, The Killers, Enon, The Clientele, Jimmy Eat World, Solange Knowles, Taking Back Sunday, Datarock, The Aquabats, Devo, Anne Heche, Joy Zipper, Of Montreal, Chromeo, My Chemical Romance, Weezer, Hot Hot Heat, The Faint, The Roots, Mates of State, MGMT, Jack Black, Tony Hawk, Elijah Wood, Peter Bjorn and John, Trunk Boiz, The Shins, The Aggrolites, The Flaming Lips, Mýa, Biz Markie, Blitzen Trapper, The Ting Tings, Money Mark, Mariachi El Bronx, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Erykah Badu, and Lil Wayne. Other non-musical celebrity guests to have appeared include Jason Bateman, Andy Samberg, Sarah Silverman, Laila Ali, Bill Hader, and Anthony Bourdain.
Among the varied animation sequences during the show was Super Martian Robot Girl, designed by indie cartoonists Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer.
The toy models of the characters that appeared at the beginning and end of each show were made by Kidrobot.
History
Yo Gabba Gabba! was developed by two Southern California fathers, Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz, who first started working together as teenagers, producing and directing skateboarding videos. Their goal was to design a kids' show that was entertaining while featuring real artists and real performers. Both had no previous experience writing for television, let alone children's broadcasting or education. In developing the show they took inspiration from a number of sources including Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Pee-wee's Playhouse, as well as Sid and Marty Krofft puppet shows Banana Splits and H. R. Pufnstuf.
In 1999, after becoming parents, Jacobs and Schultz started playing around with ideas for children's television and produced a pilot independently financed by small loans from friends and family. Yo Gabba Gabba! did not get much attention until it started circulating on the Internet. Jared Hess, the director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, saw the pilot online and recommended it to Brown Johnson, the executive vice president and executive creative director of Nickelodeon Preschool. Yo Gabba Gabba! premiered on Nickelodeon on August 20, 2007.
Production
The show was produced by The Magic Store and Wild Brain. Yo Gabba Gabba! airs on the Nick Jr. cable network in the United States and the Nick Jr. networks in the United Kingdom & Ireland, Italy, France and Australia as well as Treehouse TV network in Canada, Disney Junior in Latin America and RTE2 on RTÉjr in Ireland. The series premiered August 20, 2007 on Nickelodeon as part of its Nick Jr. block, and began broadcasting in reruns from February 23, 2008 to November 2016 on the Nick Jr. TV channel. They never renewed for a fifth season.
Episode structure
All episodes follow a similar format. In the opening scene, DJ Lance Rock is shown walking on a plain white background while holding a gray radio with colorful buttons. He then gets to a table scenery that involves four different colored lands and a gray cloth underneath it. He then places down the radio, and then he shouts "YOOOO Gabba Gabba!" and opens the radio, and inside it are 5 toy figures: Toodee, Muno, Foofa, Plex, and Brobee. He places down the figures one-by-one, and then they become alive.
The episode features four main segments (it was shortened to three after the first season) that are connected to each other as a plot. They involve DJ Lance and the gabbas doing an activity. After each main segment, a short clip is shown that shows a kid dancing around. The kid says his or her name, followed by "I like to dance!".
Between the main segments, there is another segment called "The Super Music Friends Show", which features a performance by a band about the episode's topic. Other small segments include "Mark's Magic Pictures" and "Biz's Beat of the Day".
Near the end of each episode, DJ Lance and the gabbas do a mix-like song about what had occurred during the main segments. After it is finished, DJ Lance shouts "YOOOO Gabba Gabba!" once again, and then Brobee, Muno, Toodee, Foofa, and Plex turn back into toys. One-by-one, DJ Lance puts them back in the radio, closes the radio, and then walks off carrying it. The credits then roll.
Characters
- DJ Lance Rock - (Portrayed by Lance Robertson U.S., voice dubbed by Ortis Deley in the UK) A DJ who is the narrator and friend of the other characters and the series' host.
- Muno - (Voiced by Adam Deibert U.S., Bob Golding UK) A friendly red cyclops boy. He's the tallest, is somewhat clumsy and has a close bond with Foofa (though she also bonds with Brobee in the same way). He is also the band's guitarist. In the episodes "Family", "Circus", and "Baby", his family makes an appearance. During Super Bowl XLIV, he appeared in a commercial for the Kia Sorento. His realm resembles the moon, another planet, or a desert and he has a pet horse. He has three stomachs as seen in the X-ray in the Season 1 episode "Halloween" (#13). However another X-ray in the Season 1 episode "Imagine" (#20) shows him with one stomach, a normal heart and lungs. His catchphrase is "Razzle Dazzle".
- Foofa - (Voiced by Emma Jacobs-Briggs U.S., Teresa Gallagher UK) A female flower bubble character who's "pink and happy." She likes flowers, rainbows and unicorns. Her instrument is the tambourine. Her realm is a spring or summer meadow.
- Brobee - (Voiced by Amos Watene U.S., Simon Feilder UK) A small, green monster boy and the baby of the gabbas. He is the drummer for the Gabba band. He is the one of the characters whose facial expression changes depending on the situation; his normal face turning into a frown, and vice versa. He is often subjected to trying new foods. His realm is a vast autumn forest. It is mentioned that he is four years old.
- Toodee - (Voiced by Erin Pearce U.S., Jonell Elliot UK) A blue arctic female cat-dragon who loves to have fun. She has a close bond with Plex and is the bassist for the Gabba band. She resides in a winter arctic realm, with icicles.
- Plex - (Voiced by Christian Jacobs U.S., Simon Feilder UK) A magic yellow robot boy and the oldest of the gabbas and he is Toodee's love instest. He is portrayed as being smart and as the leader of Gabba Land. Plex usually teaches lessons to his friends and is a father figure to the gang. He can also use his special ray to bring things into existence. Her instrument is the keytar. He has no realm in particular, though he seems to have a "docking station" between Foofa and Brobee's realms. In "Gabbaland Begins", Plex is the last in DJ Lance's original creations after he goes through Muno, Foofa, Brobee, and Toodee, although, Brobee is supposedly a four-year-old in the series.
- Gooble - (Voiced by Joel Fox U.S.) A ghost who is always so sad and crying. He resides in a haunted house located in a non-gabba land-place named "Gooble Land".
Regular segments
- Jingles, each episode has animated music videos featuring music by a guest musician and animation by guest artists, designers, and animators. They often happen after the first segment in an episode. (One episode does not have the segment.)
- Mark's Magic Pictures, featuring Mark Mothersbaugh, drawing simple pictures that often come alive at the end of the segment.
- Biz's Beat of the Day, starring Biz Markie, demonstrating new beatboxing beats.
- The Super Music Friends Show, featuring musical guests and introduced by John Reis as "The Music Swami" and Matt Chapman as the announcer.
- Dancey Dance Time, featuring celebrity guests performing dance moves with the characters. It is rarely used after season one.
- Numbers, live action music video similar to the jingles, usually with counting up numbers or back.
- Cool Tricks, in which a child or adult demonstrates a special talent (e.g., gymnastics, breakdancing, playing a theremin, cup stacking or another cool trick.)
- Storytime, where a child narrates a story (e.g., Goon Fishin', Goodnight Moon or another story.)
- Super Martian Robot Girl, featuring a helpful comic book-style superhero who saves the day, but only solves extremely contrived misunderstandings of ignorant citizens, instead of battling crime.
- Learn with Plex, a solo segment in which Plex teaches basic daily skills like brushing your teeth, making lemonade, putting on pajamas, etc. (three times by saying "it's fun to" do whatever he is teaching) in chants, using four repeated steps. (Season 1 only)
- Play Pretend with Muno, in which Muno encourages viewers to pretend along with him, as he imagines himself as various creatures and objects. (Season 1 only)
- Listen with Toodee, in which Toodee listens to sounds and encourages the viewer to help her identify them. (Season 1 only)
- Color with Brobee, in which the viewer guesses what color Brobee is thinking of by the examples he gives. (Season 1 only)
- Play Games with Foofa, in which Foofa solves simple puzzles, such as mazes and matching games, and encourages the viewer to help her find the solution. (Season 1 only)
- DJ Lance Dance, in which DJ Lance Rock teaches the viewers a different dance.
- Funny Faces, in which DJ Lance Rock encourages viewers to make funny faces.
- Knock-Knock Joke of the Day, a segment where Jack McBrayer and Paul Scheer tell knock-knock jokes. This segment first appeared in season two.
- Look Back At Today, each episode ends with a music video recap of that episode, featuring special effects, and a remix of every song featured in that episode. (Season 2 onward has DJ Lance remembering the things he and the gang did in that episode before the music video starts.)
Episodes
Video releases
Soundtrack releases
Four albums have been released featuring songs from the show performed by the cast and the "Super Music Friends Show" segment.
- Music is... Awesome! (2009)
- Music is... Awesome! Volume 2 (2010)
- Music is... Awesome! Volume 3 (2011)
- Music is... Awesome! Volume 4 (2012)
ABC for Kids released a CD in 2010 titled Yo Gabba Gabba! Party In My Tummy.
Stage shows
The world premiere live concert tour of Yo Gabba Gabba! took place in Australia in May 2009. DJ Lance Rock, Muno, Foofa, Brobee, Toodee and Plex performed in Wollongong, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney with an indie house-band and secret special guests at each show. Additional tours in the United States and other countries have been performed throughout 2013. Shows have been toured including three presented by Kia Motors and a special Christmas one presented by Citi, Just Dance Kids & Toys for Tots.
- "Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: There's a Party in My City!" (2010-2011)
- "Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! 2: It's Time to Dance!" (2011)
- "Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! 3: Get the Sillies Out!" (2012)
- "Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! 4: A Very Awesome YGG Holiday Show!" (2014)
- "Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! 5: Music Is Awesome" (2015)
Nick Jr. Australia released a tour in 2009 called Yo Gabba Gabba: LIVE on Stage!
Mobile streaming
On March 8, 2017, the first season (20 episodes) of the show were made available for streaming on the Noggin video subscription service. The remaining three seasons (46 episodes) will be launched soon.
Critical reception
On April 30, 2008 the television show received a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling. The show has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy in both 2008 and 2009 for Best Costume Design. Time magazine's James Poniewozik, who said the show "will convince you someone slipped something into your Fruity Pebbles" named Yo Gabba Gabba! one of the Top 10 new TV series of 2007, ranking it at #8. In November 2008, the Yo Gabba Gabba! production team won a BAFTA Children's Award, International. The show has also become popular among some college-age young adults because of the artists often featured. Due to the show's popularity amongst both adults and children, they performed at Coachella 2010 as special guests. Their live touring show also won a Creative Content Award at the 2010 Billboard Touring Awards. The Television Critics Association Awards have nominated Yo Gabba Gabba! for Outstanding Achievement in Children's/Youth Programing. The years include 2008-2012. Yo Gabba Gabba! won for the year 2009 and 2010. In February 2013, Yo Gabba Gabba! won two Kidscreen Awards for "Best Non-Animated or Mixed Series 2013" and "Best Music 2013"
In other media
- In 2009, the cast was featured in their own float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
- Muno was featured in a commercial for the Kia Sorento that aired during the 2010 Super Bowl and a subsequent Kia commercials in 2011, also the character Brobee appeared in an 2011 advertisement for Wonderful Pistachios.
- The cast appeared in the Big Time Rush episodes "Big Time Audition", "Big Time Halloween" and "Big Time Cameos."
- Yo Gabba Gabba! appeared in True Jackson VP in the episode "Trapped in Paris."
- Garry Lyon, of The Footy Show, an Australian Football League panel show, performed an interpretive cycle (Yo Gabba Gazza!) based on the Yo Gabba Gabba! dancing style after losing a humorous bet. The choice of the Yo Gabba Gabba! dance was based on a number of physical similarities to Brobee, including Bushy Eyebrows and Excessive Androgenic Hair.
- In the Mad episode "So You Think You Can Train Your Dragon How to Dance / Yo Gagga Gagga!," Lady Gaga hosts Yo Gagga Gagga! featuring her dolls - Taylor Swift, T-Pain, Miley Cyrus, and Triple H - and the cast is seen watching a monster movie at the end.
- In 2011, the cast appeared in the Raising Hope episode "Sabrina Has Money."
- The title of the Futurama episode "Yo Leela Leela" parodies this, as does the show in the episode, known as "Rumbledy Hump".
- On June 9, 2012, The Fresh Beat Band's 14th episode "Yo! Fresh Beats Go Gabba Gabba!" (a crossover episode) the "Gabba Gang" gets beamed into the episode by way of a malfunctioned Plex has with robotic hiccups which was caused by Gearmo: a gear who always causes trouble.
- Insane Clown Posse recorded a cover of the song Hold Still for the 2012 album Smothered, Covered & Chunked.
- The South Park episode "Taming Strange" features Foofa becoming a spoof of Miley Cyrus after Kyle's adopted younger brother, Ike, attends a "Yo Gabba Gabba Live!" performance and "tames Foofa's strange" in front of everyone seeing the show.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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