Almost Naked Animals

Almost Naked Animals
Series logo
Genre	Animated comedy
Format	Animated television series
Created by	Noah Z. Jones
Developed by	Doug Hadders Adam Rotstein
Directed by	Brad Ferguson
Voices of	Robert Tinkler Howard Jerome Emilie-Claire Barlow David Berni Sean Cullen Linda Kash
Opening theme	"Almost Naked Animals!"
Ending theme	"Almost Naked Animals!" (instrumental)
Country of origin	Canada United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	52 (37 aired) (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Noah Z. Jones Vince Commisso Steve Jarosz
Producer(s)	Tristan Homer
Running time	22 minutes (2 11-minute segments)
Production company(s)	9 Story Entertainment
Broadcast
Original channel	YTV (Canada) Cartoon Network (USA)
Original run	January 7, 2011 – present
External links
Website

Almost Naked Animals is a Canadian animated television series that is produced for YTV and Cartoon Network. The series premiered on January 7, 2011 on the Canadian YTV and later on June 13, 2011 on the American Cartoon Network. The series was created by Noah Z. Jones, who is also the creator of the Disney Channel animated series Fish Hooks. A third season is currently in production.^[1]

Premise

The cartoon is set inside a tropical resort called the Banana Cabana.^[2] All of the cabana's staff members and residents are funny animals who have shaved off their fur and wear only underclothes. A dog named Howie is the manager and leader of the cabana. Each episode follows Howie and his "misfit" crew having unusual adventures in the Banana Cabana.

Production

The series is produced by 9 Story Entertainment and produced it for YTV & Cartoon Network.^[3] Noah Z. Jones is the creator of the series, while Brad Ferguson is the director.^[4] Executive producers includes Vince Commisso, Steve Jarosz and Noah Z. Jones. Other staff for the series includes Tristan Homer as producer and Mark Satterthwaite as creative producer.

Development for the series started as early as 2006.^[4]

On October 16, 2009, Aaron H. Bynum, news editor of Animation Insider, announced that the series entered production.^[5] Vince Commisso, president and CEO of 9 Story Entertainment was pleasantly surprised and charmed for the production of Almost Naked Animals and said: "We are very excited to be commencing production on Almost Naked Animals,". "We spent a great deal of time in development, ensuring the characters, the pacing and the tone of the show was precise. It is extremely gratifying to see our work come to fruition and the end result is this high-quality, curiously funny animated property."^[5]

Characters

Howie

Main characters

• Howie (voiced by Robert Tinkler) is a pale-yellow dog and protagonist and manager of the Banana Cabana. He is hyperactive and impulsive, he's almost always cheerful and has a short attention span.
• Octo (voiced by Howard Jerome) is a blue octopus, a deuteragonist, Howie's best friend and the desk clerk. He is a jittery octopus who is a "goodie two-shoes". He "inks" the bed but his ink comes out in portraits of people he knows. He also "inks" when he's scared.
• Bunny (voiced by Emilie-Claire Barlow) is a short-tempered yellow rabbit and activity planner with a sugary personality (subject to mood swings).
• Duck (voiced by David Berni)is an eccentric peach-colored duck who does every random job and tries anything to get it done. It was revealed in "The Sun Howie Always Wanted" that his full name is Archibald William Nightindale Duck III, when the Mayor gave him and Howie an award. As a running gag Duck often appears during a problem with a funny non-sequitor.
• Piggy (voiced by Seán Cullen) is a pale-pink pig who is a ninja-trained master chef with an accent. He usually speaks in third person.
• Narwhal (also voiced by Seán Cullen) is a periwinkle medium-sized, egotistical toothed whale that loves to sing. He sings in the lounge, but apparently knows very few songs and has a small (if non-existent) fan base.
• Sloth (voiced by Linda Kash) is the peach-colored sloth and the bellhop of the Banana Cabana. She has a crush on Howie. She also does everything slowly. She moves around using her luggage cart.

Recurring characters

• Poodle (voiced by Alyson Court) is a pink poodle who is Howie's snooty older sister and the antagonist. She owns a rival hotel called the Chateau Chattoo, and often tries to sabotage her brother's hotel.
• Batty (voiced by Julie Lemieux) is a fun-loving dark lavender bat and is Poodle's henchman, even though he is much nicer and doesn't really take pleasure in sabotaging Howie's hotel. But he is very loyal to Poodle. Unlike Poodle, he is more of a friend to Howie and the Banana Cabana group. He speaks with a latin accent.
• Dirk Danger (voiced by Christian Potenza) is a daredevil and loves to do stunts. He is the hero of Howie and Octo.
• Shrimp (voiced by Adrian Truss) is a yellow shrimp and the manager of The Dirk Danger Fan Club.
• Yeti (voiced by Howard Jerome) is another antagonist. In "Champion Gurgitator", he ruined Howie's chance of winning. And in "The Cabana Manana", he tries to shut down the Banana Cabana.
• Cap'n Fizzy (voiced by Adrian Truss) is the owner of Cap'n Fizzy's Fuzzy's Orange Soda. He is a dark-green turtle.

Episodes

There are a total of 52 30-minute episodes that are currently in production, but only 39 had aired. The episodes are aired as a double-bill pair in the US and Canada. Season 2 begin airing in Canada on February 4, 2012 with the episode "Horn Swoggled / Night Shift".

Distribution

International release

The show broadcasts on its original channels YTV and Cartoon Network. It premiered in Canada on January 7, 2011, and in the United States on June 13, 2011. Other broadcasters includes CITV in the UK, ABC3 in Australia and RTÉjr in Ireland. Since September 2011, Disney XD (Latin America/India) started airing the show. Disney Channel (Latin America/Italy/India), Luk International (Spain) and Z@pp/Zeppelin (Netherlands) had recently acquired the show and will add it to their lineup between 2012 and 2013.^[6]

Home media

Episodes of Almost Naked Animals are available for digital download through the iTunes Music Store, which are split into two volumes. ^[10] Roadshow Home Entertainment released a 95-minute Region 4 DVD of the show on December 1, 2011.^[11]

Toys and merchandising

The Licensing Shop has signed products in the US market for Almost Naked Animals. Freeze has secured rights for t-shirts, fashion tops and hoodies in all sizes while ABG Accessories will be making cold weather accessories, spring and summer headwear and rainwear including umbrellas and slickers for the show.^[12]

Awards and nominations

Critical reception

In June 2011, Almost Naked Animals was picked as one of People Magazine’s top children’s shows to watch in the US.^[14] Common Sense Media rated the show 3 stars out of 5, with the review stating that "The show's writing is smart enough that adults will get some laughs right alongside their kids".^[15]

During the week of November 21, 2011, the show has been receiving high ratings on CITV in the UK and has been the most watched afterschool children’s program amongst kids aged 4–9.^[16]

See also

	Canada portal
	Animation portal
	Television portal

• Fish Hooks

References

External links

• Official website
• Almost Naked Animals at the Internet Movie Database
• Almost Naked Animals at the Big Cartoon DataBase