WordGirl

WordGirl
The title character with the show logo above her.
Genre	Animated television series
Created by	Dorothea Gillim
Developed by	Dorthea Gillim; Jack D. Ferraiolo
Directed by	David SanAngelo
Voices of	Dannah Phirman, Tom Kenny, Maria Bamford, Cree Summer, Ryan Raddatz, Patton Oswalt, Fred Stoller, Jack D.Ferraiolo, James Adomian, Grey DeLisle, Jeffrey Tambor
Narrated by	Chris Parnell; Rodger Parsons (interstills; uncredited)
Theme music composer	Steven D'Angelo and Terry Tompkins
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3 (Two seasons aired, a third in production)
No. of episodes	78 (45 aired through 12/10/09)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Dorothea Gillim (Season 1); Deborah Forte (as of Season 2)
Producer(s)	Will Shepard (Season 1); Danielle Gillis (as of Season 2)
Running time	30 min.
Broadcast
Original channel	PBS
Original run	July 16, 2007 – present
Status	Returning Series
External links
Official website
Production website

WordGirl is an American children’s animated television series produced by the Soup2Nuts animation unit of Scholastic Entertainment for PBS Kids. The show began as a series of shorts that premiered on PBS Kids GO! on November 10, 2006, usually shown at the end of Maya & Miguel; the segment was then spun-off into a new 30-minute episodic series which premiered on September 3, 2007 on most PBS member stations. The show is aimed at kids aged 6 and up and is designed to teach about the expansive English language.^[1] The first two seasons each have 26 episodes; on June 10, 2009 it was announced that a third season is currently in production and will debut in 2010 with an additional 26 episodes.

The show is also seen on some educational networks in Canada, including Knowledge in British Columbia and TVOntario. The program is also syndicated internationally in places such as Australia and Italy, and also airs on Discovery Kids Latin America. The Spanish version is called "La chica súper sabia" (The super wise girl) and it is translated and dubbed in Caracas, Venezuela.

Background

The show’s creator, Dorothea Gillim, said that, “Part of my mission is to make kids’ television smart and funny.” She added that, ”I feel as though we’ve lost some ground there, in an effort to make it more accessible...”^[2] She says that children’s shows often underestimate children’s intelligence, and that, “WordGirl’s focus is on great stories, characters, and animation. If all those elements are working, then you can hook a child who may come looking for laughs but leave a little smarter.”^[3]

Each 11-minute episode in the show’s half hour time slot begins with the instruction to look for two words which will be used throughout the plot of that episode, although this was not present in the series' first three episodes. The words (examples include “diversion,” “cumbersome,” and “idolize”) are chosen according to academic guidelines. The reasoning is that children can understand words like “cumbersome” when told that it means “big and heavy and awkward.”^[2]

News anchor Jim Lehrer agreed to do a mock interview with WordGirl.

Jack D. Ferraiolo, who developed the series with Gillim and served as the series' head writer in Season One, won an Emmy for his work on WordGirl.^[4]

Plot

The series stars Becky Botsford, age 10½, who is a fifth grade girl who is secretly the superhero WordGirl, who was born on the fictional planet Lexicon (whose name means a language and its vocabulary, as well as being used to mean dictionary) but sent away from the dying planet as an infant. Captain Huggy Face, a monkey, pilots her ship, but loses control and crashes to Earth, a planet which affords WordGirl superpowers including flight and super strength. She uses these powers to save her adoptive home of Fair City, using her downed spacecraft as a secret base of operations.

She is adopted and provided an alter-ego by Tim and Sally Botsford, who give her the name Becky. While in her alter-ego she has a younger brother, TJ, obsessed with WordGirl, but still unknowingly a typical rival to Becky. The Botsford family keep Captain Huggy Face as a pet, naming him Bob. Becky attends Woodview Elementary School, where she is close friends with Violet Heaslip and school newspaper reporter Todd “Scoops” Ming.

Becky must balance her home life and superhero life. Doing battle with villains ranging from the meat-based Butcher, who can call into existence most any type of meat yet have a problem with the English language as he mispronounces words; senior citizen Granny May, with her deadly knitting needles and projectile yarn; her former friend Prof. Steven Boxleitner, who became the evil Dr. Two Brains thanks to an albino mouse fusing his brain with the animal and ten-year-old genius and colossal robot builder Tobey McAlister. At the same time she must worry about maintaining her second life as Becky – keeping people from finding out the truth – and living normal family situations.

Other creative stimulants includes a segment called "What's Your Favorite Word" generated by Todd "Scoops" Ming asking random kids what their favorite words are and why. This is also created to stimulate children's love of books. A segment called "May I Have A Word?" airs following each 11-minute WordGirl episode. This segment features "Beau Handsome" asking three kids the definition of a particular word. Yet another segment features the interstills announcer (Rodger Parsons) asking Captain Huggy Face for a visual demonstration of a certain word (such as "flummoxed") and, when done correctly, is given the description of the word, followed by a victory dance by the monkey sidekick.

Characters and Voice Cast

Episodes

Season 1 (2007-January 2009)

* - These episodes are listed as Season One episodes although they premiered in Season Two.

Season 2 (November 2008-current)

Season 3

The third season is currently in production and will debut in the Spring of 2010.

External links

• WordGirl at the Internet Movie Database
• WordGirl at TV.com

References

1. ^ PBS Kids Programs - WordGirl
2. ^ Jensen, Elizabeth (2007-09-02). "A New Heroine’s Fighting Words". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/arts/television/02jens.html. Retrieved 2008-06-23. 
3. ^ Bynum, Aaron H. (2007-06-18). "'The Adventures of WordGirl' Animation Emerges on PBS Kids". Animation Insider. http://www.animationinsider.net/article.php?articleID=1423&document=2. Retrieved 2008-06-25. 
4. ^ Spero, Johannah (2008-06-18). "Local man lands Emmy for ‘WordGirl’". Wicked Local Newburyport/The Newburyport Current. GateHouse Media, Inc.. http://www.wickedlocal.com/newburyport/news/x833714497/Local-man-lands-Emmy-for-WordGirl. Retrieved 2008-06-23. 
5. ^ Scholastic Media Renews WordGirl For 26 Episodes Toon Zone, 10 June 2009