Jungle Junction

Jungle Junction
Genre	Children's television series
Format	CGI
Created by	Trevor Ricketts
Written by	Craig Carlisle Dan Chambers Gillian Corderoy Jill Cozza-Turner Stan Cullimore Paul Dawson Jimmy Hibbert Samantha Hill Mark Holloway Bridget Hurst Paul Larson Laura Beaumont James Mason Allan Neuwirth Trevor Ricketts Claudia Silver P. Kevin Strader Andy Yerkes
Directed by	Morgan Francis
Voices of	Janet James Billy West Keith Wickham Jess Harnell Laraine Newman (S1) Dee Bradley Baker Jimmy Hibbert Amanda Symonds Ron Orbach
Opening theme	Peter Lurye
Composer(s)	Mark Blackledge
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	24 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Erica Darby
Editor(s)	Mark Edwards
Location(s)	Penzance, Cornwall
Running time	25 minutes per 2 (11 minute) episodes
Production company(s)	Spider Eye Productions
Distributor	Playhouse Disney
Broadcast
Original channel	Playhouse Disney
Picture format	HD Color
First shown in	Spain
Original run	October 5, 2009 – present
External links
Website

Jungle Junction is a current CGI animated children's television series created by Trevor Ricketts. It airs on Disney Junior in the United States and in the Netherlands, as well as Playhouse Disney in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and on Playhouse Disney in Asia. It is produced in the UK by animation company Spider Eye Productions. In the United States, the program was originally part of the Playhouse Disney daily block intended for preschoolers. On February 14, 2011, it was moved to the Disney Junior block, serving as Playhouse Disney's replacement.

A second series of 26 episodes has been ordered by Disney.

Trevor Rickets on the making of Jungle Junction.

Characters

Main characters

• Zooter (voiced by Janet James) - An energetic pink piglet scooter with a British accent, who is the jungle messenger.
• Ellyvan (voiced by Billy West) - A blue elephant van with an American accent, who carries the deliveries around the jungle. He is the biggest animal in the jungle and Zooter's best friend. His name is a made up compound word of elephant and van. He is able to suck improbable quantities of liquids up his trunk and spray them distances of up to half a mile or so.
• Bungo (voiced by Keith Wickham) - A creature with an Estuary English accent who loves to make signs and put them all over the jungle. He is very good at Geography, and knows the jungle better than anyone. He is also the only wheeler that is good at jumping - he can leap many times his own height into the air - see Bungo the Magnificent. There is some debate about exactly what sort of animal Bungo is. The theme song and in show speech indicate that he is a rabbit - however he has a long, stripy tail. Watch it closely though, and it doesn't move right for a tail - it never bends or flexes, it just pivots at its base, so it might be an artificial tail.

Minor characters

• Taxicrab (voiced by Jess Harnell) - A crab with a Caribbean accent that loves to dance and makes the greatest smoothies in the jungle. His name derives from a Taxicab and he is the only wheeler that is able to drive sideways (from both his crabbiness and the way that Taxi Cabs typically cut in front of other drivers). He is very similar to Sabastian from The Little Mermaid
• Carla (voiced by Laraine Newman) - An orange koala bear that owns a retailing grocery shop and she's also good at baking. Her name seems to be a simple rhyming alliteration based upon the car stem. It still doesn't explain why an animal found only in Australia would speak like an extra from The Golden Girls. She is absent in season 2.
• Crocker (voiced by Keith Wickham) - A crocodile fire chief with a slight lisp who wears a yellow helmet with a red flashing light on top. He also has some skill at gardening and knows how to make compost. His name comes from the phrase An Old Crock which is UK slang used to describe many second hand cars. He speaks with a lisp because of his teeth. (See Offler, another Crocodile-headed lisper).
• Hippobus (voiced by Amanda Symonds) - A yellow Jamaican hippopotamus school bus, which usually carries The Beetlebugs to school. Her name derives from a Hippie Bus - usually a redecorated Volkswagen Bus. Fitting, as she carries the beetlebugs around.
• The Beetlebugs (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, Jess Harnell, Billy West, Tress MacNeille and Ariel Winter) - The junior wheelers. Their name and shape derives from a Volkswagen Beetle - cars that were nicknamed bugs. They have little floatation vests that they wear when going near water - see River Race.
• Lance (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) - A purple rhinoceros ambulance. His name is both a contraction of ambulance and a reference to a weapon used by lancers who attacked with it at a full charge - much like a rhino attacks things by charging at them. Lancing is also a medical procedure - How to Lance a Boil.
• Bobby (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) - A toucan police chief. His character may be derived from a Bubble car - he even has the same three-wheeled chassis. His being a toucan may be a Bill joke - The Bill being both a nickname for the Police and a name for a Birds Beak - and a toucan being a bird with a very big beak. Also, his name is derived from the fact a British police officer is nicknamed a Bobby. He is the only Wheeler that can fly.
• Dozer (voiced by Keith Wickham) - A bull construction worker. His name and shape derive from a Bulldozer. He seems to have some responsibility for repairing the roadways. He is the only Wheeler with Caterpillar Tracks instead of tires except Rex and is good at digging with his dozer blade.
• Miss Jolly (voiced by Amanda Symonds) - A zebra school mistress. She is a tip of the hat to the Blues Brothers movie. Named for Joliet Prison, her stripes are closer to Prison Uniform stripes than zebra stripes. Her role as school ma'am also comes from the film, being that of the head nun (more black and white) of the orphanage the brothers are asked to save. She is one of the oldest and wisest of the Wheelers. She is also the only one to wear glasses.
• Toadhog (voiced by Ron Orbach) - A grumpy and badluck toad, which likes worms and Fi-Fi flies and doesn't usually smile. He has a long, sticky tongue that can shoot out a long way to grab things. His name derives from Road Hog - an inconsiderate or selfish motorist. He also seems to be responsible for Jungle Junctions power supply - his water wheel powers the generator for all of the lights (including the traffic lights) (see Hiccup Power) and he has a supplementary generator that is used to power the Zipsmas lights.

Episodes

Main article: List of Jungle Junction episodes

Christmas Special

Main article: The Night Before Zipsmas (Jungle Junction)

Main article: A Gift For Zooter

A Christmas Special called "The Night Before Zipsmas" aired 5 December 2009 showing the wheelers getting ready for Christmas and trying to get to read the book "The Night Before Zipsmas". The other Christmas special was called "A Gift For Zooter" and aired the same day. It shows Ellyvan trying to find a gift for Zooter.

DVD releases

Title	Release date			Episodes included	Other features
	Region 2	Region 1	Region 4
Play-Time Free-Time	May 11, 2010	TBA	TBA	Bungo To The Rescue/Pinky Picnic The Big Race Around/Zooter Looses Her Zip A Beautiful Stink/Prickly Pal Sap Trap/River Race

Further information: List of Jungle Junction episodes#DVD releases

Broadcast

The show airs in several countries around the world.

Country	Channel	Airing Information			Title	English Translation
		Date	Time	Other Information
United Kingdom	Playhouse Disney	Airs from September 26, 2009	9.50am - 10.15am	New episodes on Saturdays. The episodes that air between September 26–25 October 2009 air on weekends. The episodes that air 26 October - 1 November and during December air daily. The following air weekends. No new episodes were broadcast between November 7, 2009 and January 3, 2010. An new episode which aired on 5 December 2009, aired at 10.15am, due to Playhouse Disney airing beforehand Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Choo Choo Express.	Jungle Junction
Ireland
United States	Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney	Airs from October 5, 2009	10am - 10.25am	Airs Monday-Sunday with new episodes on certain days.
Canada	Playhouse Disney	Airs from November 3, 2009	9:15am –9:45am	Airs Tuesday-Monday with new episodes all day long.
India	Playhouse Disney India	Airs from November 6, 2009	6am-7am
Portugal	Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney	Airs from October 24, 2009	8am - 8.25am	New episodes Saturday-Sunday	Selva Sobre Rodas	Jungle On Wheels
Spain	Playhouse Disney	Airs from September 26, 2009	8.30am-8.55am	Airs weekends. First country to air "Jungle Junction".	Jungla Sobre Ruedas	Jungle On Wheels
Italy	Playhouse Disney	Airs from January 20, 2010	8.00pm-8.25pm		In giro per la giungla	Going around in the Jungle
Australia	Playhouse Disney	Airs from February 1, 2010	1-2 episodes a day, with many episodes on Wednesday.	Currently feeding new Series 2 episodes in amongst Series 1 reruns. Probably on Wednesdays (Jungle Junction day) and probably at 1 new show a week.
Czech Republic	Playhouse Disney	Airs from May, 15 2010	Daily		Středo-džungle	In the middle of the Jungle
Poland	Playhouse Disney	Airs from May 22, 2011	7.45am		Przystanek dżungla	Junction Jungle
Russia	Disney Channel (Russia)	Airs from April 24, 2011	07:40 - 08:05 MSK.	Airs on weekends.	Перекрёсток в джунглях.	Crossroads in the jungle.
Denmark	Playhouse Disney	Airs from May 26, 2011	Daily		Junglehjul	Jungle Wheels
Sweden	Playhouse Disney	Airs from June 4, 2011	Daily		Djungelhjul	Jungle Wheels
Bulgaria	Disney Channel	Airs from June 19, 2011	8:15am–8:30am		Кръстовище в джунглата	Crossroads in the jungle
Singapore	Disney Junior	Daily	11:30am–12:00pm
Ukraine	Disney Channel	Airs from July 4, 2011	6:50am–7:15am		Перехрестя в джунглях	Crossroads in the jungle
Kazakhstan	Disney Channel	Airs from May 14, 2011	6:00am–6:20am		Джунгля жол тyйic	Crossroads in the jungle
South Korea	Disney Junior	Airs from July 12, 2011	7:00am–7:30am

Songs

This is a list of songs that play in the episodes.

Song Name	Episode plays in	Written by	Composed by	Performed by	Other information
Jungle Junction Theme Tune	Every episode	Peter Lurye	Mark Blackledge	Peter Lurye, Steve O'Reilly, Janet James, Jimmy Hibbert, Amanda Symonds, Billy West and Keith Wickham
Gotta Zip	Season 1 Only	Peter Lurye	Mark Blackledge	Peter Lurye, Steve O'Reilly, Janet James, Jimmy Hibbert, Amanda Symonds, Billy West and Keith Wickham	When the song plays in Pinky Picnic there are two short intervals within it. Also known as The Zippy Song In Funny Fruit, Zooter sings the song throughout the episode.
This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

Credits

• Voices of - Janet James, Billy West, Keith Wickham, Jess Harnell, Laraine Newman, Dee Bradley Baker, Jimmy Hibbert, Amanda Symonds and Ron Orbach

• Creator - Trevor Ricketts

• Writers - Craig Carlisle, Dan Chambers, Gillian Corderoy, Jill Cozza-Turner, Stan Cullimore, Paul Dawson, Jimmy Hibbert, Samantha Hill, Mark Holloway, Bridget Hurst, Paul Larson, Laura Beaumont, James Mason, Allan Neuwirth, Trevor Ricketts, Claudia Silver, P. Kevin Strader and Andy Yerkes

• Director - Morgan Francis

• Opening theme - Peter Lurye

• Composer - Mark Blackledge

• Executive producers - Erica Darby,

• Editor - Mark Edwards

• Casting - Maria Estrada

• Art/Storyboards - Richard Nye

• Visual Effects/Digital Compositor - Fynn Tucker

• Animation - David Beer, Mariella Capasso and Rikki Knight-Trembath

• Animation Director - Stephen Cavalier

• Original Dialogue Mixer - David W. Barr

• Dubbing Mixer - Nick Harris

• Music and Lyrics, Theme by - Donald Hillenburg, Nick Jones, Paul Smith

Quotes

Disney says:

“

A group of adventurous animals on wheels -- part animal, part vehicle -- live and learn in an unexplored jungle that still somehow has roads. A cross between a pink pig and a scooter, Zooter serves as the jungle messenger, and Ellyvan, a cross between an elephant and a van, provides a delivery service. The denizens of the jungle have fun-filled adventures that help young viewers learn literacy skills and to care about the environment.

”

External links

• Jungle Junction at Disney.co.uk
  Jungle Junction at Disney.com
  Jungle Junction at Disney.es
  Jungle Junction at TV.com
  "Jungle Junction" at the Internet Movie Database

Preceded by Special Agent Oso

Playhouse Disney Shows 2009

Succeeded by Where Is Warehouse Mouse?