Pocoyo

Pocoyo
Genre	Preschool education
Format	Animated television series
Created by	Guillermo García Carsí David Cantolla Luis Gallego
Written by	Guillermo García Carsí, Andy Yerkes (series 1) Ken Scarborough (series 2)
Directed by	Guillermo García Carsí David Cantolla Alfonso Rodriguez
Narrated by	Jose María del Río (Spanish) Stephen Fry (English)
Theme music composer	Daniel Heredero
Country of origin	Spain
Language(s)	Spanish (Two versions; one for Spain, the other for Latin America) English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	104
Production
Executive producer(s)	Kathryn Hart Anne Brogan Jonathan Doyle
Producer(s)	Carolina Matas Pilar Cubría
Running time	7 minutes
Production company(s)	Zinkia Entertainment Cosgrove-Hall Films (season 1 only)
Distributor	Granada International (UK)
Broadcast
First shown in	January 2005 - present
External links
Website
Production website

Pocoyo (Pocoyó in Spanish) is a Spanish pre-school animated television series created by Guillermo García Carsí, Luis Gallego and David Cantolla, and is a co-production between Spanish producer Zinkia Entertainment, Cosgrove-Hall Films and Granada International. Two series have been produced, each consisting of 52 seven-minute episodes. English actor and comedian Stephen Fry narrates the English language version, and José María del Río narrates the Castilian Spanish version.

Set in a 3D space, with a plain white background and no backdrops, it is about a young boy dressed in blue, who is full of curiosity. Viewers are encouraged to recognise situations that Pocoyo is in, and things that are going on with or around him. The narrator usually speaks explicitly to the viewers and to the characters as well. Each character has its own distinctive dance and also a specific sound (usually from a musical instrument), and most episodes end with the characters dancing. Many episodes also involve parties.

In the United Kingdom, it was originally broadcast on CITV, a children's strand on the ITV network. In September 2007, Five acquired terrestrial rights in the United Kingdom to the first and second series, making it part of the Milkshake! strand. The show, however, will continue to air on the CITV Channel. Other broadcasters in the English speaking countries include RTÉ in the Republic of Ireland, Nick Jr. in the U.S. nationwide and local station WNYE-TV in the New York City, Treehouse TV in Canada, ABC in Australia and TVNZ in New Zealand.

In Spain, TVE2 broadcast the second series in Spain starting in April 2008. A future third series is on hold as the makers wish to embark upon other projects, one of which may be a Pocoyo movie.

In June 2006, Pocoyo was awarded the Cristal Award for the "Best TV Production" at the 30th Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

Name

Pocoyo's name was provided by David Cantolla, one of the creators, after his three-year-old daughter used it in her nightly prayers saying "Eres niño poco yo" ("You're a child little me") instead of "Eres niño como yo ("You're a child like me"). "Pocoyó" could roughly be translated to English as "little me", "not much me" or "a little bit me", though it is a made-up construction.

Development

The show is created with Softimage XSI software.

Main characters

• Pocoyo is the eponymous main character of the series. He is a young boy full of curiosity who loves to play games and discover new things. He is very acrobatic and moves at a quick speed. He is always shown wearing blue clothes and a hat. He is (always) four years old; his "birthday" (when he inevitably turns four again) is October 14. His best friends are Pato, Elly, and Loula. He has a vehicle called the Vamoosh which he can use to travel under the water, in the air or through space. Although he is very friendly and sweet and almost always in a good mood, Pocoyo is also highly self-centered, distracted by the simplest things, easily frustrated, frequently jealous of his friends, and disobedient, but tries his hardest to fight his flaws and learn morals. He is voiced by Montana Smedley most of the time, but occasionally, by Alex Marty.
• The Narrator (del Rio or Fry) speaks over the entire show, and often communicates directly with the characters. Pocoyo has a good relationship with him, and is always to delighted to see (hear) him. The narrator is also at times physically involved in the events of the episodes, making him more of an heard-but-not-seen character rather than a strict narrator.
• Pato is a yellow duck who wears nothing but a small green hat. He has a fondness for gardening, and is often seeing watering plants and flowerbeds. Pato means duck in Spanish, Portuguese, Filipino, Tok Pisin and Papiamento. He is a favourite amongst the young children due to his enjoyable dancing and the fact that his beak turns 360 degrees. Although friendly, Pato is the most fussy and impatient character (indicated by his beak that bends in an angle when disappointed or shocked); on occasion he completely loses his temper, jumping up and down and quacking furiously with his beak spinning rapidly. He is used as a jackhammer or missile and can become a helicopter.
• Elly is a pink elephant who always wears a blue back-pack. She loves making biscuits and tea, and she also has a doll that she loves very much. Despite her size, she is graceful and gentle, capable of ballet dancing. She is, however, very bossy and generally does things her way. She usually rides around on her pink scooter.
• Loula is Pocoyo's orange-yellow pet puppy and companion. Originally, the character's name was Lucas, in tribute to creator and director Guillermo García Carsi's dog.
• Sleepy Bird is a teal-coloured bird. It does little but sleep, and usually flies with its eyes closed. It's named "Pajaroto" in the Spanish version (reportedly named after a Zinkia employee nicknamed "Maroto", and bearing a strong resemblance to him). It can be active from time to time, but more often is found asleep or snoozing to its content.

Secondary characters

• Aliens are sweet little green tripedal beings that Pocoyo finds in space in search of his toy plane.
• Baby Bird is the small, always active (he has not inherited his mother's fondness of sleeping) and loud baby of Sleepy Bird, who gets into tricky situations from which he is rescued by Pocoyo. He is best friends with Caterpillar. Named "Pajarito" in Spanish version ('little bird')
• Ball Orchestra is a group of three ball-like creatures who play the trumpet, drums and cymbals.
• Butterfly is a very hungry butterfly which Pocoyo occasionally catches.
• Caterpillar (named "Valentina" in Spanish) is a yellow caterpillar with a blue bow on top of her head. She speaks in gibberish and has the ability to change into a butterfly and back when she wants. She is best friends with Baby Bird.
• (Fred the) Octopus is a lunatic red octopus (although shown with only 4 legs, as to make animation rendering simpler) who speaks in gibberish like Caterpillar, and is very fond of opera singing. He appears in random episodes, sometimes as a major character, sometimes in passing. As of Season Two, he is sometimes referred to as 'Fred'.
• Music Flower & The Band are musical characters who play music that Pocoyo likes.
• Whale is a huge white whale with red cheeks whom Pocoyo meets under the sea.

Episode list

To date two series have been produced, each with 52 episodes. There is also an unreleased episode entitled "The See-Saw", along with 2 movies released in the Spanish market.

Series 1 (2005-2007) 0. Counting Fish (Pocoyo Pilot Episode) 1. Hush 2. Pocoyo Dance 3. Drum Roll Please 4. Umbrella, Umbrella 5. A Mystery Most Puzzling 6. A Present For Elly 7. The Big Sneeze 8. Double Bubble 9. Sleepy Bird's Surprise 10. Swept Away 11. Who's On the Phone? 12. Fetch Loula Fetch 13. A Little Cloud 14. Table for Fun 15. Keep Going, Pocoyo! 16. Where's Pocoyo? 17. Drummer Boy 18. The Great Race 19. Don't Touch 20. Mystery Footprints 21. Magical Watering Can 22. Twinkle Twinkle 23. Hiccup 24. Pato's Postal Service 25. Puppy Love 26. Bat and Ball 27. Elly Has Spots 28. Up Up and Away 29. A Surprise for Pocoyo 30. Having a Ball 31. Super Pocoyo 32. Let's Go Camping 33. The Key to It All 34. Fussy Duck 35. Whale's Birthday 36. Elly's Big Chase 37. Bedtime 38. Juggling Balls 39. Pocoyo's Little Friend 40. Pocoyo, Pocoyo 41. Picture This 42. Musical Blocks 43. Paint Me a Picture 44. Elly's Doll 45. Giggle Bug 46. Pocoyo Gets It Right 47. A Dog's Life 48. What's In The Box 49. Pocoyo-lympics 50. Colour My World 51. A Little Something Between Friends 52. Wackily Ever After Series 2 (2007-2010) Pocoyo's Present Mad Mix Machine Big Scary Slide Elly's Ballet Class Guess What? Mr Big Duck The Messy Guest (seen in the movie "El Show de Pocoyo") Pocoyo's Balloon Who's Calling Me Now? Band of Friends Upside Down New on the Planet All for One Elly's Shoes Duck Stuck Scary Noises Not in my Backyard Vamoosh on the Loosh Detective Pocoyo Scooter Madness Lost in Space Boo! Party Pooper My Pato! Baby Bird Bother Dirty Dog The Seed Runaway Hat Invisible Pocoyo Noise to my Ears Baby Bird Sitting Everyone's Present Magic Act Picnic Puzzle Dance Off! Pato's Egg Pocoyo's Puppet Show Get Lost Loula Sneaky Shoes Shutterbug Angry Alien Pato's Paintings Monster Mystery Pato Underwater Poczilla Elly on Ice Farewell Friends Double Trouble Horse! Elly's Tea Party Talent Show Remember When... Movies La Gran Fiesta de Pocoyó El Show de Pocoyo (aka El Circo Especial)

DVD releases

Region 2 (UK)

• Pocoyo: Series 1 (Episodes 1.01-1.13)
• Pocoyo: Series 1 - Explore and Discover (Episodes 1.14-1.26)
• Pocoyo: Vol. 3 - Fun and Adventures (Episodes 1.27-1.39)
• Pocoyo: Bumper Fun! - Volume 4 (Episodes 1.41-2.13)
• Pocoyo: Vol. 5 - Scooter Madness (Episodes 2.14-2.26)

Pocoyo Friendy Fun Episodes 1.41-1.13

Region 1 (US/Canada)

• Pocoyo: Meet Pocoyo (Episodes 1.03-1.05 and 1.07-1.10)
• Pocoyo: Pocoyo and Friends
• Pocoyo: Super Pocoyo
• Pocoyo: Fun & Dance
• Pocoyo: Let's Party [Episodes: 1. Who’s On the Phone, 2. A Present for Elly, 3. Whale’s Birthday, 4. Pocoyo’s Puppet Show, 5. Party Pooper, 6. Pocoyo’s Present, 7. Everyone’s Present, 8. The Great Race, 9. Elly’s Tea Party, 10. Pato Underwater, 11. Baby Bird Bother, 12. Farewell Friends]'

Region 4 (Australia/New Zealand)

• Pocoyo: Drum Roll Please (Episodes 1.01-1.09)
• Pocoyo: Swept Away (Episodes 1.10-1.18)
• Pocoyo: Mystery Footprints (Episodes 1.19-1.27)
• Pocoyo: A Surprise For Pocoyo (Episodes 1.28-1.36)
• Pocoyo: Bedtime (Episodes 1.37-1.45)
• Pocoyo: A Dog's Life (Episodes 1.46-1.52)
• Pocoyo: Messy Guest (Episodes 2.01-2.10)
• Pocoyo: Scooter Madness (Episodes 2.11-2.20)
• Pocoyo: Baby Bird (Episodes 2.21-2.31)
• Pocoyo: Sneaky Shoes (Episodes 2.32-2.41)

External links

• Official website
• Official Pocoyo blog
• Pocoyo at the Internet Movie Database
• Guillermo García Carsi