The Why Why Family

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The Why Why Family
Les Kikekoi
Created byNatalie Altmann
Vincent Chalvon-Demersay
Written byAnnabelle Perrichon
François-Emmanuel Porché
Directed byBruno Bianchi
Voices of
ComposerMichel Dax
Country of originFrance
United States
Original languagesEnglish
French
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26 (130 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersJacqueline Tordjman
Vincent Chalvon-Demersay
ProducerBruno Bianchi
Production companiesSaban Entertainment
Saban International Paris
Original release
NetworkFox Kids (international)
France 3 (France)
Das Erste (Germany)
Release1996 (1996)

The Why Why Family (French: Les Kikekoi, also known as Saban's The Why Why Family) is an animated children's television series, which originally aired from late 1996 to 1997.[1] It was produced by Saban International Paris and Saban Entertainment.[2] The show was broadcast internationally on Fox Kids (starting with Fox Kids Netherlands[3] and Fox Kids UK[4] feeds later expanded airs on other feeds), while in the United States it aired in first-run syndication. Character designs and comedy elements emulate vintage cartoons.

Synopsis[edit]

Every episode begins with Victor (off-screen) summarizing what his family members will teach him in the episode.
Each episode is divided into 5 segments. In each segment, Victor asks a family member a popular scientific question, following an extensive answer by said family member/s with a particular expertise in the field of science involved in the question. Each of these segments has its short intro and The End sketches for the specific characters. Each sketch is titled <(character name/s) in (topic)>.
Before the end credits in each episode, Max asks Victor "Well Victor, what did you learn today?" to which he begins with "Tons of neat stuff", summarizing again what his family members taught him. Max answers, "Sounds like a real big day." and Victor concludes, "It was, but I still have plenty of questions left for next time."

Characters[edit]

  • Victor
    • A baby and the main protagonist of the series. All times he has questions (though these are smarter ones) to explain his family members like any other kid. He has blonde hair, and usually only wears a light blue diaper.
  • Max — Technology and electronics
    • The intelligent father of Victor and a stereotypical mechanic/handyman. He is Vanilla's husband, Eartha and Matik's son and Micro and Scopo's brother. He seems to be the closest to Victor compared to the others. Resembles his mother Eartha and is rarely seen without his cap.
  • Vanilla and birds Kwik and Kwak — Botany and zoology
    • Vanilla is Max's wife, Eartha and Matik's daughter-in-law, Micro and Scopo's sister-in-law, and Victor's mother who he resembles. Kwik and Kwak are running gags of their episodes and normally argue.
  • Eartha (as her name suggests) and Basalt the dinosaur — Geography, geology and meteorology
    • Matik's wife, Max, Micro and Scopo's mother, Vanilla's mother-in-law, and Victor's grandmother who also cooks for their family. Basalt is a green dinosaur with orange spots & can be greedy. He can transform into any mode of transport & time travel.
  • Micro and Scopo — Biology of the human body
    • Victor's uncles and Max's brothers who are running gags. Micro is stubby and wears a white cowboy hat (is sometimes seen without it), does most of the statements in their episodes. Scopo is the larger and dumber of the brothers, being the test subject yet expresses his own knowledge at times. They both have what look like masks and 'dog ears' like their father, Matik.
  • Matik and dog Zygo — Astronomy and the Universe
    • Victor's grandfather, Max, Micro and Scopo's father, and Eartha's husband who has 'dog ears' and is rarely seen without his pilot hat. Zygo sounds like Daffy Duck from Looney Tunes and has webbed limbs.

Broadcast history[edit]

The exact airdates of the 26 episodes are unknown; with some having a 1996 copyright date in the credits and others having a 1997 copyright date.[5] In the United States, the series aired as part of a syndicated strand of Saban programmes called the "Saban Kids Network".[6] The block included other, more action-oriented programmes such as Eagle Riders, Samurai Pizza Cats, season 1 of Dragon Ball Z and season 2 of Masked Rider. With the series airing on the block per the guidelines of the Federal Communications Commission, it marked Saban's first entry into the educational television market.[7] The show was cancelled by Saban due to low ratings.[8]

Ownership of the series passed to Disney in 2001 when Disney acquired Fox Kids Worldwide, which also includes Saban Entertainment.[9][10][11] In the 2000s, it later ran as part of Disney's Jetix block.

Episodes[edit]

# Topic Character(s) Title
1 Camera Max Photo Opportunity
Illnesses Micro & Scopo Sick Leave
Solar System Zygo & Matik O Solar Mio
Volcanoes Earth & Basalt All You Need Is Lava
Zebras Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak A Horse Of A Different Color
2 Meteors Zygo & Matik Pleased To Meteor You
Car engine Max Idle Chatter
Bird wing Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Feather Knows Best
Fossils Eartha & Basalt Shell Shock
DNA Micro & Scopo I Resemble Mama
3 Paresthesia Micro & Scopo Out On a Limb
Flowers Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Petal Pushers
Gravity Zygo & Matik He Ain’t Heavy, He’s An Astronaut
Rain Eartha & Basalt Stormy Weather
Barcodes Max Bars & Stripes Forever
4 Sneeze Micro & Scopo Sneezed To Meet You
Remote control Max Beam My Baby
Plants Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Green & Bear It
Thunder and lightning Eartha & Basalt Sound & The Whywhys
Stars Zygo & Matik Star Treatment
5 Spiders Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Web Sight
Fax machine Max Just The Fax
Sweat Micro & Scopo No Sweat
Galaxy Zygo & Matik For Me And My Galaxy
Currents Eartha & Basalt Current Event
6 Brain Micro & Scopo Brain Waives
Photocopier Max Copy Cats
Bees Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak To Hive And Hive Not
Ice Age Earth & Basalt A Tree Froze In Brooklyn
Mars Zygo & Matik Mars Attracts
7 Mammals Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Hair Today
Aeroplanes Max Plane Speaking
Solar eclipse Zygo & Matik Sun Blocked
Tides Eartha & Basalt Fit To Be Tide
Ear Micro & Scopo Hear And Now
8 Sunlight Zygo & Matik Light Entertainment
Telephone Max Dial-A Whywhy
Smell and taste Micro & Scopo Common Scents
Mountains Eartha & Basalt Uphill All The Way
Coral reefs Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Hail To The Reef
9 Lightning Eartha & Basalt A Bolt From The Blue
Bird sounds Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Chirp Thrills
CDs Max Pit Stop
Space stations Zygo & Matik Station Break
Eye Micro & Scopo Oh Say Can You See
10 Wind Eartha & Basalt Breezy Does It
Refrigerator Max The Chill Of It All
Gravity Zygo & Matik Down To Earth
Balanced diet Micro & Scopo Surely You Ingest
Cats Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak You’ve Gotta Be Kitten
11 Mosquitoes Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak A Bite To Remember
Sand Eartha & Basalt True Grit
Stars Zygo & Matik Great Balls Of Fire
Elevators Max Ready Willing & Cable
Reflexes Micro & Scopo A Touchy Subject
12 Climates Eartha & Basalt Changing Climes
Leaves Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Free Falling
Television Max Turn On… Tune In
Comets Zygo & Matik Dust To Us
Digestion Micro & Scopo Eater's Digest
13 Ocean's bottom Eartha & Basalt Bottom Feeders
Snakes Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak No Skin Off My Back
Light bulb Max Lights Out!
Day and night Zygo & Matik Sunrise… Sunset
Breathing Micro & Scopo Air Apparent
14 Fog Eartha & Basalt Another Fine Mist
Helicopter Max The Big Cover Up
Bats Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Blind Leading The Blind
Cavities Micro & Scopo Nothing But The Tooth
Seasons Zygo & Matik Seasons Greetings
15 Coal and oil Eartha & Basalt No Fuel Like Old Fuel
Submarine Max Way Down Under
Cactus Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Cactus If You Can
Scabs Micro & Scopo A Cut Above
Satellites Zygo & Matik Global Swarming
16 Kangaroos Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak It’s In The Bag
Microwave oven Max Nuking It Out!
Fungi Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak A Fungus Among Us
Heart Micro & Scopo To Bleed Or Not To Bleed
Moon Zygo & Matik Craters And Cream Cheese
17 Snow Eartha & Basalt Snow Job
Solar power Max Sunday Punch
Marine life Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Victor And The Glow Fish
Fever Micro & Scopo Heat Treatment
Washing machine Max Wash You Were Here
18 Frogs Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak One Giant Leap For Frogkind
Glue Max Stick Around
Nests Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Branching Out
Dizziness Micro & Scopo Spin Doctors
Space telescopes Zygo & Matik Scope It Out
19 Evaporation Eartha & Basalt That Thing You Dew
Batteries Max The Powers That Be
Pollination Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Blowin’ in the Wind
Hair Micro & Scopo Hair-Raising Experience
Black holes Zygo & Matik Hole In One
20 Valleys Eartha & Basalt Ice Cycle
Light Max The Light Show
Earthquakes Eartha & Basalt Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
Tears Micro & Scopo For Cryin’ Out Loud
Venus and Mercury Zygo & Matik Hot! Hot! Hot!
21 Ozone layer Eartha & Basalt There’s No Zone Like Ozone
Sleep Micro & Scopo Perchance to Dream
Cows Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak That Was Then, This Is Cow
Projector Max Lights, Camera, Action!
Speech Micro & Scopo O’ See Can You Say?
22 Deserts Eartha & Basalt How Dry I Am!
Jupiter Zygo & Matik Big
Butterflies Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Ch Ch Ch Changes
Water purification Max Go With the Flow
Asteroid belts Zygo & Matik It’s A Material Whirl
23 Rocks Eartha & Basalt Goldirocks
Growing up Micro & Scopo Home Grown
Roots Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak From the Ground… Up
Water Eartha & Basalt Water Water Everywhere
Space Travel Zygo & Matik One Giant Leap For Why Whys
24 Rivers Eartha & Basalt It’s All Downhill From Here
Locks Max A Turn-Key Operation
Habitat Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Sleeping In
Headaches Micro & Scopo Your Loss is Migraine
Planet rotation & revolution Zygo & Matik Moon Trek
25 Storms Eartha & Basalt Sooo Cool
Outer planets Zygo & Matik The Outer Planets
Dams Max Hold That Thought!
Brain Micro & Scopo Chuckleheads
Astrological symbols Zygo & Matik What’s Your Sign?
26 Light Eartha & Basalt The Light Show
Lenses Max Thru the Looking Glass
Reptiles Vanilla, Kwik & Kwak Snakes Alive!
Muscles Micro & Scopo Only the Strong Survive
Asteroids Zygo & Matik It Came from Outer Space

Voice cast[edit]

Crew[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "TV's Fall Animation Lineup".
  2. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 904. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. ^ "de Stem | 2 september 1997 | pagina 21". Krantenbank Zeeland (in Dutch). 1997-09-02. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  4. ^ The Times , 1997, UK, English. 1997.
  5. ^ The Why Why Family credits.
  6. ^ "Saban's kids".
  7. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (1996-06-17). "Programers unveil bells, whistles" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  8. ^ "Saban to sell new'Kangaroo,' 'X-Men'". Variety. 1996-12-03. Archived from the original on 2023-07-25.
  9. ^ "U.S. Copyright Public Records System".
  10. ^ "Disney+ and Missing Saban Entertainment & Fox Kids-Jetix Worldwide Library - StreamClues". 14 September 2022. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Liste - BVS Entertainment | Séries".

External links[edit]

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