Wilbur (TV series)

Wilbur
Starring	Julie Lemieux Emma Pustil Ian Busher Taylor Barber
Opening theme	"Books are moo-ve-lous"
Ending theme	"Books are moo-ve-lous" (instrumental)
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Mercury Filmworks Chilco Productions EKA Distribution Egmont Imagination
Original release
Network	CBC Discovery Kids (United States)
Release	April 16, 2007 (2007-04-16) – March 18, 2008 (2008-03-18)

Wilbur is a Canadian live-action/animated children's television series that premiered on the Ready Set Learn block on Discovery Kids (now Discovery Family) in the United States on April 16, 2007 and then moved to TLC on April 23, 2007. The series was produced by Mercury Filmworks, in association with Chilco Productions, EKA Distribution and Egmont Imagination. The series ended on March 18, 2008.

Production

Before that, the franchise existed as a series of videotapes produced in 1997. A pilot for Wilbur was produced by Cuppa Coffee Studios in 2001.

Broadcast

After the series ended, reruns continued to air on Discovery Family (formerly The Hub) until June 24, 2012.

Plot

A key aim of the show was to get young children excited about reading, as its tagline is "Books are moo-ve-lous" and the phrase features in the show's theme song, as well.

Each episode was split into two shorts. In each short Wilbur and his friends would encounter a problem. After this, Wilbur gets a wiggling sensation which prompts him to read a book that guides the group in solving their problem. The book in question is usually wholly made up for the purposes of the show and features Wilbur and his friends. After the group discusses their problem and its resolution, they read through the short book a second time, and clips show children reciting the line "Once upon a time" at the beginning and saying "The end" at the end of the story.

Characters

• Wilbur the Calf (voiced by Julie Lemieux) is a anthropomorphic calf and the host of the show.
• Dasha the Duck (voiced by Emma Pustil) is one of Wilbur's friends.
• Ray the Rooster (voiced by Ian Busher) is also one of Wilbur’s friends.
• Libby the Lamb (voiced by Taylor Barber) is a cute, younger lamb who seeks the others’ help to look after. She speaks with a toddler's lisp.

Episodes

#	Episode	Original airdate
1	Sensational Wilbur/Pizza Dasha	April 16, 2007
2	A Swingin' Time/The Big Barnyard Show	April 30, 2007
3	Wilbur's Wobbly Bed/Wiggly Fun	May 1, 2007
4	Mysterious Sound/Growing Pains	May 8, 2007
5	Dasha's New Friend/Ray Loses His Crow	May 15, 2007
6	Wish You Were Here/Sheep Shape	May 22, 2007
7	Can't Wait/Bubbles for Libby	May 29, 2007
8	Rhyme Time/The Sound of Moosic	September 6, 2007
9	Rain Dance/Milk and Sandwiches	September 13, 2007
10	Libby's Picnic/Squeaker Come Home	September 20, 2007
11	Libby's Bubbles/High Slide	September 27, 2007
12	Scarecrow/Oh Solo Moo	October 1, 2007
13	Hay Day/Wilbur's Camp Out	October 8, 2007
14	Libby's Apples/On Dasha's Pond	October 15, 2007
15	Spring Egg Hunt/Spring Bees	October 22, 2007
16	Leaf It to Dasha/Hay Fever	October 29, 2007
17	Getting into Shapes/The Wright Stuff	November 5, 2007
18	Ray's Socks/Spilled Apples	November 12, 2007
19	Wilbur's Nap/Broken Toy	November 19, 2007
20	Two Reds Are Better Than One/Thanks for Everything	November 26, 2007
21	Funny Dress-Up Night/All That Glitters	December 3, 2007
22	Snowflake Festival/Snowbuddies	December 10, 2007
23	Friendship Day/Repeat After Me	December 24, 2007
24	Sheep Need Sleep/Libby's Marbles	December 31, 2007
25	The Fence/The Magic Word	March 11, 2008
26	Wilbur's Birthday/Me First, You First	March 18, 2008

External links

• Wilbur at IMDb