Handy Manny

File:HandyManny.jpg

Handy Manny and his tools

Handy Manny is a TV animated children's program launched in 2006, part of the Playhouse Disney morning block of the Disney Channel. The show features the adventures of Manny Garcia, a bilingual Hispanic handyman, and his anthropomorphic, talking tools. It premires in June 2009 on Teletoon.

The show was created by Roger Bollen, Marilyn Sadler and Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Rick Gitelson. The animation is produced by Toronto-based Nelvana and features the voice performances of Wilmer Valderrama, Tom Kenny, Dee Bradley Baker, Fred Stoller, Nika Futterman, Kath Soucie, Carlos Alazraqui and Nancy Truman. Special guest stars in the series have included Lance Bass, Kurtwood Smith, Shelley Morrison, Fred Willard, Penn Jillette, Jon Polito, Brian George, Snoop Dogg and Bob Glouberman featuring the voices of Erykah Badu, T-Pain and Kiely Williams. The theme song is performed by Los Lobos.

Three DVD compilations have been released:
Handy Manny: Tooling Around
Handy Manny: Fixing it Right
Handy Manny: Manny's Pet Roundup

Cast

Main human characters

• Manuel "Manny" Garcia (voiced by Wilmer Valderrama)

The No.1 repairman of Sheetrock Hills who has living, talking tools. He has a reputation for helping everyone, and was awarded the "Good Citizens Award" last season, after unknowingly repairing his own prize trophy. Manny gets most of his jobs via phone calls, and generally responds straight away. He either walks, carrying his tool box, or drives in a red pickup truck. As of episode 228, aired 12/1/08, he also drives a green motorcycle with sidecar, given to him by his Uncle Hugo. He is quite similar to Bob The Builder in appearance and personality. He is of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent.

• Kelly (voiced by Nancy Truman)

Owner of a hardware store frequented by Manny and his tools. Manny has a contractor's account with Kelly's Hardware and makes payments on 30-day terms. The show does not often mention the exchange of currency because it is generally considered irrelevant to the show's target demographic. It also appears as if Manny has a crush on Kelly, and vice versa. It is revealed in "Paint Job" that she has a little brother named Elliot who's a skate boarder and plays the drums.

• Mr. Lopart (voiced by Tom Kenny)

Leonard Francis Lopart - known by the main characters simply as Mr. Lopart is the owner of a candy store next to Manny's workshop. Mr Lopart's know-it-all attitude and refusal of Manny's assistance often lands him in trouble, usually resulting in his falling on the floor.

• Elliot (voiced by Lance Bass)

Elliot is Kelly's little brother who is an expert drummer and skateboarder. When Elliot isn't riding around on his skateboard with his friend Cameron, he's helping out his sister Kelly at the hardware store and sometimes he's helping out Mr. Kumar with his inventory. Elliot admires Manny for the way that he helps people with all of their problems and he has a lot of respect for him. And even though Elliot tends to be a bit preoccupied about others matters aside from the task at hand, he's helpful in more ways than one. In the episode "Elliot Minds the Store", Elliot has trouble helping Kelly with her annual hardware sale due to the fact that he knows nothing about hardware in general; but with a little help from Manny and the tools, Elliot's confidence slowly begins to grow. We also learn in the episode "Cock-a-Doodle-Do", Elliot has a pet rooster named Milton. Elliot calls Manny for a solution to quell the crowing that Milton does every morning which results in everyone in Sheetrock Hills from getting any sleep. With Manny's help, Elliot is able to keep Milton and everyone else is able to get some well-deserved sleep. In the episode "Frank's Barber Shop," we learn that Elliot is also a lifeguard and that he's helping Mayor Rosa out at Sheetrock Hills City Hall with special projects. When Manny hears about it, he persuades Elliot to get a haircut although he refuses at first; he realizes in order to get the job, he has to look his best. With a little help from Felipe, he allows Frank the Barber to trim him up; and in the process Elliot gets the job after encountering Mayor Rosa and is able to recommend Frank to his friends."

• Mayor Rosa

Mayor Rosa is the mayor of Sheet Rock Hills.

The tools

The interaction among Manny's tools is a very important part of the show.

"Felipe" - is a Phillips Screwdriver who always considers himself a very important tool. Sometimes, his ideas could make a problem worse. He provides a lot of the Spanish language content in the show, translating for the other tools. He is voiced by Carlos Alazraqui.
"Turner" - is a Flat Screwdriver who can be grumpy and cynical. He and Felipe are rivals but in the episode " Supremoguy " he helped save Felipe from falling off a scaffold. He is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.
"Stretch" - is a Tape measure who loves to measure things. His ideas seems to work during a problem, and he is able to count well too. He is voiced by Nika Futterman.
"Squeeze" - is a pair of Pliers who is sometimes impatient to fix something (usually with bolts) Her ideas could be wrong at times. She is voiced by Nika Futterman.
"Pat" - is a Hammer who is talkative, funny, and not very intelligent. He also had amnesia in the episode " Pat the Screwdriver ". His catchphrase is "I'm a hammer" He is voiced by Tom Kenny.
"Dusty" - is a Saw who gives good advice. Her ideas usually seem to work. She loves to cut things like wood. She is voiced by Katherine Soucie.
"Rusty" - is a Monkey wrench (though drawn as a Pipe Wrench) who is not very brave and a worrywart. He sometimes needs Manny's assistance to get courage. He is voiced by Fred Stoller.
"Flicker" - is a flashlight who is still learning English. He was introduced on Monday, December 1, 2008. He is voiced by Grey DeLisle.

Episode List

Main article: List of Handy Manny episodes

Crew

• Executive Producer: Rick Gitelson
• Writers: Rick Gitelson, Jeff Wynne
• Directors: Ted Bastien, Sue Blue
• Composer: Fernando Rivas
• Layout Animation: Alexandru Eana
• Animation: Barry A Sanders

International broadcasting

• Australia and New Zealand: Playhouse Disney: Brought intact from the original version and currently only available on subscriber television providers Foxtel and Austar in Australia, and SKY and TV2 in New Zealand.

• Denmark: Playhouse Disney: Not translated but also Handy Manny, as in the other countries it is bilingual, but the main language is Danish and the Spanish words are translated into English.

• Germany: Playhouse Disney: Translated as Meister Manny (Master Manny), the series is still bilingual, but the main language is German and the few words in Spanish.

• Israel: HOP!: translated as Nadav Yadey Zahav (Nadav Golden Hands), the English and the Spanish are both translated in Hebrew.

• Italy: Playhouse Disney: Translated as Manny Tuttofare (Manny Handyperson), just like the Spanish translation, the series is still bilingual, but the main language is Italian and the few words in Spanish are translated into English.

• Japan: Playhouse Disney: Translated as おたすけマニー　 (Otasuke Manii or Helping Manny), as in the other countries it is bilingual, but the main language is Japanese and the Spanish words are translated into English. However, the original version (English/Spanish) can also be heard if the television is equipped with a selectable bilingual function.

• Portugal: Disney Channel: Translated as Manny Manicas, the English and the Spanish are both translated in Portuguese.

• Spain: Playhouse Disney: Translated as Manny Manitas, the series keep its bilingual format, but inverting the English and Spanish languages. In Spain Manny speaks mostly Spanish with a few words in English.

• Sweden: Playhouse Disney: Translated as Händige Manny, as in the other countries it is bilingual, but the main language is Swedish and the Spanish words are translated into English.

• United Kingdom: Playhouse Disney: Brought intact from the original version and currently only available on the subscriber television providers BSkyB and Virgin Media

• Malaysia: Playhouse Disney: Not translated but the main language is avalible in English and Bahasa Melayu.

External links

• Handy Manny Official Disney Website
• Handy Manny's section on Disney.com.au
• Manny Manitas (Handy Manny's) section on Disney.es (Spanish)
• About.com article
• [1] TV.com's summary on Handy Manny