JoJo's Circus
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JoJo's Circus is a musical comedy series for preschool children. Beginning its broadcasting run in 2003, the series—produced by Jim Jinkins, who also produces fellow Disney Channel show Stanley—airs on the Disney Channel in the USA as part of the Playhouse Disney morning programming schedule. Currently, it airs at 6:30 AM.
JoJo and her fellow characters hail from Circus Town, a self-sufficient city whose cultural center is the "Big Top" circus tent. The show focuses on JoJo Tickle and stresses simple, everyday lessons such as playing with others, personal hygiene, responsibility, and safety. Also paramount is the show's focus on exercise: JoJo often asks for audience participation (such as clapping, jumping, and stretching) from viewers.
Recurring themes
JoJo's Circus relies on repetition in its structure. Each segment (of which there are two during the show's approximately 24 minute runtime) begins with JoJo searching for Goliath, her pet lion, who is always hiding. JoJo then is presented with the situation that will occupy the theme of the show. A song (usually about the resolution of the situation) is then sung by JoJo and the viewers. At the conclusion of a show, a secondary character will ask, "What did you learn today, JoJo?", and before she can reply, JoJo is whisked away and placed on a make-shift stage, while a song asking what she has learned is sung. Subsequently, JoJo explains what she has learned in the course of the episode and viewers are shown the conclusion.
Music
Every episode contains a very catchy one minute tune dealing with the topics of the preceding episode. (These songs can be found on two different CDs: Songs from JoJo's Circus and Songs from Under the Big Top!) The genres of these songs range from do-wop to funk to rock to early punk. Phrases like "stretch your arms" and "jump up high" are common lyrics. Most of the songs are educational—telling kids how to bow, stretch, greet people, wash your hair, and clean up after themselves—while a few are just fun and silly, such as Cotton Candy Sure Is Sweet or The Gum Drop Song.
Characters
Main Characters
- JoJo Tickle (the main character)
- Goliath the Lion (JoJo's pet)
- Skeebo Seltzer (JoJo's best friend, a clown magician who wears a sheriff's star-shaped badge and cowboy hat, plus one blue shoe and one red shoe)
- Croaky Frogini (one of The Flying Froginis)
- Trina Tightrope (ballerina and tightrope walker)
- Mr. and Mrs. (a.k.a. Peaches) Tickle (JoJo's parents)
- Mrs. Kersplatski (the teacher at the circus school, big top ringleader, and Mr. Muscles' wife)
Secondary Characters
- Dinky the Elephant
- Tater the Potato
- Balboa the Snake
- Fellini and Federico Frogini (brothers and two-thirds of The Flying Froginis)
- Mr. Muscles (the circus' strong man)
- Maya Muscles (Mr. Muscles' daughter)
- Dr. Seltzer (Skeebo's mother)
- Fire Chief Seltzer (Skeebo's father)
- Mr. and Mrs. Spudinski (Tater's parents)
- Mrs. Pachyderm (Dinky's mother)
- Babalulu (pretzel and ice cream shop vendor)
- Jumberto the Jackrabbit (magician whose tricks rarely work)
- Terrific the Tiger Tamer
- Uncle Flippy (a farmer and JoJo's uncle)
- Ballooney Baloney (makes balloon animals)
- Cotton Andy (cotton candy vendor whose cotton candy machine is named "Whoopsabelle")
- Grandma and Grandpa Tickle
- Terracotta (the little girl who looks like a flower pot)
- The Firefighers (who carry JoJo off at the end of each show)
The Froginis
Participants of message boards on IMDb and other online communities have speculated that Fellini and Federico of The Flying Froginis are a homosexual, or gay, couple. This has not been confirmed in the program. Croaky refers to them as "my father" and "my uncle," and they call each other "brother" (for example, see episodes "Happy Hoppy Day" and "My Favorite Frogsitter"). This issue has become a point of contention among parents whose children watch JoJo's Circus.[1] However, it's unlikely that the Froginis are gay, in light of the fact that the producers of the show have also created a Christian children's show entitled HoopDogz.[2]