Ella the Elephant

Ella the Elephant
Genre	Children's
Directed by	Larry Jacobs
Voices of	Michole White Annick Obonsawin Avery Kadish Devan Cohen
Theme music composer	Brent Barkman Earl Torno
Opening theme	"Ella Theme", performed by Michole White
Ending theme	"Ella Theme" (instrumental)
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26 (52 shorts) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Michael Hirsh Toper Taylor John Vandervelde Sander Schwartz Alyssa Cooper Sapire For TVOKids: Patricia Ellingson
Producers	Jonah Stroh Supervising Producer: Terry Rotsaert
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	TVOKids FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment DHX Cookie Jar Inc.
Original release
Network	TVOKids Knowledge Kids
Release	September 2, 2013 (2013-09-02) – January 23, 2014 (2014-01-23)

Ella the Elephant (known in the books as Ella the Elegant Elephant) is a Canadian animated television preschool series based on the books by Carmela D' Amico & Steven Henry (né D'Amico). Produced by DHX Cookie Jar Inc. in association with TVOKids and FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment with animation by Atomic Cartoons, the series aired in Canada on TVOKids on August 26, 2013 for a sneak preview and officially premiered on September 2, 2013 and also airs on Knowledge Kids. In the United States, it premiered on Disney Junior on February 17, 2014. As of January 2015, no announcements had yet been made about a second season. However, the series of the first season continues to air reruns on TVOKids and Knowledge Kids in Canada and Disney Junior in the United States.

Plot

The series follows the adventures of Ella and her friends on Elephant Island. Ella is a spirited little girl elephant with a big heart, bigger imagination and a magic hat that can transform into almost anything. Everyday, there's a fantastic new adventure as Ella and her friends, Frankie, Belinda and Tiki, get themselves into some tricky situations. With a little determination, teamwork, a few missteps, and a touch of magic, Ella and her friends work to make everything work out in the end.

Production

The series was produced by DHX Cookie Jar Inc. in association with TVOKids and FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment with animation being provided by Atomic Cartoons. Brenna D'Amico is the adapter of the series, while Larry Jacobs is the director. Executive producers includes Michael Hirsh, Toper Taylor, and John Vandervelde for DHX Cookie Jar Inc., Sander Schwartz and Alyssa Cooper Sapire for FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment and Patricia Ellingson for TVOKids. Other staff for the series includes Jonah Stroh as producer and Brad Birch as executive story editor.

Development for the series started in 2012.

On February 7, 2012, Chris Arrant, news editor of Cartoon Brew, announced that the series entered production. Toper Taylor, president and COO of Cookie Jar was pleasantly thrilled for the production of Ella the Elephant and said: "Ella is a magical property about an ever ebullient, optimistic, responsible, compassionate little elephant whose kindred spirit will delight our preschool audience." "We are thrilled to be working with both Disney and Fremantle on the series' global launch."

Sander Schwartz, President, Kids & Family Entertainment, FME, said "We are very pleased to be partnered with Cookie Jar on what we believe will be a hugely successful series. Bringing these wonderful books to life is a labour of love for everyone working on this stunning series".

Characters

Main characters

• Ella Gray (voiced by Addison Holley) is the main character and a young elephant with a red magic hat that she says her grandma gave to her in the theme song. Ella is a problem-solver who is nice and kind to all her friends. Her magic hat transforms into different items depending on what she needs it for. Ella wears a red magic hat with yellow flowers, a light blue dress with a lattice pattern and wears a pink bow on her head under her hat.

• Belinda Blue (voiced by Annick Obonsawin) is an elephant who is lucky enough to have Elephant Island's mayor for her father, as well as a friend to Ella. Belinda loves to dance and is a total diva. Belinda wears a light blue blouse with blue polka-dots on it, a purple jacket and blue pants.

• Tiki McGuillicuddy: (voiced by Avery Kadish) is a smart female elephant who loves reading books and riding her bike. She has a pet monkey named Lola. Tiki has yellow ring-shaped glasses and wears a light yellow office shirt and an aquamarine dress.

• Frankie Melba (voiced by Devan Cohen) is a friend of Ella's who is a young elephant as well and is the only male of the group. Frankie has blonde hair and wears a turquoise cap, a red hoodie with a lightning bolt on it and blue jeans.

Recurring characters

• Lola (voiced by Rob Tinkler) is Tiki's pet monkey. In the episode "Monkey Business", Ella promised to look after her, but Lola keeps escaping and Ella and her friends worked together to find her.

• Mrs. Briggs (voiced by Russi Taylor) is Ella, Belinda, Frankie, Tiki, Ada, and Ida's teacher who likes interpretive dancing. In the episode "Ella's Got Talent", Mrs. Briggs asks Ella to come up with some clever introductions for each act and Ella does wonderful.

• Ada and Ida (voiced by Sophia Ewaniuk) are twin elephants who sometimes say things at the same time. When they do, they high-five and say "Jinx!" followed by a giggle. Ada and Ida are a little hard to tell apart, but they both love to sing.

• Captain Kelp (voiced by Neil Crone) is an elephant who asked Ella and Frankie to take care of his lighthouse in the episode, "Ella Sheds Some Light".

• Mrs. Gray (voiced by Stacey DePass) is Ella's mother who is a baker. In the episode "Ella in Charge", Ella takes over her mom's work at the bakery with Frankie's mom after she's got a terrible cold.

• Captain Grey (also voiced by Neil Crone) is Ella's father who is captain of the sea. In the episode "Home Again", he and Ella rescue Mayor Blue from the rowboat at sea and get him back before Open House ends.

• Mrs. Melba (voiced by Shoshana Sperling) is Frankie's mother who owns a bakery. In the episode "Ella in Charge", she takes over Mrs. Gray's work at the bakery with Ella after she's got a terrible cold.

• Mr. Mercer (voiced by Phil Williams) is an elephant who is really grumpy. In the episode "That's Swellaphant!", Ella helps him get involved in the festivities.

• Georgie (voiced by Jaxon Mercet) is a little elephant who is Frankie's little brother. In the episode "Ella Elephant Sits", Ella has to babysit him, but it becomes difficult as Georgie makes a big mess at the house.

• Mayor Blue (voiced by Danny Wells) is an elephant who is Belinda's father. In the episode, "Mayor Belinda", he allows Belinda to take the role of Assistant Mayor, but when she creates too much trouble, her friends have to help her undo the trouble she's created.

• Grandma Grey (voiced by Catherine Disher) is Ella's grandma who appeared in the episode "Grandma's Visit". In the episode, Ella, her grandmother, and her friends find the only troop stamp she didn't earn.

Episodes

Season 1 (2013-2014)

All episodes were directed by Larry Jacobs.

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Soapbox Squabble"	Larry Jacobs	Christin Simms	September 2, 2013
Ella and Frankie compete in the Soapbox Derby.
2	"Girls' Club"	Larry Jacobs	Christin Simms	September 3, 2013
Belinda starts a club for girls.
3	"Trunk Troopers"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Shelia Dinsmore Teleplay by: J.D. Smith	September 4, 2013
Ella and Belinda get lost in the forest while trying to earn a Butterfly Badge.
4	"Ella in Charge"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Shelia Dinsmore Teleplay by: Dave Dias	September 5, 2013
Ella and Frankie's Mom fill in for Ella's mom at the bakery.
5	"Ella Bakes a Cake"	Larry Jacobs	Shelia Dinsmore	September 6, 2013
The kids compete in the Junior Cake-Baking Contest.
6	"Camp Ella"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Shelia Dinsmore Teleplay by: Ben Joseph	September 9, 2013
Tiki goes camping in Ella's backyard.
7	"Ella's Got Talent"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Shelia Dinsmore Teleplay by: J.D. Smith	September 10, 2013
Ella has trouble coming up with an act for the talent show.
8	"Safety First"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Shelia Dinsmore Teleplay by: Kim Thompson	September 11, 2013
Ella takes on the responsibility of being a playground safety officer.
9	"Ella Sheds Some Light"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Shelia Dinsmore Teleplay by: Robert Ardiel	September 12, 2013
Ella and Frankie take care of Captain Kelp's lighthouse.
10	"Stylish Ella"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Shelia Dinsmore Teleplay by: Ben Joseph	September 13, 2013
Belinda is excited for her school's Picture Day.
11	"Ella's Top 100"	Larry Jacobs	Hugh Duffy	September 16, 2013
The 100th day of the school year is here.
12	"Hat Mishap"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Shelia Dinsmore Teleplay by: Franklin Young and Kim Thompson	September 17, 2013
Tiki's starring in the school play, and races to get to the theatre after an outing.
13	"Treasure Hunters"	Larry Jacobs	Jamie Wease	September 18, 2013
Ella, Frankie, Belinda and Tiki discover a treasure map.
14	"Ella Borrows Trouble"	Larry Jacobs	Karen Moonah	September 19, 2013
Ella loses Frankie's toy helicopter.
15	"Ella on the Ball"	Larry Jacobs	Christin Simms	September 20, 2013
When a member of the soccer team gets hurt, Ella's friends beg her to fill in.
16	"Up, Up and Away"	Larry Jacobs	Bernice Vanderlaan	September 23, 2013
Elephant Islands is having a Kite contest, where teams have to make a unique kite.
17	"Tea Party Trouble"	Larry Jacobs	Dale Schott Scott Albert	September 24, 2013
Ella has a tea party.
18	"Home Again"	Larry Jacobs	Jamie Waese	September 25, 2013
The kids participate in their school's Open House.
19	"Stormy Mom Day"	Larry Jacobs	J.D. Smith	September 26, 2013
A rainstorm causes Ella and Frankie's to rethink their Mother's Day plans.
20	"Team Spirit"	Larry Jacobs	Karen Moonah	September 27, 2013
Mrs. Briggs' class designs a scoreboard.
21	"Monkey Business"	Larry Jacobs	Shelley Hoffman Robert Pincombe	September 30, 2013
Ella has to look after a pet monkey.
22	"Ella's Carnival"	Larry Jacobs	Karen Moonah	October 1, 2013
Ella and her friends go to a carnival at town.
23	"Hello Dolly"	Larry Jacobs	Jason Hopley	October 2, 2013
Frankie accidentally sells Ella's doll.
24	"That's Swellaphant!"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Shelley Hoffman and Robert Pincombe Teleplay by: Atul Rao	October 3, 2013
Ella and her friends participate in the festivities of Swellaphant Day.
25	"Ella for Class President"	Larry Jacobs	Bernice Vanderlaan Jason Hopley	October 4, 2013
Belinda, Tiki and Frankie run for class president.
26	"Ella's Sleepless Sleepover"	Larry Jacobs	Betty Quan	October 7, 2013
Ella and Tiki go to Belinda's house for a sleepover.
27	"Ready, Set, Go... Slow?!"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Shelley Hoffman and Robert Pincombe Teleplay by: Brian Hartigan	October 8, 2013
Ella replaces Frankie in a race after he hurts his leg.
28	"Ella's Antics"	Larry Jacobs	Steve Wright Diana Moore	October 9, 2013
Ella has built an ant farm, but the farm collapsed when she didn't take her time.
29	"Tiki's Snow Fun"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Shelia Dinsmore Teleplay by: Dave Dias	October 10, 2013
Ella, Belinda, Tiki and Frankie go to Snowy Island for a day of fun.
30	"Parade Problem"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Jonah Stroh and Phil McCordic Written by: Scott Albert	October 11, 2013
Ella and friends get lost on the way to a parade.
31	"Ella's Hiccups"	Larry Jacobs	Diana Moore	October 14, 2013
Ella gets a bad case of the hiccups.
32	"Queen Tusk's Treasure"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Jonah Stroh Teleplay by: Jason Hopley	October 15, 2013
There's a new exhibit at the museum.
33	"By Invitation Only"	Larry Jacobs	Scott Albert	October 16, 2013
Ella's friends begin to act strange when it's her birthday.
34	"Seashell Serenade"	Larry Jacobs	Atul Rao	October 17, 2013
Ella and friends attempt to revive the conch orchestra.
35	"Tiki's Moving Day"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Jonah Stroh Teleplay by: Alan Resnick	October 18, 2013
Tiki is moving away and Ella wants her to stay.
36	"Trunk Your Record"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Jonah Stroh Teleplay by: Brian Hartigan	October 21, 2013
Frankie wants to break a record, like everyone in his family did.
37	"Super Helpful Elephant Heroes"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Jonah Stroh Teleplay by: Dave Dias	October 22, 2013
Ella and Frankie become helpful heroes after reading a comic book.
38	"Ella Goes to the Birds"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Jonah Stroh Teleplay by: Brian Hartigan	October 23, 2013
Ella finds an old instrument acts as a call for birds.
39	"Picture This"	Larry Jacobs	Atul Rao Brian Hartigan	October 24, 2013
Ella goes to take pictures around the island.
40	"Ella's Dance Off"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Jonah Stroh Teleplay by: Dave Dias	October 25, 2013
Belinda and Frankie have a dance contest.
41	"Tiki's Quest"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Brad Birch Teleplay by: Brian Hartigan	October 28, 2013
Tiki has to complete an challenging quest.
42	"Frankie the Brain"	Larry Jacobs	Stephen Sender	October 29, 2013
Frankie and Belinda's assignments have accidentally been switched by Ella.
43	"Frankie's Perfect Pumpkin"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Jonah Stroh Teleplay by: Brian Hartigan	October 30, 2013
Frankie makes the best Jack-o-Lantern ever.
44	"Ella's Special Delivery"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Jonah Stroh Teleplay by: Patrick Granleese	October 31, 2013
Ella does a newspaper route around town.
45	"Jurassic Sleepover"	Larry Jacobs	Jason Hopley	November 1, 2013
Ella and friends go on a sleepover at the museum.
46	"Grandma's Visit"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Jonah Stroh Teleplay by: Patrick Granleese	November 4, 2013
Ella and her grandmother try to find the one and only troop stamp they didn't earn.
47	"Mayor Belinda"	Larry Jacobs	Brad Birch	November 5, 2013
Ella and friends help Mayor Blue at his office until he is called away and Belinda takes over for him.
48	"Ella's Haywire Hat"	Larry Jacobs	Story by: Jonah Stroh Teleplay by: Brian Hartigan	November 6, 2013
Ella's hat begins to act strange.
49	"Lights, Camera, Ella"	Larry Jacobs	Patrick Granleese	January 20, 2014
Ella becomes an accidental film star after an famous filmmaker arrives on the island.
50	"Ella's Island"	Larry Jacobs	Jonah Stroh	January 21, 2014
A fog strands Ella's dad, her, and her friends on an undiscovered island during a day of sailing.
51	"Ella Elephant Sits"	Larry Jacobs	Dale Schott	January 22, 2014
Ella has to babysit Frankie's little brother, Georgie.
52	"Ella's Pet Problem"	Larry Jacobs	Shelia Dinsmore	January 23, 2014
Ella conquers her fear of Jasper, a little mouse and they become friends.

Broadcast

Ella the Elephant premiered on TVOKids and Knowledge Kids in Canada on September 2, 2013. In the United States, it premiered on Disney Junior on February 17, 2014. The series has been sold to Tiny Pop in the United Kingdom, ABC 4 Kids in Australia, Super RTL in Germany, Rai YoYo in Italy, Okto in Singapore, and RTÉjr in Ireland.

Reception

Common Sense Media rated the show 4 stars out of 5, with the review stating that "Strong messages of friendship and kindness are central to each story, and the young characters use their imaginations to solve the little troubles they and their neighbors face.".

Merchandise

Home media

Episodes of Ella the Elephant are available for digital download through the iTunes Music Store, which are split into two volumes. FremantleMedia Home Entertainment released a 154-minute Region 4 DVD of the show on August 6, 2014. In 2014, Warner Home Video has released Volume 1 on DVD for Canada and the US.,, In 2015, FremantleMedia has released Volume 1 on DVD for United Kingdom.,

Toys and merchandising

DHX Media and FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment have appointed Jazwares Inc. as the global master toy partner on preschool property Ella the Elephant for the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Latin America, Middle East, Australia, Spain and Norway. The deal will enable Jazwares to launch worldwide Plush, Dolls Figures and Play Sets, Vehicles, Role Play and Musical Instruments, based on the animated preschool series about an adventurous elephant and her magic hat.

Books

In December 2014, it was announced that DHX Brands and Penguin Young Readers were developing a series of books based on the series, expected to be released in late 2015.

External links

• Ella the Elephant at TVOKids.com
• Ella the Elephant at DisneyJunior.com