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Handy Manny

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Handy Manny
GenreChildren's television series
Created by
Developed byRick Gitelson
Directed byCharles E. Bastien
Voices of
Opening theme"Handy Manny Theme Song" performed by Los Lobos
Ending theme"Handy Manny Theme Song" (Instrumental)
Composers
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada
Original languagesEnglish
Spanish
No. of seasons3[1]
No. of episodes113 (208 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducersVanessa Tilley
Jane Sobol
Running time30 minutes
Production companyNelvana
Original release
NetworkPlayhouse Disney (2006–2011)
Disney Junior (2011–2013)
ReleaseSeptember 16, 2006 (2006-09-16) –
February 14, 2013 (2013-02-14)

Handy Manny is an animated preschool children's television series that premiered on September 16, 2006, originally as part of Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney block, and aired until February 14, 2013.[2] Created by Roger Bollen and Marilyn Sadler and developed for TV by Rick Gitelson, its animation was produced by Canada-based animation studio Nelvana. It features the voices of Dee Bradley Baker, Thomas James Kenny, Fred Stoller, Nika Futterman, Kath Soucie, Carlos Alazraqui, Grey DeLisle, and Nancy Truman. The theme song is performed by Los Lobos.

Plot and format

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Set in the town of Sheetrock Hills, the titular character, Manny, is a handyman who owns a workshop where he works with his anthropomorphic talking tools. Most episodes are thirty minutes long and contain two 15-minute long segments. They typically begin with Manny and the tools in Manny's workshop. While there, someone, usually needing something repaired or assembled, calls Manny, who answers, "Hola, Handy Manny's Repair Shop. You break it...", before the tools shout "We fix it!" After learning who needs help and where, they sing "Hop Up, Jump In" while the tools hop into his toolbox. With the exception of "Uncle Manny", the only episode in which Mr. Lopart does not appear, when Manny and the tools leave for the repair, they see Mr. Lopart with his pet cat Fluffy at his candy store. Mr. Lopart tries to build something on his own with no prior experience and refuses Manny's offer of help; after they leave, the item he was building malfunctions and causes a mess, usually caused by Fluffy. Once Manny and the tools arrive at the repair site, they work together to find the best way to fix the item. Manny then goes to Kelly's hardware store, where she almost always has the item that they need. Once they have the items needed for the repair, they return to the repair site and sing "Fix It Right" as they make the repairs.

Episodes

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SeasonSegmentsEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
15025September 16, 2006 (2006-09-16)October 8, 2007 (2007-10-08)Playhouse Disney
27441October 27, 2007 (2007-10-27)October 4, 2009 (2009-10-04)
3384719November 7, 2009 (2009-11-07)January 17, 2011 (2011-01-17)
5427February 14, 2011 (2011-02-14)February 14, 2013 (2013-02-14)Disney Junior

Characters

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Manny and the Tools

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  • Manuel "Manny" Esteves Garcia III[3] (voiced by Wilmer Valderrama)[4] is a handyman who lives in Sheetrock Hills and owns a workshop, working with the town's residents to help them with repairs and solve problems.
  • Felipe[5] (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) is a yellow Phillips-head screwdriver who tends to be self-centered and overconfident. His ideas sometimes make problems worse, which annoys Turner.
  • Turner[5] (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker)[6] is a violet flat-head screwdriver who is sarcastic and bossy to Felipe, usually going against Felipe's overconfidence, but does care for him.
  • Pat[7] (voiced by Tom Kenny) is a sky blue claw hammer who is talkative, fun-loving, idealistic, and intelligent. He sometimes struggles to control his strength, as he has to conceal his true strength.
  • Dusty (voiced by Kath Soucie) is a red hand saw who is intelligent and gives advice. She acts as the big sister of the group and is good at solving mysteries.
  • Squeeze (voiced by Nika Futterman) is a green pair of pliers who is childlike and likes to help out, but can be impatient to fix things.
  • Stretch[5] (voiced by Nika Futterman) is a pink tape measure who speaks with a lisp and can use his tape as an extendable hand. He is good at measuring and mathematics and has a good memory.
  • Rusty (voiced by Fred Stoller)[5] is an orange monkey wrench and the second-oldest tool. He is cowardly and easily scared, often needing reassurance from his fellow tools and Manny.
  • Flicker (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is a marigold and blue flashlight and the youngest of the tools. He flashes his light when excited.
  • Zip (voiced by Eddie Deezen) is a power socket and a member of the Automotive Team, who is knowledgeable and hardworking.
  • Sneeze (voiced by Tom Kenny) is an aquamarine and orange vacuum cleaner and a member of the Automotive Team, who sneezes saw dust and other things.
  • Ticks (voiced by Jesse Corti) and Totts (voiced by Cristobal Parson) are socket wrenches and twin brothers who are members of the Automotive Team. They are bilingual, as they speak English and Spanish.
  • Roland (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) is a toolbox who carries the members of the Automotive Team.
  • Lefty (voiced by Mark Decarlo), Lily (voiced by Grey DeLisle), and Junior (voiced by Kath Soucie) are combination wrenches and members of the Automotive Team, who are a happy family and support each other.
  • Beamer (voiced by Steve Moreno) is a laser level who Carmella later takes in as her own tool.
  • Spinner (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) is a power tool who is considered the fastest power drill in Concrete Falls and is best friends with Jack.
  • Jack (voiced by Daran Norris) is a jackhammer and one of the power tools.
  • Pinzas (voiced by Kath Soucie) are a pair of needle nose pliers.
  • Fix-It is a robotic dog who lives in Manny's workshop.

Residents of Sheetrock Hills

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  • Kelly (voiced by Nancy Truman)[5] is a hardware store owner who almost always has the materials that Manny and the tools need for their projects.
  • Mr. Leonard Francis Lopart (voiced by Tom Kenny)[7] is a clumsy middle-aged man who is Mrs. Lopart's son and the owner of a candy store next to Manny's workshop. He often tries to fix objects on his own, initially declining Manny's offers of help before accepting after realizing that he cannot do it alone.
  • Mrs. Lopart (voiced by Marion Ross) is Mr. Lopart's mother, who likes knitting, baking cookies, and bowling.
  • Mrs. Portillo (voiced by Shelley Morrison) is the owner of a bakery shop and Manny's neighbor, who has two grandsons, Alex and Quinn. She becomes Manny's paternal step-grandmother after marrying Abuelito in "Wedding Day", which reveals that her full name is Pilar Vargas Portillo and that Manny's full name was passed down from Abuelito. She has a Chihuahua named Carlos, who was a gift from her sister.
  • Mr. Kumar (voiced by Brian George) is Manny's friend.
  • Jackie Greenway (voiced by Jane Lynch) works at the local park and is a friend of Manny and his tools.
  • Mrs. Thompson (voiced by Tonye Patano) owns a laundromat and is a teacher at the local preschool.
  • Abuelito (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) is Manny's grandfather, who is retired. He enjoys fishing and is knowledgeable about Aztec history.
  • Chico (voiced by Mindy Burbano) is Manny's nephew, who is playful and curious.
  • Mayor Rosa (voiced by Nancy Truman) is the mayor of Sheetrock Hills and a friend of Manny and the tools. She enlists Manny's help with the community park.
  • Carmela (voiced by Yeni Alvarez) is an old friend of Manny, who likes painting and sculpting.
  • Julieta (voiced by Isabella Pajaro) is Senor Sanchez's granddaughter, who likes flowers, ballet, and soccer and has a pet cat named Patches. When she and Senor Sanchez moved to a new home, she is afraid as she believes that there is a monster in the closet, but overcomes her fear after learning it was her toy bear.
  • Paulette (voiced by Giada De Laurentiis) likes to make pizza. She enlists Manny's help in repairing her dough rolling machine.
  • Tanya (voiced by Dawnn Lewis) is the vendor of an ice cream stand. She enlists Manny's help in repairing her freezer.
  • Susana (voiced by Isabella Pajaro) is a young girl who likes dolls and has a baby sister named Isabela. She was worried about having a sister, as she thought that her parents would not love her anymore, but Manny and the tools help her overcome her fear.
  • Mrs. Hillary (voiced by Kathie Lee Gifford) is the music teacher at Sheetrock Hills Elementary School.
  • Senor Lopez (voiced by Mario Lopez) is a science teacher and meteorologist.
  • Marcelo (voiced by Sebastian Guerrero) is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ayala, who moved with them from Argentina to Sheetrock Hills. He likes to play soccer.
  • Ginny (voiced by Florence Henderson) is the director of Snow White and the Seven Tools and the owner of Sheetrock Hills Playhouse Theatre.
  • Dr. Ortega (voiced by Rosario Dawson) is a marine biologist.

Guest stars

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Guest stars in the series include:

Release

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Dubbed versions

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The series not only aired Spanish-Dubbed versions of its episodes on the "Disney Junior en Univision" sub-block on Univision's Planeta U block (weekends from May 31, 2014 to May 26, 2018), but also aired Russian-Dubbed versions of its episode on Disney Channel Russia's Recognition Disney (later Disney Recognition) block, and also Hebrew-Dubbed versions of its episodes on Hop! Channel,[8] all alongside Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (the block on Disney Channel Russia had the exact same logos as Playhouse Disney (with the exception of the block using the former branding) and Disney Junior (with the exception of the block using the latter branding). When the series was released on Disney+, several dubbed versions (whose languages were derived from Latin) were made available. Languages of these dubs include (but might not be limited to) Spanish, European and Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, French, Dutch, Danish and Swedish. TV5 aired the series dubbed in Tagalog as part of It's "Disney Clubhouse/Disney Club" line-up.

Home media

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Nine DVD compilations have been released.

DVD title Release date Episodes Other information
Region 2 Region 1
Tooling Around January 25, 2010 August 21, 2007 "Squeeze's Day Off"
"Amigo Grande"
"A Sticky Fix"
"Pat the Screwdriver"
Supremoguy
Fixing It Right TBA February 19, 2008 "Manny to the Rescue"
"Felipe Strikes Out"
"Pat's Big Idea"
"Rusty to the Rescue"
"Detective Dusty"
Manny's Pet Roundup July 6, 2009 August 5, 2008 "Lyle and Leland Lopart"
"Blackout on the Block"
"Squeeze Makes a Promise"
"Pet Problem"
"Kitty Sitting"
"Gopher Help"
"Renaldo's Pretzel Castle"
All the episodes in this DVD are related to animals and pets.
Manny's Green Team TBA March 31, 2009 "Saving the Turtles"
"Science Fair"
"Manny Goes Solar"
"Light Work"
"Bloomin' Tools"
All the episodes in this DVD are related to recycling and caring for the earth.
A Very Handy Holiday November 2, 2009 TBA "A Very Handy Holiday"
"Have a Handy New Year"
Language: English

Subtitles: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch.

Motorcycle Adventure TBA December 1, 2009 "Motorcycle Adventure"
"A Very Handy Holiday"
Big Race TBA April 20, 2010 "Big Race"
"Fast Eddie's Scooter"
"Bunny in the Basement"
Happy Birthday! April 26, 2010 TBA "Cinco-De-Mayo" "Piñata Party"
"Skateboard Park"
Big Construction Job November 7, 2010 November 16, 2010 "Big Construction Job"/"Good Fences"/"Butterflies"

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "News". News.toonzone.net. Retrieved July 31, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "The Seattle Times: Television: Kids will find a lot to like in this fall's new TV shows". Seattle Times. September 9, 2006. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  3. ^ "Behind The Voice Actors – Handy Manny". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  4. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman and Littlefield. p. 264. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  5. ^ a b c d e Terrace 2008, p. 428
  6. ^ Rudolph, Joyce (February 6, 2010). "The active voice". Burbank Leader. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Madden, John (January 23, 2010). "Mr. Lopart and SpongeBob stop by: a chat with voiceover legend Tom Kenny". Wired. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "Univision Network Adds Disney Junior Hit Series "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and "Handy Manny" to its "Planeta U" Saturday Morning Children's Block". Univision. June 3, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
Book references
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