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Olivia (TV series)

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Olivia
GenreChildren, Animated
Created byIan Falconer
Written byJill Gorey
StarringEmily Gray
Jeremy Herzig
Danny Katiana
Michael Van Citters
Ian Eagle
Brianna McCracken
Yvonne Craig
Robert Toonititusa
Opening theme"Olivia!" Composed by Darren Hendley
Country of originUnited States
United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes36 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time15–30 minutes
Original release
NetworkMilkshake! (United Kingdom)
Disney Junior (United States)
PBS Kids (Latin America)
Treehouse TV (Canada)
DreamWorks Channel
ReleaseJanuary 24, 2009 –
March 19, 2011

Olivia (also known as Welcome to the World of the Pig Olivia) was a British-American children's animated television series produced by media company Chorion and based on Ian Falconer's books. It was seen on Nick Jr. in the US, Milkshake!, Nick Jr. in the UK and Ireland, Disney Junior in Latin America and Brazil, and Treehouse TV in Canada. The show has won a silver Parents' Choice Award for its positive story lines and characters.[1]

Plot

Taking place in a world where all people are pigs, Olivia revolves around the title character and her family. The plots are mostly everyday situations in which Olivia finds herself and her unique way of dealing with them. In almost every episode from season 1, Olivia also dispenses her "Rules of Life". In each episode, Olivia dreams of having a job from the episode's experiences, such as being an artist after visiting the art gallery or being her mom's assistant after helping plan her friend's birthday party.

Episodes

Main article: List of Olivia episodes

Over two seasons, there have been 40 episodes of Olivia.

Characters

Olivia (voiced by Emily Gray (USA) & Jo Wyatt (UK)),[2] a young pig, is the main character of the show. She is imaginative and fantasizes about different roles, such as pop star or super hero. She displays good behavior and shows kids how to share, use their imaginations, be physically active, and be self-confident.[3]

Olivia's family

Ian (voiced by Michael van Citters)[2] is Olivia's younger brother. He looks up to Olivia and enjoys being included in her activities, but often becomes the typical annoying "little bother". He likes, among other things, dinosaurs, robots and baseball. In Season 2, he becomes less annoying, is more intelligent, on better terms with his sister, has a small planet on his t-shirt and a deeper voice.[4]

William (voiced by Robert Toonitititusa) is Olivia and Ian's baby brother and typically sleeps, eats, and cries.[4]

Mom, Olivia's mother (voiced by Joyce Beverley),[2] who runs her own party-planning business from home.[4]

Dad, Olivia's father (voiced by Danny Katiana)[2] is an architect and occasionally absent-minded. He often provides his paternal wisdom to Olivia and her siblings in "little talks".[4]

Grandma, Olivia's grandmother (voiced by Yvonne Craig).[2] In her seventies, but still fun and adventurous.[4]

Uncle Garrett (voiced by Connor Hall), Olivia's maternal uncle, is a professional football player and is bit of a comedian. He performs ballet with Olivia and only appears in "Olivia Takes Ballet".

Grandpa Cedric, Olivia's unseen grandfather that is only mentioned in the episode, "Olivia's Day at the Office".

Perry and Edwin, Olivia's dog and cat. Perry is energetic and loves to play with the children, while Edwin is generally lethargic and prefers to sleep.[4]

Goldfish, a goldfish whose owner is Ian. It is rarely seen.

Cedric, a one-time frog that Ian found and named after his Grandpa.

Friends

Julian (voiced by Jeremy Herzig)[2] is Olivia's male best friend. He's smart with a self-deprecating sense of humor, but shy and lets Olivia take the lead. While often reluctant to go along with Olivia's ideas, he finally always does.[4]

Francine (voiced by Brianna McCracken (Season 1) and Josie Baker (Season 2) is Olivia's friend who can be snobby and mean she tries to make Olivia feel jealous at times. She acts more "girly" than Olivia and will not touch anything gross. Her birthday is eight months after Olivia's. In the second season, Francine gets better and nicer to Olivia and her classmates.

Gwendolyn is Francine's yellowish orange tabby. She is very talented and likes Edwin. In one episode Francine reveals that she sometimes dresses her in Barbie Fashions to have a tea party and makes Gwendolyn fish sticks.

Herman is Francine's dog, only seen in "Olivia Trains Her Cat". He can ride a skateboard and also knows tricks like Gwendolyn.

School

Mrs. Hoggenmueller (voiced by Susan Balboni), Olivia's teacher, is a dedicated educator, if a bit eccentric. She is an avid cat fancier and cowbell-playing virtuoso, with a penchant for the outdoors and a great enthusiasm for learning and life. She has 3 pets: 2 cats and 1 turkey.

Alexandra (voiced by Zarii Arii) is Olivia's classmate and female best friend. She often agrees only with Francine.

Sam (voiced by John Mumelo), a classmate. He rarely talks. He has a pet opossum named Sally.

Harold Hockenberri (voiced by Dayton Malone), a classmate. Harold is allergic to parsley, wears glasses, and his mom does not like frogs. He can juggle but hiccups when nervous. He has a parrot that says things such as "Hi there," three times.

Oscar and Otto, identical twin classmates whose recurring catchphrase is, "It's cool."

Daisy (voiced by Katie Leigh), a small classmate who wears a purple dress. In the second season, she replaces Francine as the mean kid to Olivia.

Connor (voiced by Alicyn Packard), a classmate similar to Sam but talks more.

Olivia 2 (voiced by Mary Smith), a character that appears in "The Two Olivias". Olivia was a new student in Olivia's class, much to the original Olivia's annoyance. They reconcile having the same name at the end of the episode. Olivia 2 was never seen in the episodes after it, presuming that her family moved out after a short time.

Sophie, a girl who wears a yellow shirt and thin light purple overhalls. In the first season, she had no name, but in "Olivia's Tip-Top Tapper", the girl's name was revealed as Sophie. She is mostly silent like Sam.

Caitlin who wears a blue and white polka-dot shirt. She is rarely spoken like Sam and Sophie.

Shorts

The shorts are small, generally wordless segments in each episode (two per). They include the following:

William Eats (And Burps)

  • William is hungry so Mom puts him in his highchair and goes to get him some baby food. While she is gone, everyone else gives him tidbits of food. At the end, Mom says she thought he was hungry, but it appears William does not want his baby food. She is surprised when he burps.

Olivia in the Bathroom

  • While Dad is shaving, Olivia keeps taking her stool, getting up on it and doing something in front of the sink and mirror such as brushing her ears. At the end of the short she gets on her stool and kisses Dad.

Olivia and Her Toy

  • Olivia tries to get her favorite doll to stand up straight, but it won't so she tapes it to the wall and the two have a tea party.

Olivia Scares Ian

  • Olivia tries to scare her little 'bother' but she can't time it right. Later Ian scares her.

Olivia Builds a Tower

  • Olivia is building a tower of random items. Ian, Perry, and William try to knock it down, but Mom and Dad forbid it. At the end Olivia purposely knocks it down.

Olivia Cheers Up William

  • William is upset. Olivia tries to cheer William up. At the end (when Olivia is in her cow costume) she hurts her leg by stepping on a block and cheers him up. The short was re-released during season 2, with Olivia bringing Edwin to him instead of hurting her foot.

Olivia's Bookbag

  • Olivia is stuffing her bookbag for school with Perry and Ian taking her things then returning them each time she leaves the room. In the end, her bookbag becomes too heavy for her to carry and when she puts it on she falls over backwards.

William Goes for a Ride

  • Olivia puts on her train hat takes her family on a ride in her wagon. First it's just William, who is then joined by Perry, then Edwin, and finally Ian. The wagon gets heavier as each kid and pet climbs on board. At the end all the kids and pets are pulled in the wagon by Dad.

Ian Wants to Play

  • Olivia and Julian are jumping rope and Ian wants to play, also. Throughout the entire short Ian is trying to get their attention but he is unsuccessful. Finally at the end he gets their attention and Olivia and Ian jump rope.

Olivia's Hidden Talent

  • When Olivia sees a bowl of oranges she discovers she has a hidden talent for juggling. When she throws four oranges in the air they disappear. When she looks up, she realizes Ian who is standing on the stairs above her has caught them.

Olivia Slides

  • Olivia and her toys slide many different ways in the park.

Perry Plays Fetch

  • Olivia throws three different balls to Perry. The first two, a baseball and a soccer ball, he retrieves. The last, a beachball, he returns walking on. Olivia then throws a smaller baseball and he walks on the beachball to fetch the baseball.

Olivia's Trivia

  • Olivia gets three pails and a ball which she puts under the red pail. She mixes them up and finally Perry guesses which pail the ball is under and gets the ball and Olivia chases Perry for the ball.

Olivia's Many Sandwiches

  • Olivia makes herself a sandwich and walks away. When she returns it is gone, and she blames it on Perry. After a couple of sandwiches Ian covers Olivia's favorite toy in peanut butter and at the end the toy falls to the floor and Perry licks it as Olivia chases Ian.

Olivia's Picture

  • Olivia paints a picture of a pig with a blue background. The short ends showing the fridge filled with many copies of the same picture and Olivia replies "I think I'm done with my blue period," a reference to Pablo Picasso's blue period.

Edwin's Surprise

  • Olivia is trying to draw a picture, but Edwin keeps laying on top of the picture resulting in Olivia moving him again and again. At the end the viewers see that the picture is of Edwin.

Olivia's Metamorphosis

  • Olivia is about to go outside but Mom warns her it is about to get very cold. When Olivia opens the front door she imagines emperor penguins and snow. William flies away but Dad catches him. Olivia goes to her room and dresses for winter, but when she goes to the door again, it is hot outside. Olivia dresses like it is summer and Mom ask her why she keeps changing clothes. Olivia says it is the weather that's changing.

Olivia's Sculpture

  • At the beach, Olivia finds a pile of sand and decides to make a sand sculpture of herself by shaping it and adding shells.

The Chase

  • Olivia chases around Perry and Ian after they cause mischief for her. At the end Perry chases Ian.

Olivia's Magic Trick

  • Olivia tries to make her cookie disappear but is unsuccessful. Later Perry eats it.

Olivia's Inflated Pirate Ship

  • The mailman brings a package for Olivia. He knocks on the door and walks away. Olivia opens the door and sees the package and opens it. When Olivia sees another box. She opens it and so on. 5 boxes are there and Olivia sees a purple flat cube. She pulls the string and it inflates into an inflated pirate ship. At the end, Olivia plays in the inflated pirate ship.

See also

References

  1. ^ "OLIVIA". Parents-choice.org. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Cast at Internet Movie Database
  3. ^ Official page at Nick Jr.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Meet the Characters of Olivia at Nick Jr.
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