Cindi and Friends

Cindi and Friends is a Kuboian children's traditionally animated slice-of-life series created by Alyssa Foster and Dan Walkers, directed by Fyp Housin and written by Walkers. The series debuted on Nick Jr. Kuboia on 8th January, 2003. Series 1 premiered in several European countries in late 2002, however. Three series were produced, with new episodes premiering on a Wednesday (and occasionally a Sunday).

A total of three series and 45 episodes were produced, all airing in Kuboia in 2003. The show was reran on Nick Jr. Kuboia until it was removed from the channel's lineup in October 2005. The show was reran on Jump! from 2006 until it closed in 2007.

The show was followed by two theatrical films, Devil Me (2006) and Devil Me 2 (2008), and a media franchise. It should be noted, however, that the franchise began to target adults instead of children from 2006 onwards.

Premise
Cindi and Friends focuses on the day-to-day life of Cindi, a grouchy nine year-old, who comes from a family of social outcasts. Since she does not attend school, Cindi spends most of her life either in her room, or going out with her four "friends" - in other words, a group of confident and happy children. Cindi does not seem to like the group, and only hangs out with them because she has "nothing better to do", or so she can take advantage of them.

The show's three series all seem to have a structure, taking place all in the same year:
 * Series 1 appears to take place during the late Winter/early Spring period.
 * Series 2 appears to take place during Summer - Cindi's four "friends" are off school during this series.
 * Series 3 appears to take place during the Autumn/early Winter period, Cindi also appears to find the group less annoying in this series.

Cindi
Cindi (voiced by Missy Robins), the titular character and main protagonist of the show, is a nine year-old girl, who is grumpy, rude, pessimistic, insensitive and doesn't let anybody tell her what to do. Cindi has never attended school in her life, and spends a lot of her life in her room playing video games and watching media. Cindi occasionally, however, spends time with her group of "friends", who she only spends time with for her own reasons.

Cindi has trouble fitting in with the public code of conduct, but doesn't see, to care to learn it either. If there is one thing that gets the better of Cindi, however, is when too much loud activity is going on. Over the course of the show's development, Cindi learns to tone down on her rude behaviour, and seems to enjoy the group's company more and more.

Cindi's parents
Kimberly (voiced by Taylia Forbes) and Styl are Cindi's mother and father respectively, who are both social outcasts, who have never had to work a day in their lives due to Styl's deceased father's riches. According to Styl, the house they live in was built by his uncle, who is a professional construction worker. According to Kimberly, she has suffered a miscarriage at least twice.

Hyh
Hyh is one of the members of the group, who is happy-go-lucky and enjoys being in charge. He is usually the one who takes the lead role in the group, but sometimes gets bossy and chaotic if he becomes too cocky. He is also the one who tries the hardest to make Cindi happy, continuously inviting her over to his house and out to do activities (which Cindi usually reluctantly agrees to just so he can stop annoying her). The only way to stop Hyh's hyperactive behaviour is to directly tell him to calm down.

Aourine
Aourine is another one of the member of Cindi's group of "friends", who has a bad habit of saying "like" a lot (which annoys the others) and complaining about anything that looks "ugly" (which can sometimes be normal things). She seems to wear a lot of fragrance, as the other members of the group occasionally comment on her smelling of "chemicals".

Frankie
Frankie is who Cindi seems to dislike the most when it comes to the group. As a person, Frankie giggles a lot (sometimes when there is nothing to laugh at). She also pulls pranks on people, occasionally speaks in a loud manner, impersonates others and has little patience.

Quu
Quu is the last member of the group, and sometimes feels like the black sheep for multiple reasons - he is the only non-white member of the group (he is lightskinned), the only one who comes from a posh family, the only one who can't get into video games and television, and often unintentionally ruins the fun for the other members of the group. Cindi seems to like Quu the most out of the group.

Critical reception
In a review, TBA felt that Cindi had an overexaggerated stereotypical personality of a Kuboian schoolgirl, and thought the "rap-like" instrumentals felt out of place in a Nick Jr. show. However, they appreciated the show's unique and risky direction, and praised some of the characters and the animation.

International broadcasts
Series 1 of Cindi and Friends was premiered on Nick Jr. in the United Kingdom and Australia in October 2002, three months before the show was aired in Kuboia. The show aired on Teletoon in Canada from 2004 to 2007, ETVKK in El Kadsre from 2003 to 2006, ATS KidZone in Alexonia from 2003 to 2009, Kids Station in Japan 2003 to 2011 and Super RTL in Germany from 2003 to 2008.

Trivia

 * The characters in the show wear different outfits in each of the three series.
 * Although the show is censored outside of Kuboia, a few uncensored VHS tapes were released in the United Kingdom. These are rated "PG" by the BBFC.
 * May and September are the only months in 2003 in which new episodes did not air in Kuboia.