Cindi and Friends

Cindi and Friends is a Kuboian animated television series created by Fyp Housin and produced by Scopescreen Media.

The show ran on KT for five series airing from 1999 to 2003. After the show came to an end, reruns continued to air on the channel until its closure in November 2008. Reruns were also shown on Nick Jr. Kuboia until 2005 and during Vision One's unbranded children's programming block from 2009 to 2011.

During its initial run, Cindi and Friends received positive reception from critics and audiences alike, which praise going towards its writing, animation and music, though the show did receive some criticism over some of its characters and their personality traits.

The show's success helped it spawn several different forms of merchandise, including books, music, video games and theme parks.

Premise and format
Cindi Sophia Roberts is a nine year-old girl who does not attend school. Instead, she spends her life attending a daycare group which is located in an indoor entertainment centre called Rainbow Dome. Although Cindi prefers to spend time alone and typically dislikes the company of others, she learns to spend time with and appreciate the other children who attend the same group as her. Since she is good at helping others with their problems, Cindi is popular amongst her friends and acquaintances, though she does has a rivalry with Todd, the snobby father of her friend Tanya.

Each episode of Cindi and Friends has a runtime of approximately fourteen and a half minutes. A majority of the episodes teach some sort of social lesson, typically involving friendship and teamwork. Narration by Cindi herself is provided at the beginning and end of each episode, in which she reflects on what she has learnt or achieved onscreen, though the narration is edited out on some television airings.

Main characters
There are a total of eight main characters in Cindi and Friends, which include Cindi herself, the two staff members who run the social group she attends (Victoria and Fly), and the other five children who attend it. All eight appear in every episode, though only Cindi has a speaking role in every episode.
 * Cynthia "Cindi" Sophia Roberts is the titular character and main protagonist of the show; a nine year-old girl who has brown hair and usually wears two pigtails. She is often seen as a heroine amongst her friends and family due to frequently being the one who helps others with their problems. Despite having never attended school in her life, Cindi is shown to be very intelligent, however, she can also be very grumpy, pessimistic and cynical, and is prone to making selfish decisions. Regardless, she is very loyal to her parents and caretakers and cares about her friends, especially Hyh, a lot.
 * Fly is the owner of the group Cindi and her friends attend. Although he is not seen interacting with the children a lot, he is very committed to keeping the place a safe and fun environment for the children.
 * Victoria is Fyp's only employee, who is often incompetent and clumsy. She usually has difficulty trying to entertain the children or keep them safe from danger. Cindi in particular tends to find her annoying.
 * Hyh is Cindi's best friend, who is typically the one who stays by her side when the other four children are playing together. He typically acts as the voice of reason if Cindi is being selfish or if one of the other children are misbehaving.
 * Tanya is the third child who attends the social group in Rainbow Dome. She has the tendency to get up to mischief and cause trouble for the others, although this appears to be because her father has high and strict expectations of her when she is at home. Cindi appears to somewhat dislike Tanya at first, but eventually learns to be good friends with her.
 * Aourine is Hyh's sister, who is often very loud and energetic. She enjoys to act as the "leader" when playing with her friends and can be very bossy with them, though she has good intentions and does try to make everybody happy. Though she and Hyh look around the same age, it is never made clear if they are twins or not.
 * Florence is the fifth attendee of the group. She seems to be spoilt, and can be very full of herself, especially if she is given compliments. Despite this, Florence enjoys the company of others, and usually likes to give her friends special names. She appears to be Tanya's best friend, and enjoys teasing her in a playful manner.
 * Quu, a darkskinned boy, is the youngest and quietist of the children. He is shown to be very talented and creative but is very shy and inconfident. Although he is often negative and sarcastic, he is also capable of being very determined and passionate.

Other characters
Cindi's parents, Kimberly and Styl, are seen from time to time. They are depicted as being socially awkward but very supportive of their daughter. Cindi also has a two year-old brother, Zephyr, who makes a few minor appearances.

The families of the other children are seen occasionally. Quu's friendly and assertive teenage sister, Titrit, makes several major appearances in later series. Tanya's snobby and arrogant father, Todd, also has regular speaking appearances - he appears to have a petty rivalry with Cindi, and is regularly seen competing with her over something. Because of this, he is generally considered the main antagonist.

Other staff who work at Rainbow Dome sometimes cross paths with Cindi and company. These include Rob, the reluctant janitor who frequently complains about his low wages, and Skit, an employee who works at the unnamed fast food area in Rainbow Dome and gives the children food and drinks for free.

Voice cast

 * Charlie Karma as Cindi
 * Zev Dijk as Hyh
 * Anita Freshers as Aourine
 * Enny Emery as Quu, Zephyr and additional voices
 * Melissa Emery as Tanya and additional voices
 * Lucy Hudson as Florence
 * Bentley Verrichten as Fly
 * Denise White as Victoria
 * Emily Merletta as Kimberly and additional voices
 * Roy Bradbroune as Rob, Skit, Styl and additional voices
 * Tone Riddles as Todd
 * Darren Marion as additional voices

Development
Development on Cindi and Friends began in 1996 - the titular character is loosely based off Cynthia Frewsburg, a girl who show creator Fyp Housin was dating at the time. Frewsburg spoke about the show in 2005 saying she "absolutely loved it". Originally, the show was going to be aimed towards older children, and Cindi was originally drawn wearing a bumbag on her right hip, which had a gun in it. However, Housin was encouraged by family and friends to make the show for younger children, so this idea was scrapped. Housin said in a 2004 interview that he had many ideas for episodes that got shelved due to the target audience being changed.

After Tip's Nursery premiered in 1998, Housin expressed concern that he would be accused of copying Kubokartoonz. Several cast members from Tip's Nursery ended up voicing characters in Cindi and Friends.

Cancellation
Cindi and Friends ran for five series, with the final series running during the spring of 2003. Fyp Housin had plans for a sixth series and "had no real plans on stopping". However, he decided to cancel the show to focus on other material and to end the series on a high note.

Reception
Cindi and Friends received high ratings during its initial run, with some episodes receiving as many as 1.5 million viewing figures on KT. According to Ericka Streets, the show regularly topped children's public polls for most favourite KT programme.

The show received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, with praise going towards its premise, writing, music and development, as well as educational and entertainment value for both older and younger children. Common Sense Media awarded the show a 4/5 rating praising the show's positive messages and citing that "though the titular characters is flawed, she is good at learning her lesson."

Around late 2017/early 2018, the show found renewed interest through internet memes and being uploaded onto a YouTube channel called JangleNet!, in which either a new episode or a clip related to the show (such as a music video or DVD feature) was uploaded on a Tuesday. Some of the videos have accumulated over 20 million views.

Controversy and criticism
The character of Cindi Sophia Roberts has attracted criticism, with criticism being mostly targeted towards the character's arrogant and selfish behaviour, as well as the lack of consequences she normally faces for said behaviour. A few other sources have criticised the show for featuring a lot of stereotypes associated with Kuboia and Kuboian people, with activist Terrance Denn referring to as Cindi as a "karoul" in his blog.

Another criticism of the show came from the clothes the characters would occasionally wear, with the children occasionally wearing very low-rise clothig that would reveal their hips. Cindi and Hyh also wear crop tops that exposes their midriffs in one episode.

One episode from the second series received complaints from parents due to a scene where Cindi uses a pretend gun in a quick draw duel whilst playing the leading role in a wild west play. Criticism particularly drew from the fact that the episode does not address gun safety. In the United Kingdom, the episode was pulled from CBeebies' rotation shortly after the channel's launch.

Production controversies
The decision to cast Enny Emery as Quu, a black character, despite Emery not being black herself became the forefront of controversy in the late 2010s. She received noticeable backlash on social media in March 2021 after admitting she "tried putting on a black accent" when voicing the character. Emery's family apologised for the incident, but also tried to remind those offended that she was only a child when recording her lines.

In 2020, several of the show's cast claimed that they were underpaid for their roles, and the money they did receive often came months later than promised. Housin said he could not comment on the issue because he was not the one who directly gave the cast members their pay.

Kuboian broadcasts
Cindi and Friends premiered on Kuboian television on KT on 1st September, 1999, with new episodes premiering on Wednesdays and repeating on Saturdays. By the premiere of the second series in March 2000, the show had began airing on Nick Jr. Kuboia. During this time period, Nick Jr. Kuboia would air older episodes, whilst KT would air newer episodes. Although the show stopped airing on Nick Jr. Kuboia in mid-2005, it continued airing on KT until it closed in November 2008.

In January 2009, Cindi and Friends began airing on Playhouse Disney Kuboia. After the channel was rebranded as Disney Junior and then Little Disney, the show began to usually only air during the channel's late-night slot. The show also began airing on Kiddioka in February 2018, with the channel eventually buying exclusive broadcasting rights in June that year, causing it to be removed from Little Disney's programming. Reruns of the show continue to air on Kiddioka as of January 2022.

International broadcast
Cindi and Friends premiered in the United Kingdom on CBBC in October 1999, with episodes often airing a few weeks after their Kuboian debut. In February 2002, the show moved to CBeebies, where it ran in reruns until December 2007. It also aired on Nick Jr. in the country from 2001 to 2004. Reruns were later aired on Tiny Pop from mid-2007 until 2011.

The show aired in many countries throughout Europe. It aired on France 5 in France, Super RTL's Toggolino block in Germany, RAI and later Boing in Italy, Z@ppelin and Kindernet in the Netherlands, Playhouse Disney in Spain and Barnkanalen in Sweden.

Cindi and Friends had its American premiere on Noggin in April 2002; it aired on the channel until 2007. The show also aired in Canada on TVOKids from 1999 to 2008. It also aired on ABC in Australia, ZAZ in Latin America, MBC3 in the Middle East and Spacetoon in the United Arab Emirates.

Books and other print publishings
A series of eights books based on Cindi and Friends, aimed at children aged between four and seven, were published throughout Europe during the early and mid 2000s. In 2003, another set of four books, subtitled "For Younger Readers", were also released.

A group of "Annuals" based on the show were published in English-speaking countries every year from 2000 to 2006. These featured puzzles (such as crosswords and wordsearches), as well as facts and quizzes centred around the show, its characters, and its setting.

Several colouring books based on Cindi and Friends were published and sold during the 2000s.

Kiddie ride
Sandoval Group Ltd. produced a kiddie ride based on the show around early 2000.

Music
Two albums based on the show were released:
 * Cindi and Friends: The Official Soundtrack (2001) - a soundtrack by various artists
 * Rainbow Nights (2002) - an album by Charlie Karma as Cindi

Video games
Cindi and Friends: The Best Forever was released for the Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 and PlayStation 2 in Europe in December 2000, with the PlayStation 2 version releasing in North America in mid 2002. It is an action-adventure game where the player plays as Cindi and has to do missions in Rainbow Dome. A more multiplayer-focused sequel, Cindi and Friends: Rainbow Dome Runaround, was released for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Adavnce in February 2003.

Additionally, an educational video game, Cindi and Friends: The Birthday Party, was also released for the V.Smile in 2004.

Housin revealed in 2021 that he rejected a pitch of a freemium mobile game based on the show in the mid 2010s, citing his disproval of such games and fears of tarnishing the series' reputation as the main reasons.