Cindi and Friends

Cindi and Friends is a Kuboian traditionally animated children's slice-of-life series directed by Fyp Housin and produced by Scopescreen Media.

Cindi and Friends focuses on Cindi Sophia Roberts, a nine year-old grumpy and pessimistic girl who goes to a social group run in Rainbow Dome Fun Centre, where she unintentionally helps the other children, as well as the adults, solve any problem that stands in their way. The show has significant educational value.

The show premiered on Nick Jr. Kuboia in 2001, with episodes releasing sporadically over the next two years until the show came to an end in 2003. The show was reran on the channel until October 2005. The show was reran on Jump! from 2004 to 2007, Playhouse Disney from 2009 to 2013, and has been aired on Tooncast and Kantasia since 2018.

The show is considered a cult classic in Kuboia, and has spawned several other media, including a straight-to-VHS educational series, a theatrical film and a series of merchandise.

Premise
Cindi Sophia Roberts is a nine year-old girl who attends a social group inside Rainbow Dome Fun Centre. The social group is specifically for nine year-old children who do not attend school.

Due to the staff being carefree, and not very responsible, the children are generally free to get up to mischief, and explore Rainbow Dome whilst it is empty. Although Cindi is not interested in what the other children get up to, she is often the one who helps the others when they are in trouble. Because of this, Cindi is often referred to as a heroine, something she doesn’t like being called.

Certain parts of each episode are narrated by Cindi herself. Each episode generally ends with her reflecting over the events that occurred throughout the episode.

Themes
Many of the show's episodes focus on socialising and friendship. Generally, each episode has a "moral" to it, which is indirectly learned by the characters by the end of each episode.

Cast and characters

 * Main article: List of Cindi and Friends characters


 * TBA as Cindi Sophia Roberts
 * TBA as Hyh
 * TBA as Aourine
 * TBA as Florence
 * TBA as Tanya
 * TBA as Quu
 * TBA as Victoria
 * TBA as Fly

Development
The pilot episode, "Cindi and the Map", was produced in late 1998, whilst the following two episodes, "Cindi Plays Hide and Seek" and "Cindi Wins Big", were produced in 1999. The remaining thirty-seven episodes were produced throughout 2000, 2001 and 2002. Whilst the pilot episode uses traditional ink, all following episodes use digital ink.

Music
Early episodes of the show, including the theme tune, "Come On! (Let's Have Some Fun)", incorporate elements of folk and traditional pop. According to TBA, this was done to represent the show's lighter nature compared to other Kuboian cartoons, mostly from the Kantasy genre.

Episodes

 * Main article: List of Cindi and Friends episodes

Censorship
Like most Kuboian cartoons, the show was censored outside of the country in several ways:
 * Minor profanity was omitted and changed to different words.
 * References to alcohol were either toned down or edited out.
 * The show was redubbed for North American broadcast.

Critical reception
Cindi and Friends received positive reviews from critics during its initial run, with praise towards its mixture of education and humour.

Kuboia

 * Nick Jr. Kuboia (2001-2005)
 * Jump! (2004-2007)
 * Playhouse Disney (2009-2013)
 * Tooncast (2018-present)
 * Kantasia (2018-present)

Africa

 * Boing (2016-present)

Arabia

 * Spacetoon (2001-2005)
 * MBC3 (2004-present)

Alexonia

 * ATS Kidzone (2003-2009)

Argentina

 * Magic Kids (2002-2006)

Australia

 * Nick Jr. (2001-2004)

Canada

 * BBC Kids (2001-2005)

Central and Eastern Europe

 * Minimax (2001-2006)
 * KidsCo (2007-2012)

China

 * CCTV-14 (2003-2011, 2013-2016, 2018-present

Croeya

 * Canal+ Kids (2003-present)

El Kadsre

 * ETVKK (2003-2006)

Italy

 * K2 (2003-2006, 2009-2011)

Jetania

 * Nick Jr. (2001-2005)

Latin America

 * Nick Jr. (2001-2007)
 * Tooncast (2010-2011, 2018-present)

Middle East

 * MBC 3 (2004-present)
 * Al Jazeera Children's Channel (2005-2013)

Netherlands

 * Kindernet (2001-2003)
 * Nick Jr. (2003-2005)

Poland

 * Minimax (2001-2004)
 * Playhouse Disney (2010-2011)

Portugal

 * Canal Panda (2002-2009)

Russia

 * Playhouse Disney (2010-2013)

Scandinavia

 * Playhouse Disney (2009-2011)

United Kingdom

 * CBBC (2001-2004)
 * Nick Jr. (2002-2005)
 * Tiny Pop (2008-2011)

United States

 * PBS Kids (2002-2005)

YinYangia

 * Nick Jr. (2010-2015)

Other ventures
A series of educational VHS tapes titled Learn with Cindi and Friends was released throughout 2003 and 2004. They were significantly used in Kuboian and British schools during the mid-2000s.

A theatrical film based on the series, titled Cindi and Friends: The Best Forever was released on 2nd November, 2004, distributed by. The film serves as the finale of the series. It grossed K11 million worldwide on a K3 million budget.

Several Cindi-themed children’s entertainment centres were opened throughout Europe in the early and mid-2000s.

Trivia

 * Like several other Kuboian cartoons, it was redubbed with American accents when airing in North America. The American dub was recorded in Los Angeles and featured talents common in US cartoons and anime dubs.