Peek-a-Boo! is a Canadian live-action preschool edutainment television series produced by Stampede Pictures and NHK International in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The series is based on the Japanese series Inai Inai Baa! (いないいないばあっ!). The series premiered on October 9, 1999 and has been in continuous production ever since. In Canada, the series has aired since it began on CBC Television. The series began its U.S. run on the RKO Network in 1999 before moving to RKO Kids' Tiny RKO block in 2003; since 2006, the show has also aired on the Tiny RKO Channel. It is also currently airing with a Canadian French dub on Ici Radio-Canada Télé, and in reruns on Télé J and Télépetite.
The series has been nominated for several Gemini Awards, Canadian Screen Awards and Emmy Awards. It has won the Sylvania Award for Best Pre-School Children's Series – Live-Action twice, in 2006 and 2012; its first win broke the 8-year tie between Sesame Street and Barney & Friends.
Cast[]
- Crystal Grunfeld as Wan Wan (body costume/voice) (1999 - present) and U-Tan (voice) (2003 - 2023)
- Jolene Holliday as Meow Meow (body costume/voice) (2019 - present)
- Alyson Court as Kuu (voice) (1999 - 2003)
- Holly Gauthier-Frankel as Dada (voice) (2000 - 2003)
- Pier Paquette as Kuu (puppet) (1999 - 2003)
- Marko Dragic as Dada (puppet) (2000-2003) and U-Tan (puppet) (2003 - 2005)
- Jim Timmerman as U-Tan (puppet) (2005 - 2008)
- George Gillick as U-Tan (puppet) (2008 - 2023)
- Mark Huldahl as Poupo (puppet/voice) (2023 - present)
- Yuuna Nakamura as Momo-chan the Mouse (voice) (1999 - present)
- Stephen Ouimette as Henry the Hippo (voice) (2007 - present)
- Kwame Norris as ZoomZoom (puppet) (2011 - present)
- Wayne Giakoumakis as ZoomZoom (voice) (2011 - present)
- Chris Tomson as Polly (puppet) (2011 - present)
- Ian Padt as Patty (puppet) (2011 - present)
- Chiara Zanni as Polly (voice) (2011 - present)
- Ashleigh Ball as Patty (voice) (2011 - present)
- Jim Newton as Buzzy the Bumblebee (2011 - present)
- Jessica Graafland as Jessica (1999 - 2003)
- Marcie Asquith as Marcie (2003 - 2007)
- Stacey Gislesen as Stacey (2007 - 2011)
- Liliana Alcantara as Liliana (2011 - 2015)
- Ellen Serrurier as Ellen (2015 - 2019)
- Elizabeth Beale as Elizabeth (2019 - 2021)
- Kiana Thomas as Kiana (2021 - 2023)
- Susana Tshuma as Susana (2023 - present)
People who've participated in the program[]
Production history[]
Development and early years[]
The idea of making a North American version of Inai Inai Baa! was from both David J. Cooke and Francine Lassila of Stampede Pictures, a production studio based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The two encountered the series at a children's film and TV convention in Monaco in 1997, and subsequently struck a deal with NHK to produce a North American adaptation of the series. CBC Television signed up as a co-producer and the show's Canadian broadcaster.
An unaired pilot was filmed in mid-1998 on the Inai Inai Baa! set in Tokyo, with the voices of the puppet and animated characters overdubbed by English-speaking actors, including Jeff Manning as the voice of Wan Wan and Lynn Eve Harris as the voice of Kuu. The co-host alongside Wan Wan was Jo Summerhayes, who was the original choice for the first "big sister", but had to step down from the role before production officially commenced due to union issues.
After Magic World acquired Stampede, production began in late-1998 in Calgary with a second unaired pilot. Jessica Graafland, an aspiring musical theatre performer from Canmore, Alberta, was chosen as the replacement for Summerhayes after the casting director saw her performing in a school talent show; Graafland initially wore a similar outfit to Kana-chan from Inai Inai Baa. Toronto-based actress/puppeteer Crystal Grunfeld was cast as Wan Wan, and opted to voice the character with a much different, more childlike voice than in the Japanese version (of the general trio, though, Grunfeld's voice for Wan Wan is still the lowest).
Production design[]
The costume for Wan-Wan (and later with Meow Meow) used on this show feature a moving mouth and eyelids, unlike the original Japanese version and certain other co-productions. This version of the show was the first to use original costumes (especially ones for the Big Sisters) and (starting from 2015 to present) studio sets.
Broadcast Summary[]
- Main article: List of all seasons and episodes of Peek-a-Boo! (Canadian TV series)
- Main article: List of all television special airings of Peek-a-Boo! (Canadian TV series)
VHS and DVD releases[]
Appearances at Live Stage Shows/Events[]
Music[]
- Main article: List of songs from Peek-a-Boo! (Canadian TV series)
Segments[]
Cartoons[]
- What's That Sound? (なんのおと?) (1999 - 2016)
- Tommy and Piggy (トムトム☆ブー) (1999 - 2003)
- Mushimushi the Caterpillar (むしむしくん) (2000 - 2019)
- Animal Blocks (つみきでどうぶつ) (2001 - present)
- Playtime, Anytime! (どきどきあそび) (2001 - 2007)
- Archie and Growly (あっちー と がーお) (2003 - 2007)
- Little Tomatoes (トマトちゃん) (2005 - present)
- Little Rain Boot (ながぐつのぶか) (2005 - present)
- Veggie-fruitimals (くっつきます!) (2006 - present)
- Colorful Pipe Cleaners (モールアニメ) (2007 - 2016)
- Cloud Shapes (このくもなあに?) (2007 - 2016)
- Fun with Tangrams! (やさしいタングラム) (2007 - 2016) (Intermission Ident)
- What Comes Next? (さいごにあれれ?) (2007 - 2016) (Intermission Ident)
- Vehicle Clouds (のりものくもっぴー) (2007 - 2016)
- The Four Seasons Tree! (季節の色アニメーション) (2007 - 2016) (Intermission Ident; seasonal specials only)
- Hide and Seek! (ど〜こだ?) (2009 - present)
- Tearing Paper (びりびりびり) (2010 - present)
- Book Boy (えほんくん) (2011 - present)
- The Little Shapes (パッコロリン) (2011 - 2025)[1]
- Connie and Bobby (ぴたっとコロバウ) (2013 - present)
- Today's Bus Stop (きょうのバスてい) (2014 - present) (Intermission Ident)
- Little Crayons (クレヨンちゃん) (2014 - present)
- Little Piggy's Discoveries! (ぶうちゃんのおさんぽ) (2014 - present)
- Plate Dancers (おさらでダンス) (2014 - present)
- Vehicle Town! (ノリノリ! のりものタウン) (2015 - present)
- Whose House is It? (だれのおうち?) (2015 - present) (Intermission Ident)
- Circles, Triangles and Squares (まる・さんかく・しかく) (2015 - present)
- Hand-paintings (ペタペタ) (2019 - present)
Live-action[]
- Wan Wan's Outdoor Adventures (ワンワンのおさんぽ) (1999 - present)
- Finger Play (ゆびのあそび) (1999 - 2013)
- U-tan & Friends! (うーたん人形劇) (2003 - 2023)
- Pakupaku and Pakuko (パクパクさんとパク子) (2003 - present)
- Drawings From Our Friends! (お友達の絵の紹介) (2003 - present)
- Wan Wan's Magical Drawings (ワンワンのおえかき) (2004 - present)
- Peek-a-Pattern Walls! (ふしぎなかべ) (2005 - present)
- Liliana's Hand-Game! (ゆうなのおててあそび) (2011 - present; later renamed to "Ellen's Hand-Game!" in 2015, and then as "Susana's Hand-Game!" in 2023)
- D.I.Y Play! (てづくりあそび！) (2014 - present)
- Susana's Magical Art House! (ゆきのまほうのへや) (2023 - present)
Original segments[]
Peek-a-Boo! was the first Inai Inai Baa! co-production to use both original segments and songs.
Cartoons[]
- Dancing Tree! (1999 - 2003)
- Fun Sounds with Momo-chan (1999 - present) (Imported from ¿Dónde estoy? ¡Aquí!)
- Noodle Animals (1999 - 2002)
- Crayon Colors! (2000 - 2014)
- Puzzling Puzzles! (2003 - 2005)
- Silhouette-nimals (2004 - present)
- What's For Lunch? (2005 - present)
- NataKon (2007 - 2011)
- Peek-a-Transform! (2007 - 2009)
- Cuckoo's Adventure! (2009 - 2011)
- Learn Spanish with Liliana! (2011 - 2015)
- ZoomZoom's Planet (2011 - present)
- Kitchen Theater! (2012 - present)
- The Kitty Trio (2013 - present)
- Learn French with Ellen! (2015 - 2019)
Live-action[]
- Peek-a-Boo Story Time! (1999 - present)
- Let's Create Something Artsy! (1999 - 2014)
- Outdoor Adventures! (1999 - present)
- Play with Jessica and Wan Wan! (1999 - 2003)
- Kuu Can Do It! (1999 - 2003; renamed to "Kuu and Dada Can Do It!" in 2000)
- Let's Play House! (2000 - present)
- Happy Hands Theater (2002 - 2003)
- Move with Marcie! (2003 - 2007)
- Play with Stacey! (2007 - 2011)
- Henry the Hippo's Adventures (2007 - present)
- Riddle Time (2009 - 2012)
- Joke Time with Polly and Patty (2011 - present)
- Meow Meow's Outdoor Adventures (2019 - present)
- Meow Meow's Magical Drawings (2019 - present)
- Guess the Animal with Elizabeth! (2019 - 2021)
- Kiana's Creation Theater (2021 - 2023)
- Poupo & Friends! (2023 - present)
Video games[]
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Merchandise[]
- Main article: List of Peek-a-Boo! (Canadian TV series) merchandise
In popular culture[]
- The characters of the show had appeared a few times on Red VS. White, since the first television-airing of it in 1999.
- TBA
See Also[]
- Main article: List of costumes from Peek-a-Boo! (Canadian TV series)
- Main article: List of outdoor filming locations from Peek-a-Boo! (Canadian TV series)
- Main article: List of characters from Peek-a-Boo! (Canadian TV series)
Footnotes[]
- ↑ The Little Shapes originally aired in Japan as a series of shorts that air after Okaasan to Issho