Toon the Toucan is a Kuboian stop-motion animated television series created by Edward Reizer, first broadcast by TVVC in 1995. The show focuses on the titular toucan and the various activities and occupations he gets into in each episode. The first series aired on Vision Network (now Vision One) as part of its weekday preschool-orientated programming strand The Magic Box. A second series later aired on Tiny Vision in 1999, which were followed by two specials in 2000.
Synopsis[]
Toon, a talkative and imaginative toucan, lives in a mountainous village with his seven year-old owner Linda Berg, and her parents Klasina and Sef. The village they live in has many large, green hills, a pink sky and various animals who live in harmony with humans and are capable of speech.
Each episode begins with Linda and Toon reading the newspaper, where they get an idea of anything happening within the village. Toon will then contemplate about what the two have just read about, which will cause him to enter an imagination spot, where he will imagine him and Linda going on either an exciting adventure or doing an amusing activity. After he is finished contemplating, he tells Linda about what he has just thought about, and the two set off to put Toon's plan into action.
It is common for Linda and Toon to face a roadblock or for one of their plans to fall apart due to unpredictable events, which will often leave Toon puzzled on what to do next. When this occurs, Linda will have her own brief moment of contemplating on how to fix things. Upon fixing things, the two will return to Linda's parents, typically with a souvenir showcasing what they have gotten up to.
From series two, episodes are less formulaic; Toon's imagination spot's become brief moments of contemplating similar to Linda's, and Linda and Toon instead become aware of events and news stories through other means (such as word of mouth).
Production[]
Reizer first hinted at Toon the Toucan during a guest appearance on Harvy's House in 1993. The show was made with the intention that it would be more visual appealing and straightforward compared to his previous series Tack the Rat, which relied more on slapstick and humour. Reizer was more familiar with stop motion compared to when he started producing Tack the Rat, and as a result, the characters in Toon the Toucan were more expressive and the environments and objects were more detailed.
The theme song to Toon the Toucan, "My Friend Toon", is sing by Reizer himself. It, and the rest of the show's soundtrack, pays homage to German schlager music.
Episodes[]
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 15 | 8 September 1995 | 15 December 1995 | ||
| 2 | 15 | 6 March 1999 | 24 April 1999 | ||
Specials[]
- "A Star Is Born" - 31st March 2000
- "The Christmas Toucan" - 23rd December 2000