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Little Robots is a British stop-motion animated children's television series that was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Create TV & Film. The series originally aired on CBeebies, a British children's television channel known for its educational and entertaining programming aimed at preschoolers.
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| Little Robots | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's show |
| Based on | Little Robots by Mike Brownlow |
| Voices of | Hayley Carmichael Lenny Henry Jimmy Hibbert Morwenna Banks Martin Clunes Su Pollard Emma Chambers Mike Hayley Mel Giedroyc Sue Perkins |
| Opening theme | Little Robots Theme by Lenny Henry (UK) and Maria Darling (US) |
| Ending theme | Little Robots Theme (instrumental) |
| Composer | Bob Heatlie |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 5[1] |
| No. of episodes | 65[1] |
| Production | |
| Producer | Vanessa Chapman & Michael Carrington |
| Running time | 10 minutes |
| Production companies | Cosgrove Hall Films Create TV & Film |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBeebies |
| Release | 7 January 2003 – 20 April 2005 |
The show features a group of small, friendly robots living in a colorful and imaginative world. Each episode follows the adventures of these robots as they navigate their daily lives, solve problems, and explore themes of friendship, cooperation, and creativity. The characters are designed to appeal to young children, with vibrant colors and engaging personalities that resonate with preschool audiences.
Little Robots was based on the eponymous book by Mike Brownlow, published in 1999 by Ragged Bears Publishing. The book laid the foundation for the series, inspiring its unique characters and stories. Vanessa Chapman and Michael Carrington for Create TV & Film,[2] developed the series into a fully realized television format. Cosgrove Hall Films, known for its expertise in animation produced the series for Create TV & Film, bringing the charming world of the Little Robots to life through intricate stop-motion animation techniques.
Note
The series was developed by the motion-picture division of LEGO Media, a subsidiary of The LEGO Group that produced video games and TV shows based on LEGO products and properties.[1] which rebranded to Create TV and Film in 2003.[3]
The series premiered on the BBC's preschool channel, CBeebies, where it quickly gained popularity among young viewers and their families. Its blend of engaging storytelling, relatable characters, and educational content made it a favourite choice for preschool programming. Critics praised the show's ability to entertain while also teaching valuable lessons about teamwork and problem-solving.
TV Sales
LEGO Media International announced the show's production in April 2001 for a 2002 delivery.[4][5] On 7 October 2001, it was confirmed that the BBC had acquired the UK broadcast rights to the show and that production would start on the series, which would begin to air from January 2003.[6] In December of that year, it was confirmed that BBC Worldwide had acquired worldwide distribution rights to the series, and that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation had purchased the Australian broadcast rights to the series.[7]
In March 2003, BBC Worldwide pre-sold the series to many different broadcasters, including ZDF and KiKA in Germany, TVOntario, SCN and Knowledge Network in Canada, and the NRK in Norway.[8]
The series was redubbed in the United States with voice actors using American accents despite the show already being in English.
Little Robots has remained a beloved part of British children's television (and other territories), known for its distinctive animation style and heartwarming narratives. The series has inspired merchandise, including toys and books, allowing fans to continue enjoying the adventures of the Little Robots beyond the screen. Its impact on early childhood education and entertainment continues to be recognized in discussions about quality programming for young audiences.
Tiny, Stretchy, Sporty, Scary, and Noisy would later appear in The Official BBC Children in Need Medley in 2009.
- Tiny Robot (voiced by Hayley Carmichael in the UK dub and Jules de Jongh in the US dub) is the central character of the show. He is turquoise, has a pink antenna on top of his head, and a pink button on his tummy which opens the lid of his head, uncovering a few tools which he uses for fixing robots and other machines. He is also responsible for pulling the Day-Night Lever at the right times. Tiny lives on the Nut and Bolt Tree, right next to the Day-Night Lever. He is also the smallest of a family of millirobots known as the Little Robots. He always has a positive view on things and tries to help his family to live in peace and harmony together. Tiny is very mature for his age. Although what everyone doesn't know in the series that Tiny was mayor of a robot habitat in a junkpile in a scrapyard, despite being one of the younger Little Robots. And as the series continued he has taken part of other jobs like fixing robots, putting his discy lift under inspection and even saving robots from the scrap.
- Messy Robot (vocal effects performed by Jimmy Hibbert) is Tiny's pet robot dog. He loves things dirty and messy. Scary teaches him tricks and makes shows with him, where he's known as "Messy the Wonderhound". It may be possible that some of Messy's vocal effects may have been recycled from the character Bumpy Dog (another dog character), from one of Cosgrove Hall's previous shows, Noddy's Toyland Adventures, which Hibbert also voiced characters in.
- Sporty Robot (voiced by Lenny Henry in the UK dub and Paul Mitchell-Jones in the US dub) is the strongest and fittest of the Little Robots. He is constantly running, playing games and sports, and never gets tired of making himself stronger and fitter. Sporty has his own private gym with a trampoline and a conveyor belt.
- Stretchy Robot (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the UK dub and Adam Sims in the US dub) is a very organized and efficient dark blue Little Robot. He is in charge of sorting the junk that comes from the chute on the junkyard. He is tall and thin and has a long, flexible neck. Though his main worry is to keep the junkyard organized so his family can use, his workaholism and obsession for organisation sometimes causes problems. He lives in the junkyard, inside an abandoned radiator.
- Rusty Robot (voiced by Morwenna Banks in the UK dub and Maria Darling in the US dub) is a steam-powered Little Robot who gets nervous at times. She has a red dress which is made of painted rusty metal and wears a funnel on top of her head. She lives in an old, rusty bucket, and she constantly has new ideas on how to improve and decorate it. She is very impulsive and accident prone, though, and tense situations or anything that causes her to get overexcited can make her overheat and release puffs of steam from her wig. She also has a childish crush on Sporty.
- Stripy Robot (voiced by Martin Clunes in the UK dub and Tom Clarke-Hill in the US dub) is a square Little Robot made with coloured stripes of metal, he's practically the complete opposite of Sporty: moves and talks slowly, but he's a deep and introspective thinker, also a specialist in flowers and storytelling. His favorite thing is his robotic teddy bear aptly named Teddy, and his favourite activities are taking care of his garden, telling stories to his family and playing games that require little agility and much skill. He is the third oldest and largest of the Little Robots and he is also gentle.
- Noisy Robot (voiced by Su Pollard in the UK dub and Maria Darling in the US dub) is a red Little Robot who speaks very loudly, has a trumpet for a nose, plays instruments, writes and sings songs, and loves whatever kind of noise she can produce. Her house is an old drum, with a xylophone-themed entryway. Her passion for loud music and noise can often be bothersome for her family, but she's also a great entertainer.
- Spotty Robot (voiced by Emma Chambers in the UK dub and Laurel Lefkow in the US dub) is a round yellow Little Robot covered in coloured spots who wears specs and can retract all her limbs and roll around like a ball for fast locomotion. She has a strong personality, likes rules and orders, and tends to give orders to her family (often causing conflicts with her family). In some episodes of the show she has a glassy front which means that there is a reflection of a studio member and camera throughout the series. She is the oldest Little Robot of the series.
- Scary Robot (voiced by Mike Hayley) is a purple vampire-themed Little Robot with a black cape. He has a Donald Sinden-esque voice and stage shows to entertain his family. He has his own stage, which is also his house, and his ghost train. Despite his name, he is still friendly and well-liked by the other robots, and his attempts to scare them are often unsuccessful as a result.
- Flappy Robot (vocal effects performed by Jimmy Hibbert) is a character from the show who is Scary's pet bat.
- The Sparky Twins (voiced by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins in the UK dub, Lizzie Waterworth and Joanna Ruiz in the US dub) are an arguably greenish blue Little Robot couple with different coloured belly buttons. The twins are almost identical, are full of energy, love dancing, and doing practical jokes on other robots. Sparky One has an orange spot on her tummy and Sparky Two has a yellow spot on her tummy. They are able to communicate over distances by exchanging electrical rays through the antennae on their heads, and their catchphrase is Gimme three, Sparky!. They live in a pair of loudspeakers by an old record turntable.
- Other characters include Teddy Robot, who is Stripy's metallic, silver teddy bear, and the Robot Robo-Birds (vocal effects performed by Jimmy Hibbert), who are his twin pet birds that often play important roles on the show.
Series 1 (2003)
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (1) | "One Hundred" | 7 January 2003 | |
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When their artificial moon breaks, Tiny enlists the help of the other robots to make a new one. | |||
| 2 (2) | "Spotty's Clean Machine" | 14 January 2003 | |
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Wanting to get all their stuff clean, Spotty tries out Stretchy's new cleaning machine, but it goes out of control. | |||
| 3 (3) | "Stretchy in a Twist" | 21 January 2003 | |
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Trying to do too many things at once, Stretchy gets his neck stuck in a knot. Tiny and Rusty try to help. | |||
| 4 (4) | "Robot Race Day" | 28 January 2003 | |
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The Robots hold a sports day. | |||
| 5 (5) | "Knock Knock" | 4 February 2003 | |
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Sporty and Scary keep getting confused about which home belongs to which of the Sparky twins. Upset that they are always being mistaken for each other the twins decide to put shiny things on their doors to identify which is which. | |||
| 6 (6) | "The Hiccalots" | 11 February 2003 | |
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Sporty bumps into Noisy who gets a bad case of robotic hiccups. Everyone tries different ways to cure her. | |||
| 7 (7) | "A Friend for Teddy" | 21 January 2003 | |
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Rusty is embarrassed when she discovers Spotty's secret affection for her pink fluffy slippers. | |||
| 8 (8) | "The Sound of Music" | 25 February 2003 | |
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Convinced by Tiny that it'll be impossible play five instruments all by herself, Noisy decides to form a band, but Sporty is horrified to discover that Noisy wants him to be the singer. | |||
| 9 (9) | "Stripy on the Ball" | 4 March 2003 | |
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Stripy makes a new ball, but the Sparky Twins steal it. They get trapped and the other robots rescue them. | |||
| 10 (10) | "Scary Scary" | 11 March 2003 | |
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Scary has been trying to frighten the little robots, but is unsuccessful until he accidentally gets covered in his magnetic props. | |||
| 11 (11) | "Hole in the Sky" | 18 March 2003 | |
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Rusty is terrified on finding a hole in the sky above her home. | |||
| 12 (12) | "Noisy's New Song" | 25 March 2003 | |
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The hatch in Stretchy's junkyard is jammed, no-one can unstick it and Noisy has a new song. | |||
| 13 (13) | "A Bit of Give and Take" | 1 April 2003 | |
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Tiny needs some help with the Nut and Bolt Tree. | |||
Series 2 (2003)
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (14) | "Barking Mad" | 3 October 2003 | |
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Messy barks all night at a nonexistent cat, keeping Stretchy awake and ending up losing his bark. | |||
| 2 (15) | "Tiny Who?" | 10 October 2003 | |
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Spotty offers the Sparky Twins an opportunity for mischief when Tiny's memory banks are damaged. | |||
| 3 (16) | "The Big Bounce" | 17 October 2003 | |
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Rusty is looking forward to her bouncing lesson with Sporty, but Spotty rushes in and takes her place. | |||
| 4 (17) | "Reach for the Sky" | 24 October 2003 | |
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Sporty envies the Robo-Birds' ability to fly, and Stretchy has a spot of bother with some magnets. | |||
| 5 (18) | "Spotty Rules" | 31 October 2003 | |
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Spotty decides that the Little Robots should be in her club and follow her commands. | |||
| 6 (19) | "Not a Drum Was Heard" | 7 November 2003 | |
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Spotty cannot bear the din when Noisy practises on his drums and sneaks the drum away. | |||
| 7 (20) | "Spotty's Big Idea" | 14 November 2003 | |
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Spotty decides she wants to be an artist and builds a huge sculpture from junk. But when she tries to add the finishing touch, her creation collapses. Tiny suggests she builds something small instead. | |||
| 8 (21) | "Seeing Double" | 21 November 2003 | |
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Tiny builds a replica of himself to keep the Robo-Birds away from Stripy's plants. | |||
| 9 (22) | "The Box of Shocks" | 28 November 2003 | |
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Noisy is very taken with a box that comes down Stretchy's chute, but the other Little Robots think it could be something dangerous. | |||
| 10 (23) | "By Myself" | 5 December 2003 | |
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Stripy wants to go fishing on his own, but the other Little Robots want to come along. | |||
| 11 (24) | "Sweet Dreams Scary" | 12 December 2003 | |
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Scary is so tired, he falls asleep in the middle of one of his magic tricks. Tiny and Noisy vow to help. | |||
| 12 (25) | "United" | 19 December 2003 | |
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Stripy needs to borrow some oil from Tiny, but how can he do it without spoiling Tiny's surprise present? | |||
| 13 (26) | "Spotlight on Stretchy" | 26 December 2003 | |
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Stretchy takes it to heart when the Sparky Twins tell him that he's no fun, and makes a fool of himself in a desperate attempt to change their minds. | |||
Series 3 (2004)
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (27) | "Where's Teddy?" | 17 May 2004 | |
|
Sporty has invented 'botball' which entails kicking a tin can as hard as he can and shouting 'goal!' Stripy doesn't notice the tin can landing on Teddy and panics, thinking his little friend has gone missing. The Little Robots search everywhere but in the end it's Messy who finds him - squashed inside the can. | |||
| 2 (28) | "Red Alert" | 18 May 2004 | |
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An intruder has broken into the Little Robot world, but it is only Tiny's latest invention. | |||
| 3 (29) | "The Waker-Upper" | 19 May 2004 | |
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Tiny oversleeps and doesn't turn the day on, so Stretchy makes him a waker-upper machine. | |||
| 4 (30) | "Too Speedy Sporty" | 20 May 2004 | |
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Sporty is just too fast and causes havoc with his high speeds. | |||
| 5 (31) | "Bump in the Night" | 21 May 2004 | |
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The Sparky Twins ask Scary if they can borrow Flappy to be in their new show. | |||
| 6 (32) | "The Wind Machine" | 24 May 2004 | |
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Tiny makes a wind machine so that Scary's bunting will flutter. | |||
| 7 (33) | "The Odd Couple" | 25 May 2004 | |
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Noisy stays with Stripy while her house is being fixed after an accident. | |||
| 8 (34) | "Good Sport Sporty" | 26 May 2004 | |
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Sporty finishes his chores first, but ends up snowed under when everyone asks him for help finishing theirs. | |||
| 9 (35) | "Metal Makes Us Special" | 27 May 2004 | |
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The Robots celebrate what they are made of with a procession of floats. | |||
| 10 (36) | "Look Out Spotty" | 28 May 2004 | |
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Spotty becomes obsessed with health and safety concerns. | |||
| 11 (37) | "Down Tools Tiny" | 31 May 2004 | |
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Tiny feels unappreciated, so he decides to let the others sort out their own problems. | |||
| 12 (38) | "Screw Loose Spotty" | 1 June 2004 | |
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When Spotty takes a tumble, she loosens a screw and goes into demolition mode. | |||
| 13 (39) | "Who Did That?" | 2 June 2004 | |
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The Sparkies find a box of bits that they turn into vehicles with joysticks. | |||
Series 4 (2004)
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (40) | "Teddy's Big Day Out" | 1 November 2004 | |
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Tiny doesn't want to worry Stripy by telling him his bear is missing. | |||
| 2 (41) | "Under the Stars" | 2 November 2004 | |
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Spotty persuades Rusty to head off into the Wasteland with her to sleep out under the stars. | |||
| 3 (42) | "Fly Me to the Moon" | 3 November 2004 | |
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Scary decides he wants to be more like Flappy the Bat, so he tries to fly to the moon. | |||
| 4 (43) | "Stripy's Dancing Flowers" | 4 November 2004 | |
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The Sparky Twins are up to their usual tricks, causing mayhem and chaos. | |||
| 5 (44) | "Noisy Knows Noise" | 5 November 2004 | |
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Messy hits his head and all of a sudden starts to moo, baa, and meow instead of barking. Meanwhile, Noisy challenges Scary to come up with a noise she doesn't know though she warns him she knows every noise there is. | |||
| 6 (45) | "The Show Must Go On" | 8 November 2004 | |
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Scary wants to put on a show and goes on a search for a glamorous assistant. | |||
| 7 (46) | "On Balance" | 9 November 2004 | |
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Tiny's metal measurer is used as a see-saw by the Sparky twins, much to Spotty's distress. | |||
| 8 (47) | "Wheels are Fun" | 10 November 2004 | |
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Tiny's new invention causes much excitement amongst the Little Robots. | |||
| 9 (48) | "Small Shiny Metal Things" | 11 November 2004 | |
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Rusty's collection of small shiny metal things is disappearing piece by piece. | |||
| 10 (49) | "Swings and Roundabouts" | 12 November 2004 | |
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Scary wants the other little robots to entertain him for a change. | |||
| 11 (50) | "Amazing Scary" | 15 November 2004 | |
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Scary builds a maze and the Little Robots can't wait to have a go at exploring it. | |||
| 12 (51) | "Repeat After Me" | 16 November 2004 | |
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Stripy speeds up but the others decide he was better being slow. | |||
| 13 (52) | "Sparkle Day" | 17 November 2004 | |
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It's Sparkle Day - a special event. Everyone loves it except Rusty, who is too shy to sparkle. | |||
Series 5 (2005)
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (53) | "Sporty the Hero" | 4 April 2005 | |
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Rusty gives Sporty a medal, saying he is her hero. Sporty would like to be a hero, but he isn't sure how. | |||
| 2 (54) | "Stretchy's Yard Guard" | 5 April 2005 | |
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Stretchy's good intentions backfire when his yard guard turns on him. | |||
| 3 (55) | "The Bedtime Badbot" | 6 April 2005 | |
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The Sparky Twins dress up as an electronic bogeyman called the Bedtime Badbot, after Scary tells them and other robots about it. | |||
| 4 (56) | "Not Just Junk" | 7 April 2005 | |
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Stretchy gives away all his junk. Unsurprisingly, he then misses it. | |||
| 5 (57) | "Sporty Makes a Mess" | 8 April 2005 | |
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Sporty overdoes things and makes a real mess. | |||
| 6 (58) | "Nut and Bolt Cracker Suite" | 11 April 2005 | |
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Spotty gets a bad case of stage fright on the Stage. | |||
| 7 (59) | "Sparkies' Big Night Out" | 12 April 2005 | |
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The Sparky twins have a great plan to make up for all the mischief they have caused. | |||
| 8 (60) | "Tunnel Trouble" | 13 April 2005 | |
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The Sparky twins are up to their usual tricks. | |||
| 9 (61) | "Beautiful and New" | 14 April 2005 | |
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Noisy is having trouble finding a new noise. | |||
| 10 (62) | "Stargazing" | 15 April 2005 | |
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Tiny loves stargazing and decides he would rather have longer nights and shorter days. | |||
| 11 (63) | "Water Water Everywhere" | 18 April 2005 | |
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Water comes through the roof of Little Robot world, and with Stretchy and Stripy's help, the Little Robots escape in an ark. | |||
| 12 (64) | "Scaredy Bot Goes Boing" | 19 April 2005 | |
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Scary wants to frighten some Little Robots with his new ride. | |||
| 13 (65) | "The Tingaling Thing" | 20 April 2005 | |
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It is Robofest time, so the robots get their dancing shoes on. | |||
BBC Worldwide distributes the series, and licensed it in over 60 countries. In the U.S., Little Robots was part of Cartoon Network's Tickle-U programming block and premiered 2 years after it aired in the UK, in 2005, the Cartoon Network version used American voice actors and was also released on DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. It also aired on TVOKids in Ontario, Canada from 2003 to 2005 with the original UK dub, on Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney (now Disney Junior) in Asia from 2006 to 2007 with the US dub[citation needed], on Okto in Singapore, and on Nick Jr. in Australia (formerly for a short time on Nickelodeon). The BBC website lists further customers: Germany (ZDF and KiKa), Canada (TVOntario, SCN and The Knowledge Network), Norway (NRK), Finland (YLE), Denmark (TV2), Iceland (RUV), Italy (RAI 2), Portugal (RTP and Canal Panda), Malta (MEBC), Russia (RTR Kultura and Carousel) and South Africa (SABC), Mexico (Discovery Kids), Slovenia (TV Slovenia), Japan (NHK and Disney Junior).[9] The series has also aired in several other countries such as Australia (ABC, ABC Kids, ABC1 and ABC2), New Zealand (TV2), Ireland (RTÉ2, where it aired as part of its children's television strand The Den), The Bahamas (ZNS-TV), Hong Kong (ATV World), Poland (CBeebies), Greece (NERIT), Middle East and North Africa (Spacetoon and Basmah).
In 2003−2004 a number of construction toy sets based on the TV series were released by LEGO Explore. In this theme were introduced new elements, including pieces for character minifigures. Each of the sets consist only one minifigure, except sets 7439 "Stretchy's Junk Yard" (Stretchy, Sporty) and 7441 "Tiny & Friends" (Tiny, Stretchy, and exclusive minifigures of Noisy and Messy). Also made were character plush toys. Most of the sets had limited release and were available only for online shopping in countries where the TV series was screened.[10]
- 7435 – Tiny's Day and Night Lever
- 7436 – Sporty's Jumping Gym
- 7437 – Gardening with Stripy
- 7439 – Stretchy's Junk Yard
- 7441 – Tiny & Friends
- 7442 – Tiny's Lift Cart
- 7443 – Stretchy's Junk Cart
- 7444 – Sporty's Gym Cart
- 7445 – Stripy's Flower Cart
- 7446 – Tiny
- 7449 – Sporty
- 7450 – Stretchy
- 7455 – Little Robots Tiny Plush
- 7456 – Little Robots Messy Plush
- 7457 – Little Robots Scary Plush
- 7458 – Little Robots Stripy Plush
- 7459 – Little Robots Tiny Plush Mini
- 7460 – Little Robots Messy Plush Mini
- 7461 – Little Robots Scary Plush Mini
- 7462 – Little Robots Stripy Plush Mini
- 7495 – Sporty's Skate Park
- 7496 – Stretchy at Work
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