Bob the Builder
British children's animated television show From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bob the Builder is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment which ran from 12 April 1999 to 31 December 2011 in the United Kingdom through the CBBC strand and later CBeebies. The series centres on the adventures and escapades of a general contractor named Bob who owns a team of anthropomorphised construction vehicles that go about their day helping out with construction work in several towns.
| Bob the Builder | |
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| Also known as |
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| Genre | |
| Created by | Keith Chapman |
| Directed by |
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| Voices of |
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| Theme music composer | Paul K. Joyce |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 18 |
| No. of episodes | 250 (+10 specials) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Jackie Cockle |
| Editors |
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| Camera setup |
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| Running time | 10 minutes |
| Production company | HiT Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBeebies |
| Release | 12 April 1999 – 31 December 2011 |
The show used stop-motion animation for most of the series as well as Project: Build It, provided by Hot Animation in Manchester. The series changed to CGI animation in 2010 for its final two seasons; titled Ready, Steady, Build!, of which SD Entertainment completed animation production.
Following the series' conclusion, HIT Entertainment was purchased by US toy company Mattel for $680 million.[2] In October 2014, the company announced a new series that would feature changes in the setting, casting and character designs. The revival aired on Channel 5's Milkshake! for three series from 2015–2018, and was severely criticised by fans of the original version.[3][4] An animated theatrical film adaptation of the series was announced in January 2024; which will be produced by Jennifer Lopez's Nuyorican Productions and star Anthony Ramos as the voice of Bob.[5]
A new titled Bob the Builder revival series is yet to be announced.
Cast and characters
Voice actors who have contributed to the original British version include Neil Morrissey, Rob Rackstraw, Kate Harbour, Rupert Degas, Colin McFarlane, Maria Darling, Emma Tate, Richard Briers, and June Whitfield.
Celebrities who have provided voices for the series (usually for one-off specials) include John Motson, Sue Barker, Kerry Fox, Ulrika Jonsson, Alison Steadman, Stephen Tompkinson, Elton John, and Noddy Holder.
Episodes
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | ||||||||||
| Original series | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 13 | 12 April 1999 | 2 August 1999 | UK: CBBC (1999) US: Nick Jr. (starting 2001[6]) | ||||||||
| 2 | 13 | 11 October 1999 | 28 December 1999 | UK: CBBC (1999) US: Nick Jr. (2001) | ||||||||
| 3 | 13 | 1 September 2000 | 19 September 2000 | UK: CBBC (2000) US: Nick Jr. (2001) | ||||||||
| 4 | 13 | 1 February 2001 | 19 February 2001 | UK: CBBC (2001) US: Nick Jr. (2001) | ||||||||
| 5 | 13 | 1 April 2002 | 13 April 2002 | UK: CBeebies (2002) US: Nick Jr. (2001–02) | ||||||||
| 6 | 13 | 2 September 2002 | 14 September 2002 | UK: CBeebies (2002) US: Nick Jr. (2002) | ||||||||
| 7 | 13 | 3 February 2003 | 20 February 2003 | UK: CBeebies (2003) US: VHS/DVD (2003–04) PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| 8 | 13 | 1 September 2003 | 24 November 2003 | UK: CBeebies (2003) US: VHS/DVD (2004) PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| 9 | 13 | 3 April 2004 | 20 December 2004 | UK: CBeebies (2004) US: PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| Project: Build It | ||||||||||||
| 10 | 15 | 2 May 2005 | 20 May 2005 | UK: CBeebies (2005) US: PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| 11 | 12 | 1 August 2005 | 16 August 2005 | UK: CBeebies (2005) US: PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| 12 | 14 | 31 July 2006 | 17 August 2006 | UK: CBeebies (2006) US: PBS Kids (2006) | ||||||||
| 13 | 12 | 18 August 2006 | 4 September 2006 | UK: CBeebies (2006) US: PBS Kids (2006) | ||||||||
| 14 | 12 | 3 September 2007 | 18 September 2007 | UK: CBeebies (2007) US: PBS Kids (2007) | ||||||||
| 15 | 15 | 19 September 2007 | 9 October 2007 | UK: CBeebies (2007) US: PBS Kids (2008) | ||||||||
| 16 | 13 | 5 August 2008 | 26 August 2008 | UK: CBeebies (2008) US: PBS Kids (2008–09) | ||||||||
| Ready, Steady, Build! | ||||||||||||
| 17 | 20 | 12 April 2010 | 28 May 2010 | UK: CBeebies (2010) US: PBS Kids (2010) | ||||||||
| Mini Series 1 | 6 | 25 October 2010 | UK: DVD (2010) US: PBS Kids (2011) | |||||||||
| 18 | 8 | 26 September 2011 | 5 October 2011 | UK: CBeebies (2011) US: PBS Kids (2011) | ||||||||
| Mini Series 2 | 6 | 31 December 2011 | UK: DVD (2011) US: PBS Kids (2011) | |||||||||
International broadcast
Bob the Builder is broadcasted internationally and is available in several languages, including English, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Slovene, German, Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi, Serbo-Croatian, Bengali, and others.
| Country | Language | Title | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Latin American Spanish | Bob el constructor | |
| Australia | British English | Bob the Builder | ABC Kids |
| Austria | German | Bob der Baumeister | |
| Belgium | Dutch | Bob de Bouwer | |
| French | Bob le bricoleur | ||
| Bolivia | Latin American Spanish | Bob el constructor | |
| Brazil | Brazilian Portuguese | Bob o Construtor | |
| Canada | American English | Bob the Builder | Treehouse TV |
| Canadian French | Bob le bricoleur | Télé-Quebec | |
| Chile | Latin American Spanish | Bob el constructor | |
| Colombia | Latin American Spanish | Bob el constructor | |
| Ecuador | Latin American Spanish | Bob el constructor | |
| France | French | Bob le bricoleur | |
| Germany | German | Bob der Baumeister | |
| Ireland | British English | Bob the Builder | |
| Italy | Italian | Bob aggiustatutto | |
| Mexico | Latin American Spanish | Bob el constructor | |
| Netherlands | Dutch | Bob de Bouwer | |
| Paraguay | Latin American Spanish | Bob el constructor | |
| Peru | Latin American Spanish | Bob el constructor | |
| Portugal | European Portuguese | Bob o Construtor | |
| New Zealand | British English | Bob the Builder | |
| Romania | Romanian | Bob constructorul | |
| Spain | European Spanish | Bob y sus amigos | |
| South Africa | British English | Bob the Builder | |
| Switzerland | Swiss German | Bob de Boumaa | |
| United States | American English | Bob the Builder | Nick Jr. (January 13, 2001—November 24, 2003) PBS Kids (January 1, 2005—November 13, 2018) |
| Uruguay | Latin American Spanish | Bob el constructor | |
| Venezuela | Latin American Spanish | Bob el constructor |
Impact
Bob the Builder was nominated in the BAFTA "Pre-school animation" category from 1999 to 2009,[not in the source given] and won the "Children's Animation" category in 2003 for the special episode "A Christmas to Remember".[7] Of the show's success, Sarah Ball said:
I think diggers and dumpers fascinate kids in the same way that they are drawn to dinosaurs. They both have a timeless appeal. The technique of stop motion is very tangible - the characters look like you can just pick them up and play with them. It’s a safe, lovely, bright, colourful world, which is very appealing. Curtis Jobling did a fantastic job designing the show - it’s very simple and stylized but has such charm.
— Interview with Sarah Ball, Gurgle.com[8]
Reboot series
On 1 September 2015, a reboot series first aired on Cartoonito and Channel 5's Milkshake block and dub American aired on 7 November 2015 with no funding and programmed during weekdays (twenty-first season does not aired and reruns) until three years Cartoonito was left. In 2021, Channel 5 left as it has since ended its run. Two years after the 2015 series ended, the original Bob the Builder also aired on Qubo but it ceased operations on 28 February 2021. The second revival Bob the Builder series formed Wonderful Buildings is to be announced in fall 2025.
References
Other websites
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