''Super Why!'' (stylized as ''Super WHY!'') is a CGI-animated superhero

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

television series created by Angela C. Santomero (who also created ''

Blue's Clues ''Blue's Clues'' is an American live-action/animated children's television series, created by Angela C. Santomero, Todd Kessler, and Traci Paige Johnson, that premiered on Nickelodeon as part of its Nick Jr. block on September 8, 1996, and ...

'') for PBS Kids and aimed for preschoolers ages 3 to 6. Produced by

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

-based Out of the Blue Enterprises, and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

-based C.O.R.E. Toons (animation for season 1 only, being the company's final show produced before their closure on March 15, 2010) and

DHX Media WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children ...

(originally through its

Decode Entertainment WildBrain Studios is the in-house television studio arm of Canadian entertainment company WildBrain based in Vancouver which was established in 2016 as DHX Studios. History In January 2016, DHX Media announced that they would be building a 60 ...

division for seasons one and two), it was distributed by

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in the United States, Decode Enterprises for seasons 1 and 2, and DHX Distribution for season 3. Originally created as a

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

pilot in 1999 by

Cuppa Coffee Animation Cuppa Coffee Studios (formerly known as Cuppa Coffee Animation) is a Canadian production company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Cuppa Coffee was founded by Adam Shaheen in 1992. It specializes in both stop-motion animation and 2D animation, ...

that was pitched to

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

Nick Jr. Nick Jr. (known on-air as the Nick Jr. Channel) is an American pay television channel spun off from Nickelodeon's long-running programming block of the same name. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Gr ...

but later shown at the 2000 Annecy Film Festival, the show was eventually picked up by PBS Kids, changing the animation to CGI and debuted on September 3, 2007, ending on May 12, 2016 after nearly a decade with a total of 103 episodes across three seasons.

Plot

The show is set in Storybrook Village, where the titular character, Whyatt Beanstalk, lives with his friends Woofster (first appearing in season 2), Littlest Pig, Red Riding Hood, and Princess Pea. In each of the episodes, one of the main characters (sometimes two characters, or even all five) has a "super big problem", a "super big question", or a "super big mystery". The main characters then discuss their situation at the Book Club, agreeing to look and fly in a book of a famous story to resolve it. The goal of the Super Readers is to follow the storyline of the book. As they progress through the events of the story, they encounter various obstacles, which can be solved by applying their literacy skills to change the story. As they overcome each of these obstacles, they are rewarded with red glittery "Super Letters" that form the solution to whatever scenario they're investigating. At the conclusion of the adventure, the Super Readers fly back to the Book Club. The Super Letters are put onto the giant computer screen and are spelled out to show the "Super Story Answer". Then, one of the Super Readers gives the reason why that particular word or phrase serves as the solution to their issue or mystery.

Episodes

Characters

* Whyatt Beanstalk/Super Why (voiced by Nicholas Castel Vanderburgh in season 1, Nicholas Kaegi in season 2, and

Johnny Orlando John Vincent Orlando (born January 24, 2003) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, vlogger, and actor. Orlando first received attention on social media by posting covers of pop songs by artists such as Austin Mahone, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Justin Bie ...

in season 3) is the host of the series and the leader of the group of characters who become the "Super Readers", Whyatt is an olive-skinned, blue-eyed, brunet boy who wears a dark blue polo shirt with green stripes, khaki pants, and brown shoes. In the episode "

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Co ...

", it is revealed that Whyatt's older brother, Jack is the protagonist of the English folktale of the same name. Whyatt lives with his mother Mrs. Beanstalk, who writes stories, and his father Mr. Beanstalk who illustrates them, along with his baby sister, Joy. Jack appears in some episodes but is generally "away at college." When Whyatt arrives at the book club, he introduces himself, saying "Whyatt here!" His super reader form is Super Why. In this form, he has a green mask, pair of blue gray and gray turbo sneakers, a blue cape, gold belt around his waist, green jumpsuit, and a blue undergarment. His symbols are a blue book and a question mark and his signature colors are green and blue. He has "the power to read", which focuses on

vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...

. * Littlest Pig/Alpha Pig (voiced by Zachary Bloch in seasons 1-2 and Samuel Faraci in season 3) is referred to in the credits as "The Littlest Pig," he introduces himself at the book club as "P is for Pig!" but throughout the show, he is simply known as "Pig". Pig enjoys pretending and dressing up like his father, a construction pig. He is pink and generally wears a hard hat, with a toolkit belt and safety goggles. His super reader form is Alpha Pig. In this form, he wears a blue-violet short sleeved outfit with orange accents, an orange belt with a triangle on the center, an orange hard hat with a purple triangle on the center, safety goggles, yellow cape and orange sneakers with yellow and brown accents. His toolbox has various equipment in it. His symbol is a triangle and his signature colors are blue-violet and orange. He has "alphabet power", which focuses on the

alphabet An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syllab ...

. *

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brot ...

/Wonder Red (voiced by Siera Florindo in seasons 1-2 and T.J. McGibbon in season 3) is referred to as "Red" in the TV series. The title character from the fairy tale, she only refers to herself as "

Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brothe ...

". She is a freckle-faced pale-skinned

brunette Brown hair, also referred to as brunet (male) or brunette (female), is the second most common human hair color, after black hair. It varies from light brown to a medium dark hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eume ...

/redhead who wears a red hooded long-sleeved outfit and skirt and red roller skates as well as a red flat cap. When she is introduced, she says "Red Riding Hood rolling in!" When turned into her super reader form, Wonder Red, her attire becomes a purple leotard with red trim that shows her midriff. Her skates are turned purple and her main item is the Wonder Words Basket and her symbol is a spiral and her signature colors are red and purple. She has "word power", which focuses on rhyming and word families like "OP", "AT", "UN", "UMP", "OG", etc. In the episode "Judith's Happy Chanukah", it is revealed that Red is Jewish, as she invites Whyatt over to her Grandma's house for

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

. * Princess Pea/Princess Presto (voiced by

Tajja Isen Tajja Isen (born June 29, 1991) is a Canadian writer, editor, and voice actress. Her first book, the essay collection Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service, was published in April 2022. As an actor, she is best known for voicing the tit ...

) was named after the children's story " The Princess and the Pea"; it is shown in the episode ''The Princess and The Pea'' that the princess in that story was Pea's mother and the prince in that story was her father. However, in this case, "Pea" is her surname. She has dark skin with large green eyes and curly black hair, wears a lilac princess dress and a tiara. She loves to dance. When she enters, she says, "Princess Pea at your service!" Her super reader form is Princess Presto and in this form, she pulls her long hair into a bun, and she wears a sleeveless pink dress with green accents and a purple star in the middle, pink tiara, pink evening gloves with green accents, pink sparkly silk cape, and pink ballet flats. Her symbol is a star, which matches her Magic Spelling Wand and her signature colors are pink and green. She has "spelling power", which focuses on spelling. * Woofster (voiced by

Joanne Vannicola Jo Vannicola (born 20 April 1968), formerly known as Joanne Vannicola, is a Canadian actor. They are most noted for their roles as Dr. Naadiah in ''Being Erica'', Dr. Mia Stone in ''PSI Factor'', Jerri in ''Love and Human Remains'', Sam in '' S ...

) is Whyatt's puppy dog with light brown spots. He also lives with Whyatt and his family. When he turns into his super reader form, he has dictionary power and can find the meaning to any word. His Super Reader form has a blue cape and a collar with a small red dictionary, and allows him the power to talk like persons also and his symbol is a dog bone and his signature colors are blue and red. He is also declared the fifth Super Reader. He debuted in the Season 2 premiere "Woofster Finds a Home" and officially became a member of the Super Readers in the same episode. He cuts the "Super You" part after Whyatt's transformation in the series' second and third season.

Reception

''Super Why!'' was received very positively on

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

, where reviewer Emily Ashby rates the show 4/5 in the categories positive messages, positive role models, and educational value. Ashby's review additionally states while extremely mild sequences of suspense and peril do occur and how the show partnered with

Post Consumer Brands Post Consumer Brands (previously Post Cereals and Postum Cereals; also known as simply "Post") is an American breakfast cereal manufacturer headquartered in Lakeville, Minnesota. The company, founded in 1895 by C. W. Post, owns a large portfoli ...

for a branded cereal, there are very low amounts of violence/scariness and consumerism, as well as no "sexy stuff",

profanity Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...

, or drinking, drugs, and smoking at all. Ashby additionally credits the merit of the show to its usage of classic children's fairy tales and the usage of characters from them, specifically

the Three Little Pigs "The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house t ...

. Susan Stewart, a reviewer for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', criticized the show for taking classic fairy tales with traditionally dark lessons, specifically the Three Little Pigs and

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

, and morph them into etiquette lessons. Stewart also criticized the use of interactive questions for viewers to answer and their length, specifically questions like "what comes after the letter E?". Despite its flaws, Stewart does state that the show is brilliant in educational value.

Promotions and other media

Live show

In 2012, a live show was launched across the United States, titled ''Super WHY Live: You've Got the Power''. Produced by SB2N entertainment, ''Super WHY Live'' was promoted for having aerial stunts and "cutting-edge technology", and due to its high levels of audience engagement, was jokingly referred to by Santomero as “‘the

Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also a ...

’ for preschoolers”. The show, which follows Super Why, Alpha Pig, Wonder Red, Princess Presto, and Woofster, premiered in Monroe, Louisiana and toured into spring 2013, where the tour concluded in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

on May 10. The live show's soundtrack was produced by

Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. Antonoff is the lead singer of rock band Bleachers, and is the guitarist and drummer in the pop rock band Fun. He was pr ...

, who consulted his preschool daughter for her reaction to the series and how to compose for it. Antonoff noted that being natively skilled in

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

, writing for the show was not very different, though the lyrics needed to be much less open to interpretation and easy to understand when composing for a young audience.

References

External links