''Almost Naked Animals'' is a Canadian
animated
Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
television series co-produced by
9 Story Media Group for
YTV. The series was created by
Noah Z. Jones
Noah Zachary Jones (born June 20, 1973) is an American animator, screenwriter, illustrator and producer. He is the creator of the television series ''Fish Hooks'', ''Almost Naked Animals,'' ''The 7D'', and ''Pickle and Peanut''. Jones was born ...
, and is based upon an art website that he created in 2005. The series premiered on January 7, 2011 on YTV and ended on May 22, 2013. It also aired on
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
in the United States,
CITV
CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...
in the United Kingdom (premiering on April 11, 2011), and
ABC Entertains
ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...
(formerly ABC3 and ABC ME) in Australia (premiering on May 27, 2011).
Premise
''Almost Naked Animals'' is set inside a tropical
resort
A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...
called the Banana Cabana. All of the cabana's staff members and residents are
funny animals who have shaved off their fur and wear only
underclothes. An anthropomorphic dog named Howie is the manager and leader of the cabana. Each episode follows Howie and his "misfit" crew having unusual adventures in the Banana Cabana.
Characters
Main
* Howie (voiced by
Robert Tinkler
Robert Tinkler is a Canadian voice actor who provides voices for a number of cartoons and anime shows. He voiced Max in '' The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police'', Delete in the children's animated series ''Cyberchase'', Pelswick Eggert ...
) is a pale-yellow dog and manager of the Banana Cabana. He is hyperactive, very dimwitted, impulsive, almost always cheerful, and likes annoying everyone else. He is also completely oblivious to his sister's evil nature.
* Octo (voiced by Howard Jerome) is an overly cautious blue octopus and the desk clerk, as well as Howie's best friend.
* Bunny (voiced by
Emilie-Claire Barlow) is a sometimes short-tempered yellow rabbit and activity planner with a sugary personality (subject to mood swings).
* Duck (voiced by
David Berni
David Berni is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian and writer.
Life and career
Berni is well known for voicing Frank on '' Go, Dog. Go!'', Bernie on ''Ollie's Pack'' and Bird Bud on '' The Snoopy Show''. He is also known for voicing Brent Mclean ...
) is a tan-colored duck who does every random job and tries anything to get it done. It was revealed in the episodes "The Sun Howie Always Wanted" and "Mini Howies" that his full name is Archibald William Nightingale Duck III. As a running gag, Duck often appears during a problem with a
non sequitur.
* Piggy "Willberforce" Pig (voiced by
Seán Cullen) is a pale pink-colored pig who is a
ninja
A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...
-trained master chef with a
Bulgarian accent. He speaks broken English.
* Narwhal (voiced by
Seán Cullen) is a self-centered, periwinkle-colored
narwhal
The narwhal (''Monodon monoceros'') is a species of toothed whale native to the Arctic. It is the only member of the genus ''Monodon'' and one of two living representatives of the family Monodontidae. The narwhal is a stocky cetacean with a ...
who loves to sing (he is the lounge performer).
* Sloth (voiced by
Linda Kash
Linda Kash (born 17 January 1961) is a Canadian actress.
Career
Kash was born 17 January 1961, in Montreal. She was a cast member of Second City and played Trudy Weissman in the 1998 Jean Smart sitcom '' Style & Substance''; she has also playe ...
) is a peach-colored
sloth
Sloths are a Neotropical realm, Neotropical group of xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant Arboreal locomotion, arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of move ...
and the
bellhop
A bellhop (North America), or hotel porter (international), is a hotel employee who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform, like certain other page boys or doormen. This occupation is also know ...
of the Banana Cabana. She has a crush on Howie. She also does everything slowly. She moves around using her
luggage cart.
Villains
* Poodle (voiced by
Alyson Court) is a pink-colored
poodle
The Poodle, called the in German () and the in French, is a breed of water dog. The breed is divided into four varieties based on size, the Standard Poodle, Medium Poodle, Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle, although the Medium Poodle is no ...
and Howie's evil older sister who owns a rival hotel called the Chateau Chattoo. She always tries to ruin Howie's fun and tries to take over Howie's
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
.
* Batty (voiced by
Julie Lemieux) is a purple-colored bat who is Poodle's evil minion. In the episode "Oh Brother, Who Art Thou?", Batty reveals to Howie that he is his long-lost cousin.
Recurring
* Dirk Danger (voiced by
Christian Potenza) is a
chipmunk
Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of subtribe Tamiina. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia.
Taxonomy and systematics
Chipmunks are classified as four genera: '' ...
who has a career (more or less) as a stuntman. He is Howie's role model.
* Radiation Rooster (voiced by Adrian Truss) is the Radioactive Microwave Sales Rooster. His limbs fall off and he is portrayed as unintelligent.
* Captain Fizzy is a Pirate Turtle and the owner of the soft drink "Captain Fizzy's Fuzzy Orange Soda" and "Sugar" which is 99% sugar. He is a turtle. He started a few contests like the limited edition blue and green can contest and the Fuzzy Orange Happy Land contest. He has a floating factory which is a large boat.
* Hippo (voiced by Jamie Watson) is a bluish gray-colored
hippopotamus
The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...
who often wears superhero attire.
* Mayor Trout (voiced by
Dwayne Hill) is a trout.
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2011)
Season 2 (2012)
Season 3 (2013)
Production
The series was co-produced by
9 Story Media Group for
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
and
YTV. Noah Z. Jones is the creator of the series, while Brad Ferguson is the director.
Executive producers includes Vince Commisso, Steve Jarosz, and Jones. Other staff for the series include Tanya Green as supervising producer,
Tristan Homer as producer and Mark Satterthwaite as creative producer.
Development for the series started as early as 2006.
On October 16, 2009, Aaron H. Bynum, news editor of Animation Insider, announced that the series entered production.
Commisso, president and CEO of 9 Story, was pleasantly surprised and charmed for the production of ''Almost Naked Animals'' and said: "We are very excited to be commencing production on Almost Naked Animals,". "We spent a great deal of time in development, ensuring the characters, the pacing and the tone of the show was precise. It is extremely gratifying to see our work come to fruition and the end result is this high-quality, curiously funny animated property."
Home media
Episodes of ''Almost Naked Animals'' are available for digital download through the iTunes Music Store, which are split into two volumes. Roadshow Home Entertainment released a 95-minute Region 4 DVD of the show on December 1, 2011. In 2012, NCircle Entertainment released episodes on DVD for Canada and the US. In the UK, Abbey Home Media released episodes on DVD.
Reception
Critical response
In June 2011, ''Almost Naked Animals'' was picked as one of
People Magazine
''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''Peopl ...
's top children's shows to watch in the US.
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children. rated the show 3 stars out of 5, with the review stating that "The show's writing is smart enough that adults will get some laughs right alongside their kids". Despite this, however, the series mostly received negative reviews.
Ratings
During the week of November 20, 2011, the show has been receiving high ratings on CITV in the UK and has been the most watched after school children's program amongst kids aged 4–9.
Awards and nominations
Other media
Toys and merchandising
In 2011, The Licensing Shop signed products in the US market for ''Almost Naked Animals''. Freeze secured rights for t-shirts, fashion tops and hoodies in all sizes while ABG Accessories produced cold weather accessories, spring and summer headwear and rainwear including umbrellas and slickers for the show.
In 2012, Cafepress agreed to make Almost Naked Animals plushies, water bottles and T-shirts.
Online game
In January 2012, it was announced that 9 Story and Game Pill were creating an Almost Naked Animals online game entitled "Cabana Craze." The game was released on September 25, 2012 and can be found at CabanaCraze.com.
References
External links
*
*
{{Former YTV original series
2010s Canadian animated comedy television series
2010s Canadian children's television series
2010s Canadian workplace comedy television series
2011 Canadian television series debuts
2011 animated television series debuts
2013 Canadian television series endings
Canadian children's animated comedy television series
Canadian flash animated television series
Canadian English-language television shows
YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming
Television series by 9 Story Media Group
Television series by Corus Entertainment
Television series created by Noah Z. Jones
Children's television series about talking animals
Animated television series about dogs
Animated television series about ducks
Animated television series about pigs
Animated television series about rabbits and hares
Television series about vacationing
Animated television series set in hotels
Television shows set in Toronto
Cartoon Network original programming