''The Backyardigans'' is a

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images ( moving images), while computer animation re ...

musical

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early eveni ...

created by

Janice Burgess Janice Burgess (born 1954) is a former television executive, writer, and producer for Nickelodeon. She created the Nick Jr. series ''The Backyardigans'' and worked as a writer and creative director for Nickelodeon's revival of ''Winx Club''. Both ...

. The series was written and recorded at

Nickelodeon Animation Studio Nickelodeon Animation Studio is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global. It has created many original television programs for Nickelodeon, such as ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''The Fairly OddParents'', ''Rugrats'' and ''Avatar: The ...

. It centers on five animal neighbors who imagine themselves on fantastic adventures in their backyard. Each episode is set to a different musical genre and features four songs, composed by

Evan Lurie Evan is both an English and Welsh male given name derived from "Iefan", a Welsh form for the name John. In other languages it could be compared to " Ivan", "Ian", and " Juan"; the name John itself is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Yəhô� ...

with lyrics by McPaul Smith. The Backyardigans' adventures span many different genres and settings. The show's writers took inspiration from

action-adventure movie Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

s, and many episodes are parodies of movies. Nickelodeon called the show "a home-grown Nick Jr. property," as "the whole creative team... adbeen part of the Nick Jr. family for years." Creator Janice Burgess had worked as Nick Jr.'s production executive since the mid-1990s. ''The Backyardigans'' originated as a live-action

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other dist ...

titled "Me and My Friends," filmed at

Nickelodeon Studios Florida Nickelodeon Studios was a production studio and theme park attraction run by the television network Nickelodeon at Universal Studios Florida. Opening on June 7, 1990, as ''The First World Headquarters for Kids'', the studio attracted young tour ...

in 1998. The characters were played by full-body puppets on an indoor stage. The pilot was rejected by Nickelodeon, and Burgess decided to rework the concept into an animated series. In 2002, a second pilot was animated at

Nickelodeon Digital Nickelodeon Digital, often shortened to Nick Digital and originally known as Nickelodeon Creative Labs, is an American animation studio based in New York City which opened in 1994. It is a division of Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Nickelodeon Dig ...

in New York. The second pilot was successful, and the series entered production. The show ran for four seasons totaling 80 episodes. Most episodes aired on Nickelodeon on weekday mornings. In 2009, the show was planned to continue beyond the fourth season. However, in 2010, the series' creator Janice Burgess decided to move onto a different series: Nickelodeon's revival of ''Winx Club''. Burgess worked as a creative director and writer for ''Winx Club'' before eventually retiring from Nickelodeon in 2014. ''The Backyardigans'' was critically acclaimed. Many critics felt that ''The Backyardigans'' was superior to Nickelodeon's other preschool shows because its writing was sophisticated and enjoyable for older viewers. ''

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 ...

'' and

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.

commended the show for including frequent nods to an older audience, such as references to action-adventure franchises. The quality of the show's music was also praised by critics, and the show received eight

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

nominations for its music.

Plot

The show centers around a group of five animal neighbors: Uniqua, Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, and Austin. They share a large backyard between their houses. In each episode, they meet in the backyard and imagine themselves on a fantastical adventure. Their adventures span a variety of different genres and settings; many episodes involve visiting different parts of the world, traveling back or forward in time, and using magic or supernatural powers. The characters give themselves different jobs or roles depending on the episode's imaginary setting, such as detectives, knights, or scientists. From the second season onward, many episodes are parodies of action-adventure films such as ''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

'', ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...

'', ''

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' The ...

'', and ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, ...

''. The openings and endings of the episodes follow a similar pattern. The stories begin with the characters in the backyard, introducing themselves and explaining the scenario they are about to imagine. When the Backyardigans finish their adventure, the fantasy sequence fades, restoring the original backyard setting. The characters sing a closing song, then walk inside their houses for a snack and close the door. As the episode ends, at least one character reopens the door and shouts a phrase related to the adventure. The show follows the format of a

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

. Each episode is set to a different genre of music and features four songs. The characters sing and dance to the songs with original choreography. The song and dance routines are often used to introduce a character's imaginary role, further the plot, or explain a problem. In addition to singing songs in a new genre each episode, the show's background music changes to match, scoring all of the Backyardigans' actions.

Characters

Each of the five characters on the show has two voice actors: one for speaking, and the other for singing. Live-action dancers first performed the dancing on the show, and their movements were later transported to animation. The choreographer, Beth Bogush, described the process: "What we do is we film the live footage in the studio, send that off, and they do a

Leica Leica Camera AG () is a German company that manufactures cameras, optical lenses, photographic lenses, binoculars, rifle scopes and microscopes. The company was founded by Ernst Leitz in 1869 (Ernst Leitz Wetzlar), in Wetzlar, Germany. ...

, and then they send it to the animators. The animators watch and were pretty precise. What we film for that day is pretty close to what you see in the character."

Main

* Uniqua (speaking voice by LaShawn Tinah Jefferies, singing voices provided by

Jamia Simone Nash Jamia Simone Nash (born August 21, 1996) in Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S., also known simply as Jamia, is an American singer and actress. Career Nash's first national appearance was in ''Love & Basketball'' in 2000 in which she played Quincy a ...

in Seasons 1-3 and Avion Baker in Season 4) is a pink-spotted creature who is curious, self-confident, and adventurous. She likes to tell jokes and make her friends laugh. The series uses the name "Uniqua" for both the character and her species. She wears pink, polka-dotted

overalls Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls we ...

and has a pair of swirled antennae on top of her head. She usually imagines herself having roles that require brains and courage, such as a scientist or pirate captain. Creator

describes Uniqua as the child she wishes she was like as a child. She is the only main character to appear in every episode. * Pablo (speaking voices by

Zach Tyler Eisen Zachary Tyler Eisen (born September 23, 1993) is an American former voice actor. He voiced Aang in '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', Lucas Nickle in '' The Ant Bully'', Andrew in Nick Jr's ''Little Bill'' and Pablo in the American animated televis ...

in Season 1, Jake Goldberg in Seasons 2-4 and singing voice provided by Sean Curley) is a blue

penguin Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...

with a yellow beak who is high-strung, frenetic, and tends to overreact. He wears a blue bow tie and a propeller

beanie Beanie may refer to: Headgear * Beanie (seamed cap), in parts of North America, a cap made from cloth often joined by a button at the crown and seamed together around the sides * Beanie, a knit cap, in Britain, Australia, South Africa and parts o ...

. Due to his energy and impetuousness, he often goes into a "panic attack" when he faces an obstacle, running around in circles and telling everyone not to worry until someone gets his attention by calling his name three times. Pablo's panic attacks became less prominent after Season 1, though in the later episode "The Flipper!", his propensity for getting overexcited is the main plot point. Pablo does not appear one time: "Chichen-Itza Pizza." * Tyrone (speaking voices by Reginald Davis Jr. in Seasons 1-2, Jordan Coleman in Seasons 2-3, Christopher Grant, Jr. in Season 4 and singing voices provided by

Corwin C. Tuggles Corwin C. Tuggles (born November 13, 1992) is an American actor. He was the singing voice of Tyrone on '' The Backyardigans'' during its first season. On Broadway, he was in ''Caroline, or Change'', and Dr. Seuss' '' How the Grinch Stole Chris ...

in Season 1,

Leon Thomas III Leon G. Thomas III (born ) is an American actor, record producer, songwriter and singer. After early roles in Broadway and providing the singing voice of Tyrone on the Nick Jr. animated series '' The Backyardigans'' (2006–2008), he played A ...

in Seasons 2-3, Damani Roberts in Season 3 and

Tyrel Jackson Williams Tyrel Jackson Williams (born March 16, 1997) is an American actor. He starred as Leo Dooley in the Disney XD series ''Lab Rats''. Williams also co-starred in the 2014 Disney XD television film '' Pants on Fire''. From 2017 to 2020 he co-starred ...

in Seasons 3-4) is a red-haired orange

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

who is laid-back and cool-headed. He wears a red and blue striped shirt. He is best friends with Pablo, and he is almost the complete opposite of Pablo in terms of personality, with his calm and easy going character. Tyrone is known for his sarcastic comments, one of them being "That certainly was convenient." At the end of most episodes, he says, "That was an excellent ''(type)'' adventure, don't you think?" Despite not appearing to wear trousers, Tyrone somehow manages to put his hands in his pockets. * Tasha (speaking voices by Naelee Rae in Seasons 1-2, Gianna Bruzzese in Seasons 3-4 and singing voices provided by

Kristin Klabunde Kristin Danielle Klabunde (born September 12, 1991 in New Jersey) is an American actress and singer. She is mostly known as the singing voice of Tasha on the Nickelodeon animated preschool series ''The Backyardigans''. She has had guest roles on t ...

in Seasons 1-3 and Gabriella Malek in Seasons 3-4) is a strong-willed yellow

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two exta ...

who is rational, skeptical, and highly motivated to get her own way. Tasha wears red Mary-Jane shoes and an orange dress with a flower pattern. She is the most serious of the Backyardigans, though she can be just as easy going as the others from time to time. Her catchphrase is "Oh, for goodness sakes." Nickelodeon describes Tasha as "deceptively sweet" and "tough-as-nails." * Austin (speaking voice by Jonah Bobo, singing voices provided by Thomas Sharkey in Seasons 1-3 and Nicholas Barasch in Season 4) is a shy but fun-loving purple

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

. In Season 1, he is reserved and soft-spoken due to recently moving into the neighborhood. In later episodes, Austin becomes more outgoing and is revealed to be smart and imaginative. Austin rarely appears in the spotlight, but takes the role of the lead character in several episodes. Beth Bogush described him as "the one pulling up the rear. He's kind of a get-along guy."

Recurring

*Sherman (vocal effects by

Oliver Wyman Oliver Wyman is an American management consulting firm. Founded in New York City in 1984 by former Booz Allen Hamilton partners Alex Oliver and Bill Wyman, the firm has more than 60 offices in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia- ...

) is a small, orange-spotted yellow worm. Sherman is easily scared due to his small size. He appears in "The Heart of the Jungle," "Polka Palace Party," and "Attack of the 50 Foot Worman". *The Wormans are a fictional species of colorful, worm-like creatures who speak in squeaks and gibberish. They appear in all the seasons of the show. *Dragon (vocal effects by Oliver Wyman) is a friendly, green-colored dragon who appears three times (the movie "Tale of the Mighty Knights" and the episode "The Tale of the Not-So-Nice Dragon"). He hatched from a spotted egg and lives inside of Dragon Mountain. *The Aliens are green-colored aliens with eyestalks appear four times: "Mission to Mars," "News Flash," "Los Galacticos," and "The Big Dipper Diner." *The Giant Clam is a hungry, irritable clam who appears in "The Legend of the Volcano Sisters" and "The Great Dolphin Race." It is very protective of its pearl. It pants and acts like a dog. *The Voices were included in the episodes "Secret Mission" and "It's Great to Be a Ghost!" that do not come from any shown character. *Robot Roscoe (vocal effects by Evan Matthew Weinstein) is a robot owned by Austin, who appears three times in the fourth season (the movie "Robot Rampage" and the episode "Elephant on the Run").

Episodes

Production

Janice Burgess drew inspiration from action films when writing episodes of the show, as she wanted to adapt high-stakes stories for a young audience. In an interview with the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'', Burgess was asked what inspired the show; she responded, "I know this is going to sound very strange, but the things I really draw upon are action films. I like ''

Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', by Roderick Thorp, it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, ...

'', ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'', the Tolkien movies ... I thought it would be fun to take kids on that big adventure."Owen, Rob
"Q&A with Janice Burgess"
''

'', October 8, 2006. Accessed January 18, 2008. "Landing Keys was a treat for series creator Janice Burgess, a Squirrel Hill native and a 1974 graduate of The Ellis School." The character of Uniqua was based on how Burgess viewed herself as a child; as a result, Uniqua was written as the leader of the Backyardigans, and Uniqua was the only character who appeared in every episode. Before Nickelodeon ordered the first season, two pilot episodes of ''The Backyardigans'' were made. The first was a live-action pilot titled "Me and My Friends," filmed at

Nickelodeon Studios Nickelodeon Studios was a production studio and theme park attraction run by the television network Nickelodeon at Universal Studios Florida. Opening on June 7, 1990, as ''The First World Headquarters for Kids'', the studio attracted young tour ...

in September 1998. The characters were played by full-body puppets who danced on an indoor stage. The pilot was rejected by Nickelodeon, and Janice Burgess decided to rework the concept into an animated show. In 2002, a second pilot was created; it was a computer-animated short produced at

. The second pilot was greenlit by Nickelodeon to become a full-length series. Nickelodeon called the show "a home-grown Nick Jr. property," as "the whole creative team... adbeen part of the Nick Jr. family for years." In December 2009, Nick Jr. president Brown Johnson stated that Nickelodeon intended to keep the show running for "at least another five years. Maybe forever." Nickelodeon believed that ''The Backyardigans'' was an ideal "evergreen" property: a series that would stay in production for a long time through multiple generations. A fifth season was planned in 2009. However, in 2010, Janice Burgess decided to end ''The Backyardigans'' to start working on one of Nickelodeon Animation Studio's newer projects: a revival series of ''

Winx Club ''Winx Club'' is an animated series co-produced by Rainbow SpA and later Nickelodeon. It was created by Italian animator Iginio Straffi. The show is set in a magical universe that is inhabited by fairies, witches, and other mythical creatures. ...

'', a girls' action-adventure franchise. Burgess brought the former ''Backyardigans'' crew onto ''Winx Club'' as well. This included lyricist McPaul Smith; writers Jeff Borkin, Adam Peltzman, and

Carin Greenberg Carin Greenberg (born September 17, 1959) is a writer, story editor and producer of children’s entertainment. She is a Peabody finalist and winner of three Daytime Emmys, two Annie Awards and a Writers Guild Award. She wrote a series of children ...

;

line producer A line producer is a type of film or television producer who is the head of the production office management personnel during daily operations of a feature film, advertisement film, television film, or TV program. A line producer usually works o ...

Sara Kamen; and

script coordinator A script coordinator is a role in the production of a film or television series. The script coordinator is responsible for producing each draft of the script and annotating it for ease of use for the production team. On a television series the sc ...

Jonathan Foss. Burgess worked as the creative director, story editor, and writer on ''Winx Club''. The crew considered it a natural progression, as ''Winx Club'' was also a musical action-adventure show, but it targeted an older audience, allowing them to branch out.

Reception

''The Backyardigans'' received eight

nominations, and Janice Burgess won the 2008 Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program. In a 2016 article for ''

The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', drama critic Chris Jones called ''The Backyardigans'' "a fabulously inventive TV show." ''

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

''s John Crichton gave the show a "hearty recommendation," citing its "enjoyable (and varied) music score, the character voices (both spoken and singing) and the impressive visual presentation." ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'' named the ''Backyardigans'' episode "The Swamp Creature" one of the best episodes of children's television. Critics noted that the series held broad appeal to older viewers, due to its high-quality music and focus on character-driven, non-educational stories. Susan Stewart of ''

'' said "it's hard to say whether ''The Backyardigans'' is a fantasy for children or for their parents," commending the show's animation and storytelling.

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.

's Emily Ashby wrote, "It's not always easy to find a show you like as much as your youngsters do, but ''The Backyardigans'' definitely has the potential to fit that bill." Journalist

Virginia Heffernan Virginia Heffernan (born August 8, 1969) is an American journalist and cultural critic. Since 2015, she has been a political columnist at the ''Los Angeles Times'' and a cultural columnist at '' Wired''. From 2003 to 2011, she worked as a staff ...

wrote, "with each episode devoted not just to a separate quest but also to a different musical genre...the show blows you away with its artistic exactitude." In 2021, the songs "Castaways" and "Into the Thick of It" went viral on

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

, with the former appearing in more than 745,000 videos and the latter appearing in more than 46,000 videos as of June 2021. Due to their success on TikTok, "Castaways" and "Into the Thick of It" reached number 5 and 13 respectively on the Spotify viral 50 chart in the US for the week beginning on June 10, 2021.

Related media

Live events

''The Backyardigans'' was adapted into several stage shows. These included 2008's "Tale of the Mighty Knights" and 2010's "Storytime Live!" (an event featuring other

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 ...

characters from ''

Dora the Explorer ''Dora the Explorer'' is an American children's animated television series and multimedia franchise created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes and Eric Weiner that premiered on Nickelodeon on August 14, 2000, went on hiatus on June 5, 20 ...

'', '' Wonder Pets!'', and ''

Ni Hao, Kai-Lan ''Ni Hao, Kai-Lan'' is an American animated children's television series produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It began as a series of three interstitial shorts on Nick Jr. called ''Downward Doghouse''. The first full episode was initially se ...

'', as well as hosts

Moose and Zee Moose and Zee are a pair of fictional characters created for the Noggin brand. They debuted as the on-air hosts of the Noggin cable channel on April 7, 2003. The character of Moose was created to act like a teacher, providing information and ed ...

). In Canada, separate live shows called "Quest for the Extra Ordinary Aliens" (2008) and "Sea Deep in Adventure" (2009) were created.

Merchandise

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

released a ''The Backyardigans'' PC game, "Mission to Mars," in October 2006. Also, there are interactive ''Backyardigans'' games available for the

LeapPad LeapPad is a range of tablet computers developed for children. Various models of the LeapPad have been developed since 1999. Development history The device, resembling a talking book, took 3 years to develop and was introduced to the market in ...

and VTech's V.Smile consoles. There is also a

LeapFrog Leapfrog is a children's game in which players vault over each other's stooped backs. History Games of this sort have been called by this name since at least the late sixteenth century.ClickStart The ClickStart (with the slogan ''My First Computer'') is an educational computer system created for children aged between 3 and 6 years (toddler to kindergarten) by LeapFrog Enterprises and was introduced in 2007. The entire system consists of ...

game titled "Number Pie Samurai," teaching children the necessary computer skills. From 2005 to 2007,

Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawa ...

had a section devoted to the series' merchandise, including a clothing line and toys exclusively in-store. Over one hundred storybooks (both original stories and episode-based) were released throughout the series' run. Most of these were released in both Canada and the United States; however, a 2006 series of educational books were exclusively sold in Canada under the license of

Treehouse TV Treehouse TV is a Canadian English-language specialty channel for preschoolers aged 2 to 5 that was launched in 1997. Its name comes from YTV's former preschool block, "The Treehouse". The channel is owned by YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of ...

Fisher-Price Fisher-Price is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Helen S ...

produced numerous plush toys and interactive character toys (mostly Uniqua, Pablo, and Tyrone). There are also

Beanie Babies Beanie Babies are a line of stuffed toys created by American businessman H. Ty Warner, who founded Ty Inc. in 1986. The toys are stuffed with plastic pellets ("beans") rather than conventional soft stuffing. They come in many different forms, mo ...

of all the main characters available.

Home media

In the United States, the show's 80 episodes were released across a series of 21 DVD releases. Ten episodes of the first season were also released to VHS across five volumes. Viacom's

Paramount Home Media Distribution Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

published all of the show's video releases. Outside North America, Paramount released DVDs under a separate deal with Nelvana, with this worldwide deal later transitioning to Fremantle Home Entertainment.

Main releases

Episodes on Nick Jr. compilation DVDs

British releases

iTunes releases

All four seasons have been released on the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

in Canada and the United States; however, the US iTunes Store is missing three episodes from the first season: "Secret Mission," "It's Great to Be a Ghost!," and "High Tea".

CD releases

There were three ''The Backyardigans'' albums released in North America, and one album released in Europe. Each has approximately 20 tracks, while ''Born to Play'' has four bonus tracks only available on the iTunes Store.

The Backyardigans

Released on July 12, 2005, under

Nick Records Nickelodeon Records (formerly only known as Nick Records from 2001 to 2010) is the record label for the children's television channel Nickelodeon, which is owned by Paramount Global. The label featured new and emerging young musical artists, "trip ...

' label. This is the first album sold in stores. It contains nineteen tracks from the first season, including the opening theme. The CD also contains a bonus video track titled "Go, Go, Go!" # "The Backyardigans Theme Song" # "You and Me to the Rescue" # "

Castaways A castaway is a person cast adrift or ashore. Castaway or Cast Away may also refer to: Literature * "The Castaways" (short story), P.G. Wodehouse * ''Castaway'' (book), a 1984 memoir by Lucy Irvine *''The Castaway'', Hallie Erminie Rives's 1904 ...

" # "Questing, Questing" # "A Pirate Says Arr" # "Yeti Stomp!" # "Queens Are Never Wrong" # "Those Bones" (tune: " Dem Bones") # "Buffalo Girls & Boys" (tune: " Buffalo Gals") # "Trudge, Trudge, Trudge" # "Secret Agent" # "Laser Limbo Tango" (tune: "

Limbo Rock "Limbo Rock" is a popular song about limbo dancing written by Kal Mann (under the pseudonym Jan Sheldon) and Billy Strange. An instrumental version was first recorded by The Champs in 1961. The first vocal version was recorded in 1962 by Chubb ...

") # "Row Your Boat" (tune: "

Row, Row, Row Your Boat "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" is an English language nursery rhyme and a popular children's song, often sung in a round. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19236. Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album ''101 Gang Songs'' (1961). ...

") # "Into the Thick of It" # "P.U.! (Stinky Swamp Song)" # "Flying Rock Song (II)" (tune: "

Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here is an American popular song first published in 1917. The lyrics, written by D. A. Esrom (pseudonym of Theodora Morse) to a tune composed by Arthur Sullivan for the 1879 comic opera ''The Pirates of Penzance'', ar ...

") # "When I'm Booin'" (tune: "

When You're Smiling "When You're Smiling" is a popular song written by Larry Shay, Mark Fisher and Joe Goodwin in 1928. It bears resemblance to the Spanish Canción " Amapola" by José María Lacalle García. Early popular recordings were by Seger Ellis (1928), ...

") # "Please and Thank You" (tune: "

Shine On, Harvest Moon "Shine On, Harvest Moon" is a popular early-1900s song credited to the married vaudeville team Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth. It was one of a series of moon-related Tin Pan Alley songs of the era. The song was debuted by Bayes and Norworth in the Z ...

") # "Rockabilly Lullaby"

Groove to the Music

This second CD was released on July 11, 2006, under Nick Records' label. It contains eighteen tracks from Seasons 1 and 2. # "Hold on Tight" # "Gotta Get the Job Done" # "Shake Your Body" # "Rad Moves" # "We're Going to Mars" # "Drumming Song" # "Eureka!" # "The Rules" # "Tree to Tree" # "What's So Scary 'Bout That?" # "The Ballad of the Brave Pink Knight" # "I Love Being a Princess" # "Aha!" # "Skate Ahead" # "We'll Get You What You Want" # "Ski Patrol to the Rescue" # "Super Heroes vs. Super Villains" # "Oh, My Sherman" (tune: "

Oh My Darling, Clementine "Oh My Darling, Clementine" is a traditional American western folk ballad in trochaic meter usually credited to Percy Montross (or Montrose) (1884), although it is sometimes credited to Barker Bradford. Members of the Western Writers of Americ ...

Born to Play

The third and final ''Backyardigans'' CD was released on January 22, 2008, under

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyou ...

's label. It contains songs from Seasons 1-2, as well as all the songs from Tale of the Mighty Knights. There is a total of 22 tracks. This album was released in a cardboard foldout case, rather than a jewel case like the previous two releases.

Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

carried the jewel case release exclusively, which included a booklet.

Tracks from 1 to 16

# "Ready for Anything" # "We Love a Luau" # "Tuba Polka" # "I Feel Good" # "Go, Go, Go!" # "The Customer is Always Right" # "Surf's Up, Ho Daddy" # "Almost Everything is Boinga" (featuring

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Colu ...

) # "Nothing Too Tough" # "W-I-O-Wa" # "I'm a Mountie" (tune: "

She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" (sometimes referred to as "Coming 'Round the Mountain") is a traditional folk song often categorized as children's music. The song is derived from the Christian spiritual known as "When the Chariot Comes". ...

") # "Racing Day" # "I Never Fail to Deliver the Mail" # "Lady in Pink" (featuring

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album '' She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to ach ...

) # "Nobody's Bigger Than a Giant" # "Hurry Home"

Bonus Tracks from "Tale of the Mighty Knights"

# "A Challenge" # "Dragon Mountain" # "Goblin" # "Not an Egg Anymore" (featuring

Adam Pascal Adam Pascal (born October 25, 1970) is an American actor, singer, and musician, known for his performance as Roger Davis in the original 1996 cast of Jonathan Larson's musical ''Rent'' on Broadway, the 2005 movie version of the musical, and the ...

) # "Tweedily-Dee" # "We're Knights"

References

External links