''WordGirl'' is an American animated

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

produced by the

Soup2Nuts Soup2Nuts (sometimes referred to as Soup2Nuts Studios, and formerly part of Tom Snyder Productions) was an American animation studio founded by Tom Snyder (animator), Tom Snyder. The studio is known for its animated comedy series, its use of Squ ...

animation unit of

Scholastic Entertainment Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...

for

PBS Kids PBS Kids (stylized as PBS KIDS) is the branding used for nationally distributed children's programming carried by the U.S. public television network PBS. The brand encompasses a daytime block of children's programming carried daily by most PBS ...

. The series began as a series of shorts entitled ''The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl'' that premiered on

PBS Kids Go! PBS Kids Go! was an American educational television brand used by PBS for programs aimed at school-age children ages 6 to 8, in contrast to the preschool target demographic of PBS Kids. Most PBS member stations aired the PBS Kids Go! block o ...

on November 10, 2006, usually shown at the end of ''

Maya & Miguel ''Maya & Miguel'' is an American children's animated television series produced by Scholastic Productions. It aired on PBS Kids Go! from October 11, 2004, to October 10, 2007, and had a total of five seasons and 65 episodes over three years. The ...

''; the segment was then spun off into a new thirty-minute episodic series that premiered on September 3, 2007 to August 7, 2015 on most

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 ...

member stations. The series of shorts consisted of thirty episodes, with 128 episodes in the full half-hour series and a film. ''WordGirl'' creator Dorothea Gillim felt that most children's animation "underestimated hildren'ssense of humor" and hoped to create a more intellectual show for young audiences. By June 2014, many PBS stations had stopped airing ''WordGirl'', opting to air more popular series throughout the summer. However, new episodes continued to air on select stations, with streaming options on the PBS Kids website and video app. The series ended with the two-part episode "Rhyme and Reason", which was released on August 7, 2015. The show was created for children ages 4–9. By 2022, the show had gained a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

through social media.

Premise

The series follows WordGirl, a 10-year-old girl with

superpowers Superpower describes a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to exert influence and project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, tec ...

whose secret identity is Becky Botsford, a student. WordGirl is born on the fictional planet Lexicon (also a term referring to the vocabulary of a language or to a dictionary) but was sent away after sneaking onto a spaceship and sleeping there. Becky's pet chimpanzee and sidekick, Captain Huggy Face, who was a pilot in the Lexicon Air Force, piloted the ship, but lost control when WordGirl awoke, and crash-landed on Earth (more specifically in Fair City), a planet that affords WordGirl her superpowers, including flight and super strength. WordGirl utilizes these powers to save her adoptive home, using her downed spacecraft as a secret base of operations. WordGirl is adopted and provided an

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

by father Tim and mother Sally Botsford, who gave her the name Becky. While in her alter ego, she has a younger brother, TJ Botsford, obsessed with WordGirl, but still unknowingly a typical sibling rival to Becky. The family keeps Captain Huggy Face as a pet (a.k.a Bob). Becky attends Woodview Elementary School, where she is close friends with Violet Heaslip and the school newspaper reporter Todd "Scoops" Ming. WordGirl tries to balance her superhero activities with her "normal" life. She battles against an assortment of villains that include but are not limited to The Butcher, Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy, Dr. Two-Brains, Granny May, Mr. Big, Theodore "Tobey" McCalister III, Amazing Rope Guy and The Whammer. The villains are all prone to

malapropism A malapropism (; also called a malaprop, acyrologia or Dogberryism) is the incorrect use of a word in place of a word with a similar sound, either unintentionally or for comedic effect, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorous utterance. An exam ...

s. At the same time, she must worry about maintaining her second life as Becky, keeping people from discovering the truth and living normal family situations.

Series overview

Characters

Main characters

* WordGirl (voiced by

Dannah Phirman Dannah Phirman () is an American actress, comedian and writer who is best known for voicing Becky Botsford/the titular superheroine, on the PBS Kids animated TV series ''WordGirl'' and Penny on the Nickelodeon animated TV series '' The Mighty B ...

) – A 10-year-old superhero from the planet Lexicon who uses the alias of Becky Botsford when adopted by the Botsford family. She possesses super-strength, super-speed, super-hearing, and the knowledge of different word meanings. While WordGirl works to keep her true identity secret, the ones who do keep her identity secret upon finding out are Captain Huggy Face, Bampy Botsford, Todd Ming, and the Narrator. * Captain Huggy Face (vocal effects provided by

James Adomian James Adomian is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and impressionist. He is best known for his work on ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'', ''Chapo Trap House'', ''Last Comic Standing'', ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' where he Impressionist ...

at script readings) – A monkey from the planet Lexicon who is WordGirl's animal sidekick. He has been called a lot of other animals on occasion. Captain Huggy Face masquerades as a normal monkey when not fighting crime and also appears in the "May I Have a Word?" segment. * The Narrator (voiced by

Chris Parnell Thomas Christopher Parnell ( ; born February 5, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Parnell found wider success during his tenure as a cast member on ...

) – He is an unseen character who narrates each episode and tends to interact with the characters. * Tim Botsford (voiced by Ryan Raddatz) – The indecisive adoptive father of Becky Botsford and the patriarch of his family. * Sally Botsford (voiced by

Maria Bamford Maria Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Her work often uses self-deprecating and dark topics, including her dysfunctional family, depression, anxiety, suicide and mental illness. Her first comedy alb ...

) – The optimistic adoptive mother of Becky Botsford and the matriarch of the family who works as a

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

. * TJ Botsford (voiced by

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He has been voicing SpongeBob SquarePants (character), the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media since its debut in 1999. Kenny has voice ...

) – The adoptive brother of Becky Botsford who is a fan of WordGirl.

Supporting characters

* Todd "Scoops" Ming (voiced by Ryan Raddatz) – A

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

for Woodview Elementary School's newspaper called the Daily Rag. He learns of WordGirl's true identity in "Invasion of the Bunny Lovers". * Violet Heaslip (voiced by

) – The best friend of Becky Botsford. * The Exposition Guy (voiced by

) – An unnamed man who is usually calling for help and mentioning what kind of crime is being committed. * Reginald (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) – The pompous owner of Ye Old Fancy Schmancy Jewelry Store which is often targeted by Fair City's villain community. * Bill (voiced by Mike O'Connell) – The manager of the grocery store in Fair City. The episode "Caper of Plastic" revealed that he used to operate as a supervillain called the Masked Bagger who get annoyed when things like eggs are not placed on top of the groceries.

Villains

* Butcher (voiced by Jack D. Ferraiolo) – A

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

-themed villain who can summon meats for different attacks. He has a tendency to mix up words ** Kid Potato (voiced by

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor. He is most notable for portraying Lou Grant on the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977) and drama '' Lou Grant'' (1977–1982), making him one of the few ...

) – An elderly supervillain and the father of Butcher who does potato-based attacks. * Dr. Two-Brains (voiced by

) – A mad scientist. Steven Boxleitner started out as a kind and distracted scientist until an accident fused him and an evil mouse together with the mouse's brain sticking out of Steven's head as he also sported pink eyes, whiskers, and white hair. Most of his plots revolved around cheese. ** Dr. Two-Brains' Henchmen - Two humans that consist of a large shaved-head man named Charlie and an unnamed man (voiced by

) who speaks for Charlie while acting as Charlie's best friend. * Mr. Big (voiced by

Jeffrey Tambor Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American retired actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank ...

) – The

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Mr. Big Industries who wears a purple mask. Born Shelly Smalls, most of his plots involved the use of mind-control devices to get what he wants. Despite his various arrests, Mr. Big Industries still continues to run. ** Leslie (voiced by

) – Mr. Big's

personal assistant A personal assistant, also referred to as personal aide (PA) or personal secretary (PS), is a job title describing a person who assists a specific person with their daily business or personal task. It is a subspecialty of secretarial duties ...

who carries out most of her boss' plans. She is usually the one who fights Captain Huggy Face. ** Tiny Big (voiced by James C. Mathis III) – Mr. Big Industries' custom made pop music star. Fair City became a fan of his music. When WordGirl exposed that Tiny Big doesn't have an actual singing voice, Tiny Big fled with Mr. Big, Leslie, and Mr. Big's bodyguards. Tiny Big has made cameos since then. ** Mr. Big's Bodyguards - Two unnamed bald-headed men in sunglasses that are often seen with Mr. Big. The episode "Mr. Big's Dinner and a Scam" was the only time when they were arrested alongside their boss. * Granny May (voiced by

Cree Summer Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is an American-Canadian actress and singer. She is best known for her extensive work in animation, voicing characters such as Elmyra Duff in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and related media, Susie Carmichael ...

) – An elderly supervillain who fools people by pretending to be innocent in order to commit heists. She wears retractable armor when committing crimes and fighting Word Girl. * Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy (voiced by

Fred Stoller Fred Stoller (born March 19, 1958) is an American actor, stand-up comedian and author. He is best known for portraying Gerard on ''Everybody Loves Raymond''. Early life Stoller was born in New York City and grew up in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. ...

) – A sandwich-headed supervillain with a sandwich motive that lives in his mother's basement. He does not have a way with words and uses different condiments as his weapons. * Theodore "Tobey" McCallister III (voiced by

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His acting roles include Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–2023) as adult ...

) – A 10-year-old boy at Woodview Elementary School who is often shown using his giant robots to cause trouble in Fair City to win the affection of WordGirl. * Eileen the Birthday Girl (voiced by

Pamela Adlon Pamela Adlon ( ; ; born July 9, 1966) is an American-British actress. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series ''King of the Hill'' (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in '' Ju ...

) – A 10-year-old girl who thinks everyday is her birthday. When she gets angry, she grows to giant size and her skin turns green. Only by getting Eileen what she wants is what causes Eileen to return to normal size. * Amazing Rope Guy (voiced by Larry Murphy) – A rope-themed villain who uses ropes in his minor crimes and is constantly being thwarted by WordGirl. * Lady Redundant Woman (voiced by

Amanda Plummer Amanda Michael Plummer (born March 23, 1957) is an American actress. She is known for her work on stage and for her film roles, including '' Joe Versus the Volcano'' (1990), ''The Fisher King'' (1991), ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), and '' The Hunge ...

in the first appearance,

Grey DeLisle Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On September 27, ...

in later appearances) – Beatrice Bixby was once a copy shop employee who pressed a button on a copy machine that fused them together. This turned Beatrice into Lady Redundant Woman who can make clones of herself and other items by touching her nose. In addition, she also mentions words that mean the same thing hence her name. * Maria the Energy Monster (speaking voice provided by

in "Dinner or Consequences") – An electrical monster that was created when a ball of electricity was exposed to an experiment gone wrong. * Whammer (voiced by

John C. McGinley John Christopher McGinley (born August 3, 1959) is an American actor. His best known roles include Perry Cox in '' Scrubs'', Bob Slydell in ''Office Space'', Captain Hendrix in '' The Rock'', Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's ''Platoon,'' ...

) – A supervillain who sends out sonic waves upon "whamming". While operating on his own, he has worked as henchmen to other villains. * Coach (voiced by

Ned Bellamy Ned Bellamy (born May 7, 1957) is an American actor. Early life and education Bellamy was educated at UCLA. His brother, Mark Bellamy, was the United States Ambassador to Kenya from 2003 until 2006. Career After graduating from UCLA, Bellamy ...

) – A motivation coach who turned to crime the day he met Whammer and tricked him to committing crimes for him. Both of them were defeated by WordGirl. Coach later started a villain school and had once again made use of Whammer to help his students improve themselves. The episode "Plain Old Mischief Makers" reveals that the Villain Society uses him to keep an eye on any villain that fails to prove themselves and to demote them to the mischief maker level of the Villain Society tier should they fail. ** Big Left Hand Guy (voiced by Mike O'Connell) – A student of Coach who has a big left hand which comes in handy when hailing taxi cabs. ** Invisi-Bill (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) – A student of Coach who can turn invisible. ** Timmy Tim-Bo (voiced by

) – A student of Coach whose self-described powers is that he naps a lot. ** Ms. Question (voiced by

) – A student of Coach who mostly asks questions. She later gained the ability to shoot question marks and give people amnesia. * Hal Hardbargain (voiced by

) – A gadget supplier with an electrical eye patch and a mechanical arm who is the proprietor of Hal's Villain Supply Shop. He has sold equipment to any villains that come wanting to purchase them. Hal has allegedly had villain customers like Wally Walnuts, Tommy Two-Necks, Little Kahuna, and Rotten Pete. The only times he's ever been apprehended by WordGirl are "Rat Trap" and "Caper or Plastic" * Seymour Orlando Smooth (voiced by

Daran Norris Daran Morrison Nordland (born November 1, 1964), known professionally as Daran Norris, is an American actor. He has appeared or voiced characters in more than 400 films, video games, and television programs, including: Gordy in '' Ned's Declassif ...

) – A game show host and con artist who uses his different games shows as covers to steal people's money. ** Harry Kemple and Chip Von Dumor (both voiced by

) – Seymour's brothers who helps in some of his plots. * Raul Demiglass (voiced by

) – A TV chef whose beef stew recipe comes from a can. In "Plain Old Mischief Makers", Raul is shown on the mischief maker part of the Villain Society tier and has befriended Glen Flurbaum. * Glen Flurbaum (voiced by

Brian Posehn Brian Posehn (; born July 6, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, musician, and writer. After numerous appearances as a television guest star, Posehn acquired his first major recurring role in HBO's '' Mr. Show with Bob a ...

) – The number-one fan of Dr. Two-Brains who temporarily worked as his henchman when Dr. Two-Brains' henchmen were on vacation. In "Dr. Three-Brains", Glen became Dr. Three-Brains by tying two fake brains to the side of his head and operated on his own. In "Plain Old Mischief Makers", Glen is shown on the mischief maker part of the Villain Society tier and has befriended Raul Demiglass. * Nocan the Contrarian (voiced by

) – A

barbarian A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

from Contraria who does the opposite of what he is told to do. * Victoria Best (voiced by

Kristen Schaal Kristen Joy Schaal ( ,; born January 24, 1978) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Known for her distinctive high-pitched, childlike voice, she voices Louise Belcher on ''Bob's Burgers'' and voiced Mabel Pines on '' Gravity Falls''. ...

) – A child prodigy and student at Woodview Elementary School who is always trying to be the best at everything even when pressured by her parents. ** General Smoochington - A

western lowland gorilla The western lowland gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') is one of two Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') that lives in Montane ecosystems#Montane forests, montane, Old-growth forest, primary and sec ...

who is Victoria Best's pet and sidekick. * Captain Tangent (voiced by John Henson in his self-titled episode, Brian Stack in "The Penny, the Pony, and the Pirate") – A teenage pirate and former waiter at the pirate-themed restaurant Blackbeard's Buffet who was fired by his manager for telling tangents. He found a hook with magnetic properties that he used to become a supervillain. ** Oscar - A

scarlet macaw The scarlet macaw (''Ara macao'') also called the red-and-yellow macaw, red-and-blue macaw or red-breasted macaw, is a large yellow, red and blue Neotropical parrot native to humid evergreen forests of the Americas. Its range extends from south ...

who is Captain Tangent's pet and sidekick. * Learnerer (voiced by

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

) – A supervillain in an adaptive super-suit who often adds suffixes to the words he uses.

Other characters

* The

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Fair City (voiced by Ron Lynch) – An unnamed African-American man who is often seen making speeches. * The Principal (voiced by Larry Murphy in "A Few Words from WordGirl") – The unnamed principal of Woodview Elementary School. While the principal first seen was a female, the principal from "A Few Words from WordGirl" was a male. * Jade Davis (voiced by

Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She played Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central comedy series '' Strangers with Candy'' (1999–2000) and the prequel film '' Strangers with Candy'' (2005), wh ...

) – A teacher at Woodview Elementary School. * Mrs. Ripley (voiced by

) – An African-American woman who is the hyperactive gym teacher at Woodview Elementary School. * Claire McCallister (voiced by

) – The mother of Tobey McCallister III who works at the same district attorney's office as Sally Botsford. She is often annoyed that Tobey uses his robots to fulfill his purposes and tends to punish him when WordGirl thwarts him. * Edith von Housenhous (voiced by

) – A rich lady who would have items that would be targeted by supervillains. * Warden Chalmers (voiced by

) – The

prison warden The warden ( US, Canada) or governor ( UK, Australia), also known as a superintendent (US, South Asia) or director (UK, New Zealand), is the official who is in charge of a prison. Name In the United States, Mexico, and Canada, warden is the m ...

of the Fair City Prison who wears a cowboy hat. * Brent the Everybody-Loves-Him Sandwich Making Guy (voiced by

) – Chuck's more popular and successful brother with a similar sandwich motive. * Police Commissioner Watson (voiced by A.D. Miles in "Swap Meat",

Wayne Knight Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played recurring roles such as Newman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on the NBC sitcom ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996� ...

in "The Wrong Side of the Law") – The

police commissioner A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...

of the Fair City Police Department who is known for jumping to conclusions when examining crime scenes.

Voice cast

Development

''WordGirl'' began in 2006 as a series of shorts airing immediately after ''

'', becoming an independent show in September 2007. The show's creator, Dorothea Gillim, believes that children's shows often underestimate children's intelligence: Gillim says she created the show, in part, with the idea that parents would watch the show with their children to support their learning. Each eleven-minute segment in each episode (except for the first three episodes) begins with verbal instructions to listen for two words that will be used throughout the plot of that episode. The words (examples include “diversion,” “cumbersome,” and “idolize”) are chosen according to academic guidelines. The reasoning is that children can understand words like "cumbersome" when told that it means "big and heavy and awkward". ''

PBS NewsHour ''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening news broadcasting#television, television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS Network affiliate#Member stations, member stat ...

'' anchor

Jim Lehrer James Charles Lehrer ( ; May 19, 1934 – January 23, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. He was the executive editor and a news anchor for the ''PBS News Hour'' on PBS and was known for his role as a debate ...

agreed to do a mock interview with ''WordGirl''. Jack D. Ferraiolo, who developed the series with Gillim and served as the series' head writer in season one, received an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

for his work on ''WordGirl''. Rather than hiring writers experienced with children's television, the show's original writers' previous credits included ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is currently based in Chicago, but originated as a weekly print publication ...

'' and ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

''. Narrator

had previously worked on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''.

Format

Often, short animated segments are shown in between and at the end of episodes. "What's Your Favorite Word?", ostensibly hosted by Todd "Scoops" Ming, is a short jingle and a series of

vox populi ( ) is a Latin phrase (originally ''Vox populi, vox Dei'' – "The voice of the people is the voice of God") that literally means "voice of the people." It is used in English in the meaning "the opinion of the majority of the people." In journa ...

interviews asking random children what their favorite words are and why. A short

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

segment called "May I Have a Word?" (stylized as MAYIHAVEAWORD in the text bubble on Beau Handsome's wall) airs following each eleven-minute segment. This segment features the game show host, Beau Handsome, asking three contestants the definition of a particular word. The segment was created by Kelly Miyahara,

Barry Sonnenfeld Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1, 1953) is an American filmmaker and television director. He originally worked as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing films such as '' The Addams Family'' (1991) and its sequel '' Addams Family ...

, and Ryan Raddatz. Yet another segment features the interstitials announcer ( Rodger Parsons) asking Captain Huggy Face for a visual demonstration of a certain word (such as "strenuous" or "flummoxed"). When Captain Huggy Face correctly demonstrates the meaning of the word, a definition is given, followed by a victory dance by the chimpanzee sidekick. During the four-part episode, "The Rise of Miss Power", a four-segment "Pretty Princess Power Hour" sketch is shown between acts, filling in for the average two-segment "May I Have a Word?" sketch, presumably to fill the double-length (52 minutes) time slot.

Website

The companion site to WordGirl lives o
PBS Kids
and was built by interactive firm Big Bad Tomato. It contains vocabulary-building games, a section where children can submit their favorite word, a video page with clips from the show (only available in the US for legal reasons), a "Heroes and Villains" section with character biographies and activities, and a PBS Parents section with episode guides, lessons, a site map, and more activities to play at home. As of May 5, 2024, the website is still active.

Comics

A series of WordGirl comics were also released by

Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (stylized as BOOM! Studios), is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher. They are headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The company is a subsidiary of Random House division of Penguin Random House sin ...

' new KaBOOM! line. The names of the volumes and the stories within them are: * Coalition of Malice *# Coalition of Malice - *# Super Fans - * Incredible Shrinking Allowance *# The Incredible Shrinking Allowance - *# Fondue, Fondon't - * Word Up! *# The Ham Van Makes the Man - *# Think Big - * Fashion Disaster *# Fashion Disaster - *# Fort Wham-Ground -

Awards

The show has received seven Daytime Emmy nominations, winning four for "Outstanding Writing in Animation" in 2008, 2012–2013 and Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program in 2015. 2008: *2008 Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming, awarded July 19 *2008 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in Animation 2009: *Learning Magazine 2009 Teacher's Choice Award for Families *2009 iParenting Media Award *Featured at the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival 2009 *NY Festivals' 2009 TV Programming and Promotions award 2012: *2012 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in Animation 2013: *2013 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in Animation 2015: *2015: Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program

Reception

The series was positively received. Emily Ashby of

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.

described the series as having a "brainy heroine houses vocab to outwit bad guys." She also called it an "entertaining animated series" with some cartoon violence and said that it is an "excellent...choice for young grade-schoolers." In 2022, ''Collider'' attested that the "non-white, little girl superhero" protagonist of WordGirl began a television trend on social media. The article claims that the generation who grew up watching ''WordGirl'' later demanded new and diverse heroes, such as Captain Marvel.

References

External links

*
WordGirl at Super3
* {{TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming 2000s American animated television series 2000s American children's television series 2000s American satirical television series 2000s American superhero television series 2007 American animated television series debuts 2010s American animated television series 2010s American children's television series 2010s American satirical television series 2010s American superhero television series 2015 American television series endings American flash animated television series American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comic science fiction television series American children's animated education television series American children's animated science fantasy television series American children's animated superhero television series American English-language television shows Animated superheroine television shows Animated television series about children Animated television series about monkeys Animated television series about families Boom! Studios titles Child superheroes Elementary school television series English-language education television programming Parody superheroes PBS Kids shows PBS animated television series Reading and literacy television series Television series by Soup2Nuts Television series created by Dorothea Gillim