''Bugtime Adventures'' is an American

children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...

animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

that began airing in 2003. 13 episodes were produced, to air on

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

TV stations like TBN. The entire series is also available on DVD.

Synopsis

''Bugtime Adventures'' interleaves historical events described in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

with fictional stories of a community of bugs who live nearby in Bugglesville. The bugs' story overlaps with the Biblical human story — for example, in the first episode, "Blessing in Disguise", Iggy the wild bee crashlands on the back of

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

, who is struggling with emotions of forgiveness and revenge. Iggy's awareness of Joseph's story helps him to solve his own problems in Bugglesville. The show was produced by Lightning Bug Flix in association with Kim's Ani Communications (Kim's Ani Comm) & Santa Fe Communications, and animated by Starburst Animation Studio in Seoul,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Episodes

Generally, the real Bible event is paralleled in some way by the fictional bug story. Thirteen episodes were produced: # "Blessing in Disguise" - The Joseph Story. Both

and Antoni have to make a choice between revenge or forgiveness. # "A Giant Problem" - The David Story.

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

's courage facing

Goliath Goliath ( ) was a Philistines, Philistine giant in the Book of Samuel. Descriptions of Goliath's giant, immense stature vary among biblical sources, with texts describing him as either or tall. According to the text, Goliath issued a challen ...

inspires Megan to fix the leaking dam. # "Against the Wall" - The Rahab Story. The

Hebrews The Hebrews (; ) were an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic-speaking people. Historians mostly consider the Hebrews as synonymous with the Israelites, with the term "Hebrew" denoting an Israelite from the nomadic era, which pre ...

and the bugs face obstacles on their paths. # "You're All Wet" - The Elijah Story. A drought affects the Hebrews and the bugs. # "Construction Woes" – The Tower of Babel Story.

Nimrod Nimrod is a Hebrew Bible, biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush (Bible), Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Sh ...

starts building the

tower of Babel The Tower of Babel is an origin myth and parable in the Book of Genesis (chapter 11) meant to explain the existence of different languages and cultures. According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language migrates to Shin ...

, while the bugs have a project of their own. # "Not to Bee" – The Esther Story.

Haman Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite) is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who according to the Hebrew Bible was an official in the court of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian empire under King Ahasuerus#Book of Esther, Ahasuerus, comm ...

tricks the king into agreeing to kill the Israelites, while Megan rescues a bee who plans to destroy Bugglesville. # "A Lot to Swallow" - The Jonah Story. The ants wind up with

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

inside the whale. # "It's the Pits" - The Daniel Story. The bugs are inspired by

Daniel Daniel commonly refers to: * Daniel (given name), a masculine given name and a surname * List of people named Daniel * List of people with surname Daniel * Daniel (biblical figure) * Book of Daniel, a biblical apocalypse, "an account of the acti ...

's courage in the lions' den. # "What"s a Manna with You?" - The Story of Moses and Manna from Heaven. The

ask

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

for something to eat, but are disappointed by the

manna Manna (, ; ), sometimes or archaically spelled Mahna or Mana, is described in the Bible and the Quran as an edible substance that God in Abrahamic religions, God bestowed upon the Israelites while they were wandering the desert during the 40-year ...

. # "Joy to the World" - The Christmas Story. The bugs witness the birth of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. # "Riding for a Fall" - The Story of Elisha healing Naaman.

Naaman Naaman the Aramean () was a commander of the armies of Hadadezer, the king of Aram-Damascus, in the time of Jehoram, King of Northern Israel (Samaria). According to 2 Kings 5 in the Bible, Naaman was a commander of the army of Aram. He was a ...

doesn't want to follow

Elisha Elisha was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a Jewish prophet and a wonder-worker. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eliseus via Greek and Latin, Ełishe (Yeghishe/Elisha) via Armenian or Alyasa via Arabic, a ...

's instructions for curing his leprosy. # "Keep the Trust" - The Story of Samson and Delilah

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

fails to keep the secret of his strength, while Antoni the ant fails to keep Gina's secret. # "Scare Tactics" - The Story of Gideon vs. the Midianites.

Gideon Gideon (; ) also named Jerubbaal and Jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites is recounted in of the Book of Judges in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible. Gideon was th ...

is apprehensive about leading the Hebrews in battle against the

Midianites Midian (; ; , ''Madiam''; Taymanitic: 𐪃𐪕𐪚𐪌 ''MDYN''; ''Mīḏyān'') is a geographical region in West Asia, located in northwestern Saudi Arabia. mentioned in the Tanakh and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was i ...

, while the bugs are afraid to fight a scorpion who's taken over their town.

Broadcast

The show aired on the

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

network until 2020. Internationally, the show has also aired in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. It was also broadcast on the Australian Christian Channel in Australia. Currently, the show airs on

EWTN The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic programming. It is the largest Catholic television network in America, and is purported to be "the world's larges ...

References

* Tom Heinen for the ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' on December 9, 2005, "'Bugtime' headed for big time: West Allis firm's Bible cartoon playing Christmas Day on cable"

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0848560, title=Bugtime Adventures
Official site
*

airtime listing on TBN Direct-to-video television series Christian animation Christian children's television series Animated television series about insects