Figaro Pho

''The Adventures of Figaro Pho'' is an Australian children's animated television series produced by Chocolate Liberation Front. It was followed in 2015 by ''The New Adventures of Figaro Pho''.

Synopsis

Both series are about Figaro Pho, a character with every known phobia. One unique attribute also shared among franchises of the series is that there is almost no dialogue and no text. Instead the shows require strong animated physical-performance-based drama, music score and sound effects to carry the story.

The character Pho has a slim body and neck with a large smooth head, bald apart from a curl of hair on top, reminiscent of Paul Livingston's character ''Flacco''. His only companion is a mechanical dog with a penchant for whimsical invention and hatred of the postman, one of the few recurring characters.

Figaro Pho has been the star of his own two-season television series as well as an anthology series of 26 90-second shorts and three touchscreen games.

Characters

Main cast

* Figaro - A 9-year-old child prodigy who is afraid of mostly everything in the town of Cogsville.
* Rivet - Figaro's sweet and cheerful 4-year-old pet robotic dog that will always protect him if he is in danger.

Recurring cast

* Juliet - Figaro's 9-year-old next door neighbor and love interest.
* Rudy - A skateboarding 9-year-old boy who lives life to the extreme.
* Prudence - A hyperactive 8-year-old girl who has an obsession with Figaro.
* Ronald - A chubby 9-year-old boy with a runny nose.
* Penny - A sweet 8-year-old girl scout that offers cookies to the denizens of Cogsville.
* Cornelius - Cogsville's local mailman that often gets hurt anytime he delivers to Figaro.
* Dotty - A wrinkly old lady who is occasionally seen doing various jobs all over Cogsville.
* Boris - Figaro's obese gardener that has an incredibly bad odor.
* Uncle Ernesto - Figaro's quirky explorer uncle that has terrible hygiene.
* Leon - Figaro's adult cousin who is an athletic TV star and a master chef.

Episodes

''The Adventures of Figaro Pho''

:subtitled ''Fun, Fears and Foul Odours''
:20 episodes were released on ABC DVD in 2013 (Cat. R-113653-9)
# Fear of Fish
# Fear of Being Alone
# Fear of Boredom
# Fear of Relatives
# Fear of Rejection
# Fear of Mosquitoes
# Fear of Thieves
# Fear of Foul Odours
# Fear of Baths
# Fear of Baldness
# Fear of Hunger
# Fear of Clowns
# Fear of Shrinking
# Fear of Elevators
# Fear of Skin
# Fear of Becoming a Vampire
# Fear of a Rival
# Fear of Meteorites
# Fear of Everything
# Fear of Being Weak

''The New Adventures of Figaro Pho''

# Figaro on Ice
# The Bag-Piped Piper
# Figarette Pho
# School of Cool
# Dr Dread
# Kung Fu Pho
# Zombie Pho
# Pho is in the Air
# Bandage Brouhaha
# Tiny Terrors
# Nightmare on Edam Street
# Flower of Fury
# Myth or Pho?
# Vertigo Pho
# Spider Pho
# Loose Tooth
# Time Traveller
# Mailman Mania
# FrankenRivet
# Gumball Boogie
# Pizza Boy
# Neat Freak
# Eye Witless
# Laugh Attack
# The Soup
# Baby Bandit
# Run Figaro Run!
# Party Pooper
# Waltergeist
# Stage Fright
# Valentine's Day
# Fame Game
# The Grim Reaper
# Double Pho
# Pharaoh Pho
# Cup Cake Carnage
# Figaro's Big Adventure
# Odd Socks
# Camp Fear

2009 version

''Figaro Pho'' is a Australian animated television series produced by Vishus Productions about a boy called Figaro Pho dealing with and overcoming his many p hobias. With each phobia/episode starting with a different letter of the alphabet from A to Z, There are 26 short episodes.

''The New Adventures of Figaro Pho''

''The New Adventures of Figaro Pho'' is the 2015 sequel to the 2012 series ''The Adventures of Figaro Pho''.

Broadcast

The first series is available in over 100 countries on Hulu, Netflix, Cartoon Network Latin America, Pakapaka, BBC Canada and iTunes. In Canada, it airs on both Family Channel and CHRGD.

Creation

Figaro Pho is the brainchild of creator and animation director Luke Jurevicius. The TV series and the games are produced by Australian production company Chocolate Liberation Front.

Creator Luke Jurevicius suffers from fears and phobias himself, and drew a lot on personal experience in the creation of the series. Jurevicius not only directs the program, but he also performs many of the key roles including doing the voice of Figaro Pho and composing a large part of the music.

The original shorts were first commissioned by the South Australian Film Corporation and The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s New Media and Digital Services Division as an innovative property for broadcast on ABC2 and online at ABC Online. The program was eventually produced for broadcast on ABC1, ABC2, ABC3, ABC iView. Following the success of the original shorts, ABC Kids commissioned 39 episodes of ''The Adventures of Figaro Pho'' for ABC3.

In 2014, producers Chocolate Liberation Front formed a partnership with Luma Toons, a new branch of the leading SFX studio Luma Pictures, to produce 39 episodes for the second series entitled ''The New Adventures of Figaro Pho''. The program, which was entirely produced in Australia, was the first long form series produced by Luma.

''The New Adventures of Figaro Pho'' started airing in August 2015.

Games

In 2014 ABC Commercial published a series of three Figaro Pho branded games for touch screen devices. These games are available through iTunes and the Google Play store.

Reception

The series has been reviewed favorably, comparing it to animation from Tim Burton. The series has been recognized for its humour, music and its animation and special effects. It won several international awards, including 2014's Best Children's Program on three continents (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Awards.; The Asian Television Awards and Kidscreen New York). The program also picked up awards for writing, digital effects, animation and post production.

Cast and crew

Key cast

* Luke Jurevicius
* Charlotte Rose Hamlyn
* Ryan Reynolds
* Maggie Felton

Writers

* Tim Bain
* Craig Behenna
* Ray Boseley
* Dan Fill
* Robert Greenberg
* Bruce Griffiths
* Charlotte Rose Hamlyn
* Mark Shirrefs
* Frank Verheggen

Producers

* Dan Fill
* Luke Jurevicius
* Frank Verheggen

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures of Figaro Pho, The
2010s Australian animated television series
Australian children's animated comedy television series
Australian children's animated horror television series
Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming
Animated television series without speech
2009 Australian television series debuts
2012 Australian television series endings