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The Backyardigans

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So, I know I’m totally going to give you the idea that all my kids do is watch TV, and this is completely one hundred percent not true.

However, the TV they do watch gives me something to write about, so here it is.

Forget Lazytown (as though I could forget it—it’s my single most popular entry ever)—Sophia got bored with Lazytown because it’s been the same five episodes in rotation for the past two months. The show to watch is The Backyardigans. How much do I love this show? I am tempted to watch it when the kids aren’t around. I sing the songs as I do the dishes. There are only nine episodes so far and I have all nine on our TiVo. I force people just visiting our house to watch some of this show.

I love this show.

backyardigans.jpg

Tyrone, Tasha, Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin

The Backyardigans is a show about five friends—Tyrone the moose, Tasha the hippo, Pablo the penguin, Uniqua the ladybug, and Austin the kangaroo (actually, I’m not sure what Austin is, and he’s the Backyardigan we see the least of anyhow)—who get together every day and have some theme to their play: ghosts, Tarzan, knights and quests, Mounties, Vikings. They all take roles in their adventure that pretty well fit with their personalities. At the end, they repair to one kid’s house for snacktime.

In between, there’s singing, dancing, and general silliness. What’s extremely excellent about this show is that there’s stuff in there for grownups that’s not sneaky or salacious: it’s just on a level most kids aren’t going to find funny in the same way. For example, three Backyardigans are chasing the Yeti across the North Pole:

             TASHA
          We need kayaks to cross
          this water.

     They suddenly spy three KAYAKS on the bank of
     the river.

             TYRONE
          Well, that certainly is
          convenient.

That line cracks me up everytime.

The songs in this show are incredibly memorable. While doing the dishes I like to sing the songs the Vikings sing as their Viking ship rounds a very powerful whirlpool, “You’ve Got To Hold On Tight”:

You've got to hold on tight
Hold on tight
You've got to hold on tight
Hold on tight
You've got to hold on tight with all your Viking might.

Darin’s favorite bit is when they sing a limbo while trying to avoid the laser beams during a super-secret spy mission.

This show has reignited my love of musicals, which has been dormant for some time. (My insistence on musical-only writing music has been helped by the fact that I dug out our CD collection and ripped about 150 of them recently. Of course, I can’t find the one I’m looking for, Linie 1. Sigh.) I want to write a children’s musical, I’m so inspired by this show.

Anyhow: The Backyardigans is on Nick Jr. I highly recommend checking it out.

(Tyrone the moose is my favorite, by the way. In case you’re wondering.)

 

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Update 2/16/05: Wow, lots of comments here! This entry is listed pretty high on Google when you search for “The Backyardigans” so I’m going to assume someone from Nick Jr. has found it. (Hi there! More Backyardigans episodes, please!)

A number of people have posted asking about Backyardigans-themed birthday supplies and other merchandise. As far as I’ve been able to find on the Web, there isn’t any! It might not be licensed yet or might not have gotten to stories yet. All I can say is: Hurry it up! You’ve got lots of customers waiting. If anyone does know of legit Backyardigans stuff, let me know and I’ll put it on this page.

I found a number of Backyardigans songs on LimeWire. I don’t know where they’re from, since a few things tell me they’re not recorded right off of the show. If the production company wanted to put out a CD with each and every song from the show on it, they’d have a bestseller. I think there are plenty of parents out there who wouldn’t mind putting that music on for their kids, and I’d rather pay royalties to the songmakers!

Evidently a new bunch of episodes will start airing in a week or two. I can’t wait…and I think the kids are excited too. All I can say is, keep ’em coming! More! More!

Update 8/11/05: The Backyardigans’ eponymously named CD is now out! The Backyardigans has 19 great songs on it, although it doesn’t include my personal favorite, “You’ve got to hold on tight.” I had downloaded some of these songs from Limewire, but I’m much, much happier having the actual CD in my hot little hand now.

Update 1/28/06: Wow. This entry has 747 comments!

There are a couple of Backyardigan DVDs out now, which means you don’t have to keep every episode on your TiVo any more.

The Snow Fort: Contains “The Snow Fort”, “The Yeti”, “Knights Are Brave and Strong”, and “Secret Mission”.

It’s Great To Be A Ghost: Contains “It’s Great To Be A Ghost”, “Monster Detectives”, “Key to the Nile”, and “Pirate Adventure”.

Polka Palace Party: Contains “Polka Palace Party”, “Heart of the Jungle”, “Viking Voyage”, and one I haven’t seen before — having tea in the Gobi desert. (Maybe it hasn’t aired yet?)

 
Update 1/05/09: Yowsa. I am amazed at how lively this entry still is!

In response to many (many, many) comments on here: I came up with the idea that Uniqua is a ladybug from my then-4-year-old (who’s now about to be 9, but still loves the Backyardigans). I’m in complete agreement with everyone who says that Uniqua is just that: unique. I wasn’t paying a whole bunch of attention at the time, and I went with my 4-year-old’s assessment of Uniqua’s identity, ‘kay?

Filed Under: TV

Comments

  1. Hi I am 15 and I just wanted to say how much I love the Backyardigans. I watch it as much as I can. I’m on spring vacation and i have watched the show everyday. I don’t want to go back to school because I want to stay home and watch it. I love each character with all of my heart in their own special way. I wish it was on on the weekends!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. I saw Backyardigans for the first time today, it was disturbingly good. I couldn’t turn it off. Like show tunes meets cartoon. Uniqua looks like she has some skin disease with the poorly placed spots. But she has by far the best voice. I cant get float flutter fly out of my head either.

  4. I absolutely Love the Backyardigans, my 2 year old son and I sing and dance along with the fab five. I have them all on Tivo. Bring out DVD and CD’s please. Anyone that comes over I show them the show. Its fantastic. I got to this page b/c i wanted to show a coworker their dance moves. Keep them coming.

  5. i love the backyardigans. i am 11 years old and i am hooked.! i was flipping through the channels one half day and i ran into it!!
    good thing cuz my friends are all hooked now! Even my mom likes it. Also I hav an eight monthold little brother and I already told my mom that she has to make him watch it!! it is an awesome and very appropriate show . I can’t wait until it comesout on cd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  6. I too like the rest of ya’ll am in LOVE with the Backyardigans. My niece and nephew got me and my other half, my sister, my cousins, and other friends watching the show and we’re well over 20 years of age!!! Seriously, we can’t get enough!!!Please let me know if there is a soundtrack or dvd collection available! THANKS! & thank you to the creator(s) of the Backyardigans!

  7. i love the backyardigans!! my favorite is the pirate treasure and quest for the flying rock 🙂 questing questing questing never resting lol

  8. I’m forteen years old. Me and my five year old cousin love the Backyardigans. His favorite is Pablo. I thought that uniqua was an alien. This show and the show madeline are my favorite shows ever.

  9. whew, i thought i was the only one! i babysit for a friend of mine so i get a daily dose of kiddie shows, but the Backyardigans is one of my faves (im 22). it’s such an awesome show, the songs, choreography, everything. hopefully Nickelodeon will catch on and make merchandise and CDs/DVDs available 🙂

  10. I love the Backyardigans. I think more than anything its the melodic sound of their songs that truely captivates me. Evan Lurie, who orchestrated the music, is a genious! Not to mention that when you add the colorful characters dancing around, its almos like watching Fantasia. I have been searching too for their music and finally found a cd however it doesn’t have the one song that plagues my mind; Float Flutter Fly. If anyone knows where it can be found or hears of a new cd coming out please post a note about it. Thanks and happy watching.

  11. Even a 62 year old retired school teacher and grandma is raving about this show. The music, dancing and dialog are so well written. This is a super “cartoon” where the characters are truly adorable.

  13. My whole family absolutely loves this show. It is so educational and entertaining at the same time. My one year old daughter crawls up to the TV, stands up, and rocks back and forth when the theme song comes on. I really hope that they begin producing Backyardigan episodes for the VideoNow player, my four year old would go nuts!
    BACKYARDIGANS RULE!

  14. I just wanted to comment that my son (19 months old) and I just love The Backyardigans. This is truly the only show that I can get him to sit down and watch while I do some work around the house. He is 19 months old and the only thing that he loves more than anything else in the world is singing and dancing. I have been TiVo-ing the show, but I would really like to buy The Backyardigans on DVD. Thanks!

  15. WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE BACKYARDIGANS!!! We have 2 kids. Our son is 5 and our daughter is 4 and we will sit down as a family and watch the show. The kids and I get up and dance (my husband won’t dance!) and sing the songs. We’ve DVRd all of the episodes and are anxiously awaiting a new one. We did catch the new one about the flying rock. I hope everyone got to see it. It was sooooo cute!!! I love all of the little kids. I sure hope they start selling Backyardigan stuff and music. My kids sing the songs all the time. I even find myself whistling the flying rock song!

  16. My favorite episode is Polka Palace Party because it is really good and i love the songs on that episode. My favorite song is the “Someones in there” on the snow fort episode. Backyardigans is definetly one of my favorite shows. I hope it will last a long time like charlie brown. I found this show by watching madeline and doing my homework at the same time (Madeline is my favorite show ever) then left the tv on through bear in the big blue house and then backyardigans was on. I think Uniqua wasn’t meant to be anything. When i first saw Uniqua i thought she was a boy. I LOVE THE BACKYARDIGANS and futurama and madeline. Backyardigans is good because the main character on the show is different in each episode unlike on madeline, madeline is the only one who talks on that show.

  17. I hope the new episodes will match the quality of the older episodes. I’ve been watching repeats for so long, I find that this show is really, really very good. I hope future show will match the same creativity and quality. Repeats and all, I still love the show. My favorite episode is “The Key to the Nile,” especially the closing song. WHo needs lyrics to that, just listen carefully (5 times) and you’ve got it. Paula from Baltimore.

  18. I sure wish we had TiVo!! My son keeps asking me when I’m going to get the DVD for the Backyardigans. The 30 minutes that show is on, it’s guaranteed to be 2 kids (4 and 5 years old) glued to the television. I love this show too!! I guess I’ll have to crank the VCR up and starting filling up tapes.

  19. A lot of people have been wondering when the creators of The Backyardigans will be coming out with merchandise. I decided to call the people at Nelvana which takes part in the production of The Backyardigans. I think they have been getting a lot of calls like mine because when I asked who could I speak to reguarding Backyardigan merchandise they new immediatly who to point me towards. I spoke with a woman named Mary and she told me that they WILL NOT be coming out with any Backyardigan merchandise for a while. She said that the show hasn’t been airing long enough for them to take a big chance as to put merchandise out and hopes it sells. They would like the name of the show to become more well known. I asked her could she give me a timeframe. She told me at the very very soonest 6 months, but most likely not. She said a better estimation would be Spring of 06. I then asked her can I give this info out to all the shows fans, and she said yes, of course! She said thank you to everybody for the positive comments, and to continue to voice hom much we love the show so they can keep giving us more episodes. So sorry everybody looks like we won’t be seeing any merchandise for now.

  20. Asustin was probaly on more episodes then Tasha was on. Whos taller Austin or Tyrome?

  21. I guess I knew I wasn’t the only grown person watching this show but I had no idea how many actually were! I was just asked today at work what song I was singing. I explained it “Questing questing questing, never resting……” This brought on more stares which forced me to go the the website and show all my workmates a few videos on the Nick Jr. website! Of course everyone got hooked instantly and asked what time they come on. I don’t have Tivo but I have taped almost all the episodes. My favorite is the Yeti. Although Riding the Range and The flying Rock are closely behind. I’m not too sure what Uniqua is either. Although a ladybug is a good guess but I don’t think that’s what she is. My son and I love this show and have even got my husband interested. I had to call and remind him each day to tape the episodes. I almost died when i read the entry on the mom who subjects family members to watching the show. I DO THE SAME THING!

  22. I LOVE THE BACKYARDIGANS. We printed out some of the pages of them that they have on NickJr.’s site. My daughter (2 1/2) carries the printouts around…and loves to watch the little clips they have on the website, too. She likes Tasha singing “Shake Your Body”.

    I saw on Amazon that they have some books coming out…not until October. I really would like to find some type of stuffed version…or anything…because that would probably be better (and look better) if my daughter was dragging something tangible around with her instead of a piece of paper.

  23. My 5 year old son LOVES The Backyardigans he cries on the weekends because they aren’t on

  24. This may sound weird, but I am twenty-five without children and I love the Backyardigans

  25. I feel so much better now that i know that i am not the only adult that loves the backyardigans, me and my 2 year old son watch the show all the time I also have every show on tivo. We sing the songs all day long and 5 and 7 year old love the show also , my 2 year old loves pablo but me myself I love Uniqua her voice is so cute. I know the face of the little girl that does her voice when she sings i just cant think of her name, We also watch Dora and blue but her doesn’t care to much for lazy town and i don’t like it much myself, But what we both can say is that we love the Backyardigans!!

  26. im looking to buy the dvd or any episodes that you have reocrded for my two year old niece she found it on a preview we cant find it any were in dallas .@!!!! so if you have any information on were or what web site i can order it from please e-mail me or instant message me at axiolablue@hotmail.com thanks so much

  27. Me and a majority LOVES the Backyardigans. My grandmother hooked us on it when she discovered it while watching my 1 1/2 old cousin. Now we recorded the episodes all on tape and uses it to keep my cousin occupied while we’re preoccupied or have to comb her hair. Now, my Aunt on the other hand, knows the lyrics as well as the dance moves to the episodes and my cousin is headed that way to. Now she can’t stop saying, “Shak, shake, shake.” I just love it when Tasha says, “Oh for goodness sake.” and she Pablo goes into his little panic attacks and they have to snap him out of it. Oh yeah, not to mention I am almost 16, my Aunt is in her late 30’s an my grandma is in her mid 70’s. We have found a site online that sells t-shirts for around $11

  29. This is one of the greatest cartoons on TV My son will actualy wake up when he hears the theme song he is 5 months old and needs his backyardigans.He dances like crazy in his jumper when he hears all of the singing on the show keep up the great work!
    Dan

  30. HELP ME!
    My daughter REALLY wants a BACKAYARDIGANS birthday party but I’m starting to think Backyardigans party supplies don’t exist.
    Anyone know of any – anywhere?

  32. Hey I’m thirteen and i also can’t get enough. I’ve managed to convince most of my friends to love it to. I’m listening to songs as I type! This has been said before, but you can download quite a few songs from LimeWire. You can get it from http://www.download.com
    You can find these:

    The Theme

    A pirate says Arrgh

    Secret Agent

    Yeti Stomp

    Please and Thank you

    Falling off a log

    Drizzling

    Where in the world

    I’m Tarzan

    Hide and go boo

    What’s so scary bout that

    Treasure

    Scurvey Pirate

    Into the thick of it

    Also, until rescently, all but two of the songs above could be found at nickjr.com, which probably means someone took them from the website, but they have tons more now on the website so more should show up on limewire soon;)

  33. I’ll add my comments; my two kids love the show and so do I. Very sweet and clever, with very catchy music.

  36. Awesome show. My son can’t get enough. We just saw the promo for the new episode. We can’t wait!! Surf’s up!

  37. I just love this show! I am in panic mode though…my baby is turning 2, and I wanted a backyardigans party for her…I have looked everywhere! PLEASE if anyone knows where I can get the party merchandise, I would love to have it! If I can’t get it before then, I am going to make my own….I want to make a Uniqua cake for her. I am watching it as I type. We are watching the flying rock episode. I found a really nice webpage that gives info for the show. Did you know there are 20 shows??? Here is that website for any interested.

    http://www.treehousetv.com/parents/tvShows/backyardigans/episodes.asp

  38. I was unable to find any of the songs at download.com. Any suggestions for how to locate them? If anyone knows, I would really appreciate it.

  39. I don’t think the songs are at download.com — the application LimeWire (a file sharing program) is at download.com. There are other file-sharing services too, though I don’t know what they all are. LimeWire does have several Backyardigans songs, though I haven’t found all the ones in that list. (Such as Hide and Go Boo or What’s So Scary ‘Bout That?)

    To the person up a bit who said Austin is a purple dog — no, if you listen to the song again, he sings, “I’m Captain Austin, not a scurvey dog.” Not purple dog.

  40. I got into the Backyardigans in the past couple of months. I have a 5-month-old son, so I am way more interested in it than him, but it is such a cute show! Very creative/imaginative! The theme song sticks in my head a lot. I often am singing it around the house, as my husband rolls his eyes at me! Ha!

    I did see a t-shirt for this show. It is at this site:

    http://shop.nickjr.com/sm-frame-shirt–pi-1968182.html

    I hope more stuff comes out on this show too!

  41. Hi, we too love the Backyardigans. My twins starting watching them when they were 6mos old, and at 18 mos its all they watch now. I thought Uniqua wa a lizzard. A new episode is coming out this monday make sure to tivo it. They dance always to it!!

  42. Hi all you Backyardigans fans!!

    I’m an illustrator for Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon. I have good news for you all….. Backyardigans books are being created as I type this! I’m working on a coloring book based on the Pirate episode. I know another coloring book is being made based on the “Knights Brave and Strong” episode. The books are published by Random House and should be released sometime this fall. I know Simon and Schuster will be releasing several titles as well. The illustrations are drawn in a flat, 2D style. It’s a softer look than the 3 dimentional CGI style in the show. The CGI look is perfect for the animated show. However, I kind of like the more cartoony look of the 2D characters as far as book illustrations go. You can see samples of the 2D style on Nickjr.com.

  43. I have a 6 month grandbaby who i’m taking care of mornings while Mom goes to school. She adores Backyardigans but I think her Mommy and I love it even more!! It is genius. The personalities of the characters are precious – the music is oh so clever and unique. We watched the Viking episode and the lullaby just about made me cry, it was sweet as it could be. I’m very much hoping Nick will put out a CD of these songs – especially the lullaby!!!
    Kudos and 5 star review for Backyardigans!

  44. I’m a 19-year mother of a 9-month old and both my son and I absolutely love the show!!! My favorite song is the lullaby from the vikings episode, but my son loves the pirate songs. EVeryone in my house goes around singing the songs even after the show has been over for hours! I would love to have a backyardigan b-day for him in june but it looks like thats not happen. However, I am going to go to bj’s with a picture of Pablo and have them put it on a cake for him.

  46. My son is 11 months old and for almost 2 months he has watched The Backyardigans. He talks to the TV, reaches for them, claps at them, and wiggles to the music. I love that show also, I think that its a great show for all ages.(Pablo is soooo cute) Ive even based my sons 1st b-day on this show. The problem is that there isnt any material to help, but Ive created each character with construction paper, along with a banner, etc. Which is great also because now he can have them in his room, and he LOVES them!

  47. Backyardigans….so why do love them so much…they are so different from everything else out there and they do have so excellent themes children can learn from. They are just so damn cute to look at and sweet to listen too…..they remind me somewhat of my own discovery zone as a kid….

  48. Yup,
    It is a very entertaining show. We all love the Backyardigans in my house. Kids and adults of all ages love this show. I also am looking for birthday supplies for my daughter’s fifth birthday, which is less than one month away. If anyone knows if this does exist, please let me know. I would really appreciate it.

  49. Backyardigans are great! my 2yr old son and my 1yr old niece love them. We have so many recorded on our dvr…in fact my son is watching the surf episode as a type…AGAIN!!!
    Like most of the grownups here…i sing along too. I really want to know who does all the voices for the character…are they kids??
    Can’t wait for the coloring books!

  50. We too love The Backyardigans!!!! What a fantastic show! I love to watch it with my two boys (ages 5 & 3). The music is fabulous and how can you not giggle at the wonderful dance numbers. My boys love music and love to sing so that is what first attracted us to the show but the quality of the show keeps us coming back. I would love to see some of the show’s songs come out on CD.

    Three cheers for The Backyardigans!!!