Splash and Bubbles (also known as Jim Henson's Splash and Bubbles) is an American animated children's television series created by John Tartaglia. The series debuted on PBS Kids on November 23, 2016, after Wild Kratts: Creatures of the Deep Sea.[1] It is produced using motion capture that blends with animatronic interfaces which enables the crew to make animation.[2]
| Splash and Bubbles | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Jim Henson's Splash and Bubbles |
| Genre | Adventure Educational Musical |
| Created by | John Tartaglia |
| Directed by | Bret Nilson David Skelly Hugh Martin |
| Voices of | John Tartaglia Leslie Carrara-Rudolph Raymond Carr Aymee Garcia |
| Theme music composer | Mike Himelstein Dena Diamond |
| Opening theme | "Splash and Bubbles Theme Song" |
| Composers | Andrew Skrabutenas Mike Barnett Mike Himelstein |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 40 (including 1 TV movie) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Lisa Henson Halle Stanford John Tartaglia Michael Shawn Lewis Jill Shinderman Julie Phillips Merrill Puckett Miller |
| Producer | Tom Keniston |
| Editors | Jouvens Exantus Phil Price |
| Running time | 12 minutes |
| Production companies | The Jim Henson Company Herschend Studios |
| Original release | |
| Network | PBS, PBS Kids |
| Release | November 23, 2016 – August 6, 2018 |
Premise
Splash and Bubbles follows a yellowback fusilier (though at times he and the narrator claim that he is a yellowtail fusilier), Splash, who settles in Reeftown after looking all over the ocean. He then befriends Bubbles, a mandarin dragonet, and the duo, along with friends Dunk and Ripple, explore the reef to venture and make new friends. Each episode also includes a documentary segment, Get Your Feet Wet,[3] which features kids asking questions that are occasionally followed up by a musical number.
Characters
Main
- Splash (voiced by John Tartaglia), the protagonist of the series, is an adventurous yellowback fusilier who settles in Reeftown after exploring the world for a new home.
- Bubbles (voiced by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph), Splash's best friend who is a tomboyish mandarin dragonet and likes being messy.
- Dunk (voiced by Raymond Carr) is an intellectual, but extremely nervous dog-faced pufferfish who serves as the comic relief of the group. He is also an artist, and can make art out of sand.
- Ripple (voiced by Aymee Garcia) is a pink Barbour's seahorse who lives with 499 brothers. She loves adventure and trying new things.
Recurring
- Lu (voiced by Donna Kimball) is a high-spirited footballfish who resides in the ocean abyss, along with her husband Bob, who is embedded into her body. Her name is short for bioluminescent.
- Bob (voiced by Allan Trautman) is Lu's husband, a male footballfish that lives on the left side of her body.
- Biggie (voiced by Sarah Oh) is one of Lu's friends, a spookfish who has big eyes.
- The firefly squid are one of Lu's friends.
- Pearline is a clam with a pearl inside. She desires her experience in going to Reeftown with help from the Reeftown Rangers.
- The clusterwink (voiced by Sarah Oh) is a species of small sea snail that Lu gave Dunk.
- Zee (voiced by Donna Kimball) is an adventurous zebra bullhead shark who lives for danger.
- Mayor Sting (voiced by Raymond Carr), an overconfident bluespotted ribbontail ray, who is the mayor of Reeftown.
- Wave (voiced by Dan Garza) is Reeftown's day octopus traffic guard. He has an extensive knowledge of the ocean, and often assists the gang in their adventures.
- Tidy (voiced by John Tartaglia) is an ablutomanic garabaldi, who serves as a kelp forest ranger.
- Gush (voiced by Allan Trautman) is an intelligent painted frogfish who is shown to have experience in dancing, helpful tips, and racing.
- Flo (voiced by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph) is a hawksbill sea turtle who acts as Reeftown's medical professional. She sings in the style of Karen Carpenter.
- Iris is a shy bluelashed butterflyfish who tries to find fit into her new lifestyle at Reeftown.
- Chompy (voiced by Aymee Garcia) is a pastel-colored parrotfish who experiences eating what she sees.
- Polly and Bell (voiced by Alice Dinnean and Donna Kimball) are peach-colored twin white-spotted jellyfish. They live with their jellyfish siblings. These sisters like different things such as games, but according to their words, they come from the same polyp.
- Polly and Bell's siblings (voiced by Dorien Davies and Alice Dinnean) are the twin sisters of Polly and Bell. They both live in the Sunken Ship as their home with Polly and Bell. They are also called: peach-colored twin white-spotted jellyfish. Their voices are squeaky unlike Polly and Bell.
- Charlie (Nickname: Papa) (voiced by Dan Garza) is a brownish goldish Barbour's seahorse which lives with Ripple and her 499 brothers. He has a yellow body and he refers to her as mija, which literally translated as "my daughter" in Spanish. He likes mysid shrimp as his favorite food.
- Ripple's 499 brothers (voiced by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Sarah Oh, Raymond Carr, and Donna Kimball) are all of the green Barbour's seahorses. Number 66 (voiced by Sarah Oh) wants to go on adventures like his sister. Number 278 always wanders off like number 66. She also mentions that number 342 is a storyteller, number 96 makes the silliest faces, number 77 sleeps next to her every night and number 231 always stealing her things.
- Melody is a female fin whale whose brother is in the Southern Ocean which is opposite to the Arctic. She helps Splash and his friends get home twice.
- Mrs. Leafy and Mr. Leafy are a friendly leafy seadragon couple that reside in a kelp forest off the coast of Australia.
- Maury (voiced by John Tartaglia) is a quidnunc snowflake moray who lives in the caves and tunnels of Reeftown and is always eager to gather news of what goes on around the reef.
- Snap (voiced by Dan Garza) is a pistol shrimp who can't see very well, doesn't like moving and sometimes attacks with his big claw when he thinks they say "Now!"
- Scout (voiced by Donna Kimball) is a goby fish who helps and protects Snap.
- Denny (voiced by Sarah Oh) is a cleaner shrimp who acts as Reeftown's "dentist", and has an extensive knowledge of teeth.
- Myshell is a decorative decorator crab who likes to have her shell decorated. Her name is a pun on the phrase "my shell".
- Dorsal is a spinner dolphin, he likes playing games, and making friends.
- Finny is a green mandarin dragonet with freckled cheeks who has similar interests with Bubbles, like being messy.
- Mo is a sunfish who is Dunk's cousin.
- Tyke is a harbor seal who loves to snuggle with friends by nuzzling. She even gets carried away by playing.
- Scoot is a young sea turtle.
One-time characters
- Plum, Ruby, Rose and Violet are red giant tube worms who finish each other's sentences.
- Mortimer is a little nautilus who seems shy at first, but then is excited to talk.
- Puffy is a purple pufferfish who has indigo eyelids.
- Oblo is a blobfish.
- Dusty is a green and gray parrotfish.
- Neat is a yellow garibaldi who is Tidy's wife.
- Wart is a frogfish. His body is orange colored compared to his dad's purple body.
- Boo Hagley is a hagfish with a British accent.
- Archie is a sea urchin whose color seems unknown.
- Whitebeard is an ancient humpback whale with barnacles on his chin. He is the Santa Claus of the Arctic Ocean, but way deep under the North Pole.
The jellyfish
- There are four Christmas-colored white-spotted jellyfish who appear to be Reeftown tourists. Two are red and the other two are green. Their voices are squeaky unlike Polly and Bell.
The sharks
- Hamilton is a friendly scalloped hammerhead shark.
- A friendly unnamed great white shark.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | "Lu the Explorer" | Bret Nelson | Rachel Lipman | November 23, 2016 |
| 1b | "I've Got Rhythm?" | David Skelly | Mark Drop | November 23, 2016 |
| 2a | "I Only Have Eyespots for You" | David Skelly | Joe Purdy | November 24, 2016 |
| 2b | "Double Bubbles" | Bret Nelson | Rachel Lipman | November 24, 2016[nb 1] |
| 3a | "Cleaner of the Kelp" | Hugh Martin | Michael Foulke | November 25, 2016 |
| 3b | "How Bubbles Got Her Moves Back" | David Skelly | Denise Downer | November 25, 2016 |
| 4a | "Dunk the Artist" | Hugh Martin | Rachel Lipman | November 29, 2016 |
| 4b | "Ripple's Sea Dragons" | Hugh Martin | Joe Purdy | November 29, 2016 |
| 5a | "Tooth Treasure" | Bret Nelson | Dave Cain, Laura Sams, and Robert Sams | November 30, 2016 |
| 5b | "Race Around the Reef" | Bret Nelson | Jack Ferraiolo | November 30, 2016 |
| 6a | "Dunk's Cleaning" "Dunk's New Friend"[4] | Drew Massey | Michael Foulke | December 1, 2016 |
| 6b | "Ripple's Whale of a Tale" | Bret Nelson | Michael Foulke | December 1, 2016 |
| 7a | "Golden Legs Gush" | Drew Massey | Michael Foulke | December 7, 2016 |
| 7b | "A Fish Called Mo" | Bret Nelson | Joe Purdy | December 7, 2016 |
| 8a | "Deflated Dunk" | Bret Nelson | Rachel Lipman | December 9, 2016 |
| 8b | "Kelp Forest Keepers" | Bret Nelson | Rachel Lipman | December 9, 2016 |
| 9a | "Splash's Swim School" | Bret Nelson | Joe Purdy | December 21, 2016 |
| 9b | "Light at the End of the Tunnel" | Bret Nelson | Mark Drop | December 21, 2016 |
| 10a | "Small But Mighty" | Bret Nelson | John Tartaglia | December 22, 2016 |
| 10b | "Washed Away" | Bret Nelson | Michael Foulke | December 22, 2016 |
| 11a | "Super Splash!" | Rita Peruggi | Mark Drop | January 17, 2017 |
| 11b | "Pearlene" | Rita Peruggi | Michael Foulke | January 17, 2017 |
| 12a | "Guess Who?" | Toben Seymour | Michael Foulke | January 18, 2017 |
| 12b | "Sleepless Sleepover" | Hugh Martin | John Tartaglia | January 18, 2017 |
| 13a | "The Kelp Needs Help" | David Skelly | John Tartaglia | January 19, 2017 |
| 13b | "Mountain of Fire" | Toben Seymour | Michael Kramer | January 19, 2017 |
| 14a | "One Big Ocean Part 1: "Reeftown Rangers""[4] | Bret Nelson | Rachel Lipman | March 1, 2017 |
| 14b | "One Big Ocean Part 2: "Riding the Currents""[4] | Bret Nelson | Michael Foulke | March 1, 2017 |
| 15a | "One Big Ocean Part 3: "The Fixer-Upper""[4] | Bret Nelson | Rachel Lipman | March 2, 2017 |
| 15b | "One Big Ocean Part 4: "No Place Like Home""[4] | Bret Nelson | John Tartaglia | March 2, 2017 |
| 16a | "The Greatest Treasure of All"[4] | Bret Nelson | Michael Foulke | March 13, 2017 |
| 16b | "Crabulous"[4] | David Skelly | Rachel Lipman | March 13, 2017 |
| 17a | "Here Comes the Hammerhead"[4] | Bret Nelson | Ryan Toyama | March 14, 2017 |
| 17b | "Denny's New Shell"[4] | Jason Devilliers | Michael Foulke | March 14, 2017 |
| 18a | "The Sand Is Grand"[4] | David Skelly | Michael Kramer | March 15, 2017 |
| 18b | "The Treasure Trove"[4] | David Skelly | Jennifer Skelly | March 15, 2017 |
| 19a | "Mayor for a Day"[4] | Jason Devilliers | Mark Drop | March 16, 2017 |
| 19b | "Oblo From Down Below"[4] | Rita Peruggi | Rachel Lipman | March 16, 2017 |
| 20a | "Chompy's New Foods"[4] | Bret Nelson | Mark Drop | March 17, 2017 |
| 20b | "Cloning Around"[4] | John Tartaglia | Ryan Toyama | March 17, 2017 |
| 21a | "The House Hunt"[5] | John Tartaglia | Rachel Lipman | April 21, 2017 |
| 21b | "Dolphin Games"[5] | David Skelly | Rachel Lipman | April 21, 2017 |
| 22a | "Partner Pals"[5] | Bret Nelson | Rachel Lipman | May 25, 2017 |
| 22b | "Ultimate Hide and Seek"[5] | David Skelly | Alice Dinnean | May 25, 2017 |
| 23a | "My Son, The Frogfish" | David Skelly | Rachel Lipman | June 12, 2017 |
| 23b | "A Day for Papa" | Christian Jacobs | Michael Foukle | June 12, 2017 |
| 24a | "Bubbles' Little Friend" | David Skelly | Rachel Lipman | June 13, 2017 |
| 24b | "Mrs. Tidy" | David Skelly | Rachel Lipman | June 13, 2017 |
| 25a | "The Lure of the Rocks" | David Skelly | Michael Foulke | June 14, 2017 |
| 25b | "What's the Story, Maury?" | Rachel Lipman | Allan Trautman | June 14, 2017 |
| 26a | "Smell of Fear" | Rita Peruggi | Michael Kramer | September 25, 2017 |
| 26b | "A New 'Spin'" | Bret Nelson | Jason Ansolabehere | September 25, 2017 |
| 27a | "Clubhouse Clash" | David Skelly | Rachel Lipman | September 26, 2017 |
| 27b | "Raise The Reef" | Bret Nelson | Michael Shawn Lewis | September 26, 2017 |
| 28a | "Stormy Waters" | Bret Nelson | Joe Purdy | September 27, 2017 |
| 28b | "Scoot On Over!" | Christian Jacobs | Michael Foulke | September 27, 2017 |
| 29a | "Puffy" | Jason Devilliers | Rachel Lipman | September 28, 2017 |
| 29b | "The Big Shake" | Bret Nelson | Ryan Toyama | September 28, 2017 |
| 30a | "Yuck Or Treat" | Michael Shawn Lewis | Michael Foulke | October 16, 2017 |
| 30b | "The Thing from Above The Reef" | Michael Shawn Lewis | Ryan Toyama | October 16, 2017 |
| 31a | "Whitebeard" | Bret Nelson | Dave Cain, Laura Sams, & Robert Sams | December 11, 2017 |
| 31b | "Coral Day" | Bret Nelson | John Tartaglia | December 11, 2017 |
| 32a | "Seal Sitters" | Michael Shawn Lewis | Michael Shawn Lewis | April 23, 2018 |
| 32b | "From Ray to Zee" | Jason Devilliers | Ryan Toyama | April 23, 2018 |
| 33a | "The Sea Sparkles" | Bret Nelson | Michael Foulke | April 24, 2018 |
| 33b | "Tyke and Seek" | Michael Shawn Lewis | Rachel Lipman | April 24, 2018 |
| 34a | "Light's Out!" | David Skelly | Michael Foulke | April 25, 2018 |
| 34b | "Catching some ZZZ's" | Bret Nelson | Jill Shinderman | April 25, 2018 |
| 35a | "The Job Search" | Jason Devilliers | Jennifer Skelley | April 26, 2018 |
| 35b | "Reeftown's Got Talent" | Jason Devilliers | John Tartaglia | April 26, 2018 |
| 36a | "Mo's Sunburn" | Bret Nelson | Katherine Lewis | June 11, 2018 |
| 36b | "Imagin-Ocean" | Bret Nelson | Joe Purdy | June 11, 2018 |
| 37a | "Gush's White Whale" | Bret Nelson | Eric De La Rosa | June 12, 2018 |
| 37b | "Extreme Clean" | Bret Nelson | Michael Foulke | June 12, 2018 |
| 38a | "The End of the Ocean" | David Skelly | Michael Foulke | June 13, 2018 |
| 38b | "Antarctic Ranger" | Allan Trautman | Michele Hennessy | June 13, 2018 |
| 39a | "Pole to Pole Part 1: "Migration Vacation"" | Dave Messey | Rachel Lipman | August 6, 2018 |
| 39b | "Pole to Pole Part 2: "Pebbles"" | Drew Massey | Rachel Lipman | August 6, 2018 |
| 40a | "Pole to Pole Part 3 "The Whistling Whale"" | Dave Massey | Michael Foulke | August 6, 2018 |
| 40b | "Pole to Pole Part 4: "The Big Krill"" | Dave Massey | Michael Foulke | August 6, 2018 |
Film
| Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|
| "One Big Ocean"[6] | January 16, 2017 | |
|
The Reeftown kids catch the currents and embark on an epic journey across the sea to help a friendly young turtle named Scoot. Along the way they learn that all creatures are interconnected and how even a small gesture can greatly affect the friends and neighbors who share the one big ocean they call home. | ||
Songs
| No. | Song | Episode(s) | Sung by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "And So We Celebrate (Coral Day)" | "Coral Day" | Everyone in Reeftown |
| 2 | "Catch A Current" | "Ripple's Sea Dragons", "Race Around the Reef", "Ripple's Whale of a Tale", "The Kelp Needs Help", "One Big Ocean Part 1: "Reeftown Rangers"", "The Greatest Treasure of All", "The Treasure Trove", “Gush's White Whale” | Splash (and sometimes, Bubbles, Dunk, Ripple, or Gush) |
| 3 | "Dark in the Deep" | "Lu the Explorer", "Mountain of Fire", "Yuck or Treat", "Lights Out!" | Lu, Bob, and the Firefly Squids |
| 4 | "Hanging With Friends" | "I Only Have Eyespots for You", "How Bubbles Got Her Moves Back", "Deflated Dunk", "A Fish Called Mo", "Light at the End of the Tunnel", "One Big Ocean Part 1: "Reeftown Rangers"", "Dolphin Games", "Ultimate Hide and Seek", "The Lure of the Rocks", "Bubbles' New Friend", "Raise the Reef" | Splash, Bubbles, Dunk, and Ripple |
| 5 | "Have You Heard?" | "Denny's New Shell", Mayor for a Day", "What's the Story, Maury?", "Smell of Fear", "Scoot on Over", "Reeftown's Got Talent!" | Maury |
| 6 | "I Don't Know What I'm Doin' (I'm Just Doin' It)" | "Dunk the Artist", "Washed Away", "One Big Ocean Part 3: "The Fixer-Upper"", "Puffy", "The Thing from Above the Reef", “Mo's Sunburn” | Dunk |
| 7 | "I Never Knew About You" | "Crabulous", "Denny's New Shell", "Cloning Around", "Dolphin Games", "My Son, The Frogfish", "From Ray to Zee", “Imagin-Ocean”, “The End of the Ocean”, "Pole-to-Pole Part 3: The Whistling Whale" | Splash and Bubbles |
| 8 | "Keep It Clean" | "Cleaner of the Kelp", "Kelp Forest Keepers", "Guess Who?", "Mrs. Tidy", "Seal Sitters", "The Job Search" | Tidy |
| 9 | "My Best Friend Ever" | "Partner Pals", "A New ‘Spin’", "The Sea Sparkles", "Pole-to-Pole Part 2: Pebbles" | Splash and Bubbles |
| 10 | "One Big Ocean" | "One Big Ocean Part 4: "No Place Like Home"", "Clubhouse Clash", "The Big Shake", "Pole-to-Pole Part 1: Migration Vacation" | Flo, Polly, Bell, Polly And Bell's Sibling #1, and Polly And Bell's Sibling #2 |
| 11 | "One Small Ripple" | "Pearlene", "One Big Ocean Part 3: "The Fixer-Upper"", "A Day for Papa", "Whitebeard" | Ripple and her brothers |
| 12 | "Only In The Ocean" | "Oblo From Down Below", "Bubbles' Little Friend", "Ultimate Hide & Seek", “Gush's White Whale”, "Pole-to-Pole Part 4: The Big Krill" | Splash, Bubbles, Dunk and Ripple |
| 13 | "Reeftown Rangers" | "The Greatest Treasure of All", "Here Comes the Hammerhead", "The Treasure Trove", "Chompy's New Foods", "The House Hunt", "Stormy Waters", "Tyke And Seek", “Antarctic Ranger” | Splash, Bubbles, Dunk and Ripple |
| 14 | "Rhythm of the Reef" | "I've Got Rhythm?", "One Big Ocean Part 4: "No Place Like Home"", "Raise the Reef", "Pole-to-Pole Part 4: The Big Krill" | Everyone in Reeftown |
| 15 | "Yucky" | "Double Bubbles", "A Fish Called Mo", "One Big Ocean Part 2: "Riding the Currents"", "The Sand is Grand", "Oblo from Down Below", "Catching Some ZZZs" | Bubbles |
Home media
| Region | Title | Release date | Running time | Aspect ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ‘’One Big Ocean’’ | June 12, 2018 | 1.2 minutes | 1:78:1 | |
| ‘’The Kelp Forest’’ | May 21, 2019 |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 44th Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production | Leslie Carrara-Rudolph for "I Only Have Eyespots for You"/"Double Bubbles" | Nominated | [7] |
Notes
- ^ This episode first aired a day early on a program called "Splash and Bubbles Premiere," which also aired the first episode.
References
- ^ Mercedes Milligan (May 21, 2016). "PBS KIDS Dates Premiere for Henson's 'Splash and Bubbles'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
- ^ "Splash and Bubbles". Ninja Puppet Productions. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ^ "New wave of TV cartoons urge children to save seas". Phys.org. October 17, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Splash and Bubbles". Twin Cities PBS. 19 September 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Splash and Bubbles". WTTW Chicago Public Media. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- ^ Thom Benson (December 21, 2015). "Special Screening Of S16plash And Bubbles At IMAX Set For Dec. 30". Chattanoogan. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ^ Terry Flores (November 28, 2016). "'Zootopia' Tops Annie Awards Nominations, 'Kubo and the Two Strings' in Close Second". Variety. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
