The Definitive Ranking of animated Sprout shows

One of my many drawings of Sprout characters (including myself lol). Does that count as animation?

Madeline Fretz - A while back, an Australian Sprout fan gave me her ideas for posts, including ones about international children's programs similar to Sprout, Sprout talent outfits, and what playlists characters would listen to. One of the posts she mentioned was a definitive ranking of animated Sprout shows. I’ve never done a definitive ranking before in this blog, so I'm gonna give it a go! Okay, Sprout fans, without further ado, today I'm ranking Sprout animation from worst to best! Enjoy!

Oh, and one, if not two, more thing(s), please note that this I'm only talking about animated Sprout original series. I was originally going to talk about almost every animated series that aired on Sprout, but decided it would be too much and a long post. Many Sprout originals (i.e. Ruff-Ruff, Tweet, and Dave and Floogals) were CGI, but I'm only listing traditionally(?) animated shows.

#6.) I think everything is good in terms of animation, but if I had to pick what the worst is, I'll go with The Many Adventures of Mr. Mailman. The character designs were a bit off to say the least, and, at the end of most(?) episodes, Mr. Mailman takes off his hat, revealing a beret-like hairstyle. Weird, huh?

#5.) And next up on this ranking is Sprout Diner. To me, the animation looked a bit cheap and drawing-like, as, around the time, Sprout was a small channel with a low budget. Compare it to the budget they had in later years (around the 2010s). Plus, two bears in the opening theme closely resemble Yogi and Boo-Boo Bear. Someone pointed that out in an upload of the Barney's Purple Hummus Dip segment (which is probably no longer up), and I may be one of the only ones who has noticed. Yep, even the biggest Sprout fan notices!

#4.) As I said earlier, I believe no Sprout animation is bad, weird, or creepy, but I'll have to start the good ones with the Doggity's segments from Noodle and Doodle. I don't know why this is third worst. Maybe because of the Bulldog?

My favorite Sprout original is next, and I can’t believe it's the fourth worst … all because of a character whose eyes are too small!

#3.) The Chica Show, which turns ten this year, is my favorite Sprout original series (I was even in a Chica phase in late 2020), but I'm ranking its animation as fourth worst since I think Stitches has small, probably cold-dead eyes, and totally should've had the same design as Kelly (minus the female eyelashes and lips).

HONORABLE MENTION(s): While most honorable mentions come before the #1 pick, I'm placing mine before the second because why not? Sprout programming blocks count as original series. They were even listed as "originals" online! Both The Let's Go Show and The Sunny Side Up Show had animation - the former had cartoon characters in song segments, while animated farm animals appeared in the latter's original opening theme song. I'd say the animation in both falls between the line(s(?)) of good and bad, and I knew I should've placed Doggity HERE!

#2.) We're into the good now folks, and let us start with Nina's World. The animation and character designs look pretty good, Chica Show-ish, and it's a bit nice, if not weird, to hear celebrities' voices (Rita Moreno, Michele Lepe, and Lin-Manuel Miranda were all on the show) coming out of the characters' mouths.

#1.) …And last but not least is Astroblast!. I don't see anything negative with the animation on this show, which is based on a children's picture book by author Bob Kolar. The characters all look great! And since this show is a hit with people young and old (*cough* pingguolover (sp?) *cough*), what better Sprout original has the best animation?

And there you have it, folks! That was the definitive ranking of animated Sprout shows (Originals only, see why above). Don't agree with me? You can always share your own listicle, containing non-originals or not. Every Sprout Original series has good animation, but some designs look off or even 2000s cheap. 

Oh, and lemme close this post with some first generation cartoon characters:

That's Nicholas from the Weekend mornings promo. Only die-hard Sprout fans like me know who HE is!

These(those?) are the boy and his mom from the 2005 Bedtime ident.

…and finally, that's the first generation sun, which appeared in the original Good Night Show opening.

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Weekly Character Wednesdays - Ricky

 

Written by Madeline "Maddie" Fretz.

RICKY RABBIT

PERFORMED BY:

Kevin Yamada

APPEARED IN:

The Sprout Sharing Show

BEST-KNOWN ROLE:

Colorful rabbit showman, piano player

WHO IS RICKY? With his sparkly suit, Ricky Rabbit was the youngest of the Sprout House Band and played the piano. Ricky can sometimes be a comic relief, such as when he says goodbye many times during the Goodbye Song.

Ricky's father Reginald made occasional appearances to encourage viewer participation, and the two hosted a live Father's Day special in 2008.

MEMORABLE RICKY MOMENTS: Ricky sang the Sharing Show song "I Love Bread," which got its own recipe on SproutOnline.com. In 2008, he had this moment on The Sunny Side Up Show:

In another Ricky moment, he and his dad showed viewers how to send in their videos to Sprout:

Image from the Wayback Machine

"Ricky and Reginald want to show you how fun and easy sharing your video can be. Watch their demo, review a few helpful tips, and then Send Your Videos to Sprout!"

WHY DOES THE SPROUT SHARING SHOW NEED RICKY? Ricky is one of the fun-loving trio known as the Sprout House Band. Without a third member, they wouldn’t be a trio! He can sometimes be a show-off and a comic relief, but his friends love him all the same. He sang about his favorite food, showed Sproutlets' artwork, and appeared during split-screen credits. Ricky may be small, but he has a big heart.

Click here to have a bread sandwich on the Parents and Kids Share Together forum!

Sprout Tunes

 

Madeline Fretz - Sprout Tunes was an interstitial series that aired on Sprout during the latter of the second generation's end (2013 to 2015) every afternoon (probably before The Sprout Sharing Show). Added in conjunction with musical afternoons on Sprout (source), Sprout Tunes interstitials featured songs and musical scenes from Sprout shows and blocks, very similar to the Musical Mornings of the first generation, as well as songs from varied children's singers.

Sprout Tunes segments were also available on SproutOnline.com and the Games and Videos app as part of a game known as Music Maker.

Openings had a Sproutlet kid placing a Sprout boombox (or radio?) down on a stool and turning it on. Closings were - well, just a generic "box-branded" closing. Openings and closings reused the soundtrack from the first generation Music ident.

I assume segments aired until the third generation rebrand, when new musical interstitial segments known as "Sprout Jams" and "Sprout Mini Jams" started airing.

Nostalgic Field Trip

 

Madeline Fretz - I know this post isn't Sprout-related, but this is one of the best things that's ever happened to teenage me, and felt impossible not to write about here, on a Sprout blog. Enjoy!

Once we moved in 2018, I've spent most of my life depressed. I seemed to miss the good old days and still do. In fact, my original song "2007," which I wrote and sung WITHOUT music (like most of my songs) is about the amazing things that happened that year and how I long to revisit them. Nowadays, I'm in high school, have classes with mean teachers, and seem to escape from or skip them almost every day. As I said earlier, I spend my depressing life taking my mind to my memories.

Sometimes I wish to go to my old elementary school or my old house. In fact, today, I emailed my teachers about my "wish trip." Just tonight, Mom asked if I wanted to go to Superstars Pizza and the old Mary Munford playground before picking up my sister and her friend from ballet. Who was I to say no? Of course I would! I couldn't wait, and I started a vlog. I abandoned and eventually deleted the vlog since I didn't have enough storage, errors occured when the video was loading. and the video had me playing on the old playground to "We Built This City." If I did make it,  I would post it on Vimeo and Dailymotion (like my Baby Einstein "Grinch Night" and "Thriller" music videos) due to copyright strikes and then on YouTube without the music. 

On the way to Superstars, I told my Mom that I wanted to make a movie about my old friends with now-retired teacher Mr. Bennett - about us getting back together and trying to save the school. She said some of them would not to get back together, and that I should come up with an original plot, so I had a brief meltdown, and eventually calmed down, took deep breaths, and drank water. A great ending to a great day shouldn't start off like this! Unfortunately, Superstars was closed (probably for the night?), so we decided to do the next best thing and go to Gelati Celesti. On the last day of third grade, the power went out, so instead of going to school, we went there, and my old friends Betsy (RIP) and Tillie(sp?) were there. I had birthday cake ice cream, and it was so good, but I eventually threw it away because I didn't feel like eating it anymore.

After ice cream, we went to Libby's to buy a few water bottles, and then it was off to nostalgia! Getting out of the car and getting some fresh air brought back so many memories! I played on the old playgrounds for a little while, made my video that never was (see above), and Mom caught up with some old friends. I was hoping to go inside the building AND my old house, but maybe we'll go there another day. There was even a "Welcome Back" sign ... were they expecting me or something?! I took my picture in front of the school, and then we were off to Richmond Ballet.

It was a great day, and the best thing to ever happen since that video. It was like I was a recipient of Make-a-Wish, except I didn't have cancer. Life can be depressing, but great things can happen at times, and this was one of them. It's safe to say that I've had the time of my life!

The good old days

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Come On, Let's Grow now with Sprout

 

Madeline Fretz - Every day, I go on YouTube and search "PBS Kids Sprout" videos under "this week." Most videos are either ones of regular PBS Kids or of Sprout content I’ve seen before. Well, today, Enoch Boateng the PBS Kid posted a video of something Sprout-related I hadn't seen before. Behold, what appears to be a PBS image spot for Sprout using "Come On, Let's Grow!."

This promo probably aired on PBS stations, and appears to be from a PBS commercial break. The promo features "Come On, Let's Grow," except it features clips of real kids (and Nina and Star) with a screenbug of the Sprout logo instead of real kids and Sprout characters in the storybook-like world of the first generation. The song is also shortened in the promo as well.

Anyways, it's nice to see a rare Sprout rarity pop up on YouTube today. I hope we find more rare stuff soon!

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The TV Media Fan and Expert

Madeline Fretz - In 2019, the TV Media Fan and Expert (formerly King NOGGIN) was founded. The channel uploads "rare" clips from channels like NOGGIN and Sprout, and, for some reason, won't stop making videos. While this channel has uploaded many Sprout videos in the past, today, it uploaded a video of rare pictures I think are fake, like most of the stuff he uploads.

This has to be my favorite of his videos, but I don't know if it's real.

Some actually rare images are low quality, so TV Media Fan has recreated them. Example above.

...and makes instrumentals of certain songs and production music.

The video, which is set to an instrumental of the theme from The Sprout Sharing Show, consists of fake, yet "rare" pictures, something the TV Media Fan and Expert is known for. 

The first picture is of a promo for the show Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, which premiered on Sprout in 2006. This picture takes place around the second generation; Jakers! stopped airing a few months before the rebrand on March 31st, 2009, and I don't think Jakers! aired on The Sharing Show. Fakers!

The second picture is of Frances on The Sprout Sharing Show. Frances probably never aired on The Sharing Show - it aired for a while during Summer Fun Fridays, was available on Sprout on Demand, and an episode aired for Hooray for Mother's Day in 2010.

The third picture involves the split-screen credits of Jay Jay the Jet Plane airing during The Let's Go Show. Jay Jay aired during Musical Mornings and The Sprout Sharing Show, but I don't think it aired on The Let's Go Show. PBS Kids Sprout TV Wiki doesn't say it did.

The fourth images shows an introduction for Ruff-Ruff, Tweet, and Dave on The Good Night Show. This has to be anywhere from Seasons 3 to 5, as, during those seasons, Lucy introduced shows via stars, whereas in the last three seasons, she introduced shows via a full moon. Two things: 1. Ruff-Ruff, Tweet, and Dave premiered on February 14th, 2015. 2. The You and Me Tree was introduced in 2011, and the Goodnight Garden seasons stopped airing a year later in 2012, so this picture has to be fake. Sorry, TV Media Fan!

The fifth and final image is of an airing of Super WHY! on Sprout. This could be real, and, if so, may be the only image that is real.

Thanks for taking a look at the TV Media Fan and Expert's latest video with me. I hope he(?) uploads more real content soon!

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The Third Generation

 

Madeline Fretz - If you're a Sprout fan, chances are, you know that the channel launched on September 26th, 2005, five months after launching on Comcast on Demand. Ten years later, the channel rebranded with many changes.

Many PBS and HiT Entertainment shows from launch day were dropped in favor of new shows. It was around the time that Sprout would focus more on original programming.

Nina's World, a Sprout Original series, made its debut on September 26th, 2015, Sprout's tenth anniversary, alongside Maya the Bee and Sydney Sailboat. Other shows included Floogals, Terrific Trucks, Doozers, YaYa and Zouk, Noddy: Toyland Detective, The Furchester Hotel, Dot., Space Racers, The Jungle Bunch, The Land Before Time, The Ollie and Moon Show, Ranger Rob, Topsy and Tim, Masha and the Bear, Kody Kapow, School of Roars, and Sprout House. Olivia, Charlie and Lola, and Ollie! The Boy Who Became What He Ate premiered on Universal Kids' Sprout block in 2017.

The Sunny Side Up Show became Sunny Side Up and changed settings from the Sunshine Barn to a snazzy city loft with plenty of touch screens. The last show in the Barn was the 18th, and there was a "road trip" arc until the 26th. Rita Moreno, who voiced Abuela on Nina's World guest starred that day, and other celebrity guests have included Jordan Smith, Jennifer Nettles and Alvyia Alyn Lind, Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton, Margot Lee Shetterly, Luke Wilson, Justin Timberlake and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jack Black and Kate Hudson, and Bobby Monyihan. Star power, huh?

Shortly before the launch of the third generation, Alyssa Milano became Sprout's new "mom-bassador" and the face of Kindness Counts, and appeared on The Sunny Side Up Show. The channel's new slogan was to be "free to grow," and sleek, minimalist idents and bumpers featured real kids and minimalist crafts.

It was during the third generation that Deirdre Brennan, who became Sprout's general manager in early 2017, announced plans to launch Universal Kids, which took over Sprout's channel space in 2017.

The Third generation was a time of ups and downs for Sprout - mostly ups. Like it or hate it, it's definetly(sp?) something important in Sprout's history. Peace!