American animated children's television series on PBS Kids
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Work It Out Wombats! is a children'sanimated television series that premiered on February 6, 2023, on PBS Kids. The series is produced by GBH Kids and Pipeline Studios.[1] The series also has a podcast, which premiered on January 4, 2024.[2][3] Reception to the series has been positive. This series is renewed for Season 2.[citation needed]
Premise
In the land of the Treeborhood, the series follows Malik, Zadie and Zeke as their marsupials who live with their grandmother (Super) in her apartment complex. [4] Every episode features them encountering a problem of some kind and using computational thinking to solve it.[5] In-between each of the episodes is a 90-second music video, similar to the next show, (except for steps to play or do something).
Characters
The main and supporting cast of the series. From left to right: Louisa, Duffy, Quique, Sammy, Leiko, Mr. E, Ellie, Super (holding Malik, Zeke, & Zadie), JunJun, Gabriela, Kaya, Kat, Cece, Amado, Carly, Kit & Clyde
Main
Malik (voiced by Ian Ho) is a playful and curious 8-year-old (starting off at a 7 year old) grey wombat and the oldest of the siblings. He is meticulous and organized, but nonetheless likes having fun with his siblings.[6]
Zadie (voiced by Mia Swami-Nathan) is an adorable and cute 6-year-old purple wombat and the middle child of the siblings. She likes to create fantastical ideas that are shown in a cardboard/puffball/popsicle stick art style.[7]
Zeke (voiced by Rain Janjua) is a playful 5-year-old yellow wombat and the youngest of the siblings. He usually carries a stuffed animal named Snout with him, and is fond of asking lots of questions and talking nonstop.[8]
Super (voiced by Yanna McIntosh) is a fifty-something pink-haired cyan wombat who is the wombats' grandmother as well as the superintendent of the Treeborhood. She is open minded and encourages her grandchildren to make mistakes.[9] She has a brother named Duper who lives in another town miles away.
Recurring
Mr. E (a.k.a Mr. Splendito, voiced by Joseph Motiki) is an iguana who owns the Everything Emporium. He is very organized and does care for the wombats but doesn't like their antics. He has a crush on Ellie, as she is the only person that he is openly affectionate towards.[10] He has an alterego named Mr. Splendito in “The Great Splendito”.
Ellie (voiced by Tymika Tafari) is a moose of Jamaican descent who is the Treeborhood's EMT. She is reliable and very kind-hearted. Some of her interests include fitness and jumping on a trampoline.[11][12]
Louisa (voiced by Claire Mackness) is a 5-year-old adopted pink tarsier who wants to know everything. Her catchphrase is "Did/do you not know?". She is good friends with Zeke. She shares a name with another character with the same name from the next show.
Leiko and Duffy (voiced by Ana Sani and Shoshana Sperling, respectively) are a pair of kangaroos who are a lesbian couple and the adoptive mothers of Louisa. They used to be in a rock music duo together. Duffy works at Eat 'N Greet, while Leiko is the COO of the Creation Station.
Sammy (voiced by Baeyen Hoffman) is an 8-year-old (starting off at a 7 year old) orange laid-back emerald tree boa snake with Puerto Rican heritage.[12] He is good friends with Malik.
Quique, real name Enrique (voiced by B'atz' Recinos) is the father of Sammy. He is a teacher at the Starlight Room.[13] He has a wife named Yolanda whom he had divorced but still remains contact by taking turns in taking care of their son.
JunJun (voiced by Roman Pesino) is a playful 6-year-old Philippine Eagle who likes singing and playing guitar. He occasionally speaks Tagalog words. He is good friends with Zadie.
Kaya (voiced by Gianelle Miranda) is JunJun's 17-year-old (starting off at 16 years old) sister. She is a waitress at the Eat 'N Greet and a social media influencer.
Amado (voiced by Mark Andrada) is JunJun and Kaya's father. He is the arborist of the Treeborhood and frequently cuts topiary trees. He wears a red barong tagalog.
Gabriela (voiced by Carolyn Fe) is JunJun and Kaya's grandmother. She is the local mail carrier.
Carly, CeCe, and Clyde (all voiced by Julie Lemieux), Kat (voiced by Athena Karkanis), and Kit (voiced by Dan Chamroy) are a green fiddler crab family who are farmers at the Sow 'N Grow. They are rather timid. Carly, CeCe, and Clyde are triplets who function as a single character. Carly wears red, CeCe wears green, and Clyde wears blue. Also, Cece is the only crab who wears square glasses while Kit, Kat, Carly and Clyde wear round glasses. Kit and Kat are their father and mother.
Fergus and Felicia Fishman (voiced by Michael Gordin Shore and Athena Karkanis, respectively) are fish entrepreneurs who live in a tank near the top of the Treeborhood.
Flip, Fannie, and Finn Fishman are three fish children who live with Fergus and Felicia in their tank near the top of the Treeborhood.
Sylvia (voiced by Paloma Nuñez, the voice of Tia Margarita on the previous show) is a white cow with lavender spots, dark blue glasses, and curly maroon hair. She wears a purple button-up shirt.
Duper (also known as Great Uncle Duper, voiced by Martin Roach) is Malik, Zadie, and Zeke’s granduncle and Super’s brother.
Buckley (voiced by Jayd Deroché) is a beaver and the wombats' friend.
Yolanda (voiced by Margarita Varderrama) is the ex-wife of Quique and Sammy’s mother.
Benito (voiced by Juan Pablo Romero) is Sammy’s cousin. Benito speaks Spanish in the English version and English in the Spanish version.
Sammy is sick, and Malik wants to deliver ice cream to him. But, he needs to find a way to stop the ice cream from melting.
Zadie wants to host a fun campout, and invites the crab kids to it. Things did not go as expected, because she did not plan initially.
Song : "The More I Try, The More I Know" song by Andrea Leon-Ramos, the wombats try out different scents for Super's bubble bath.
4
"Snout Wash Day"
Jeff Barker
Cusi Cram & Peter K. Hirsch
February 8, 2023 (2023-02-08)
102
"A Super Recipe"
Nida Chowdhry
Snout is very dirty and needs to be washed, but Malik accidentally spills soap on the instructions.
The wombats want to make cornbread for Grandma Super, but when they lose the cookbook, they need to create the recipe by other means.
Song : "What Do You See?" written by Sofia Geck, Mr. E, Ellie, and Zeke sing about how they view art differently.
5
"Summerweenie Halloweenie"
Jeff Barker
Deanna Oliver
February 9, 2023 (2023-02-09)
110
"Make It Snow"
Michael Olmo
The wombats go trick-or-treating in summer, and learn how to organize their treats by size and color. Mr. E didn't trust Halloween at first, but he grows to love it when he joins the wombats.
Zeke wants to play in the snow, but it is not winter yet. After Mr. E shows the wombats a snow globe, they decide to make their own giant snow globe, and search for materials that could stand in for snow.
Song : "Mystery Box" written by Andrea Leon-Ramos, JunJun and Malik try to guess what's inside Louisa's mystery box.
6
"Crab Quakes"
Jeff Barker
Deanna Oliver
February 13, 2023 (2023-02-13)
106
"Hopping Helpers"
Crescent Imani Novell
The crabs are scared by something they heard, so they run away to the wombats' house to seek refuge. The wombats take it upon themselves to solve the mystery of what made the noise. They figure out that the noise came from a wind-up dragon toy.
Malik, Zadie, and Zeke realize that it feels good to help others, so they become the "Hopping Helpers" and try to help everyone in the Treeborhood. But with all the tasks they have to do, they realize that even helpers need help sometimes.
Song : "What's Going On?" written by Glen Berger, the wombats find out what's making a scary shadow in their room.
7
"Brother Day"
Jeff Barker
Darnell Lamont Walker
February 14, 2023 (2023-02-14)
107
"Cafe Chaos"
Cooper Sweeney
Malik learns the key to a successful brother day; to ask Zeke what he wants to do.
After Duffy sprains her ankle, Zeke and Louisa become waiters at the Eat N' Greet. However, waiting so many tables at once proves to be difficult for them, and they keep messing up the orders. Quique helps them memorize the steps to being a waiter. With Zeke and Louisa's help and skills, Mr. E's meal with Ellie is successful.
Song : "Collaborate" written by Stacey Greenberger, the wombats work together to get a box to the top of the hill.
8
"The Sleepover"
Jeff Barker
Glen Berger & Peter Ferland
February 15, 2023 (2023-02-15)
109
"Secret Tunnels"
Chuck Tately
Zeke attends a sleepover at the Creation Station with Louisa and the crab children, but the activities at the sleepover are nothing like his usual bedtime routine.
When the wombats want to deliver books to the crabs, Super shows them a secret network of passageways in the underbelly of the Treeborhood. Zeke loses his book, so the wombats have to navigate the tunnels to find it.
Song : "One Part at a Time" written by Sofia Geck, Ellie teaches Malik the steps to a dance.
9
"The Mighty Zeke"
Jeff Barker
Michael Olmo
February 16, 2023 (2023-02-16)
105
"Gift For a Fish"
Kathy Waugh
Malik and Zadie help Zeke overcome his fear of riding a two-wheeler.
The Fishmans had their babies, and the wombats were invited to their baby shower. The wombats come up with the perfect gift for the fish babies.
Song : "Sandcastle Song" written by Pierce Freelon, the crab children try different ways to get their sandcastle to stay up.
10
"Me Time"
Jeff Barker
Cusi Cram & Peter Hirsch
February 20, 2023 (2023-02-20)
108
"Zadie and the Really Big, Really Loud Noisy Thing"
Sherri Stoner Kathy Waugh (story by)
After they find out that Super takes time off for herself every day, Malik and Zadie set out to create the perfect "Me Time.
Zadie needs a place where she can make loud noises.
Song : "Pattern Song" written by Randy Rogel, Super sings about patterns.
11
"Talent Turmoil"
Jeff Barker
Cooper Sweeney
February 21, 2023 (2023-02-21)
114
"Zeke's Collection Selection"
Darnell Lamont Walker
The Treeborhood holds a talent show, and Zeke is in charge of everyone's props. Trouble arises when the props are put in the wrong order.
The Treeborhood is holding a collection fair, so Zeke tries to create his own collection.
Song : "Same But Different" written by Randy Rogel, Zadie and Malik sing about similarities and differences.
12
"Helper For the Day"
Jeff Barker
Deanna Oliver
February 22, 2023 (2023-02-22)
113
"Racecar Wombats"
Jessica Tsou
Zeke helps Mr. E sort things at the Everything Emporium.
The wombats want to participate in the Treeborhood Derby, but struggle to get their homemade box race car out in time for the race.
Song : "The Clean-Up Song" song by Ron Holsey, the wombats clean their room.
13
"Sparklepants"
Jeff Barker
Glen Berger & Peter Ferland
February 27, 2023 (2023-02-27)
111
"Game Changer"
Sherri Stoner Robby Hoffman (story by)
While preparing for Ellie's welcome home party, Mr. E accidentally orders 200 pairs of Sparklepants. It is up to JunJun and Zadie to figure out what to do with the pants before Ellie gets home from her vacation.
No one has time to play with Zadie, so she decides to play with the crab kids. They all try to find a game that they can all enjoy. Meanwhile, Zeke and Malik collect umbrellas.
Song : "Set the Table" song by Ron Holsey, the wombats learn to set the table before they eat.
14
"Bake It Til You Make It"
Jeff Barker
Rachel Reuben
February 28, 2023 (2023-02-28)
112
"Zoom In Zadie"
Atul N. Rao
Zeke and Louisa sell mud pies in exchange for stickers, but they need to figure out how to bake a perfect pie.
Mr. E has never been able to paint a square. Zadie tries to get the others to help but realizes that she needs to take a good picture to send to the Treeborhood newsletter.
Song : "Step It Out" song by Ron Holsey, the wombats go over the steps they need to get ready for the beach.
Kai Grayson Dean Outschoorn & Paul Moncrieffe (story by)
The wombats battle sea monsters, surfing scoundrels, and pointing rocks on their way to make a sandwich delivery.
Mr. E buys a robot to hand out balloons.
Song (repeat from episode 3) : "The More I Try, The More I Know" song by Andrea Leon-Ramos, the wombats try out different scents for Super's bubble bath.
Ellie is excited to be going home to Jamaica, so excited that the Wombats and Mr. E start to worry whether she will come back.
Buckley comes over for a playdate with Zadie. Things usually go wrong, but they also go right sometimes.
Song (repeat from episode 21) : "Don't Cry Little Fishes" song by Pierce Freelon, Ellie babysits the Fishman’s children.
40
"The Lakeview Hotel"
Jeff Barker and Andrea Gerstmann
Chuck Tately
TBA
136
"Louisa's Home Movie"
Sherri Stoner
The wombats visit an underwater hotel, with popcorn and movies and maps that help them navigate the hotel.
Through the magic of home movies, Louisa, Leiko and Duffy relive the wonderful day when baby Louisa was adopted.
Song (repeat from episode 16) : "Get Things Going Your Way" song by Glen Berger, the wombats encourage Leiko and Duffy to keep trying, even if they fall.
Related media
Games
These games were released on the PBS Kids website, as well as the PBS Kids Games App.
Step It Out
Road Repair
Story Emporium
Toy Maker
Development
The themes and ideas of the show were previously covered in Aha Island, a WGBH multimedia project about monkeys who use computational thinking.
Some elements from Aha Island were recycled for Work It Out Wombats!, such as the existence of the Everything Emporium.[32]
The series was greenlit in October 2020, under the working title of Wombats![33] Wombats were chosen as the species of the main characters because they are underused in media.[34]
Early-career writers were granted fellowships so they could bring diverse viewpoints and BIPOC representation to the series.[35]
The production team worked to ensure authentic representations of names, language, and some of the cultural origins found with the animals themselves, while keeping in mind that animals are not a proxy for race and ethnicity.
The producers deliberately sought out voice actors that match the ethnicity of the characters to ensure authenticity.[37] Rain Janjua, the voice of Zeke, originally auditioned for the role of Malik for being asked to try out for Zeke. To create the voice, Janjua tried to recall how his voice sounded at five years old.[38]
Animation
The series is animated using Toon Boom Harmony. The characters are animated using complicated rigging systems that allow the animators to draw things by hand, thus giving each character their own nuances and walk cycles. The designs of the characters and settings are rounded in order to create a friendly, welcoming feel. Curvilinear perspective and hazing is used for the backgrounds to make the characters stand out.[39]
Reception
Audience viewership
Work It Out Wombats! achieved 23 million streams on PBS Kids video platforms within its first two weeks, as well as over 1.7 million views on YouTube.[40]
Critical response
The series was praised for its positive messages, educational value, and high-energy characters. Writing for Common Sense Media, Diondra Brown rated it a 5/5, saying "The show's quality matches -- actually, exceeds, the high expectations viewers have for PBS Kids programming."[41]
Controversy
The lesbian characters of Leiko and Duffy caused the series to be controversial among conservative crowds. In May 2023, the Governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, vetoed a measure to provide state funding to Oklahoma Educational Television Authority for three years, due to their broadcasting of Work It Out Wombats! (and of Clifford the Big Red Dog (2019 TV series), which also features same-sex parents) and the claims that it "overly sexualizing" kids.[42]
^"Facebook". www.facebook.com. January 3, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024. You're invited to a playdate with Malik, Zadie, and Zeke! WHEN: Starting tomorrow...
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