Bob the Builder is a British
children's animated televisionChildren's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
show created by
Keith ChapmanFor organist Keith Chapman , see Keith Chapman Keith V. Chapman is a television writer and producer based in the United Kingdom who most notably created Bob the Builder.-Biography:...
. In the original series Bob appears as a
buildingIn architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
contractor specialising in masonry in a
stop motion animatedStop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of
anthropomorphisedAnthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
work-vehicles and equipment (all made of clay). The show is broadcast in many countries, but originates from the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
where Bob is voiced by British actor
Neil MorrisseyNeil Anthony Morrissey is an English actor, media personality and businessman. He is best known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly....
. The show was later created using
CGIComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
animation starting with the spin-off series
Ready Steady Build.
In each episode, Bob and his gang help with renovations, construction, and repairs and with other projects as needed. The show emphasizes
conflict resolutionConflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
, co-operation, socialization and various learning skills. Bob's catchphrase is
"Can we fix it?," to which the other characters respond with
"Yes we can!" This phrase is also the title of the show's
theme song"Can We Fix It?" is the name of the theme song, written by Paul K. Joyce, from the children's television programme Bob the Builder, produced by Hot Animation. The title is derived from the main character's catchphrase, a query towards the rest of the cast when presented with a challenge...
, which was a million-selling number one hit in the UK. The show is targeted at children ages 8th.
Development
Hot Animation began development on Bob the Builder in 1997's, with the premise of a main character, Bob, with a gang of building machines. Sarah Ball, formerly of Cosgrove Hall Film, joined the development team to flesh out Bob's world. Whilst Bob was not based on a real person, Wendy was named after Zoe Turnpaugh's mother. The show's catchphrase
Can we fix it?" is also attributed to Sarah Ball.
Impact
Bob the Builder was nominated in the BAFTA "Pre-school animation" category from 1997 to 2009, and won the "Children's Animation" category in 2003 for the special episode "A Christmas to Remember". Of the show's success, Sarah Ball said:
Bob the Builder has been parodied by
Robot ChickenRobot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
in the episode "More Blood, More Chocolate," and by
Comedy Inc.Comedy Inc. was an Australian sketch comedy television series, which ran on the Nine Network from 1 February 2003 to 26 December 2007. The series was produced by Crackerjack Productions. It first premiered in February 2003 in the new wave of Australian sketch comedy shows being launched across the...
as Bodgy Builder.
Bob was also parodied on Cartoon Network's
MADMAD is an American animated sketch comedy series created by Kevin Shinick and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Based upon the magazine of the same name, each episode is a collection of short animated parodies of television shows, movies, games, celebrities and other media using various types of...
in the episode "S'Up/Mouse M.D." In the episode when
Mickey MouseMickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
portrays
Gregory HouseGregory House, M.D., or simply referred to as House, is a fictional antihero and title character of the American television series House, played by Hugh Laurie. He is the Chief of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where he leads a team of diagnosticians...
he goes to perform surgery on Bob who smashed his thumb asking similar to his famous catchphrase "Can we fix it?" Mickey then replies no and orders for it to be amputated. He later appears in another episode when Bob interacts with Manny from
Handy MannyHandy Manny is a Disney animated children's television program that premiered on September 16, 2006. The program was originally part of the Playhouse Disney daily block intended for preschoolers...
after they get into a fender bender and get into an argument with Bob saying "Stop copying my show!" He leaves then someone tells Manny he just got built. In another episode, "Kung Fu Blander/Destroy Bob the Builder Destroy," Mad parodies Bob the Builder and
Destroy Build DestroyDestroy Build Destroy was a live action program on Cartoon Network. It focuses on an unusual type of a game show, where two teams destroy a random object and build vehicles out of them, and then destroy the losers' creation...
. In the episode,
Andrew W.K.Andrew W.K. is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, entertainer, and motivational speaker. He is the host of the television series Destroy Build Destroy.-Early life & career:Andrew Wilkes-Krier was born in Stanford, California, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
of
Destroy Build Destroy, is portrayed as being a jerk towards Bob. Andrew destroys everything Bob builds. In the end, Bob transforms his construction vehicles into a robot, smashing Andrew W.K. repeatedly.
Merchandise
Various companies manufacture licensed Bob the Builder Merchandise(e.g.: Brio, Lego Duplo, Hasbro, Learning Curve, etc) since about 1999-present.
Brio
BrioBrio or BRIO can refer to several things:*brio is a noun: quality of being active or spirited or alive and vigorous; in music, see List of musical terminology...
created some Bob the Builder characters and minifigures for their Bob the Builder line. For example, the Travis and Scoop Wooden Race Set was created, along with other sets that. Years later, the range had been discontinued.
Lego Duplo/Explorer
LegoLego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
began manufacturing licensed Duplo Bob the Builder sets in 2001. Lego Explorer also made the sets using the same bricks that Duplo used (e.g. Naughty Spud, Wallpaper Wendy, etc). The sets were aimed at younger children 2 and up. Duplo manufactured the sets (e.g. Scoop at Bobland Bay, Muck Can Do It, etc.) until 2009.
Hasbro
Hasbro created licensed Bob the Builder characters. They included talking characters and others to go with the Bob the Builder line. The Hasbro line was discontinued in 2005 when Learning Curve took the chance to take over.
Learning Curve
Learning Curve among countless others currently holds a license to produce official merchandise.
Project: Build-It
In the second season, a sort of spin-off series was created titled "Project: Build-It." Bob hears of a contest to build a new community in a remote area called Sunflower Valley, outside of Bobsville. He moves from Bobsville (supposedly temporarily) with Wendy and the team and builds a new yard there. Bob convinces his father, Robert, to come out of retirement and take over the Bobsville building business. It is not known whether Bob will return to Bobsville or not.
For the US version of the Project Build-It series, different actors were found to do the voices for many of the human characters, including casting
Greg ProopsGregory Everett "Greg" Proops is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his work as an improvisational comedian on the UK and U.S. versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?...
as the new voice of Bob, and
Neil MorrisseyNeil Anthony Morrissey is an English actor, media personality and businessman. He is best known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly....
, who played the original Bob, to be the voices of Spud the Scarecrow and Mr. Bentley. The show also added recycling and being
environmentally friendlyEnvironmentally friendly are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment....
to its lessons, emphasising the phrase "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."
Ready, Steady, Build!
The third spin-off has been revealed as
Bob the Builder: Ready, Steady, Build! It was created by
Keith ChapmanFor organist Keith Chapman , see Keith Chapman Keith V. Chapman is a television writer and producer based in the United Kingdom who most notably created Bob the Builder.-Biography:...
and
Mallory LewisMallory Hurwitz Lewis is an American writer, television producer, and puppeteer. Lamb Chop is a "sock puppet" of the mother and daughter. Like Shari's daughter, Lamb Chop remains a "sister" legacy to Mallory.-Early life:Mallory Lewis was born Mallory Tarcher in New York City...
. The group, now joined by newcomer Scratch are now residing in the town of Fixham Harbour (which is very similar to Bobsville, and is even implied to be Bobsville in several episodes), deal with construction and other building tasks around the area. Unlike previous series, "Ready, Steady, Build!" is animated in full CGI animation, though still retains the theme song. Scratch is first seen in this spin-off.
Guest appearances
Celebrities who have provided voices for the series (usually for one-off specials) include
John MotsonJohn Walker Motson OBE ,AKA Motty, is an English football commentator on both television and radio as well a well known moter. He made his name as 'Moty' after he moted out the entire Huddersfield huddersfield cheerleaders team. writer.-Biography:The son of a Methodist minister, Motson was educated...
,
Sue BarkerSusan Barker, MBE is an English television presenter and former professional tennis player. During her tennis career, she won the women's singles title at the French Open and reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3...
,
Kerry FoxKerry Fox is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie An Angel at My Table directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and Television Awards....
,
Ulrika JonssonEva Ulrika Jonsson is a Swedish television presenter in the UK, who became famous as a TV-am weather presenter and moved on to present Gladiators and became a team captain of the show Shooting Stars.-Early life:...
,
Alison SteadmanAlison Steadman OBE is an English actress. She established her career with roles such as Beverley in Abigail's Party and Candice Marie in Nuts in May for the director Mike Leigh, to whom she was once married. In addition to her stage and radio work, she has had lead roles in The Singing Detective,...
,
Stephen TompkinsonStephen Tompkinson is a British actor. He is best known for his work in comedy and drama productions such as Drop the Dead Donkey, Ballykissangel, Grafters, In Deep, Wild at Heart and DCI Banks....
,
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
,
Noddy HolderNeville John "Noddy" Holder MBE is an English musician and actor. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist with the rock band Slade....
, and Chris Evans (Bobsville's resident rock star Lennie Lazenby).
International Broadcasts
Bob the Builder is shown in more than thirty countries, and versions are available in English, French, Spanish, Slovenian, German, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi and Croatian, among other languages. It is shown on
CBeebiesCBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
on
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television in the UK.
Voice actorsVoice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
who have contributed to the original British version include
Neil MorrisseyNeil Anthony Morrissey is an English actor, media personality and businessman. He is best known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly....
,
Rob RackstrawRobert "Rob" Rackstraw is a British voice actor. He is perhaps best known for his various voices in the television series Bob the Builder, mainly the scarecrow Spud. He has an extensive voice over career over 15 years long and is considered to be one of the UK's leading male voice actors...
,
Kate HarbourKate Harbour is a voice actor who provides many voices for the television series Bob the Builder including Wendy, Dizzy, Mrs. Potts, Mrs. Broadbent and Mrs...
,
Rupert DegasRupert Joel Degas is an English actor and voice artist.- Early life:Degas was born in London, the son of screenwriter Brian Degas and television presenter Maggie Clews, whose marriage ended in divorce when he was eight...
,
Colin McFarlaneColin McFarlane is an English actor and voice artist. He has appeared in several TV series, including The Fast Show, Judge John Deed, Jonathan Creek, Randall & Hopkirk , Jeeves and Wooster, Black Books and The Thin Blue Line. He is also known for portraying Police Commissioner Gillian B...
,
Maria DarlingMaria Darling is an English voice actress who regularly provides character voices for children's television programmes in the UK and the US, as well as videogames such as the Professor Layton series and the UK versions of the Ape Escape franchise....
, Emma Tate,
Richard BriersRichard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
,
June WhitfieldJune Rosemary Whitfield, CBE is an English actress, well known in the United Kingdom since the 1950s for roles in radio and television comedy series....
, Richard Herman, and Wayne Forester.
Australia
Bob the Builder is shown with the
ABC KidsABC Television broadcasts the greatest amount of children's content than any other network in Australia.Prior to early 2009, there was a brand called ABC Kids which was separate from regular ABC TV and contained all children's programming on the ABC...
programming in Australia.
Canada and the United States
Treehouse TVTreehouse TV is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel with programming targeted towards preschoolers that was launched on October 17, 1997. Its name comes from YTV's old children's programming block, The Treehouse...
and
TVOntarioTVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
air
Bob the Builder in
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and it was shown on Nick Jr. beginning on 15 January 2001 up until 2005 in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
until the 2005–06 season when it was offered as part of
PBS KidsPBS Kids is the brand for children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States founded in 1993. As with all PBS programming, PBS Kids programming is non-commercial. It is aimed at children ages 2 to 10...
lineup, and currently airs on the
PBS Kids SproutPBS Kids Sprout is a U.S. digital cable television channel, video-on-demand service, and website providing PBS Kids shows and original programming for preschoolers and their families...
cable network. The show also aired in the US on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
between 2001 and 2002 as part of the "Nick Jr. on CBS"
E/IE/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service Terrestrial television station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these television...
lineup.
The Northern American version of the show uses the original British footage, but
dubsDubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
the voices in local accents and slang; for example, the word "
soccerAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
" is used instead of "football" to avoid confusion with the
gridironGridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
forms of the game (though sometimes this is done haphazardly; in one episode, a "soccer field" is referred to but later it talks about "football tricks"). The original North American voice of Bob (and Farmer Pickles/Mr. Beasley/Mr. Sabatini) was William Dufris, however, he was replaced with comedian
Greg ProopsGregory Everett "Greg" Proops is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his work as an improvisational comedian on the UK and U.S. versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?...
. More recently, Bob's US voice has been provided by
Marc SilkMarc Silk is a voice actor from Solihull, England.His work includes appearances in Chicken Run and as the U.S. voice of Bob in Bob the Builder, the roles of Aks Moe in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and Johnny Bravo, and commissions for Disney.- Animation & Cartoons :* Bob The Builder -...
- an English voice actor from
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
Quebec (Canada)
In the province of Quebec, the series is entitled "
Bob le Bricoleur" and airs on
Télé-QuébecTélé-Québec is a French language public educational television network in the Canadian province of Quebec. Known legally as Société de télédiffusion du Québec , it is a provincial crown corporation owned by the Government of Quebec...
.
China
In the
Chinese LanguageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
version, it is called "Babu engineer." The show has been dubbed to into the
Chinese LanguageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
.
Czech Republic
"
Bořek stavitel" is aired on
Česká televizeČeská televize is the public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting four channels.- Czechoslovak Television :Television in Czechoslovakia started to take its first steps before World War II. However, before visible results could be achieved, all activities were interrupted by...
, the national
public televisionPublic broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
.
Finland
"
Puuha-Pete" is aired in Finland on
NelonenNelonen is a Finnish commercial TV channel. It started out as Helsinki's local television channel PTV in 1989 on the HTV cable network, which name was changed first to PTV4 and then to Nelonen. It started on June 1, 1997. Nelonen, in Finnish, means the glyph of the number four. The channel is...
every week from Monday to Friday at 7.50 AM (in June 2010).
France
Beginning from 22 October 2005, "
Bob le Bricoleur" has been airing on
France 5France 5 is a public television network in France, part of the France Télévisions group. Principally featuring educational programming, the channel's motto is la chaîne de la connaissance et du savoir...
in
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. This is the second season (called "Project: Build It" in English): "
Mission Nature".
Germany
Beginning from 2 February 2001, "
Bob der Baumeister" has been airing on
Super RTLSuper RTL is a Cologne-based German television network operated by RTL Disney Fernsehen GmbH & Co. KG. It was the second German television channel aimed mostly at children...
in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Since then, 157 episodes have been aired.
Greece
"Bob o Mastoras" is aired on
Alter ChannelAlter Channel better known as Alter, is a private TV network in Greece. It launched in 1994 and is owned by Eleftheri Tileorasi S.A, which is headed by Andreas Kouris. Programming mainly consists of news & current affairs shows and entertainment programmes...
, in both
GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Hungary
In 2007, beginning 20 November until the end of the year, “Bob, a mester” was aired every weekday (from 16:15) on Channel m1 of
Hungarian TelevisionMagyar Televízió is the Hungarian national public service television company, with three TV channels, called m1 , m2 and m3....
. The names of the characters are either translated in a more or less literal way (Farmer Pickles, Pilchard, Lofty, Roley), left untranslated (Bob, Wendy), or replaced to a phonetically similar word (Muck became Muki, this similar-sounding word is semantically unrelated); in some cases, entirely new names were given, unrelated to the original ones both semantically and phonetically (Dizzy has become Trixi, Scoop has become Márkus, and Spud has become Piff, neither of these new names has any meaning in
HungarianHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
). Bird is given a new name as well, a word meaning “short” in a countryside dialect (infiltrated into youth slang as well); but the choice may be motivated also by its
onomatopoetic sounding. Not only the broadcast episodes have been translated, but also the 2006 Annual.
India
In India, the name is still "Bob the Builder" and it is broadcast on
POGOPOGO may refer to:* Project On Government Oversight, non-profit organization in USA that investigates corruption and other misconduct* Pogo oscillation, a potentially dangerous type of oscillation found in rocket engines....
. It is dubbed in Hindi.
Israel
In
IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, "Bob HaBanai" (בוב הבנאי) is aired in the
Israeli Educational TelevisionThe Israeli Educational Television is a state-owned public television network which used to concentrate on producing and broadcasting programs for schoolchildren. The first Israeli children's show, featuring Kishkashta, aired on Channel 1 in the 1970s and '80s...
and in other children's channels in
CableCable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and
Satellite televisionSatellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
. It is dubbed to Hebrew, and Bob's catchphrase is
"נצליח לתקן?," to which the other characters respond with
"כן! כן! כן!"
Japan
When being exported to
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, it was reported that characters of
Bob the Builder would be doctored to have five fingers instead of the original four. This was because of a practice among the
Yakuza, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
, the famed Japanese
mafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
, where members would "cut off their
little fingerThe little finger, often called the pinky in American English, pinkie in Scottish English , or small finger in medicine, is the most ulnar and usually smallest finger of the human hand, opposite the thumb, next to the ring finger.-Muscles:There are four muscles that...
s as a sign they can be trusted and have strength of character, and will stay through.".
Latin America
In the Spanish speaking part of
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, the show is called "Bob, el Constructor" (literal translation of the title) and is aired by several
public TVPublic-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
channels as well as by
Discovery KidsDiscovery Kids is an American website owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. created for children. Until October 10, 2010, it was an American digital cable specialty channel, owned by Discovery Communications with television programming for education of children. It was launched in October 1996...
. It was dubbed in México and some of the voice actors are: 'Arturo Mercado' (Bob), 'María Fernanda Morales' (Wendy) and 'Jesús "Chucho" Barrero' (Spud).
Malaysia
The name of the program remains unchanged, however the program has been dubbed into Malay by Filem Karya Nusa. The programme originally premiered on
TV3Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad or TV3 began broadcasting on 1 June 1984 as Malaysia’s first commercial television station. It is part of Media Prima Berhad group of companies. It now transmits opened broadcasting business private 24-hours a day, 7 days a week since 1 January 2010...
in January 2000. Shortly after, Astro picked it up for its
Astro RiaAstro Ria is a Malaysian 24 hour television network broadcast on the Astro satellite television service. It was one of the first 22 channels to commence broadcast on Astro in 1996.Programs on the network include Malay dramas, films and reality shows....
in-house channel. The version aired on Astro Ria is dubbed into Malay, with the original
British EnglishBritish English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
soundtrack is also available by using the audio language button on the satellite decoder's remote. TV3 stopped airing the programme in 2003, however resumed in 2006 for a short period of time. Shortly after,
TV9TV9 is a free-to-air private television station in Malaysia. TV9 began broadcasting on 22 April 2006, as a subsidiary of Media Prima Berhad. It formerly existed as Channel 9, which began airing on 9 September 2003 and ceased transmission on 1 February 2005 due to financial difficulties faced by the...
picked up the programme for a short period of time in original version. In 2010,
Astro CeriaAstro Ceria is a 24-hour Malay language television channel that is broadcast on the Astro satellite television service. This channel is dedicated to toddlers and children...
stopped the broadcast of the programme and was aired on
ntv7Natseven TV Sdn Bhd or better known as ntv7 is a terrestrial television channel in Malaysia. It was launched nationwide on 7 April 1998 and was the country's third private free-to-air TV station after TV3 and Astro. Its mission is to promote a happier and more enlightened Malaysia...
with new episodes.
Netherlands
Soon after the BBC started airing,
KROKRO, or Katholieke Radio Omroep , is a Dutch public broadcasting organization founded on 23 April 1925. Broadly Catholic in its spiritual outlook, KRO broadcasts the bulk of its television output on the Nederland 1 channel. KRO is also responsible for managing broadcasts made by the Catholic Church...
aired the episodes of "
Bob de Bouwer" in the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Main voices are done by
Bram BartBram Bart is a Dutch voice actor. He speaks with television programs and commercials in Dutch in voting. For example, in Pokémon, Matt's Monsters, Bob the Builder and Ratz.-Voices:...
(Bob, Spud, Mr. Dickson, Mr. Ellis, Benny), Caroline Mout (Wendy, Dizzy, Scrambler) and Fred Meijer (Scoop, Lofty, Mr. Beasley, Mr. Bentley, Mr. Fothergill, Pogo ), Laus Steenbeeke (Farmer Pickles, Jake, Mr. Adams, Mr. Sabatini, Mr. Stevens, Robert the Builder, Skip, Tom the Twin Brother, Tony, Travis, Zoomer), Marjolein Algera (Aunt Doris, Charlene, Del, Dot the Builder, Jana von Strudel, Jenny, Marjorie Mayor, Molly, Mrs. Broadbent, Mrs. Percival, Mrs. Potts, Ms Barbara Bentley, Scoot, Trix) and Stan Limburg (Muck, Roley, JJ, Lenny Lazenby). Stan Limburg also is the Dutch voice-director.
Norway
In Norway the show is named "Byggmester Bob" and is being aired on
TV2TV 2 is the largest commercial television station in Norway. Over 30% of the time Norwegians spend watching TV is spent watching TV 2. The station has 65% of the market for TV commercials in Norway....
.
Philippines
In the Philippines, the name is still "Bob the Builder" and it is broadcast on
TV5The Associated Broadcasting Company, Inc is a television network in the Philippines, with main broadcast facilities and transmitter located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. The network was previously known as the , Associated Broadcasting Company remains the legal...
. It is dubbed in Tagalog.
Poland
"
Bob Budowniczy" is aired on TVP1 7.00PM.
MiniMiniMiniMini+ is a Polish television channel owned and operated by Canal+. Its mainstreaming its programing mainly to 2-7 children....
aired the third season called "
Bob the Builder: Ready Steady Build" since 2010.
Portugal
In Portugal, the series is entitled
"Bob, o Construtor" and airs on RTP1, RTP2,
Canal PandaCanal Panda is the first Portuguese cable television channel dedicated to children's programming, mostly animated series. The channel was founded in 1996 as Panda Club in Spain and Portugal, but the name was changed to Canal Panda in 1997. In 2000, the channel left Spain, thus concentrating...
and Jim Jam.
Slovenia
In Slovenia the show is named "Mojster Miha" and is being aired on RTV slovenija
channel TVChannel Television is a British television station which has served as an Independent Television contractor to the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey...
Slovenija 1.
Spain
"
Bob y sus amigos" is aired in
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
on
Playhouse DisneyPlayhouse Disney was Disney Channel's television block for programs aimed at entertaining preschool aged children, often airing as its own channel outside the United States. It was introduced in 1997 after Disney Channel's move to basic cable from premium cable, with a target audience of children...
. Bob always asks "¿Podemos hacerlo?" and his friends answer "¡Sí, podemos!".
Catalonia
The show is also aired in
CatalanCatalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
on
TV3TV3 is the primary television channel of Catalan public broadcaster Televisió de Catalunya, a subsidiary of the CCMA. TV3 broadcasts programs only in Catalan, with an optional dual track in the original language for some foreign-language series and movies...
, the national
public televisionPublic broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
of
CataloniaCatalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
as "
Bob el Manetes". Bob always asks "Ens en sortirem?" and his friends answer "Sí, i tant".
Sweden
In Sweden the show is named "Byggare Bob" and is being aired on
SVTsSveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
child times.
United Kingdom
Beginning from 12 February 1999, the name is still "
Bob the Builder" and is being broadcast on
CBeebiesCBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
. The voice of Bob is done by Neil Morrisey, a creator for drama adult's programme
Men Behaving BadlyMen Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
. The third spin-off is being broadcast (Ready, Steady, Build). Other voices include
Rob RackstrawRobert "Rob" Rackstraw is a British voice actor. He is perhaps best known for his various voices in the television series Bob the Builder, mainly the scarecrow Spud. He has an extensive voice over career over 15 years long and is considered to be one of the UK's leading male voice actors...
,
Kate HarbourKate Harbour is a voice actor who provides many voices for the television series Bob the Builder including Wendy, Dizzy, Mrs. Potts, Mrs. Broadbent and Mrs...
,
Rupert DegasRupert Joel Degas is an English actor and voice artist.- Early life:Degas was born in London, the son of screenwriter Brian Degas and television presenter Maggie Clews, whose marriage ended in divorce when he was eight...
and
Richard BriersRichard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
.
Scotland
The
Scottish Gaelic languageScottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
version is called "
Calum Clachair" (Bob the Stonemason). It is used for alliteration.
Wales
The
Welsh languageWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
version is called "
Bob Y Bildar" and began airing on
S4CS4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
in October 2006, as part of the
Planed Plant Bach lunchtime segment between 12:30 and 1:30pm. The show has been dubbed into the
Welsh languageWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
by
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
SainSain , in full – Recordiau Sain Cyf is a Welsh record label, which was in the Welsh folk revival....
, which had previously provided Welsh dialogue for children's series
Thomas the Tank EngineThomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...
,
The Large FamilyThe Large Family British and French animated television series is a TV series on CBeebies and ABC Kids. It also on S4C's Cyw called Y Teulu Mawr.-The Larges:*Larry Large voiced by Jeff Rawle. The kind-hearted patriarch of the family....
,
Ben and Holly's Little KingdomBen and Holly's Little Kingdom is an animated pre-school children's show set in an enchanted magical kingdom with fairies, elves and insects....
,
Angelo Rules and
Octonauts. A.
Spin-offs
In the show MAD on Cartoon Network, he is known for appearing twice, once as a character in the episode "Mouse M.D." and his own parody, "Destroy, Bob the Builder, Destroy".
Studio albums
Singles
External links
Channels
Others