Chuggington
Encyclopedia
Chuggington is an international computer-animated
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....

 television series for children produced by Ludorum plc and broadcast in 175 territories throughout the world including the BBC
BBC
The 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...

 children's channel CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies 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...

. Chuggington currently airs on the Disney Channel Disney Junior’s preschool block in the United States.

The series is set in the fictional town of Chuggington, and follows the adventures of three young novice railway locomotives, (or "Trainees"), named Wilson, Brewster and Koko. Throughout each episode the Trainees learn the value of loyal friendship, telling the truth, listening carefully, persisting under adversity, completing tasks, resolving conflict without violence, and many similar important life values. In the show, the locomotives, called "Chuggers", are all intelligent, empathetic, independent and self-directed, with mobile facial features. None of the Chuggers are ever seen to have a crew, although there are several human characters that the Chuggers interact with regularly. They tend to talk in ways that emphasize their distinct personalities.

The town of Chuggington has a central area of large modern buildings; some of the scenes go out into countryside which includes a farm, a safari park and a quarry. There are at least 4 railway tunnels, marked by different colours, under the town centre which can be used by all trains. The backgrounds and scenery are all computer-generated
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-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...

, and there are turning-camera and moving-camera shots. "Old Chuggington", an apparently abandoned old town overgrown with wild vegetation, is often mentioned and sometimes visited.

Production

Ludorum plc was founded in 2006 by Dick Rothkopf, Charlie Caminada and Rob Lawes. Rothkopf had previously been the chairman of Learning Curve International, a company which designed and manufactured educational toys. Caminada and Lawes had previously been executives for HiT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment
Hit Entertainment is a British-American entertainment distribution company established in 1989, and originally the international distribution arm of Jim Henson Productions called Henson International Television...

, the distribution company behind Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of...

and Thomas and Friends. The core creative team behind Chuggington consists of Sarah Ball, a producer/director who had worked on Bob the Builder, and Don Toht who designed the characters and sets.

The computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....

 was produced using Autodesk Maya software.

As well as the regular 10 minute episodes Chuggington Badge Quest, a collection of 4 minute shorter shows, has been produced. These focus on the "Trainees" efforts to earn various reward badges as part of their "Chugger" training.

Three Chuggington specials have been commissioned for release on DVD from 2013 onwards.

Broadcast details

The first series of 52 episodes was sold to broadcasters including the BBC, ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

 (Australia), TF1
TF1
TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network...

 (France) and Super RTL
Super RTL
Super 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...

 (Germany) in a deal announced in February 2008. A second series of 26 episodes was purchased by the BBC and many other broadcasters throughout the world. Aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 6, Chuggington made its UK debut as a "soft launch" on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...

 on 22 September 2008. In January 2009 it was moved to CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies 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 BBC's children's television channel.

Chuggington debuted in the United States with localized dubbing on January 18, 2010, on Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney
Playhouse 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...

 which was renamed Disney Junior
Disney Junior
Disney Junior is a current program block on Disney Channel and an upcoming American basic cable and satellite television network intended to replace SOAPnet in February 2012. It began airing on February 14, 2011, replacing Playhouse Disney....

 on February 14, 2011. The second series premiered in the U.S. on the same day. Currently Disney Junior airs Chuggington daily, and features "Chuggington" on its website.

Characters

Brewster, Koko, Wilson, Hoot and Toot, and Piper are the “Trainees” and main characters in Chuggington. With the help of experienced “Chuggers”, the Trainees learn to ride the rails by completing daily tasks and badge quests.

Trainees

  • Wilson (voiced by Morgan Overton in U.K. Series 1 and 2 and Tony Terraciano in U.S. series 1 and 2) is a lively red engine based upon an EMD F-unit. His enthusiasm is opposed by his short attention span
    Attention span
    Attention span is the amount of time that a person can concentrate on a task without becoming distracted. Most educators and psychologists agree that the ability to focus one's attention on a task is crucial for the achievement of one's goals....

    , and most of his adventures revolve around this.

  • Brewster (voiced by Charlie George in U.K. Series 1 and 2 and Miles J Harvey in U.S. series 1 and 2) is a strong diesel-electric locomotive built for heavy loads. He is British Rail
    British Rail
    British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

     blue with yellow face; Brewster is similar to a BR Deltic diesel engine
    British Rail Class 55
    The British Rail Class 55 is a class of diesel locomotive built in 1961 and 1962 by English Electric. They were designed for the high-speed express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between and Edinburgh. They gained the name "Deltic" from the prototype locomotive, DP1 Deltic, which...

    , but with a single end-cab. He likes to haul heavy loads on pick-ups, and often picks up too much load. Other Chuggers may rush when given a task, but Brewster asks questions if he is unsure. He is dependable and can be relied on when there is trouble.

  • Koko (voiced by Imogen Bailey in the U.K series 1 and 2, and Brigid Harrington in the U.S. series 1 and 2), is an electric engine, modelled on the bullet train
    Shinkansen
    The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...

    . She is green and purple, and was built for high speed. She loves to explore and have adventures, and to challenge her friends to a dare or a race. Although she can get into mischief, she always means well and knows when to apologise.

  • Hoot and Toot are twins. They are always seen joined back-to-back, but in at least two episodes by strong pulling they manage to separate. Toot is green, female and has blue eyes; Hoot is blue, male and has green eyes - he is also red-green colourblind
    Color blindness
    Color blindness or color vision deficiency is the inability or decreased ability to see color, or perceive color differences, under lighting conditions when color vision is not normally impaired...

    .

Other train characters

  • Calley is the small shunting engine who is normally seen shunting rolling stock. She is Dunbar's assistant and helps in training the Trainees. She is also the 'Emergency Chugger' who is sent to rescue stranded chuggers, and is fitted with a siren and flashing light; she also has a range of emergency rolling stock that she can use to get the other Chuggers out of trouble – such as a fuel car, firefighting car, and crane car.

  • Dunbar is the large shunting engine. He is largely responsible for the training of the trainee Chuggers. He is in a dark green livery, and is based on GM Electro-Motive diesel locomotives like the EMD GP38-2
    EMD GP38-2
    An EMD GP38-2 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive of the road switcher type built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the GP38-2 was an upgraded version of the earlier GP38...

    .

  • Emery is the Rapid Transit train often to be seen on elevated lines or in underground tunnels. He is based on the Urban Transportation Development Corporation
    Urban Transportation Development Corporation
    The Urban Transportation Development Corporation, or UTDC as it was commonly known, was an Ontario, Canada, Crown corporation created in the 1970s as a way to enter what was then expected to be a burgeoning market in advanced light rail mass transit systems...

     Intermediate Capacity Transit System Scarborough RT-type electric train. He likes tricking and harassing other trains into thinking that they have a problem. He is the only engine who carries an additional carriage or truck with him permanently, although in at least two episodes, he disconnects his carriage to go faster. He often announces his actions with transit announcements. His right eye is green and his left eye is blue.

  • Harrison is a large blue engine resembling a Union Pacific Railroad
    Union Pacific Railroad
    The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

     M-10003 series diesel
    Diesel locomotive
    A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...

     and is usually considered to be the fastest engine in Chuggington.

  • Irving is a small red engine who handles the rubbish and recycling
    Recycling
    Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...

     chores around the depot; he is proud to boast that nothing is thrown away in Chuggington.

  • M'tambo is the safari park ranger and garbage-handling engine, and works around the safari park
    Safari park
    A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals...

    , giving tours to visitors and handling the rubbish and recycling
    Recycling
    Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...

    . He speaks with an African (possibly Kenyan) accent.

  • Hodge (built from a hodge-podge of parts) is a six-wheeled Dandy Diesel , who normally works with Eddie the handyman. He is a bit like a pick-up truck, and often is tasked with taking the rubbish to the recycling yard. With his "seen it all" attitude, it takes a lot to get Hodge excited.

  • Zephie is a young direct drive system
    Direct drive mechanism
    A Direct drive mechanism is one that takes the power coming from a motor without any reductions .-Advantages:* Increased efficiency: The power is not wasted in friction...

     trolley car equipped with a scissor-lift trolley so she can lift and rotate her cab, which allows Eddie to work on things not normally accessible. She is particularly flighty and giggly.

  • Old Puffer Pete is the oldest chugger in Chuggington, a steam locomotive who is apparently 150 years old. Pete loves passing his wisdom on to the trainees or anyone who is willing to listen. He drives them mad with his endless stories (which often get him confused), and can never remember the chuggers' names, but they are very fond of him. He is a cross between Union Pacific No. 119
    Union Pacific No. 119
    The No. 119 was a 4-4-0 steam locomotive which made history as one of the two locomotives to meet at Promontory Summit during the Golden Spike ceremony commemorating the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.No...

     and a DRG Class 62.

  • Chatsworth is an older well-spoken train who generally performs the same tasks as Harrison. He is based on a Baldwin Sharknose
    Sharknose
    Sharknose is a term applied by railfans to the styling of several cab unit diesel locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works to the specifications of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The styling was by the PRR's preferred designer, Raymond Loewy, with the distinctive nose reminiscent of his...

     locomotive.

  • Olwin is a older motherly steam locomotive resembling the British streamlined train LNER Class A4
    LNER Class A4
    The Class A4 is a class of streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive, designed by Nigel Gresley for the London and North Eastern Railway in 1935. Their streamlined design gave them high-speed capability as well as making them instantly recognizable, and one of the class, 4468 Mallard, still claims the...

    , who refers to the "trainees" as her "little chugg-a-chuggs". Olwin's coal is stored just forward of the cab making her a tank locomotive
    Tank locomotive
    A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...

    , instead of a tender.

  • Frostini is the Italian ice cream train, popular with the children of Chuggington and seen by the trainees as very cool. He is normally seen handing out ice-creams or at the factory working on a creation.

  • Action Chugger is the movie screen train. He responds to emergencies after being informed by a flashing red light on his nose that he is needed. He can unfold parts of his sides into short wings, each with a jet motor under, and fly. After flying he always lands on a railway track. Action Chugger's flight range extends at least as far as low Earth orbit
    Low Earth orbit
    A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...

    . He normally resides in Chuggington.

  • Speedy McAllister is a large fast steam locomotive in that appears based on the CNW Class E-4
    CNW Class E-4
    The Chicago and North Western Railway's Class E-4 comprised nine coal-burning streamlined 4-6-4 "Hudson" steam locomotives built in 1937 by ALCO....

     locomotives minus the tender. Speedy is somewhat gruff and blunt in character but means well and is helpful to experienced chuggers and trainees alike. He prefers more industrial jobs as opposed to those with a high degree of customer relations. Speedy's whistle is the deepest and loudest of the three steam locomotives in Chuggington. Speedy's voice in the U.K. is a Yorkshire accent but in the U.S. it is Western.

  • Skylar is a large crane locomotive who has just completed training she will be introduced in season 3.

  • Decka is a double-decker tram built for heavy loads. She is to be be introduced in season 3.

  • Piper is a small steam locomotive trainee who is based on a 4-2-0 steam driven with a forward cab. She is set to be introduced on season 3.

Human characters

  • Vee is the depot announcer, with speakers all over Chuggington. She keeps everything running on time and to schedule. After giving the chuggers their tasks, her dispatch board shows the destination, and indicates which coloured tunnel to take if leaving Chuggington. She can be stern with disobedient Chuggers. She is never seen in person, only as the sets of remote speakers and cameras that she communicates through.
  • Eddie is the depot handyman
    Handyman
    A handyman is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, both interior and exterior, and are sometimes described as "odd jobs", "fix-up tasks", and include light plumbing jobs such as fixing a leaky toilet...

    , who turns his hand to all manner of tasks, including track maintenance and fixing signals and points. He currently lives in a caboose
    Caboose
    A caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...

    , similar to Morgan's house. He used to live with his parents, and was constantly late to work.
  • Morgan is the Senior Mechanic at the depot, in charge of the Repair Shed. He lives in a house that looks like a caboose
    Caboose
    A caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...

    , in Chuggington yard.
  • Laurie is Morgan's assistant at the Repair Shed, and was also tasked with cleaning engines before arrival of the chug wash. She is apprenticed to Morgan, and attends college.
  • Vicky is the zoo ranger, and looks after the animals.
  • Dr. Gosling is the zoo
    Zoo
    A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

     vet
    Veterinarian
    A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....

    .
  • Karen who works at the quarry.
  • Mayor Pullman the mayor.
  • Mr. Knot Mayor Pullman's helper .
  • Rag the reporter.
  • Dr. Ling the science lady
  • Felix the farmer.
  • Denzel Mayor Pullman's nephew.
  • The King Of Buffertonia he sometimes visits Chuggington. He often gets tours by M'tambo, Old Puffer Pete, and Harrison
  • Mr. Simkins is an inspector from the "Department of Chuggers." He comes to Chuggington to test Wilson, Koko, and Brewster on their passenger carrying abilities in one episode.

Animal characters

  • Twiga, a giraffe
    Giraffe
    The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...

     at the safari park. In one episode one of the engines must attend while she gives birth. ("Twiga" is the Swahili
    Swahili language
    Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...

     word for "giraffe".)
  • Ebo, an elephant
    Elephant
    Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...

     at the safari park. He is a good friend to the trainees.
  • Peckum, a dog
    Dog
    The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

     at the repair shed. He belongs to Morgan.
  • Banana, a naughty monkey at the safari park; once he stole mailbag
    Mailbag
    Mailbag is an Irish TV programme, presented by Arthur Murphy, which was broadcast on RTÉ One for a fourteen-year period, from 1982 to 1996....

    s from Brewster.

Educational philosophy

Throughout each episode the Trainees learn the value of loyal friendship, telling the truth, listening carefully, persisting under adversity, completing tasks, resolving conflict without violence, and many similar important life values. The chuggers have real-life emotional strengths and weaknesses, too. Through all their adventures, they strive to use their strengths for the good of the community and to deal effectively but realistically with their personal foibles. Much of the time, such dealing involves good humour and personal understanding.

Merchandise

In January 2009 it was announced that RC2 would be producing Chuggington toys under their Learning Curve
Learning Curve Brands
Learning Curve Brands, Inc. is a subsidiary of the RC2 Corporation. They market brands of children's toys such as American Red Cross, The First Years, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Lamaze....

 brand; the toys were released to the market in 2010. RC2 contributed to half of the series' production budget in exchange for long-term global toy licensing rights.

Media

A DVD entitled Chuggington: Let's Ride the Rails was released in March 2009 containing six episodes. A second DVD, Action Stations, released in October 2009, contained another six. The third DVD release, Wheels to the Rails, with another six episodes, is due out in late November. Anchor Bay’s Chuggington: Let’s Ride the Rails was the first Chuggington DVD to be released nationwide in the United States on February 8, 2010.

In the UK, several children's books are in the works, including Koko on Call: A Nightlight Adventure, based on an early episode. Publications International and Scholastic introduced Chuggington books to the U.S. market in late 2010 and early 2011, respectively.

Toys

In early 2010, the Chuggington Diecast Series of model trains was released in the UK. The Chuggington Diecast Series by Learning Curve was released in the U.S. nationwide in late 2010.

Later in 2010, the interactive range was released in the UK. The chuggers and Vee, their dispatcher, can interact with each other using 'Smart Talk' technology and over 300 stored phrases. Each chugger can recognize the other chuggers, and their train stops. The interactive phrases spoken depend on which chuggers and locations are placed together, giving a far more varied, but not random, conversation. The Chuggington Interactive Railway was released in the United States in February 2011.

In September 2010, the Chuggington Wooden Railway was released to Canada, and on March 1, 2011 the Chuggington Wooden Railway was released to specialty retailers in the United States. The Chuggington Wooden Railway is compatible with all other wooden railway systems. Chuggington also announced that in late 2011, there will be a Mega Bloks
Mega Bloks
Mega Brands, Incorporated , formerly Mega Bloks, Incorporated, is a publicly traded children's toy company. Mega Bloks is the name of their most popular product, a line of construction set toys, with other brands including Mega Puzzles, Board Dudes and Rose Art. Mega Brands, Inc. distributes a...

Chuggington range.

In the United States other Chuggington products currently available include games (I Can Do That! Games), puzzles (Cardinal), and activity sets (Crayola).

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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