Bubble Guppies is a Canadian-American children's television series produced for Nickelodeon and created by Jonny Belt and Robert Scull. The series is a combination of the sketch comedy, edutainment and musical genres, and revolves around the underwater adventures of a group of merperson preschoolers named Molly, Gil, Goby, Deema, Oona, Nonny, and Zooli. The program premiered on Nickelodeon on January 24, 2011 and originally concluded on October 21, 2016. The series is produced using Autodesk Maya3D software. The series was revived for a fifth season on June 4, 2019, almost three years after the last episode of the fourth season had aired. The fifth season debuted on September 27, 2019. On February 19, 2020, the show was renewed for a sixth season.
Format
All episodes follow a similar format. The episode starts with the show logo in a room and it is filling with water. Then the Little Fish break the fourth wall by saying the title of the show to the audience. Then it's starts with an introduction by Molly, saying 'Hi, it's me, Molly, and it's time for—' only to be stopped by Gil performing an act related to the episode's subject. One or both of the two then state 'It's time for Bubble Guppies!', and the theme song plays. After the theme song, the Little Fish say the episode's name. An event may occur when one or more characters is on the way to school. For example, Avi breaks his tail in "Call a Clambulance!" when Oona is on the way to school. A guppy tells Mr. Grouper about the earlier experience. He suggests, "Let's think about it," and the characters discuss the theme. A song follows, focusing on the episode's main theme. Usually, Molly or Gil sing this song, but there are episodes where Deema or Mr. Grouper sing it instead. One of the guppies may go to a shop that mostly focuses on the theme. The owner of the shop will ask questions about what he or she needs. Jokes and silly responses will eventually lead to the correct necessity. Mr. Grouper often ends this segment by asking, "Excuse me, what time is it?" in a call-and-response pattern, with the guppies responding, "It's time for lunch!" three times. At lunch, three of the characters make a food pun about the subject of the episode; usually done by Nonny. After lunch, another Gil and Molly sketch is shown. After the sketch, some classroom activity is shown further reinforcing that episode's topic, or Mr. Grouper talks more about the theme. This is usually ended when Mr. Grouper says, "Line up everybody, it's time to go outside!" followed by the "outside song". Outside the classroom, the guppies act out a story about the theme, interfused with Adobe Flash-animated graphics. Once back inside, a second song is typically performed. Afterward, Gil and Molly do another sketch. The guppies may then go on a field trip that focuses on the theme. They yell out, "FIELD TRIP!" This may focus on a problem shown earlier and involves the key characters. The episode concludes with a final sketch by Gil and Molly, followed by a shorter version of the theme song. The credits then roll which include a song played earlier in that episode. Season 5 introduced a new series format which has the story segment take up the majority of the episode, and incorporates the shop and lunch segments into the narrative. Gil and Molly simply introduce themselves before the theme song with no opening gag, the show cuts right to school after the theme, and the dance songs and field trips were removed. Gil and Molly's sketches were removed as well, instead having Mr. Grouper wave goodbye to the viewer as the guppies go back inside. A significant contribution to the show's popularity is its two-level humor track. Minor characters include a police officer named Miranda and a winged serpent named Pretzel-coatl. Heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne guest starred as Sid Fishy in the 2015 episode Super Guppies, while actor George Takei guest starred in a tour de force sci-fi mashup which pitted him as a Darth Vader-like armored villain against starship captain Gil and his first officer, Mr. Smart. Any grownup who has ever seen Monty Python's Meaning of Life will instantly recognize recurring character Mr. Grumpfish, while the episode The Puppy & The Ring makes in-jokes ranging from JRR Tolkien to L Frank Baum.
Main characters
Gil, Jacob Bertrand, Jay Gragnani and Quinn Breslin , Teddy Walsh is a human guppy boy with a silly personality. He is the co-host of the show with Molly. Gil gets scared easily, and appears alongside Molly in the transitional segments. In those segments, he often attempts to do something but with unexpected results.
Molly , Bailey Gambertoglio, and Taylor Kaplan is the co-host of the show with Gil. Molly appears alongside Gil in the transitional segments, where she aids Gil in hopes that problems won't arise.
Bubble Puppy is Gil's pet puppy and best friend. He has orange and white fur and a green collar with a yellow fish license.
Nonny, and Jet Jurgensmeyer and AJ Kane and Eason Rytter is an intelligent human guppy boy. Despite not smiling a lot, he is the most polite and mature member of the group. He is smart and helps Deema pronounce words and helps his friends answer their questions.
Zooli is a human guppy girl introduced in Season 5. She is an animal expert.
Mr. Grouper, and Chris Phillips is the guppies' teacher. Mr. Grouper respects the kids' imaginations, ideas, and suggestions. He can also change his skin into different colors.
Little Fish, Mia Vavasseur, Kayla Erickson, and Jordan Friedman in UK) are a group of small goldfish who appear throughout each episode as guides for the viewers. They announce the episode's name and shout out the answers to viewer-response questions, as well as provide commentary in some scenes.
Production
Although it began in 2011, the show started production in 2009. The voice cast is based in New York and California and the dialogue is recorded at New York-based Dubway Studios and Rhumba Recorders and Burbank-based Nickelodeon Animation Studio.
Broadcast
The series first premiered on January 24, 2011, the second season then premiering on November 4 of the same year. Season 3 premiered on August 12, 2013, with an episode entitled, Bubble Guppies: Get Ready for School. Season 4 premiered on May 21, 2015. The series was then canceled on October 21, 2016, but was then revived for a fifth season on June 4, 2019, which premiered on September 27, 2019.
