The Fox Cubhouse
The Fox Cubhouse is an American preschool children's television series that aired weekday mornings on Fox Kids from 1994 through 1996. It ran for 234 episodes within two seasons. The show was an anthology series comprising several children's series. Initially starting with only Jim Henson's Animal Show, Johnson and Friends and Rimba's Island, a different series would be shown every day of the week.
Programs
- Jim Henson's Animal Show - 39 episodes, Jim Henson Productions - Broadcast on Mondays and Fridays.
- Johnson and Friends - 78 episodes, Film Australia - Broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- Rimba's Island - 52 episodes, DIC Productions, L.P. - Broadcast on Wednesdays.
- Budgie the Little Helicopter - 26 episodes, Fred Wolf Films Broadcast on Thursdays with Johnson and Friends.
- Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie - 13 episodes, The Britt Allcroft Company Broadcast on Tuesdays with Johnson and Friends.
Production history
WQED and Fox teamed up and implemented Johnson and Friends, Rimba's Island and Jim Henson's Animal Show into this concept. The latter two series were specifically produced for the Cubhouse, but were also shown independently in many other countries. In addition, the Fox Cubhouse itself was shot at WQED.
The series featured a woman named Rosie who, with several puppet animal characters, introduced and served as the outro for the programs within. Jim Henson's Animal Show was shown on Mondays and Fridays, Johnson and Friends was shown on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Rimba's Island was shown on Wednesdays.
The Fox network executives believed that the Australian accents in Johnson and Friends would confuse American viewers, so the series was dubbed over by local Pittsburgh actors, with the exception of Alfred, who was performed by his original Australian actor, Peter Browne. Several additional songs and music tracks were written by Chris and Braedy Neal, who had previously composed all of the music for the original version of Johnson and Friends, as Fox felt that some of the earlier episodes were "too quiet" and didn't fit the atmosphere they wanted for the series. Instrumental versions of preexisting Johnson songs were also used. Series director Ian Munro maintained a level of creative control over the American version of Johnson and Friends and was involved with voice direction.
The Fox Cubhouse became a short-lived success, and Fox commissioned additional seasons of 26 episodes of Johnson and Friends, Jim Henson's Animal Show and Rimba's Island for the Cubhouse's second season. However, the second season was a complete revamp and the characters, setting, and the entire premise were changed. Only the programs within the Cubhouse remained the same. Two new shows, Magic Adventures of Mumfie and Budgie the Little Helicopter were also added to the series. While previous Cubhouse episodes would featured two episodes of Johnson and Friends, the second season sometimes paired a single episode with an episode of Budgie the Little Helicopter or Magic Adventures of Mumfie.
The Fox Cubhouse was taken off the air in early-mid 1996 and has not aired since. It is believed by former members of WQED that most if not all of the master tapes of the program were wiped or junked, however several master copies of the Americanized Johnson and Friends episodes are known to exist.
Characters
Season 1
- Rosie
- Cammy the Fox
- Silbert the Dinosaur
- Fogel the Bird
- Mailvin the Mailbox
Season 2
- Sunny
- Freddie the Fox
- Bill the Sunflower
List of Episodes
Season 1
- 101 - The Race
- 102 - Friends
- 103 - Fruit Punch
- 104 - Together, We Can Do Anything
- 105 - Cammyflage
- 106 - The Letter
- 107 - Taking Turns
- 108 - Snoring
- 109 - Big Trouble
- 110 - Let’s Get Some Sleep
- 111 - We Are Animals Too
- 112 - I Need a Little Help
- 113 - Tea Party
- 114 - Clean Up
- 115 - Cows
- 116 - Painting
- 117 - Home is Where You Live
- 118 - I’m Learning Every Day
- 119 - Hurt Teddy
- 120 - The North Star
- 121 - Camping Trip
- 122 - Mailvin Raps
- 123 - Fogel’s Music
- 124 - Make Believe
- 125 - Hop, Swim, Fly
- 126 - We’re Different
- 127 - Sherlock Silbert
- 128 - Tears
- 129 - The Band
- 130 - Gadzooky
- 131 - Yummy Food
- 132 - It’s Your Birthday
- 133 - Kings and Queens
- 134 - The Ghost
- 135 - Abra Can Cram
- 136 - Friends
- 137 - Castle
- 138 - Safety
- 139 - Nature Scout
- 140 - Listen to the Animals
- 141 - So Sorry
- 142 - Make Believe
- 143 - Lost
- 144 - Mail Order
- 145 - Home is the Place to Be
- 146 - Cock-a-Doodle-Doo
- 147 - We’re Different
- 148 - Checkers
- 149 - Share, Share, Share
- 150 - The Seashell
- 151 - Yummy Food
- 152 - We Are All the Colors of the Rainbow
- 153 - Why?
- 154 - Complicated
- 155 - Be Careful
- 156 - Twinkle, Twinkle
- 157 - Let’s Get Some Sleep
- 158 - The King
- 159 - Tuxedo
- 160 - Mail
- 161 - Listen to the Animals
- 162 - The Hop
- 163 - Hugs
- 164 - Together, We Can Do Anything
- 165 - Colors
- 166 - Hop, Swim, Fly
- 167 - Exit All
- 168 - Three
- 169 - Friends
- 170 - Lunchtime
- 171 - Bugs
- 172 - The Club
- 173 - Share
- 174 - Food
- 175 - Silbert’s Dinner
- 176 - I Need a Little Help
- 177 - Secret Plot
- 178 - Alone
Season 2 (incomplete)
- 201 - No Pouncing in the House
- 202 - Small Packages
- 203 - Go Fly a Kite
- 204 - A Worm in the Hand
- 205 - Fearless Freddie and the Fruit Bat
- 206 - Up a Tree
- 207 - Nor a Borrower Be
- 208 - Tummy Trouble
- 209 - Tongue in Cheek
- 210 - To Share or Not to Share
- 211 - Beat the Heat
- 212 - My Brilliant Disguise
- 213 - A Nice Piece of Fruit
- 214 - Waiting for Sunny
- 215 - Sssizzzling Sssnakes!
- 216 - Migration
- 217 - Crying Wolf/Being Good
- 218 - Hurricane Freddie
- 219 - Finishing What You Start
- 220 - Froggy Do, Froggy Be
- 221 - Where Rhinos Fear to Tread
- 222 - Silly Sharing
- 223 - A Fine Day for Croquet
- 224 - Eyes Are the Windows
- 225 - Spice of Life
- 226 - Dinosaur Tracks/Melissa’s Dinosaur
- 227 - If it Quacks Like a Duck
- 228 - A Tree in the House
- 229 - Remembering
- 230 - A Tattle Tale
- 231 - Ferocious
- 232 - Masquerade/Charade
- 233 - The Big Win
- 234 - A Song for Babs
- 235 - The Groups We Live In
- 236 - A Letter a Day
- 237 - Good-Bye Dolly
- 238 - If I Were a Fish
- 239 - Beauty and the Beasts
- 240 - Playing and Creating
- 241 - A Cake for Freddie
- 242 - Waiting for a Friend
- 243 - Sleepy Dreamy
- 244 - Dessert in the Desert
- 245 - Hard to Wait
- 246 - A Tiki Tea for Three
- 247 - Iron Freddie
- 248 - Houses for Foxes
- 249 - The Baby-Sitters Club
- 250 - How I Love Ya’, Sunny
- 251 - Freddie’s Mess
- 252 - Heads or Tails
- 253 - Playing Pretend
- 254 - Right and Left
- 255 - Try, Try and Try Again
- 256 - Freddie Needs a Nap
- 257 - Every Part’s Important
- 258 - Food for Mel
- 259 - The Purple is Always Greener
- 260 - Share
- 261 - Getting Along
- 262 - Scaredy Cat
- 263 - Piles o’ Paper
- 264 - Rimba’s Day
- 265 - Bill Needs a Vacation
- 266 - Imagine
- 267 - We Are Family
- 268 - Where’s Bill?
- 269 - The Big Surprise/Finders Keepers
- 270 - Diesel’s Taxi/The Train Conductor
- 271 - The Burning Bundt
- 272 - Runaway Rubadub
- 273 - Telephone
- 274 - Holey Pockets, Batman
- 275 - Be a Clown
- 276 - And the Leader is…
- 277 - Fracula
- 278 - The Big Scoop
- 279 - Rock and Roll Freddie
- 280 - Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
- 281 - Life is Like an Ice Cream Bar
- 282 - The Balloonatic
- 283 - Sail Away
- 284 - The Swap
- 285 - Grape-Berry Picnic
- 286 - The Thinker
- 287 - Billy the Kid
- 288 - Cry Wolf
- 289 - Hot and Colder
- 290 - Chicken Pox
- 291 - Digging for the Truth
- 292 - The Tin Star
- 293 - Apple Pie
- 294 - Fore!
- 295 - Message in a Bottle
- 296 - Hypnotic
- 297 - Froudini
- 298 - Babaloo Bongos
- 299 - Moondance
- 2100 - Treasure Hunt
- 2101 - Bugs and Boats on the Bottom
- 2102 - I Found It
- 2103 - No Drum Roll, Please
- 2104 - Baby Blues
- 2105 - Mr. Pillow
- 2106 - Merry Christmas
- 2107 - Footnotes
- 2108 - Auld Lang Freddie
- 2109 - Garden Gifts
- 2110 - Freddie the Flop
- 2111 - I Can See Clearly
- 2112 - Start to Finish
- 2113 - The Secret
- 2114 - Birthday Party
- 2115 - Case of the Chopped Greens
- 2116 - Dental Appointment
- 2117 - Fun is Where the Fox is
- 2118 - Strong Man Freddie
- 2119 - Something in the Way He Moves
- 2120 - Superfox
- 2121 - The Actor’s Life
- 2122 - All the Marbles
- 2123 - For Art’s Sake
- 2124 - Behind the Fence
- 2125 - Our Friend, the Wind
- 2126 - The Big Ball
- 2127 - Polka Dot Elephants
- 2128 - All the Way to China
- 2129 - Lost Marbles
- 2130 - Talent Show
- 2131 - My Fine-Beaked Friends
- 2132 - Speak for Yourself, Ookii
- 2133 - Families
- 2134 - Showdown at the OK Cubhouse
- 2135 - Warning!
- 2136 - Luck
- 2137 - Home is Where the Hole is
- 2138 - The Lucky Penny
- 2139 - Where Unicorns Roam
- 2140 - Mine, All Mine!
- 2141 - My Darling Clementine
- 2142 - A Blue Ribbon Day