What's with Andy?
What's with Andy? is a Canadian-American-French children's animated series loosely based on the Just! book series by Australian author Andy Griffiths. The main character is Andy Larkin, a mischievous teen and the self-proclaimed "world's greatest prankster". The show follows him as he tries to perform elaborate practical jokes, or pranks, on people in the fictional town of East Gackle.
Andy's best friend, Danny Pickett, helps him out with almost every prank. His antagonists include his older sister, Jen Larkin, and the bullies Peter Lik and Andrew Leech. Andy has a crush on a girl named Lori Mackney and usually tries to impress her. In the first season, he often breaks the fourth wall when the screen freezes in black and white – a distinctive feature of the show referred to as "Doodle Vision".
Setting
The first season of What's with Andy? was set in the United States. In the second and third seasons, the show was relocated to Alberta. It is shown in the episode "Rhyme Time" that the characters lived in the U.S. because of the American history that Andy recited, and the second language they were taught was Spanish rather than French, which is taught as a second language in Canada. In the episode "Gnome for the Holidays", a building can be seen saying, "US Post Office". Also, an American flag can be seen in the mayor's office in the "Wag the Kid" and "Little Foot" episodes, and in the episode "It Came from East Gackle", FBI agents came to East Gackle.Characters
Andrew "Andy" Larkin
Andy is a teenager who loves to prank people as well as annoy his friends and family, but often gets into trouble. His best friend is Danny and he has a crush on Lori. His catchphrase is "Check, please!".Daniel "Danny" Tadeus Pickett
The best friend and Andy's right-hand man, helping him out with countless pranks. His last name has always been Pickett. The name "Danny Pickett" is derived from Jim Kjelgaard's Big Red.Lori Mackney
Andy's crush but she is dismayed by his childishness due to his pranking. It is hinted that she returns Andy's feelings and dislikes Jen because Lori thinks that Jen abuses Andy. She wears a green tank top, blue skirt and sandals. She is known as "Lisa" in the books.The Larkin family
- Alfred "Al" Larkin: Andy and Jen's father and Freida's husband who also used to be a prankster, known as "The Mystery Prankster", aka "The Mystery Prankster of East Gackle". He was cured of pranking by school counselor, Mrs. Murphy.
- Frieda Larkin: Andy and Jen's mother and Al's wife. She knows nothing about her husband's past as a prankster.
- Jennifer "Jen" Larkin: Andy's older sister who is always cranky and irritable. She blames her younger brother Andy for almost everything. She finds his pranks childish and unfunny. She is unaware of her father's past as a prankster.
- Spank Larkin: Andy's fat and lazy dog. Spank frequently yawns, especially after going for a walk. He also appears to have flatulence problems.
Recurring/minor characters
- Teri: Jen's best friend.
- Jervis Coltrane: A French snob who has a crush on Lori Mackney and dreams of being the Prime Minister of Canada.
- Peter Lik and Andrew Leech: Peter and Andrew are Andy's and Danny's nemeses. They are usually referred to as Lik and Leech.
- Craig Bennett: Jen's crush and one of the best athletes of East Gackle.
- Martin Bonwick: He is a stereotypically nervous nerd who very often gets bullied.
- Victor "Vic" Muskowitz : The pizza delivery man of East Gackle who is a good friend of Andy and Danny and he sometimes helps them with pranks.
- Steve Rowgee Jr.: A dumb police officer who is the incompetent son of Steve Rowgee Sr.
- Steve Rowgee Sr.: A police officer who is an old man, who always commands Steve Rowgee Jr. and is nicknamed the Iron Fisted Maniac.
- Principal DeRosa: He is the bad-tempered principal of the school in East Gackle and the main antagonist who is obsessed with punishing Andy.
- Mr. Hutchins: One of the many teachers at East Gackle school, Andy likes to prank him more than the other teachers.
- Mayor Henry K. Roth: The mayor of East Gackle.
- Mayor Simms: Mayor of West Gackle and Mayor Henry K. Roth's rival.
- Clyde: The janitor of the school.
- Hazel Strinner: She has a crush on Andy and Lori's protecting friend.
- Louella Berman: Frieda's best friend.
- Mrs. Wibbles: Principal DeRosa's secretary.
- Norman Larkin: Andy's grandfather and Al's father who is also a prankster, implying that the male side of the Larkin family comes from a long line of pranksters, apparently with the exception of Al, but in episode "Mind Games" it was revealed that he also used to be a prankster, even greater than his son or father.
Voice actors
Episodes
What's with Andy? has 78 episodes, divided into three seasons consisting of 26 episodes each. The series started airing on June 30, 2001 and ended on March 4, 2007.Production
The show is based on Andy Griffiths' children's series of Just! books, although many episodes are not directly based on the books. Changes from the books to the TV series include Andy's last name, which was originally that of his creator, and other minor name changes, such as Lori's name being Lisa in the books.It was originally an interactive Flash movie with completely different voice actors and a promotion for Fox Kids. Shortly after, a TV series was developed with new voice actors, and it aired on Teletoon. The first season was produced by CinéGroupe, with the participation of Saban Entertainment in production and distribution.
The main production of the series moved to Canada in season 2, which was co-produced with the French studio SIP Animation and in association with German channel Super RTL. All the voice cast had to be replaced with this move with the exception of Andy Larkin's voice actor Ian James Corlett, as he was Canadian himself. As Saban Entertainment had by then been acquired by Disney, distribution of this season was handled by Disney subsidiary Buena Vista International Television.
Season 3 was a collaboration between CinéGroupe and Super RTL, and distributed by the production company directly. The whole series was later added to CinéGroupe distribution partner HG Distribution's catalogue.
Release
Broadcast
What's with Andy? originally aired on Teletoon in Canada. In Australia, where the books originated, it was broadcast on Fox Kids.In the United States, the series was first shown on September 22, 2001 on Fox Family Channel, later ABC Family. On January 17, 2005, it premiered on Toon Disney.
In Europe, the show aired on Fox Kids, later known as Jetix. In France, it was also broadcast on TF1, while in Germany it aired on Super RTL.
Home media
VHS
In Canada, three VHS volumes were released by CinéGroupe/Star on April 8, 2003 in both English and French, containing episodes 10, 1, and 4 respectively. Each also includes an episode of The Kids from Room 402 and a music video from the Pig City soundtrack.DVD
All 26 episodes from season 1, as well as the first 7 episodes of season 2, were released on 10 DVD volumes with English audio in the Czech Republic in 2010.The show was also released on DVD in other European countries, but only in the respective languages. All of season 2 was released on DVD in Germany, and the entirety of season 1 was released on 5 DVD volumes in Russia.
Reception
What's with Andy? received very high ratings in a number of countries.On Teletoon in Canada, it was reported to be the second highest-rated original production as of October 2007. It also had about 40% market share in France and Germany as of 2003. The show won a fall 2002 Super RTL cartoon election poll with 60% of the vote, and obtained the second-highest ratings on the channel in July 2006.