Pinky Dinky Doo

This article will address the topic of Pinky Dinky Doo, a key concept in the current context that covers various aspects of daily life. Pinky Dinky Doo has become a topic of growing interest due to its relevance in different areas, from science and technology to culture and society. Throughout this exploration, the many facets of Pinky Dinky Doo will be analyzed, from its origin and evolution to its implications and applications in the modern world. Its impact in different contexts, as well as the perspectives and debates surrounding this topic, will be examined in detail. Through an exhaustive analysis, we will seek to shed light on the importance and complexity of Pinky Dinky Doo today.

Pinky Dinky Doo
The show's title with characters (Clockwise from bottom-right: Pinky Dinky Doo, Mr. Guinea Pig, Tyler Dinky Doo, Daddy, and Mommy)
GenreAnimated series
Adventure
Created byJim Jinkins
Developed by
  • Jim Jinkins
  • Mark York
Voices of
Theme music composer
Opening theme"Pinky Dinky Doo Theme Song"
Ending theme"We're Going to the Story Box" (Instrumental)
ComposerDan Sawyer
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada[a]
  • Latin America[a]
Original languagesEnglish
Spanish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes52 (104 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Melanie Grisanti (season 1)
  • Clint Green (season 2)
Running time22 minutes (11 minutes per segment)
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseApril 5, 2005 (2005-04-05)[1] –
January 9, 2010 (2010-01-09) (April 8, 2011 in USA)

Pinky Dinky Doo is an animated children's television series created by Jim Jinkins.[2] It was produced and co-owned by Jinkins' Cartoon Pizza and Sesame Workshop. The series was made in association with Discovery Kids Latin America, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (season 1).[b] For the second season, Abrams Gentile Entertainment, and the Canadian studio Keyframe Digital Productions[3] joined as production companies. Each episode follows an imaginative pink-haired girl named Pinky Dinky Doo, her brother Tyler and pet Mr. Guinea Pig as she makes up her own stories.

Premise

Pinky Dinky Doo is a 7-year-old girl who lives in Great Big City with her parents, her little brother Tyler, and their house pet Mr. Guinea Pig. She loves to write stories, especially for Tyler.[4]

Each episode begins with Tyler having a problem, such as not being able to find his shoes or not wanting to take a bath. At that point, Pinky says, "That gives me an idea." Tyler asks, "Pinky, are you going to make up a story?" and Pinky responds, "Yes-a-rooney, positooney!" (which means "Yes, positively!"), dancing to a cardboard box called the Story Box. Using chalk and her imagination, she tells a story. In the second season, whenever the Story Box is unavailable, Pinky uses the Story Pad, a notebook in which she draws pictures using a pencil for her newer stories.

Each story features Pinky herself as the main character, and the story plots are centered around Tyler's main issue. Because they are made-up stories, there tends to be unusual or silly things that occur, something that Tyler typically points out although Pinky reminds him that anything can happen in a made-up story.

At the climax of each story a problem starts to arise, prompting Pinky to "Think Big." During this moment, her head inflates to the size of a large balloon as she sings, "If I have a problem, don't know which way to go, I think and think and think and think, and suddenly I know." When nearby characters encourage her with cheers of "Come on Pink, think!", Pinky begins to fly around the area, her head rapidly deflating until it returns to its normal size. At that point, she quickly devises an often wacky solution to the problem.

Some episodes feature different variations of the "Think Big" sequence:

  • In Big Blob of Talk, Pinky had to "Listen Big" instead, leading to her ears swelling up in addition to her head.
  • In Burpzilla and Super Doo and Traffic Too, Pinky (as Super Duper Doo) had to "Concentrate" instead, although it basically served the same purpose as thinking big.
  • In Back to School Is Cool, Pinky's hair swells instead of her entire head due to her having a bad hair day.
  • In Tyler to the Rescue, Two Wheel Dreams, Go to Bed Tyler!, and Tyler's Big Idea, Tyler thinks big instead of Pinky.
  • In Shrinky Pinky, Mr. Guinea Pig thinks big instead of Pinky.

After each story, Tyler solves his own problem and knows what to do.

Each episode has a "Great Big Fancy Word", that is said all throughout each story. Before it is spoken by a character, Mr. Guinea Pig blows his trumpet. At the end of each episode, Pinky and Tyler invite the viewers to play a series of games on their cheese sandwich handheld, which typically questions the audience on what happened in a story. After the "Game Time" segment is over, Pinky ends every episode by saying, "I love to make up stories. I'll bet you can make up a story too."

Characters

Dinky Doo family

  • Pinky Dinky Doo (voiced by India Ennenga)
  • Tyler Dinky Doo (voiced by Felix Chrome in season 1 and Allison Wachtfogel in season 2)
  • Mr. Guinea Pig (voiced by Juan Van Michaelangelo in season 1 and John Rogers in season 2)
  • Mommy Dinky Doo (voiced by Heather Dilly in season 1 and Lindsie Van Winkle in season 2)
  • Daddy Dinky Doo (voiced by Jim Jinkins)

Friendly characters

  • Nicholas Biscuit (voiced by Justin Riordan (Thomas Sharkey) in season 1 and Katherine Rose Riley in season 2)
  • Bobby Boom (voiced by Kalif Jenkins in season 1 and Ralph Peavy in season 2)
  • Daffinee Toilette (voiced by Carolina Hernandez in season 1 and Anabelle Berrido in season 2)

Episodes

Main article: List of Pinky Dinky Doo episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
152April 5, 2006 (2006-04-05)April 30, 2007 (2007-04-30)
252September 6, 2008 (2008-09-06)January 9, 2010 (2010-01-09)

Description

The show is intended to help preschool-aged viewers increase their vocabularies with its Great Big Fancy Word, which is featured several times during the episode. It also addresses problem-solving skills. The interactive games featured at the end of each episode often detail the basics of narrative stories—character, dialogue, plot, details, main idea, and sequence of events.

According to the show's website, it is intended to promote reading and imaginative storytelling.[5][6]

History

Origins

The character of Pinky Dinky Doo was created in 2000 by Jim Jinkins as a bedtime story for his then four-year-old daughter. In an interview with Animation Magazine, he admitted, "It wasn't pre-meditated as a kid's show." In 2002, Jinkins worked with Sesame Workshop to create two web-based pilot episodes starring Pinky, which were released online in 2003.[7] From 2003 to 2004, Random House published a series of six children's books centered around Pinky. Jim Jinkins said of his work with Sesame Workshop: "The Workshop was a beautiful partner ... they didn't overhaul it, but saw it as natural literacy project."[3]

Production

The series was created and produced by Cartoon Pizza and Sesame Workshop, which co-own the copyright to the series.[3] These two companies were the sole producers of the show's pilot episodes. Jim Jinkins and David Campbell served as executive producers.

For the first season, Discovery Kids and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation joined as co-producers. Abrams Gentile Entertainment and Keyframe Digital Productions joined as production companies in the second season. Abrams Gentile Entertainment financed part of the season in exchange for licensing and merchandising rights, and Keyframe animated the season. The intro sequence for both seasons, as well as episodes from the first season, used flash animation via Macromedia Flash, while episodes from the second season switched over to computer animation via 3DS Max, with the characters being animated via a 3D rig as opposed to being completely 3-Dimensional.[8]

Pinky Dinky Doo was an international co-production. Cartoon Pizza, Sesame Workshop, Noggin, and Abrams Gentile were based in the United States; CBC and Keyframe Digital were based in Canada;[3] Discovery Kids was based in Latin America; and CBeebies was based in the United Kingdom. For season two, the budget was about 200,000 Canadian dollars per episode.[3]

Broadcast

Internationally

Pinky Dinky Doo made its worldwide premiere on April 5, 2005, on Discovery Kids in Latin America. The show was first broadcast in English on CBC Television, which premiered the show in December 2005.[9] Other Canadian networks that aired Pinky Dinky Doo include TVOntario and Knowledge Network, as well as TFO in French Canada.[10] In most other territories, Sesame Workshop aimed to premiere the show in the first quarter of 2006.

Before the series premiere, Kidscreen announced that broadcast rights for Pinky Dinky Doo had been sold to ABC Television in Australia.[11] It was also announced that Sesame Workshop was "focusing on securing German and French partners,"[11] which became Super RTL in Germany and France 5. Pinky Dinky Doo was sold to over 35 international broadcasters.[12][dead link‍] The American Forces Network, a channel operated by the U.S. Armed Forces, aired Pinky Dinky Doo from 2006 to 2016.[13]

In the United Kingdom, the show was broadcast on the BBC's children's network CBeebies from 2005 to 2012. It was redubbed and broadcast with British English voices, although the series was put on hiatus between December 31, 2006, and May 28, 2007.[14][15] In Brazil, TV Cultura aired a Brazilian Portuguese dub. The series also aired on Rai Yoyo in Italian, Baraem in Arabic, and Hop! Channel in Hebrew (Hop! Channel being available exclusively in Israel).

United States

In the United States, the show would be picked up by Noggin as one of several acquired shows.[16] On April 10, 2006, the show made its US debut on both Noggin and its parent network Nickelodeon (via its Nick Jr. block). The Nickelodeon airing was a one-time event to promote the show's debut on Noggin, so all remaining episodes aired exclusively on Noggin from then on.[17] The show continued to air on Noggin's replacement, the Nick Jr. Channel, from September 28, 2009, until April 8, 2011. Spanish-language network Univision aired Spanish dubs of the show as part of its Saturday morning programming block for children, Planeta U, from Planeta U’s launch on April 5, 2008 (the same day as the show's third anniversary), to September 3, 2011.

HBO Kids later aired the series in reruns as part of HBO's partnership with Sesame Workshop, from January 17, 2016, until January 2, 2021.[18] The show was made available on the HBO Max streaming service upon its launch on May 27, 2020, and it was available until January 2, 2021.[19]

Until November 2022, the series was available to stream on Sensical, a free streaming service by Common Sense Media.[20]

Reception

Pinky Dinky Doo received favorable reviews from critics and audiences.

Larisa Wiseman of Common Sense Media rated the series four stars out of five, calling it "enlightening as well as silly, funny, and entertaining." She also said that the animation is "simple, colorful, and imaginative, combining photography with pictures that look as if they were drawn and colored in (rather skillfully) by a child."[21] Entertainment Weekly's Eileen Clarke gave the show a grade of 'A,' saying it "embraces storytelling and revs up the imagination—so it certainly pays to think Pink for a while." She also noted that the show's teaching is "unlike Dora; the repetition involved in the lessons is barely noticeable."[22]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Pinky Dinky Doo was an international co-production. Cartoon Pizza, Sesame Workshop, Noggin, and Abrams Gentile were based in the United States; CBC and Keyframe Digital were based in Canada;[3] and Discovery Kids was based in Latin America.
  2. ^ Noggin and CBeebies are listed in the credits, but do not have any additional crediting.

References

  1. ^ "Pinky Dinky Doo Season 1 on HBO". Amazon Video. 2016. April 5, 2005
  2. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 465. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Strike, Joe (December 9, 2008). "'Pinky Dinky Doo': Keyframe Digital Does the Second Season". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  4. ^ Moody, Annemarie (August 21, 2008). "NOGGIN's Pinky Dinky Doo Returns For Second Season". Animation World Network. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
  5. ^ "Pinky Dinky Doo – Grown Ups – Educational Approach".
  6. ^ "Pinky Dinky Doo Season 2 on HBO". Amazon Video. 2016. April 29, 2007
  7. ^ Connell, Mike (October 1, 2002). "Cool New Shows! 2002". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications Ltd. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  8. ^ Moody, Annemarie (February 12, 2008). "Pinky Dinky Doo Goes 3D". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020.
  9. ^ Pounsett, Geoffrey (September 1, 2005). "Here's looking beyond you, kid…". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "Pinky Dinky Doo". TFO.org.
  11. ^ a b Lianne, Stewart (October 1, 2004). "Cool New Shows! 2004". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications Ltd. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019.
  12. ^ "Keyframe Digital Partners with Sesame Workshop to Help Pinky Dinky Doo 'Do 3D'". Creative COW. September 12, 2008.
  13. ^ "AFN Family TV and Entertainment Guide" (PDF). American Forces Network. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2016.
  14. ^ "CBeebies 31 December 2006 – BBC Genome".
  15. ^ "CBeebies 28 May 2007 – BBC Genome".
  16. ^ "Breaking News – MTVn's Noggin and the N Channels to Split Into Two Separate 24-Hour Services, DeC. 31, '07". The Futon Critic. August 13, 2007. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  17. ^ Ball, Ryan (March 20, 2006). "Noggin to Debut Pinky Dinky Doo". Animation Magazine. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  18. ^ Perez, Sarah (January 13, 2016). "HBO Takes On Netflix With A New Kids Section Featuring 'Sesame Street' And More". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  19. ^ Patches, Matt (May 27, 2020). "Nearly every movie and show now on HBO Max". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 6, 2020.
  20. ^ "Watch Pinky Dinky Doo Streaming 100% Free!". Sensical. March 11, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  21. ^ Wiseman, Larisa. "Pinky Dinky Doo TV Review". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  22. ^ Staff, EW (April 13, 2006). "A review of Noggin's Pinky Dinky Doo, and more". EW.com. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
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