The Doodlebops
The Doodlebops is a Canadian live action children's television series. It was produced by Cookie Jar Entertainment for CBC Television. The Doodlebops' starred Lisa Lennox as Deedee Doodle, Chad McNamara as Rooney Doodle, and Jonathan Wexler as Moe Doodle.
The Doodlebops were members of a children's band.
The series featured a mix of music, dancing, humor, and skits that taught social lessons. It included scenes from a concert in front of a preschool audience who actively participated in the singing and dancing.
The band members wore heavy makeup and/or prosthetics to look like live action cartoon characters.
In the United States, The Doodlebops aired on Disney Channel from 2005 to 2009 and on Cookie Jar TV from 2010 to 2013. It now shows reruns on Starz Kids & Family.
Characters
Main
- Deedee Doodle – Deedee is dressed in purple and pink with a pink "bob" haircut and a purple headband. She plays the keytar and the keyboards and is the lead vocalist for numerous songs, including "Different Things", "Tick Tock", "Tap, Tap, Tap", and "When The Lights Go Out". She is portrayed by Lisa Lennox.
- Rooney Doodle – Rooney is dressed in blue. He also plays the guitar and piano. Like his outfit, both his hair and ukulele are blue. He has a red beret on his head with his matching shoes. He is an inventor and likes to watch demolition derbies. He is portrayed by Chad McNamara.
- Moe Doodle – Moe wears a yellow and orange striped top and orange pants. Like his pants, his hair is also orange. He plays the drums, and is known for his loud and messy antics. In the segment called "Don't Pull the Rope", in each episode, he always pulls the rope and the water falls on him. He is portrayed by Jonathan Wexler.
Supporting
- Bus Driver Bob – Bob drives the Doodlebop bus. He is portrayed by John Catucci. He knows how to play the guitar, but is shy about it and only plays for himself. He also has a twin brother named Rob and another off-screen brother named Obear.
- Jazzmin – The manager of the Doodlebops from season two until the end of the series. She replaced Mazz. Jazzmin, who can play the harp, aspires to be a stage actress. She can disappear by snapping her fingers. She is portrayed by Jackie Richardson.
- Mazz – The Doodlebops' manager during season one. She was portrayed by Kim Roberts.
- Jumping Judy – Mazz's cousin who bounces when she moves. She was portrayed by dancer Stacey Bafi-Yeboa.
- Audio Murphy – Audio Murphy is a blue dog who acts as the Doodlebops' video producer. He is voiced by Jason Hopley and is a puppet. He claims that his middle name is "A Surprise". He loves to knit.
- Mudge – Mudge is a purple cat who is often the victim of Deedee's knock-knock jokes. He lives in a vanity and he is voiced by Rob Stefaniuk.
- Mr. Moosehead – Mr. Moosehead is the head of a moose which hangs on the wall of the Doodlebops' clubhouse and he is voiced also by Rob Stefaniuk.
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2005)
Season 2 (2006)
Season 3 (2007)
Recurrent themes
- Where's Moe? – Deedee and Rooney enter through a door and introduce themselves, and subsequently can't find Moe. Deedee or Rooney will say says "Uh-oh, where's Moe?" This initiates the recurring "Where's Moe?" theme, in which the two Doodlebops search for Moe, sometimes acquiring help from Moosehead or Mudge. Eventually, Moe reveals himself, after the Doodlebops are not successful in finding him. However, sometimes, the two Doodlebops find him.
- The Pledge – The lights in the clubhouse go dark and the Doodlebops all line up together and recite the Doodlebop pledge, waving their flags in the process. Once they finish, they all engage in acrobatic activities for a few seconds.
- It's Mazz & Jazzmin! – After the Doodlebops pledge, their manager Jazzmin appears from behind a bookshelf, scat singing before speaking in rhyme to the Doodlebops. She departs by snapping her fingers and disappearing, which the Doodlebops then try to copy and wonder how she does it.
- Don't Pull the Rope! – Just before the Doodlebops head into the recording studio to meet with Audio Murphy, a rope falls from the ceiling, which Moe pulls down, regardless of the others warnings of pulling the rope. When Moe tells something related to the episode’s theme while managing to pull the rope anyway, he is drenched in water and subsequently shakes it off.
- Get on the Bus! – The Doodlebops each join Bus Driver Bob on his bus after their session at the recording studio ends. Bob honks the bus' horn, the Doodlebops board, and dance and sing their way to the Doodlebops concert.
Changes from season 1 to season 2
- Most episodes in season 1 were processed by using Film look, but in season 2, the episodes were filmized.
- The opening montage ends with a computer generated version of the interior of the Doodlebops' clubhouse. In season one a jib arm was used for a real shot of the room.
- Mr. Moosehead announces the name of the episode starting with season two. In season one, he would just say "Go Doodlebops" during the title card.
- The Doodlebops wore a Spandex hood that matched their makeup, with fake ears attached to make them appear more cartoon-like. In season two, the stick out style ears were removed, along with the hood.
- Deedee's bouffant hair style became slightly bigger, and more stylish between season one and two.
- Deedee's keytar is different and so is Rooney's guitar. Moe sometimes uses a portable version of his drums during the video.
- Two talking mannequin heads, who looked and sounded like a mocked up version of British royalty, were gone after season one.
- Occasional appearances from a chicken, a small alien, and other smaller creatures during the search for Moe no longer appeared after season 1.
- Moe frequently shrinks himself in order to hide from his fellow Doodlebops during the "Where's Moe?" sequence. In season one, Moe did not display his shrinking ability, opting to hide behind props, inside of boxes, etc.
- During season two, "The Pledge" has a longer introduction and a playful acrobatic sequence at the end.
- In season two, the featured song of the episode is performed by the Doodlebops in Audio Murphy's recording studio. In season one, the song is performed at Doodlebop Central.
- In season two, the Doodlebops manager, Jazzmin, is able to snap her fingers then disappear when she leaves, only to have the Doodlebops ask, "How does she do that?" at every occurrence. In season one, the manager was Mazz, who would exit the same way that she came in which was through a secret passage on the wall, while singing a jazzy scat style lyric. Jazzmin also does a slightly different jazz style lyrics in season two.
- Although not a very big change, the splash that hits Moe's head after he pulls the ropes is a much bigger splash in season two than in season one. Moe also grunts while shaking the water off and no longer utters “Refreshing” after getting splashed.
- After Moe pulls the rope, the Doodlebops head straight to their recording studio where they record and shoot the video for their upcoming concert with Audio Murphy. In season one, no recording studio was used and the Doodlebops would head outdoors to play and go about having fun.
- The "Get on the Bus" sequence underwent several changes from season one to season two. The bus itself was increased in size, slight artistic alterations in the interior, the dance music was re-recorded adding in more instruments ; the Doodlebops no longer performed a "musical break" in the middle of the song.
- In season two, while on stage, each of the Doodlebops would have an article of clothing that is more sparkly than their usual everyday attire. However, when they are backstage and about to run onto the stage and start singing, they still have their casual costumes on. When the curtains go up, their concert outfits seem to have magically appeared on them when they ran onstage.
- In season one, during the concert segment the Doodlebops would perform two songs, sometimes three, or even four. Starting with season two, the concert was shortened to two songs maximum. In some episodes, only one song is performed.
- Deedee performs the "Knock Knock" joke in every episode with Mudge, and it takes place at a hot dog stand where Mudge is the hot dog attendant. In season one, this skit was performed in front of Deedee's mirror.
- The ending song is cut down in most episodes for timing reasons.
Changes made in season 3
- Deedee's keyboard on the concert stage is now more like a benchtop.
- The "Knock Knock" joke goes back to taking place in front of the mirror, and has shifted the emphasis off the "knock-knock" variety. Also, the curtain doesn't come down during this segment anymore.
- The Doodlebops do the dance they did in Audio Murphy's studio again on stage. The dance is known as the Dance of the Day and is shown to the kids before the concert.
- To change into their tour jackets and their concert gear, the Doodlebops spin around. On the later costume change, they say "We're the Doodlebops!" while changing.
- The bookcase spins around instead of sliding outwards when Jazzmin comes in.
- The "Get on the Bus" song is sometimes cut down to save time.
- The background during the end credits is changed to one of the Doodlebops meeting and greeting their fans before the show.
Rockin' Road Show
Jazzmin, Audio Murphy, Mr. Moosehead, and Mudge no longer appeared, since the Doodlebops were on tour. The only characters seen in every episode were Bus Driver Bob, Deedee, Rooney, Moe, and a small pink dog named Bop-Bop. In each episode, Mail Snail would deliver the Doodlebops a DVD sent by a live acted child in need of help. The child would then be turned into an animated character and sent to the bus to be a "Doodle for a Day".
The Doodlebops: Together Forever Tour
A live theatrical show entitled The Doodlebops: Together Forever Tour was developed and toured Canada in early 2009. The show includes musical performances of signature favorites as well as new songs. The live version incorporates giant screens and original sets and costumes. This production features a new cast of performers portraying the Doodlebops.The show was produced by Koba Entertainment, and presented by Paquin Entertainment.