Bunnytown
Bunnytown is an British-American children's television program that aired on Playhouse Disney in the United States and Great Britain, as well as more than seventy other countries. In 2011, Relient K covered the show's theme song for Disney Junior – Live on Stage! Reruns of the show did air afterwards, although it appeared in the weekends.
| Bunnytown | |
|---|---|
 The title card for the Playhouse Disney series "Bunnytown" | |
| Also known as | Bunnycity (Canada) |
| Genre | Children's |
| Created by | David Rudman Adam Rudman Todd Hannert |
| Developed by | The Walt Disney Company |
| Directed by | David Rudman |
| Opening theme | Bunnytown |
| Ending theme | It's a Bunnytown Life |
| Composer(s) | Todd Hannert, Terry Fryer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | David Rudman, Adam Rudman, Todd Hannert |
| Production location(s) | Elstree Studios |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Spiffy Pictures Baker Coogan Productions |
| Distributor | Disney–ABC Domestic Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | Playhouse Disney |
| Original release | November 10, 2007 – November 8, 2008 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| Production website | |
Broadcast history
The program, created by David Rudman, his brother Adam and Todd Hannert, under their Spiffy Pictures banner, began airing in Canada on November 3, 2007, and in the USA a week later.
Canadian viewers got a premiere of the program on January 13, 2008 on the Playhouse Disney channel sublet of pay-broadcaster Family Channel. In France, the series began on January 27, 2008, and kept its original title Bunnytown. The show was produced at Elstree Studios with many of the "Peopletown" segment exterior scenes done at Clarence Park and Verulamium Park in St Albans.
Format
The basic format features between ten and twelve segments as follows:
- A ski race, played out in four parts such as kids getting ready to race while Max Mekker, Alfa and Bjarne Betjent, but instead ballet dancing in the first part, then sleeping in the second part, followed by flying in the third part, and then finally racing in the last part, with the payoff that a rubber band is at the finish line, and they fly back to the starting point.
- Red and Fred, a silent comedy-slapstick pratfall team in Peopletown made up of a fat ginger haired man and a smaller, thin dark haired male, played by Ed Gaughan and Andrew Buckley. This is done in the vein of Laurel and Hardy, who have the same style as Red and Fred. On the US broadcast they are known as "Two Best Friends".
- The Adventures of Super-Bunny, created new for Bunnytown follows the format of Little Bad Bunny stealing carrots from Bunnytown, and Super-Bunny comes to the rescue.
- The Bunnytown Hop, done by a rock-and-roll band inspired by mega groups such as Earth Wind and Fire.
- Super Silly Sports, also held in Peopletown, hosted by Pinky Pinkerton (portrayed by Scottish actress Polly Frame), best known for her wearing a pink Alice band in her blonde bouffant hairdo along with a matching neck scarf and sportsjacket over a white tennis dress, along with pink and white-striped above-the-knee socks. An example of this spoofing of sports contests and their telecasts within is a staring contest between an 11-year-old boy and an Idaho potato (because both of them have "eyes"). Pinky's signature exclamation is "Oh me, oh my!" done multiple times.
- Following the payoff of the running gag, all of the bunnies gather to sing the closing song "It's A Bunnytown Life".
- Currently the Bunnytown segments, Two Best Friends (Red and Fred) and Super Silly Sports are being shown in bumper segments on Disney Junior and Disney Junior Night Light.
Puppets, characters and sets
The bunny rod puppets (which take up to eight puppeteers to operate with a trigger at the bottom to move their mouths and invisible marionette strings to work from above on all other parts) are made from foam rubber and covered in fake fur.
Characters include the many types of characters found in pop culture and storybooks. Included are a king and his court (supposedly the leaders of Bunnytown as they live in a castle), pirates, a superhero bunny, a female bunny who is an astronaut, two cave bunnies and their pet dinosaur, an inventor, a farmer and his helpers and many more.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original air date [1] | Prod. code [2] | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Hello Bunnies!" | November 10, 2007 | 101 | N/A |
| 2 | "Bunny Funnies!" | November 11, 2007 | 102 | N/A |
| 3 | "Bunny Giggles!" | November 17, 2007 | 103 | N/A |
| 4 | "Barrel Full of Bunnies!" | November 18, 2007 | 104 | N/A |
| 5 | "Bunny Shenanigans!" | November 24, 2007 | 105 | N/A |
| 6 | "Wintertime In Bunnytown!" | December 1, 2007 | 116 | N/A |
| 7 | "Bunny Ha-Ha's!" | December 8, 2007 | 106 | N/A |
| 8 | "Hiya Bunnies!" | December 15, 2007 | 108 | N/A |
| 9 | "Bunny-A-Go-Go!" | January 5, 2008 | 109 | N/A |
| 10 | "G'Day Bunnies!" | January 19, 2008 | 107 | N/A |
| 11 | "Carrot Giving Day!" | February 9, 2008 | 113 | N/A |
| 12 | "Bonkers for Bunnies!" | February 23, 2008 | 112 | N/A |
| 13 | "Bunnytown Pets!" | March 1, 2008 | 114 | N/A |
| 14 | "Bunnytown Fun!" | March 24, 2008 | 110 | N/A |
| 15 | "King Bunny's Birthday!" | March 25, 2008 | 115 | N/A |
| 16 | "Those Wacky Bunnies!" | March 26, 2008 | 117 | N/A |
| 17 | "Bunny Blankie Blues!" | March 27, 2008 | 118 | N/A |
| 18 | "Bunnytown Follies!" | March 28, 2008 | 111 | N/A |
| 19 | "Bunnytown Babbles!" | April 5, 2008 | 120 | N/A |
| 20 | "Bumbling Bunnies!" | May 24, 2008 | 121 | N/A |
| 21 | "Bunnies Bunnies Bunnies!" | June 21, 2008 | 119 | N/A |
| 22 | "Groovy Bunnies!" | July 5, 2008 | 122 | N/A |
| 23 | "Bunny-A-Rama!" | August 16, 2008 | 125 | N/A |
| 24 | "What a Bunnytown Hoot!" | September 27, 2008 | 124 | N/A |
| 25 | "Bunnytown Chuckles!" | October 18, 2008 | 123 | N/A |
| 26 | "Get Fit, Bunnytown!" | November 8, 2008 | 126 | N/A |
References
- "Bunnytown – Episode list". iTunes. Retrieved 2015-07-18.
- "Public Catalog - Copyright Catalog (1978 to present) - Basic Search [search: "Bunnytown"]". United States Copyright Office.