Super Why!
Super Why! (stylized as Super WHY!) is an American-Canadian children's computer animated educational show developed by Angela Santomero and Samantha Freeman Alpert. The series is produced by New York City-based Out of the Blue Enterprises and Toronto-based DHX Media through its Decode Entertainment division.[1] The show debuted on September 3, 2007 on most PBS member stations and went on hiatus in October 2012 for 2 years and 10 months. The series resumed again on August 17, 2015 to May 12, 2016.[2]
| Super Why! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Children Educational |
| Created by | Angela Santomero Samantha Freeman Alpert |
| Theme music composer | Eggplant, LLC |
| Opening theme | "Who's Got The Power?" |
| Ending theme | "Hip Hip Hooray" (Instrumental) |
| Country of origin | United States Canada |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 103 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Angela Santomero Samantha Freeman Alpert Dr. Alice Wilder |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Out of the Blue Enterprises Decode Entertainment (Season 1-2) DHX Studios Halifax (Season 3) |
| Distributor | PBS DHX Media |
| Release | |
| Original network | PBS Kids (USA) V-me (USA) CBC Kids (Canada) Family Jr. (Canada) |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original release | September 3, 2007 – May 12, 2016 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The Save-Ums! Franny's Feet Animal Mechanicals Hero Elementary |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Plot
The show is set in Storybrook Village, where the title character, Whyatt Beanstalk, lives with his friends Pig, Red, and Princess Pea. In each of the episodes, one of the main characters has a "super big problem". The main characters will then discuss their problem at the Book Club. And then, They would agree to look in a book to solve the problem (But, sometimes Whyatt would choose to go inside an E-Book) Then Princess Pea magically summons a book, and Whyatt summarizes the problem faced by the book's characters, drawing a parallel to the problem the Super Readers are trying to solve. They then change into their super identities and fly into the storybook.
The goal of the Super Readers is to follow the storyline to solve the problem. As they progress through the events of the story, they encounter obstacles, which can be solved by applying their literacy skills to change the story. As they overcome these obstacles, they are rewarded with red glittery "Super Letters" that form the solution to the "super big problem".
At the conclusion of the adventure, the Super Readers fly back to the Book Club. The Super Letters are put onto the giant computer screen and are spelled out to show the "Super Story Answer." Then one of the Super Readers gives the reason why that particular word or phrase serves as the solution to the Super Big Problem. Once the solution is reached, the Super Readers sing a song to end the episode.
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 65 | September 3, 2007 | February 21, 2011 | ||
| 2 | 15 | September 12, 2011 | October 11, 2012 | ||
| 3 | 23 | August 17, 2015 | May 12, 2016 | ||
Characters
- Whyatt Beanstalk (voiced by: Nicholas Castel Vanderburghl (season 1), Nicholas Kaegi (season 2), Johnny Orlando (season 3)) – The host of the series and the leader of the group of characters who become the "Super Readers", Whyatt is an olive-skinned, blue-eyed, brown-haired boy who wears a dark blue polo shirt with green stripes and khaki pants. In the episode "Jack and the Beanstalk", it is revealed that Whyatt's older brother is Jack, the hero of the English folktale Jack and the Beanstalk. Whyatt lives with his mother (Mrs. Beanstalk), who writes stories, and his father (Mr. Beanstalk) who illustrates them, along with baby sister Joy his only baby sister. Jack appears in some episodes but generally "away at college." When Whyatt arrived at the book club, he introduces himself. He says, "Whyatt here!". His super reader form is Super Why. In this form, he has a green mask, turbo sneakers, a blue cape, gold belt, green jumpsuit, and blue brief/underwear. His symbols are a blue book and a question mark and his signature colors are green, and blue. He has "the power to read", which focuses on vocabulary.
- Pig (voiced by: Zachary Bloch in (both season 1 & 2), Samuel Faraci in (season 3)) – He is referred to in the credits as "The Littlest Pig," he introduces himself at the book club as "P is for Pig," but throughout the show, he is simply known as "Pig". Pig enjoys pretending and dressing up like his father, a construction pig. He is pink and generally wears a construction hat, with a toolkit belt and safety goggles. His super reader form is Alpha Pig. In this form, he wears a blue-purple short sleeve shirt with orange accents, an orange belt with a triangle on the center, an orange construction hat with a purple triangle on the center, safety goggles, yellow cape and orange sneakers with yellow and brown accents. His Alphabet Toolbox has an Alphabet Map, a Lucky Letter Lasso, Brilliant Binoculars, a Mega Magnifying Glass and a Fabulous Flashlight in it. His symbol is a triangle and his signature colors are purple and orange. His "alphabet power" focuses on the alphabet.
- Little Red Riding Hood (voiced by: Siera Florindo in (seasons 1–2), T.J. McGibbon in (season 3)) – She is referred to as "Red" in the TV series. The title character from the fairy tale, she only refers to herself as "Red Riding Hood" and is a freckle-faced pale skinned brunette/redhead who wears a red hoodie and skirt and red roller skates as well as a red flat cap. When she is introduced, she says "Red Riding Hood rolling in!" When turned to Wonder Red in her superhero form, her attire becomes a purple leotard with red trim. Her skates are turned purple and her main item is the Wonder Words Basket and her symbol is a spiral and her signature colors are red and purple. She has "word power", which focuses on rhyming and word families like "OP", "AT", "UN", "UMP", "OG", etc.
- Princess Pea (voiced by: Tajja Isen) – Princess Pea was named after the children's story "The Princess and the Pea"; it is shown in the episode The Princess and The Pea that the princess in that story was Pea's mother and the prince in that story was her father. However, in this case, "Pea" is her surname. She is dark skinned with large green eyes and curly black hair, wears a lavender princess dress and loves to dance. When she enters, she says, "Princess Pea at your service!" Her superhero form is Princess Presto and in this form, she pulls her long hair into a bun, and she wears a pink dress with lime green accents with a purple star in the middle, pink crown with jewels, pink gloves with green accents, pink sparkly transparent cape, and pink shoes. Her symbol is a star because she always takes her Magic Spelling Wand with her and her signature colors are purple and green. She has "spelling power", which focuses on spelling.
- Woofster (voiced by: Joanne Vannicola) – Woofster is a Puppy dog with Light brown spots. He also lives with Whyatt and his family. When he turns into Woofster, he has dictionary power and can find the meaning to any word. His Super Reader form, he has a blue cape and a collar with a small red dictionary, and allows him the power to speak also and his symbol is a dog bone and his signature colors are cyan and blue. He is also declared the fifth Super Reader. He officially became a Super Reader in the episode "Woofster Finds a Home". He cuts the "Super You" part after the transformation of Whyatt Beanstalk to Super Why for Season 2.`
References
- "Official Program FAQ". Retrieved April 6, 2012.
- Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 303–304. ISBN 9781476672939.