Oswald is an American-British children's animated television series originally airing on Nickelodeon as part of the Nick Jr. block. It first aired on August 20, 2001 in the United States. The show was created by Dan Yaccarino and co-produced by HIT Entertainment. It was also broadcast on Noggin and CBS (during the Nick Jr. on CBS programming block) in reruns.
The series is set in Big City, a colorful world populated by a cast of anthropomorphic animals, mythological creatures, and humanoid beings. Each episode follows the daily experiences of an anthropomorphic blue octopus named Oswald (voiced by Fred Savage), accompanied by his beloved pet hot dog Weenie, and their life in the cheerful and whimsically-designed community of Big City. Commonly, the program concentrates on Oswald's experiences with friends, acquaintances, and neighbors—including Henry, a talking penguin and Daisy, an anthropomorphic flower, among others—and his patient methods of coping with or tolerating different situations and dilemmas, along with his thoroughly optimistic outlook on life.
Main characters
Oswald (voiced by Fred Savage) – Oswald is a large, round, blue 22-year-old octopus (with four arms and four legs) who lives in an apartment complex with Henry the Penguin and a lot of other animals. A very gentle, smart, friendly, polite and big-hearted octopus, Oswald is always willing to go out of his way to help his friends. His favorite hobby is playing the piano and singing (usually to comfort himself or to encourage a friend). He has a habit of saying "Oh, my gosh!" when something goes wrong and something astonishing happens. Oswald always wears a life preserver when he is around water and loves Swizzleberry Swirl Ice Cream.
Weenie (voiced by Debi Derryberry) – Weenie (sometimes referred to by Oswald as "Weenie-girl" or just "girl") is Oswald's pet 7-year-old dog; a "wiener-dog", very similar to a Dachshund. Weenie bears a strong resemblance to a hot dog and only communicates in "bark-speak" (similar to Blue in Blue's Clues and Mel in Jack's Big Music Show). Weenie accompanies Oswald everywhere he goes, and her favorite food is vanilla dog biscuits.
Henry (voiced by David Lander) – Oswald's best friend. A talking 46-year-old penguin who is a creature of habit in every way and usually shuns the idea of trying different things, though he can sometimes be persuaded otherwise. He does his best to maintain a tight schedule, which includes taking care of his extensive spoon collection, ending his days watching "Penguin Patrol", his favorite TV program, and doing the Penguin Polka before bedtime. Most of Henry's favorite foods are fish-flavored and he is a proven expert on snow. He has an identical cousin from the North named Louie (voiced by Michael McKean), and on occasion speaks of his aunt, Antarctica. His motto is "slow and steady". He always takes two marshmallows in his favorite beverage, hot cocoa, saying "No more, no less". He also doesn't like it whenever his feathers get wet.
Daisy (voiced by Crystal Scales) – A tall 14-year-old flower with green leaves and stem. Free-spirited and energetic, Daisy participates in sports and other activities. She is a close friend of both Oswald and Henry; the three of them often go on sojourns together. Daisy loves sunflower sundaes, riding her unicycle, has a large leaf collection and loves peppermint tea. Daisy is very excitable, often needing to be hushed by Oswald whenever she speaks too loudly. She also has an aunt whose name and flower is Marigold and her catchphrase is "Golly Tamale!". She is the only character in Big City who wakes up with the sun.
Recurring characters
Johnny the Snowman (voiced by Mel Winkler) – A laid-back snowman who operates an ice cream shop and also has an ice cream truck. Johnny wears a black hat, sports a carrot nose, and has a deep baritone voice. Johnny Snowman has a brother in the Frozen North named Phil.
The Egg Twins - Two identical twin eggs, named Egbert (voiced by Daran Norris) and Leo (voiced by J. Grant Albrecht). Leo always responds in conversations with an enthusiastic "Yes, yes!" while Egbert refers to everyone as "old boy".
Madame Butterfly (voiced by Laraine Newman) – The mother of Catrina and the owner and proprieter of the local diner, a favorite lunch stop for Oswald and his friends.
Catrina (voiced by Debi Derryberry) – A baby caterpillar that is just learning how to speak. She is the only child of Madame Butterfly. Like other babies, Catrina is highly curious about everything around her, but is always surrounded by her mom or others to keep her curiosity in check.
Steve Tree (voiced by Fred Stoller) – A walking, talking tree. Occasionally, his pet Woodrow the woodpecker pecks on him.
Pongo (voiced by Richard Kind) - Pongo is a large yellow and red dragon with a long, thin, green mustache and is quite similar to the dragons in Chinese culture and folklore. He lives in a Chinese-style home in Big City. In sharp contrast to his otherwise intimidating size, Pongo is very shy and soft-spoken, and known for his occasional clumsiness. He frequently sighs when sad and says "Oh drat!"
Andy Pumpkin (voiced by Eddie Deezen) – Steve Tree's loopy best friend. He is a happy-go-lucky pumpkin person and works at a candy shop. He tends to speak in hyper tones when working in the candy shop.
Louie (voiced by Michael McKean) - Henry's cousin from the Arctic. He looks just like his cousin, except for the fact that he wears a bright red bow tie.
Minor characters
Cactus Polly (voiced by Laraine Newman) – Polly is a helpful cactus lady who carries a lasso and talks like a cowgirl from the wild West.
Sammy Starfish (voiced by Tony Orlando) – Oswald's musical idol, Sammy is a jazz singer. Oswald's dream is to play piano for Sammy Starfish, which becomes a reality when Sammy's show comes to Big City and the tickets are all sold out.
Bingette Bunny (voiced by Kathy Najimy) – A ditsy rabbit who runs the gardening store where Oswald buys his tomato plants or flowers. She is usually very unhelpful but usually says "Just doing my job!" when Oswald leaves the store.
Laverne (voiced by Debi Derryberry) – A white elephant with a pink bow and loves peanuts and also being nice. Pongo wants to be with her but, he is too shy.
Roderick Robot - A silent mechanical man with a mechanical cat named Tinsel. Oswald cat-sits for Roderick, and it turns out Tinsel is a very naughty cat.
Bingo (voiced by Mac Davis) – Big City's barber, a quiet rabbit who also runs a news paper store from which Henry buys his news paper. He only talks in the episodes "The Naughty Cat" and "Henry Needs a Haircut".
Flippy - A goldfish who Oswald bought at the pet store but had to give to the Big City Aquarium as the fish grew too large.
Paper People – Silent humans made of paper who appear in several episodes as cameo characters.
Woodrow – Steve Tree's pet woodpecker. He often is a pest to Steve by pecking on his wood.
Tinsel (vocal effects by Debi Derryberry) – Roderick's mechanical, naughty pet cat.
Fish – Fish who appear in the episode "Goin' Fishing".
Maestro Bingo (voiced by Michael McKean) – He runs a store of various musical instruments and appears in the episodes "Daisy Plays an Instrument" and "Fixing the Piano".
Broadcast history
Oswald first aired on the Nick Jr. block on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 20, 2001 and was removed from the lineup in 2005. On April 7, 2003, Oswald started airing on Noggin and continued to air after September 28, 2009 when it was renamed as Nick Jr..
In the UK, the show was aired on the Tiny Living strand on Living TV (now Sky Living) and on Five (now Channel 5), with UK voices instead of the US voices. Sammy Starfish has his regular US voice instead of dubbing him with a UK voice actor.
In Australia, the show has aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
In Canada, the show has been aired on Treehouse TV.
In South East Asia and New Zealand it is aired on Nick Jr..
In Japan, a Japanese dubbed version of the show has aired on WOWOW.
In India the show was aired on Cartoon Network's Tiny-TV block before airing on Pogo.
In Pakistan, the show aired in morning block of Cartoon Network.
In the Arab World, Oswald currently airs on JimJam from 1 December to 30 April each year.
Episodes
Oswald aired its first episode ("Chasing The Ice-Cream / Camping Trip") on August 20, 2001. Its first and only season ended on September 19, 2003, with the episode pair "Hide & Seek / Weenie Takes a Bath."
Additional guest voices
Singer Mac Davis
Actor Eddie Deezen
Actor Michael McKean as Henry's cousin Louie from the Arctic. Both Michael McKean and David Lander (Henry) played the characters, "Lenny" and Squiggy " on the ABC sitcom, "Laverne and Shirley."
Creator Dan Yaccarino as Freddy the Teddy Bear
Reception
The show generally received positive reviews, with a 7.0 rating from TV.com, a 7.7 rating from IMDb, and a four out of five stars on Common Sense Media.
