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''Katie and Orbie'' is a Canadian animated television series aimed at preschoolers, originally broadcast in Canada from 1994–2002 by Family Channel and later aired in the United States on PBS from 1996–1997 and on Disney Channel from 1997–2000. In Canada, the series aired uninterruptedly on Family Channel and (beginning on 2007) Disney Junior (formerly called Playhouse Disney) until December 31, 2012. The series has also aired in several countries around the world. The animated series is based on a series of four environment-themed children's books titled ''Katie and Orbie Save the Planet'', illustrated by Canadian cartoonist Ben Wicks and written by his daughter Susan Wicks, which were published in 1991.〔http://umanitoba.ca/cm///cmarchive/vol19no4/kidsandnature.html〕 In 1993, Lacewood Productions adapted the characters into an animated series which was originally in production until 1996, being revived five years later by Amberwood Entertainment and then ending in 2002. Contrary to the original books, the series isn't strictly environment-themed, having stories that range from having a new pet or helping their friends, to address themes like children with divorced parents, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, one of the few series aimed at preschoolers to do so. It was narrated by actor Leslie Nielsen. The theme song was written by Edmund Eagan and performed by his daughter, Mireille Eagan. Mary Mackay-Smith wrote most episodes, with Ben and Susan Wicks serving as consultors during the first three seasons. Unlike most TV series, the animation on ''Katie and Orbie'' was made in a technique referred to by producer Sheldon Wiseman as "picture-mation" similar to an electronic storybook, instead of coming to life, also, none of the characters actually speak, so a variety of sound effects are used during the stories. Another series produced by the same studio in 2000 and which was also narrated by Leslie Nielsen, ''Pumper Pups'', also used the "picture-mation" technique. International rights for the series were first owned by Entertainment Rights (which was also a producer company on seasons 4–6), which in 2009 was merged into Classic Media, now known as DreamWorks Classics. On March 25, 2010, Canadian company Entertainment One signed a deal with Amberwood Entertainment on which the company obtained the worldwide distribution rights to several of said producer's TV series, including all 78 episodes of ''Katie and Orbie''.〔http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2010/25/c5060.html〕 Amberwood Entertainment and Family Channel retain the rights for Canada. ==Main characters== * Katie - A blonde five-year-old girl, who is imaginative, playful, curious and usually quite happy. She almost always wears a green and white striped T-shirt with blue overalls and brown shoes. She lives with her best friend Orbie and her parents in a suburb of an unnamed city. She is very kind and friendly with most people. While she does not attend school yet, she takes dancing classes in some episodes. Her sound effects include a characteristic laugh, as well as occasional sighing, yelling and crying sounds. Those sound effects, as well as her "voice" during the ''Did You Know?'' segments, are made by Amanda Tripp. * Orbie - A small and pink alien, who is from an unknown planet which is "far away out past the moon". ''Katie and Orbie Pick Up the Garbage'', one of the books on which the series is based, explains that he was sent away from his home planet because it was too polluted to sustain life, and the fate of his native family or his species is unknown (this is, however, never mentioned in the actual series). While travelling in a small spaceship, he reached Earth and just happened to land in Katie's backyard, and immediately he and Katie became best friends, resulting in him being "adopted" by Katie's parents. He's apparently the same age as Katie, and shares many aspects of her personality. He speaks in a unique series of squeaks and chirps, as well as honk sounds made with his nose, that people appear to be able to understand despite that fact that he isn't speaking any known language. He has red polka dots on his body (early episodes show him as being capable of changing the color of his dots, depending on his mood). People are shown to be oblivious to the fact that he's an alien, and treat him like a normal person, and in any cases where a character is surprised at first glance by Orbie, it warms up to him after getting to know him better. He doesn't wear clothes or appear to require them; however, he does wear clothing and boots if it's raining, cold or snowing. He is a natural acrobat, often breaking into leaps and flips out of sheer joy and has pads on his fingers and toes which enable him to climb walls and hang from the ceiling. He can also use these pads to help him climb other things, but they work best on flat surfaces. He sleeps in Katie's closet, hanging upside down from the bar like a bat. His sound effects are made by Chris Wightman. * Wayne - Katie's father as well as Orbie's adoptive father. He is always referred to as ''Dad'', but his real name is mentioned in the episode ''The Thunderstorm''. He works at an office building, but his actual job is never mentioned. He is very thoughtful towards Katie, Orbie, and his wife, Susan, and often acts in a funny way to amuse them. He was born and grew up in the city, where his parents still live. * Susan - Katie's mother and Orbie's adoptive mother. She is always referred to as ''Mom'', but her real name is mentioned in the episode ''Mrs. Parette's Picture''. Although she is mostly seen at home, she apparently holds an unknown job too, being shown in some episodes as making or taking business calls, mentioned as doing paperwork, going into the city to attend meetings and even winning an award for her work. Her parents live in the same suburb as the family. The family's surname was never mentioned. They also possess a cottage on the shore of a lake (which was bought by Wayne's parents) in which they occasionally spend time, especially in the summer. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Katie and Orbie」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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