Word Party
GenreEducational
CreatorAlex Rockwell
VoicesDorien Davies
Victor Yerrid
Donna Kimball
John Tartaglia
Alice Dinnean
Risa Mei
NarratorPatina Miller
Theme music composerAlex Geringas, Mike Himelstein, Dena Diamond
Open theme"Word Party"
End theme"Word Party" (instrumental)
ComposerMichael Silversher and Patty Silversher
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Num seasons5
Num episodes60
Executive producerLisa Henson
Halle Stanford
Alex Rockwell
LocationClubhouse
Runtime13 minutes
CompanyThe Jim Henson Company
First airedJuly 8, 2016
Last airedMarch 2, 2021
NetworkNetflix

Word Party (also known as Jim Henson's Word Party) is an American animated children's television series that started streaming on Netflix in 2016. The series was created by The Jim Henson Company, using Henson Digital Puppetry Studio.

Overview

The vocabulary-building program features a group of five young animals, Kip the wallaby (John Tartaglia), Bailey the elephant (Victor Yerrid), leader Franny the cheetah (Donna Kimball), the mascot Lulu the panda (Dorien Davies), and Tilly the tortoise (Alice Dinnean), "as they sing, dance and play."[1] The show invites young viewers to help teach the baby animals new words, practice these new words themselves, and celebrate these achievements with a "Word Party!", hence the series' title name. The show is narrated by Patina Miller.

Characters

Main

  • Kip is a wallaby joey and is the second oldest of the group. He loves to jump and is the jokester of the group. Sometimes when he tries to guess what the other babies are feeling, or what someone else is trying to tell him, he has trouble finding out what it is, with him comically and humorously failing. With help from the other babies and Word Wally, he finds the words for what someone else is feeling or saying.
  • Franny is a cheetah cub and the eldest and leader of the group. Lulu is her best friend. Sometimes, when she is in a low mood, it is difficult for the others to tell what is bothering her, but she accepts help when she needs it most. She has stated several times, "Well, I am the oldest."
  • Bailey is an elephant calf who loves to pretend. He is the middle aged of the group. He has a big heart and cares a lot about the other babies. He often helps the other babies when they do not have the words to express their feelings.
  • Lulu is a panda cub who is the second youngest of the group. Due to being younger than the other babies (with the exception of Tilly), it is often difficult for her to fully express how she is feeling. She finds it harder to find the necessary words to express what she wants to say, occasionally does not speak in full sentences, and gets frustrated when others cannot understand her.
  • Tilly is a Mandarin-speaking baby tortoise who appears as a main character in season 4. She is the smallest of the babies. Due to being the youngest of the group alongside Lulu, she is often soft-spoken and does not talk very much, though words cannot always describe what she wants to express.

Word Party Presents: Math!

Word Party Presents: Math! is the short-lived sequel to series, teaching math. It was released on Netflix on December 28, 2021. A sneak peek of the sequel was uploaded on the Netflix Jr channel on December 1, 2021.

See also

References

  1. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (June 30, 2015). "Netflix Adding Three Original Preschool Toons". Animation Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2015.