WordGirl

WordGirl
Title card
Also known asThe Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl
Genre
Created byDorothea Gillim
Developed by
  • Dorothea Gillim
  • Jack D. Ferraiolo
Directed byDavid SanAngelo
Steve Young
Voices of
Narrated by
Theme music composer
  • Steve D'Angelo
  • Terry Tompkins
Opening theme"Word Up, It's WordGirl!"
Ending theme"Word Up, It's WordGirl!" (instrumental)
ComposerEggplant Productions Inc.
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons8
No. of episodes128 (248 segments)
1 film (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Dorothea Gillim (2007–09/seasons 1–2)
  • Deborah Forte (2009–15/seasons 2–8)
Producers
  • Will Shepard (2007–09/season 1)
  • Danielle Gillis (2009–15/seasons 2–8)
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesSoup2Nuts
Scholastic Entertainment
Original release
Network
ReleaseNovember 10, 2006 (2006-11-10) –
October 10, 2007 (2007-10-10)
ReleaseSeptember 3, 2007 (2007-09-03) –
August 7, 2015 (2015-08-07)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

WordGirl (stylized as W✪RD GIRL) is an American animated children's superhero television series produced by the Soup2Nuts animation unit of Scholastic Entertainment for PBS Kids.[2] The series began as a series of shorts entitled The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl that premiered on PBS Kids Go! on November 10, 2006, usually shown at the end of Maya & Miguel; the segment was then spun off into a new thirty-minute episodic series that premiered on September 3, 2007 to August 7, 2015 on most PBS member stations. The series of shorts consisted of thirty episodes, with 128 episodes in the full half-hour series and a film. WordGirl creator Dorothea Gillim felt that most children's animation "underestimated [children's] sense of humor" and hoped to create a more intellectual show for young audiences.[3]

By June 2014, many PBS stations had stopped airing WordGirl, opting to air more popular series throughout the summer.[4][5] However, new episodes continued to air on select stations, with streaming options on the PBS Kids website and video app. The series ended[6] with the two-part episode "Rhyme and Reason", which was released on August 7, 2015.[7][8]

The show was created for children ages 4–9.[9] By 2022, the show had gained a cult following through social media.[3]

  1. ^ https://www.pbs.org/parents/shows/wordgirl/about
  2. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 706–707. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. ^ a b Stein, Minnah (July 16, 2022). "WordGirl Is the Captain Marvel of PBS". Collider. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  4. ^ "PBS KIDS Offers Free, Fun and Educational Content and Tools for Families This Summer". About PBS - Main. Archived from the original on July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  5. ^ AETN (May 7, 2014). "New PBS KIDS "Double Your Fun" Summer Lineup". Arkansas PBS. Archived from the original on July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  6. ^ Girl, Word (August 6, 2015). "Facebook post". Facebook. Archived from the original on August 26, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  7. ^ PBS Kids (August 8, 2015). "WORDGIRL | Rhyme and Reason, Part 1/Rhyme and Reason, Part 2 | PBS KIDS – YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 1, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  8. ^ "TV Schedules - AZPM". Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  9. ^ Jensen, Elizabeth (September 2, 2007). "A New Heroine's Fighting Words". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2023.