Bambaloo
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Bambaloo is an Australian children's television program. The series was originally shown on the Seven Network, but more recently it has been shown on ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation). The series first debuted in 2003. The series is produced by Flying Bark Productions, the Seven Network and The Jim Henson Company.
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Show Overview
| In an unspecified tropical part of the world, near a little town and a river that leads to the sea you will find the Bambaloo tree.
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Sam lives in a jungle treehouse along with her animal friends – Jet the Fish, Fidget the Dog and Portia the Bird. Also living in the Bambaloo Tree, but unknown to many of the residents, are two adventurous mice named Jinx and Gypsy. They often will row across the river to meet their friend Jake, the local "make it" guy.
Each week the show revolve on a different topic, and each day the show will focus on a different aspect of the weekly theme. In each episode Sam and her friends show creative ways to explore the world and face their problems through the use of music, stories, puzzles, games, songs and imagination.
Every episode of Bambaloo uses structured segments and elements that are featured and repeated in order to give children a stable routine and flow to the show. Each of the segments has a song that signals the viewer the transition between segments.
Segments include:
- Mail Time: The song "Open It", sung by Jinx and Gypsy, signals time for a letter or a present to Sam or one of her animal friends. The delivery often will tie into the theme or story for the day.
- Games and Puzzles: Sam and the cast sing "Let’s All Play Together" to introduce the segment where they play a game or do a puzzle. They often will encourage the viewer to try the game at home and will provide instructions on how to do so.
- Footage: Jinx and Gypsy sing the song "We Can Show You" as they push the button to activate a screen to show live-action on-location footage to will often help Sam and the cast understand the theme of the day.
- Storytime: The mice sing "Hello, Hello" while they call a friend on the phone to come and help. The guest will arrive and help by telling everyone a story. Sam will sing "We Can Be" as the group gets ready to help act out the story.
- Feature Songs: The series also includes more than 13 additional featured songs that are rotated weekly. Each week the same song is featured over all 5 days. The song is often ties into the theme for the week.
- Jakes Makes: The mice will visit Jake to ask him to make something to help with the daily problem. The making process is often shown in a quick montage of step-by-step instructions that give an overview of how to make the object or craft of the day.
Main Characters
Cast
Human Cast
- Angela Kelly as Sam the Human
- André Eikmeier as Jake the Human
Puppet Performers
- Emma de Vries as Portia the Bird
- Adam Kronenberg as Fidget the Dog
- David Collins as Jet the Fish and Jinx the Mouse
- Roslyn Oades as Gypsy the Mouse
