Impact
Bob the Builder was nominated in the BAFTA "Pre-school animation" category from 1999 to 2009, and won the "Children's Animation" category in 2003 for the special episode "A Christmas to Remember".[2] Of the show's success, Sarah Ball said:
I think diggers and dumpers fascinate kids in the same way that they are drawn to dinosaurs. They both have a timeless appeal. The technique of stop motion is very tangible - the characters look like you can just pick them up and play with them. It’s a safe, lovely, bright, colourful world, which is very appealing. Curtis Jobling did a fantastic job designing the show - it’s very simple and stylized but has such charm.
—Interview with Sarah Ball, Gurgle.com[3]
Bob the Builder has been parodied by Robot Chicken in the episode "More Blood, More Chocolate", and by Comedy Inc. as Bodgy Builder.
Bob was also parodied on Cartoon Network's MAD in the episode "S'UP / Mouse M.D." In the episode when Mickey Mouse portraysGregory House he goes to perform surgery on Bob who smashed his thumb asking similar to his famous catchphrase "Can we fix it?" Mickey then replies no and orders for it to be amputated. He later appears in another episode when Bob interacts with Manny fromHandy Manny after they get into a fender bender and get into an argument with Bob saying "Stop copying my show!" He leaves then someone tells Manny he just got built. In another episode, "Kung Fu Blander / Destroy Bob the Builder Destroy", Mad parodies Bob the Builder and Destroy Build Destroy. In the episode, Andrew W.K. of Destroy Build Destroy, is portrayed as being a jerk towards Bob. Andrew destroys everything Bob builds. In the end, Bob transforms his construction vehicles into Build-Tron (a parody ofVoltron). A New Yorker cartoon shows a parent in a toy store asking for toys depicting Alex the Architect, supposedly a white-collar equivalent to Bob the Builder.
Characters
Main article: List of Bob the Builder characters
Merchandise
Various companies manufacture licensed Bob the Builder Merchandise (e.g.: Brio, Lego Duplo, Hasbro, Learning Curve, etc.) since about 1999 to present. Sometimes some fans make fan-made merchandise for the television show, such as racing games that are not related to the show.[citation needed]
Lego Duplo/Explorer
Lego began manufacturing licensed Duplo Bob the Builder sets in 2001. Lego Explorer also made the sets using the same bricks that Duplo used (e.g. Naughty Spud, Wallpaper Wendy, etc.). The sets were aimed at younger children, two and up. Duplo manufactured the sets (e.g. Scoop at Bobland Bay, Muck Can Do It, etc.) until 2009 when Lego's contract expired.[citation needed]
Hasbro
Hasbro created licensed Bob the Builder characters. They included talking characters and others to go with the Bob the Builder line. The Hasbro line was discontinued in 2005 when Learning Curve took the chance to take over.[citation needed]
Learning Curve
Learning Curve among countless others held a license to make the toys, but discontinued them. They first merchandised their Bob the Builder products in 2005 after the Hasbro range was discontinued. Learning Curve also created the Thomas & Friends characters, while the company still makes the sets (e.g. Scoop, Muck, Lofty, Dizzy, andys trailer etc.) and then sold them to stores. They discontinued them in 2010 and it is unknown if they could ever return to making them. The toys are currently available in the United Kingdom byCharacter Options.[citation needed]
Character World
In 2012 Character World announced that they had signed a license to manufacture official Bob the Builder bedding and bedroom textiles. A duvet cover is said to be available in the UK in late 2012.
Video games
Various companies released the Bob the Builder games.
Fix it Fun! (Game Boy Color, NTSC/PAL) - 2000
Can We Fix It? (PC, PS1, NTSC/PAL) - 2001
Bob Builds a Park (PC, NTSC/PAL) - 2002
Bob's Castle Adventure (PC, NTSC/PAL) - 2003
Project: Build It (PS2, PAL only) - 2005
Bob the Builder: Can-Do-Zoo (PC, NTSC/PAL) - 2008
Festival of Fun! (PS2, Wii, Nintendo DS, PAL only) - 2009
Project Build It
For a more comprehensive list, see List of Bob the Builder episodes.
In the second season, a sort of spin-off series was created titled Bob the Builder: Project Build It. Bob hears of a contest to build a new community in a remote area called Sunflower Valley, outside of Bobsville. He moves from Bobsville (supposedly temporarily) with Wendy and the machines and builds a new Yard there. Bob convinces his father, Robert, to come out of retirement and take over the Bobsville building business. It is unknown whether Bob will return to Bobsville or not.
For the US version of the Project Build-It series, different actors were found to do the voices for many of the human characters, including casting Greg Proops as the new voice of Bob, and Neil Morrissey, who played the original Bob, to be the voices of Spud the Scarecrow and Mr. Bentley. The show also added recycling and being environmentally friendlyto its lessons, emphasising the phrase "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."
Ready, Steady, Build!
The third spin-off was titled Bob the Builder: Ready, Steady, Build! It was created by Keith Chapman and Mallory Lewis. The group, now joined by newcomer Scratch are now residing in the town of Fixham Harbour (which is very similar to Bobsville, and is even implied to be Bobsville in several episodes), deal with construction and other building tasks around the area. Unlike previous series, Ready, Steady, Build! is animated in full CGI animation, which allows for larger and more elaborate construction projects that would be too large or expensive for the model sets of the stop-motion series, though it still retains the theme song.[4]
Voice actors
Voice actors who have contributed to the original British version include Neil Morrissey, Rob Rackstraw, Kate Harbour, Rupert Degas, Colin McFarlane, Maria Darling, Emma Tate,Richard Briers, June Whitfield, Richard Herman, and Wayne Forester.
Celebrities who have provided voices for the series (usually for one-off specials) include John Motson, Sue Barker, Kerry Fox, Ulrika Jonsson, Alison Steadman, Stephen Tompkinson, Elton John, Noddy Holder, and Chris Evans (Bobsville's resident rock star Lennie Lazenby).
International broadcasts
Bob the Builder is shown in more than thirty countries, and versions are available in English, French, Spanish, Slovenian, German, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi and Croatian, among other languages. It is shown on CBeebies on BBC television in the UK.
The North American version of the show uses the original British footage and script, but dubs the voices in American accents and slang; for example, the word "soccer" is used instead of "football" to avoid confusion with the gridiron forms of the game. The original North American voice of Bob (and Farmer Pickles/Mr. Beasley/Mr. Sabatini) was William Dufris, however, he was replaced with comedian Greg Proops. More recently, Bob's US voice has been provided by Marc Silk, an English voice actor from Birmingham.[5][6]
When being exported to Japan, it was reported that characters of Bob the Builder would be doctored to have five fingers instead of the original four. This was because of a practice among the Yakuza, the famed Japanese mafia, where members would "cut off their little fingers as a sign they can be trusted and have strength of character, and will stay through."[7] In fact, Bob the Builder aired in Japan without such edits,[8] as did other series including Postman Pat and The Simpsons.
