LazyTown



LazyTown is an Icelandic educational musical comedy program with a cast and crew from Iceland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It is based upon a children's book from 1991 titled Áfram Latibær! and was created by Magnús Scheving, a gymnastics champion who also plays the character Sportacus. The series was commissioned by Nickelodeon in 2003, following the production of two stage plays and a test pilot. Originally performed in American English, the show has been dubbed into more than thirty languages (including Icelandic) and aired in over 180 countries.

53 episodes were produced from 2004 to 2007, for the first and second seasons. It originally aired on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block in the United States and internationally. Turner Broadcasting System Europe acquired LazyTown Entertainment in 2011 and commissioned third and fourth seasons for a total of 28 new episodes, which premiered in 2013 on Turner's Cartoonito and later on Viacom's Channel 5.

Multiple spin-off projects were created, including stage productions and a short-format television program for younger children titled LazyTown Extra.

Plot
The series focuses on eight-year-old Stephanie, the newest resident of the LazyTown community. She has moved to LazyTown to live with her uncle, Mayor Meanswell, and is surprised to learn that all of her neighbors lead inactive lifestyles. With the help of an above-average superhero named Sportacus, she helps teach the other residents how to partake in more athletic pastimes. Her attempts are often nearly thwarted by Robbie Rotten, who prefers to lead a sluggish life and is agitated by the sudden boom of physical activity. On a regular basis, Robbie devises ill-judged schemes to make LazyTown lazy once again. However, his plans are never foolproof and always end with him losing.

Each of the children that Stephanie befriends embodies negative characteristics. Ziggy, who is kindhearted and wants to be a superhero when he grows up, has an unbalanced diet void of fruits and vegetables. Trixie is a troublemaker with little respect for rules and other people. Pixel is an inventor who displays anti-social behavior and spends too much time on his computer. Stingy has a self-centered attitude and is possessive of nearly everything in town. As the series progresses, the characters become less lazy in favor of a healthier way of living.

The program features a predominantly Europop soundtrack. Each episode features at least one original song and concludes with a different performance of "Bing Bang", which is sung by Stephanie. Many tracks are reworked versions of songs from the Icelandic plays.

Main characters

 * Stephanie (played by Julianna Rose Mauriello/Chloe Lang) is the enthusiastic and sweet newcomer to town. She lives in a yellow house with her uncle, Mayor Meanswell. Recognizable by her all-pink attire, Stephanie is initially disappointed by her new friends' laziness and coaxes them to partake in healthier activities. Her attempts are often nearly thwarted by Robbie Rotten, but Stephanie is eternally optimistic and always manages to triumph over any challenges in the end.


 * Sportacus (played by Magnús Scheving) is the local superhero. He resides in a blue airship above LazyTown and is alerted to impending danger by a beeping crystal on the chest of his costume. Understanding, courageous, and helpful, he is devoted to exercise and has a rivalry with Robbie Rotten. Sportacus lives on a diet of fruit and vegetables, which he refers to as "sports candy". Eating junk food makes him immediately lose all his strength and abilities, which can only be restored by eating healthier options.


 * Robbie Rotten (played by Stefán Karl Stefánsson) is a lazy man who continuously formulates feckless schemes in which he masquerades in a disguise to lure the residents away from their newly-active lifestyles. He passionately abhors the influence of Stephanie and Sportacus on the townspeople. A number of his plans are intended to do away with them. Ironically, Robbie places so much effort into his schemes that he becomes one of LazyTown's most active citizens.


 * Ziggy (played by Guðmundur Þór Kárason) is the youngest resident, who is usually clad in a superhero outfit with a cape. He loves to eat candy and sweets—particularly lollipops. After Stephanie came along, he discovered that there is more to childhood than sugary treats. He is now active and participates in any sport the gang plays, but still enjoys candy in moderation.


 * Trixie (played by Sarah Burgess/Aymee Garcia) is a troublemaker who loves pranks, but nonetheless enjoys playing with everyone else. She tends to make sarcastic remarks about the others. Trixie refers to Stephanie as "Pinky" when trying to get her attention. She also likes to draw moustaches on the mayor's posters. Trixie represents impatience and a lack of respect for rules.


 * Pixel (played by Ronald Binion/Julie Westwood and voiced by Kobie Powell) is an inventor who loves computers. He fixes up all sorts of gadgets to avoid doing physical activities himself. Pixel is not very sociable due to the large amount of time he spends alone. He has a big crush on Stephanie and finds it difficult to talk to her in early episodes. His house often serves as a meeting spot for the rest of the kids, since it is spacious and contains a television.


 * Stingy (played by Jodi Eichelberger) is a selfish resident who wears a yellow sweater vest and a polka-dotted bow tie. From the second season onward, he is often seen with rectangular glasses that he needs for reading. He owns a yellow 1978 Mini Cooper and frequently mentions his unseen father, who is supposedly the wealthiest man in town. Stingy represents possessiveness and a self-centered attitude.


 * Mayor Milford Meanswell (played by David Matthew Feldman) is a nervous wreck who has a crush on Miss Busybody. He loves his niece Stephanie very much and calls Sportacus if she feels sad or depressed. He is known for saying "Oh my!" whenever anything is wrong. The mayor is old-fashioned and often perplexed by modern technological terms.


 * Bessie Busybody (played by Julie Westwood) is an adult resident. Although patronizing, she tries her best to be motherly with the children. She is aware of every new trend and is pompous but fashionable. Bessie loves to talk on her cell phone and is sometimes so engaged in a phone call that she is oblivious to the events occurring around her.

Recurring characters

 * Piggy is Stingy's piggy bank, which he treats as if it were a person. He considers Piggy his best friend, despite how the bank is inanimate.


 * Jives is a lethargic and weak teenage boy who lives in a tall house that appears to be bending over. He wears a green cap and a yellow sweatshirt. Jives is only physically seen in the Icelandic plays, but his home remains in the TV series. He also makes several cameo appearances on cards and books. Jives never comes outside because he is always sleeping.


 * The rooster is a symbol of LazyTown, appearing on the town seal and on the papers in Mayor Meanswell's filing cabinets. His crowing can be heard during scenes set in the early morning. In the second play, the rooster was an anthropomorphic character who acted as a narrator.


 * The kitten is a small black cat seen in three episodes of the first season. The kitten has a propensity for climbing trees and often needs to be saved by Sportacus.


 * Roboticus is a robot ordered by Robbie to replace Sportacus as the superhero of LazyTown. After this plan fails, Roboticus is never seen functioning again. He appears in the wardrobe of Robbie's lair later on.


 * Johnny B. Badd is a famed rock-and-roll singer with an attire and general personality similar to those of Elvis Presley. He is physically shown in "The Last SportsCandy" and is impersonated by Robbie in "Rockin' Robbie".


 * Santa Claus is a Christmas character who delivers presents to LazyTown in "The Holiday Spirit" and is impersonated by Robbie in "LazyTown's Surprise Santa".

History and production
LazyTown began as a storybook published in 1991 titled Áfram Latibær! ("Go, Go, LazyTown!"). In 1996, a stage adaptation of the book toured Iceland. It featured Stephanie as an out-of-shape dancer and Sportacus as an energetic elf. The puppet characters seen in the television series also appeared in human form, but Robbie Rotten did not yet exist. A second stage show titled Glanni Glæpur í Latabæ ("Robbie Rotten in LazyTown") debuted in 1999. It introduced Stefán Karl Stefánsson as Robbie and featured more finalized versions of the other characters. Nickelodeon Australia reported that by the time the second play finished touring, LazyTown had become a household name in Iceland. A variety of tie-in products and media were created in the country before Scheving decided to develop LazyTown into a television program; these included bottled water, toy figures, and a radio station.

LazyTown combines live-action, puppetry and CGI animation. In most episodes, the only characters played by live actors are Stephanie, Sportacus, and Robbie Rotten. The rest of the characters are depicted as puppets, made by the Neal Scanlan Studio and Wit Puppets. The show was filmed and produced at 380 Studios, a purpose-built studio near Reykjavík equipped with high-end HDTV production facilities and one of the largest green screens in the world. The production floor area is 1,800 square meters. The budget for each episode was approximately ISK 70,000,000 (US$1 million), about five times the average cost for a children's television programme at the time, making it "the most expensive children's show in the world" according to Scheving.

Its virtual sets were generated with an Unreal Engine 3-based framework, created by Raymond P. Le Gué and known as XRGen4. According to Le Gué, "We start with the live actors and puppets on a physical set with a green screen behind them as a backdrop. The green screen is replaced in real time with the sets created in XRGen4 using UE3. As we move the camera and actors around the physical set, the backdrop scene also moves in real time in complete synchronization with the movements of the real camera. All of this is recorded, and the director can watch the resulting composition in real time." Seasons 3 and 4 of LazyTown were filmed as usual in the LazyTown Studios in Iceland, but the special effects were created this time round by Turner Studios in Atlanta.

Episodes
Fifty-three episodes were produced for the first two seasons of LazyTown between 2004 and 2007. The final two seasons, consisting of twenty-eight episodes, aired from 2013 to 2014.

Broadcast
In the United States, the show debuted on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block on 16 August 2004. The second season debuted in the United States on Nick Jr. in 2006. It also aired in the United States on CBS as part of the Nickelodeon on CBS Saturday morning block from 17 September 2005 to 9 September 2006. The series would continue to air daily on the Nick Jr. channel until July 17, 2010.

The series has been broadcast on a variety of networks internationally, many of which belong to Viacom Media Networks. Nickelodeon Southeast Asia has carried the program in eleven territories. In Australia and New Zealand, it is shown on Nickelodeon Australia. In the United Kingdom, it was aired on Nick Jr. UK, Noggin, and CBeebies. The series arrived in the UK in September 2005, making a simultaneous debut on both Nickelodeon and CBeebies. After the series was revived for seasons three and four, Turner's Cartoonito in the UK premiered episodes from 2013-2014. Viacom's Channel 5 also aired the newer episodes as part of its Milkshake! block until 2016. Channel 5's Demand 5 service carried episodes of the British version in 2015.

In 2008, a Spanish-dubbed version of LazyTown debuted on V-me, a television network created for the Hispanic market in the US. NBC began airing it every Saturday on 7 July 2012, as part of the new Saturday morning NBC Kids pre-school block until early-2016. The Spanish-dubbed version also airs on Telemundo (a sister station to NBC) as part of the new weekend pre-school morning block MiTelemundo.

The series has been dubbed into thirty-two languages.

Merchandise
In February 2005, Nickelodeon unveiled a collection of LazyTown products at the American International Toy Fair. Fisher-Price partnered with Viacom's consumer product division to produce the merchandise, all of which was designed to encourage physical activity.

Ratings
The week of LazyTown's debut on Nickelodeon in the United States was the channel's highest-rated premiere week in three years. A broadcast of the hour-long primetime episode "LazyTown's New Superhero" in August 2005 drew three million total viewers, ranking number-one in its time period among all broadcast and cable television with the 2–5, 2–11, and 6–11 demographics. The episode garnered double-digit increases over the last Nick Jr. primetime special to air before it, which was an episode of the network's then-highest-rated series Dora the Explorer.

Critical reception
The Hollywood Reporter's Marilyn Moss praised the show’s intentions to encourage exercise, calling it "great fun for the very young set, not to mention educational, maybe even life-changing." Justin New of The Washington Times called LazyTown "a great show" and stated that he admired the Sportacus character. Common Sense Media's Joly Herman gave the show a more mixed review, stating that the characters' healthy choices are "sometimes lost in the show's chaotic nature." Pete Vonder Haar of the Houston Press called LazyTown "pretty much the creepiest show on TV since Twin Peaks," citing the "off-putting" mix of live-action and puppetry.

The program has been noted for its appeal towards multiple age groups. In 2005, The Boston Globe stated that the program "has sparked a cult of healthy living among a certain preschool set [and] has a grown-up following, too." Lynne Heffley of the Los Angeles Times stated that LazyTown "has zany appeal, even to viewers who are no longer 'junior.'"

LazyTown Extra
On 15 September 2008, a spin-off television series called LazyTown Extra debuted in the United Kingdom on CBeebies. A "magazine format style show" for 3- to 6-year-olds, it features characters from LazyTown in an assortment of short sketches. 26 episodes of LazyTown Extra were produced, each between 11 and 15 minutes in duration.

Promotional events


From June to August 2005, LazyTown's Stephanie hosted the "Nick Jr. Power Play Summer" event, which involved a series of television spots that replaced the channel's standard on-air continuity. Similarly to the live performances and the program itself, this campaign was an experiment designed by the network to increase awareness of exercise and nutrition in its preschool audience.

Nickelodeon produced a stage show titled LazyTown Live! in 2005. It debuted at Nickelodeon Suites Resort on 6 August. A modified version toured the United Kingdom and Ireland between October 2007 and August 2008. It introduced a new cast to the United Kingdom, including Julian Essex-Spurrier as Sportacus.

A Spanish-speaking version of the live show premiered in Mexico in 2008, followed by Argentina, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama. it was scheduled to tour the United States in 2010.

From 28 January to 29 November 2009, a live stage production entitled ''LazyTown Live! The Pirate Adventure'' toured the United Kingdom and Ireland. It featured characters and songs from LazyTown, performed by a new cast.

New productions of LazyTown Live had their premières in November 2009 in Portugal and in March 2010 in Spain by producers Lemon Entertainment.

A live show LazyTown in Schools premièred in Australia in 2012, touring schools to promote healthy eating and fitness for children.