The Dad Behind 'The Doodlebops'
The Doodlebops are taking two nations by storm. Surely you've heard of them! If you haven't yet, you undoubtedly will soon. They're the hottest new children's show since The Wiggles.
The Doodlebops are DeeDee, Moe and Rooney Doodle--pretend rock stars starring in a musical comedy show. They have oodles of energy and play catchy music.
Each episode takes you backstage as they interact and together tackle life's problems. At the end of each show, they perform.
Produced in Canada, the program premiered last summer on the CBC, and in a very short time, has become a hit show. In the U.S., the Disney Channel began airing The Doodlebops in April as part of its Playhouse Disney lineup.
"The show is vibrant, colorful, fun and funny, all elements that are appealing to preschoolers," says Patti McTeague, spokesperson for the Disney Channel in Los Angeles. "The music built into the show supports many common themes parents are reviewing with their preschoolers such as making friends and pl aying well together."
McTeague says The Doodlebops show is a top performer in the Playhouse block among children ages 2-5.
Now, The Doodlebops are about to step out of the small screen. There's a real-life concert tour planned, a DVD and even Doodlebops dolls!
People just can't stop talking about the show.
Even as producers build the show's official internet site, several "unofficial" sites have already sprung up.
"Why did we decide to create a website for The Doodlebops?" says one site. "We did this because our son... saw one episode of The Doodlebops, and fell quickly in love."
The man who created The Doodlebops is a dad of two. Jamie Waese talks with interactive DAD about his hit show; how he tries to make the program educational as well as entertaining; and the best way to watch TV with your kids.
Waese talked with interactive DAD from Toronto, Ontario, Canada following a costume meeting with CBC executives.
interactive DAD: How did this idea come about and tell me about the name, it’s rather unusual?
Waese: The Doodlebops is a fun name for a rock band. We were just looking for a fun name, what can I say. I wish I had a better story to tell you about that!
interactive DAD: How did the idea come about?
Waese: We have a really fabulous songwriter/music director who’s also co-creator of the series, his name is Carl Lenox. And he one day came up with the idea of doing a show for pre-schoolers about a rock band. And then I… helped flesh out the look, feel and style of the show and then The Doodlebops emerged.
interactive DAD: I think it’s an unusual show from my observations because of the costumes. Looking at the hands, they almost seem cartoon like…
Waese: I like to describe the show as a live-action cartoon. We obviously are drawing references from a number of live action shows. And we crossed it with elements from Pee Wee's Playhouse and The Banana Splits and all sorts of wonderful things from our childhood. My background is in animation. I used to work for The Walt Disney Company and came up through the ranks in Saturday morning cartoons and I bring that to it.
interactive DAD: What cartoons were you involved with?
Waese: I was an executive in charge of production for a show called Recess (and involved in) Buzz Lightyear Star Command. It was a fun time and a really good education for me and I worked my way through a number of things in Canada… But this show is my first live-action show and I think you can really see the cartoon influence in it.
interactive DAD: When watching the show, I noticed that you have certain scenes repeated almost identically in every episode, like ‘Don’t Pull the Rope' the pledge of 'I Promise to Care, I Promise to Share...'
Waese: That’s one of the things that I really like about the series: the repetitiveness, doing similar things in similar ways every episode. A lot of times like after (Moe) pulls the rope there’s a different funny line. A lot of times with The Pledge we’ll follow up with a different funny line.
Stefon Harris And Blackout On JazzSet
At the Kennedy Center Jazz Club bandstand, Harris' vibes run parallel to the edge of the stage and perpendicular to his marimba. Like a boxer in the ring, he works the corner where the keys meet. Hear Harris and his band Blackout pound on OutKast and Jackie McLean in two sets.
I like the sameness and minor differences. It just sort of helps build the style--and when I watch the show with children they really respond to that. They shout at the TV, they know it’s coming, it’s comfortable. One of the things that a lot of people are trying to do these days is combat the "couch potato syndrome" and we’re doing that by encouraging kids to dance.
interactive DAD: What about the education components, you have the oath, the plege, which you talked about, the 'We promise to care, promise to share…"
Waese: When we were developing the series we met with a number of developmental psychologists to find out what the hot button issues are right now in children’s programming.
One of the things that came out as something that’s imporant to preschool teachers but not being addressed in the current batch of television shows right now is a notion called "school rediness."
What preschool teachers are reporting is that children need to come into classrooms with more social skills, and with more confidence working problems out together and respecting one-another’s space.
So school-readiness is what was an important part in the educational foundation of our show. We found that a rock band is a really good way of sort of approaching that problem.
Here we have a situation where there’s three young people who are working together. The three of them are sharing the same goals and the same resources and together they have to work out the problems that arise: Like who’s going to write the song for the concert tonight; who’s going to be the one chosen to be on the cover of the magazine; who’s going to be the one that decides what they’re gonna play that day and how they’re going to play. And so it’s really a nice way to deal with the same issues that preschoolers deal with in a fun and a more glamourous way. I mean who doesn’t want to hang out with coolest rock band in the world?
interactive DAD: You’re a dad yourself…
Waese: I am. I have a one year old and a 4 year old.
interactive DAD: What message would you have for dads when it comes to watching TV with their kids?
Waese: I do find that watching shows along with your children is a good way to underscore whatever value or social value you’re hoping to get out of shows.
A really helpful thing to do, is after you see a show that conveys a good scene or message or lesson, is to ask them a few questions. Just see if they were paying attention or if their eyes were glazed over. ‘So would you have done the same thing that DeeDee did there?’ ‘Do you agree with the way they solved that problem?’ Just do it casually, not as a teacher would. But just to engage your child in conversation. Show them that you’re interested in the same thing they're interested in.
interactive DAD: Where do you see The Doodlebops in the months and years to come? Do you hope to be as big as The Wiggles?
Waese: We have some exciting things coming up. We have an album and an 8-DVD set that’s going to be released…
We have a live tour that’s going to be annouced soon. A cross-country live tour that will then move down to the U.S. in the following year. We have a toy line that will be announced shortly. Then we are just gearing up for a second season of 26 new episodes. Slowly but surely we hope to continue growing the band.
interactive DAD: It’s really getting big in Canada, right?
Waese: The show’s doing very well. We’re doing very well in our ratings and we get lots and lots of fan mail everyday. It’s a really exciting time.
To send fan mail: info@doodlebops.com
Watch on the Disney Channel: Weekdays at 6:30am and 11:00am ET and on the weekends at 7:30am ET
Watch on the CBC: Weekdays, 10:00am - 10:20am Canada
About the Author
Glenn Lawrence is editor of Interactive DAD Magazine, http://www.InteractiveDadMagazine.com, FREE, daily online magazine for fathers focusing on family and finance. Got a parenting or relationship question? ASK THE EXPERT psychiatrist FREE, http://www.InteractiveDadMagazine.com/asktheexpert.htm
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