The Toy Castle

The Toy Castle (French: Le Château magique) is a Canadian children's television show that aired on Treehouse TV, TFO and Télé-Québec. It was produced from 3 January 2000 to 26 December 2003 by Sound Venture Productions. It was inspired by Sound Venture Productions' 1992 Christmas ballet special The Tin Soldier, which starred Frank Augustyn and was based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale.[1][2] It is now shown during the Christmas season on Treehouse, TFO and Tele-Quebec. Told through ballet and narration, the stories are about a group of toys in a toy castle that magically come to life when the children are asleep. This series won a Gemini Award in 2003 for "Best Preschool Series".[3]

The Toy Castle / Le Château magique
GenreSupernatural
Fantasy
Created byKatherine Jeans
Based onThe Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen
Developed bySound Venture Productions
Written byNancy Trites-Botkin
Rick Jones
Timothy Spain
Mike Laewen
Marc Charbonneau
Directed byKatherine Jeans
Narrated byRick Jones and Marc Charbonneau
ComposerAndrew Huggett
Country of originCanada
Original languagesEnglish
French
No. of seasons3 + 1 pilot
No. of episodes65 + 1 pilot
Production
ProducerNeil Bregman
Production locationsWinnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
EditorsCheryl Gadoury
Kevin Kocvar
Running time22 minutes
Production companySound Venture Productions
DistributorAmerican Public Television (United States)
France Télévisions and Groupe Canal+ (Worldwide)
Release
Original networkTreehouse TV and PBS Kids (English)
TFO, Télé-Québec, France 3 and Piwi+ (French)
Original release1992 (pilot)
3 January 2000 
26 December 2003 (2003-12-26)

Plot

The Toy Castle is a show about a group of toys that magically come to life when their children are asleep. When the children are about to wake up, the toys dash around fast until they are back in their former positions. Each episode consists of three story lines, in which the toys all dance around the castle and get into situations which the viewer may relate to.[4]

Characters

  • The Soldier (Jorden Morris) - Soldier enjoys marching and dancing, and loves the lovely Ballerina. Judging by his accent, he is of British nationality (French nationality in the French-language version).
  • The Ballerina (Elizabeth Olds) - Ballerina enjoys dancing and loves the soldier. Judging by her accent, she is of French nationality (British nationality in the French-language version). She is best friends with China Doll and Rag Doll.
  • The China Doll (Jennifer Welsman) - China Doll enjoys dancing and tea. She is shy and prefers quiet activities. She is best friends with Ballerina and Rag Doll.
  • The Clown (Keir Knight) - Clown is a loud and wild toy. He likes joking around and playing. His best friends are Goblin and Rag Doll.
  • The Goblin (Yosuke Mino) - Goblin enjoys playing pranks on people and teasing. His best friends are Rag Doll and Clown.
  • The Rag Doll (Sayaka Karasugi) - Rag Doll enjoys twirling and playing. She dreams of being a pretty lady like Ballerina and China Doll. Her best friends are Goblin, Clown, Ballerina and China Doll.
  • The Sailor (Raven S. Wilder) - Sailor likes to tell tales and sail the seven seas. His favorite dance is the jig.
  • The Strong Man (David Lucas) - Strong Man likes lifting weights and his stuffed cat, Meow Meow. He may be in love with China Doll, as they dated in one episode, but that was the only time it was shown.
  • Freida (Andrea Mislan) - Freida enjoys dancing the frog-a-doddle-five and playing with her twin brother, Fredrick. She speaks with a Southern accent.
  • Fredrick (Sofia Costantini) - Frederick enjoys dancing the frog-a-doddle-five and playing with his twin sister, Freida. He speaks with a Southern accent.
  • Mama Mouse (Andrea Mistan) - Mama Mouse is shy. She is married to Papa Mouse, and has three children.
  • Papa Mouse (Micheal Flynn) - Papa Mouse is a caring man. He and his wife have three children.
  • Little Mouse (Corinne Vessey) - Little Mouse likes playing and imagining he is riding a horse. He was named Baby Mouse in the first season, but with two new siblings coming, they quietly changed his name to Little Mouse.
  • The Mouse Twins - They are twins who both cry often. They enjoy quiet things and swinging. They have never been given official names, being referred to simply as 'The Mouse Twins'.
  • The Dolly Bird - Dolly Bird wears extravagant make-up and loves dancing for people. She tends to be insecure about her dancing. She has appeared in the fewest episodes and is never mentioned on the official site.
  • The Little Boy (Billy Jeans) - The Little Boy sleeps in his bed while the toys are dancing and in motion, but when he turns his head around sleeping, the toys return to their former poses as regular figures. He is only shown in the series' opening, in the ending part of an episode, and in the credits background.
  • The Little Girl (Ivy Bregman) - The Little Girl sleeps in her bed while the toys are dancing and in motion, but when she turns her head around sleeping, the toys return to their former poses as regular figures. She is only shown in the series' opening, in the ending part of an episode, and in the credits background.

Episodes

Pilot (1992)

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateFrench airdateProd.
code
French viewers
(millions)
Pilot"The Tin Soldier"Katherine JeansRick Jones and Marc CharbonneauDecember 1992 (1992-12)December 1992 (1992-12)100TBD

Season 1 (2000)

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateFrench airdateProd.
code
French viewers
(millions)
1"Cinderella"
"Duck, Duck, Goose"
Katherine JeansRick JonesJanuary 3, 2000 (2000-01-03)TBA101N/A
2"Cake Walk"
"A Ragdoll's Gift"
Katherine JeansRick Jones
Nancy Trites-Botkin
January 10, 2000 (2000-01-10)TBA102N/A
3"A Party for One"
"I'm the Boss"
Katherine JeansNancy Trites-BotkinJanuary 17, 2000 (2000-01-17)TBA103N/A
4"A Frog is a Frog
Sailor's Delight"
Katherine JeansNancy Trites-BotkinJanuary 24, 2000 (2000-01-24)TBA104N/A
5"Goldilocks"
"London Bridge's Falling Down"
Katherine JeansNancy Trites-BotkinJanuary 31, 2000 (2000-01-31)TBA105N/A
6"Pirate Pshaw"
"Bubble Ballet"
Katherine JeansNancy Trites-BotkinMarch 6, 2000 (2000-03-06)TBA106N/A
7"Itsy Bitsy Spider"
"Bluebird"
Katherine JeansTimothy SpainMarch 13, 2000 (2000-03-13)TBA107N/A
8"Strong Not Strong"
"Spring Junk Band"
Katherine JeansTimothy Spain
Rick Jones
March 20, 2000 (2000-03-20)TBA108N/A
9"Funny Man"
"Camp Out"
Katherine JeansRick JonesMarch 27, 2000 (2000-03-27)TBA109N/A
10"Poor Invisible Me"
"Cricklecrack Thoozelah"
Katherine JeansTimothy SpainApril 3, 2000 (2000-04-03)TBA110N/A
11"Mary Had a Little Lamb"
"Private Rag Doll"
Katherine JeansTimothy Spain
Nancy Trites-Botkin
April 10, 2000 (2000-04-10)TBA111N/A
12"Cirque de Ballet"
"Lost My Head"
Katherine JeansNancy Trites-BotkinApril 17, 2000 (2000-04-17)TBA112N/A
13"Be My Valentine"
"Best Friend Ballet"
Katherine JeansNancy Trites-BotkinApril 24, 2000 (2000-04-24)TBA113N/A
14"Perhaps Forever"
"Angel Wings"
Katherine JeansNancy Trites-BotkinMay 6, 2000 (2000-05-06)TBA114N/A
15"Copy Cat"
"Three Cool Pigs"
Katherine JeansNancy Trites-BotkinMay 13, 2000 (2000-05-13)TBA115N/A
16"Blunder Bluff"
"Sugar Plums Fairly"
Katherine JeansTimothy SpainMay 20, 2000 (2000-05-20)TBA116N/A
17"Alone Not Lonely"
"Bo Bo's"
Katherine JeansTimothy SpainMay 27, 2000 (2000-05-27)TBA117N/A
18"Little Miss Muffett"
"Dance With Me"
Katherine JeansRick Jones
Timothy Spain
June 3, 2000 (2000-06-03)TBA118N/A
19"Hide and Seek"
"Little Frog"
Katherine JeansTimothy Spain
Rick Jones
June 10, 2000 (2000-06-10)TBA119N/A
20"Musical Chairs"
"Perfectly Perfect Party"
Katherine JeansRick Jones
Mike Laewen
June 17, 2000 (2000-06-17)TBA120N/A
21"Tea Calamity"
"Pick a Picnic"
Katherine JeansMike LaewenJune 24, 2000 (2000-06-24)TBA121N/A
22"Tea Party"
"Waltz for Three"
Katherine JeansNancy Trites-BotkinJuly 1, 2000 (2000-07-01)TBA122N/A
23"Phish Phobia"
"Twinkle Twinkle"
Katherine JeansNancy Trites-BotkinJuly 8, 2000 (2000-07-08)TBA123N/A
24"She Shoots She Scores"
"Just Say No"
Katherine JeansNancy Trites-BotkinJuly 15, 2000 (2000-07-15)TBA124N/A
25"The Pied Piper of Glum"
"Anything You Can Do..."
Katherine JeansTimothy SpainJuly 22, 2000 (2000-07-22)TBA125N/A
26"Giggle Girl"
"Nutcracker Sweet"
Katherine JeansTimothy SpainJuly 29, 2000 (2000-07-29)TBA126N/A

References

  1. Swedko, Pamela (June 14, 1999). "Hatzis turns to classifieds to get Spice of Life off the ground". playbackmag.com. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. Armstrong, Dennis (August 4, 2000). "Theatrical child's play".
  3. http://katherinejeans.com/?page_id=80
  4. http://www.soundventure.com/ourportfolio/broadcast.asp
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