Yo Gabba Gabba! “A Very Awesome Christmas.
Plex, Muno, Brobee and Toodee. They like to dance and have fun.
Deep inside a massive warehouse off the busy 60 freeway in Industry, Calif., the hippest show ever to hit the juice box demo is winding down its three-month season two shoot.
Grabbing a microphone to amplify his voice inside the massive, converted stage (that once housed a dairy plant), “Yo Gabba Gabba” co-creator Christian Jacobs is helping guide host D.J. Lance through a song about an art show.
Lance, who has replaced his trademark fuzzy orange hat with a beret for the scene, is encouraging the “Gabba” characters – a green monster named Brobee, a cat/dragon named Toodee and the red Cyclops named Muno, among others – to display their art projects, via song. Toodee’s entry isn’t, well, all that good – but Lance still cheers her work.
Foofa and Brobee strike a pose.
That’s the underlying theme of the Nick Jr. series: Keep trying, don’t give up, play hard, share with others, hugs are fun… and “don’t, don’t, don’t bite your friends.”
The messages aren't that different from Mr. Rogers or "Romper Room" (well, except maybe for that biting one). But the delivery sure is.
Foofa, Plex and Brobee.
“Yo Gabba Gabba” attracted hipster parents and their Ramones T-shirt-wearing offspring last year by mixing life lessons (Brobee scarfs down green beans and sings about the party in his tummy) with indie rock (The Shins, Cornelius), cutting-edge animation and cuddly, off-beat characters – all set to a dance beat. (Wildbrain, which is behind another Evan fave, "Higglytown Heroes," produces, along with The Magic Store.)
Decked in large Run DMC glasses, a striped jumpsuit and that oversized cap, host DJ Lance begins each episode by opening up a colorful boombox and bringing the shows character’s to life. In between songs about sharing and being nice to everyone, segments range from Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh demonstrating how to draw and rapper Biz Markie demonstrating his beat box skills.
Muno and Foofa : Future "Dancing with the Stars" contestants?
The brainchild of Jacobs (also known as Aquabats frontman “MC Bat Commander”) and Scott Schultz, “Yo Gabba Gabba” was named one of 2007’s top ten new series by Time magazine and has earned Emmy and TV Critics Assn. award noms. Of course, the show’s campy, frantic antics haven’t won over everyone.
My name is Muno, muh-Muno, Muh-muh-muh-muh-muh-Muno!
“Our goal has been working to really connect with both parents and their kids,” Jacobs says. “But my favorite is the one parent out of ten who finds out what I do -- and you see their face drop, as if to say, ‘Oh, you make that show? I want to kill you.’”
But for the generation of Gen X parents raised on “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” and Krofft puppets, “Gabba” has also developed a cult following – and oh yeah, their kids are watching (and humming along) too. The show’s even a hit among teens and college-age kids who aren’t exactly in the Nick Jr. demo.
At this summer’s ComiCon – not a popular toddler hangout -- DJ Lance was mobbed by teens and adults.
For season two, set to bow in September, Jacobs and Schultz have attracted a who’s who of hip celebs and bands to visit Gabbaland: Jack Black, Andy Samberg, the Roots, MGMT, The Ting Tings and “The Office’s” Melora Hardin (who teaches the “Gabba” gang how to conga) stop by.
In one recurring segment, “30 Rock’s” Jack McBrayer will offer up a joke of the day, while in one episode, Amy Sedaris plays the tooth fairy.
“We’re really trying to outdo season one,” Schultz says. Adds Jacobs, “We went a little crazy this season and had less time to do it in. It’s just been a whirlwind and we’re coming up for air. Plus, there’s no air conditioning here, so it’s like a battle in the desert.”
At least it’s most colorful desert ever, complete with a skateboard ramp, empty costumes (is that Muno’s extended family sitting over there?) and production assistants wandering around, passing out red velvet cupcakes. DJ Lance is right – Gabbaland is awesome.
While “Gabba” is a TV show — one of the 10 best of 2007, according to Time magazine — the idea of simply creating “a show” is antiquated. What is created now is a property, a platform, a brand, a multimedia idea, which obviously has to be Big on the Internet. And indeed, Advertising Age recently pointed out that “Yo Gabba Gabba!” clips have attracted 17.8 million streams from Nickelodeon’s Web site, compared with about 4.4 million viewers of a typical episode of the actual program...
Back in 2006, (producer) Wildbrain acquired a majority interest in Kidrobot, which makes and sells high-end “designer toys” and apparel that appeal to fashionable young adults (who may or may not be parents). Thus “Gabba”-related products arrived in exclusive retail settings much faster than usual, demonstrating consumer demand to other merchandise partners. By the time the word came that the show was being picked up for a second season, deals were in place for DVDs, CDs, toys, bedding and other items.
The producers have also drawn up a list of potential guest stars to approach, while many more have contacted them about appearing.
"Yo Gabba Gabba!" will then start shooting the segs in April and wrap by the start of summer -- with an airdate soon thereafter.
"We always believed that the show would be amazing, but all the accolades and the great press have been pretty unbelievable," Jacobs said. "The motivation has been to do make a show that we thought would be fun for our kids."
Jacobs and Schultz (members of ska-rock cult fave the Aquabats) originally shot the "Yo Gabba Gabba!" pilot with their own money. After scenes were uploaded to the Internet, "Gabba" clips became an online phenom. The duo then partnered with production outfit Wildbrain ("Higglytown Heroes") and brought the show to Nick Jr.
For season two, Jacobs and Schultz plan to lengthen some of the music numbers, as well as spend more time showcasing each character's personality. Johnson said the channel is also doing focus group research with kids to get their take on what works on the show.
Meanwhile, merchandising will kick into high gear next year. Wildbrain has already released some "Yo Gabba Gabba!" apparel and figurines via its limited-edition toy and apparel subsid Kidrobot, but those higher-priced items were targeted more toward collectors.
The new batch includes 40 licenses in a wide range of categories, including homevideo (via Paramount), music (with Columbia Records), publishing (Simon & Schuster) and a master toy license (Spinmaster). Rivkin said items as diverse as bedding and home furnishings should hit stores by next Christmas.
