Stanley (2001 TV series)

Stanley is an American children's animated television series that aired on Playhouse Disney, and Starz Kids & Family based on the series of children's books written by "Griff" (as indicated on the cover of the original book), also known as Andrew Griffin.[1] It was produced by Frederator Studios, and Cartoon Pizza and was developed for television by Jim Jinkins (the creator of Doug, PB&J Otter, Allegra's Window, JoJo's Circus, and Pinky Dinky Doo) and David Campbell.
The series follows Stanley, voiced by Jessica D. Stone, and teaches a wide variety of issues young children face, including change, growth, rules, and dealing with others. Each episode centers on an animal that deals with or helps explain the issue Stanley is grappling with.[2]
Bahamian Junkanoo and reggae fusion group Baha Men, who are best known for their hit song "Who Let the Dogs Out", sang the series' main theme song, "My Man Stanley".
== Synopsis ==
Each episode shows Stanley (voiced by Jessica D. Stone) in a situation he does not fully understand. He discusses it with his pet goldfish Dennis (voiced by Charles Shaughnessy) before consulting either his computer or the Great Big Book of Everything, a remarkably complete zoology book aimed at young children. By observing how an animal copes with the same situation Stanley faces, or how it can overcome a similar difficulty, Stanley learns to deal with the situation himself.
Throughout the show Stanley and all his friends are able to talk to his pet cat, Elsie (voiced by Hynden Walch) and dog Harry (voiced by Rene Mujica) as well as Dennis. Other animals also seem to occasionally respond, but never talk or give a definite indication they truly understood what was said. Stanley and his friends actively try to keep the adults (that is, except Stanley's grandmother), and by extension Stanley's older brother Lionel, from realizing this.
The Great Big Book of Everything is magical in nature, able to either let the animals out of the pages or allow the children to enter, sometimes changing them into animals in the process. This does not appear to be imaginary since occasionally adults do notice the noise, and Stanley works hard to hide the animals. There is also an episode where Stanley's brother sees a whale on the roof but dismisses the memory when it disappears back into the book.
The Halloween special features Stanley's grandmother who, it is implied, is a witch. She reveals that she too can work the book, and in fact was the one who gave it to Stanley for a fourth birthday present. She was also the one who taught its theme song to Harry and Elsie.
When someone says the "Great Big Book of Everything", hints it out, or even has the book, Elsie and Harry will wake up or find their way into the scene and start singing. This usually annoys Dennis, who after the introductory verse, says something like "Oh, not again!"
== Characters ==
* Stanley Griff (voiced by Jessica D. Stone) is an imaginative 6-year-old boy. Stanley has three pets: a goldfish named Dennis, a dog named Harry, and a cat named Elsie. Stanley has an older brother named Lionel, who enjoys playing his electric guitar, a father who stays at home and draws cartoons, and a mother who is a dentist (the latter two were revealed in the episode "Double-Duty Dad").
* Dennis (voiced by Charles Shaughnessy) is a male goldfish with an Estuary English accent and one of Stanley's pets. In fact, Dennis is Stanley's best friend who gives him education about animals to help him with his everyday problems, which interest him. Dennis also has to point out the flaws in Stanley's ridiculous solutions. Dennis often breaks the fourth wall by either encouraging the audience to do something fun or by asking them questions.
* Lionel Griff (voiced by Shawn Pyfrom) is the older brother of Stanley. Lionel likes rock and roll music a lot and always wears headphones on his ears, but still loves his younger brother very much by giving him advice, helping out with his homework, and looking out for him. Lionel is 11.5 years old.
* Mark Griff (voiced by David Landsberg) is the father of Stanley and Lionel. Mark is a stay-at-home father but works anyway as a cartoonist.
* Dr. Joyce Griff (voiced by Ari Meyers) is the sweet and caring mother of Stanley and Lionel. Joyce works as a dentist and loves her family very much. However, Joyce does have ophidiophobia, which is the fear of snakes. Whether at the pool or the beach, her bathing suit is mostly a two piece bikini style.
* Harry (voiced by Rene Mujica) and Elsie (voiced by Hynden Walch) are two more of Stanley's pets. Harry is a male brown dog who loves eating and napping and Elsie is a female yellow cat who also loves napping and often purrs before she says something. They both sing a song about the Great Big Book of Everything, which greatly annoys Dennis. No matter how far away they are, they always manage to sing the song when the time comes. In "Dolphin Talk", it is Harry's birthday and Elsie, Stanley, Dennis, Marci, and Mimi help plan a surprise party for him.
* Lester Goldberg (voiced by Philece Sampler) is one of Stanley's friends. Lester has a father who is referred to as Mr. Goldberg (voiced by Wallace Shawn) and a mother who is referred to as Mrs. Goldberg (voiced by Didi Conn). In "Little Dog Lost", it is revealed that he is Jewish because not only is his last name Goldberg, Lester doesn't celebrate Christmas and instead he celebrates Hanukkah. But Lester gets a present for every one of the 8 nights of the holiday. In the episode Gorilla Sleepover it is revealed that his mom's first name is Nancy. Lester also has a little sister named Samantha who went to Mrs. Griff for a dental checkup.
* Marci and Mimi (both voiced by Khylan Jones) are African-American identical twin sisters who are very good friends with Stanley. Marci wears her hair in a bun and loves sports while Mimi wears hers down in braids with a purple bow on her head and loves flowers. They also wear opposite-colored clothes with a baseball on Marci's overalls and a pink flower on Mimi's. In "Little Dog Lost", it's revealed that they celebrate Kwanzaa.
* Jane (voiced by Macy H. Morikawa) is a Chinese-American girl that is in Stanley's class. Jane appears in several episodes. Jane invites Stanley to her house in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner".
== Episodes ==
=== Season 1 (2001-02) ===
No.overall	No. in
season	Title 	Directed by 	Written by 	Animal topic
1 	1 	"Up the Apple Tree" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Giraffe
1 	1 	"Kangaroo Clean-Up" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Kindley 	Kangaroo
2 	2 	"Daddy Pride" 	Jeff Buckland	Eric Weiner 	Lion
2 	2 	"Show-and-Tell Shark" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Kindley 	Great white shark
3 	3 	"Bearly Awake" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Grizzly bear
3 	3 	"The Eagle Has Landed" 	Jeff Buckland	Eric Weiner 	Bald eagle
4 	4 	"Watch Out for Lionels" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Armadillo
4 	4 	"Growing Pains" 	Jeff Buckland	Dennis Garvey & Tommy Nichols	Crab
5 	5 	"Frog Legs" 	Jeff Buckland	Eric Weiner 	Frog
5 	5 	"Whoo's Afraid of the Dark?" 	Jeff Buckland	Eric Weiner 	Owl
6 	6 	"Tiger Hunt" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Tiger
6 	6 	"Monkey-Bar Business" 	Jeff Buckland	Dennis Garvey & Tommy Nichols	Chimpanzee
7 	7 	"Camel Commotion" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Camel
7 	7 	"There's Snow Place Like Home" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Polar bear
8 	8 	"A Whale of a Song" 	Jeff Buckland	Jim Rubin 	Humpback whale
8 	8 	"Sloth for a Day" 	Jeff Buckland	Jim Rubin 	Sloth
9 	9 	"Busy Busy Octopus" 	Jeff Buckland	Reed Shelly 	Octopus
9 	9 	"Honest Ostrich" 	Jeff Buckland	Reed Shelly 	Ostrich
10 	10	"Dolphin Talk" 	Jeff Buckland	Dennis Garvey & Tommy Nichols	Bottlenose dolphin
10 	10	"Whole Lotta Snakin' Goin' On" 	Jeff Buckland	Dennis Garvey & Tommy Nichols	Reticulated python
11 	11	"Platypus Problems" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Platypus
11 	11	"Rabbit Habit" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Rabbit
12 	12	"Savanna-Speeders!" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Cheetah
12 	12	"Tyrannosaurus Wrecks" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Tyrannosaurus
13 	13	"Hippo Helpers" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Hippopotamus
13 	13	"Where's Stanley?" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Camouflage
14 	14	"Penguin Party" 	Jeff Buckland	Peggy Sarlin 	Penguin
14 	14	"Leave it to Beavers" 	Jeff Buckland	P. Kevin Strader 	Beaver
15 	15	"The Joker" 	Jeff Buckland	Jim Rubin 	Kookaburra
15 	15	"Baby Pictures" 	Jeff Buckland	Reed Shelly 	Cat/goldfish/dog
16 	16	"You've Got Pigeon Mail" 	Jeff Buckland	Reed Shelly 	Pigeon
16 	16	"It's a Prairie Dog's Life" 	Jeff Buckland	Jim Rubin 	Prairie dog
17 	17	"Remembering with Elephants" 	Jeff Buckland	Petersen Harris 	African Elephant
17 	17	"Garbage Can Bandit" 	Jeff Buckland	Petersen Harris 	Raccoon
18 	18	"Little Dog Lost" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Dog breeds
19 	19	"Snow Monkey See, Snow Monkey Do"	Jeff Buckland	Pammy Salmon 	Snow monkey
19 	19	"Sick Day Stanley" 	Jeff Buckland	Jill Cozza 	Impala
20 	20	"The Big Spill" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Kindley 	Giant anteater
20 	20	"Peekaboo Parrot" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Kindley 	Parrot
21 	21	"Gorilla Sleepover" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Mountain gorilla
21 	21	"Sea Lion Slip-Up" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Sea lion
22 	22	"Worms at Work" 	Jeff Buckland	Petersen Harris 	Earthworm
22 	22	"Caterpillar Countdown" 	Jeff Buckland	Jim Rubin 	Monarch butterfly, caterpillar
23 	23	"In a While, Crocodile" 	Jeff Buckland	Eric Weiner 	Crocodile
23 	23	"The Color of Stanley" 	Jeff Buckland	P. Kevin Strader 	Chameleon
24 	24	"Searching for Spring" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Kindley 	Groundhog
24 	24	"Save the Bluebird!" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Kindley 	Eastern bluebird
25 	25	"The Pond Couple" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Musk turtle
25 	25	"Who's Afraid of Walter Wolf?" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Gray Wolf
26 	26	"A Little Squirrel Music" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Squirrel
26 	26	"A Boy's Best Friend Is His Fish"	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Goldfish
=== Season 2 (2002–03) ===
No.overall	No. in
season	Title 	Directed by 	Written by 	Animal topic
27 	1 	"Ant Picnic" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Ant
27 	1 	"The Tooth About Teeth" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Walrus
28 	2 	"Eel-lectricity" 	Jeff Buckland	Jill Cozza 	Electric eel
28 	2 	"Roller Rhino" 	Jeff Buckland	Michele Cavin 	Rhinoceros
29 	3 	"Keep 'Em Flying" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Flying fish
29 	3 	"Guess What's Coming to Dinner"	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland 	Giant panda
30 	4 	"The Really Real Dragon" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Kindley 	Dragon/Komodo dragon
30 	4 	"A Billy Goat for Dad" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Kindley 	Goat
31 	5 	"Bloodhound Blues" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Bloodhound
31 	5 	"Clock-a-Doodle Doo!" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Chicken
32 	6 	"Mistaken Mermaid" 	Jeff Buckland	Ronnie Krauss 	Manatee
32 	6 	"It Pays to Be a Pelican" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Brown pelican
33 	7 	"Woodpecker Woes" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Woodpecker
33 	7 	"P.U. Pup" 	Jeff Buckland	Susan Kim 	Skunk
34 	8 	"Grandma Griff's Mystery Guest"	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Kindley 	Bat
35 	9 	"Mockingbird Scat" 	Jeff Buckland	Eric Weiner 	Mockingbird
35 	9 	"Horsepower" 	Jeff Buckland	Eric Weiner 	Horse
36 	10	"Proud as a Peacock" 	Jeff Buckland	Ronnie Krauss 	Peacock
36 	10	"Dances with Flamingos" 	Jeff Buckland	Susan Kim 	Flamingo
37 	11	"Sunburn Stanley" 	Jeff Buckland	Jill Cozza 	American lobster
37 	11	"Time for Toolfish" 	Jeff Buckland	Michele Ferraiolo Cavin 	Hammerhead shark/Sawfish
38 	12	"Web Weavers" 	Jeff Buckland	Susan Kim 	Spider
38 	12	"Muddy Buddies" 	Jeff Buckland	Susan Kim 	Pig
39 	13	"The Robbing Raven" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Raven
39 	13	"Flashlight Fireflies" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Firefly
40 	14	"Mysterious Moe" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Buckland & Michele Ferraiolo Cavin	Bornean orangutan
40 	14	"Spelling Bee Situation" 	Jeff Buckland	Tina Moglia 	Honeybee
41 	15	"Follow the Lemur" 	Jeff Buckland	Ronnie Krauss 	Ring-tailed lemur
41 	15	"Zebra Jigsaw" 	Jeff Buckland	Susan Kim 	Zebra
42 	16	"Hummingbird Humdinger" 	Jeff Buckland	Carin Greenburg Baker 	Hummingbird
42 	16	"Koala Cuddle" 	Jeff Buckland	Carin Greenburg Baker 	Koala
43 	17	"Double-Duty Dad" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Kindley 	Seahorse
43 	17	"Look Who's Helping" 	Jeff Buckland	Jeff Kindley 	Capuchin monkey
44 	18	"Tasmanian Tantrum" 	Jeff Buckland	Jill Cozza 	Tasmanian devil
44 	18	"Sea Otter Safety" 	Jeff Buckland	Michele Ferraiolo Cavin 	Sea otter
45 	19	"Going-Away Goose" 	Jeff Buckland	Petersen Harris 	Canada goose
45 	19	"Time to Climb!" 	Jeff Buckland	Susan Kim 	Yak
46 	20	"Stanley's Super Spectacles" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Dragonfly
46 	20	"The Ugly Griffling" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Swan
47 	21	"Doing Like Ducks" 	Jeff Buckland	Susan Kim 	Duck
47 	21	"Speedy Does It" 	Jeff Buckland	Pammy Salmon 	Roadrunner
48 	22	"X-Ray X-tra!" 	Jeff Buckland	Ronnie Krauss 	X-ray fish
48 	22	"Under the Umbrella Bird" 	Jeff Buckland	Susan Kim 	Umbrella bird
49 	23	"I Scream for Ice Cream" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Cow
49 	23	"Snack Savers" 	Jeff Buckland	Susan Kim 	Vole
50 	24	"A Little Nightingale Music" 	Jeff Buckland	Carin Greenberg Baker 	Nightingale
50 	24	"Super Squirrel" 	Jeff Buckland	Susan Kim 	Flying squirrel
51 	25	"Outfoxing Lionel" 	Jeff Buckland	Jill Cozza 	Red fox
51 	25	"Jackrabbit Hide-and-Seek" 	Jeff Buckland	Susan Kim 	Black-tailed jackrabbit
52 	26	"Me and My Palfish" 	Jeff Buckland	Carin Greenburg Baker 	Clownfish
52 	26	"At the Zoo!" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Mandrill
=== Season 3 (2004-05) ===
No.overall	No. in
season	Title 	Directed by 	Written by 	Animal topic
53 	1 	"Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up" 	Jeff Buckland	Sherri Stoner 	Brachiosaurus
54 	2 	"Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up" 	Jeff Buckland	Sherri Stoner 	Brachiosaurus
55 	3 	"Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up" 	Jeff Buckland	Sherri Stoner 	Brachiosaurus
56 	4 	"To Catch a Hamster" 	Jeff Buckland	Jill Cozza 	Hamster
56 	4 	"Pearls of Wisdom" 	Jeff Buckland	Claudia Silver 	Oyster
57 	5 	"Living with Leopards" 	Jeff Buckland	Robert David 	Leopard/Snow leopard
57 	5 	"A Chinese New Year" 	Jeff Buckland	Pippin Parker 	Chinese zodiac
58 	6 	"A Turkey of a Thanksgiving" 	Jeff Buckland	Andy Yerkes 	Domestic turkey
59 	7 	"The Way of the Buffalo" 	Jeff Buckland	James Ponti 	Bison
59 	7 	"Follow That Falcon" 	Jeff Buckland	Tina Moglia 	Peregrine falcon
60 	8 	"Shell Game" 	Jeff Buckland	Jill Cozza 	Painted turtle
60 	8 	"Sheep and a Haircut" 	Jeff Buckland	Michele Ferraiolo Cavin	Sheep
61 	9 	"No News Like Shoe News" 	Jeff Buckland	Michele Ferraiolo Cavin	Snowshoe hare
61 	9 	"Ladybug, Ladybug" 	Jeff Buckland	Pippin Parker 	Ladybug
62 	10	"Curse of the Angry Coral" 	Jeff Buckland	Andy Yerkes 	Coral
62 	10	"A Little Bird Told Me" 	Jeff Buckland	Andy Yerkes 	Cedar waxwing
63 	11	"Stanley's Great Big Book of Adventure"	Jeff Buckland	Joseph Mazzarino 	Kokako bird
64 	12	"Stanley's Great Big Book of Adventure"	Jeff Buckland	Joseph Mazzarino 	Walrus
65 	13	"Stanley's Great Big Book of Adventure"	Jeff Buckland	Joseph Mazzarino 	Snowy owl
----Jackrabbit
----Snake
----Elephant
----Camel
----Penguin
----Rhinoceros
----Puma
----Tyrannosaurus rex
=== TV specials ===
# "Little Dog Lost" (Christmas)
# "Grandma Griff's Mystery Guest" (Halloween)
# "Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up"
# "A Turkey of a Thanksgiving" (Thanksgiving)
# "Stanley's Great Big Book of Adventure"