Moose and Zee

Moose and Zee were the mascots of Noggin's preschool block, introduced in April 2003. They followed Noggin's first (Phred) and second (Feetface) mascots.
In March 2015, the Noggin brand was revived with the Noggin mobile app. Moose and Zee were brought back as the hosts of this streaming app. Moose's voice guided users through the app's shows and games, and brand-new animations were made with Moose and Zee.
==History==
Moose and Zee's first-ever appearance was in a commercial where Noggin's previous host, Feetface, introduced them. This commercial ran from late February to April 2003. Moose and Zee officially started hosting the daytime block on April 7, 2003.
Although Moose and Zee never had their own show, they were popular with audiences, and a few online-exclusive toys were made in their likeness.
In September 2009, the Noggin channel rebranded (and left the name dormant for a few years) to a 24-hour Nick Jr. Channel. However, the branding, programming, package shows, and Moose and Zee segments/shorts were still kept until early 2012 (January 2013 in the UK). The rebranding in March 2012 caused some controversy with viewers and parents because of the mass rescheduling and unannounced departure of Moose and Zee. The Nick Jr. article about the rebrand hinted "new plans" for the characters, which eventually materialized as the streaming app in 2015. In comparison, the departure of Moose and Zee generated almost no controversy in the UK, due to their relatively unknown status and low runtime. However some of their puzzle time games were still there in the Smart Place to Play rebrand but Jessica DiCicco voices over them
When the Noggin brand was brought back with a streaming app in 2015, Moose and Zee returned as the "hosts" to guide users through the app. In 2019, the app went through a major overhaul. Moose and Zee were removed as the app's guiding hosts, but their shorts are still available on the app.
Moose and Zee also appeared outside of the United States. In the UK, they appeared on the "Noggin on TMF" block on TMF (and later VIVA) in 2006 and again from 2009 until March 2010. They also appeared on the Nick Jr. Channel in 2010, with Moose being voiced by David Holt.
==Characters==
==== Moose====
Moose A. Moose (voiced by Paul Christie, who also voiced Stick Stickly for the Nick in the Afternoon block) is the on-air teacher of Noggin. He has yellow fur and brown antlers. Moose engages his young audience by curating experiences, facilitating discovery, and asking questions. As the teacher figure, he is knowledgeable but almost Socratic in his eagerness to see the audience figure things out for themselves. He often delivers information by asking a question. Moose is a great instructor, sharing in his audience's enthusiasm and curiosity. In the UK, Moose was voiced by comedian David Holt (who also voiced Face in the UK from 1995 until 2004).
====Zee====
Zee D. Bird is a small and silent bird, as well as Moose's on-air sidekick. She has blue feathers, pink feet, and a yellow beak. Although unable to speak, Zee communicates astonishingly well via the odd blink, wing flaps, and blank looks. Zee represents the audience: she knows what the audience knows and sees what the audience sees.
== Segments ==
Over 100 animated shorts were produced featuring Moose and Zee. Most of them originally aired with wraparound segments announcing upcoming shows on Noggin's schedule. 46 of these shorts have been released as part of the Noggin subscription service as of November 11, 2015, with the wraparound segments removed. Most of these shorts also still aired on the Nick Jr. Channel until 2012 when the hosts were temporarily abandoned, though some segments that didn't include them were still airing on the channel after 2012, albeit repackaged. The segments aired until 2015.
===Recurring segments===
*Mighty Fine Art – Moose and Zee discuss a painting or artist at the art museum.
*Puzzle Time – Moose asks the viewer to solve a puzzle. This segment comes on before a show starts.
**Hidden Shapes: The viewers need to find the featured shape hidden multiple times in the picture.
**Letter Finding Game: the viewers must find the featured letter (both uppercase and lowercase) in the picture (which features things that start with the letter).
**Letter Sounds Game: the viewers must find things in the pictures that start with the featured letter.
**Memory Game: A certain pair of images are selected among 3 pairs of cards. The viewers must remember where the featured pair of images are located, and find the matching pair when the cards flip over
**Rhyme Time: The viewers need to find things that rhyme with the featured picture.
**With Differences (Let's Play a Game with…): 2 out of 3 pictured featured characters look exactly alike, but the other looks different. The viewers need to find the different-looking picture. 
*Music Video – Moose sings about a season, holiday, or concept. Formerly, it was named Move to the Music and featured music videos from Laurie Berkner or a different Nick Jr. show. It used to air on Noggin from 2003 until 2009, when it still aired when Noggin was relaunched as the Nick Jr. Channel in 2009, until February 29, 2012.
*In Other Words – A specific word is introduced and explained to the viewer.
*Show and Tell
*Critter Corner
*Field Trip
*Class Pet Time – The life of an animated, hamster-like pet named "Chip-Chip" is presented. The shorts are narrated by Moose, with children's voices commenting on Chip-Chip's actions.
*Story Time – A well-known story is read aloud, occasionally by Moose himself. He said what happens next, and is responded to by the kids. Originally, the segment was named And Then What Happened?, first airing in 2002, a year before Moose and Zee, when Feetface was hosting. It was renamed a year later. In 2012, the shorts were repackaged and put to the Nick Jr. Bedtime segment.
*Little Green Fingers – A live-action segment featuring a type of plant. These shorts were only aired in the United Kingdom (until being added to the Noggin app under the title "Zee's Garden"). The shorts started airing on the Nick Jr. Channel in 2012, packaged as a science segment. These still aired until 2015.
*Zee's Bookshelf – Zee introduces a then-upcoming television program. Ebb and Flo was aired exclusively between these segments.
==References==
Category:Character pairs
Category:Mascots
Category:Characters
Category:Hosts
Category:Mooses
Category:Birds
Category:Animals
Category:Nick Jr. characters
Category:Males
Category:Females
Category:Nick Jr.
Category:Singing Characters
Category:Noggin Characters
Category:Noggin Mascots
Category:Characters voiced by Paul Christie