Hi-5 World

Hi-5 World, better known as just Hi-5, is an official YouTube channel of the aforementioned Australian television series originally produced by Kids Like Us and later Southern Star for the Nine Network, created by Helena Harris and Posie-Graham Evans. This channel is mainly run by the Hi-5 band beginning in 2012 until the new owner takes over. Mainly known for content regarding the original Hi-5 series and Hi-5 House. It is currently unknown when the channel uploads content regarding international versions of Hi-5.
Not limited to the original Australian television series, it was also an aforementioned American television series which was premiered in the now-defunct Discovery Kids' Ready Set Learn block, then later PBS Kids as reruns, and an aforementioned British television series which was premiered in Cartoonito. In the Vietnamese version, it was known as Chao Be Yeu.
==Format==
Hi-5 is a variety-style series for preschoolers which features music as an integral part of its premise. Aimed at children aged between two and eight, the series incorporates educational trends with a pop music appeal, using song and movement to capture the attention of children. The series employs central themes of exploration and discovery, providing children with an opportunity for a "sensitive exploration of their world". Hi-5 encourages children to "take a joyous and active part in life", with active participation encouraged. The program features five presenters who are collectively known as Hi-5, and perform songs as a group as well as presenting individual segments. All segments are integrated with music as a tool to highlight the key concepts of each episode.
The Shapes in Space segment focuses on visual and spatial awareness, with the presenter exploring shapes, colour and everyday materials such as boxes and playdough. Musicality is explored through Making Music, with an emphasis on pitch, rhythm, beat, melody, and using a variety of real and pretend instruments. The presenter of Body Move encourages children to participate in movement and dance, developing physical coordination and motor development. Linguistics and aural skills are at the centre of the Word Play segment, featuring a puppet named Chatterbox who assists in the exploration of language through stories and rhymes. Puzzles and Patterns has a focus on logical thinking and mathematics, with a puppet named Jup Jup used as a tool for the presenter to complete puzzles or solve problems.
The final segment in which the cast comes together is entitled Sharing Stories, where a story is told that explores interpersonal relationships and emotions. The episodes are bookended with a Song of the Week; a pop-style feature song which corresponds with the weekly theme and sets an educational topic for the week's episodes.
The 2017 revived series featured new puppet characters, the Jupsters, who were introduced as the family of previously established character Jup Jup. The revival also retained a segment introduced in Hi-5 House, entitled The Chatterbox. This segment focuses on the discovery of language through simple words and phrases, and features the puppet Chatterbox, who teaches a toy robot named Tinka (Ellen Wright-Folan) how to speak. This first Chatterbox segment is shown here.
==History==
Hi-5 was created in 1998 by television producer Helena Harris, who had worked on Bananas in Pyjamas. She and co-producer Posie Graeme-Evans (The Miraculous Mellops, Mirror, Mirror) developed the series as preschool entertainment. The name of the series was derived from the high five gesture. 
Harris stated that her inspiration for Hi-5 came partly from living in England, where she realised that children are the same around the world, and expected the show would appeal universally, with accessible themes such as family and animals. Note: Article is published across two pages. Harris strove to incorporate items of current interest to engage with the children and keep them interested in the show. The creators saw the need for "life-affirming" television for rapidly maturing preschoolers, and found that most children learned from shows which incorporated movement and song. The creators believed pre-schoolers have matured beyond programs such as Here's Humphrey.
The series was pitched to the Nine Network through Harris and Graeme-Evans' joint independent production company, Kids Like Us. It was picked up by the network within days of being pitched, and officially ordered after two weeks. Harris stated that the network's enthusiasm for the show emanated from the executives' young children. A pilot was filmed in mid-1998, which was shown to a test audience. No changes were made to the format after the test. After being commissioned, the first full series began production in October, and had concluded by December. The Nine Network initially signed a co-venture with Kids Like Us to produce two 45-episode series of the show and the first went to air on Nine on 12 April 1999. Hi-5 was granted a P classification, deeming it specifically designed to meet the needs and interests of pre-schoolers and allowing it to be broadcast on the Nine Network with a 30-minute runtime commercial-free. The first series was produced for US$20,000 to US$30,000 for each episode. A fashion line for children, based on the costuming featured on the program, was released alongside the premiere of the show. Graeme-Evans only served as a co-producer for the first two series.
===Development===
Hi-5 received a total of three Logie Television Awards, two for Most Outstanding Children's Program in 2000 and 2001 and one for Most Outstanding Children's Preschool Program in 2004. In 2005, it was stated that one episode would cost an estimated A$50,000 to produce, and that a feature film was in early development. The 300th episode of Hi-5 was celebrated in 2005. Harris stated that by 2007, "Hi-5 [was] still evolving and maintaining its relevance and freshness". Nine reportedly signed a two-year deal with the producers in 2007. The Hi-5 brand was purchased by the Nine Network, along with production company Southern Star, in March 2008, from previous owners Harris and Graeme-Evans. Robinson recalled that she had tried to depart from the programme after eight years but producers convinced her stay, and that the following years working on the show were her favourite.
Nine committed to five new series of Hi-5 in 2009 with a new generation cast, to be aired until 2013. However, only three of these planned series were produced. The eleventh series debuted on 31 August 2009. Brand directors Martin Hersov and Cathy Payne said "we're very excited to be launching the next phase of Hi-5". Of the cast change, executive producer Noel Price stated that Hi-5 was designed so that its popularity would not solely rely on the appeal of cast members as individuals. The 500th episode of Hi-5 was celebrated in 2010 during the twelfth series. By this series, Price stated the producers aimed to recreate the success of the earlier episodes by "captur[ing] that earlier innocence". The thirteenth and final series of the original Hi-5 premiered on 17 October 2011, in which the program's musical history was recognised by reintroducing previous songs to a new generation of fans.
===Cancellation===
In June 2012 the Nine Network announced that the Hi-5 brand has been sold in its entirety to Asian equity group, Asiasons, following Nine's reported financial difficulties. Hi-5 would no longer be produced by Nine and therefore the thirteenth series became the last. A spin-off series entitled Hi-5 House was created under new management to continue the Hi-5 concept. The new series was produced independently from Nine and aired on Nick Jr. from 2013 to 2016.
===Revival===
The Nine Network renewed its partnership with the Hi-5 franchise in October 2016 and announced its plans to revive Hi-5 with a new cast in 2017. Executive producer Julie Greene stated "we're really excited to be working with Nine to develop a reinvigorated Hi-5 show". The revival would feature a new cast and set, but retain the original team of producers and writers. CEO of Nine Entertainment, Hugh Marks, revealed his role in the program's reintroduction, citing his belief that the series would still be relevant in an updated climate, while expecting significantly lower viewership. After auditions were held in November 2016, the new cast was revealed in December. The series began production in January 2017 and premiered on Nine's multichannel,9Go!, on 15 May. A second series of the revival was planned for 2018, before filming was halted and the Australian production office was closed. Despite the Australian production of Hi-5 closed in 2018 and the whole franchise is sold to Malaysla, the channel received over 530,000 subscribers and YoboHo is in control of the channel around 2021.
==Educational theory==
Hi-5 was designed by educational experts to appeal to contemporary, "media-literate" children by relating to their world. The series has been described as "for the kids of today". The cast are presented as older siblings to the children, educating the audience in a fun and entertaining way, through "play based learning", rather than appearing as adults who are teaching them. The educational theories of the series are disguised with music and entertainment, with the multiple layers of the show catering for a wide range of ages in the audience, while being primarily aimed at those aged 2–8. The real-life messages of the show are reinforced in an entertaining way.
Harris and Graeme-Evans based the series around an underlying educational structure, primarily using Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. It is recognised that each child learns in a different way, and each cast member has a specific segment within the show which targets a different aspect of learning, ranging from logical-mathematical thinking to a focus on linguistic skills, to cater to a child's individual learning approach. Harris observed that most viewers had a favourite cast member, believing that children generally "respond more favourably to the presenter who models the learning style they prefer". The use of multiple segments is also designed to hold the attention span of young children. The skills of pre-numeracy and pre-literacy are a focus of the educational theory, to prepare children for learning at school, while also encouraging self-confidence and expression. According to the show's website, Hi-5 also uses Piaget's theory of cognitive development, providing a learning experience that promotes individual growth. 
Music and movement play a large part integrating the elements of Hi-5 together, with music reinforcing the central ideas which the series presents, while also being entertaining. Physical interaction is encouraged, and heavily featured to make the show relatively fast-paced, originally to replicate the energy of contemporary music videos. Dancing is featured, with a focus on movements that increase the integration between the left and right sides of the brain.
==Cast Members==
The program features five presenters who are known collectively as Hi-5. The cast became a recognised musical group for children, outside of the television program, especially the US and the UK.
Hi-5 	Shapes in Space Member	Word Play Member	Puzzles and Patterns Member	Body Move Member 	Making Music Member
Series 1-8 (Original Series) 	Nathan Foley 	Kellie Crawford 	Kathleen de Leon Jones 	Charli Robinson 	Tim Harding
Series 9 (Original Series) 	Nathan Foley 	Kellie Crawford 	Sun Park 	Charli Robinson 	Tim Harding
Series 10 (Original Series) 	Nathan Foley 	Kellie Crawford 	Sun Park 	Charli Robinson 	Stevie Nicholson
Series 11-13 (Original Series)	Stevie Nicholson 	Casey Burgess 	Fely Irvine 	Lauren Brant 	Tim Maddren
Series 14 (Hi-5 House) 	Stevie Nicholson 	Lauren Brant 	Dayen Zheng 	Mary Lascaris 	Ainsley Melham
Series 15-16 (Hi-5 House) 	Stevie Nicholson 	Tanika Andersen 	Dayen Zheng 	Mary Lascaris 	Ainsley Melham
Series 17 (Revival) 	Lachie Dearing 	Courtney Clarke 	Shay Clifford 	Bailey Spalding 	Joe Kalou
Season 1-2 (USA Series) 	Shaun Taylor-Corbett 	Jennifer Korbee 	Kimee Balmilero 	Karla Cheatham-Mosley	Curtis Cregan
Series 1 (UK Series) 	Luke Roberts 	Emma Nowell 	Cat Sandion 	Jenny Jones 	Chris Edgerly
==Controversy==
Critics in the Australian press often described Hi-5 as quality children's entertainment. The original line-up were praised both as a cohesive ensemble, and for their talents at singing and dancing. Reviewers highlighted the group members' energy and enthusiasm. Hi-5's music has been described as simple, "infectious", and inspired by pop music. The brand's employment of diverse performers, to serve as positive role models for children, was well-received. The group's concert tours were admired for the fast pace of the shows and the bright colours of the staging design. Reviewing the Circus Stageshow in 2008, Nicole Bittar of The Age described the members as versatile and cheerful, and commended their circus skills. A 2015 concert was viewed by The Daily Telegraph as "well-choreographed and performed". The group's productions have also been noted for their humour, incorporating slapstick elements inspired by pantomime comedy. Reporters said they had a teenage and adult following, with dedicated older fans; adult followers in the Philippines would use the group's songs to learn English.
Later iterations of the group were criticised for their performances, and the brand was criticised for frequent membership changes. In her blog for The Daily Telegraph in 2011, Sarrah Le Marquand found fault with Brant's musical abilities, claiming that while she was an enthusiastic entertainer, she had limited vocal talent. The reporter went on to suggest the entire line-up at the time were "melodically challenged". A business blog argued that the group's target audience was unclear; while the franchise was aimed at preschoolers, the music and choreography seemed too complicated and like it was designed for an audience of older children. The writer stated that the group had undefined member roles and that the performers attempted to upstage each other. Similarly, in a 2011 survey by the Australian Council on Children and the Media, parents condemned the costuming of the group, stating it was inappropriate for the audience and "premature sexualisation". Commentators have expressed disapproval of the franchise frequently replacing its performers with new talent; the newer line-ups were described as unrecognisable. Critiquing the debut of a new line-up at Carols by Candlelight in 2016, David Knox wrote that the performance was unmemorable, and suggested that their strengths were not demonstrated at the event.
==Trivia==
*From 1998 to 2011, both the studios were ABN-ABC (1998-2000) and TCN-9 (2001-2011) in Sydney.
*From 2013 to 2016, the studios were Infinite Studios, Singapore (Series 1) and KRU Studios, Malaysia (Series 2 – 3). The production company was Oak3 Films (Series 1).
*From 2017, the studio was Pinewood Iskandar Studios in Malaysia.
*2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the original series and the franchise itself.
*2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the USA series and marks the 10th anniversary of the spin-off, Hi-5 House.
*2028 will mark the 30th anniversary of the original series, the franchise itself and the 20th anniversary of the UK series.
*Kathleen De Leon Jones made her appearance in Series 9 despite the appearance of Sun Park.
*Stevie Nicholson took over Tim Harding after his motorcycle accident.
*In the USA series, Yasmeen Sulieman and Sydney James Harcourt took over Karla Cheatham-Mosley and Shaun Taylor-Corbett for the third series, but was canceled.
*Seventeen years after the USA series of Hi-5 ended, it will be repeated on PBS Kids beginning 2023.
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