Waybuloo

***Waybuloo*** is a British-Canadian live-action/CGI animated television series originally created by Dan Good and Absolutely Cuckoo. It was commissioned by Michael Carrington at the BBC, and first aired on CBeebies in May 2009. The 100-episode show was head-written by Marc Seal (who worked on Bob the Builder), filmed by the Foundation in Glasgow and animated and directed by Gallus Entertainment.

The Piplings practice yogo, a gentle form of exercise similar to yoga, which the viewers and their parents can participate in.

The program makers describe it as "...a philosophy for a happy life, and is like nothing adults will have ever seen before".

## Characters

### Main Characters

* **Lau Lau:** Lau Lau (voiced by Georgia MacPherson) is the first Pipling, a bunny rabbit. She has a violet-colored body and kiwi green eyes, has long ears on top of her head and a cottontail. She wears a two-piece white dress. Lau Lau loves painting and can often be seen behind her easel. Her boyfriend is Yojojo.
* **Yojojo:** Yojojo (voiced by Finlay Christie) is the second Pipling, a cheeky monkey. He has an amber-colored body and turquoise blue eyes, and has rounded monkey ears on the side of his head. He has four thick tufts rising above his right ear which flop over to his left like a cover-up. Yojojo is the youngest Pipling. In Peeka he is often seen hiding in the log and his long tail is often shown, not knowing at to him. He wears a pair of turquoise blue shorts. Despite being the youngest Pipling, Yojojo is a talented musician and juggler. His girlfriend is Lau Lau.
* **Nok Tok:** Nok Tok (voiced by Oliver Dillon) is the third Pipling, a bear cub. He has a turquoise blue-colored body and chocolate eyes. He has a short tuft on top of his head and wears a sunshine yellow t-shirt. Nok Tok is the oldest Pipling. He has a small tail and pretty brown eyes. Nok Tok is the practical one who enjoys fixing and building things. His girlfriend is De Li.
* **De Li:** De Li (voiced by Sunday James-Ross) is the fourth Pipling, a kitty cat. She has a rose-colored body with turquoise blue eyes, pointed cat ears on top of her head and a tail with a kiwi green tip. She wears a white flower on top of her head. She wears a carnation pink dress. De Li is very fond of her garden. Her boyfriend is Nok Tok.

### Supporting Characters

* **The Cheebies:** A different group of six children who play Peeka and Yogo with the Piplings and go in for them in every episode. The Cheebies often find the solutions to the Piplings' problems.
* **Narabugs:** Four small butterfly creatures who are thought to be the Piplings' pets. Each one is colored like its respective Pipling (violet for Lau Lau, amber for Yojojo, turquoise blue for Nok Tok, and rose for De Li).
* **Narrator:** He only appeared in the TV specials.

## Format

*Waybuloo* is set in the fictional land of Nara. The main characters are the four Piplings, CGI animated creatures with large heads and eyes and possessing the ability to fly and float around. They are made in Autodesk Maya, placed on a filmed background, with the second half of each twenty-minute show featuring human children (called the "Cheebies").

Yogo is a light form of Yoga practiced by the Piplings. The Piplings demonstrate several poses inspired by things they see in their homeworld, Nara, such as owls, trees, and insects.

When the children (or Cheebies) arrive later during an episode, they then practice the same poses demonstrated by the Piplings at the start of the show.

The cue for both the Piplings and the Cheebies to perform Yogo is an ancient machine, which activates when sunlight falls upon it.

Yogo was developed by the show's producers in association with a Paediatrician and a Health and Safety Consultant. The leaflet produced by the BBC warns parents not to practise Yogo with their children if they are or have been ill, and always to speak to a GP before starting the program.

Peeka is a hide and seek game played by the Piplings when the Cheebies arrive at Nara.

## Production

Post production, including audio, sound design & editing is done by Platform Post Production. in Toronto, Canada. Line produced by Matt Porter and the series producer is Simon Spencer (who works for Thomas & Friends), part of the independent company, RDF Media's subsidiary The Foundation.

## Criticism

In 2012, a new shorter version of Waybuloo was released with narration by Dave Lamb (who also narrated *Come Dine with Me*) to much criticism. The negative feedback was so strong, CBeebies decided to pull the show in favour of the original version on the very next night; this possibly means series 4 never aired. Another aspect of the show that has drawn criticism is the fact that despite it being specifically aimed at young children who are just beginning to learn to speak English properly, none of the characters used proper English when talking; words are left out or used incorrectly ("me not like" instead of "I don't like", etc.) the wrong tense is used, and the characters serially refer to themselves in the 3rd person.

## Trivia

* Nice and calm theme song.
* Nice Maya CGI animation and character designs.
* The soundtrack has a good feel.
* Yogo can make children fit and healthy.
* The cheebies are a nice addition to every episode.
* The characters represent Love (De Li in rose), Imagination (Lau Lau in violet), Happiness (Yojojo in amber) and Wisdom (Nok Tok in turquoise blue).

## Goofs/Errors

* The 4th season went downhill as it was just old episodes with a shorter runtime.
* The fourth season, also included a narrator (Dave Lamb, of *Come Dine with Me* fame) which obviously wasn't even needed, especially with someone like Dave Lamb due to his sarcastic-sounding voice. It went as far for CBeebies to return the series to its original non-narrated format **the following day when the season premiered!**
* Lau Lau could have jumpscared kids in the intro, but some may like it.