Almost Naked Animals


Almost Naked Animals is a Canadian animated television series produced by 9 Story Entertainment for YTV. The series was created by Noah Z. Jones, and is based upon an art website that he created in 2005. The series premiered on January 7, 2011 on YTV and ended on May 22, 2013. It also aired on Cartoon Network in the United States, CITV in the United Kingdom, and ABC Entertains in Australia.

Premise

Almost Naked Animals is set inside a tropical resort called the Banana Cabana. All of the cabana's staff members and residents are funny animals who have shaved off their fur and wear only underclothes. An anthropomorphic dog named Howie is the manager and leader of the cabana. Each episode follows Howie and his "misfit" crew having unusual adventures in the Banana Cabana.

Characters

Main

  • Howie is a pale-yellow dog and manager of the Banana Cabana. He is hyperactive, very dimwitted, impulsive, almost always cheerful, and likes annoying everyone else. He is also completely oblivious to his sister's evil nature.
  • Octo is an overly cautious blue octopus and the desk clerk, as well as Howie's best friend.
  • Bunny is a sometimes short-tempered yellow rabbit and activity planner with a sugary personality.
  • Duck is a tan-colored duck who does every random job and tries anything to get it done. It was revealed in the episodes "The Sun Howie Always Wanted" and "Mini Howies" that his full name is Archibald William Nightingale Duck III. As a running gag, Duck often appears during a problem with a non sequitur.
  • Piggy "Willberforce" Pig is a pale pink-colored pig who is a ninja-trained master chef with a Bulgarian accent. He speaks broken English.
  • Narwhal is a self-centered, periwinkle-colored narwhal who loves to sing.
  • Sloth is a peach-colored sloth and the bellhop of the Banana Cabana. She has a crush on Howie. She also does everything slowly. She moves around using her luggage cart.

    Villains

  • Poodle is a pink-colored poodle and Howie's evil older sister who owns a rival hotel called the Chateau Chattoo. She always tries to ruin Howie's fun and tries to take over his hotel.
  • Batty is Poodle's purple-colored bat minion. In the episode "Oh Brother, Who Art Thou?", Batty reveals to Howie that he is his long-lost cousin.

    Recurring

  • Dirk Danger is a chipmunk who has a career as a stuntman. He is Howie's role model.
  • Radiation Rooster is the Radioactive Microwave Sales Rooster. His limbs fall off and he is portrayed as unintelligent.
  • Captain Fizzy is a Pirate Turtle and the owner of the soft drink "Captain Fizzy's Fuzzy Orange Soda" and "Sugar" which is 99% sugar. He is a turtle. He started a few contests like the limited edition blue and green can contest and the Fuzzy Orange Happy Land contest. He has a floating factory which is a large boat.
  • Hippo is a bluish gray-colored hippopotamus who often wears superhero attire.
  • Mayor Trout is a trout and the mayor.

    Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2011)

Season 2 (2012)

Season 3 (2013)

Production

The series was produced by 9 Story Media Group for Cartoon Network and YTV. Noah Z. Jones is the creator of the series, while Brad Ferguson is the director. Executive producers includes Vince Commisso, Steve Jarosz, and Jones. Other staff for the series include Tanya Green as supervising producer, Tristan Homer as producer and Mark Satterthwaite as creative producer.
Development for the series started as early as 2006.
On October 16, 2009, Aaron H. Bynum, news editor of Animation Insider, announced that the series entered production. Commisso, president and CEO of 9 Story, was pleasantly surprised and charmed for the production of Almost Naked Animals and said: "We are very excited to be commencing production on Almost Naked Animals,". "We spent a great deal of time in development, ensuring the characters, the pacing and the tone of the show was precise. It is extremely gratifying to see our work come to fruition and the end result is this high-quality, curiously funny animated property."

Home media

Episodes of Almost Naked Animals are available for digital download through the iTunes Music Store, which are split into two volumes. Roadshow Home Entertainment released a 95-minute Region 4 DVD of the show on December 1, 2011. In 2012, NCircle Entertainment released episodes on DVD for Canada and the US. In the UK, Abbey Home Media released episodes on DVD.

Reception

Critical response

In June 2011, Almost Naked Animals was picked as one of People Magazine's top children's shows to watch in the US. Common Sense Media rated the show 3 stars out of 5, with the review stating that "The show's writing is smart enough that adults will get some laughs right alongside their kids". Despite this, however, the series mostly received negative reviews.

Ratings

During the week of November 20, 2011, the show has been receiving high ratings on CITV in the UK and has been the most watched after school children's program amongst kids aged 4–9.

Awards and nominations

Other media

Toys and merchandising

In 2011, The Licensing Shop signed products in the US market for Almost Naked Animals. Freeze secured rights for t-shirts, fashion tops and hoodies in all sizes while ABG Accessories produced cold weather accessories, spring and summer headwear and rainwear including umbrellas and slickers for the show. In 2012, Cafepress agreed to make Almost Naked Animals plushies, water bottles and T-shirts.

Online game

In January 2012, it was announced that 9 Story and Game Pill were creating an Almost Naked Animals online game entitled "Cabana Craze." The game was released on September 25, 2012 and can be found at CabanaCraze.com.