Elinor Wonders Why
Elinor Wonders Why is an animated television series created by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson. The series premiered on September 7, 2020 from PBS Kids.
Overview
The exploration-themed show encourages children to follow their curiosity, ask questions when they don't understand, and find answers using science inquiry skills. The main character, Elinor, is the most observant and curious bunny rabbit in Animal Town just north of Natural Forest, California. She introduces children ages 3–6 to science, nature, and communities through adventures with her friends Olive and Ari. Each episode includes two 11-minute animated stories, plus interstitial content, where Elinor and her classmates enjoy either Señor Tapir singing about famous nature explorers or Ms. Mole reading stories.Characters
Main
- Elinor Rabbit – A white bunny girl with an inquisitive nature and a sweet personality.
- Ari Bat – A funny, imaginative light brown bat boy who lives in a hollow boulder, and is one of Elinor's best friends.
- Olive Elephant – An elephant calf girl who is one of Elinor's best friends. She often makes charts for whatever questions are being asked.
- Ranger Rabbit – Elinor's mom, who works as a park ranger.
- Mr. Rabbit – Elinor's dad.
- Ms. Mole – A brown mole who is Elinor, Ari and Olive's teacher. She wears glasses.
Recurring
- Ms. Elephant Olive's mom.
- Señor Tapir – A Spanish-accented tapir that sings about famous explorers and inventors during interstitials.
- Mr. Raccoon – A raccoon who runs a bakery.
- Rollie Armadillo – An armadillo who is one of Elinor, Ari, and Olive's classmates.
- Ms. Llama – A llama who owns a fruit cart.
- Mr. Dog – A dog who loves to bury his things into the ground.
- Tito Mouse – A mouse who is one of Elinor, Ari, and Olive's classmates.
- Mr. Bat – Ari's dad.
- Mr. Lion – A lion who likes to paint pictures.
- Koa – A brown wombat who is one of Elinor, Ari, and Olive's classmates.
- Camilla Dromedary – A camel who is a friend of Elinor, Ari, and Olive.
- Sally Beaver – A beaver who is one of Elinor, Ari, and Olive's classmates.
- Mary and Lizzie Goat – Twin goat girls who are Elinor, Ari, and Olive's classmates.
- Alejandro Possum – A possum whose name is never mentioned in the series.
- Silas Cheetah – A cheetah who is one of Elinor, Ari, and Olive's classmates.
- Baba and Bibi – Elinor's paternal grandparents who live in Desert Town.
- Deputy Mouse
- Ms. Beaver
- Farmer Bear
- Ms. Bat – Ari's mom.
- Mr. Hamster – A hamster who is a substitute teacher in Elinor’s class.
- Sigmund "Siggy" Squirrel – A squirrel.
- Lola – Koa's big sister.
- Mr. Beaver
- Mr. Hippo
- Mr. Antelope
- Hazel Lion – Mr. Lion's daughter.
- Mehdi Fox – A fennec fox who is one of Elinor, Ari and Olive's classmates.
Development and production
Development of the show began in 2017, when Cham and Whiteson were approached by PBS. PBS found Cham's comic, Piled Higher and Deeper, online and asked if he was interested in pitching to them. "I reached out to Daniel, and what inspires us beyond science is our children," Cham recalled. "They are curious, and it motivated us to create the show." Cham cites Pogo and Calvin and Hobbes as inspiration for the show's visual design, which he described as "something that felt natural and calming, as opposed to overloaded or frenetic."The character of Elinor was inspired by Cham's own daughter, Elinor. Cham said "She was about 4, which is just at that perfect age where she really does wonder why, all the time. Any answer you give her, she’ll a follow-up question, another why." Cham and Whiteson went with animals as the show's characters to make them "appealing but also relatable at the same time", and to "highlight their range of skills and abilities".
A second season of the series is currently in development with funding from a National Science Foundation grant.
Broadcast
The series premiered on PBS Kids in the United States on September 7, 2020, as a sneak peek by showing the first 2 episodes, before regularly airing new episodes on September 8. Some episodes are available on Amazon Prime Video in the United States.PBS International has licensed the series to Canada, Latin America, Finland, Israel, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates via Knowledge Network, Discovery Kids, Yle, Hop!, SVT and E-Junior, respectively. The series airs on Australia on the PBS Kids channel, which was started as a venture with Foxtel in July 2021.