Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is an American animated television series created by Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios as the network's first show animated primarily with Adobe Flash, which was done both by Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank and in Ireland by Boulder Media. Set in a world in which imaginary friends coexist with humans, the series centers on Mac, an eight-year-old boy pressured by his mother to abandon his imaginary friend Bloo. After the duo discover an orphanage dedicated to housing abandoned imaginary friends, Bloo moves into the home and is kept from adoption as long as Mac visits him every day. The episodes revolve around Mac and Bloo as they interact with other imaginary friends and house staff and live out their day-to-day adventures, often getting caught up in various predicaments.
McCracken conceived the series with his partner Lauren Faust after they adopted two dogs from an animal shelter and applied the concept to imaginary friends. The series first premiered on Cartoon Network on August 13, 2004, as a 90-minute television film. On August 20, it began its normal run of 22-minute episodes on the Fridays block. The series finished its run on May 3, 2009, with a total of 6 seasons and 79 episodes. McCracken left Cartoon Network shortly after the series ended.
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends received numerous industry accolades, including five Annie Awards and seven Emmy Awards, winning a total of 12 awards out of 35 nominations. It has since been named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the best Cartoon Network shows and by IGN in their list of best animated series at number 85.
A spinoff, Foster's Funtime for Imaginary Friends, was announced as having begun development on July 18, 2022, and greenlit to series on June 12, 2024, produced by Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe with Craig McCracken returning as the creator. The spinoff, aimed at a preschool audience, features a new cast of young imaginary friends, along with Bloo and Madame Foster from the original series.
Premise
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is set in a universe in which childhood imaginary friends take physical form and become real as soon as children imagine them. Once children outgrow them, friends are relocated to the titular orphanage, where they stay until other children adopt them. The home is run by the elderly Madame Foster, its lovable, kind founder; her rabbit imaginary friend Mr. Herriman, the strict rule-abider and business manager; and her granddaughter Frankie, who handles day-to-day operations.Mac, an eight-year old boy, is pressured by his mother to abandon his imaginary friend, Bloo, because Mac's mother believes her son is too old for imaginary friends. When Mac takes Bloo to Foster's after seeing a television advertisement, they discover that if Bloo were to live there, he would be available to be adopted by another child. Mac then bargains with Frankie, Mr. Herriman, and Madame Foster until they agree to guard Bloo from adoption as long as Mac continues to visit him at the home every day after school. Episodes revolve around Mac experiencing the escapades of the mischievous Bloo and the array of eccentric, colorful characters inhabiting Foster's and the obstacles with which they are challenged.
Characters
Main
- Mac – A bright and imaginative eight-year-old boy who is Bloo's creator and best friend. Mac visits Foster's every day. He is very attached to Bloo and his biggest fear is never seeing him again. Mac is often the voice of reason among his friends when they are making decisions. Mac becomes extremely hyperactive when he eats sugar. He also is attracted to Frankie.
- Bloo – Mac's imaginary best friend. Bloo is a blue, supple, domed cylinder not unlike a bollard with two eyes. He is often self-centered and egotistical, with a knack for getting in trouble. Despite all this, Bloo apologizes for his actions. He loves paddle balls and claims to be the best at them, despite not making the ball hit the paddle.
- Wilt – A very tall, friendly and incredibly apologetic imaginary friend with only a right arm and a crooked left eye-stalk. His overtly passive demeanor is often taken advantage of by the other imaginary friends. He is a basketball player and fan, and is the former imaginary friend of Jordan Michaels. Wilt's left arm got crushed during a basketball game where he saved Jordan from getting hurt, and a ball hit the back of his left eye after the final point was scored that cost them the game, permanently leaving the eye-stalk crooked. Fearing the latter would be disappointed by how they lost, he left Jordan. Three decades later, Wilt goes on a search to re-encounter him, learning he felt guilty over his imaginary friend's injuries and was grateful to have been saved.
- Eduardo – A Latin American monster created by a young girl, Nina Valerosa, to protect her in a dangerous neighborhood. Eduardo is big, hairy and purple, and has horns, a snout, a pointy demon-like tail, and large teeth. Despite his large size, overwhelming strength, and menacing appearance, Eduardo is docile, timid and scared of almost anything. However, he can be ferocious if angered or when danger befalls his friends.
- Coco – A chicken-like friend with a palm tree-like head who can only say or write her name. She has the ability to lay colorful, plastic eggs containing a plethora of objects, at will. Other characters usually understand her when she speaks. Despite her appearance and behavior, she can demonstrate intelligence and kindness. Her creator is unknown, as she was found on a South Pacific island by two scientists named Adam and Douglas.
- Francis "Frankie" Foster – Madame Foster's 22-year-old redheaded granddaughter who is referred to as "Miss Frances" by Mr. Herriman. Frankie is the caregiver at Foster's and helps keep everything in order. She is usually very friendly, easygoing, hard-working, caring, and sweet, but occasionally loses her patience with Bloo and Mr. Herriman. According to her driver's license, she was born on July 25, 1984.
- Mr. Herriman – A gray and white elderly anthropomorphic lop ear rabbit friend imagined by Madame Foster who speaks with an English accent. He wears a tailcoat, white gloves, a top hat, and a monocle. He presents himself as head of business affairs of the house and later as President of the house, and is extremely strict about rules and the maintenance of order in the home. He frequently punishes Bloo for his various misdemeanors and scolds Frankie for her perceived laziness, despite all her hard work.
- Madame Foster – The caring founder of Foster's and grandmother of Frankie. She is the creator of Mr. Herriman. Despite being elderly, Madame Foster has childlike boundless energy and occasionally becomes hyperactive and mischievous.
Episodes
Production
The series was created by Craig McCracken, who had also created The Powerpuff Girls for Cartoon Network. McCracken developed the idea for the series after adopting two dogs from an animal shelter with his then-fiancée Lauren Faust and Mike Moon; he adapted the concept of pet adoption to that of imaginary friends. The show has an art style which is meant to evoke, according to McCracken, "that period of late 60's psychedelia when Victorian stylings were coming into trippy poster designs". McCracken wanted Foster's to be similar to The Muppet Show, which he believed was a "fun, character driven show that the whole family could enjoy".File:Craig McCracken, 34th Annual Annie Awards.jpg|thumb|Craig McCracken in 2007 holding the Annie Award won by Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends as Best Animated TV Production.|alt=A man with short, curly brown hair wearing a black suit with a red tie holding an Annie Award, facing forward.
Animation for the show was done using a process involving Adobe software Illustrator, Flash and After Effects. McCracken directed, executive produced and story edited the series. Most of the episodes were produced and animated at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, California, while the rest were animated at Boulder Media Limited in Dublin, Ireland. The theme song was composed by James L. Venable, who had originally collaborated with McCracken on The Powerpuff Girls. Craig described the music as "psychedelic ragtime". Additional music was composed by Venable and Jennifer Kes Remington.
Collette Sunderman was the casting and recording director for the show. Sean Marquette was cast as Mac, and Keith Ferguson was cast as Bloo. The Powerpuff Girls voice actors Tom Kane, Tom Kenny and Tara Strong were cast in Foster's as Mr. Herriman, Eduardo and Terrence, respectively. Grey DeLisle was cast as Frankie Foster, Phil LaMarr was cast as Wilt, and Candi Milo was cast as Coco and Madame Foster. From season two onwards, Milo also lent her voice to Cheese. DeLisle also voiced Goo after the character's debut in season three.
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends premiered on August 13, 2004, as a 90-minute special titled "House of Bloo's". The series' run began on August 20 on its normal timeslot of Fridays at 7:00 PM. The special was Cartoon Network's highest-rated premiere at the time. 18 shorts were produced from 2006 to 2007. In addition to the premiere episode, two other specials were produced: "Good Wilt Hunting", which premiered on November 23, 2006, and "Destination: Imagination", which premiered on November 27, 2008. The final episode, titled "Goodbye to Bloo", aired on May 3, 2009, preceded by a 6-hour marathon of other episodes from the series. McCracken expressed a certain sadness at the series' end, but stated that he was "crazy proud of the work" that he and the production team had done "on Foster's and the fact that it worked just the way wanted it to". During its original run, Foster's was one of Cartoon Network's highest-rated shows. The show proved to be popular among both younger and older audiences.