The Koala Brothers


The Koala Brothers is a stop-motion animated Australian children's television series, created by David Johnson. It features the adventures of two twin koala brothers named Frank and Buster, who pilot an aeroplane as they seek to help their friends in a sleepy town in the Australian outback. The series was narrated by Jonathan Coleman. 78 episodes were produced over three seasons, alongside one Christmas special.
Notably, while the series sometimes features disagreements and displays of poor behaviour, it avoids presenting any characters as purely villainous or unlikable. Instead, it emphasises the importance of kindness and friendship.
The series originally premiered on CBeebies on 1 September 2003 to October 31, 2007 and is particularly targeted at children from ages 2 to 6 years.

Format

Broadcast episode formats vary slightly between countries, though the main material of each episode, with the titular characters assisting one of their friends and overcoming a problem, such as jealousy, fear, or the failure to share, does not change. In Australia, the show runs in episodes of around 12 minutes' length, though these are broadcast in pairs on ABC Kids, with the opening song "Call the Koala Brothers" repeated in instrumental form over the credits. CBeebies eliminates the introduction and closing song to squeeze the programme into a 10-minute format.
In the 30-minute broadcast version, the show opens with a slightly longer version of the theme song and then before each segment, the narrator introduces Frank and Buster as they fly in their yellow two-seater propeller aeroplane above the outback. The supporting cast is introduced as the narrator asks, "Who do you think the Koala Brothers are going to help today?", followed by Frank's telescope showing the character they're going to help in each respective segment. Each 30-minute episode ends with "The Helping Song", in which all the characters gather at the Koala Brothers' homestead and sing about always trying to help and care for one another.

Characters

All the characters are anthropomorphic native Australian animals mainly speaking with correct accents, with the notable exceptions of Archie, who speaks with an English accent and Penny, who only communicates by chattering.

Main

  • Frank is a koala who is the pilot of the airplane. He has demonstrated excellent skills in tennis and was the only member of the community able to defeat Archie, though Frank admitted it was probably just luck. He also fostered an interest in pottery at one point, but did not have any great artistic ability.
  • Buster is another koala who usually sits behind Frank in the airplane and uses his telescope to spot friends in need from the air. Buster is always willing to provide a pep talk or a hug to his friends. Buster speaks more softly than Frank, and he has a small tuft of hair on the top of his head. Buster loves to bake, especially butter cookies.
  • The Narrator is the narrator of the series.

    Supporting

  • Mitzi is a possum who almost singularly wears flip flops exposing her toes which implies an attachment, though it is not brought up in stories along with thick-rimmed glasses. Mitzi lives in part of the Koala Brothers' homestead made over as her living quarters and is young and impressionable, often relying on the Koala Brothers to stay in line with her perfection-seeking impulses. However, Mitzi can get quite bossy and upset her friends at times, but she means no harm and her friends always forgive her as she is still working out her limits. A recurring sight-gag shows Mitzi slipping out of either or both her flip flops due to being constantly on the go.
  • Ned is a wombat who is one of the youngest members of the local community behind Mitzi, and lives in a caravan next door to the Koala Brothers' homestead. Ned is often not sure of himself, but he dreams of adventure and longs to be a hero like his idols, Frank and Buster. Ned is very determined and easily fixated on an idea, and often will come through with prompting.
  • George is a turtle who is the outback's local mail carrier. George has no established residence whatsoever, but he always delivers the mail with his trusty leather satchel. George is proud of being a mail carrier, and tells campfire stories in the outback. He also has an interest in stamp collecting.
  • Sammy is an echidna who lives in town and owns the local general store, which sells fuel in addition to comestibles. His only employee is Josie. As one of the more senior citizens, Sammy has the fewest problems after the Koala Brothers.
  • Josie is a kangaroo who is Sammy's only assistant who often works at the outback's general store. She has a blue skirt with a deep pocket and white shoes. She and Mitzi are also good friends. Although Josie is shy, she is always seen with her stomach showing, because of the small red and white striped shirt that she wears.
  • Alice is a platypus who works at the local café and appears to be the lone employee, though it is unclear if Alice actually owns the café. Alice is very forgetful. She rides a green motor scooter around, which has its share of drastic engine problems. Alice loves to bake, and is good at following recipes, as well as reading maps.
  • Archie is a crocodile who lives in a well-appointed cottage near the local water hole. Archie is very cheerful and friendly, and is always exercising, stretching, or playing tennis, and is also renowned at being the best at almost every sport. Archie is British and speaks in a memorable rich accent.
  • Penny is a young penguin who lives in Antarctica, but has visited the outback on certain occasions and keeps up a regular written correspondence with the Koala Brothers. She communicates through chatters, baby noises, and sings "The Helping Song". Mitzi stubbornly believes she's a duck.
  • Lolly is an emu who is the outback's local ice cream vendor and can often be seen driving her ice cream truck around the Outback. She often greets people by saying "How can I cool you down?" to them.

    Development

Inspiration

The show remarkably resembles, in visual style and ethos, a children's book and TV show proposal entitled "The Great Wungle Bungle Aerial Expedition", which featured characters specifically dubbed "The Koala Brothers" and focusing on the adventures of altruistic animal outback aviator rescuers in homemade flying contraptions at a comical desert airstrip, rescuing others or helping out friends with no thought of personal reward. The book first appeared along with accompanying specially designed animatronic character props at the "FirstState88" NSW Govt exhibition in Darling Harbour in Sydney as part of the Australian Bicentenary in 1988. The original three "Koala Brothers" characters first appeared here as supporting characters.
In the 1990s, the book and exhibit's creator Greg McKee revised the concept as an animated TV show proposal called "Echidna Airways" which circulated at Cannes. Greg pitched the proposal to the producers of this show, who ultimately decided to develop their own version of the premise instead. The animation style itself is reminiscent of the popular children's series Bob the Builder with production credits evidently shared between the two.
Archival footage of the Echidna Airways characters and flying machines is viewable here:

Ownership and distribution

In May 2002, the show's rights were purchased by Spellbound Entertainment, a newly-formed start-up company founded by former HIT Entertainment executive Peter Curtis. In June, Spellbound pre-sold the series to CBeebies for a September 2003 delivery, consisting of twenty-six 10-minute episodes.
Spellbound would continue to sell the series worldwide until filing for liquidation in 2013. David Johnson, the show's creator, would purchase the rights to the series in February 2014 under a new joint-venture company called Koala Brothers Ltd., and Union Media was signed as the new distributor for the series.

Episodes

Series overview


Series 1 (2003–04)

Series 2 (2004–05)

Series 3 (2005–07)

Broadcast

In addition to the series airing on CBeebies in the United Kingdom, the series was soon expanded internationally. In May 2003, Spellbound pre-sold the series to Disney Channel in the United States to air on their Playhouse Disney block, and appointed Big Tent Entertainment as the US licensing holder for the property. Spellbound also pre-sold the series in Canada, Australia, and Germany. In 2004, the series was pre-sold in Nordic territories.
By September 2005, the series was also pre-sold in France, The Netherlands, Poland and Japan.
In June 2008, BBC Worldwide picked up pay-rights to the series for Asian and African territories, and Poland for their local CBeebies networks.
In January 2012, Spellbound renewed its broadcast license with CBeebies and the then-renamed Disney Junior for them to continue broadcasting the series, the former under a six-year contract.

Merchandise

On 17 April 2003, Spellbound Entertainment announced that Hasbro would be the property's master toy partner. However, this toyline would never come into fruition. Spellbound would instead sign an agreement with Mattel initially for the United States and Latin America, and later several international markets.

Home Media

In the United States, several DVDs of the series were released by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.
  • DVDs released in North America
  • *Meet the Koala Brothers!
  • *A Day in the Outback!
  • *We're Here to Help!
  • *Ned's Buried Treasure
  • *Mitzi's Big Adventure
  • *Outback Christmas
  • DVDs released in the United Kingdom
  • *The Koala Brothers: A Letter for George and Other Stories
  • *The Koala Brothers: Archie's New Home and Other Stories
  • *The Koala Brothers: Ned the Pilot and Other Stories
  • *The Koala Brothers: Alice Can't Remember and Other Stories
  • *The Koala Brothers: Outback Christmas
  • *The Koala Brothers: Mitzi's Day Out and Other Stories
  • *The Koala Brothers: We're Here to Help!