Rainbow Fish is a children's animated television series adapted from the book of the same name by Marcus Pfister.[1] However, the television series does not follow the plot of the book; instead, it takes the character and the setting to create new stories. For the show's purposes, some characters were added and others were expanded. In the series, the fish live in a place called Neptune Bay (named after Neptune, the god of the sea), and attend "The School of Fish." The series also features a location called "Shipwreck Park," resembling the wreck of the RMS Titanic.
| Rainbow Fish | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Slice of life |
| Based on | The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister |
| Written by |
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| Directed by | Drew Edwards |
| Starring |
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| Theme music composer |
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| Opening theme | "There's A Rainbow in the Water" performed by Blu Mankuma and Saffron Henderson |
| Ending theme | "There's A Rainbow in the Water (Reprise)" (instrumental) |
| Composer | Matthew McCauley |
| Country of origin | Canada Germany United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Beth Stevenson |
| Editor | Judy Kaling |
| Running time | 15 minutes per episode (approx.) |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network |
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| Release | January 8 – December 24, 2000 |
The series was produced by Decode Entertainment and EM.TV & Merchandising AG for Sony Wonder. It originally aired for a single season of 52 episodes, from January 8 to December 24, 2000.
Characters
editRainbow Fish (also known simply as "Rainbow") (voiced by Rhys Huber) is a proud and feisty 9-year-old male fish with shiny scales, and the main character of the series. He lives with his parents, Sol and Aqua, and his 12-year-old sister, Ruby, in a cave near Shipwreck Park.
Sea Filly the Seahorse (voiced by Chantal Strand) is a 9-year-old girl in the School of Fish. She is a beautiful mermaid-seahorse hybrid who is often seen reading books. She eventually becomes close friends with Rainbow Fish and Blue. She is friendly and has orange hair.
Blue (voiced by Andrew Francis) is Rainbow Fish's best friend, a 9-year-old bluefish who is modest and contemplative. He has a baby sister named Turquoise. Blue is based on the small blue fish from the Rainbow Fish book series by Marcus Pfister.
Ruby (voiced by Chiara Zanni) is Rainbow Fish's ruby-colored and bossy 12-year-old sister. She is often arrogant and self-centered. Although Ruby means well, she regularly gets Rainbow Fish into trouble because she occasionally gets jealous. Despite this, she loves him, just like their parents, Aqua and Sol.
Aqua (voiced by Ellen Kennedy) is an aqua-colored fish and Rainbow's mother, while Sol (voiced by John Payne) is a purple-colored fish and Rainbow's father. They support their son and daughter in any way they can, always providing them with courage and love.
Principal Gefilte (voiced by French Tickner) is the proud principal of the School of Fish, known for his strictness about behavior.
Mrs. Chips (voiced by Ellen Kennedy) is the only teacher at the School of Fish, instructing students in art, history, mathematics, science, and literature.
Wanda the Octopus (voiced by Kathleen Barr) is the wise owner of Neptune Bay's fast food restaurant. When Rainbow Fish and his friends are feeling down, she offers them sound advice. She is based on the Wise Octopus from the original book.
Chomper (voiced by Christopher Gray) and Stingo (voiced by Bill Switzer) are two bullies at the School of Fish. While they don’t physically harm others, they frequently bully and tease Rainbow Fish and his friends. Chomper is a shark, and Stingo is a stingray.
Sherman Shrimp (voiced by Alex Doduk) is the smallest student at the School of Fish, and as a result, everything looks big to him.
Sir Sword (voiced by Colin Murdock) is a local swordfish, upper-class, and somewhat of a busybody. He is sometimes grumpy, sometimes civil, and tends to think of himself as superior to others.
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Original US air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Rainbow Fish and the New Girl in School" | January 8, 2000 | |
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Sea Filly the seahorse joins the school, and Rainbow and his best friend, Blue, welcome her. | |||
| 2 | "Rainbow Fish Meets Wayne Grunion" | January 15, 2000 | |
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Rainbow is thrilled to meet his hero, renowned hockey star Wayne Grunion, when he comes to town. | |||
| 3 | "Rainbow Fish Plays the Conch Shell" | January 22, 2000 | |
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Mrs. Chips assigns Rainbow Fish the "conch shell," the hardest instrument in the band. Rainbow practices diligently in his cave, gradually improving and preparing for the school concert. | |||
| 4 | "Riptide" | January 29, 2000 | |
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When Rainbow Fish and his friends try a dangerous sport called "riptiding," Blue is swept away, and Sea Filly and Rainbow must find him before it's too late. | |||
| 5 | "Rainbow Gets an "A"" | February 4, 2000 | |
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Rainbow Fish gets a "C" on his report card but accidentally spills a kelp gusher milkshake on it, making it look like an "A." He must prevent his parents from discovering the truth and faces consequences for lying and altering his grades. | |||
| 6 | "Grandpa's Fish Tales" | February 11, 2000 | |
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Rainbow initially dreads spending time with his grandpa but is captivated by an amazing story, learning that old people can be exciting. | |||
| 7 | "Rainbow's Dental Dilemma" | February 18, 2000 | |
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Rainbow fears visiting the dentist but learns it's not as bad as he thought. | |||
| 8 | "Rainbow Fish and the Pop Star" | February 25, 2000 | |
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Rainbow brags about knowing the famous pop star, Bruce Sturgeon, which leads him into trouble when he tries to make Bruce perform at school. | |||
| 9 | "Sherman Shrimp" | March 3, 2000 | |
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Rainbow Fish mistreats the new student, Sherman Shrimp, but after Sherman saves him from a shipwreck, Rainbow realizes he's been unfair. | |||
| 10 | "Lost in Crumbling Canyon" | March 10, 2000 | |
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Chomper, the school bully, and Rainbow Fish get lost in a canyon and must work together to find their way out. | |||
| 11 | "The Golf Lesson" | March 17, 2000 | |
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Rainbow breaks his father's golf club and scrambles to replace it before his father’s big game with Sir Sword. | |||
| 12 | "Ruby's Adventures in Babysitting" | March 24, 2000 | |
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Ruby babysits the guppy Ferdie, claiming Rainbow is too irresponsible to help, but after Ferdie swims away, Rainbow finds him, and Ruby apologizes. | |||
| 13 | "Sir Sword Goes Back to School" | March 31, 2000 | |
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Sir Sword must finish third grade, so he attends Rainbow's school. | |||
| 14 | "Rainbow de Bergerac" | April 7, 2000 | |
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Blue is too shy to ask Goldie on a date, so Rainbow helps him by feeding him lines through a communicator, but Chomper and Stingo ruin the plan. | |||
| 15 | "A Big Fish on Campus" | April 14, 2000 | |
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Blue becomes a hall monitor but lets the power go to his head. | |||
| 16 | "A Sibling Rivalry" | April 21, 2000 | |
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Blue feels left out after getting a new baby sister who receives all the attention. | |||
| 17 | "One Fish's Treasure" | April 28, 2000 | |
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Rainbow lines a sea-monkey bowl with Ruby's magazine, ruining it. | |||
| 18 | "Project Rainbow Fish" | May 5, 2000 | |
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Rainbow learns a lesson about charity through a school project. | |||
| 19 | "Ruby Slips In" | May 12, 2000 | |
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Ruby starts spending time with Rainbow and his friends, and Rainbow suspects she's trying to steal his friends. | |||
| 20 | "A Working Fish" | May 19, 2000 | |
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Rainbow gets a job at the Candy Counter to earn money. | |||
| 21 | "Cecil B. de Rainbow" | May 26, 2000 | |
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Inspired by a new waterproof camera, Rainbow becomes a filmmaker and casts himself as director. | |||
| 22 | "Rainbow's Pen Pal" | June 2, 2000 | |
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Rainbow is excited about his pen pal's upcoming visit. | |||
| 23 | "Campus Current" | June 9, 2000 | |
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Sea Filly becomes the editor of the school newspaper but, in her enthusiasm, turns it into a gossip column. After publishing a false article, she learns the importance of journalistic integrity. | |||
| 24 | "Fish Alone" | June 16, 2000 | |
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While home alone, Rainbow watches TV, unaware of burglars trying to break in. Rainbow foils their plan and becomes a hero. | |||
| 25 | "Rainbow Fish and the In Crowd" | June 23, 2000 | |
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Rainbow and Blue join a new clique, the High Tides, much to Sea Filly's dismay. | |||
| 26 | "The Knights of the Coral Table" | June 30, 2000 | |
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Sir Sword lends Rainbow a book that he becomes engrossed in and can’t stop reading. | |||
| 27 | "Bad Luck, Ruby" | July 7, 2000 | |
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After a series of mishaps, Ruby believes she has been cursed. | |||
| 28 | "Father's Day" | July 14, 2000 | |
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Rainbow's class has Dads' Day at school and all students' fathers are invited to describe their own, personal jobs. Rainbow is worried, however, as he thinks his father has a boring job. | |||
| 29 | "A Prehistoric Pal" | July 21, 2000 | |
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Rainbow finds a hole in the ground that an extinct coelacanth called Carl swims out of. Carl spends most of his time in the modern world, trying to impress Ruby. This might be a reference to another Marcus Pfister book, called Dazzle the Dinosaur. | |||
| 30 | "May the Better Fish Win" | July 28, 2000 | |
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Rainbow and Blue compete for the role of class president. They both try to impress Sea Filly in order to get her vote. | |||
| 31 | "Blue's Fishy Catch" | August 4, 2000 | |
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Blue wins the clamball championship for his school, but only because no one sees him drop the ball anywhere. | |||
| 32 | "To Catch a Thief" | August 11, 2000 | |
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Rainbow is suspicious of his sister, Ruby, when she starts acting very strangely. It turns out that she is just making a surprise gift for their parents. | |||
| 33 | "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" | August 18, 2000 | |
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Rainbow's mother, Aqua, invites his teacher, Mrs Chips, to dinner, and Rainbow Fish is worried that Mrs Chips herself will act just like a teacher. | |||
| 34 | "It's a Wonderful Fish" | August 25, 2000 | |
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One difficult day, a glowing guardian angel fish shows Rainbow Fish the value of his life. | |||
| 35 | "Moving Day" | September 1, 2000 | |
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Rainbow Fish fears that both his parents, Sol and Aqua, are planning to sell the cave to two fish called Ret and Snapper, and so his friends attempt to make his house as much of a wreck as possible to avoid it being sold. However, Rainbow then discovers his parents were planning to build a new recreation room. | |||
| 36 | "A Romantic Dinner" | September 8, 2000 | |
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Rainbow and Ruby prepare an anniversary dinner for their parents. | |||
| 37 | "The Bodyguard" | September 15, 2000 | |
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Rainbow saves a whale's life, and, in return, the whale becomes his bodyguard. | |||
| 38 | "Mom's Away" | September 22, 2000 | |
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Rainbow is not pleased when his mother, Aqua, gets a job in his school. | |||
| 39 | "How Sea Filly Got Her Groove Back" | September 29, 2000 | |
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After being teased by her classmates for not being feminine enough, Sea Filly decides to take up cheerleading, causing Blue and Rainbow to worry about her becoming a different person altogether. | |||
| 40 | "High Tide Noon" | October 6, 2000 | |
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Rainbow is embarrassed after failing to stand up to Rocko Rockfish, a bullying second grader. | |||
| 41 | "A Game Girl" | October 13, 2000 | |
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After watching Rainbow and Blue play it in Shipwreck Park, Sea Filly becomes addicted to a computer game called "Clam Blaster" and hardly does anything else. When she brings the video game to the School Of Fish one day and plays it there during a difficult maths test with Mrs Chips, she soon discovers that the video game itself is "dumb, violent and intellectually worthless". | |||
| 42 | "There's No Business Like Show Business" | October 20, 2000 | |
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Rainbow, Blue, and Sea Filly hear the tale of two feuding crabs who were once song-and-dance partners, and then, they all set out to bring them back together, once and for all. | |||
| 43 | "Sea Filly Needs A Helping Fin" | October 27, 2000 | |
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Sea Filly gets a bad grade on a maths test at the School Of Fish and worries greatly. | |||
| 44 | "Prince Blue" | November 3, 2000 | |
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When Blue looks at his book and mistakenly thinks that his ancestors were royalty, he starts acting like a prince. | |||
| 45 | "The Pool Shark" | November 10, 2000 | |
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When Chomper's cousin Slick, a pool-playing master, comes to Wanda's refreshment shop, he beats everyone in Pool by secretly cheating. Rainbow, unaware of this at first, is in awe, and decides to become his assistant, then discovers his secret. Rainbow then declares a match to determine that Chomper's relative is cheating. Rainbow then wins, and the other player leaves the shop forever. | |||
| 46 | "Halloween Under The H2O" | November 17, 2000 | |
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Rainbow tries to put Sea Filly in the Halloween spirit, but then has a haunting Halloween dream, and wakes up to find that Sea Filly has actually scared him in his sleep. | |||
| 47 | "An Eviction Notice" | November 24, 2000 | |
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Phineas T. Gronch is planning to permanently demolish the Mollusk Reef Villas as well as wipe out half of Neptune Bay to build a shopping mall in its place. Rainbow, Blue and Sea Filly have to stop him in time, or they'll all be for it. | |||
| 48 | "The Vacation" | December 1, 2000 | |
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Rainbow and his family go on a camping trip. | |||
| 49 | "Cave Mates" | December 8, 2000 | |
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Important friendship is tested when Blue comes to stay in Rainbow's cave. | |||
| 50 | "Chomper, Master Thespian" | December 15, 2000 | |
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Chomper is given the lead role in the school play, but he mistakenly believes that voice acting is for wimps. | |||
| 51 | "Rainbow's Hiccups" | December 22, 2000 | |
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Rainbow's love of kelp gusher drinks causes him to get a nasty case of hiccups. It's Wanda the Octopus who eventually finds the "wild" cure. | |||
| 52 | "Santa Sword Is Coming To Town" | December 24, 2000 | |
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Rainbow Fish helps Sir Sword dressed up as Santa Sword on Christmas Eve. | |||
Broadcast
editInternationally, the series aired on Rai 3 in Italy, on La 2 and Cartoon Network in Spain, on ARD in Germany, on MTV3 in Finland, on HBO Family in the United States, on Tiny Pop in the United Kingdom, and on Disney Channel in Australia.
References
edit- ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 488. ISBN 978-1538103739.
External links
edit- Rainbow Fish at IMDb