Oswald (TV series)

Oswald is a preschool educational children's animated television series created by Dan Yaccarino and developed by Lisa Eve Huberman. The show was co-produced by HIT Entertainment and Nickelodeon. The main character is a thoughtful blue octopus named Oswald who lives in an apartment complex.

Overall 26 episodes were produced. In the United States, the series premiered on Nickelodeon (as part of its Nick Jr. block) on 20 August 2001. Reruns were also broadcast on CBS (during the Nick Jr. on CBS block) and on Noggin. When the Noggin brand was relaunched as a streaming service in 2015, all 26 episodes of Oswald were made available for streaming.

Prior to release, Brown Johnson, senior vice president of Nick Jr. had this to say, "Dan Yaccarino has created an octopus who could be a pre-schooler's best friend".

Plot
The series is set in Big City, a colorful world populated by anthropomorphic animals, mythological creatures and humanoid beings. Each episode follows the daily experiences of an anthropomorphic blue octopus named Oswald (voiced by Fred Savage), accompanied by his beloved hot dog-shaped dog, Weenie, and their life in the cheerful and whimsically-designed community of Big City. Commonly, the program concentrates on Oswald's experiences with friends, acquaintances and neighbors, including Henry, a penguin, and Daisy, a flower, among others and his patient methods of coping with or tolerating different situations and dilemmas, along with his thoroughly optimistic outlook on life.

Main

 * Oswald (voiced by Fred Savage in the US and Richard Pearce in the UK) is the main character (four arms, four legs) who lives in an apartment complex with Henry and several other animals including a turtle named Buster. A very gentle, polite and bighearted anthropomorphic blue octopus with a bowler hat, Oswald is always willing to go out of his way to help his friends. His hobbies are playing the piano and singing.
 * Weenie (voiced by Debi Derryberry) is Oswald's dachshund. She bears a strong resemblance to a hot dog and only communicates in "bark-speak". She accompanies Oswald everywhere he goes, and her favorite food is vanilla dog biscuits.
 * Henry (voiced by David Lander in the US and David Holt in the UK) is Oswald's downstairs penguin neighbor and best friend. Henry is a creature of habit in every way and usually shuns the idea of trying different things, though he can sometimes be persuaded otherwise. He tries his best to maintain a rigid schedule. As such, he takes care of his extensive spoon collection, watches "Penguin Patrol" every evening, and does the Penguin Polka before bedtime. Most of Henry's favorite foods are fish-flavored, and is a proven expert on snow. Additionally, he has an identical cousin from the frozen north named Louie, and on occasion speaks of an Aunt Arctica. His motto is "Slow and steady!" He always takes two (used to be three) marshmallows in his hot cocoa, saying "No more, no less." He also hates getting wet.
 * Daisy (voiced by Crystal Scales in the US and Moir Leslie in the UK) is a tall orange/yellow/green flower. Free-spirited and energetic yet clumsy, Daisy participates in sports and other activities. She is a close friend of both Oswald and Henry, the three of them often go on adventures together. Daisy loves sunflower sundaes, riding her unicycle, has a large leaf collection and loves peppermint tea. Daisy is very excitable and often has to be shushed by Oswald when she speaks too loudly.

Recurring

 * Johnny Snowman (voiced by Mel Winkler in the US and Colin McFarlane in the UK) is a laid-back snowman who operates an ice cream shop and also has an ice cream truck. He has a deep baritone voice. He also has a brother in the frozen north named Phil.
 * Egbert (voiced by Daran Norris in the US and Gary Martin in the UK) and Leo (voiced by J. Grant Albrecht in the US and David Holt in the UK) are eggs who are also twin brothers. Leo always responds in conversations with an enthusiastic "Yes, yes!" while Egbert refers to everyone as "old boy".
 * Catrina (voiced by Debi Derryberry) is a baby caterpillar that is just learning how to speak. She is the only child of Madame Butterfly. Like other babies, Catrina is highly curious about everything around her, but is always attended by her mom or others to keep her curiosity in check.
 * Madame Butterfly (voiced by Laraine Newman in the US and Moir Leslie in the UK) is the mother of Catrina and the proprietor of the local diner, a favorite lunch stop for Oswald and his friends. Her name is a pun on the opera Madama Butterfly.

Minor

 * Pongo (voiced by Richard Kind in the US and Gary Martin in the UK) is a large yellow and red dragon with a long thin green mustache and is quite similar to the dragons in Chinese culture and folklore. He lives in a Chinese-style home in Big City. In sharp contrast to his otherwise intimidating size, Pongo is very shy and soft-spoken, and known for his occasional clumsiness.
 * Buster is a very slow moving turtle living in the same apartment building as Oswald. He appears in several episodes.
 * Cactus Polly (voiced by Laraine Newman in the US and Jo Wyatt in the UK) is a helpful cactus lady who carries a lasso and talks like a cowgirl from the wild west. She plays a guitar and banjo. She has a Southern accent. She also plays the Mandolin and piano, unlike Woody and Jessie from Toy Story.
 * Gingerbread People are anthropomorphic gingerbread men who reside in Big City and are often seen in the backgrounds of episodes.
 * Sammy Starfish (voiced by Tony Orlando) is Oswald's musical idol and a jazz singer. Oswald's dream is to play the piano for Sammy Starfish, which becomes a reality when Sammy's show comes to Big City and the tickets are all sold out.
 * Steve Tree (voiced by Fred Stoller in the US and Gary Martin in the UK) is a tree that comes to life. Sometimes his pet Woodrow pecks on him, usually on his head.
 * Andy Pumpkin (voiced by Eddie Deezen in the US and David Holt in the UK) is Steve's loopy best friend. He is a happy-go-lucky pumpkin person and works at a candy shop. He tends to speak in hyper tones when working in the candy shop.
 * Bingette Bunny (voiced by Kathy Najimy) is a ditsy rabbit who runs the gardening store where Oswald buys his tomato plants. She is usually very unhelpful but usually says "Just doing my job!" when Oswald leaves the store.
 * Roderick Robot is a mechanical man with a mechanical cat, Tinsel. Oswald cat-sits for Roderick, and it turns out Tinsel is a very naughty cat.
 * Bingo (voiced by Mac Davis) is Big City's barber, a rabbit who also runs a newspaper store from which Henry buys his newspaper. He only talks in the episodes "Henry Needs a Haircut" and "The Naughty Cat".
 * Louie (voiced by Michael McKean) is Henry's cousin from the arctic.
 * Flippy is a fish who Oswald bought at the pet store but had to give to the Big City Aquarium as the fish grew too large.
 * The Paper People are silent humans made of paper who appear in several episodes as cameo characters.
 * Woodrow is Steve's pet woodpecker.
 * Tinsel is Roderick's pet mechanical cat.
 * The Fish are fish who appear in the episode "Going Fishing".
 * Maestro Bingo runs a store of various musical instruments and appears in the episodes "Daisy Plays an Instrument" and "Fixing the Piano".

Broadcast history
In the United States, Oswald first aired on the Nick Jr. television block on Nickelodeon on 20 August 2001. It was removed from the lineup on 24 May 2005. On 7 April 2003, Oswald started airing on Noggin during its daytime preschool block. Reruns also aired on the 24-hour Nick Jr. Channel upon its launch in 2009, but they were removed on 11 December 2014. The show aired briefly on Nick on CBS for one year from 15 September 2001, to 7 September 2002.

When the Noggin brand was relaunched as a streaming service in 2015, all 26 episodes of Oswald were made available for streaming. The series was added to Paramount+ (at the time CBS All Access) in January 2021.

Home media
Paramount Home Entertainment is the VHS and DVD distributor for the series in the United States while HIT Entertainment is the VHS and DVD distributor for the series in Canada.

Reception
The series received four out of five stars on Common Sense Media.