Stanley (2001 TV series)

Stanley is an American children's animated television series that aired on Playhouse Disney based on the series of children's books written by "Griff" (as indicated on the cover of the original book), also known as Andrew Griffin. It was produced by Cartoon Pizza and was developed for television by Jim Jinkins (the creator of Doug, PB&J Otter, Allegra's Window, JoJo's Circus, and Pinky Dinky Doo) and David Campbell.

The series follows Stanley, voiced by Jessica D. Stone, and teaches a wide variety of issues young children face, including change, growth, rules, and dealing with others. Each episode centers on an animal that deals with or helps explain the issue Stanley is grappling with.

Bahamian Junkanoo and reggae fusion group Baha Men, who are best known for their hit song "Who Let the Dogs Out", sang the series' main theme song, "My Man Stanley".

Synopsis
Each episode shows Stanley (voiced by Jessica D. Stone) in a situation he does not fully understand. He discusses it with his pet goldfish Dennis (voiced by Charles Shaughnessy) before consulting either his computer or the Great Big Book of Everything, a remarkably complete zoology book aimed at young children. By observing how an animal copes with the same situation Stanley faces, or how it can overcome a similar difficulty, Stanley learns to deal with the situation himself.

Throughout the show Stanley and all his friends are able to talk to his pet cat, Elsie (voiced by Hynden Walch) and dog Harry (voiced by Rene Mujica) as well as Dennis. Other animals also seem to occasionally respond, but never talk or give a definite indication they truly understood what was said. Stanley and his friends actively try to keep the adults (that is, except Stanley's grandmother), and by extension Stanley's older brother Lionel, from realizing this.

The Great Big Book of Everything is magical in nature, able to either let the animals out of the pages or allow the children to enter, sometimes changing them into animals in the process. This does not appear to be imaginary since occasionally adults do notice the noise, and Stanley works hard to hide the animals. There is also an episode where Stanley's brother sees a whale on the roof but dismisses the memory when it disappears back into the book.

The Halloween special features Stanley's grandmother who, it is implied, is a witch. She reveals that she too can work the book, and in fact was the one who gave it to Stanley for a fourth birthday present. She was also the one who taught its theme song to Harry and Elsie.

When someone says the "Great Big Book of Everything", hints it out, or even has the book, Elsie and Harry will wake up or find their way into the scene and start singing. This usually annoys Dennis, who after the introductory verse, says something like "Oh, not again!"

Characters

 * Stanley Griff (voiced by Jessica D. Stone) is an imaginative 6-year-old boy. Stanley has three pets: a goldfish named Dennis, a dog named Harry, and a cat named Elsie. Stanley has an older brother named Lionel, who enjoys playing his electric guitar, a father who stays at home and draws cartoons, and a mother who is a dentist (the latter two were revealed in the episode "Double-Duty Dad").
 * Dennis (voiced by Charles Shaughnessy) is a male goldfish with an Estuary English accent and one of Stanley's pets. In fact, Dennis is Stanley's best friend who gives him education about animals to help him with his everyday problems, which interest him. Dennis also has to point out the flaws in Stanley's ridiculous solutions. Dennis often breaks the fourth wall by either encouraging the audience to do something fun or by asking them questions.
 * Lionel Griff (voiced by Shawn Pyfrom) is the older brother of Stanley. Lionel likes rock and roll music a lot and always wears headphones on his ears, but still loves his younger brother very much by giving him advice, helping out with his homework, and looking out for him. Lionel is 11.5 years old.
 * Mark Griff (voiced by David Landsberg) is the father of Stanley and Lionel. Mark is a stay-at-home father but works anyway as a cartoonist.
 * Dr. Joyce Griff (voiced by Ari Meyers) is the sweet and caring mother of Stanley and Lionel. Joyce works as a dentist and loves her family very much. However, Joyce does have ophidiophobia, which is the fear of snakes. Whether at the pool or the beach, her bathing suit is mostly a two piece bikini style.
 * Harry (voiced by Rene Mujica) and Elsie (voiced by Hynden Walch) are two more of Stanley's pets. Harry is a male brown dog who loves eating and napping and Elsie is a female yellow cat who also loves napping and often purrs before she says something. They both sing a song about the Great Big Book of Everything, which greatly annoys Dennis. No matter how far away they are, they always manage to sing the song when the time comes. In "Dolphin Talk", it is Harry's birthday and Elsie, Stanley, Dennis, Marci, and Mimi help plan a surprise party for him.
 * Lester Goldberg (voiced by Philece Sampler) is one of Stanley's friends. Lester has a father who is referred to as Mr. Goldberg (voiced by Wallace Shawn) and a mother who is referred to as Mrs. Goldberg (voiced by Didi Conn). In "Little Dog Lost", it is revealed that he is Jewish because not only is his last name Goldberg, Lester doesn't celebrate Christmas and instead he celebrates Hanukkah. But Lester gets a present for every one of the 8 nights of the holiday. In the episode Gorilla Sleepover it is revealed that his mom's first name is Nancy. Lester also has a little sister named Samantha who went to Mrs. Griff for a dental checkup.
 * Marci and Mimi (both voiced by Khylan Jones) are African-American identical twin sisters who are very good friends with Stanley. Marci wears her hair in a bun and loves sports while Mimi wears hers down in braids with a purple bow on her head and loves flowers. They also wear opposite-colored clothes with a baseball on Marci's overalls and a pink flower on Mimi's. In "Little Dog Lost", it's revealed that they celebrate Kwanzaa.
 * Jane (voiced by Macy H. Morikawa) is a Chinese-American girl that is in Stanley's class. Jane appears in several episodes. Jane invites Stanley to her house in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner".

TV specials

 * 1) "Little Dog Lost" (Christmas)
 * 2) "Grandma Griff's Mystery Guest" (Halloween)
 * 3) "Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up"
 * 4) "A Turkey of a Thanksgiving" (Thanksgiving)
 * 5) "Stanley's Great Big Book of Adventure"

Broadcast history
In the U.S., the series debuted on Playhouse Disney on September 15, 2001. When Playhouse Disney rebranded its on-air presentation in 2007, Stanley was put on a new time slot at 6:00 AM ET on weekends. Stanley stopped airing in May 2008, but the show was still available on PlayhouseDisney.com. In February 2011, the show was completely removed when Playhouse Disney rebranded as Disney Junior. The show was briefly seen online on DisneyJunior.com as part of "fan favorites" week on the week of June 20, 2011. From March 23, 2012, to September 2, 2013, the series returned on the U.S. airwaves on Disney Junior. And Stanley was kept on demand from that point until 2019, when it was removed. The show has yet to be added to Disney+; although, reruns are currently airing on the weekends on Disney Junior in Japan.

In Canada, it ran on The Family Channel from 2002 to 2007 and then was moved to Disney Junior, which ran from November 30, 2007, until September 29, 2013, when it was removed from the schedule. It also aired on the Canadian-French version of Disney Junior since 2010.

Canada

 * Family (Canada) (2001 - November 29, 2007)
 * Disney Junior (English Canada) (November 30, 2007 – September 27, 2013)
 * Disney Junior (French Canada) (May 6, 2011 - 2013)
 * Playhouse Disney (English Canada) (November 30, 2007 - September 27, 2013)
 * Playhouse Disney (French Canada) (July 5, 2010 - May 5, 2011)

United States

 * Disney Channel (Playhouse Disney) (September 15, 2001 - 2008)
 * Disney Junior (March 23, 2012 - 2013)

Japan

 * Disney Channel (Disney Junior) (2012–present)

Awards and nominations
Emmy Award
 * 2002 – Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program – Charles Shaughnessy for playing "Dennis" (won)

Film
On January 3, 2006, Walt Disney Home Entertainment and Cartoon Pizza released a full-length direct-to-video movie based on Stanley. Entitled Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up, the film centers on the titular character as he, along with Elsie, Dennis, Harry, Marci, Mimi and Lester team up to save his Great Uncle Stew (John Ritter, who completed his work for the film before he died)'s dude ranch from the greedy Rockin' Rory (Randy Quaid) who intends to buy the ranch and turn it into an amusement park.