Franklin (television series)

Based on a series of books by Brenda Clark (writer) and Paulette Bourgeois (illustrator), Franklin is a children's television series named after its main character, Franklin Turtle.

The series first aired in November, 1997; and originally ended its run in May, 2000. Five seasons were produced, but only the first four were widely available, as the fifth had been produced but originally was never directly released. The television series is produced by Nelvana Entertainment; the books have been published by Scholastic.

In October, 2000, Franklin's little sister Harriet was introduced in the direct-to-video and DVD movie Franklin and the Green Knight. The two shared an adventure in 2001 in Franklin's Magic Christmas. In 2003, Harriet had grown quite a bit and Franklin learned new things from a substitute teacher named Mrs. Koala in the new release Back to School With Franklin. In 2004, a number of things came together for the Franklin television series. The fifth season, which had previously been available only on Canada's Family Channel, some foreign markets, and a couple stories on commerical video, was released in the United States on the Noggin cable/satellite network. The episodes premiered in March / April 2004 and are still airing regularly. In May 2004, brand-new episodes of the series began airing on a Canadian network called Treehouse TV. Franklin and many of his friends had new voice actors in these new adventures, but many of the show's strongest writers and staff-members remained on board. These new stories saw Franklin facing a flood, worries about the old treehouse and earning a badge in a group called the Woodland Trailblazers. Although it's not yet known when these episodes may air on stations other than Treehouse TV, it seems safe to say that given Noggin's investment in the series, they may appear on that station as early as 2005. For the sixth season Funbag and other animation studios joined in the development of Franklin.

Franklin is a growing young turtle who, as his television stories always begin, "...could count by twos and tie his shoes". He goes to school, lives in a small village with his friends, and has lots of adventures playing and learning in the world around him - sometimes with the helping hand of an adult or his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Turtle. Franklin likes swimming, arts and crafts (especially drawing), and loves shoefly pie. He's been known to be afraid of the dark, and of thunderstorms.

Franklin Turtle has lots of friends, including Beaver, Rabbit, Goose, and his best friend Bear. When Franklin was younger, Otter was Franklin's best friend, but she had to move away to the city. Franklin is also a good friend to Snail, who sometimes rides on his shell and gives him advice. Though Snail is voiced by the female actress Kristen Bone (Mean Girls) and many believe Snail to be a girl, Snail is a guy. Franklin has a stuffed toy named Sam, and a pet goldfish as well. Both are very special to him and the later episodes "Franklin and Sam" and "Franklin Forgives" help expand on Franklin's relationship with them.

Characters

Franklin and Sister

• Franklin Turtle - In some ways, Franklin is a bit of an "every" turtle, but he also has his own distinct personality. He tends to be very kind and he has a large circle of friends, but also tends to keep things to himself at times. Franklin's friends and his parents generally help to bring out the best in him and he's also now a big brother. He takes good care of his pet goldfish, Goldie, and also has a stuffed dog named Sam who, despite growing older, he still hangs onto.

• Harriet Turtle - She's Franklin's younger sister. She has a happy, outgoing personality and loves running around and playing fun games. She really looks up to Franklin and often doesn't understand when Franklin gets annoyed at something she does. Still, she and Franklin generally get along most of the time and Harriet seems to picking up on Franklin's kindness. Her best friend is Beatrice, who recently started attending preschool, so now she also spends time with Beaver's new little brother Kit.

Franklin's Friends

• Badger - A shy individual afraid of public speaking, Badger is a friend of Beaver and Skunk, and uses crutches to get around.

• Bear - Franklin's best friend. Despite being a bear, is very docile and friendly. Has a large appetite, which earned him the derisive nickname "Snacks" in one episode. Bear began to wear a blue vest in later seasons.

• Beatrice "Bea" Bear - She's Bear's little sister and was introduced late in the first season. She's about a year older than Harriet and maybe about a year and a half younger than Franklin and his friends --- a bit of time magic that was never really explained on the series. She's not seen all that often, but is learning a lot from Bear and is also Harriet's best friend.

• Beaver - Often overly sure of herself, Beaver sometimes shows hints of bossiness, boisterousness, and sarcasm, but is certainly one of the more intelligent of the group.

• Kit - Beaver's younger brother was introduced in the most recent special. He tends to be rather shy and clingy, but seems to have come out of his shell a bit after meeting Harriet. Although he hasn't been seen together with Beaver, he seems to look up to her, as her going to back to school after summer vacation put him somewhat out of sorts.

• Fox - Sly and wily, Fox is daring, which gets him in trouble, such as the episode where he hides in the woods during hide and seek, thus becoming lost.

• Goose - The best diver among Franklin's friends, Goose is outgoing but easily startled.

• Jackrabbit - An older relation of Rabbit's, either in his pre-teens or teenage years. Enjoys skateboarding, though is rarely seen in the show.

• Otter - Franklin's former best friend, Otter's move away caused much pain to Franklin. Their reunion was bittersweet, with the village not remaining the same as Otter remembered it.

• Rabbit - The best long jumper in the class, Rabbit is a jolly, somewhat goofy individual. He once stuck a piece of cardboard in his bicycle spoke to emulate the sound of a motorcylce.

• Skunk - Friendly and non-threatening, Skunk is frequently seen with Badger, Beaver, or Goose. Skunk once broke her arm riding a bicycle, and Franklin learned from her what it was really like to wear a cast.

• Snail - Snail moves slowly, and consequently needs help from others often in order to get around, often by riding on Franklin's shell. Got angry in one episode by Franklin's excessive helping, Snail proved his capability by scaling a tall cliff to gather some crystals for the group.

Adults

• Mrs. / Dr. Bear - Doctor of the village and also Bear's mother. She's very kind and even makes the occasional housecall when needed.

• Mr. Beaver - Carpenter. Built the gang's treehouse, and is always seen with his toolbelt. Likes to see everyone busy, much to the dismay of Franklin's group.

• Mr. Fox - A junk collector and handyman, Mr. Fox stresses the value of hard work ("Elbow Grease"). Helped fix Franklin's toy truck in one episode. Mr. Fox also drives the school bus. He doesn't usually have any dialogue when doing this, but he did get a small bit of dialogue in the the fifth season that confirmed that it is, in fact, him driving the bus and not another adult fox character.

• Mrs. Goose - Librarian. Mrs. Goose is cheerful and tends to talk in an enthusiastic tone of voice. She is also Goose's Mom, although isn't generally seen in this role.

• Mr. Groundhog - A veritable recluse but a meteorologist, Mr. Groundhog is harassed when he enters the village for groceries by the inhabitants asking him for more or less snow. Franklin befriends the seemingly grumpy Mr. Groundhog and finds out he's not all that bad.

• Mr. Mole - Rotund and spectacled, Mr. Mole possesses a cheerful optimistic nature. He owns a hardware shop which catches fire in one episode, and also tends to his garden. He has a gradnson, Mole, who has only been seen once or twice.

• Ms. Muskrat - Franklin's babysitter. Kind of like Mary Poppins, she has a bag with all sorts of entertaining things. Having been babysit by Granny in the past, Franklin was shy of her at first, but quickly warmed up to her. She has a beautiful backyard decorated with things she made from broken glass.

• Mr. Owl - The schoolteacher of the village. Appropriately wise, Mr. Owl is patient and resolves conflicts peacefully in the classroom. Mr. Owl allows ample time for creativity with different projects.

• Ms. Porcupine - Soccer coach and troop leader.

• Mr. Badger - Postman. Not disgruntled at all and very friendly. Said the useful words, "These money back gurantees are not all that they're cracked up to be."

• Mrs. Turtle - Wears a purplish pendant of unknown nature; Franklin's mother.

• Grandma Turtle - Piano virtuoso; gave piano lessons to Beaver and Franklin in an episode.

• Mr. Turtle - Mr. Turtle's exact occupation is unknown. He's known to fix things around the house. Franklin's father --- he provides advice to Franklin when needed and sometimes spends times with him on sports outings and such. In typical animated cartoon fashion, he sometimes exhibits behavior that is inexplainedly doofy.

Minor/Unknown Characters

• Dynaroo - Franklin's hero, a masked and caped marsupial. Franklin drew clouds from his poster unconsciously, which in turn where copied by Rabbit, leading to much ANIMosity. Appeared in person in one episode during a book signing, with no spoken dialogue. Has a sidekick, like most superheroes.

• Journalist - Also a fox, who tried his hardest not to photograph Franklin, who was on a mission to get into the paper.

• Moose - Appeared only in one episode (so far), Moose was a new kid in Franklin's class. Awkward and shy, Franklin eventually comes to befriend him after being upset at Moose for breaking his favorite colored pencil. He also helped Franklin with a bake sale. Moose seems to have more-or-less been shoehorned into the series from the original books and then forgotten about. He appears in pretty much all of the later Franklin books written by Paulette Bourgeois. It is probably safe to say that he will not be seen on the TV series again.

External links

• Nelvana's official Franklin website (http://www.franklintheturtle.com)
• Franklin (noggin.com) (http://www.noggin.com/shows/franklin.php)
• TV Tome Franklin guide (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-7945)
• EpGuides - Episode Listings (http://epguides.com/Franklin)