A Little Curious

"A Little Curious" is a children's television show which has aired on HBO Family since 1998, lasting for just one season (1998-1999). The 30-minute episodes are essentially anthologies of shorts centered on a common, easily digested theme such as "Up and Down" or "Slippery." While each short draws from the same pool of characters, one unique element of the show is that each short may be produced using one of a number of animation techniques, including stop-motion, traditional 2-D cel animation, and 3-D CGI. Some of the shorts are designed to fit more than one theme, and are re-used in a number of different episodes.

The show is produced by Curious Pictures and is aimed at preschoolers. The "pool" of characters, generally based on everyday objects, include:

*Bob,(possibly 5) a boisterous, exuberant bouncing rubber ball.
*Doris,(possibly 47) a door, who, while playful, is easily tired. Doris often talks about her distant childhood.
*Little Cup,(possibly 2) a woefully innocent cup who spends a lot of time learning about the world around him.
*Mr. String,(possibly 19) a nervous, fussy bit of string who can twist and tie himself into a multitude of shapes.
*Mop,(possibly 16) a rock music-loving mop who often changes her "hairstyle."
*Pad and Pencil,(possibly 23 and 22) a presumably married couple who constantly fawn over each other through French accents à la Lumiére and Fifi/Babette in "Beauty and the Beast."
*Plush,(possibly 9) a stuffed dog who is Bob's best friend.
*The Shoe Family,(possibly 30,27,6,and 7) a family of pairs of shoes with footwear-themed names such as "Mary Jane."

The characters appear to be designed to evoke a sense of familiarity in preschoolers. For instance, young children can see aspects of their own personalities in Bob and Little Cup, observe the family dynamic among the Shoe Family, and perhaps most obviously, see a bit of their grandparents in Doris the door.

External links

* [http://www.alittlecurious.com Curious Pictures]
* [http://www.hbofamily.com/programs/a-little-curious.html "A Little Curious" at HBO Family]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0439377/ "A Little Curious"] at The Internet Movie Database