- Handy Manny
"Handy Manny" is a TV animated children's program launched in
2006 , part of the "Playhouse Disney " morning block of theDisney Channel . The show features the adventures of Manny Garcia, abilingual Hispanic handyman , and his anthropomorphic, talking tools. Manny’s portrayal as a stereotypical Latino labor worker has led some to label the show as racist.The show was created by
Roger Bollen ,Marilyn Sadler andEmmy Award -winning writer and producerRick Gitelson . The animation is produced byToronto -basedNelvana and features the voice performances ofWilmer Valderrama ,Tom Kenny ,Dee Bradley Baker ,Fred Stoller ,Nika Futterman ,Kath Soucie ,Carlos Alazraqui andNancy Truman . Special guest stars in the series have includedLance Bass ,Kurtwood Smith ,Shelley Morrison ,Fred Willard ,Penn Jillette ,Jon Polito ,Brian George ,Snoop Dogg and Bob Glouberman. The theme song is performed byLos Lobos .Three DVD compilations have been released:
Handy Manny: Tooling Around
Handy Manny: Fixing it Right
Handy Manny: Manny's Pet RoundupCast
Main human characters
* Manuel "Manny" Garcia (voiced by
Wilmer Valderrama )The No.1 repairman of Sheetrock Hills who has living, talking tools. He has a reputation for helping everyone, and was awarded the "Good Citizens Award" last season, after unknowingly repairing his own prize trophy. Manny gets most of his jobs via phone calls, and generally responds straight away. He either walks, carrying his tool box, or drives in a red pickup truck.he is a puerto rican, mexica, descent
* Kelly (voiced by Nancy Truman)Owner of ahardware store frequented by Manny and his tools. Manny has a contractor's account with Kelly's Hardware and makes payments on 30-day terms. The show does not often mention the exchange of currency because it is generally considered irrelevant to the show's target demographic. It also appears as if Manny has a "thing" for Kelly, and vice versa.*Mr. Lopart (voiced by
Tom Kenny )Leonard Francis Lopart - known by the main characters simply as Mr. Lopart is the owner of acandy store next to Manny's workshop. Mr Lopart'sknow-it-all attitude and refusal of Manny's assistance often lands him in trouble, usually resulting in falling on the floor.The tools
The interaction among Manny's seven tools is a very important part of the show.
"Felipe" - is a Phillips
Screwdriver who always considers himself a very important tool. Sometimes, his ideas could make a problem worse. He provides a lot of the Spanish language content in the show, translating for the other tools. He is voiced byCarlos Alazraqui .
"Turner" - is aFlat Screwdriver who can be grumpy and cynical. He and Felipe are rivals but in the episode " Supremoguy " he helped save Felipe from falling off a scaffold. He is voiced byDee Bradley Baker .
"Stretch" - is aTape measure who loves to measure things. His ideas seems to work during a problem, and he is able to count well too. He is voiced byNika Futterman .
"Squeeze" - is a pair ofPliers who is sometimes impatient to fix something (usually with bolts) Her ideas could be wrong at times. She is voiced byJulianna Rose Mauriello .
"Pat" - is aHammer who is talkative, funny, and not very intelligent. He also had amnesia in the episode " Pat the Screwdriver ". His catchphrase is "I'm a hammer" He is voiced byTom Kenny .
"Dusty" - is aSaw who gives good advice. Her ideas usually seem to work. She loves to cut things like wood. She is voiced byKatherine Soucie .
"Rusty" - is aPipe Wrench who is not very brave and a worrywart. He sometimes needs Manny's assistance to get courage. He is voiced byFred Stoller .The Complete Episode Guide
Crew
*Executive Producer:
Rick Gitelson
*Writers:Rick Gitelson ,Jeff Wynne
*Directors: Ted Bastien, Sue Blue
*Composer: Fernando Rivas
*Layout Animation: Alexandru Eana
*Animation: Barry A SandersInternational broadcasting
*
Australia andNew Zealand :Playhouse Disney : Brought intact from the original version and currently only available on subscriber television providersFoxtel andAustar in Australia, and SKY and TV2 in New Zealand.*
Denmark :Playhouse Disney : Not translated but also "Handy Manny", as in the other countries it is bilingual, but the main language is Danish and the Spanish words are translated into English.*
Germany :Playhouse Disney : Translated as "Meister Manny" (Master Manny), the series is still bilingual, but the main language is German and the few words in Spanish.*
Italy :Playhouse Disney : Translated as "Manny Tuttofare" (Manny Handyperson), just like the Spanish translation, the series is still bilingual, but the main language is Italian and the few words in Spanish are translated into English.*
Portugal :Disney Channel : Translated as "Manny Manicas", the English and the Spanish are both translated in Portuguese.*
Spain :Playhouse Disney : Translated as "Manny Manitas", the series keep its bilingual format, but inverting the English and Spanish languages. In Spain Manny speaks mostly Spanish with a few words in English.*
Sweden :Playhouse Disney : Translated as "Händige Manny", as in the other countries it is bilingual, but the main language is Swedish and the Spanish words are translated into English.*
United Kingdom :Playhouse Disney : Brought intact from the original version and currently only available on the subscriber television providersBSkyB andVirgin Media External links
* [http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/preschool/handymanny/ "Handy Manny"] Official Disney Website
* [http://www.disney.com.au/DisneyChannel/playhouse/handymanny/ Handy Manny's section on Disney.com.au]
* [http://www.disney.es/DisneyChannel/playhouse/handymanny/ Manny Manitas (Handy Manny's) section on Disney.es (Spanish)]
* [http://kidstvmovies.about.com/od/handymanny/a/handycharac.htm About.com article]
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