BrainPOP

BrainPOP is an educational website with Flash-based movies about mathematics, technology, health, science, social studies, arts & music, and English. Most of the videos feature the site's recurring characters, Tim and Moby.

About the site

BrainPOP was created by Chanan Kadmon and Abraham Kadar in 1999.

On the site, students can watch the BrainPOP movies and exchange messages with the cast of BrainPOP characters. There are also interactive quizzes and games, comic strips, and experiments. The bulk of content is available only by subscription, although there are a number of free movies. There is also a 5-day free trial that you can sign up for by using your email address.

About 30% of U.S. school districts subscribe to BrainPOP and use it with school curricula as it aligns to U.S. state standards. BrainPOP has won multiple education and media awards including The Flash Film Festival, District Administration Curriculum Award, and Forbes Best of the Web.

Characters

Tim

Tim (full name Timothy) is a smart and useful teenager who does most of the talking in the movies. He has brown hair and usually wears a white T-shirt with a picture on it which relates to each movie. In a voting video it is implied that Tim and Moby live in New York. Tim's acting is too cartoony and 2-D as stated by his Drama teacher in the Drama movie.
* It is revealed in the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy movie that he can't do the pull-ups in gym class.
* One could infer that Tim likes Rita by watching several different BrainPop movies.
* Tim is fourteen years old, although he sounds much older (around 16 years of age).
* In the Q&A section, Tim is in middle-school. Though in one movie, he attends "BrainPOP High".
* According to the Immigration movie, he is of Welsh-Japanese descent- his paternal grandparents are from Wales, and his maternal grandparents are from Japan.
* His birthday is October 31st (Halloween), according to his ID in the movie about blood types.
* His blood type is O positive (in the Sparktop.org profile), but in the movie on blood types, he is A positive.
* He is left-handed.
* He thinks it's freaky how the letters he gets in the movies reflect what's going on in his life, as he notes in the Computer Viruses movie.
* In the movie on dreams, it is implied that he likes Rita. During his dream, he mumbled "Hello, Rita."
* In Puberty it is implied again that Tim and Rita like each other.
* In the movie on cell phones, his cell phone looks a lot like a home phone.
* In the Credit Card movie, it is shown that Tim owns a credit card, although it is just used as an example as Moby got it for him. Tim's card number is similar to the Pi decimal, without the decimal point.
* In the Scientific Problem Solving movie, he wore the same shirt for a whole month- possibly satirizing how most cartoon characters rarely change their clothes (although Tim has a different shirt every movie).
* Tim's grandfather used to collect antique guns, as noted in the Guns movie.
* Tim's parents can be seen in movies like Airport Security , Fire, Death, Motherhood, Vocals and Eating Disorders.

Tim's favorite things

* Tim's favorite color is orange, as noted in the Q and A section.
* Tim's favorite sport is baseball, as he himself mentions in the Baseball movie, and his favorite baseball team is the New York Mets. Tim also likes swimming as noted in the Q and A section of the site.
* It is said that his favorite food is fish (in the profiles).
* In the Latin Music movie Tim likes Baleadas
* His favorite music is electronic.
* Tim is a fan of Star Wars as mentioned in the Pocahontas movie. Also, in another movie Tim is seen playing with a Star Wars Y-Wing bomber toy.
* In the Internet movie it is suggested that Tim enjoys playing real-time computer games and MMORPG's. This movie also shows Wikipedia in it.
* In the Jazz movie, it is hinted that he likes Fall Out Boy and Avril Lavigne.In almost all the movies except fo the alchol one Tim loves wearing his white shirt.

Tim's dislikes

* In the Fax Machine movie, Tim stated that he didn't like egg rolls when Moby ordered Chinese food.
* In the Jazz movie, Tim disliked Moby's jazz-bot.
* In the Venus movie, Tim states he doesn't like the planet Venus very much.
* In the Adolf Hitler movie, Tim states that he thinks Hitler is a jerk.
* In the Honeybees movie, he says nature can be cruel.
* In the music movie, he says he dislikes the band Rage Against the Machine.

Tim's health

* In the Asthma and Peak Flow Meter movies, its hinted that Tim has asthma.
* In the Allergies movie, it's hinted that he is allergic to peanuts.
* In the Eyes movie it is noted that he owns eyeglasses and contact lenses.
* In the Braces movie, it shows that he owns a retainer.
* In the Dyslexia movie, it is hinted that Tim has Dyslexia.
* In the Appendix movie, it is hinted that Tim has/had Appendicitis.
* In the Smallpox movie, it shows that Tim has/had Chickenpox.

Tim's possessions

* In the Credit Card movie, Tim has a credit card which is most likely just a fake and is only used as an example, given by Moby and The First National Bank of Moby and its number is similar to the Pi decimal (without the decimal point).
* In the Credit Card movie Tim bought a Gamestation 3, a parallel to the Playstation 3.
* In the Blog movie, it is implied that Tim owns pink, polka dotted boxers.
* In the String Instrument movie, it is shown that Tim owns a violin.
* In all the episodes we see Tim owns a t-shirt with a picture relating to the main subject of the movie.
* In the Alcohol movie, Tim owns a Snappy Green Sweater-Vest.
* In the Dreams movie, he has a REM poster in his bedroom.
*In the movie about Floods, Tim has a collection of comic books.

Tim's pets

* Tim has a pet lizard named Gunther, as noted in the Q and A section.
* Tim also has a pet snake named is Clyde.
* Tim used to have a pet fish named Ewan, who appeared in the Fish movie. In the Carbon Dating movie, Moby digs up old fish bones, with Tim revealing that the bones were those of Ewan, saying that he died two years ago.
* In the Carnivorous Plants movie, it shows that Tim has a frog named Hoppy that was eaten by one of Moby's carnivorous plants.
* Tim also has a pet dog named Sadie that is shown in the movie about dogs.

Tim's talents

* In the String Instrument movie, Tim plays the violin well.

Moby von Robot III

Moby is an orange robot who communicates in bleeping noises (similar to R2D2). He has three lights on his chest that light up every time he beeps and Tim usually translates what he's saying. Moby is Tim's friend but loves to drive him insane. In the Eclipse movie, he forgot that Tim was and is his friend. While Tim does most of the talking during a movie, Moby usually helps out by fetching things for Tim and asking questions about the topic they are talking about. As a robot, he can do lots of things that Tim is unable to do (e. g. changing his hand into a freeze-ray, sending himself back in time, removing his head). Most of the movies end humorously, often with Tim getting angry with Moby or vice versa.

One funny things about Moby is that he has a blog, in which he states he has seen Tim's underwear glittering. This is made public by the Blogs movie.

It is occasionally implied, especially if one looks in the Space sub-category, that Moby is of an extraterrestrial origin; in the Earth movie, for example. Sometimes, Moby says too much about the subject (or when Tim asks (when the two met) where he came from, or when he saw an old painting that featured Moby coming out of a rocket) and erases Tim's memory (e.g. outer solar system movie). However, the Leonardo da Vinci movie ends with Moby sliding down a panel on his chest, revealing a panel labeled "Robots by Leonardo" to which Tim replies "Oh, no way."

Stated in the Leanardo Da Vinci movie, Moby is 500 pounds.

Moby's blood type (in the profile section) is 30 weight synthetic oil.

There is a part when he has a clone "brother", which he supposedly built from spare parts, in the Twins movie.

In the movie about Hiccups, Moby's "Vagus nerve" is literally a Las Vegas slot machine.

In the Brain movie, Moby keeps his brain in a jar. According to the Filmmaking movie, Moby likes to pretend his last name is Calrissian- an obvious reference to "Star Wars" character Lando Calrissian.

Moby's favorite things

Moby's favorite color is red, as noted in the Q and A section.

Moby likes running (as his exercise).

His favorite food is chocolate, as noted in the Chocolate movie.

Moby likes peanut butter and anchovy milkshakes, as noted in the Anthrax movie.

Moby's possessions

*Moby owns a blog in the Blogs movie.
*Moby owns a motorcycle with side-pod in the Che Guevera movie
*Moby owns a Global Positioning System in the GPS movie.

*Moby owns a jazz-bot that he made in the Jazz movie.

*Moby also owns a collection of carnivorous plants and he named almost all of them in the Carnivorous Plants movie.

*In the movie of String Instruments, it is shown that Moby plays piano.

*Moby has an MP3 player in the MP3 movie.

*In the movie on woodwinds, it is shown that Moby plays the tenor saxophone without a neckstrap.

*In the motherhood movie, Moby has a baby. Where this baby came from is unknown.

*In the DNA movie Moby owns a Brown Feodora.

*In several movies Moby owns an blue electric guitar.

*In several movies Moby owns a bank called the First National Bank of Moby.

*In several movies Moby has a record.

*In one movie, Moby has a criminal record.

*In the Sparktop profiles, it is writen that Moby collects shiny objects.

*Also, in the Floods movie, Moby has a collection of non-famous autographs.

*Moby has a robot that looks like Tim. This robot has malfunctioned.

*In the Brain movie, Moby has a brain in a jar.

Moby's pets

Moby claims Tim as his pet as noted in the Sparktop.org profile.

Moby also has a blue, dog-bird hybrid named Hector, who is shown in the Six Kingdoms movie.

Cassie and Rita

Cassie and Rita are two teenage girls, who are best friends and are mainly featured in comics which accompany most of the movies. They also occasionally appear in the movies, and even narrate some of them, like the on on Telephones

Rita tends to be more composed and intelligent, while Cassie tends to be more absent-minded. A common theme in the comic strip is Cassie doing something silly and Rita helping her.

In the movie on Motherhood there is a picture of Tim and Rita as adults, married, with two kids (this is seen again in the Adulthood movie).

In the "period" film, Tim read the letter and realized he couldn't describe it, so he called on Cassie and Rita to explain.

Cassie

Cassie's favorite color is green.

She has a goldfish named Puffer and two hermit crabs.

She can cry by will.

Her birthday is November 10, as seen in the Ask Us Section.

Rita

Rita's favorite colors are black and pink.

She has a ginger cat named Pickle, which Tim has to take care of in the Body Scans movie. She also owns a dog named Dakota that is shown in a "Just for Fun" comic strip.

Her birthday is on May 18, also as seen in the Ask Us section.

Bob, The Ex-Lab Rat

Bob is a rat that has a broken tail and a patched chest. Bob is featured in experiments called "Experiment with Bob the Ex-Lab Rat", which relate to the movies. People write to him asking for ideas for experiments-- sometimes, he sends them to Tim and Moby so they can make a movie about them. Bob himself has been featured in a few movies.

His favorite color is yellow.

Bob is shown in the movie on computer mouses.

Gary and gary

Gary and gary are also featured in some comics on BrainPOP, called "How To With Gary and Gary", which shows how to do something safely. The capitalized "Gary" is the father, and the lowercased "gary" is the son.

Gary's favorite color is blue as noted in the Q and A page.

BrainPOP Jr.

BrainPOP Jr. was launched on September 4, 2006. It is similar to BrainPOP, but the movies are geared towards grades K-3 (age 6-9). They star Moby and a little girl named Annie. The movies were free until May 2007. Since then, subscriptions have been required to see most of the movies.

Characters in BrainPOP Jr.

Annie

Annie is a young girl who narrates the movies. She wears red framed glasses and also works with Moby.

She has a sister named Mia that talks on the cell phone too much and is allergic to dust, who gets angry when Annie says something embarrassing about her. Annie has parents, but they aren't mentioned in any movies yet. Annie has a grandfather as well. There are many hints in BrainPOP Jr. that Annie is Mexican, like her dog's name (Sr. Marice), her mother and father, and she sometimes refers to her father as papi, or her grandfather as grandpop.

She is allergic to eggs.

She gets red in the face when angry or embarrassed.

In the Internet Safety short, while watching the Leonardo Da Vinci short on BrainPOP, Annie asks Moby, "You know this guy?". This implies that Annie does not know Tim.

Moby

In BrainPOP Jr., Moby shows his emotions more often, like crying or being overly hyper. Moby is a little more kind hearted in BrainPOP Jr. than in BrainPOP. He can also do things the other Moby can't do like sneeze or losing a line from his mouth. Even though his appearance is still the same he seems to have human stats like eat human food and sweat and drink things like water. He can also can be sick and smell flowers.

Frank and Joey

Frank and Joey are two fish that star in the comic strip "Belly Up." They aren't technically characters but do appear in some movies.

Bloopers

* Tim's card number in the Credit Card movie is different than the one that he types into the computer.
* Tim's blood type is A positive in the 'Blood Types' movie but he is O positive in the profile.
* In the blood types movie the cartoon shows the AB reacting badly to receiving O blood when AB can receive from any and O can donate to any
* In the Continents of the World movie, Tim asks a flight attendant for a package of peanuts, although in the Allergies movie, it is hinted he is allergic to them.
* In the Sumerians movie, Moby's three dots on his chest seems to move apart.
* In the Allergies movie, Moby's head is a little crooked.
* In the Dinosaurs movie, Tim and Moby switched places after they time-traveled and got back when Tim was explaining what dinosaur meant.
* In the Reptiles movie, the snake print on Tim's shirt was bulging, making it look like a real snake.
* In the JRA movie, his shirt was blank when he was reading a book, then said JRA later on.
* On the movie about drama, Moby was the only person (robot) in the audience, and about 10 roses were thrown.
* In the movie about brass instruments, Tim was blowing through a sousaphone when he was suppose to be buzzing, as he demonstrated later on.
* In the Brass movie, the guy who was playing the tuba was holding it incorrectly.
* In the Scoliosis movie, when Tim told what do they do when the curve is 40-50 degrees, after Moby beeped, his three dots didn't flash as they were supposed to.
* In the movie on magnetism, the paper clips glitch to be invisible for a period of time.
* In the movie on pirates, the captain of the ship seems to be hovering in mid-air when Tim is explaining the difficulty of being a sailor.
* In the Dance movie, the tune Tim hums in the beginning is similar to (if somewhat shortened version of) the underwater theme of Super Mario Bros.
* In the Analog and Digital Recording movie, the song Tim listens to on his IPOP (an iPod spoof) is like the song "Party All the Time" by Eddie Murphy.
* In the "Imperial vs. Metric" movie, Tim says that all humans have ten fingers. He then counts the number of fingers he has, and finds that he only has eight. This was possibly done to satirize Tim's unrealistic appearance.
*In the wood winds movie Moby plays the tenor sax without the neck strap
*In the precision and accuracy movie TIm and Moby have lunch with Rita at 3:05
*In the nutrition movie when showing the vegetable section there is a tomato in it which is really a fruit

External links

* [http://www.brainpop.com BrainPOP USA - Movies, Homework Help, Lesson Plans, Homeschooling]
* [http://www.brainpopjr.com BrainPOP Jr. - Movies, Homework Help, Lesson Plans, Homeschooling]
* [http://www.brainpop.com/educators BrainPOP Educators]
* [http://www.sparktop.org/explore/brainpop.html Brainpop movies and profiles of Tim and Moby] on [http://sparktop.org Sparktop.org]
* [http://es.brainpop.com BrainPOP En Español]
* [http://www.brainpop.com.mx BrainPOP LatinoAmerica]
* [http://www.brainpop.co.uk BrainPOP UK]
* [http://www.brainpop.co.il BrainPOP Israel]