Today’s cartoon review is a look at “WordGirl,” an educational series that debuted on PBS in 2006 as a series of shorts, then ran as a half-hour series from 2007 to 2015.
Summary
The series features the adventures of WordGirl, a grade school aged superhero. Parodying Superman (and superheroes in general), WordGirl has super-strength, super-speed, and super-hearing, plus she can fly. Along with her powers, WordGirl also possesses a large vocabulary. Each episode features two vocabulary words, which WordGirl always defines for others. WordGirl’s catchphrase is “word up!” (And yes, there is an episode where they define the meaning of the word “catchphrase.”)
WordGirl’s backstory states she was born on the planet Lexicon. As a baby, she crawled into a spaceship piloted by “Captain Huggyface,” an intelligent chimp. The ship eventually crashed on Earth. There, Tim and Sally Botsford found the infant (but not the rocket) and adopted her, naming her “Becky.” Huggyface was also adopted as the family’s pet chimp, “Bob.” Like Kryptonians, under Earth’s environment, Becky gains a variety of superpowers, which she keeps secret from her family and friends. A few episodes show a piece of her home planet, “lexonite,” weakens her, a la kryptonite.
As WordGirl, Becky uses her abilities to fight crime in the (generically-named) “Fair City.” Captain Huggyface accompanies WordGirl as her sidekick. Unlike Superman’s dog Krypto, Huggyface doesn’t seem to have Becky’s powers; however, he does have a large appetite.
As the above indicates, the series spoofs plenty of superhero aspects, as well as some facets of pop culture. Becky’s favorite TV show, for instance, is a “My Little Pony”-esque program. One of her villains is Tobey, a robot-building genius boy; however, unlike the teenage Lex Luthor in Superboy stories, Tobey’s not bald.
Cast
Besides WordGirl and Captain Huggyface, the main cast includes:
- Tim and Sally Botsford. Becky’s adoptive parents. Despite a few close calls, neither of them know Becky’s really WordGirl.
- TJ Botsford: Becky’s adoptive brother, who also doesn’t know Becky’s WordGirl. Ironically, he’s also a huge WordGirl fan.
- Violet Heaslip: Becky’s best friend. Violet’s into poetry and the arts.
- Todd “Scoops” Ming: Becky’s classmate; the top reporter at their school newspaper. Similar to the Silver Age Lois Lane, Scoops often tries to discover WordGirl’s secret identity. Meanwhile, Becky’s shown to have a crush on Scoops.
- The Narrator: Similar to “Rocky and Bullwinkle,” the Narrator here comments on the plot, as well as converse with the main characters.
The show’s villains include (among others):
- Dr. Two-Brains: A mad scientist whose brain is merged with a mouse’s brain. As such, all of his plans tend to have something to do with cheese.
- Chuck, the Evil Sandwich-Making Guy: What his name says, complete with using condiments as weapons (similar to DC Comics’ Condiment King). Despite his name, he’s fairly milquetoast.
- The Butcher: So named for both his ability to shoot meat products from his hands, and for butchering words.
- Lady Redundant Woman: A woman whose plans and vocabulary are both redundant (similar to Mojo Jojo from “The Powerpuff Girls”).
- Granny May: An elderly woman who uses specialized knitting needles/yarn and Iron Man-esque armor to commit crimes.
- Tobey: A smug boy genius who’s obsessed with building giant robots.
Highlights
- The series had a decent run on PBS Kids, airing a total of eight seasons and 128 episodes. That said, the final season’s episodes mostly aired online through PBS Kids’ website; by then, many PBS stations had dropped the series in favor of newer shows.
- Boom! Studios published a “WordGirl” comic series.
- “WordGirl” had seven Daytime Emmy nominations, and won four (all for writing). Most of the show’s writers came from adult media, such as “Family Guy.”
- The series features a number of famous voice actors, including Ed Asner, Tom Kenny, Jeffrey Tambor (yes, him), and Cree Summer.
Opening credits
Here’s the opening credits to “WordGirl.”
Conclusion
“WordGirl” was one of the better written PBS Kids shows from the aughts and early 2010s. These days, reruns are still available to watch through PBS Kids’ app and website.
Image: WordGirl and Captain Huggyface. (PBS Kids)
