 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| Bob the Builder | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Bob the Builder: Project: Build It (series 10–16) Bob the Builder: Ready, Steady, Build! (series 17–18) |
| Genre | Children's animation |
| Created by | Keith Chapman |
| Directed by | Sarah Ball Liz Whitaker Brian Little Nick Herbert Gilly Fogg Andy Burns Geoff Walker |
| Voices of | Neil Morrissey Rob Rackstraw Kate Harbour Rupert Degas Colin McFarlane Maria Darling Emma Tate Richard Briers June Whitfield[1] |
| Theme music composer | Paul K. Joyce |
| Opening theme | "Can We Fix It?" byNeil Morrissey |
| Ending theme | "Can We Fix It?" (instrumental) |
| Composer | Keith Hopwood |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 18 |
| No. of episodes | 250 (+10 specials)(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Kate Fawkes Theresa Plummer-Andrews Peter Curtis |
| Producer | Jackie Cockle |
| Editors | Zyggy Markiewicz Bruce Marshall Adam Taylor |
| Camera setup | Single camera (1999–2004) Multi-camera (2005–2009) |
| Production company | HIT Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One (Series 1-4) CBeebies (Series 5-18) |
| Release | 12 April 1999 (1999-04-12) – 31 December 2011 (2011-12-31) |
Bob the Builder is a British animatedchildren's television series created byKeith Chapman forHIT Entertainment which ran from 12 April 1999 (1999-04-12) to 31 December 2011 (2011-12-31) in the United Kingdom on theBBC, first onBBC One and laterCBeebies. The series centres on the adventures and escapades of ageneral contractor namedBob who owns a team ofanthropomorphised construction vehicles that go about their day helping out with construction work in several towns.
The show usedstop-motion animation for most of the series as well asProject: Build It, provided byHot Animation in Manchester. The series changed toCGI animation in 2010 for its final two seasons; titledReady, Steady, Build!, of whichSD Entertainment completed animation production.
Following the series' conclusion, HIT Entertainment was purchased by US toy companyMattel for $680 million.[2] In October 2014, the company announced anew series that would feature changes in the setting, casting and character designs. The revival aired onChannel 5'sMilkshake! for three series from 2015–2018.[3][4] An animated theatrical movie adaptation of the series was announced in January 2024; it will be produced byJennifer Lopez’sNuyorican Productions and starAnthony Ramos as the voice of Bob.[5]
In each episode, Bob and his group help with renovations, construction, and repairs and with other projects as needed. They are also joined by work colleague Wendy, alongside their neighbours and friends. The action is set in Bobsville; with Sunflower Valley and Fixham Harbour introduced in later seasons.
The show emphasisesconflict resolution, co-operation, socialisation, and various learning skills. Bob'scatchphrase is "Can we fix it?", to which the other characters respond with "Yes we can!" This phrase is also the title of the show'stheme song, which was a million-selling number one hit in the UK.
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | ||||||||||
| Original series | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 13 | 12 April 1999 (1999-04-12) | 2 August 1999 (1999-08-02) | UK:CBBC (1999 (1999)) US:Nick Jr. (starting 2001 (2001)[6]) | ||||||||
| 2 | 13 | 11 October 1999 (1999-10-11) | 28 December 1999 (1999-12-28) | UK: CBBC (1999) US: Nick Jr. (2001) | ||||||||
| 3 | 13 | 1 September 2000 (2000-09-01) | 19 September 2000 (2000-09-19) | UK: CBBC (2000) US: Nick Jr. (2001) | ||||||||
| 4 | 13 | 1 February 2001 (2001-02-01) | 19 February 2001 (2001-02-19) | UK: CBBC (2001) US: Nick Jr. (2001) | ||||||||
| 5 | 13 | 1 April 2002 (2002-04-01) | 13 April 2002 (2002-04-13) | UK:CBeebies (2002) US: Nick Jr. (2001–02) | ||||||||
| 6 | 13 | 2 September 2002 (2002-09-02) | 14 September 2002 (2002-09-14) | UK: CBeebies (2002) US: Nick Jr. (2002) | ||||||||
| 7 | 13 | 3 February 2003 (2003-02-03) | 20 February 2003 (2003-02-20) | UK: CBeebies (2003) US: VHS/DVD (2003–04) PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| 8 | 13 | 1 September 2003 (2003-09-01) | 24 November 2003 (2003-11-24) | UK: CBeebies (2003) US: VHS/DVD (2004) PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| 9 | 13 | 3 April 2004 (2004-04-03) | 20 December 2004 (2004-12-20) | UK: CBeebies (2004) US: PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| Project: Build It | ||||||||||||
| 10 | 15 | 2 May 2005 (2005-05-02) | 20 May 2005 (2005-05-20) | UK: CBeebies (2005) US: PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| 11 | 12 | 1 August 2005 (2005-08-01) | 16 August 2005 (2005-08-16) | UK: CBeebies (2005) US: PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| 12 | 14 | 31 July 2006 (2006-07-31) | 17 August 2006 (2006-08-17) | UK: CBeebies (2006) US: PBS Kids (2006) | ||||||||
| 13 | 12 | 18 August 2006 (2006-08-18) | 4 September 2006 (2006-09-04) | UK: CBeebies (2006) US: PBS Kids (2006) | ||||||||
| 14 | 12 | 3 September 2007 (2007-09-03) | 18 September 2007 (2007-09-18) | UK: CBeebies (2007) US: PBS Kids (2007) | ||||||||
| 15 | 15 | 19 September 2007 (2007-09-19) | 9 October 2007 (2007-10-09) | UK: CBeebies (2007) US: PBS Kids (2008) | ||||||||
| 16 | 13 | 5 August 2008 (2008-08-05) | 26 August 2008 (2008-08-26) | UK: CBeebies (2008) US: PBS Kids (2008–09) | ||||||||
| Ready, Steady, Build! | ||||||||||||
| 17 | 20 | 12 April 2010 (2010-04-12) | 28 May 2010 (2010-05-28) | UK: CBeebies (2010) US: PBS Kids (2010) | ||||||||
| Mini Series 1 | 6 | 25 October 2010 (2010-10-25) | UK: DVD (2010) US: PBS Kids (2011) | |||||||||
| 18 | 8 | 26 September 2011 (2011-09-26) | 5 October 2011 (2011-10-05) | UK: CBeebies (2011) US: PBS Kids (2011) | ||||||||
| Mini Series 2 | 6 | 31 December 2011 (2011-12-31) | UK: DVD (2011) US: PBS Kids (2011) | |||||||||
In May 2005, a sort of spin-off series was released titledBob the Builder: Project: Build It. Bob hears of a contest to build a new community in a remote area called Sunflower Valley, outside of Bobsville. He moves from Bobsville (supposedly temporarily) with Wendy and the machines and builds a new Yard there. Bob convinces his father, Robert, to come out of retirement and take over the Bobsville building business. It is unknown whether Bob returned to Bobsville in the stop-motion series or not after this spin-off series was finished.
For the US version of theProject: Build It series, different actors were found to do the voices for many of the human characters, including castingGreg Proops as the new voice of Bob, andRob Rackstraw, who played the original voices of Scoop, Muck and Travis, to be the voices of Spud the Scarecrow and Mr. Bentley for both the UK and the US. The show also added recycling and beingenvironmentally friendly to its lessons, emphasising the phrase "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."
This series premiered on 2 May 2005 in the United Kingdom and 3 September of the same year in the United States, and was the first series made in HD1080p.
The third spin-off was titledBob the Builder: Ready, Steady, Build! It was created byKeith Chapman andMallory Lewis. The group, now joined by newcomer Scratch are now residing in the town of Fixham Harbour (which is very similar to Bobsville, and is even implied to be Bobsville in several episodes), deal with construction and other building tasks around the area. Unlike the previous series,Ready, Steady, Build! is animated in fullCGI animation, which allows for larger and more elaborate construction projects that would be too large or expensive for the model sets of the stop-motion series, though it still retains the theme song.[7]
Voice actors who have contributed to the original British version includeNeil Morrissey,Rob Rackstraw,Kate Harbour,Rupert Degas,Colin McFarlane,Maria Darling,Emma Tate,Richard Briers, andJune Whitfield.
Celebrities who have provided voices for the series (usually for one-off specials) includeJohn Motson,Sue Barker,Kerry Fox,Ulrika Jonsson,Alison Steadman,Stephen Tompkinson,Elton John,Noddy Holder, andChris Evans (Bobsville's resident rock star Lennie Lazenby).
Bob the Builder is shown in more than thirty countries, and versions are available in English, French, Spanish, Serbian, Swedish, Slovenian, German, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi, and Croatian, among other languages. It was shown onCBeebies onBBC television in the UK. It has also aired onNick Jr. in the UK.[8]
The North American version of the show uses the original British footage and script, but replaces the voices with American accents and verbiage; for example, "wrench" is used instead of "spanner", owing to the former's use in North America. The original North American voice of Bob (and Farmer Pickles/Mr. Beasley/Mr. Sabatini) wasWilliam Dufris; he was replaced with comedianGreg Proops. More recently, Bob's US voice has been provided byMarc Silk, an English voice actor fromBirmingham.[9][10] In the United States, the series first aired during theNick Jr. block (from 2001 to 2004) before moving toPBS Kids for a long run, from January 1, 2005[11] through November 6, 2015, after which it was replaced with the2015 reboot.[12]Qubo also started airing the show from 7 October 2020 through 28 February 2021 due to the channel's closure, but with the original British English dub. As of 2026, the first five seasons of the classic series can be streamed for free throughPluto TV.[13]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [14] | AUS [15] | IRE [16] | NZ [17] | ||||||
| Bob the Builder: The Album | 4 | 1 | 59 | 32 | |||||
| Never Mind the Breeze Blocks |
| 87 | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [14] | AUS [20] | IRE [16] | |||||||
| 2000 | "Can We Fix It?" | 1 | 1 | 3 | Bob the Builder: The Album | ||||
| 2001 | "Mambo No. 5" | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| 2008 | "Big Fish Little Fish" | 81 | — | — | Never Mind the Breeze Blocks | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Bob the Builder was nominated in theBAFTA "Pre-school animation" category from 1999 to 2009,[failed verification] and won the "Children's Animation" category in 2003 for the special episode "A Christmas to Remember".[22] Of the show's success, Sarah Ball said:
I think diggers and dumpers fascinate kids in the same way that they are drawn to dinosaurs. They both have a timeless appeal. The technique of stop motion is very tangible - the characters look like you can just pick them up and play with them. It’s a safe, lovely, bright, colourful world, which is very appealing.Curtis Jobling did a fantastic job designing the show - it’s very simple and stylized but has such charm.
— Interview with Sarah Ball, Gurgle.com[23]
Bob the Builder has been parodied byRobot Chicken in the episode "More Blood, More Chocolate", and byComedy Inc. asBodgy Builder.
Bob has also been parodied on Cartoon Network'sMAD on several occasions. In the episode "S'UP / Mouse M.D.", Bob is seen with a smashed thumb and asks "Can we fix it?" In another episode, Bob encounters the title character ofHandy Manny, whom he tells to "Stop copying my show!"
ANew Yorker cartoon shows a parent in a toy store asking for toys depictingAlex the Architect, supposedly a white-collar equivalent toBob the Builder.
Some have complained about technical errors and lack of proper safety practices in the programme, especially the absence of protective eyewear.[24] However, in later episodes, Bob is seen usingsafety glasses.
Various video game publishers releasedBob the Builder video games throughout the 2000s:
In the United States,Bob the Builder: Can We Fix It?'s computer version sold 350,000 copies and earned $6.1 million by August 2006, after its release in August 2001. It was the country's 50th best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006. Combined sales of allBob the Builder computer games released between January 2000 and August 2006 had reached 520,000 units in the United States by the latter date.[25]
Bob the Builder | |
|---|---|
| Characters | |
| Television series | |
| Albums | |
| Songs | |
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Toy brands |
|  | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games |
| ||||
| Acquired brands | |||||
| Business units |
| ||||
| Corporate acquisitions |
| ||||
| Litigation | |||||
| Other | |||||
