Stanley
Genre	Children's television series Educational
Based on	Strange Relations by Andrew Griffin
Developed by	Jim Jinkins David Campbell
Directed by	Jeff Buckland
Voices of	Jessica D. Stone Charles Shaughnessy David Landsberg Ari Meyers Rene Mujica Shawn Pyfrom Hynden Walch Philece Sampler Khylan Jones Candi Milo Wallace Shawn
Theme music composer	Peter Lurye
Opening theme	"My Man Stanley" byBaha Men
Ending theme	"My Man Stanley" (instrumental)
Composer	Stuart Kollmorgen
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	65
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Cartoon Pizza
Original release
Network	Playhouse Disney
Release	September 15, 2001 (2001-09-15) – November 26, 2004 (2004-11-26)

Stanley is an Americananimatedchildren's television series that aired onPlayhouse Disney based on the Strange Relations series of children's books created by "Griff" (as indicated on the cover of the original book), also known as Andrew Griffin.^[1] It was produced byCartoon Pizza and was developed for television byJim Jinkins (the creator ofDoug,PB&J Otter,Allegra's Window,JoJo's Circus, andPinky Dinky Doo) andDavid Campbell.^[2]

The series follows Stanley, voiced byJessica D. Stone, and teaches a wide variety of issues young children face, including change, growth, rules, and dealing with others. Each episode centers on an animal that deals with or helps explain the issue Stanley is grappling with.^[3]

BahamianJunkanoo andreggae fusion groupBaha Men, who are best known for their hit song "Who Let the Dogs Out", sang the series' main theme song, "My Man Stanley".^[4]

The series was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production Produced for Children by theAnnie Awards in 2003.^[5]

Each episode shows Stanley (voiced by Jessica D. Stone) in a situation he does not fully understand. He discusses it with his pet goldfish Dennis (voiced byCharles Shaughnessy) before consulting either his computer or theGreat Big Book of Everything, a remarkably completezoology book aimed at young children. By observing how an animal copes with the same situation Stanley faces, or how it can overcome a similar difficulty, Stanley learns to deal with the situation himself.

Throughout the show Stanley and all his friends are able to talk to his pet cat, Elsie (voiced byHynden Walch) and dog Harry (voiced by Rene Mujica) as well as Dennis. Other animals also seem to occasionally respond, but never talk or give a definite indication they truly understood what was said. Stanley and his friends actively try to keep the adults (that is, except Stanley's grandmother), and by extension Stanley's older brother Lionel, from realizing this.

TheGreat Big Book of Everything is magical in nature, able to either let the animals out of the pages or allow the children to enter, sometimes changing them into animals in the process. This does not appear to be imaginary since occasionally adults do notice the noise, and Stanley works hard to hide the animals. There is also an episode where Stanley's brother sees a whale on the roof but dismisses the memory when it disappears back into the book.

TheHalloween special features Stanley's grandmother who, it is implied, is a witch. She reveals that she too can work the book, and in fact was the one who gave it to Stanley for a fourth birthday present. She was also the one who taught its theme song to Harry and Elsie.

When someone says the "Great Big Book of Everything", hints it out, or even has the book, Elsie and Harry will wake up or find their way into the scene and start singing. This usually annoys Dennis, who after the introductory verse, says something like "Oh, not again!"

• Stanley Griff (voiced by Jessica D. Stone) is an imaginative 6-year-old boy. Stanley has three pets: a goldfish named Dennis, a dog named Harry, and a cat named Elsie. Stanley has an older brother named Lionel, who enjoys playing his electric guitar, a father who stays at home and draws cartoons, and a mother who is a dentist (the latter two were revealed in the episode "Double-Duty Dad").
• Dennis (voiced byCharles Shaughnessy) is a maleEstuary English-accentedgoldfish and one of Stanley's pets. In fact, Dennis is Stanley's best friend who gives him education about animals to help him with his everyday problems, which interest him. Dennis also has to point out the flaws in Stanley's ridiculous solutions. Dennis oftenbreaks the fourth wall by either encouraging the audience to do something fun or by asking them questions.
• Lionel Griff (voiced byShawn Pyfrom) is the older brother of Stanley. Lionel likes rock and roll music a lot and always wears headphones on his ears, but still loves his younger brother very much by giving him advice, helping out with his homework, and looking out for him. Lionel is 11.5 years old.
• Mark Griff (voiced byDavid Landsberg) is the father of Stanley and Lionel. Mark is a stay-at-home father but works anyway as acartoonist.
• Dr. Joyce Griff (voiced byAri Meyers) is the sweet and caring mother of Stanley and Lionel. Joyce works as adentist and loves her family very much. However, Joyce does have ophidiophobia, which is the fear of snakes. Whether at the pool or the beach, her bathing suit is mostly a two-piece bikini style.
• Harry (voiced by Rene Mujica) and Elsie (voiced byHynden Walch) are two more of Stanley's pets. Harry is a male brown dog who loves eating and napping and Elsie is a female yellow cat who also loves napping and often purrs before she says something. They both sing a song about the Great Big Book of Everything, which greatly annoys Dennis. No matter how far away they are, they always manage to sing the song when the time comes. In "Dolphin Talk", it is Harry's birthday and Elsie, Stanley, Dennis, Marci, and Mimi help plan a surprise party for him.
• Lester Goldberg (voiced byPhilece Sampler) is one of Stanley's friends. Lester has a father who is referred to as Mr. Goldberg (voiced byWallace Shawn) and a mother who is referred to as Mrs. Goldberg (voiced byDidi Conn). In "Little Dog Lost", it is revealed that he isJewish because not only is his last name Goldberg, Lester doesn't celebrateChristmas and instead he celebratesHanukkah. But Lester gets a present for every one of the 8 nights of the holiday. In the episode Gorilla Sleepover it is revealed that his mom's first name is Nancy. Lester also has a little sister named Samantha who went to Mrs. Griff for a dental checkup.
• Marci and Mimi (both voiced by Khylan Jones) areAfrican-American identicaltwin sisters who are very good friends with Stanley. Marci wears her hair in a bun and loves sports while Mimi wears hers down inbraids with a purple bow on her head and loves flowers. They also wear opposite-colored clothes with a baseball on Marci's overalls and a pink flower on Mimi's. In "Little Dog Lost", it's revealed that they celebrateKwanzaa.
• Jane (voiced by Macy H. Morikawa) is aChinese-American girl that is in Stanley's class. Jane appears in several episodes. Jane invites Stanley to her house in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner".

1. "Little Dog Lost" (Christmas)
2. "Grandma Griff's Mystery Guest" (Halloween)
3. "Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up"
4. "A Turkey of a Thanksgiving" (Thanksgiving)
5. "Stanley's Great Big Book of Adventure"

In the US, the series debuted onPlayhouse Disney on September 15, 2001. When Playhouse Disney rebranded its on-air presentation in 2007,Stanley was put on a new time slot at 6:00 AM ET on weekends. Stanley stopped airing in May 2008, but the show was still available on PlayhouseDisney.com. In February 2011, the show was completely removed when Playhouse Disney rebranded asDisney Junior. The show was briefly seen online on DisneyJunior.com as part of "fan favorites" week on the week of June 20, 2011. From March 23, 2012, to September 2, 2013, the series returned on the U.S. airwaves onDisney Junior. And Stanley was kept on demand from that point until 2019, when it was removed. The show has yet to be added toDisney+;^[6] although, in 2021, reruns aired on the weekends on Disney Junior in Japan.^[7]

In Canada, it ran on The Family Channel from 2002 to 2007 and then was moved to Disney Junior, which ran from November 30, 2007, until September 29, 2013, when it was removed from the schedule. It also aired on the Canadian-French version of Disney Junior since 2010.

• Family (Canada) (2001 - November 29, 2007)
• Disney Junior (English Canada) (November 30, 2007 – September 27, 2013)
• Disney Junior (French Canada) (May 6, 2011 - 2013)
• Playhouse Disney (English Canada) (November 30, 2007 - September 27, 2013)
• Playhouse Disney (French Canada) (July 5, 2010 - May 5, 2011)

• Disney Channel (Playhouse Disney) (September 15, 2001 - 2008)
• Disney Junior (March 23, 2012 - 2013)

• Disney Channel (Disney Junior) (2012–present)

On June 23, 2005,Walt Disney Home Entertainment andCartoon Pizza released a full-lengthdirect-to-video movie based onStanley, entitledStanley's Dinosaur Round-Up. The film centers on the titular character as he, along with Elsie, Dennis, Harry, Marci, Mimi and Lester team up to save his Great Uncle Stew (John Ritter, who completed his work for the film before he died)'s dude ranch from the greedy Rockin' Rory (Randy Quaid) who intends to buy the ranch and turn it into an amusement park.

• Erickson, Hal (2005).Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co.ISBN 978-1476665993.
• Perlmutter, David (2018).The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN 978-1538103739.

• Griffin, Andrew (July 1, 2004).Stanley The Great Big Book of Everything. United States: Disney Press.ISBN 078683384X.
• Disney (October 20, 2009).Playhouse Disney Encyclopedia. United States: Disney Press.ISBN 9781423119210.
• Terrace, Vincent (January 10, 2014).Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 Through 2010, 2d Ed. Vol. 3. United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. pp. 396, 1009, 8775.ISBN 9780786486410.
• Crump, William D. (2019).Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. United States: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, N.C. pp. 295–296.ISBN 9781476672939.
• Steemers, Jeanette (2020). "Understanding Preschool Television as a Production Ecology (Playhouse Disney)".Creating Preschool Television: A Story of Commerce, Creativity and Curriculum. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.ISBN 9780230274600.
• Holm, Audrey L.; Fong, Bella T.; Anteby, Michel (December 10, 2024)."The Perils of Voice Veneer: The Case of Disneyland Puppeteers' Unionization Efforts".Academy of Management Discoveries.10 (4). United States: Discoveries-through-Prose:527–542.doi:10.5465/amd.2022.0171. RetrievedMay 6, 2025.

Channels

• Stanley on Disney Junior Canada
• Stanley on Disney Junior Quebec
• Stanley DVDs Disney US site
• Playhouse Disney Official Site

Others

• Stanley atIMDb

• 2000s American animated television series
• 2001 American animated television series debuts
• 2004 American television series endings
• American children's animated comedy television series
• American children's animated fantasy television series
• American preschool education television series
• Animated preschool education television series
• 2000s preschool education television series
• American television series with live action and animation
• Animated television series about children
• Animated television series about fish
• Animated television series about cats
• Animated television series about dogs
• Nature educational television series
• Disney animated television series
• Disney Channel original programming
• Disney Jr. original programming
• American English-language television shows
• Peabody Award–winning television programs
• Television series created by Jim Jinkins
• Television series by Disney

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Wikipedia semi-protected pages
• Use mdy dates from May 2017