Eureeka's Castle

Did You Know?

• Reruns aired on Nick Jr. until July 12, 1996, and again from November 16, 1998, to January 29, 1999.
• Two direct-to-video specials, 'Sing Along with Eureeka' and 'Wide Awake at Eureeka's Castle', were released on VHS by Sony Wonder in 1995.
• 26 half-hour episodes were added to Paramount+ on April 21, 2021, the first legal availability in 20 years.

Synopsis

The show follows Eureeka, a sorceress-in-training, and her friends living in a wind-up castle music box owned by a friendly giant. Other characters include Magellan the dragon, twin moat dwellers Bogge and Quagmire, Batly the bat, and Mr. Knack the handyman. Halfway through each episode, an animated short based on a children's book was shown, along with shorter animated and live-action films and European imports. Musical guests also appeared.

Characters

Eureeka, performed by Cheryl Blaylock, is a friendly sorceress-in-training whose spells often fail but she persists until successful. Magellan, performed by Noel MacNeal, is a large green dragon with a tail of its own mind; he sneezes powerfully when upset and can blow bubbles. Cooey is Magellan's pet of indeterminate species, and Slurms are his worm hybrids. Blanketeers are living blue dots on his blanket. Batly, performed by Jim Kroupa, is an egotistical, clumsy blue bat who wears glasses due to nearsightedness and often crash-lands, saying "I meant to do that." His face was modeled after R. L. Stine's son Matt. Webster is Batly's spider-like pet, and Fred is his lightning bug. Bogge and Quagmire, performed by Brian Muehl and Pam Arciero, are the Moat Twins—mischievous siblings who swim in the polluted moat, eat peanut butter sandwiches, and bicker but become sad if separated.

Production

The show originated from a concept by Debby Beece and Judy Katschke. Development began in 1988 with Nickelodeon staff and animators Eli Noyes and Kit Laybourne. R. L. Stine was hired as head writer to develop the concept, characters, and scripts. Puppet design and construction were done at 3/Design Studio by Jim Kroupa, John Orberg, Kip Rathke, and Matt Stoddart. Nickelodeon ordered 65 episodes, with Beece calling it the most ambitious preschool program since Sesame Street. The first episode premiered on August 27, 1989, on Nickelodeon's Special Delivery block before debuting on Nick Jr. on September 4. A second season of 35 episodes was ordered in May 1990. Production ended in 1991.