LazyTown
A children's show promoting exercise and healthy eating.
Aerobics champion Magnús Scheving, who plays Sportacus, created the Icelandic children's comedy series LazyTown.[1] Scheving's 1995 book was adapted into the stage play Áfram Latibær!, which in turn became the basis for a television series intended to promote healthy living.[2] The program's blend of live-action performers, puppet characters, and computer-generated imagery resulted in per-episode costs exceeding five times the average for children's programming.[3]
Quick Facts
- Creator
- Magnús Scheving
- Based on
- Áfram Latibær!, Magnús Scheving
- Director
- Magnús Scheving
- Raymond P. Le Gué
- Kirk Thatcher
- Steve Feldman
- Jonathan Judge
- Sigvaldi J. Karason
- Óskar Jónasson
- Starring
- Magnús Scheving
- Julianna Rose Mauriello
- Stefán Karl Stefánsson
- Chloe Lang
- Opening theme
- "Welcome to LazyTown", Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson
- Ending theme
- "Bing Bang" (instrumental)
- Composer
- Máni Svavarsson
- Country
- Iceland
Facts from the source article.
Making and release
The franchise began as a 1995 storybook titled Áfram Latibær! ("Go Go LazyTown!"), followed by a second book in 1996.[2] Robbie Rotten first appeared in the franchise within a 1997 publication, the third book in the series.[4] Nickelodeon ordered the television series at the start of 2003, following the creation of two stage shows and a trial episode.[3] Television production started in 2002, and on September 3, 2003, an agreement was finalized with Nickelodeon.[5]
Fifty-two episodes across the initial two seasons were created between 2004 and 2007.[6] A facility constructed specifically for the program, 380 Studios near Reykjavík, housed one of the globe's largest green screens and was where filming occurred.[7]
What the cited sources add
A 2006 Guardian article reported that LazyTown was then broadcast in 103 countries and that its anti-obesity drive in Iceland achieved 100% participation from its four- to seven-year-old target market.[8] The same article noted that each episode cost $1 million and that the studio had the ability to project ultra-high-definition backgrounds onto its green screen stage.[8] A 2024 Collider article stated that LazyTown's official YouTube channel had generated over 5.5 billion views and that Scheving bought back the rights to the show from Warner Bros. in May 2024.[9] The Collider article also reported that the show was sold to Turner and Warner Bros Discovery in 2011 for around $19.25 million.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "LazyTown" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ""Bing bang" goes on in Iceland's "Lazy Town"", Reuters, 19 November 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "LazyTown" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Frá dauða til lífs", Morgunblaðið, 19 December 1995 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "LazyTown" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "LazyTown on air in 103 countries", LazyTown Entertainment (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "LazyTown" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "About LazyTown", Nickelodeon Australia; Mills, "Simon Mills talks to LazyTown's Magnús Scheving aka 'Sportacus'", The Guardian, 24 November 2006 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "LazyTown" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "TV series about LazyTown in US", Morgunblaðið (via LazyTown Articles), 2003-09-03 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "LazyTown" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Turner, "'LazyTown' Founder Sells To Turner Broadcasting For $25 Million", The Hollywood Reporter, 8 September 2011; "C21Media"; "Turner's 'LazyTown' Returns for Season 4", Animation World Network, 30 January 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "LazyTown" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "380 Studios – About Us", 380studios.com; "Icelandic Eurovision song's video 'Is it true' filmed in the LazyTown studios" . Lazytown.com. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2010.; "Action man: The world of Sportacus", The Independent, 3 July 2007; Moran, "Mr Motivator", Times Online, 4 November 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Mills, "Simon Mills talks to LazyTown's Magnús Scheving aka 'Sportacus'", The Guardian, 24 November 2006. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
- Sudario, "Lazytown's Creator Wants to Bring the Show Back", Collider, 15 May 2024. facts only, no text reused. collider.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article LazyTown (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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