Los mundos de Yupi

Did You Know?

• The series was followed by Los cuentos de Yupi, where Yupi presents a famous tale recreated by other puppets in each 11-minute episode.
• Planeta DeAgostini published a collection of thirty children's comic books titled Lo que sabe Yupi de..., each explaining a topic didactically.
• The phrase "Vivir/estar en los mundos de Yupi" became a colloquial Spanish expression meaning "living/being in a fantasy world."

Premise

In the first season, Yupi and Astrako, traveling from the planet Tacatón, are forced to land on Earth near a small village due to spaceship malfunctions. They befriend the locals and attempt to repair their ship and find fuel. In the second season, they board a new spaceship with Earthling friends and have adventures inside it and on a magical planet. The live-action segments are interspersed with educational animations and puppet sketches featuring characters such as Estiri and Grou, Pi and Tágoras, and Tuco and Canica.

Cast

The show’s live-action segments follow two aliens: Yupi, a full-body orange puppet voiced and operated by Consuelo Molina, and spaceship pilot Astrako, played by Alfonso Vallejo. Season one villagers included Isabel Ordaz, Aurora Redondo, Luis Perezagua, and Lara de Miguel. In season two, Luis Barbero joined as an earthling on the magical planet. Puppet voice actors included Carlos Revilla, José Luis Gil, and Ana de Lima. Penélope Cruz made an early appearance as Sleeping Beauty in a season two episode.

Production

Televisión Española ended its partnership with Children's Television Workshop for Barrio Sésamo and produced Los mundos de Yupi in-house. The series was filmed entirely at TVE's studios, where full-size sets were built for live-action segments; a meticulous scale model was used for establishing shots of the fictional village. The puppets, including Yupi, were designed by Harrison/Erickson in New York. The opening theme was composed by Carlos Vizziello Pilisi and Tina Alarcón, with different lyrics each season.