An online store for Oobi Eyes!

There is now a whole online store of Oobi eyes and finger puppets: OobiEyes.com! This is great news for families like mine who just can't get enough of Oobi. It's got exact replicas of Oobi, Uma, Kako, and Grampu. Plus a whole selection of costumes, wigs, and colorful googly eyes. My favorites have to be the "Oobi Frog" and "Oobi Ladybug." Very creative and cute. And much more accurate than any of the homemade Oobi eyes I've made over the years!

I sent the site owner a message asking about the sizes for the different puppets. He is "OobiDad" on eBay. He was nice enough to give me a rundown of each one.

Premium Eyes: Fit hands from 3 year olds' to even the largest adult hands by squeezing the band with your fingers to adjust, they are the most adjustable of all the Eyes.

Creature Eyes: Fit hands from 3 year olds(normally) to most adult hands(by pulling the eyes apart to adjust, the plastic is a very nice quality flexible plastic).

Novelty Eyes: This is a rigid "cheapy" plastic, it cannot be adjusted and must remain in it's manufactured size, fitting a 3 year old's hand to maybe a 7 year old's. 

Googly Eyes: These are the same type of plastic used for the Creature Eyes so they're very nice quality and flexible but are manufactured to fit only children's hands up to maybe 6 or 7.

So now you know. I'll be getting a couple of the premium ones and a few wigs. I'll have to judge the quality for myself before giving them away as gifts.

Who's who on Oobi?

This is a guide to the Oobi characters! I can't believe it's taken me this long to make this list. If you want to know who's who, or just want to know who the heck your kids are babbling on about, this page is for you!!

Oobi

Oobi is the star. He's a young boy in grade school. Noggin says he's four years old, but he acts and sounds older than that. My son says he thinks Oobi is 10 years old. He's the most "bare" of the puppets, since he doesn't wear any accessories. He's like an everyman character for little kids.

His favorite thing is a red toy car that he brings everywhere. He gets really protective of it!

Oobi is played by Timothy Lagasse, who also made a series of short films called "A Show of Hands" in the mid-'90s. They were about bare hand puppets performing little skits, and they're what got him noticed by the producers of Oobi.

Grampu

Grampu is Oobi and Uma's grandpa. With moms, dads, and older fans, he is definitely the most popular and iconic character. Probably because he's so relatable to anyone who's ever had to take care of little kids. Whenever Oobi and Uma try something new, Grampu has to clean up their messes. The kids want to make art? Grampu ends up with paint all over him. The kids want to make pizza? He gets the dough splattered over his head. He's a really unlucky guy. But he loves his grandkids so much and always laughs things off with his signature "Heh-heh, lovely!"

He is played by Tyler Bunch, who also played "Treelo" on Bear in the Big Blue House!

Uma

Uma is Oobi's sister. Her main accessory is her blue/purple flower barrette that she wears on her pinky like a ring. She is obsessed with chickens and tends to mention them at the most inappropriate times. She tends to overreact to everything, even minor inconveniences that Grampu tries to explain for her. She is a real scene-stealer, and for good reason-- her antics are hilarious!! She has a few catchphrases, like "Nice." and "Pretty." Both said in a half-sarcastic, half-excited way.

She is played by Stephanie D'Abruzzo, who was also part of the original cast of Avenue Q on Broadway.

Kako

Kako is Oobi's best friend. He is almost always staying over at Oobi's house. His main accessory is his red knitted hat. He is a bit full of himself, yet he gets jealous pretty easily. Kako's catchphrase is probably the most common one on the show: "Perfecto!" He says this whenever something amazes him. He's also used it sarcastically a few times.

Kako is played by Noel MacNeal, who also played the Bear in the Big Blue House. Once you realize it, you can't stop noticing the similarity in the voices! Kako's voice is a bit higher and more energetic than Bear's, but other than that, they're basically identical!

Inka

Inka is a piano teacher who comes to teach Oobi and ends up dating Grampu. Yes, all in the span of an 11-minute kids' show episode! She's since become a major character with a bunch of episodes featuring her and Grampu's relationship.

Most parents will find the "flirting" between her and Grampu hilarious! It's really unexpected for a show on the Noggin Network.

Inka is also played by Stephanie D'Abruzzo... which is why she and Uma have never talked to each other on screen... Hmm!

Oobi episode guide

This is an up-to-date list of Oobi episodes!

Shorts

The "Oobi Shorts" were the first ever episodes. They are each 2 to 5 minutes long. They're like an old, wonky, minimalist version of the full-length show. They are my personal favorites to watch with Ethan, not just because they're very rare to see on TV, but because the puppets all have a looser energy to them. The skits are like something out of the very early Sesame Street.

The shorts are about very basic themes that kids understand. Kako and Oobi get filthy and need to wash; each one is unable to wash by himself, but when they work together they get the job done. Kako and Oobi try to play the guitar, and they discover they need each other in order to play. (One wonders how the hand civilization built all this stuff anyway!!) Getting away from the teamwork theme, in another, Oobi is trying to read, but Uma wants to listen to her music. After Uma puts on some headphones, both are happy. Kako and Oobi play in the bathtub together in another and just have fun.

List of shorts

• Dance
• Tag
• Flush
• On/Off
• Share Pretzels
• Watermelon
• Soup
• Hot Dog and Ketchup
• Prince
• Bubbles
• Empty and Full
• Popcorn
• Worm
• Apple Picking
• Pretend Wind
• Tea
• Ice Cream
• Water Games
• Guess
• Bird
• Cat
• Puppy
• Animal Cookies
• Slide
• Follow the Leader
• Peekaboo
• Dig
• Hide and Seek
• Nature
• Pretend Catch
• Music
• Guitar
• Bongo Drums
• Quiet Read
• Clap Hands
• Painting
• Macaroni Jewellery
• Paint Shapes
• Pinch Pot
• Drawing Game
• Neighborhood Art
• Toothpaste
• Feelings
• Cake
• Wet and Dry
• Bubble Bath

Season 1

Season 1 was the first season of full-length shows. Each story is around 11 minutes long. This season is about Oobi's home life, and the episodes are usually set in his house.

In this season, it's interesting to note that no supporting actors were credited. That means that any extras had to have been one of the main four. Inka the piano teacher is Uma, the cheesy singer on TV in the music video is Grampu, Tulla the dance teacher is Kako... I wonder if Kako was also the barber in the haircut episode.

List for season 1

• Uma Bathroom!
• Uma Swing!
• Grampu Day!
• New Friend!
• Dance Class!
• Oobi's Car!
• Make Pizza!
• Haircut!
• Make Art!
• Make Music!
• Garden Day!
• Sleepover!
• Showtime!
• Build Fort!
• Camp Out!
• Pretend Circus!
• Uma's Birthday!
• Petting Zoo!
• Uma Chicken!
• Asparagus!
• Play Ball!
• Kako's Puppy!
• Rainy Day!
• Uma Sick
• Playdate!

Season 2

Season 2 has brought a more vivid version of Oobi with exotic locations like a grocery store and Chinese restaurant. There are a lot more puppeteers as well. This season also brings the slightly unwelcome (to me, anyway) addition of kinda pointless songs to pad out some of the episodes. Ah, whatever. It's still a really cute show!

List for season 2

• Baby!
• Babysitter!
• Chez Oobi!
• Kako Dinner!
• Nature Walk!
• Neighborhood!
• Parade!
• Recital!
• Shopping!
• Sing!
• Superheroes!
• Uma Dreams!
• Uma Trip!
• Video!
• Grown-up!
• Chopsticks!
• Checkup!
• Valentine!
• Uma Preschool!
• Frieda Friend!
• Halloween!
• Fishing!
• Dinosaur!
• Theater!
• Clean Up!
• Sign Language!

Oobi on DVD!

Eckogirl814 is selling homemade DVDs with 50 episodes of Oobi! She has been selling them on a case-by-case basis for about a year. I bought one last month just to make sure we never lose the episodes we have recorded. A nice surprise was that the Valentine's Day episode was included! That one hasn't shown on TV for a really long time, so Ethan was very happy when I played it for him.

"Halloween" and "Sign Language" are the only episodes missing. We still have a recording of Halloween but have never seen Sign Language. I am starting to wonder if it even exists.

The episodes are each on a separate chapter, which makes for some pretty easy navigation. The episodes themselves are good-quality transfers from the Noggin reruns. There is a bit of a trailing effect on a few scenes but it's much better than I expected. I'll be using this DVD if I ever want to post screenshots here. That is, if Ethan will keep letting me borrow it to put it in the computer!!

This is what the quality looks like.

If your little ones want to watch Oobi on vacations, or if they just can't keep waiting for the reruns, this would be a pretty good gift idea! Email her at eckogirl814@yahoo.com if interested!

Fan Video Friday: "Oobi's Jif Sandwich!"

A very...weird video from mindymoox! In this video, Oobi and his friend Mindy want to make a sandwich, but Mindy doesn't know how. Watch out for the post-credits scene, "Killah Uma!"

Oobi cake!

Theme Cakes by Traci now offers an Oobi design! It's a thin edible cake topper of the whole gang. The cake in this picture was decorated with a curly ribbon, and the icing is buttercream. Yum!!

Theater! - (almost) FULL episode

Theater! - aka the Little Red Riding Hood musical - is one of the most popular Oobi episodes. Kids, parents, and college students alike all seem to agree that if you're gonna watch Oobi, you can't miss this one! The episode is a ton of fun and the little songs are just darling. The way the writers and the performers made an entire musical with 2-3-word sentences is pretty amazing, too.

Anyway, I just got a question from tosei-10 about the song lyrics from this episode. I then realized: the full songs aren't on YouTube! This was a real shame since most of the other Oobi songs are on there, in varying levels of quality... so I took it upon myself to record the episode!

Here it is... sorry the video isn't great. It cuts out at a few parts. But hey, the audio is pretty good-- it gets the job done!

Stephanie D'Abruzzo

I was poking around LiveJournal and found this great Oobi-related post from gwenxsmurfette. I asked if I could publish it here and she said of course! Here it is:

Hey. I met Stephanie D'Abruzzo (who plays Uma) back in April 2005. Here's our picture together:

Stephanie and gwenxsmurfette

She's on the left. I look terrible in that picture. Feel free to play "Guess What's Up My Nose."

Stephanie is currently in a hilarious Broadway musical called Avenue Q (yes, it's got puppets in it). Anyway, you can go to the stage door and meet the cast members. So that's how I met her. I even told her I watched Oobi even though I'm a high-schooler and she was all, "I loved working on that show! But... just don't start talking like they do." It was great.

A brush with greatness. Now I'm jealous!

Fan Video Friday!

Today I discovered the awesomeness that is modern YouTube. More specifically, all the fan-made Oobi videos on there. It's so cool that so many people have been inspired to make their own home movies with Oobi. Maybe I should start my own Oobi channel! I'm sure Ethan would be on board!!

Anyway, without further ado, here is the latest weekly feature of Grampu's Blog: Fan Video Friday! Every week I'll find an Oobi video and post it here. There are a ton to choose from already. I decided to go with this hard-core Oobi reimagining of "Sour Grapes" by the Descendents. Funny stuff!!

Credit to Mallory Leishman for the video!

Q&A: How do they doobi Oobi?

This is one of the most common questions I see about Oobi, and about puppet shows in general. How do the puppeteers perform Oobi? Now, I don't know the specifics, but thanks to behind-the-scenes photos I've come across, I'm able to piece together the "Oobi process."

To show all the hands for the different Oobi characters without getting the rest of the actors' bodies in the picture, they build the sets at a height just above the actors' heads, so that they can raise their hands to be level with the sets and their heads/bodies are below the frame. The motions are nice and smooth, so the actors are always standing, with the sets high off the ground. They wear microphones and watch what they're doing on screens.

This is actually the same thing that Sesame Street and other puppet shows do. Oobi is made like any other puppet show, just without the furry puppets!

Oobi on LiveJournal

There's an Oobi community on LiveJournal! It's called "Oobi Rules" and is pretty cute. It's been inactive for a year, so I'm a bit late to the party. I just thought it was cool to see. I might reach out to the members to ask if they're still around, and if they'd want to advertise this blog there.

Welcome to... Grampu's Blog!!

For those of you new to this Oobi "Thing," who is Oobi?

Oobi, a gentle bare-hand puppet, is a four-year-old boy who discovers his world around him. He lives with his three-year-old sister Uma and his grandfather, Grampu.

Oobi was created by Josh Selig who also created the new-ish cartoon, the Wonder Pets. Oobi airs on Noggin, a cable television channel, and was intended for preschoolers BUT all ages just love Oobi!!

Oobi is a HUGE deal to my family. My son Ethan has loved Oobi ever since we first saw the show over three years ago. It still holds a special place in our hearts and we watch it every week. We've gone through at least a dozen pairs of "Googly Finger Rings" that he uses to make his own Oobi puppets, and it's become something of a family tradition to take "Oobi" on every trip.

Oobi is kind of like our family mascot. We have a long history with him... Ethan has a speech delay, and we tried all kinds of educational videos to help him. Nothing caught his attention until we found Oobi. Something about their little eyes and uncomplicated "hand-faces" made the show stand out immediately to him. We taped the show in the mornings, and he learned lots of words and even a few abstract concepts from watching them. Like "silly," "pat-a-cake," and "point." We eventually incorporated Oobi into his 2-hour speech classes and soon enough, he was talking just as well as the other kids his age. Then, when he learned how to read, we put googly eyes on our fingers and used "Oobis" as guides to help him follow the words. Oobi helped make a lot of tough learning become fun for him.

On top of how the show helped us personally, it is so well-made and the puppets are so well-acted. There's never been another show or character that we've all loved as much as Oobi.

Here we are "playing" Oobi!!