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!!