20 July 1992 (1992-07-20) – 14 December 2001 (2001-12-14)
Bananas in Pyjamas is an Australian children's television series that first aired on 20 July 1992 on ABC. It has since been syndicated in many countries and dubbed into other languages. In the United States, the "Pyjamas" in the title was modified to reflect the American spelling pajamas. It aired in syndication from 1995 to 1997 as a half-hour series, then became a 15-minute show paired with a short-lived 15-minute series The Crayon Box, under a 30-minute block produced by Sachs Family Entertainment titled Bananas in Pajamas & The Crayon Box. Additionally, the characters and a scene from the show were featured in the Kids for Character sequel titled Kids for Character: Choices Count. The pilot episode was Pink Mug.
The concept was inspired by the success of the song Bananas in Pyjamas, written by Carey Blyton in 1967, on Play School.[1][2] This song, which had become a regular item on Play School, became the theme of the new series. The series was revamped in May 2011 as a CGI animated series created by Southern Star Entertainment.
Summary
The main characters are two anthropomorphic bananas named B1 and B2. Other characters include the three teddy bears Amy, Lulu and Morgan, and Rat in a Hat. The bananas, the teddies and Rat in a Hat all live in the same neighbourhood, a cul-de-sac called "Cuddles Avenue". The bananas live next to the beach and serve as beach patrol. The teddies live next to and look after the park. Rat in a Hat works and lives at the community store. The characters enjoy eating "munchy honeycakes" and "yellow jelly".
Production
Inspiration
The characters were inspired by a 1969 song written for children by British composer Carey Blyton (nephew of renowned children's author Enid Blyton). The jaunty song describes (an unspecified number of) bananas in pyjamas chasing teddy bears, with a slight twist at the end where a musical sting emphasises that the bananas like to "catch them unawares". The song was shown on the Australian version of Play School for many years accompanied by an animation depicting pairs of bananas in blue-and-white striped pyjamas. This led to a "banana" plush toy being created as part of the "toy cast", which formed the basis of the physical appearance of B1 and B2.
Filming
Creator, producer and showrunner Helena Harris devised the content of the ABC program at ABC Studios. Two of the bear characters, Amy and Morgan, are named after Helena Harris' children.[3] The show was performed using human actors in elaborate costumes, in the style of the British Tweenies and Teletubbies. In the show's early days, the voices of the bananas were provided by the same actors as were inside the costume, but the original actors eventually gave up that aspect of the show and substitutes wore the hot, stuffy costumes. The show aired new episodes from its 1992 debut to its eventual run in syndication in 2002. The show aired approximately three hundred episodes as well as four specials. Its debut in the United States was in 1995. It made videos and other media from 1995 to 1999. A toy line, developed by TOMY, debuted in 1996.
2 May 2011 (2011-05-02) – 22 July 2013 (2013-07-22)
On 2 May 2011, a reboot of Bananas in Pyjamas, produced by Southern Star Entertainment in full CGI, was premiered on ABC2 in Australia; it was shown in other countries soon after that date. It contains new songs, stories, and characters, including Topsy the cheeky kangaroo, Charlie the inventive monkey and Bernard the wise old dog. Development of the new series commenced in 2009, and production started in early 2010. The new series contains 104 12-minute episodes.[4][5]
Characters
Main characters
B1 the Banana: Duncan Wass (1992), Ken Radley (1993–2001), Michael James (2001), and then Stephen Shanahan (2011–13),[6]Richard McCourt (2011–13)
Lulu the Teddy Bear: Taylor Owynns (1992–2001), Monica Trapaga (Bananas in Pyjamas (album release)),[7]Sandie Lillingston (Bumping and a-Jumping) and then Ines Vaz de Sousa (2011–13)
In 2017, the Royal Australian Mint produced a commemorative set containing five-cent and 20-cent coins to mark the 25th anniversary of Bananas in Pyjamas. The five-cent coin, which is coloured for the first time, depicts Rat-in-a-Hat, while the twenty-cent coin depicts B1 and B2.[14]
^"BANANA TIME!". The Canberra Times. 13 March 1994. p. 1 (Junior Times). Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Nominations – 1995". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Archived from the original on 8 March 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
