Moose and Zee

Moose and Zee are a pair of fictional characters created for the Noggin brand. They debuted as the on-air hosts of the Noggin cable channel on April 7, 2003.[1] In 2015, Noggin was relaunched as a mobile streaming service, and Moose and Zee were reintroduced as hosts of the app.

Moose and Zee
First appearanceApril 7, 2003
Created byTeri Weiss
Voiced byPaul Christie (Moose)
In-universe information
SpeciesMoose (Moose) and bird (Zee)
GenderMale (Moose)
Female (Zee)
OccupationTeachers and guides

The character of Moose was created to act like a teacher, providing information and education between shows on Noggin. Zee was created as a stand-in for the preschool audience. In addition to television, Moose and Zee have appeared in books, live performances, and a variety of merchandise.

Moose and Zee appeared in new material for the Noggin streaming service until 2019, when the app was redesigned. Their presence was limited to a single folder on the app, which remains as of 2023.

Description

Moose A. Moose is a yellow-colored anthropomorphic moose who teaches lessons to viewers through questioning. He encourages curiosity and is very knowledgeable. He was voiced by Paul Christie in the US, and by David Holt in the UK.

Zee D. Bird is a small silent blue bird who communicates through blinking, flapping her wings, and staring. She is Moose's best friend and assists viewers in figuring out answers to questions.

Segments

Over 100 animated shorts were produced featuring Moose and Zee. Most of them originally aired with wraparound segments announcing upcoming shows on Noggin's schedule. 46 of these shorts have been released as part of the Noggin subscription service as of November 11, 2015, with the wraparound segments removed.[2]

Recurring segments
  • Art Alive
  • Let's Do Math!
  • Bedtime Business
  • Getting Going
  • Mighty Fine Art – Moose and Zee discuss a painting or artist at the art museum.
  • Puzzle Time – Moose asks the viewer to solve a puzzle by finding shapes or letters, find words that rhyme or things that start with a letter and its sound, match two images, or spot the difference in a group of pictures.
  • Music Video – Moose sings about a season, holiday, or concept.
  • Move to the Music – Music videos, commonly from Laurie Berkner or various currently-airing series.
  • In Other Words – A specific word is introduced and explained to the viewer.
  • Show and Tell
  • Critter Corner
  • Field Trip
  • Class Pet Time – The life of an animated, hamster-like pet named "Chip-Chip" is presented. The shorts are narrated by Moose, with children's voices commenting on Chip-Chip's actions.
  • Story Time – A well-known story is read aloud, occasionally by Moose himself. He said what happens next, and is responded to by the kids. Originally, the segment was named And Then What Happened?, first airing in 2002, a year before Moose and Zee, when Feetface was hosting. It was renamed a year later.
  • Little Green Fingers – A live-action segment featuring a type of plant. These shorts were only aired in the United Kingdom (until being added to the Noggin app under the title "Zee's Garden").
  • Zee's Bookshelf – Zee introduces a then-upcoming television program. Ebb and Flo was aired exclusively between these segments.

History

Several weeks before Moose and Zee debuted as Noggin's hosts, advertisements featuring Moose and Zee were broadcast on Noggin to notify viewers of upcoming schedule changes, as well as to introduce the characters to replace the former unnamed mascot, which fans nicknamed Feetface. They officially debuted on April 7, 2003, as part of the Noggin channel redesign. Moose and Zee's first day also introduced Tweenies, Miffy and Friends, and the second season of Oobi (the first season of Oobi shorts had aired since 2000).[3] Segments with Moose and Zee continued to appear daily on Noggin throughout their run. After the channel was replaced with a 24-hour version of Nickelodeon's long-running Nick Jr. block, segments with Moose and Zee were temporarily shown to ease the transition, but all of the characters' branding was removed by February 29, 2012. Moose and Zee were reintroduced as hosts of the Noggin mobile app in March 2015.[2] The original 2015 commercial for the Noggin app features Moose and Zee, marking the first time since 2012 that the characters have been seen on television.[4]

From late 2005 to April 2010, for the TMF UK block of Noggin (also known as Noggin on TMF), Moose was introduced with a UK dubbing in their segments that appeared on the block. The UK voice was done by David Holt, a popular British voice actor which also did Face in the United Kingdom. The UK dub and its segments are hard to come across, so not much footage of the dub has surfaced.[5]

From 2008 until 2012, Moose and Zee were featured in wraparound segments on Noggin's video on demand service.[6]

Several of Moose and Zee's segments were dubbed into Spanish in late 2015,[7] with the dubbed segments included as part of the Latin American Noggin app.[8] Moose and Zee appeared in commercials on Nickelodeon's Latin American feed at the time of the app's release.

In other media

Online

Moose and Zee were featured on Noggin.com from 2003 to 2009, and again from 2015 onward. Over a hundred tie-in printables and crafts were made.[9][10] Recipes like character cakes and meals inspired by the shorts were also made.[11] Many online games featured Moose and Zee as characters, including "Doodle Pad," "What's the Word, Bird?", "What's Different", "Little Letter Playground" and "Balloon Math".[12][13][14] Video clips of Moose and Zee were included on the "Nick Jr. Video" service until early 2012.[15]

Moose and Zee were also the hosts of two defunct online learning programs. The first was titled "MyNoggin" and was available at www.mynoggin.com in 2008 through 2009.[16] MyNoggin subscriptions were available both online and through prepaid game cards sold in stores.[17] In early 2010, a mobile app featuring the characters called "A to Z with Moose and Zee" was made available in the iOS App Store.[18] The app was compatible with updated iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices.

As part of the revival of the Noggin brand as an app in 2015, Moose and Zee were reintroduced.[19]

Live shows

In late 2009, Moose and Zee appeared in the stage show "Storytime Live!", produced by Key Brand Entertainment.[20] Moose was played by an actor in a full-size costume, and Zee appeared as a puppet created by Geppetto Studios.[21]

Noggin made a different mascot-style costume of Moose A. Moose for other "meet-and-greet" event appearances.[22] The meet-and-greet costume design was much different from the Storytime Live! version, with the Moose costume being much larger and more similar to his square shape as seen in the shorts.

Merchandise

In November 2005, Noggin released its first-ever merchandise (like clothing, notebooks, holiday ornaments and greeting cards) featuring Moose, Zee, and the Noggin logo.[23] These products were only sold on the Noggin.com online store. In 2010, plush dolls and straw toppers featuring the characters were sold at the Storytime Live! show.[24]

In 2011, a short section called "Learn with Moose and Zee!" was included in many Dora the Explorer books released that year, such as "Dora Saves the Enchanted Forest," "Dora and Diego Help the Little Wolf," and a reissue of "At the Carnival."[25][26][27] No full-length books were released with the characters.

Moose and Zee were also included as mascots on a few DVDs. These include the 2010 DVD Let's Hear It For the Laurie Berkner Band! (which includes the shorts "Everywhere I Go," "Music Makes Me," "Are We There Yet?," and "Words of Wonder") and the Dora the Explorer DVD Explore the Earth! (which includes the shorts "In My Neighborhood" and "Explore the Seashore").[28][29] Some Moose and Zee shorts were available on the US iTunes Store. The music video "I Don't Like Candy Corn" is part of the collection Nick Jr. Haunted Halloween, Vol. 3[30] and the music video "Winter Wonderland" is part of Nick Jr. Wintertime Adventures.[31]

Moose and Zee are the hosts of a Nintendo-produced game for the Wii console, "Nickelodeon Fit."[32] Players cannot play as Moose or Zee.

References
  1. NOGGIN (March 25, 2003). "NOGGIN Reinvents Itself - It's Like Preschool on TV!". prnewswire.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  2. "Nickelodeon Launches Noggin--New Mobile Subscription Service for Preschoolers - Business Wire". businesswire.com. February 25, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  3. NOGGIN (March 25, 2003). "Noggin Introduces 'Oobi' - The Friend Who's Always With You!". prnewswire.com. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  4. "Noggin App TV Commercial, 'Play and Learn'". iSpot.tv. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  5. "Mooze and Zee UK Dub (Noggin on TMF)". YouTube. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  6. "VOD Program - Moose and Zee 'Make Music'". LocateTV.com. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  7. MundoNick Latin America (November 21, 2015). "MundoNick Noggin Promo". mtvnimages.com.
  8. Google Play (November 18, 2015). "Noggin Latin America". Play.Google.com. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  9. "Moose and Zee Crafts- Kids Crafts". Archived from the original on January 6, 2012.
  10. "Moose and Zee Activities and Printables". Archived from the original on 2012-01-06.
  11. "Moose and Zee Recipes". Archived from the original on January 5, 2012.
  12. "Noggin Games & More: Doodle Pad". noggin.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2004.
  13. "What's the Word, Bird?". nickjr.com.
  14. "Moose's What's Different Game". nickjr.com.
  15. "Nick Jr. Video - Moose and Zee". Archived from the original on December 13, 2009.
  16. "MyNoggin". nickjrboost.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2009.
  17. "MyNOGGIN 3-Month Subscription Card - Best Buy". Best Buy.
  18. "Nick Jr's A to Z with Moose and Zee". nickjr.co.uk. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  19. Noggin.com as of January 30, 2017
  20. "Storytime Live!". nicklivetour.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2010.
  21. "About Geppetto Studios". geppettostudios.com.
  22. "Kidz Explore". kidzexplorekearney.com.
  23. NOGGIN (November 9, 2005). "NOGGIN Teams up With CafePress.com to Announce First-Ever Merchandising Agreement". prnewswire.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  24. "Moose and Zee Products". Nickelodeon Universe. Archived from the original on April 8, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  25. Barnes & Noble. "Dora Saves the Enchanted Forest (Dora the Explorer Series)". Barnes & Noble.
  26. Barnes & Noble. "Dora and Diego Help the Little Wolf". Barnes & Noble.
  27. Barnes & Noble. "At the Carnival (Dora the Explorer Series)". Barnes & Noble.
  28. "Amazon.com: Lets Hear It For the Laurie Berkner Band!: Movies & TV". amazon.com.
  29. Barnes & Noble. "Dora the Explorer: Explore the Earth!". Barnes & Noble.
  30. "iTunes - TV Shows - Nick Jr. Haunted Halloween, Vol. 3". iTunes.
  31. "iTunes - TV Shows - Nick Jr. Wintertime Adventures". iTunes.
  32. "Nickelodeon Fit". nintendo.com.
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