The Busy World of Richard Scarry

The Busy World of Richard Scarry is an animated children's television series, produced by CINAR Animation and France Animation in association with Paramount Television, which aired from 1994 to 1997,[2] first on Showtime, later on Nickelodeon, and ran for 65 episodes.[3] The television series was based on the books drawn and written by Richard Scarry.[4] Reruns of the show formerly aired in syndication as part of the Cookie Jar Kids Network block, but the show now continues to air on the Cookie Jar Toons block on This TV until October 26, 2013. Reruns of the show aired on Qubo from May 13, 2013, to September 25, 2016. However, it returned to Qubo on March 28, 2017, as part of the network's Night Owl block until May 26, 2018, and has also aired on Light TV, but has since left the network.

The Busy World of Richard Scarry
Cover for The Busy World of Richard Scarry: Every Day There's Something New DVD
GenreAnimated series
Written byVarious
Directed by
  • Greg Bailey
  • Marcos Da Silva
  • Pascal Morelli
  • Stephan Martinière
  • Nadja Cozic
Voices of
Theme music composerMilan Kymlicka
ComposerLaurent Petitgirard
Country of origin
  • Canada
  • France
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes65 (195 segments)
Production
Executive producerMicheline Charest
ProducerRonald A. Weinberg
Running time30 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original network
Original releaseMarch 9, 1994 (1994-03-09)[1] 
1997 (1997)
Related
Busytown Mysteries

Cast

  • Sonja Ball as Huckle Cat, additional voices
  • Keith Knight as Lowly Worm, Harry Hyena, Snozzle, Able Baker Charlie, Soybean Goat, additional voices
  • Judy Marshak as Fiona Cat, additional voices
  • Philip Williams as Sergeant Murphy, Bruno Bear, additional voices
  • Stephen Ouimette as Doctor Lion, Mr. Raccoon, additional voices
  • Len Carlson as Mr. Frumble, Mr. Gronkle, Mayor Fox, additional voices
  • Tara Meyer as Sally Cat, additional voices
  • Cathy Gallant as Hilda Hippo, P.S. Pig, Thump, Deputy Flo, additional voices
  • John Stocker as John Cat, Mr. Humperdink, Scotty Dog, Pedro, Wolfgang Wolf, additional voices
  • Rino Romano as Billy Dog, additional voices
  • David Berni as Bananas Gorilla, additional voices
  • Peter Wildman as Mr. Fixit, Rudolph von Flugel, Sniff, Pickles, additional voices
  • Hadley Kay as Sprout Goat, Dennis Elephant, additional voices
  • Stuart Stone as Kenny Bear (seasons 1-3), Pig Will (seasons 1-3), Pig Won't, Manuel
  • Linda Feige as Miss Honey (early episodes)
  • Susan Roman as Cucumber, Professor Dog, April Rhino, Squirty Humperdink, additional voices
  • Tara Charendoff as Lynnie Raccoon (season 5), Abe, additional voices
  • Michael Caloz as Kenny Bear (later season 3), Vanderbuilt Gronkle, Robby Lion, Pig Will (season 5)
  • Julie Lemieux as Russ, additional voices
  • Lisa Yamanaka as Bridget Murphy
  • Arthur Holden as Bump
  • Don Dickinson as additional voices
  • Keith Hampshire as additional voices
  • William Colgate as additional voices
  • Paul Haddad as additional voices

Overview

The series takes place in the fictional city of Busytown and mainly stars Huckle Cat, Lowly Worm and many of the other residents of Busytown. Every "human" in the series is an anthropomorphic animal, most commonly pigs, foxes, breeds of dogs, mice, rabbits, goats, and cats. Each episode always features a conflict (which is eventually resolved in the end). However, episodes featuring other anthropomorphic animals, like Couscous catching Pépé le Gangstaire and his dirty rats, Sam and Dudley, Sneef and Sniff, Cucumber and Pickles, etc. have taken place outside of Busytown in other places around the world.

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
113March 9, 1994 (1994-03-09)May 29, 1994 (1994-05-29)
2131995 (1995)1995 (1995)
3131995 (1995)1996 (1996)
4131996 (1996)1996 (1996)
5131997 (1997)1997 (1997)

Season 1 (1994)

No. overall Segments Original air date Synopsis
1The Talking Bread / Couscous, the North African Detective / The Three FishermenMarch 13, 1994A bread in Able Baker Charlie's bakery repeatedly says "Mama".

Couscous catches Peppy the Gangster and his Dirty Rats who intend to steal the Jewel-of-Jewel.
The Cat Family goes fishing and returning with fish of different sizes.

2The Best Birthday Present Ever / Patrick Pig Learns to Talk / Grouchy Mr. GronkleMarch 9, 1994
(special prime-time airing)
Mother Cat gets a birthday present in the form of a cuckoo clock.

The mute Patrick Pig's talkative Irish forefathers try to teach him how to speak for the first time.
The grouchy Mr. Gronkle is angry when kids start skating on his frozen pond, but ends up needing their help.

3The Busiest Firefighters Ever / Manuel of Mexico / The Biggest Catch EverMarch 20, 1994Huckle and Lowly join Smoky and his Firefighters for one day, and accidentally ruin someone's barbecue.

Manuel breaks his mom's pot.
Rudolph Von Flugel takes Huckle and Lowly in his hot air balloon.

4Mr. Raccoon's Different Day / Mario, the Venetian Gondolier / The Best Babysitter EverMarch 27, 1994Mr. Raccoon tries to have a different day.

Mario is introduced and his career as operating gondoliers in Venice.
Hilda babysits Pig Will and Pig Won't.

5The Best Mistake Ever / Sneef, the Best Detective in Europe / Camping OutApril 3, 1994Huckle forgets a shopping list.

Sneef and Sniff succeed in catching the Royal Jewels.
The Cat family goes camping.

6Mr. Frumble's New Cars / Ernst and Heidi in the Alps / Billy Dog's Bad DayApril 10, 1994When Mr. Frumble crashes his car, he steals the bulldozer from Roger Rhino, a taxi and the airplane from Rudolph Von Flugel.

Ernst tries to join Heidi on the rescue patrol but is a bad climber.
The new kid Billy Dog has a bad first day as he intimidates people with his gruff personality.

7The Snowstorm / Professor Dig and His Egyptian Mummy / The Treasure HuntApril 17, 1994Hilda believes her strength only causes trouble on the playground, but when a big snowstorm causes havoc in Busytown, her strength helps them out.

Professor Dig discovers an Egyptian mummy.
A treasure hunt takes place on the beach, but all Huckle and Lowly find is junk.

8The Missing Bananas / Good Luck in Rome / The AccidentApril 24, 1994Bananas Gorilla steals a batch of bananas.

Maria and Frederico want to throw a coin into the lucky Trevi fountain.
Mr. Fixit's traffic light causes an accident.

9A Trip to the Moon / Pip Pip Goes to London / Floating BananasMay 1, 1994Wolfgang, Benny, Harry and Lowly try to fly to the moon.

Pip Pip goes to London to find the Queen's ring, and experiences many problems.
Bananas wants to work on a banana cargo ship.

10Hat Pie / Hans, the Dutch Plumber / Hilda's Romantic Tea PartyMay 8, 1994Lowly's hat goes missing.

Hans, a plumber working at the Dutch Windmills experiences a leak in a dyke.
Hilda has a matchmaking tea party.

11A Big Operation / Cucumber, the African Photographer / Summer PicnicMay 15, 1994Huckle gets his tonsils removed in a big operation, but pulls through on the promise of getting ice cream as a reward.

Cucumber is really nervous about photographing lions.
The class goes on a picnic, but a big storm forces them into a scary cave.

12Sergeant Murphy's Day Off / Schmudge, the German Chimney Sweep / The Sleeping Car AdventureMay 22, 1994Sergeant Murphy gets his first day off.

Schmudge, a chimney Sweeper in Germany has no luck.
Hilda takes a train ride while babysitting.

13Busytown Regatta / Schtoompah, the Funny Austrian / Busytown Soap Box DerbyMay 29, 1994Busytown celebrates a regatta race.

Schtoompah wreaks havoc when he blows his tuba too hard.
A Soap box race takes place in Busytown and Sally is left out.

Season 2 (1995)

No. overall Segments Original air date Synopsis
14The Big Story / Couscous in Gibraltar / The Firefighter's BallSpring 1995Huckle and Lowly become news reporters.

Couscous captures Peppy and his Dirty Rats in Gibraltar.
Smoky, Sparkey and Nozzle get a firefighters ball.

15The Field Trip / The Great Pie Robbery / Clean GarageSpring 1995The Scouts go on a field trip.

Madame Dog's pies get stolen.
The Cat Family cleans out their garage.

16Captain Willy and the Pirates / Flying Noodles / Roughing ItSpring 1995Captain Willy is put ashore by pirates and attempts to get his boat back, as well as catch them.

Cucumber takes pictures of a Japanese noodle chef Sato.
Fixit takes the scouts to camp.

17Young Vikings / Sneef Saves the Queen / Hilda the DirectorSpring 1995Huckle and Lowly go sailing on a raft that they built.

Sneef captures the culprit who stole the Queen of England's crown.
Hilda holds auditions for actors to star in her play.

18High Flyers / Steamboat Mystery / The Best Waiters EverSpring 1995Rudolph Von Flugel takes Huck and Lowly up in his plane.

A mystery involving a steamboat takes place.
Mayor Fox invites another mayor to a restaurant.

19The Big Move / Sneef in Russia / Mr. Frumble Gets a JobSpring 1995Billy Dog is moving away.

Sneef and Sniff save a Russian mystery.
Mr. Frumble gets his first job.

20Ambulance Cake / The Supermarket Mystery / Big Trouble for Bananas GorillaSpring 1995The hospital hosts a bake sale.

Groceries are stolen from the supermarket.
Bananas Gorilla gets in more big trouble at his garage job.

21Sergeant Murphy's Deputy / Couscous in the Sahara / New Friend on the BlockSpring 1995Overworked Sergeant Murphy gets help from Deputy Flo.

Couscous catches Pepe and his Dirty Rats by trapping them in an Egyptian pyramid that they are searching for treasure in.
A new friend for Huckle arrives on his street as he tries to deliver cookies to a new neighbor.

22The Biggest Storm Ever / Cucumber in Rockies / Sally's First Day at SchoolSpring 1995A big storm occurs and Sergeant Murphy evacuates all of Busytown to a shelter, but Mr. Gronkle is left behind.

Cucumber manages to stop a runaway boxcar that is carrying a wedding cake in the Canadian rockies.
Sally Cat starts kindergarten but would rather stay home and play with puppets.

23No Time for Bananas / Sneef in India / Sally Cat's First TripSpring 1995Bananas Gorilla gets a crush.

Sneef and Sniff take on a jewel thief.
Sally Cat goes on her first trip to visit her cousin Lily.

24Grand Hotel / Couscous on the Nile / Cat Family Ski TripSpring 1995Father Cat reviews the Busytown Grand Hotel.

Couscous succeed another mystery taking place on a boat on the Nile River.
The Cat Family goes skiing.

25Lowly Breaks His Leg / Cucumber in Machuu Pichuu / The Plight of Penelope ParakeetSpring 1995Lowly breaks his one leg and has to survive with being unable to use it.

Cucumber saves a Machuu Pichuu mystery where all the costumes for a parade are stolen.
Huckle and Lowly pet-sit Penelope Parakeet.

26A Newspaper Mom / Cucumber in Rio / Donut RaffleSpring 1995Mother cat gets a job for newspaper delivering.

Cucumber captures a carnival in Rio.
A Donut Raffle takes place in Busytown.

Season 3 (1995–96)

No. overall Segments Original air date Synopsis
27The Knights of Busytown / Cave Pigs / Bucketman in BusytownFall 1995A game of The Knights of Busytown ends when Sally doesn't want to be the maiden in distress.

The life of cave pigs is featured.
Mr. Frumble gets stuck in a painted garbage can.

28Billy Dog Gets Glasses / Cordelia's Debut / Lowly Joins the CircusFall 1995Billy Dog gets his first pair of glasses.

In the Shakespearean era, Cordelia dreams of becoming an actress.
Lowly Worm takes part in a circus.

29The Big Dare / Oliver's Sandwich / Pig Will Won'tFall 1995Billy Dog claims he's not scared of ghosts.

Oliver is a clumsy butler.
Pig Will becomes Pig Won't.

30The Best Birthday Party Ever / Martha's First Book / Locked OutFall 1995Two simultaneous birthday parties take place in Busytown.

In an era where books are printed by hand, Martha reads her first book while witnessing the invention of the printing press.
Mr. Frumble gets locked out of his house.

31Dad's Neat Job / The Discovery of America / Mr. Gronkle's FriendsFall 1995Father Cat does a new job.

The story of America being discovered by Admiral Columoose is featured.
Mr. Gronkle's friends are introduced to his mom.

32Denys at Camp / Peasant Pig's Gifts / Little Fixit1996Denys go to camp.

Piggy Origami's granddaughter wants a wedding with origami.
Little Fixit, the child of Mr. and Mrs. Fixit is introduced.

33The School Dance / The First Olympics / Hilda for President1996Hilda plans a school dance.

The story of the Greek Olympics is featured.
Hilda runs for president against Billy Dog.

34Mr. Frumble's Brother / Viking Pigs / The Perfect Wedding1996Mr. Frumble's twin brother goes searching for him.

Pig Pigson's crew is unenthusiastic.
Miss Honey and Bruno Bear are getting married.

35A Tough Test / The First Pyramid / The Big Date1996Mr. Tough substitutes for the class.

Imhotep builds the first pyramid but neglects his son.
Billy's mother goes on a date.

36Inventor of the Year / Macaroni Polo / Lone Wolf at the Lighthouse1996Huckle is inspired to become an inventor.

Macaroni Polo goes to China.
Lone Wolfe grumpily guards a lighthouse.

37Fun-Time Riddle Race / The First Balloon / Billy Dog's Space Rock1996A big riddle race takes place in Busytown starting at the Fire station (with the riddle "When things get really hot, we'll bring you some water") and ending at the Observatory (with the riddle "When it gets dark, look up and watch the show").

The story of the first balloon (a.k.a. Montgolfier) is featured.
Billy Dog loses a meteorite from the observatory and tries to find and return it.

38The Best Amusement Park Ever / The First Bridge / Say Cheese, Please!1996Wolfgang, Benny and Harry open a big amusement park, but have trouble in the process.

The cave pigs create the first bridge.
The class has to take photos of their families, but experience many problems and Huckle finally succeeds in taking the best picture.

39Has Anyone Seen My Book? / P.J. Pig's Brave Day / Vanderbuilt's New Shoes1996Sally's book goes missing.

P.J. Pig tries to be a knight.
Mr. Gronkle's nephew Vanderbuilt fails the soccer team.

Season 4 (1996)

No. overall Segments Original air date Synopsis
40The Perfect Gentleman / The Best Painter Ever / The Best Day for Dennis1996Hilda's friend Rita comes to babysit.

Michael Antelope paints the Sistine Chapel.
Dennis has his best day.

41A Trip Back in Time / Home Sweet Home / P.S. Pig's Special Friend1996Mr. Fixit builds a time machine.

Cavemen search for a cave for their friend.
P.S. Pig wishes she got a letter too.

42Mr. Fixit's Magnet Machine / Sneef and Sniff at the Opera / Mr. Gronkle Won't Mind1996Mr. Fixit causes havoc with his new magnet machine that gets out of control and attracts anything made of metal.

Sniff and Sneef solve a voice problem at a European Opera.
An eventful day occurs in the lives of Lowly, Huckle, and Father Cat.

43Peter's Visit / The First Skis Ever / Stage Fright1996Sally has an imaginary friend Peter.

Bernard is too little to help his big brother.
Dennis gets stage fright at a public speaking contest.

44End of the Rainbow / A Signal for Peng / Mr. Frumble's Birthday Party1996The class loves a story about a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Peng's wife has a baby when he gets a job at the Great Wall of China.
Mr. Frumble forgets his own birthday party.

45Bananas the Magician / The First Horseless Carriage / Princess Hilda1996Bananas Gorilla acts as a magician.

The story of the first horseless carriage is featured.
Hilda acts as a princess.

46Daylight Savings Time [sic] / Eager Beaver's Clever Game / The Pickle Car Wash1996A clock tower gets stuck during Daylight Saving Time.

Eager Beaver makes a clever game.
Mr. Frumble has his own car wash for his Pickle Car.

47Triple A Deliveries / Stanley's Amazing Photo / Lost in the Swamp1996Several deliveries take place.

Stanley does some of the best photographing.
Someone gets lost in the swamp.

48Mr. Fixit's Super Submarine / Cahuchu's Magic Tree / Mr. Bean's Restaurant1996Mr. Fixit invents a submarine and Lowly and Huckle give it a test ride.

Little Cahuchu discovers a tree with magical bouncing sap.
Mr. Bean opens a drive-in restaurant but only serves beans.

49The Best Christmas Present Ever / Abe and Babe's Christmas Lesson / Sally Cat's Christmas Dream1996The Cat family expects a baby on Christmas.

Abe and Babe have been bad, so they get coal for Christmas.
Sally Cat has a dream where Santa is in trouble.

50The Best Car Trip Ever / Earnest's Dish You Can Eat / Cousin Russ1996The Cat family goes on a big car trip to the beach.

Earnest enters the best new dish contest.
Cousin Russ moves from England to visit with Huckle in Busytown.

51Fill'er Up Scotty / Niagara Falls Mystery / Helper's Helper1996Scotty's tanker truck breaks down.

Cucumber succeeds a mystery when Niagara Falls stops flowing and it is blocked by Beaver Sweet Tooth's gang.
Deputy Flo gets another helper.

52Who's Afraid of the Big Eclipse / Hold Your Breath! / Pumpkin Heads1996When there is a misprint in The Bugle, the townspeople think that the sun will disappear for 360 years.

Toula and her father catch a gold necklace in their net.
Huckle, Lowly and Sprout participate in a pumpkin contest.

Season 5 (1997)

No. overall Segments Original air date Synopsis
53The Mole Machine / The Royal Game of Dennis / Now That's Progress1997Mr. Fixit invents a mole machine.

Abbott Thomas's monk Dennis is unhappy.
Mr. Gronkle decides to demolish his decaying castle.

54Superstitious Bananas / Pépé le Gangstaire / Drive-Through Movie1997Bananas Gorilla thinks he's doomed to bad luck.

Couscous is shocked that the dirty rats are being let out of jail.
A drive-through theater opens.

55King and Queen for a Day / The Piggy Express / Practice Makes Prefect1997Huckle and Hilda become king and queen.

Piggy delivers mail through stormy weather.
There is a school recital and everyone's unhappy with their parts.

56The Winners / No More Games, Manuel! / We Won't Go to the Doctor!1997Busytown holds a race.

Manuel plays jungle explorer.
Pig Will and Pig Won't argue about the doctor.

57Never Too Small / Albert, the Belgian Barge Captain / Rainy Day1997Sally and Robbie are too small for basketball.

There's a festival of giants in Belgium.
Huckle, Lowly, and Sally are bored on a rainy day.

58Mr. Gronkle Comes to Stay / Leo-pardo's Smile / Blooming Busytown1997Mr. Gronkle stays with the Cat family during winter, but freezes in the ice.

Leo-pardo is an inventor genius but discovers his greatest innovation.
Mr. Root plants flowers all over Busytown.

59Match-Makers / Forget-bur Never Forgets / Toof Trouble1997Huckle plays matchmaker for Mr. Frumble.

In Mesopotamia before writing was invented, royal architect Forget-bur tries to build a Ziggurat for the king but keeps forgetting his plans.
Hilda has a toothache and is in denial.

60The New Neighbors / The First Halloween Ever / Now I Know My One, Two, Threes!1997A new neighbor moves into Busytown's spooky house.

The story of the first Halloween is told.
Sally learns how to count after realizing it's okay to ask for help.

61Mr. Gronkle Moves Away / Counting Chickens / The Spelling Bee1997Mr. Gronkle moves to the quiet countryside.

Before numbers were invented, a scribe must take inventory of an estate.
Billy enters a spelling bee despite lacking confidence in his abilities.

62Huckle's Feathery Friends / The First Valentine Ever / The Sleepover1997Huckle knocks out a bird's nest.

The first valentine is created.
Dennis goes to Sprout's sleepover.

63Count on Us! / The First Easter Egg Ever / Be My Valentine1997There's a bikeathon in Busytown, but Billy needs a bike.

A family is rescued by their kind king, and to thank him, the family promises to give the king a gift.
It's Valentine's Day, and Hilda gets a little carried away.

64The Mystery of the Stone Circle / The Big Apple Christmas Caper / Who's too Scared to Masquerade?1997A substitute teacher takes the class to the Stone Circle.

On Christmas someone tries to rob New York.
Little kids are intimidated by a masquerade party.

65A Message in a Bottle / Santa Needs Help / There Really is an Easter Bunny1997While playing pirate, Huckle discovers a message in a bottle with an SOS message.

Hilda writes a Christmas story.
Everyone except Huckle and friends are excited for the Easter egg hunt.

Home releases

On July 27, 2010, Mill Creek Entertainment released The Busy World of Richard Scarry: Every Day There's Something New on DVD in Region 1 (US only). This 3-disc set features the first 30 episodes of the series.[5] On July 19, 2011, Mill Creek released The Busy World of Richard Scarry: Fun in Busytown!, a 4-disc set that features the remaining 35 episodes of the series.[6]

On August 4, 2015, Mill Creek Entertainment released The Busy World of Richard Scarry- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 which includes bonus episodes of Busytown Mysteries, Wimzie's House and Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings.[7]

Music

Most of the music was written by two composers. The theme song was written by Sara Zahn and composed by Milan Kymlicka, while the underscore was composed and conducted by Laurent Petitgirard and Steve Wener. Several other composers contributed to several educational shorts in the series.

References

  1. Erickson, Hal (30 July 2005). Television cartoon shows: an illustrated encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 166. ISBN 0786422556. OCLC 57349103. The Busy World of Richard Scarry series preached ... Showtime: debuted March 9, 1994
  2. Erickson, Hal (30 July 2005). Television cartoon shows: an illustrated encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 166. ISBN 0786422556. OCLC 57349103. The Busy World of Richard Scarry series preached ... Showtime: debuted March 9, 1994
  3. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 100. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  4. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 36–37. ISBN 9781476672939.
  5. "The Busy World of Richard Scarry: Every Day There's Something New". 27 July 2010 via Amazon.
  6. "Busy World of Richard Scarry - Fun in Busytown!". 19 July 2011 via Amazon.
  7. Mill Creek's 'Complete Series' 6-DVD Set...Soon! Archived 2015-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
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