George Shrinks

George Shrinks is a Canadian animated television series. It is based on the children's book by William Joyce, produced in China by Jade Animation and in Canada by Nelvana, in association with Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It tells the story of a ten-year-old boy named George who, for unexplained reasons, is only three inches tall. The show details his adventures with his friends and family and riding in his "Zooper car", and other gadgets for his size.

The series started on March 2, 1999 on PBS Kids as part of PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch. The Bookworm Bunch disbanded in 2004, but George Shrinks was given an individual PBS debut on January 6, 2003. The first season consisted of forty episodes, targeted at children five years old and under. The final show aired in mid-2004, though it is still in syndication. However, it ended without a single rerun.

The original book version had a younger boy who awakes one morning to find himself tiny. He has an encounter with a cat, flies a miniature plane, sails in an ocean-sized tub, eats gigantic food, and rides on top of his giant sized toddler brother before he abruptly grows back to normal size.

Characters

 * George Shrinks — George, age ten, is the main character of the series. George wakes up from a dream to discover he his small-- "Based on William Joyce's book, George Shrinks is an animated series about a boy who wakes up and discovers he's the size of a mouse"-- from PBS kids website http://www.pbs.org/parents/tvprograms/program-georgeshrinks.html; his golden plated baby shoes were extremely tiny seen in "Round Up The Usual Insects". Because of his small stature, George has had to invent his own adaptive devicees, most notably the Zooper car (a small vehicle which George built with his father, and which can be automatically transformed into an airplane, a helicopter, or a submarine). Another invention is a system of pneumatic tubes, which George also uses for transportation. He is voiced by David Kaye.
 * Junior Shrinks — George's baby brother, who often accompanies George in his adventures around the house. Junior is George's "sidekick" and "gofer", doing the tasks that are too difficult for George because of the latter's stature. However, his playfulness and his size sometimes leads to accidents, though Junior's sincere "Sowwy, George," always gets his brother to forgive him. He is voiced by Matt Hill.
 * Becky Lopez — George's best friend who lives next door. She and George go on many exploits and adventures. Becky is also the captain for a Little League ice hockey team called the Storks, whose terribly bad goal-scoring drought was the focus of one of the later episodes. She is voiced by Stacy Depass.
 * "Mom" Perdita Shrinks — Mom is a freelance artist by trade who builds, sculpts and welds with a very abstract style. She is a member of the town's art committee, and is into organic foods. Mom is also very supportive of the projects that the family and kids work on, and she enjoys helping out in the community. She also used to be a rockette which George reveals his dad told him in "If It Ain't Broke" episode. She is voiced by Susan Roman.
 * "Dad" Harold Shrinks — Dad is a musician in a jazz band, and he is constantly building and trying out new instruments (most of which resemble oversized and distorted tubas and saxophones) in the search for the "perfect sound". Dad is a bit eccentric, but still loves his family and is a good father. He is voiced by John Ritter.

[edit] Other, minor and one-time and guest characters

 * Timmy and Jimmy Fortevoce— Timmy and Jimmy are identical twins, members of Becky's hockey team—Jimmy plays center and Timmy plays defense. Despite appearing in just two episodes, they still play an important role as supporting members of the cast. In Italian, their last name literally means "Loud Voice".
 * Aunt Eunice— Aunt Eunice is George and Junior's great aunt (but whom the entire family calls 'aunt'), who sometimes serves as their babysitter. The first time she watched the boys, she was very patronizing toward George, treating him as though his size were a handicap and "assisting" him at every turn. However, Aunt Eunice's ways are changed when George fixes her prized plant, a Bonsai tree named "Maurice", which has seemingly been damaged beyond repair. In "Return To Sender", she expresses complete confidence in that George will handle himself just fine when he was mailed to various locations across the planet, and that he can mail his way back home safely. She has travelled around the world; as such, she knows a great deal about different places as well as people. The boys' mother Perdita is Eunice's niece.
 * Ellen— Ellen is a kindhearted girl next door with a Chinese nationality. Despite only appearing in four episodes, Ellen plays a major role in two of them. Ellen is a fan of old horror movies and enjoys playing harmless practical jokes. She has an older brother, Matt, who is the owner of an anole lizard named Ting-Ting (which, as Ellen describes, is literally Chinese for "Gracefully Graceful"). She is left-handed and a member of the Storks, Becky's hockey team, as a forward on the left wing.
 * Hilda and Henry Hilldanan— Hilda and Henry are two blond-haired, glasses wearing fraternal twins. They say almost everything in unison and only appear in three episodes. They enjoy playing tricks on one another, such as during a scary movies night at the Shrinks' residence. They are somewhat competitive, but are good friends with George and Becky.
 * Helga— Helga is the goaltender for the Storks, a Little League Hockey Team that is the focus of the episode "Coach Shrinks". This episode is her first appearance, in which she plays a major role. She usually wears glasses, except on the ice because the lenses fog up.
 * Lizzy — Lizzy is the right-wing forward for the Storks, Becky's little League Hockey Team. She's skilled at turning on the spot because of her previous experience figure skating; she joined a hockey team because she felt figure skating was lonely and wanted to join a team.
 * Russell Copeland— Russell is a kindhearted senior that used to live in George's house as a boy. He is also a retired veterinarian.
 * The Cadwells— Seen only in the episode "Speed Shrinks", they are two twins similar to Hilda and Henry, but they are somewhat villainous. They build a craft similar to the SR-71 Blackbird and use its special features to sabotage and unfairly halt the other racers in order to win.
 * Rodnee and Regee- Seen only in the episode "Speed Shrinks", they are two twins similar to Hilda and Henry, Regee dosen't appear to talk at all, but Rodnee does.


 * Skyler— George and Junior's cousin once removed. Seen only in Toy George.
 * Christina— Seen only in the episode "Lost and Found Art".
 * Barry- Barry is a little blond hair boy with freckles in two episodes in "Lost and Found Art" and "Dog Sitting Miss Daisy". Unlike George and Becky's friends. He never appears to talk at all. But similar just like Henry Hilldanan.
 * Junior Lookalike- Seen only in the episode "Lost and Found Art". He rides the scooter. He look similar to Junior, but rides alone. Unlike Junior, He wears a blue shirt and dark blue pants.
 * Julie- Julie is a Girl who only appeared in two episodes. "Dog Sitting Miss Daisy" and "Speed Shrinks".
 * Judy- Judy is Becky's mom who only appeared in two episodes. "Snowman's Land" and "Dog Sitting Miss Daisy"
 * Darren- Darren is Becky's Dad who appeared in "Dog Sitting Miss Daisy" and "George vs. the Space Invaders".

Funding

 * The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (1999–present)
 * A Cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Education's Ready to Learn/No Child Left Behind Grant (1999–present)
 * Kellogg's (1999-2007)
 * The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations (1999-2002)
 * Pew Charitable Trust (1993-1997)
 * American Greetings (2007-present)
 * Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (1999–2007)
 * Kellogg's Rice Krispies (1999–2002)
 * Kellogg's Apple Jacks (2002–2005)
 * 7 Eleven (1999-2003)