Chuggington

Chuggington
Voices of	Morgan Overton (Series 1-3) Edward Sharpe (Series 4-present) Charlie George (Series 1-3) Toby Davies (Series 4-present) Imogen Bailey Jadie-Rose Hobson Arthur Lee Pax Baldwin Sacha Dhawan David Gyasi Elëna Gyasi Maria Darling Nicole Davis Colin McFarlane Lorelei King Jordan Clarke Angelo Cola Andy Nyman Paul Panting Jill Shilling Steve Devereaux James Naylor
Narrated by	Sacha Dhawan
Theme music composer	Chris McHale
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	5
No. of episodes	162 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	10 min/4 min
Production company(s)	Ludorum plc
Distributor	BBC
Release
Original network	CBeebies (UK) Disney Junior (US)
Picture format	16:9 (HDTV/SDTV unknown)
Original release	22 September 2008 – 29 May 2015
Chronology
Followed by	Chuggington: Badge Quest
External links
Website
Production website

Chuggington characters in their roundhouse

Chuggington is a British children's computer-animated television series produced by Ludorum plc. It is broadcast on the BBC children's channel CBeebies and other channels internationally, including in the United States on the Disney Channel and Disney Junior.

Setting

In the fictional town of Chuggington are young novice railway anthropomorphic locomotives ('trainees') Koko, Wilson, Brewster, Hoot, Toot and Piper. The trainees learn the value of loyal friendship, telling the truth, listening carefully, persisting under adversity, completing tasks, resolving conflict without violence, and similar values. The locomotives, called "Chuggers", are intelligent, empathetic, independent and somewhat self-directed. They have mobile facial and body features. Chuggers have no crews (yet some have opening crew doors). Chuggers regularly interact with other humans such as passengers and maintenance crews.

The town of Chuggington has a central area of large modern buildings. Side-by-side railway tunnels coloured red, blue, yellow, green under the town centre lead to the outside world. Countryside settings include a farm, a safari park, and a quarry. A ‘Chugston Hotel’ is mentioned. "Old Chuggington", an abandoned old town overgrown with wild vegetation, is visited. The background and scenery are also computer-generated. There are turning-camera and moving-camera shots.

Production

The creative core behind Chuggington is Sarah Ball, a producer and director who worked on Bob the Builder, and Don Toht, who designed the characters and sets.^[1] Substantial parts of the animation are done in Shanghai, China by Motion Magic.

The computer animation is made with Autodesk Maya software.^[2]

As well as the regular ten-minute episodes, Chuggington: Badge Quest, there are four-minute shows, focusing on the trainees efforts to earn reward badges for their "Chugger" training.^[3]

Three Chuggington specials were commissioned for release on DVD from 2013 onwards.^[4]

Broadcast details

The first series of 52 episodes was sold to broadcasters including the BBC, ABC (Australia), TF1 (France) and Super RTL (Germany) in a deal announced in February 2008.^[5] A second series of 26 episodes was purchased by the BBC and many other broadcasters throughout the world. Aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 6, Chuggington made its UK debut as a "soft launch" on BBC Two on 22 September 2008.

Characters

Brewster, Koko, and Wilson are the main characters in Chuggington.

Train characters

Trainees

Advanced Trainees

• Wilson, (voiced by Morgan Overton in the UK in Series 1,^[6] 2 and 3, Edward Sharpe in the UK in Series 4 and 5 due to Overton's voice maturing and Tony Terraciano in the US), is a lively red engine based upon an EMD F-unit. His enthusiasm is opposed by his short attention span, and most of his adventures are in Chug Patrol.

• Brewster (voiced by Charlie George in the UK in Series 1,^[6] 2 and 3, Toby Davies in the UK in Series 4 and 5 due to George's voice maturing and Miles J Harvey in the US) is a strong diesel-electric locomotive built for heavy loads. He is British Rail blue with yellow face; Brewster is similar to a BR Deltic diesel engine, but with a single end-cab. He is a member of the Chuggineers, the building team on Chuggington. He likes to haul heavy loads on pick-ups, and often picks up too much load. Other Chuggers may rush when given a task, but Brewster asks questions if he is unsure. He is dependable, respectful and can be relied on when there is trouble.^[7]

• Koko (voiced by Imogen Bailey in the UK and Brigid Harrington in the US, is an electric engine, modelled on the bullet train. She is green and purple, and was built for high speed, being one of the fastest Chuggers in Chuggington. She loves to explore and have adventures, and to challenge her friends to a dare or a race. Although she can get into mischief, she always means well and knows when to apologise.^[8]

Non-Advanced Trainees

• Hoot and Toot are twins.^[9] They are nearly always seen joined back-to-back, but in at least two episodes by strong pulling they manage to separate. Toot is green, female and has blue eyes; Hoot is blue, male and has green eyes – he is also red-green colourblind.^[10]

• Piper is a small oil-fired steam locomotive. In her first episode, Old Puffer Pete says that she runs on vegetable oil. In another episode we find out that Piper can be mischievous. Though she means well, she is very inexperienced and won't often take time to think, but realizes her mistakes and does well in the end.

Other train characters

First appearing in Series 1

• Hodge (built from a hodge-podge of parts) is a six-wheeled Dandy Diesel,^[11] who normally works with Eddie the handyman. He is a bit like a pick-up truck, and often is tasked with taking the rubbish to the recycling yard. With his "seen it all" attitude, it takes a lot to get Hodge excited.
• Zephie is a young direct drive system trolley car^[11] equipped with a scissor-lift trolley so she can lift and rotate her cab, which allows Eddie to work on things not normally accessible. She is particularly flighty and giggly.
• Old Puffer Pete is the oldest chugger in Chuggington, a steam locomotive who is apparently 150 years old. Pete loves passing his wisdom on to the trainees or anyone who is willing to listen. He drives them mad with his endless stories (which often get him confused), and can never seem to remember the chuggers' names, but they are very fond of him. He works at the central distribution centre for chuggington: The Drop Load and Freight Yard. He is a cross between Union Pacific No. 119 and a DRG Class 62.^[8]
• Olwin is an older motherly steam locomotive resembling the British streamlined train LNER Class A4, who refers to the "trainees" as her "little chugg-a-chuggs". Instead of a tender, Olwin's coal is stored just forward of the cab making her a tank locomotive.
• Harrison is a large blue engine resembling a Union Pacific Railroad M-10003 series diesel, and along with Hanzo, and Koko, is considered one of the fastest engines in Chuggington.^[12]

• Irving is a small red engine who handles the rubbish and recycling chores around the depot; he is proud to boast that nothing is thrown away in Chuggington.^[12]
• Dunbar is the large shunting engine. He is largely responsible for the training of the Chuggers: Hoot, Toot, and Piper. He is in a dark green livery, and is based on GM Electro-Motive diesel locomotives like the EMD GP38-2.^[13] He leaves Chuggington during Series 3, and is replaced by Skylar as the trainer.

• Calley is a small shunting engine who is sometimes seen shunting rolling stock. She is also a rescue chugger. She is Dunbar's assistant from Series 1-3 until she joined Jackman in Series 4 and became a member of the rescue squad Chug patrol. She loves rescuing more than anything and her catchphrase is "Breakdown Chugger coming through-oooooooo! ^[13]
• Emery is the Rapid Transit train often seen on elevated lines or in underground tunnels. He is based on the Urban Transportation Development Corporation Intermediate Capacity Transit System Scarborough RT-type electric train. He likes tricking and harassing other trains into thinking that they have a problem. He is the only engine who carries an additional carriage or truck with him permanently, although in at least two episodes, he disconnects his carriage to go faster.^[12] He often announces his actions with transit announcements. His right eye is green and his left eye is blue.
• Chatsworth is an older well-spoken train who generally performs the same tasks as Harrison. He is based on a Baldwin Sharknose locomotive. He can overreact easily, for example, he thinks that if his horn or coupler are broken that he cannot drive! He also loves his spotless white paint and hates getting dirty!
• M'tambo is the safari park ranger, he works around the safari park, giving tours to visitors. He speaks with an African (possibly Kenyan) accent.
• Frostini is the Italian ice cream train resembling the Pioneer Zephyr, popular with the children of Chuggington and seen by the trainees as very cool. He is normally seen handing out ice-creams or at the factory working on a creation. He is quite proud of his accomplishments and speaks English with an Italian accent.
• Action Chugger is Super-Hero Chugger. He responds to emergencies after being informed that he is needed by a flashing red light on his nose. He can unfold parts of his sides into short wings, each with a jet motor under it, and fly. After flying, he always lands on a railway track. Action Chugger's flight range extends at least as far as low Earth orbit. He normally resides in Chuggington.

First appearing in Series 2

• Speedy McAllister (Voiced by Warren Clarke in the UK and Stefan Ashton Frank in the US) is a large fast steam locomotive in that appears based on the CNW Class E-4 locomotives minus the tender. Speedy is somewhat gruff and blunt in character but means well and is helpful to experienced chuggers and trainees alike. He prefers more industrial jobs as opposed to those with a high degree of customer relations. He mans the rocky ridge quarry and rocky ridge mine, along with the human: Karen. Speedy's whistle is the deepest of the 4 steam locomotives in Chuggington. Speedy's voice in the U.K. is a Yorkshire accent but in the U.S. it is Western.

First appearing in Series 3

• Skylar is a large crane locomotive who has just completed training. His crane ends in a 2-fingered grab. He can use his crane and his side prop legs to flip himself end-for-end or onto an adjacent track. he bears a close resemblance to a GG20B Green Goat locomotive modified with a crane end.
• Decka is a double-decker tram built for heavy loads and passengers. She is brightly coloured and she has a big personality. She loves to incorporate her name into things, for example "It was a deckalightful day!"

First appearing in Series 4

• Jackman is the chief of Chug Patrol and the bravest chugger on the tracks. With a twinkle in his eye and strong leadership skills, Jackman makes the perfect leader for all 4 of the chug patrollers!
• Asher is a large fire engine chugger. He is a member of the rescue squad Chug patrol. Strong, brave, and reassuring, he takes care of the fires in chuggington.
• Zack is the chief of the Chuggineers. This foreman is organised, hard-working, and extremely safety conscious, making him the perfect leader of the Chuggineer crew. Joined by his fellow team members Tyne, Brewster, and Fletch, this engineering team is responsible for all the heavy lifting, loading, and building of bridges, tunnels, and stations, as well as laying track and making repairs.
• Tyne is a female Chuggineer who loves to blow up unneeded buildings, she says that she's "proud to be loud". Tyne also shares a friendly rivalry with her peer, Fletch.
• Fletch is a member of the Chuggineers, he is strong, and likes playing small jokes on other chuggers. Fletch also shares a friendly rivalry with his peer, Tyne.
• Hanzo is modeled from the Shinkansen 500. He is the fastest chugger in Chuggington. Mentor to Koko, Hanzo is sleek, streamlined, and has a photographic memory. He believes there is no greater honour than transporting passengers quickly, but always safely, to their destination. Respectful, dedicated, and precise, Hanzo enourages fellow Speed Fleet chuggers to be the best they can through rigorous practice. He is always extremely punctual. He also has a calm peaceful tone when he speaks.
• Cormac is a forklift chugger who works with Pete in the Drop Load and Freight yard, the central distribution site for Chuggington. Besides working in the Drop and Load yard, Cormac has lots of jobs around Chuggington. He loves driving around and having adventures! He sometimes assists the Chuggineers and Speedy.
• Pace is a tunnel runner from Tootington, Chuggington's neighboring town. Like the speed fleet, Pace is faster than the speed of light. She is good friends with Koko, yet shares a small friendly rivalry with her. Her colours are most likely based on East Midlands Trains's livery.

First appearing in Series 5

• Daley is an Express delivery Chugger.
• Skipper Stu is a diesel who works at the docks.
• Hamish is a green diesel working at the Chuggington harbour.
• Harry is an orange diesel working at the Chuggington harbour.
• Russ is a yellow diesel working at the Chuggington harbour.

Other characters

Ambiguous

• Vee is the depot announcer and dispatcher, with speakers all over Chuggington, in the depot and in remote areas. She keeps everything running on time and to schedule. After giving the chuggers their tasks, her dispatch board shows the destination, and shows which coloured tunnel to take when leaving the depot. She can be stern with disobedient Chuggers.^[14][15] Vee has never been seen as anything other than her public address system. She may be a human, or a self-intelligent system similar to the chuggers.

Humans

• Captain Charlie is the captain at Chuggington Harbour.
• Denzel is Mayor Pullman's nephew.
• Dr. Gosling is the safari park vet.
• Dr. Ling is the resident scientist and researcher in Chuggington. She often develops various inventions for the chuggers to test out.
• Eddie is the depot handyman who turns his hand to all manner of tasks, including track maintenance and fixing signals and points. He currently lives in a caboose, similar in appearance to Morgan's house, close to Chuggington. He used to live with his parents some distance away, and was frequently late to work, but the trainees found an abandoned caboose and Morgan fixed it so Eddie could live in it.
• Felix is the farmer.
• Howie is the control person (like Vee) at the Working Wheels yard where chuggers (mainly Brewster, Koko & Wilson) get refuelled/cleaned/get their jobs for the day.
• Jenny is a young girl who's the rightful owner of Zip, a puppy that Koko finds and wants to keep. Jenny is happy when Koko brings Zip back to her, and says that Koko can visit him any time she wants.
• Karen is a human who works at rocky ridge quarry along with the steam engine: Speedy McAllister
• King of Buffertonia sometimes visits Chuggington. He has been taken on tours by M'tambo, Old Puffer Pete, and Harrison.
• Linda works at the printers. In one episode, she's awaiting Wilson's delivery of special paper, and in another, she commissions Wilson to take various pictures for a poster about Chuggington.
• Lori is Morgan's assistant at the Repair Shed, and was also tasked with cleaning engines before the arrival of the chugwash. She is apprenticed to Morgan, and attends college.
• Magnificent Mysterioso is a magician who's performed different tricks in some episodes.
• Mayor Pullman is the mayor of Chuggington.
• Morgan is the Senior Mechanic at the depot, in charge of the Repair Shed. He lives in a house that looks like a caboose in Chuggington yard.^[8]
• Mr. Knot is Mayor Pullman's assistant.
• Mr. Simkins is an inspector from the "Ministry of Chuggers". He's a very serious person and gets startled whenever he hears a train horn or whistle. He comes to Chuggington to test Wilson, Koko, and Brewster on their passenger carrying abilities in one episode.
• Nurse David is a nurse from Chuggington Hospital. He once talked to the trainees about what ambulance chuggers and nurses do.
• Rag Barnstable is a reporter for the Chuggington Gazette.
• Snap is a photographer for the Chuggington Gazette. He works with Rag.
• Vicky is a safari park ranger, and looks after the animals.

Animals

• Banana, a naughty monkey at the safari park. Once he stole mailbags from Brewster.
• Dragon, a small frog with a three note croak and one of the safari park's newest additions. Brewster was initially scared of him, having heard his croak echoing in a tunnel and thinking he was a dragon.
• Ebo, an elephant at the safari park. He is often mischievous, but is a good friend to the trainees.
• Peckham, a dog at the repair shed. He belongs to Morgan.
• Twiga, a giraffe at the safari park. In one episode, Koko must keep watch as Twiga is preparing to give birth. ("Twiga" is the Swahili word for "giraffe".)
• Zip, a small dog that Koko finds and wants to keep. She names him Zoomy, though later finds out that his name is Zip upon returning him to his rightful owner.

Merchandise

In January 2009 it was announced that RC2 would be producing Chuggington toys under their Learning Curve brand; the toys were released to the market in 2010.^[16] RC2 contributed to half of the series' production budget in exchange for long-term global toy licensing rights.^[1]

Media

DVDs from Anchor Bay Entertainment include the first, entitled Chuggington: Let's Ride the Rails was released in March 2009 containing six episodes. A second DVD, Action Stations, released in October 2009, contained another six. The third DVD release, Wheels to the Rails, with another six episodes, is due out in late November. Anchor Bay’s Chuggington: Let’s Ride the Rails was the first Chuggington DVD to be released nationwide in the United States on 8 February 2010.

In the UK, several children's books are in the works, including Koko on Call: A Nightlight Adventure, based on an early episode.^[17] Publications International and Scholastic introduced Chuggington books to the U.S. market in late 2010 and early 2011, respectively.

Toys

In early 2010, the Chuggington Diecast Series of model trains was released in the UK. The Chuggington Diecast Series by Learning Curve was released in the U.S. nationwide in late 2010.

Later in 2010, the interactive range was released in the UK. The chuggers and Vee, their dispatcher, can interact with each other using 'Smart Talk' technology and over 300 stored phrases. Each chugger can recognize the other chuggers, and their train stops. The interactive phrases spoken depend on which chuggers and locations are placed together, giving a more varied, but not random, conversation. The Chuggington Interactive Railway was released in the United States in February 2011.

The Chuggington Wooden Railway was released in September 2010 to Canada, and on 1 March 2011 to specialty retailers in the United States. It is compatible with all other wooden railway systems.

In late 2011, Mega Brands released the 'Chuggington Construction' range, but was now discontinued, as of 2013.

In the United States other Chuggington products include games (I Can Do That! Games), puzzles (Cardinal), and activity sets (Crayola).

In 2012, the Plarail Chuggington range was released.

In 2013 Bachmann Trains made a series of Chuggington electric train sets and separate sale engines and cars. It is compatible with all other HO scale systems by other companies and is made to work with the Thomas & Friends range.

See also

• Thomas & Friends
• Underground Ernie

References

1. Castleman, Lana: Q&A: Caminada charts startup's next moves, Kidscreen, 27 March 2009.
2. Bennett, Samuel: The Virtual World of Chuggington: A First Time Director's Post-Mortem, LOGIN Conference, 13 May 2009.
3. CBeebies Programmes – Chuggington: Badge Quest. BBC. Retrieved on 2012-01-09.
4. PRE-SCHOOL MONTH: New characters bolster Chuggington | Licensing Industry | News by. Licensing.biz. Retrieved on 2012-01-09.
5. Broadcast Now, BBC gets on board Chuggington, 6 February 2008,
6. "Chuggington- Wilson's Smooth Moves". BBFC.
7. "Information for Grownups". CBeebies. p. 2. Retrieved 23 Jan 2009.
8. "Information for Grownups". CBeebies. p. 5. Retrieved 23 Jan 2009.
9. "Chuggington Series 2 – Hoot & Toot and Speedy McAllister New Chuggers!".
10. Chuggington episode Hoot v. Toot
11. "Chugger of the Year". Chuggington Episodes.
12. "Information for Grownups". CBeebies. p. 4. Retrieved 23 Jan 2009.
13. "Information for Grownups". CBeebies. p. 3. Retrieved 23 Jan 2009.
14. "Information for Grownups". CBeebies. p. 6. Retrieved 23 Jan 2009.
15. /grownups/programme/chuggington. bbc.co.uk
16. Toynews, RC2 signs Chuggington Deal, Accessed 23 Jan 2009
17. Chuggington – Let's Ride the Rails (DVD). amazon.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-01-09.

External links

• Official Site
• Chuggington at the Internet Movie Database