Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse

Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse
Genre	Fantasy
Narrated by	Ron Pardo
Country of origin	Canada South Korea (worldwide releases)
Original language(s)	English French Korean
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	26
Production
Running time	15 mins. (approx)
Production company(s)	Nelvana
Release
Original network	Teletoon Télétoon PBS KBS EBS MBC SBS
Original release	March 5, 2001 – September 18, 2002

Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse is a Canadian/Korean animated television show produced by Nelvana that first aired on Teletoon on March 5, 2001. It tells the stories of a young horse named Marvin who is part of a carnival. Among the executive producers are Michael Paraskevas and Betty Paraskevas, creators of Maggie and the Ferocious Beast.^[1] who also created the book that the show is based on. The show first aired on the Treehouse block before moving to just before Tiny Pop. In the United States, the series also aired on PBS Kids as part of the PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch from 2000 to 2002. In 2007, reruns of the show began airing on Qubo Channel in the US.

Some episodes include original songs to help illustrate the theme or accompany montages that carry the story forward.

Characters

• Marvin is a dancing brown horse with a black mane and tail who performs in Fast-Talking Jack's carnival. He used to be in movies and on Broadway; his first big break was in the musical movie 43rd Street (a takeoff of 42nd Street), although he's not proud of his performance in it. His hooves are tuxedo-themed and they make the tapping noises. He also wears a red bowtie around his neck. In the beginning of one of the episodes, it is taken off.
• Eddy Largo (Edward Larue III): A nine-year-old boy. In the first episode, he looks for a job and is hired on as a gofer and all around assistant to owner Fast Talking Jack. He changes his name to Eddy Largo because his real name was apparently too bland.
• Diamonds the Elephant: A fancy pink elephant, she is the main attraction of the circus. She has a big cloth on her back with a yellow star as a decoration. Her act involves balancing on an inflated beach ball.
• Elizabeth the Emotional Pig: Elizabeth the Emotional Pig is easily upset; she has a tendency to moan and cry. When things go right, she feels ecstatically happy. She wears a turquoise dress with two yellow lines on her skirt with matching buttons, collar flaps, and cuffs. Her specialty is juggling, usually pineapples. She also compulsively eats corn on the cob.
• Stripes the Tiger: Stripes (the alley malicious green-eyed tiger) is rather grouchy, and has a soft spot for "Mr. Grizzly," his torn-&-tattered stuffed bear. It's mentioned in the episode "Stripes Takes Off" that he's a Bengal tiger and weighs 400 pounds. His favorite meals are 32 chickens for dinner and a giant bowl of Crunchy Creatures cereal (soaked for 10 minutes to have the right degree of sogginess) for breakfast. He also enjoys reading the newspaper. He is often seen inside a cage.
• Fast-Talking Jack: The owner of the carnival and ringmaster of the big show (in which he also plays a lion tamer for Stripes' act).
• Edna: The smart fortune teller who also makes the lemonade and lemon ice sold at the carnival. She is a stickler for using juice she hand squeezes herself. Her screechy singing voice can break glass.
• Lyman Slime: The sleazy owner of a circus, who sees Jack's carnival as unwelcomed competition. He sometimes sends his three clowns to spy on the carnival or to sabotage it.
• The Penguin's Five: Band that accompanies the acts at the performance tent, made up of 5 penguins.
• Eddy's Grandmother: Can be somewhat formidable, has a habit of firmly tapping the floor with her cane when wanting to emphasize a point. Eddy is spending the summer at her house while he works at the carnival. She still calls Eddy his real name, Edward.
• Squinty Pete: Proprietor of the Whack-A-Weasel game in the carnival's midway.
• Mr. P. Nutty: Sells peanuts during the big show and around the carnival. Wears a Peanut costume featuring a huge grin. His real name is Philbert; has a high-pitched voice and professes to be shy.
• Lula Belle Rose: A tan mare with a light brown mane and tail with red lips and a daisy on her ear and Marvin's girlfriend. She is great a tap-dancing just like him. Her only appearance is "The Importance of Being Eddy".
• Lucy: Jack's niece who appeared in the episode "Eddy's Charm". Eddy has a crush on her.
• Boris: A Russian circus bear looking for work at the circus. He specializes in peeling peanuts and telling stories about Russia. He appeared in "Truth or Bear"

Voices

• Ron Pardo as Marvin the Tap Dancing Horse/Stripes the Tiger
• Marlowe Gardiner-Heslin as Eddy Largo
• Fiona Reid as Diamonds the Elephant
• Sheila McCarthy as Elizabeth the Emotional Pig
• Dwayne Hill as Fast Talkin' Jack
• Robin Duke as Edna
• Rummy Bishop as Lyman Slime

Episode guide

Season 1

No.	Cartoon 1	Cartoon 2	Original airdate (Teletoon)[2]
1	Eddy's Job	Elephants Almost Never Forget	March 5, 2001
2	Marvin's High Dive	Eddy's Wrong Order	March 6, 2001
3	Stripes' Sticky Situation	Stripes Takes Off	March 7, 2001
4	The New Band	Eddy's Video	March 8, 2001
5	Elizabeth's Biggest Fan	The Visit	March 9, 2001
6	Marvin's Roommate	Stripes' Dental Fuss	March 12, 2001
7	Marvin's Surprise	Eddy Learns to Dance	March 13, 2001
8	Visit to Grandma's	Gone Fishing	March 14, 2001
9	Marvin's Breakfast Jam	The Iron Claw	March 15, 2001
10	Elizabeth and the Haunted House	Marvin Horses Around	March 16, 2001
11	The Big Show	Eddy's Fortune	March 19, 2001
12	Eddy's Charm	Eddy and the Cowboy	March 20, 2001
13	When Pigs Fly	Mr. P. Nutty	March 21, 2001

Season 2

No.	Cartoon 1	Cartoon 2	Original airdate (Teletoon)[2]
14	Now You See It...	When the Stars Come Out	September 2, 2002
15	Eddy and the Record	Marvin in the Movies	September 3, 2002
16	Marvin and Eddy in the Middle of Nowhere	Stripes' Mis-Fortune	September 4, 2002
17	Just for Kicks	Edna the Singing Sensation	September 5, 2002
18	Elizabeth in Charge	Dare to Dream	September 6, 2002
19	The Importance of Being Eddy	Eddy's Sore Throat	September 9, 2002
20	Little Olaf	Jokers Go Wild	September 10, 2002
21	Pop Goes the Weasel	Marvin's Lucky Hat	September 11, 2002
22	To Flea or Not to Flea	Eddy's Sleepover	September 12, 2002
23	Marvin Keeps Track	Diamonds' Dance Party	September 13, 2002
24	Paint Your Wagon	Truth or Bear	September 16, 2002
25	Elizabeth's Big Splash	Stripes' World Tour	September 17, 2002
26	Little Big Man	Fast Talkin' Jack's Real Class Act	September 18, 2002

References

1. "Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse." http://www.qubo.com/shows/marvin. Accessed 3 March 2009.
2. "Television Program Logs". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 2016-03-02. Archived from the original on 2016-05-16.

External reference

• Marvin the Tap Dancing Horse Summary of the Show
• Marvin the Tap Dancing Horse Synopsis
• Nelvana: Marvin the Tap Dancing Horse Episode Guide