The Underrated Gems of Treehouse
How a tiny program became the first ever full-day children channel in Canada
As a kid, I rarely had the chance to control what I got to watch on television. With one or two TV’s in the house for the majority of my childhood and a family competing amongst each other to watch what they want, my time for cartoons was often cut quite short. The golden hour for me throughout most of my adolescence was the sweet spot of right before and after school. Limited to local programming in Canada, there were only a handful of channels I could’ve watched at the time to get my cartoon fix. Treehouse TV for a good portion of my childhood was my favourite and revisiting their list of programs today, I can see why.
Origins
Treehouse TV, more commonly known as Treehouse, was a Canadian speciality channel launched in 1997 by its sister company, YTV. Beginning in 1994, YTV would develop a daily programming block for pre-school children called “The Treehouse”. Early on in its conception, the block featured a limited cast of entertainers, with three “program jockeys” hosting puppet shows, games and contests. In November of 1997, Treehouse would make its debut as its own channel, growing rapidly alongside YTV. Airing from 6 AM to 3 AM daily, Treehouse became the first ever full-day children channel in Canada. Expanding on its long air times, Treehouse is now recognized as a 24-hour broadcast.
My appreciation for The Treehouse may largely be due to the fact that it made its debut the same year that I was born. The shows that I grew up loving as a child, in a way, grew up with me as well. Revisiting the long list of their programs, I want to highlight 10 of them that I feel left a considerable mark on me and perhaps on you as well. This list won’t feature some of the popular classics such as the Teletubbies, Care Bears, Blue’s Clues and Barney & Friends as I feel those are widely known and adored already. Instead, i’d like to focus on the shows that you may have forgotten about in an effort to rekindle the nostalgia of your past.
Disclaimer: this list is in no particular order and is not a ranking.
The Big Comfy Couch
A prop comedy around a seemingly boundless couch. The main character Loonette and her doll, Molly, would tackle daily tasks with the help of the couch and the supporting characters of Clowntown. One of my favourite recurrences of this show was the Clock Rug Stretch, a routine Loonette would perform once per episode. Contorting her body on a clock-like rug, she would point to the different hours with her hands and legs, always ending by waving directly into the above camera. Looking back now, it does feel a little unsettling to watch however as a child I would watch this as if it were the highest echelon of performance art. The spontaneity of the couch, the puppet cast members and the choreography of the shows facets made this series a true staple of my childhood.
Rolie Polie Olie
If the Costco Creuset collection was a living family, it would be this show. Focused on the Polie family, this surreal-futuristic show welcomes us into the daily life of a robot family. The series follows Ollie, a young robot learning life through adventure with his friends and siblings. As an artist, I always adored the distinct geometric design of this show. The teapot shaped house named Housey, the unique crown antennas of each character, Pappy’s outrageous overbite, it all just hit so hard as a child. Rolie Polie Olie would go on to win a Gemini Award in 1999 for “Best Animated Program”.
The Toy Castle
This show is truly a hit or miss for people who remember watching it. With very limited plot lines and a large emphasis on ballet, I could see why this show is often overlooked. The one redeeming quality of this show for me, is the set design. As a fan of cubism and geometric artwork, The Toy Castle absolutely delivers for me, visually. From the shapes and colours of the set, to the detail and patterns of the costumes, my eyes as a child watching this were always entertained. With a similar story line as the Toy Story movies, the “toys” would come to life once the children went to sleep. During it last year of production, The Toy Castle would win a Gemini Award for “Best Preschool Series”.
Zoboomafoo
I’d like to believe that I was a pretty confident child growing up. Very few people at that age made me jealous, however, Pokemon’s Ash Ketchum and the Kratt Brothers were definitely high on that list. At the Animal Junction, the Kratt brothers would educate on animal life through song and dance, accompanied by their Sifaka lemur nicknamed Zoboomafoo. This show would feature a real four-year-old lemur for certain segments of the show, with b-roll shots of it eating fruits and navigating around the jungle-like set. There was also a puppet version of the lemur that was masterfully voiced and performed by Gordon Robertson (a former colleague of the legendary puppeteer, Jim Henson).
Max and Ruby
Now this show was a guilty pleasure of mine for the majority of my childhood. Desperately wanting to seem cool and edgy at a young age, I would boast and pretend that shows like Max and Ruby were not interesting. The truth is I couldn’t not watch it. The patterned backgrounds and the catchy jazz sound design would have me in a trance. Largely based on the simple lives of two siblings, Max and Ruby, each episode would cover the problem solving of one or more daily task. Seven seasons of this show would be made before its finale in 2020, an impressive feat for the town of Eastbunny Hop and its rabbit residents.
George Shrinks
For a lot of children born in the 80’s, the DeLorean from Back to the Future is what they revelled at as the pinnacle of technological advancement. For me, George Shrinks’ Zoopercar was everything I wanted and more. Based on the children books from William Joyce, the series follows the adventures of a three-inch tall boy genius and his family. At a considerable size disadvantage, George would often rely on animal and insect companions for assistance or in his trusty and transformative, Zoopercar. With the ability to morph into a helicopter, submarine and airplane, this gadget would regularly blow my eight-year-old mind.
Seven Little Monsters
Based on the largely successful book series, Maurice Sendak’s monster filled world was one of my favourites to explore as a child. Focused on seven unique monsters (brothers Two, Three, Four, Five, and Seven and sisters One and Six), each episode was a hilarious and hectic fiasco. I distinctively remember hating Seven as he would often spin or fully remove his head, for often, no reason at all. This show truly had a ton to offer, its theme song also being notoriously recorded by Canadian rockband, the Barenaked Ladies (they also made the theme for the The Big Bang Theory).
Caillou
For French-Canadian households with young children, Caillou was in large part a go-to when it came to cartoons. Based on the children books by Hélène Desputeaux, episodes of the five year series were readily available in both English and French. Fascinated by the world around him, Caillou, his sister Rosie and cat Gilbert would seek out the experiences of their dreams and imagination. One of my favourite things about this show that I still revisit from time to time is the theme song. In a category of cartoons that often featured soft ballads, Caillou comes out blazing with rap-like lyrics and a hip-hop cadence. Caillou most recently got a reboot under the streaming platform, Peacock, beginning in February of 2024.
Franklin
If I had to categorize another show with Caillou in terms of the popularity I remember a series having during my childhood, Franklin would definitely be in the conversation. With the books by Brenda Clark and Paulette Bourgeois being insanely popular at Scholastic fairs and school libraries, the animated preschool series tied in perfectly. For a good portion of my childhood, I was hellbent on getting my own copy of Franklin’s blue dog plushie, Sam. The plaid material, the hand-stitched patch on its back, the long hanging purple ears, it was perfect. Although I never got to have my own stuffed animal, Franklin does still have a very special place in my heart.
Bear in the Big Blue House
For many generations, Jim Henson had a hand, sometimes literally, in the characters and animations many of us grew up watching. Under the production of his company, Jim Henson Television, Bear in the Big Blue House was created. What made this show unique for me was the quality of the songs that were written and performed on the show. Every episode would begin with the “welcome song”, a catchy jingle that would include the cast of supporting characters. One distinct thing I remember from this show would be how Bear would “sniff” the camera. This portion of the show was many kids favourite part, for me, it was terrifying. Something about a big orange bear filling the TV screen at my house made me very uneasy. The same way every episode would begin, each episode would suitably end with a “goodbye song”, often accompanied by Luna, a moon puppet.
Upon completing the list, I did happen to notice a few other shows that Treehouse offered that I feel deserve recognition in this post. The honourable mentions include: Bob the Builder, Babar, Toopy and Binoo and Maggie and the Ferocious Beast.
