Scott Schultz and Christian Jacobs knew their ideas for a children's television show were kinda far out.A DJ with a magic suitcase filled with some highly unique characters in bright colors who teaches values?So instead of trying to pitch "Yo Gabba Gabba!" to network officials who might have trouble picturing what the show could be, the two Mormon dads pooled their limited resources and produced a pilot episode themselves, which aired in August 2007.They're now launching into a third successful season with a lively show that has preschoolers in several countries rocking out to the music, singing, cleaning up and having parties in their tummies."This is like our dream come true," Jacobs said."At the same time, we're having a blast, so if we can ride this wave for as long as it can take us, we're happy. We hope it has a long run."We just count our blessings at the same time, we remember the lean times because they're not so far back."Said Schultz: "It looks like we will have jobs (this year)."Shultz and Jacobs have been working together and palling around since they met as teenagers in Southern California.They are both artists. They are both musicians. They both served missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they both love children. So when they looked at what they wanted for their own kids in the way of entertainment, they realized they wanted something engaging and different.For a while, they juggled full-time day jobs, family and putting "Yo Gabba Gabba!" together."It was pretty taxing. It still is," Jacobs said. "We had to talk people into listening to our ideas.""We've been working toward this since we came back from our missions. ... ," Schulz said. "I was Primary chorister for the year I was developing the show. The kids were really good for trying out ideas."Jacobs is teaching 14-year-olds in Sunday School, where he's only a minor celebrity. The toys — which feature the one-eyed red cyclops Muno, the yellow robot Plex, the blue cat-dragon Toodee, the green-striped monster Brobee and the flowery pink bubble Foofa — are the actual celebrities, Jacobs said."They need bodyguards when they go out in public," he said.For the first quarter of 2009 (Dec. 31, 2008, through March 31, 2009), "Yo Gabba Gabba!" drew 3.4 million total viewers each week — 1.6 million children (ages 2-5) and 800,000 women (ages 18-45) — according to Nielsen Media Research average weekly cume for persons 2+.The show was named by Time magazine as one of the top 10 new TV series of 2007. It was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy for costume design and received the International Bafta Children's Award in 2008. Muno, Plex, Toodee, Brobee and Foofa are sold in toy stores and decorate T-shirts across the nation."Yo Gabba Gabba!" episodes are currently being dubbed in a half-dozen languages for international markets. Originally, Schultz and Jacobs opted for character costumes that don't have working mouths because of cost concerns. Today, they're happy because the dubbing is much easier than it would have been with moving features.A-list actors are asking to be on a show. Jack Black was featured on a new episode that aired this month. Elijah Wood, Amy Sedaris, Melora Hardin and Tony Hawk have already made guest appearances."Yo Gabba Gabba" are the magic words DJ Lance Rock says to bring the toys to life, words chosen because toddlers can say them more easily than "abracadabra."The toys are composite characters based on the creators' own children and siblings. Muno has a really big heart but he's a little clumsy and has a bit of a problem with biting others. Plex is the older brother character who needs to learn more about having fun. Foofa is kind-hearted, means well but loses her temper with little provocation. Toodee is the go-getter, very competitive character who could work on being kinder. Brobee is the really cute younger brother who tends to mope. He's easily cheered up with music and dance, Schultz said.The songs are simple tunes that not only stick in the brain but teach behaviors like "get the sillies out," "be nice to animals" and "don't bite your friends." "Party in my tummy" encourages a child to eat his vegetables so the carrots don't miss the fun.Next year, Schultz and Jacobs are hoping to release a feature film based on the show, and they still have lots of ideas for new episodes and projects."With kids, there's lots of common issues like eating, having to go to bed, getting along with others, and there's an endless amount of ways to teach those things," Jacobs said. "We could go and go."Wow, this is crazy. We're combining all the things we love and repackaging them for kids!""Life presents you with all kinds of opportunities for learning," Schultz said. "We're artists. We're musicians and we love our kids so we wanted to make a show that would entertain them and us."Yo Gabba Gabba!" — produced by The Magic Store (led by Jacobs, Schultz and Jon Berrett, who is also an executive producer) and W!LDBRAIN — is currently shown at 11:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (Mountain Daylight Time) on NOGGIN.
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