Bob the Builder

Premise

In each episode, Bob and his group help with renovations, construction, and repairs and with other projects as needed. They are also joined by work colleague Wendy, alongside their neighbours and friends. The action is set in Bobsville; with Sunflower Valley and Fixham Harbour introduced in later seasons.

The show emphasises conflict resolution, co-operation, socialisation, and various learning skills. Bob's catchphrase is "Can we fix it?", to which the other characters respond with "Yes we can!" This phrase is also the title of the show's theme song, which was a million-selling number one hit in the UK.

Episodes

Main article: List of Bob the Builder episodes{{!}}List of ''Bob the Builder'' episodes

''Project: Build It''

Main article: List of Bob the Builder episodes#Project: Build It (2005–2008){{!

In May 2005, a sort of spin-off series was released titled Bob the Builder: Project: Build It. Bob hears of a contest to build a new community in a remote area called Sunflower Valley, outside of Bobsville. He moves from Bobsville (supposedly temporarily) with Wendy and the machines and builds a new Yard there. Bob convinces his father, Robert, to come out of retirement and take over the Bobsville building business. It is unknown whether Bob returned to Bobsville in the stop-motion series or not after this spin-off series was finished.

For the US version of the Project: Build It series, different actors were found to do the voices for many of the human characters, including casting Greg Proops as the new voice of Bob, and Rob Rackstraw, who played the original voices of Scoop, Muck and Travis, to be the voices of Spud the Scarecrow and Mr. Bentley for both the UK and the US. The show also added recycling and being environmentally friendly to its lessons, emphasising the phrase "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."

This series premiered on 2 May 2005 in the United Kingdom and 3 September of the same year in the United States, and was the first series made in HD 1080p.

''Ready, Steady, Build!''

The third spin-off was titled Bob the Builder: Ready, Steady, Build! It was created by Keith Chapman and Mallory Lewis. The group, now joined by newcomer Scratch are now residing in the town of Fixham Harbour (which is very similar to Bobsville, and is even implied to be Bobsville in several episodes), deal with construction and other building tasks around the area. Unlike the previous series, Ready, Steady, Build! is animated in full CGI animation, which allows for larger and more elaborate construction projects that would be too large or expensive for the model sets of the stop-motion series, though it still retains the theme song.

Characters and voice actors

Main article: List of Bob the Builder characters{{!}}List of ''Bob the Builder'' characters

Voice actors who have contributed to the original British version include Neil Morrissey, Rob Rackstraw, Kate Harbour, Rupert Degas, Colin McFarlane, Maria Darling, Emma Tate, Richard Briers, and June Whitfield.

Celebrities who have provided voices for the series (usually for one-off specials) include John Motson, Sue Barker, Kerry Fox, Ulrika Jonsson, Alison Steadman, Stephen Tompkinson, Elton John, Noddy Holder, and Chris Evans (Bobsville's resident rock star Lennie Lazenby).

International broadcasts

Bob the Builder is shown in more than thirty countries, and versions are available in English, French, Spanish, Serbian, Swedish, Slovenian, German, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi, and Croatian, among other languages. It was shown on CBeebies on BBC television in the UK. It has also aired on Nick Jr. in the UK.

The North American version of the show uses the original British footage and script, but replaces the voices with American accents and verbiage; for example, "wrench" is used instead of "spanner", owing to the former's use in North America. The original North American voice of Bob (and Farmer Pickles/Mr. Beasley/Mr. Sabatini) was William Dufris; he was replaced with comedian Greg Proops. More recently, Bob's US voice has been provided by Marc Silk, an English voice actor from Birmingham. In the United States, the series first aired during the Nick Jr. block (from 2001 to 2004) before moving to PBS Kids for a long run, from January 1, 2005 through November 6, 2015, after which it was replaced with the 2015 reboot. Qubo also started airing the show from 7 October 2020 through 28 February 2021 due to the channel's closure, but with the original British English dub. As of 2026, the first five seasons of the classic series can be streamed for free through Pluto TV.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Impact

Bob the Builder was nominated in the BAFTA "Pre-school animation" category from 1999 to 2009, and won the "Children's Animation" category in 2003 for the special episode "A Christmas to Remember". Of the show's success, Sarah Ball said: |Interview with Sarah Ball, Gurgle.com}}

Bob the Builder has been parodied by Robot Chicken in the episode "More Blood, More Chocolate", and by Comedy Inc. as Bodgy Builder.

Bob has also been parodied on Cartoon Network's MAD on several occasions. In the episode "S'UP / Mouse M.D.", Bob is seen with a smashed thumb and asks "Can we fix it?" In another episode, Bob encounters the title character of Handy Manny, whom he tells to "Stop copying my show!"

A New Yorker cartoon shows a parent in a toy store asking for toys depicting Alex the Architect, supposedly a white-collar equivalent to Bob the Builder.

Some have complained about technical errors and lack of proper safety practices in the programme, especially the absence of protective eyewear. However, in later episodes, Bob is seen using safety glasses.

Video games

Various video game publishers released Bob the Builder video games throughout the 2000s:

• Fix It Fun! (Game Boy Color, NTSC/PAL) - 2000
• Can We Fix It? (PC, PS1, NTSC/PAL) - 2001
• Bob Builds a Park (PC, NTSC/PAL) - 2002
• Bob's Castle Adventure (PC, NTSC/PAL) - 2003
• Project: Build It (PS2, PAL only) - 2005
• Bob the Builder: Festival of Fun (PS2, Wii, Nintendo DS, PAL only) - 2007
• Bob the Builder: Can-Do-Zoo (PC, NTSC/PAL) - 2008

In the United States, *Bob the Builder: Can We Fix It?*s computer version sold 350,000 copies and earned $6.1 million by August 2006, after its release in August 2001. It was the country's 50th best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006. Combined sales of all Bob the Builder computer games released between January 2000 and August 2006 had reached 520,000 units in the United States by the latter date.

References

References

1. (28 November 1998). "Bob the Builder – Cast and Crew". TV.com.
2. BBC Radio Four commentary by [[Gerald Scarfe]] 8 March 2013; [https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b01r12ln]{{dead link. (September 2025)
3. (13 October 2014). "Why some people are very angry about the new Bob the Builder".
4. (14 October 2014). "Bob The Builder's Makeover Angers Fans".
5. (25 January 2024). "'Bob The Builder' Animated Film In Works From Anthony Ramos, Jennifer Lopez, Mattel Films & ShadowMachine; Ramos Voicing Title Character". Deadline.
6. "Bob the Builder: Ready, Steady, Build!". British Broadcasting Corporation.
7. (16 May 2010). "Bob the Builder becomes children's role model in China".
8. "Silk TV".
9. "Marc Silk".
10. (1 November 2004). "PBS, producers, Comcast wed to create digital kids' channel".
11. (4 November 2015). "Watch Bob the Builder KLRU TV Schedule KLRU-TV, Austin PBS".
12. "Watch Bob the Builder Season 1 Free {{!}} Pluto TV".
13. "Chart Log UK: Darren B - David Byrne". [[Official Charts Company]].
14. "australian-charts.com: Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com.
15. "irishcharts - Discography Bob the Builder". Hung Medien.
16. "charts.nz - New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz.
17. "BPI search results". [[British Phonographic Industry]].
18. {{cite certification
19. "australian-charts.com - Australian charts portal". Hung Medien.
20. "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2001 Singles". [[Australian Recording Industry Association]].
21. "Awards Database".
22. "Interview with Sarah Ball, Bob the builder & Chuggington writer and director".
23. "FLUID POWER SAFETY INSTITUTE - Toy Safety - ATTENTION PARENTS! - Bob the Builder Alert!".
24. ''Edge'' Staff. (25 August 2006). "The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century".