Yam Roll
Yam Roll (or the long title, The Very Good Adventures of Yam Roll in Happy Kingdom) is a Canadian animated television series created by Jono Howard and Jon Izen airing on CBC Television in Canada, produced by March Entertainment. The series was first broadcast on February 6, 2006. It can be viewed on Saturday at 10:00am and 10:17am on local CBC channels as well as ABC2 (Australia) and HBO Asia.
| Yam Roll | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Very Good Adventures of Yam Roll in Happy Kingdom |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Jono Howard Jon Izen |
| Directed by | Jon Izen |
| Starring | Lee Tockar Joe Pingue Sunday Muse Dwayne Hill Robert Smith Gary Crawford |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 39 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Daniel Hawes, Catherine Tait, Liliana Vogt |
| Producer | Daniel Hawes |
| Editor | Jono Howard |
| Running time | 11 minutes |
| Production company | March Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBC Television Toon-A-Vision (Canada) Super RTL (Europe) Gloob (Brazil) |
| Original release | February 6 – December 23, 2006 |
Premise
Yam Roll features a cast of animated sushi characters, and other anthropomorphic instances of Japanese cuisine, all living in Happy Kingdom, a prosperous city which is upset quite often by monsters.
Quoting from March Entertainment's site:
Yam Roll tells the story of an exotic land of sushi and how one of its inhabitants, a super-powered cab driver named Yam Roll, braves monsters and bad guys all in the name of unrequited love. Despite being well liked in Happy Kingdom due to his good nature and sweet, root-vegetable flavouring, Yam Roll is still a frustrated guy. Why? Because he is hopelessly in love with the town sweetheart, a spicy tuna roll named Minamiko.[1]
With the help of his wise Zen master, Katcho Miso (an old lump of salty bean paste), his sidekick and best friend Ebi-san (a severely hyperactive shrimp), and the rest of his motley maritime crew, Yam Roll's life is always an exciting ride.
Characters
- Yam Roll: A taxicab driver by profession who wears a cowboy hat and boots. He is portrayed as an orange yam wrapped in rice, his body being circular in appearance, with stick-like arms and legs. Yam Roll is bestowed with a certain degree of super powers thanks to his instructor Katcho and the powers of Mount Foopi. These powers allow him to fly, lift incredibly heavy objects, and change form (into a door, a table, a potato masher, etc.). But despite his powers, Yam Roll leads a mostly normal life. Well, as normal as life gets in Happy Kingdom. Voiced by Lee Tockar.
- Ebi: Ebi-San is Yam Roll's best friend and confidant. He is a boiled shrimp, who wears a band around his "head" and sandals. Ebi is extremely enthusiastic and excitable, and always tries to force Yam Roll into some escapade or other, often with dangerous and embarrassing results. Ebi is never happy to sit still and is constantly bouncing off the walls with energy.
- Edamame: Edamame Legume is another one of Yam Roll's best friends, a soybean lightly dusted with sea salt. Unlike most of the characters in Yam Roll, Edamame has no arms. Instead, he uses his two legs as arms instead.
- Tamago: Poor Tamago is forced to wear a very heavy and rare omelette on his back all the time. This unfortunate impediment leaves him bitter and emotional, and he constantly complains about the strain on his back (and any other issues that happen to be plaguing him). He tags along with Yam Roll, Ebi and Edamame on their adventures, but never without his fair share of complaints. Voiced by Joe Pingue.
- Minamiko: Minamiko is Yam Roll's main love interest, a spicy tuna roll who draws the eye of almost every man in Happy Kingdom. Unfortunately for Yam Roll, Minamiko is practically unaware he exists, even though he consistently saves her from the clutches of evil monsters. Her popularity nets her many dates around the city, and Yam Roll is often low on her list. Yam Roll's rival, Milk Man — a carton of milk — is usually Minamiko's main boyfriend. Voiced by Sunday Muse.
- Katcho: Katcho Miso is "an old lump of salty miso bean paste" and Yam Roll's Zen master, who lives atop Mount Foopi. He often has wise teachings for his only pupil, and occasionally a good whack or two from his magic staff. But most of the time Katcho watches from a distance as Yam Roll faces his daily tribulations, preferring to observe instead of interfering.
- Spicy Tuna Cone: Another boyfriend of Minamiko, Spicy Tuna Cone appears to be mayor of the Happy Kingdom, and sometimes EmCees at Hakamaryoke's Karaoke's bar. He also seems to be a minor friend of Yam Roll.
- Genki: A girl who would be happy to date Yam Roll. She is kindhearted and loves stuffed animals.
Yam Roll also hosts a large variety of other sushi characters, including Yam Roll's friends, enemies, and random passers-by. Each character is wittingly named after their sushi names (e.g., Ebi, which means "shrimp" in Japanese).
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Ding Dong Danger" | Jon Izen | Doug Sinclair | February 7, 2006 | TBA |
| 2 | "High-Heeled Heel" | Jon Izen | Jono Howard | February 28, 2006 | TBA |
| 3 | "Sand In Bikini Problem" | Jon Izen | Doug Sinclair | February 8, 2006 | TBA |
| 4 | "A Doozy Of a Doze" | Jon Izen | Doug Sinclair | February 27, 2006 | TBA |
| 5 | "Who Cut The Chi?" | Jon Izen | Mike Drach | February 6, 2006 | TBA |
| 6 | "T-Shirt Swapper Go Home" | Jon Izen | Doug Sinclair | February 9, 2006 | TBA |
| 7 | "Whoop There It Isn't" | Jon Izen | Tony Elliot | March 1, 2006 | TBA |
| 8 | "Kissy Kissy Kiss" | Jon Izen | Christine Alexiou | March 2, 2006 | TBA |
| 9 | "Miso In Love" | Jon Izen | Robin Stein | March 9, 2006 | TBA |
| 10 | "Secret Roommate Man" | Jon Izen | Shane Simmons | March 16, 2006 | TBA |
| 11 | "Forty Winks Of Fury" | Jon Izen | Jeremy Winkels | March 23, 2006 | TBA |
| 12 | "The Yolk's On You" | Jon Izen | Jono Howard | March 30, 2006 | TBA |
| 13 | "Egg In Your Face" | Jon Izen | Mike Drach | April 8, 2006 | TBA |
| 14 | "Place Your Order" | Jon Izen | Brian Hartigan | April 13, 2006 | TBA |
| 15 | "Hairy Carry" | Jon Izen | Adam Halpern | April 20, 2006 | TBA |
| 16 | "Karaoke Okey-Dokey" | Jon Izen | Christine Alexiou | April 27, 2006 | TBA |
| 17 | "Maybe Next Tuesday" | Jon Izen | Jeremy Winkels | May 1, 2006 | TBA |
| 18 | "Hot Potato Jam" | Jon Izen | Robin Stein | May 2, 2006 | TBA |
| 19 | "A Look Ma, No Powers" | Jon Izen | Mike Kubat | May 3, 2006 | TBA |
| 20 | "Happy Birth-Daze" | Jon Izen | Michael Izen and Gina Woolsey | May 4, 2006 | TBA |
| 21 | "Big Bubbles, No Troubles" | Jon Izen | Tony Elliot | June 1, 2006 | TBA |
| 22 | "The Way Of Woo" | Jon Izen | Martin Markle | June 6, 2006 | TBA |
| 23 | "Two Tons Of Love" | Jon Izen | Alex Levine | June 5, 2006 | TBA |
| 24 | "Krappy Kingdom" | Jon Izen | Mike Drach | June 8, 2006 | TBA |
| 25 | "Holy Teriyaki!" | Jon Izen | Robin J. Stein | June 15, 2006 | TBA |
| 26 | "A Pasta Of Evil" | Jon Izen | Brian Hartigan | June 14, 2006 | TBA |
| 27 | "Meatloaf In The Middle" | Jon Izen | Jeremy Winkels | September 9, 2006 | TBA |
| 28 | "Honey I Shrunk The Tamago" | Jon Izen | Jono Howard | September 16, 2006 | TBA |
| 29 | "Monkey See, Money Scratch" | Jon Izen | Mike Drach | September 23, 2006 | TBA |
| 30 | "Give Peas a Chance" | Jon Izen | Jono Howard and Christine Alexiou | September 30, 2006 | TBA |
| 31 | "Raging Bullpen" | Jon Izen | Mike Frolick | September 30, 2006 | TBA |
| 32 | "Don't Fear The Curdler" | Jon Izen | Danny Ditata & Jeremy Winkles | October 28, 2006 | TBA |
| 33 | "The Katcho Hat Show" | Jon Izen | Alex Levine | November 4, 2006 | TBA |
| 34 | "Dial E for Edamame" | Jon Izen | Mike Kubat | November 11, 2006 | TBA |
| 35 | "Doody Calls" | Jon Izen | Christine Alexiou | November 18, 2006 | TBA |
| 36 | "Happy Friend Time" | Jon Izen | Robin Stein | November 25, 2006 | TBA |
| 37 | "The Yam and I" | Jon Izen | Panny Pitata and Jeremy Winkles | December 9, 2006 | TBA |
| 38 | "Rock On" | Jon Izen | Mike Frolick | December 16, 2006 | TBA |
| 39 | "Par For The Course" | Jon Izen | Jono Howard & Jon Izen | December 23, 2006 | TBA |