Rolie Polie Olie is an animated preschool television series created by William Joyce, and is produced by Nelvana in co-production with French broadcaster La Cinquième/France 5. It was produced in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Disney Channel/Playhouse Disney in the United States. The show focuses on a robot boy and his family who are composed of several spheres and other three-dimensional geometric shapes. The show was one of the earliest series that was fully animated in CGI. The series was broadcast from October 4, 1998, to April 28, 2004, and was followed with two straight-to-video films titled The Great Defender of Fun and The Baby Bot Chase, in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
Rolie Polie Olie won a Gemini Award in Canada for "Best Animated Program" in 1999. The show also won a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Special Class Animated Program" in 2000 and 2005. William Joyce won a 1999 Daytime Emmy for Best Production Design for this series. The show has a vintage atmosphere, with futuristic elements and it is speculated that it may be set in the 1950s, while being influenced by rubber hose animation.
Contents
Synopsis
The show focuses on the Polie family, who live in a teapot-shaped house named Housey in a geometric world (Planet Polie, which in itself is located in a whole galaxy) populated by robot-based characters. The stories revolve around a young robot named Olie learning life lessons and going on wacky adventures (either real or imaginative) while growing up. These often include his younger sister Zowie, his inventor father Percy, his hard-working mother Polina, his fun-loving grandfather Pappy, and his dog Spot. Although most of the main cast consists of circular bots, other characters are featured in other shapes, such as Olie's friend Billy Bevel and his family, who are square-shaped bots from Planet Cubey.
Characters
Olie Polie – A 6-year-old robot boy and the show's main character. He is very friendly, inquisitive, and loves his family and friends.
Zowie Polie (pronounced "Zoey") – Olie's 3-year-old younger sister, Gizmo's niece, Pappy's granddaughter and Percy and Polina's daughter. She is also very inquisitive (The episode But Why?, for example, has her keep on annoying the family by asking "Why?" about everything imaginable) and loud, speaking in Broken English. She loves Olie and enjoys emulating him, sometimes to Olie's annoyance, too.
Spot – Spot is Olie's faithful dog. As revealed in the episode But Why?, as well as Spot's Birthday, he was given his name because he left a "spot" on the carpet as a puppy.
Mr. Percy Polie – Olie and Zowie's father and Pappy's younger son. He is an inventor, whose various inventions frequently get out of hand and get him and the family into trouble. His voice is inspired by Bing Crosby.
Mrs. Polina Polie – Olie and Zowie's mother and Percy's wife. She is a housekeeper. Her voice is inspired by Olive Oyl.
Pappy Polie – Percy and Gizmo's father, Polina's father-in-law and Olie and Zowie's paternal grandfather. He runs a farm by himself and is best known for his unruly dentures. Additionally, he owns a cow named Ol' Precious and a horse named Clippy Clop along with an unnamed chicken family on his farm.
Billy Bevel – Olie's best friend. He lives next door. He is a cube shaped boy who, along with his family, is originally from Planet Cubey.
Gizmo Polie – Olie and Zowie's paternal uncle who is also Percy's older brother, Polina's brother-in-law and Pappy's older son. He rides a motorcycle named Motorboy, and is also inspired by Elvis Presley.
Aunt Polie-Anna – Olie and Zowie's paternal great aunt, Pappy's sister, Percy and Gizmo's aunt and Polina's aunt-in-law who appears in The Baby Bot Chase and Season 6.
Voice cast
Cole Caplan as Olie
Kristen Bone as Zowie
Alexandra Powell as Billy Bevel (seasons 1–5)
Kristopher Clarke as Billy Bevel (season 6)
Robert Norman Smith as Spot, Space Dog, TV Announcer
Adrian Truss as Percy, Uncle Gizmo, TV Announcer, Pappy Star, TV Host
Andrew Craig as Chunk Squarey
Kylie Fairlie as Space Boy, Percy as a child
Neil Crone as Dr. Geary
Catherine Disher as Polina, Hammy Lady, TV Contestant, Tape Voice
Len Carlson as Pappy, TV Announcer, Dr. Callinghouse, Space Boy Announcer, Chef Rotundo, Radio Announcer, Spookie Ookie, TV Announcer 2, TV Detective, TV Host
Tedde Moore as Aunt Polie-Anna
Noah Reid as Screwy
Jake Goldsbie as Junior Littlegreen
Julie Lemieux as Coochie, Coo, Mousey (season 6)
Scott McCord as Kooky
Jennifer Gould as Miss Triangle
Ellen-Ray Hennessy as Bonita
Rebecca Brenner as Pollie Pi
Philip Williams as Baxter, TV Announcer
Broadcast
The series reran in the United States on Disney Junior from March 23, 2012, until September 28, 2014.
In the United Kingdom it aired on the children's block of Channel 5, Milkshake!, from when it first aired all the way up until late 2007.
The first five seasons were made available on Disney+ in the United States on September 29, 2021.