Franklin and Friends is a CGI children's television series geared towards children ages three to eight, produced by Nelvana and Infinite Frameworks. It is the second adaptation and spin-off of the classic characters from the Franklin the Turtle series of children's books written by Paulette Bourgeois and illustrated by Brenda Clark, the first of which was Franklin, which was also produced by Nelvana. The theme song is a revamped version of the original series theme, "Hey It's Franklin". The series was announced by Nelvana on September 28, 2010, and it debuted on Treehouse TV in Canada on March 4, 2011, airing reruns until January 4 2015. It premiered in the United States on Nickelodeon on February 13, 2012, and on Nick Jr. on March 1, 2012.
It returned to Nick Jr. on Pluto TV from May 1, 2019 to 2021. Reruns of the series aired from March 30, 2015 to March 29, 2019 on Qubo before getting taken off the line-up, though it came back again from April 29, 2019 to March 27, 2020, and then from July 27, 2020 to December 25, 2020, and finally, February 23, 2021, where it remains on the air with the original series, which didn't air on Qubo until May 4, 2019.
Plot[]
Aside from Franklin (voiced by Graeme Jokic), other characters from the original series return, including Bear, Fox, Rabbit, Beaver, Goose and Snail, as well as his baby sister, Harriet. Raccoon and Badger appear to be gone until 2013. Aunt T, a new character, is introduced in this series; she has a youthful personality. Another new character is Officer Rabbit; a grey female rabbit police officer. The series features special themes which include mysteries, Woodland events, and outdoor activities.
Characters[]
- Franklin (Graeme Jokic) - A green turtle who served as the lead character of the series. He is also a big brother, a desire he had expressed multiple times in the past. He takes good care of his pet goldfish, Goldie, who isn't seen in the reboot series, and also has his stuffed dog Sam, who, despite getting older, hangs onto and communicates with. He enjoys baseball, swimming and hockey, just like in the original series. Like in the original series, he and Bear are best friends, and he is capable of rully removing his shell, a combination of clothing and a backpack. Like the original series, he had brown eyes and wore a red baseball cap and neckerchief, and he is one of the people in Woodland to never have married twin-sibling relatives, unlike some others, such as Fox and Goose.
- Bear (Mark Ramsay) - Franklin's best friend and a brown bear. Like his original counterpart, he is considered to be gifted, gentle, loyal and sensitive. He is one of the more mature characters, like in the original series, such as times where he tries to resolve problems with the truth while Franklin hides problems. He has a large appetite, which earns him the derisive nickname "Snacks". He can be described as very loyal to those few he considers his friends. Honesty and trust are also paramount with him, and he is the strongest of Franklin's friends and enjoys sports. Just like in season three, he wears a blue vest; the only difference is it now has yellow buttons.
- Beaver (Emily Nighman) - One of Franklin's friends, just like in the original series. Usually overly sure of herself like in the original series, Beaver showed hints of bossiness, boisterousness and narcissism, though she is certainly one of the more intelligent ones. She isn't overly sarcastic, though, and being with her generally more kind-tempered friends tends to help her keep her abrasiveness in check. She usually says things and then ends them with the line: "Everybody knows that!". Beaver is a know-it-all, like in the original series, and when referencing to teenagers, she would be considered a Queen bee. She loves sports. Because of her personality, she can sometimes become self-conscious. She has buckteeth and can't help it if she is chewing on her pencils. Beaver is actually the first character in the series to have spoken, she said the first line in "Franklin and the Gecko Games".
- Goose (Mackenzie Fahle) -
- Snail (Liam Tully) -
- Rabbit (Christian Martyn) -
- Fox (Jake Roseman) -
- Several episodes in the series featured recurring characters voiced by Camden Angelis, Heather Bambrick, George Buza, Bill Colgate, Deann Degruiter, Arlene Duncan, Don Francks, Patrick Garrow, Nissae Isen (season two), Mary Ellen Mahoney, Scott McCord, Sunday Muse, Richard Newman, Elizabeth Saunders, Naomi Snieckus, John Stocker, and Wendy Thatcher.
Episodes[]
Season 1 (2011-2012)[]
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Franklin and the Gecko Games / Franklin's All Ears" | March 4, 2011 |
| 2 | "Franklin and the Snow Princess / Franklin and the Firefly Festival" | March 5, 2011 |
| 3 | "Franklin's Special Job / Franklin Needs a Reminder" | March 11, 2011 |
| 4 | "Franklin Helps Out / Franklin's Partner" | March 18, 2011 |
| 5 | "Franklin and the Pinecone Pass / Franklin and the Creepy Clock" | March 25, 2011 |
| 6 | "Franklin and the Mystery of the Berry Bogie / Franklin Sees a Storm" | April 1, 2011 |
| 7 | "Franklin and the Mystery of the Blue Begonia / Franklin, the Planner" | April 8, 2011 |
| 8 | "Franklin's Ups and Downs / Franklin's New Teacher" | April 15, 2011 |
| 9 | "Franklin and Snail Mail / Franklin the Mooseratops" | April 22, 2011 |
| 10 | "Franklin Finds the Treasure / Franklin and the Tunnel Team-Ups" | April 29, 2011 |
| 11 | "Franklin and the Snow Dragon / Franklin Gets Bugged" | May 6, 2011 |
| 12 | "Franklin In the Stars / Franklin and Sam" | May 13, 2011 |
| 13 | "Bumpy Buggy / Father's Day" | June 17, 2011 |
| 14 | "Franklin and the Wonder / Franklin the Little Bubble" | September 16, 2011 |
| 15 | "Take Harriet with You / Franklin's New Hat" | September 23, 2011 |
| 16 | "Franklin and the Shadow Show / Franklin's Fishing Trip" | September 30, 2011 |
| 17 | "Franklin Flies His Kite / Franklin's Flying Lesson" | October 7, 2011 |
| 18 | "Franklin Changes the Rules / Franklin and Harriet's Buggy" | October 14, 2011 |
| 19 | "The Super Cluepers Big Small Case / Franklin and the Mystery Muddle" | October 21, 2011 |
| 20 | "It's Halloween Franklin! / Franklin the Adventurer" | October 28, 2011 |
| 21 | "Franklin and the Super Sleepover / Franklin and the Snoring Situation" | November 4, 2011 |
| 22 | "Franklin the Engineer / Franklin Needs to Notice" | November 11, 2011 |
| 23 | "Franklin's Spaceship / Franklin and the Missing Monarch Mystery" | November 18, 2011 |
| 24 | "Franklin the Dinosaur Hunter / Franklin Paints a Picture" | November 25, 2011 |
| 25 | "Franklin's Christmas Spirit / Franklin's Campout" | December 20, 2011 |
| 26 | "Franklin and the Amazing Stupendous Circus Trick / Franklin's Earth Day" | January 13, 2012 |
Season 2 (2013)[]
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | "Franklin and the First Snowfall Festival / Franklin and the Bumpy Fire Buggy" | September 28, 2013 |
| 28 | "Franklin and the Adventure on Planet Zorb / Franklin and the Two Unicycles" | September 29, 2013 |
| 29 | "Franklin's Firefighter Flapjacks / Franklin and the Missing Mega Machine" | October 5, 2013 |
| 30 | "Franklin's School / Franklin Plays Hoppity Bop" | October 6, 2013 |
| 31 | "Franklin and the Lost Lost Tooth / Franklin and the Karate Klub" | October 12, 2013 |
| 32 | "Franklin and the Woodland Fuzzies / Franklin and Beaver's Show and Sing" | October 13, 2013 |
| 33 | "Franklin and the Nature Nuts Hike / Franklin and the Terrible, Terrible Dragon" | October 19, 2013 |
| 34 | "Franklin and the Drum Circle / Franklin Takes Flight" | October 20, 2013 |
| 35 | "Franklin Gets a Hole-in-One / Franklin and the Radio" | October 26, 2013 |
| 36 | "Franklin's Big Breakfast / Franklin Switches It Up" | October 27, 2013 |
| 37 | "Franklin and the Sculpture Garden / Franklin and the Silly Stakes" | November 2, 2013 |
| 38 | "Franklin the Post Turtle / Franklin's Wild Paper Chase" | November 3, 2013 |
| 39 | "Super Clueper's Case of the Missing Carrots / Franklin and the Pickle Problem" | November 9, 2013 |
| 40 | "Who's Who in Woodland, Franklin? / Franklin the Inventor" | November 10, 2013 |
| 41 | "Franklin and the Acorn Alley Picnic / The Super Clueper's Case of the Missing Hat" | November 13, 2013 |
| 42 | "Franklin and the No-Sleep Sleepover / Franklin the Farmer" | November 17, 2013 |
| 43 | "Coach Franklin / Franklin's Day With Dad" | November 23, 2013 |
| 44 | "Franklin and the Heat Wave / Franklin's Rocket Team" | November 24, 2013 |
| 45 | "Franklin's Dynaroo Day / Franklin and Harriet In Space" | November 30, 2013 |
| 46 | "Franklin's Big Box / Franklin Lends a Hand" | December 1, 2013 |
| 47 | "Franklin Follows the Leader / Franklin's Wilderness Trip" | December 7, 2013 |
| 48 | "Franklin, Back in the Saddle / Franklin's Backwards Day" | December 8, 2013 |
| 49 | "Franklin Makes Some Noise / Super Cluepers' Case of the Missing School Bell" | December 14, 2013 |
| 50 | "Super Clueper's Case of the New Friend / Franklin's Woodland Night" | December 15, 2013 |
| 51 | "The Super Cluepers and the Mysterious Mark / Franklin vs The Ninjaroos" | December 21, 2013 |
| 52 | "Franklin and the Four Seasons" | December 22, 2013 |
Specials (June 2014)[]
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Franklin and Friends Adventure: Polar Explorer" | June 14, 2014 |
| 2 | "A Franklin and Friends Adventure: Deep Sea Voyage" | June 14, 2014 |
Broadcast[]
As mentioned, Franklin and Friends it debuted on Treehouse TV in Canada on March 4, 2011, airing reruns until 2015 before coming back to the schedule on March 14, 2022. It premiered in the United States on Nickelodeon on February 13, 2012, and on Nick Jr. on March 1, 2012. It returned to Nick Jr. on Pluto TV from May 1, 2019 to 2021.
Reruns of the series aired from March 30, 2015 to March 29, 2019 on Qubo before getting taken off the line-up, though it came back again from April 29, 2019 to March 27, 2020, and then from July 27, 2020 to December 25, 2020, and finally, February 23, 2021, where it currently remains on the air with the original series, which didn't air on Qubo until May 4, 2019. The show aired for the same times as Fishtronaut.