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Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

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Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
File:FostersLogo2.PNG
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends logo
Created byCraig McCracken
StarringKeith Ferguson
Sean Marquette
Candi Milo
Tom Kenny
Phil LaMarr
Grey DeLisle
Tom Kane
Country of originUSA
No. of episodes40 (includes three-episode pilot)
Production
Running time22 minutes approx.
Original release
NetworkCartoon Network
ReleaseAugust 13, 2004 –
Present

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is an American animated television series created and produced by animator Craig McCracken, who also created The Powerpuff Girls. It premiered on Cartoon Network on August 13, 2004 as a 90-minute TV movie. Half-hour episodes (including commercials) began airing the following Friday and continue to do so. It has also appeared as two eleven-minute episodes three times. (Seeing Red was paired with Phone Home, When There's A Wilt, There's A Way was paired with Everyone Knows It's Bendy, and Sight for Sore Eyes was paired with Bloo's Brothers.)

Overview

File:Fostershomeoutside.jpg
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

The world of Foster's

In the world of Foster's, imaginary friends become real the instant a child imagines them. Eventually, however, the children outgrow their imaginary friends. When that happens, the friends are left to fend for themselves. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends was founded by the elderly Madame Foster to provide a foster home (hence the title) for abandoned imaginary friends; their motto is "Where good ideas are not forgotten." Imaginary friends may be adopted from Foster's Home.

Animation technique

The show is produced in-house and overseas using computer vector graphics programs, including Macromedia Flash, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe After Effects. This all-digital animation method is relatively inexpensive.

Cultural references

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is known to attract older viewers with its quirky humor and odd plots. Hidden throughout the show are jokes, puns and references aimed at older children and young adults, while the sarcastic, wise-cracking Bloo is an atypical character among standard children's fare. In addition, pop culture is also referenced with episode titles, parts of plots, and in-jokes.

Main characters

File:FostersFamilyPicture.jpg
The cast (and some guests) of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, from left to right: Wilt, Cheese, Coco, Frankie, Eduardo, Berry, Mac, Bloo, Madame Foster, Ivan, Mr. Herriman, and Uncle Pockets.
Main article: List of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends characters

Humans

  • Mac — A bright eight-year-old boy who lives with his mom and older brother Terrence. Mac knows what to do when there is a problem and how to punish a person when they are bad.
  • Madame Foster — The house's founder, an old lady who imagined Mr. Herriman and is the grandmother of Frankie. She is elderly, but she has a lot of spunk and loves to have naughty fun using trickery.
  • Frances "Frankie" Foster — Mme. Foster's 22-year-old granddaughter. She is pressured by Mr. Herriman into doing chores around the house, but doesn't enjoy it, and thinks of herself as "punk rock."
  • Terrence — A exceptionally dense teenager who bullies both his brother Mac and Bloo. He also imagined Red, who appeared in one episode, and a piece of pizza.

Imaginary Friends

  • Blooregard Q. Kazoo — Called Bloo for short, he is Mac's imaginary friend, a small wise-cracking blue blob shaped like a door who gets into trouble because of his mischevious mind and attention-craving ego.
  • Eduardo — An imaginary protector friend who alternates between English and Spanish. With his huge horns, purple hair, a skull buckle, and pants, he resembles a Wild Thing from Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. Unfortunately, Edwardo harbors a cowardly streak a mile long. But in spite of his almost constant state of terror, he is incredibly strong and can be trusted to come to his friends' rescue.
  • Wilt — A tall, orange imaginary friend with a stubby left arm and a crooked eyestalk, Wilt enjoys basketball and is generally very easy-going. Wilt will always aids a friend in small tasks, prides himself on rescuing abandoned friends, and sometimes helps Frankie around the house. His defining aspect is his sense of fair play and good sportsmanship, which he applies to every part of life he can.
  • Coco — A bird-plant-airplane imaginary friend who can only speak or write the word "coco" at various speeds and with different emphasis. The other characters understand her without any apparent difficulty. The characters often repeat what she says, or close to it, so the conversation is understood. Coco also loves to drink cocoa, which does sometimes create confusion. She can also lay plastic eggs that have various items inside them; however, she can't always lay an egg carrying something that the others need.
  • Mr. Herriman — A rabbit imaginary friend created by Mme. Foster herself, when she was a child. He manages the Home and expects the inhabitants to follow his rules. He is very formal, well-mannered, and frequently just barely tolerates Bloo. Sometimes, Mr. H (as he is also called) does a little dance in front of his creator, which the other friends find very comical and amusing, hence his pet name from Mme. Foster of "Funny Bunny."
  • Her Royal Duchess Diamond Persnickity, The First, Last and Only — Called Duchess for short, she is a cross, selfish, ungrateful imaginary friend, resembling a figure from a Cubist painting (Duchess is, in fact, two-dimensional.) Due to an oath, everyone must cater and care to her every need, although she complains repeatedly, and wishes to leave the foster home. She did leave once, but was returned from her adoptive family quickly.

Episode list

Main article: List of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends episodes

First season

The first season is comprised of the three-episode pilot (House of Bloos) and ten single episodes.

Episode Number Episode Title Original Airdate
01 - 101 to 03 - 103 House of Bloos August 13, 2004
04 - 104 Store Wars August 20, 2004
05 - 105 The Trouble With Scribbles August 27, 2004
06 - 106 Busted September 3, 2004
07 - 107 Dinner is Swerved September 10, 2004
08 - 108 World Wide Wabbit September 17, 2004
09 - 109 Berry Scary September 24, 2004
10 - 110 Seeing Red / Phone Home October 1, 2004
11 - 111 Who Let The Dogs In? October 8, 2004
12 - 112 Adoptcalypse Now October 15, 2004
13 - 113 Bloooooo! October 22, 2004

Second season

Episode Number Episode Title Original Airdate
14 - 201 Partying Is Such Sweet Soireé January 21, 2005
15 - 202 The Big Lablooski January 28, 2005
16 - 203 When There's a Wilt, There's a Way / Everyone Knows It's Bendy February 4, 2005
17 - 204 Sight for Sore Eyes / Bloo's Brothers March 4, 2005
18 - 205 Cookie Dough March 11, 2005
19 - 206 Frankie My Dear March 18, 2005
20 - 207 Mac Daddy May 6, 2005
21 - 208 Squeakerboxxx May 13, 2005
22 - 209 Beat With A Schtick May 20, 2005
23 - 210 Sweet Stench of Success May 27, 2005
24 - 211 Bye Bye Nerdy July 1, 2005
25 - 212 Bloo Done It July 8, 2005
26 - 213 My So-Called Wife July 15, 2005

Third season

Episode Number Episode Title Original Airdate
27 - 301 Eddie Monster July 22, 2005
28 - 302 Hiccy Burp September 5, 2005
29 - 303 Camp Keep a Good Mac Down September 9, 2005
30 - 304 Imposter's Home For Um…Make 'Em Up Pals September 16, 2005
31 - 305 Duchess of Wails September 23, 2005
32 - 306 Fosters Goes To Europe November 4, 2005
33 - 307 Go Goo Go November 11, 2005
34 - 308 Crime After Crime November 18, 2005
35 - 309 Land of the Flea November 25, 2005
36 - 310 A Lost Claus December 1, 2005
37 - 311 One False Movie February 10, 2006
38 - 312 Setting A President February 17, 2006

Trivia

Characters

  • Frankie
    • Frankie is loosely based on series supervising producer (and real-life fiancée of series creator Craig McCracken) Lauren Faust.
    • Frankie also bears a striking resemblence to Vicky from The Fairly Odd Parents and Misty of Pokémon.
    • Frankie always wears a stylized Powerpuff Girls t-shirt, complete with stylized versions of Buttercup (in green), Blossom (in pink) and Bubbles (in blue) from left to right on the shirt.
  • Wilt
    • The name of Wilt is obviously a reference to Wilt Chamberlain, the legendary basketball player.
    • When he walks, Wilt's footsteps sound distinctly like the squeaking of basketball shoes on a basketball court.
  • Coco
    • The name of Coco is probably a reference to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands or Cocos Island, which is thought to be the island that Robinson Crusoe became shipwrecked on.
    • Coco can occasionally be seen working to earn money for various things, including a massage chair or a vacation home.
  • Mr. Herriman
    • Mr. Herriman and the Mayor of Townsville in The Powerpuff Girls have these similarities:
      • They both wear black top hats and waistcoats.
      • They both have a monocles over their left eye, although it has become a running joke in Foster's that Mr. H.'s monocle has been switched between his left and right eye often many times, such as in Hiccy Burp, where in one scene, it changes three times in one scene alone. He does, however, seem not to be able to see very well without it.
      • They have thinning white hair just above their temples.

Episodes

  • Adoptcalypse Now
    • When the children are chasing Bloo through the yard of Foster's in Adoptcaylpse Now, the music (along with the camera angles and their movements) is a takeoff on The Benny Hill Show in which, at the end of almost every episode, an exaggerated chase scene would occur with the same wacky music each time. As the chase would continue, more and more people would become involved with it until it would become one long line of people chasing after each other (in this case, Bloo-the kids-Mr. Herriman-Frankie-Eduardo).
  • House of Bloo's
    • Mojo Jojo (One of the Powerpuff Girls' arch-nemeses) is seen in House of Bloo's during the part when Wilt is showing all the friends in Foster's. Mojo is considered an unimaginary friend, meaning a friend that was "copied" from television and not created originally from a child's imagination.
    • The bratty little girl is likely a spoof of Princess Morbucks from Powerpuff Girls. Her snooty dad was likely a spoof of Dexter's Dad from Dexter's Laboratory, while her mom was likely a spoof of another Powerpuff Girls character, the pre-school teacher Ms. Keane. Series creator Craig McCracken had a hand in those series.
    • An Eduardo doll can be spotted in the closet that Mac is locked into.
  • Bye Bye Nerdy
    • In Bye Bye Nerdy after Bloo puts on his sunglasses, he and Frankie perform a scene that is an homage to a scene in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. Bloo says "It's a hundred and six blocks to Mac, I've got a full bladder, half an idea where I'm going, it's Tuesday and I'm wearing sunglasses", and Frankie opens the window and says "Hit it!"
  • Imposter's Home For Um…Make 'Em Up Pals
    • In Imposter's Home For Um…Make 'Em Up Pals, look for another reference to Walt Disney's "Cinderella" as mice surround Frankie while scrubbing the floors while being forced to miss a rock concert.
  • Duchess of Wails
    • In that penultimate scene, when everybody at Foster's starts to throw tomatoes, Bloo screams "Attack of the killer tomatoes!", which is obviously a reference to the cult movie (and animated series) of the same name.
    • The reasoning behind another scene (trying to pass through a doorway in order to forcibly activate a mystical law) is a probable reference to Dogma.
    • In addition to those, Mme. Foster's quote, "Show them what's up, Doc!" is an obvious reference to Looney Tunes' lead protagonist Bugs Bunny.
    • Duchess refers to Bloo and Mac as "Blinky" and "Clyde", two of the ghost monsters from the arcade game Pac Man. This may be because of Bloo's resemblense to the ghost monsters.
    • Once during the episode, Mac appears to be listening to an Apple Ipod.
  • Partying is Such Sweet Soireé
    • In Partying Is Such Sweet Soireé, there are many references to music and pop culture.
    • When Bloo is trying to give candy to Mac, he wears a red-and-white striped stovepipe hat simular to Dr. Seuss' The Cat In The Hat.
    • When Mac is trying to explain about Bloo staying in the house in direct violation of Mr. H's rules, Bloo asks "Do I have to fight for my right to party?", he uses the title of the Beastie Boys' song from 1986.
    • Later, when Mac is on his sugar rush, he sings out loudly "Pour some sugar on Mac!", a play on the title of the 1985 Def Leppard song "Pour Some Sugar on Me."
    • The DJ friend looks like a characture of "Bootsy" Collins from Parlement Funkadelic.
    • Dancy Pantalones claims to be "the best dancer with the worst reputation", a line that was in both the Broadway and movie versions of Grease which was spoken about a girl from a catholic school with the same problem.
    • Mac has a mixture of "Fizzy Rox" and soda, a visual reference to the urban legend about the child who played Mikey in the Life Cereal advertisments that claimed he was killed by mixing Pop Rocks and soda. That story was untrue.
  • Foster's Goes to Europe
    • In Foster's Goes to Europe, Jacques Tati creation Monsieur Hulot walks by the characters at the airport toward the end with his trademark pipe, hat, umbrella, and hunched walk.
    • The brand of Deodrant from Sweet Stench of Sucess named "Deo" appears in Wilt's bag before being thrown out. Also, Bloo is seen watching the Spanish Deo ad on TV.
  • Beat With a Schtick
    • In Beat With a Schtick, the small orange friend who kicks Bloo out of his house (a hat) bears a striking resemblance to Ristar.
  • Eddie Monster
    • There is cameo appareance of the titular characters (stylized a la Foster's) from Ed, Edd n Eddy in the episode Eddie Monster, as well as a stylized version of Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory, a series McCracken worked on prior to The Powerpuff Girls, and the previous Extremeasaur fighting tournament champion is an obvious parody of Pikachu, the lead character (and mascot) of the Pokémon anime and franchise.
  • Bloooooo!
    • In Bloooooo!, there are references to the Ghostbusters movies when Wilt asks Coco "Who you gonna call?" Coco answers "Co-coco" in a rhythm simillar to the line "Ghostbusters", Wilt responds "Nah, they've been out of business for years" in a reference to Ghostbusters II where the movie starts with the company no longer in business.
  • Phone Home
    • The small, fuzzy, green imaginary friend that Mac rescues in the episode Phone Home closely resembles Beebo, a small, fuzzy, red animal that appears an episode of The Powerpuff Girls.
  • My So Called Wife
    • The rich man in this episode's name is Benjanmin Edward Factor III. When shortened, his name is Ben E. Factor, as in the word benefactor.
  • Bloo Done It
    • In Bloo Done It, Bloo parodes Inspector Gadget with a flying hat and Harry Potter's invisibility cloak when trying to talk about his version of Uncle Pockets' story.
  • The main character of the episode, Uncle Pockets, is a clear parody of Roahl Dahl's Willy Wonka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
  • Land of the Flea
    • Chewy, Eduardo's imaginary puppy from Who Let The Dogs In? appears in the beginning part of this episode.
    • In Land of the Flea, another reference to The Powerpuff Girls can be seen as the mayor of the fleas that live in Eduardo's fur (shaved off by Bloo) bears a major resemblance The Mayor of Townsville.
    • A sign similar to the one in The Trouble with Scribbles is put on the door to the Flea's room in the house. Also, Bloo has another "Secret Door" fit in the end credits.
  • Crime After Crime
    • In Crime After Crime, the imaginary puppies from Who Let The Dogs In? make a cameo appearance.
  • One False Movie
    • The cartoon that Eduardo watches ("Lauren is Exploring") is a parody of the Nick Jr. show, Dora the Explorer. It's also a in-joke about Lauren Faust.
    • Series creator Craig McCracken, actually makes a apperence here as the creator of "Lauren is Exploring", and also mentions Lauren.

Other

  • During the series, references from The Big Lebowski are used.
    • In House of Bloo's, Bloo spoofs The Dude's meeting with vandals in his house by saying "Right, right or Blooey, Bloo the Blue Dude, El Blooderino, or hey, how about just plain Bloo?" after Terrence calls him bloofus in the first two minutes.
    • An episode entitled The Big Lablooski is pun on the title of said film. Also in this episode, three characters that are looking strikingly similar to The Dude (played by Jeff Bridges), Walter (John Goodman) and Donny (Steve Buscemi) appear at the bowling alley's main counter.
  • The Star Wars series of movies have been spoofed as well.
    • The first 30-minute episode is titled Store Wars.
    • In Blooooo!, there are references to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as Bloo is told by his reflection to "Run, Bloo, run!" and by Wilt as he is about to "capture" the cold-striken Blooregard who has turned as white as a ghost, telling him "We have you now!"
    • Also in that episode, when Wilt says that "we have to catch this phantom menace", he makes reference to Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
  • The Lord of the Rings trilogy has also been parodied.
    • In Partying Is Sweet Sorieé, when Bloo and his friends befriend Mac — in a alley bare naked — showing the after-effects of a massive sugar rush. His skin is pale, and he exhibits the behavior and mannerisms of Gollum from the trilogy, going as far as to say "It burns usssss" when given sugar-free gum.
    • There are two more refences in Duchess of Wails. When Mac and Bloo arrive with the kidnapped Duchess, and Mac asks why Terrance is with the imagainary friends and Mme. Foster, Bloo responds that "The mighty eye of Foster's sees all," a reference to the Eye of Sauron. The penultimate scene of this episode also is done as a homage to the attack on Helms' Run in the final chapter of the trilogy, The Two Towers.
    • In One False Movie, we see a wall of toys in Mac's room with the title "Robot Wars". Also, when they are filming the movie, a reference to Queen Ami-Coco is a tribute to Queen Amidala from Phantom Menace.
  • In many episodes, what looks like a stylized drawing of the Nintendo GameCube is seen when a friend (or someone else) is playing a video game.
  • The home's address, listed as 1123 Wilson Way, was first mentioned by Mac in Bloo's Brothers.

Parodies

  • The series is parodied on other shows such as:
    • The Buzz on Maggie (season 1 episode 7 part 2 Le Termite): When Maggie gets a job at a termite restaurant there is a dish that has the exact appearance of Foster's Home.
    • The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy: Billy watches a TV show on is titled "Fister's House for Crazy Wierdo Made-Up People" with the same logo style. Inside, parodies of all the friends bounce around aimlessly for a few seconds and then the house blows up.

Distribution

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends has also been distributed to networks other than Cartoon Network affiliates.

  • In France (terrestrial), it is airing on "France Truc" block in France 3.

Awards

Pulcinella Awards (Cartoons on the Bay Festival)

The series was honored with two Pulcinella Awards at the 2005 Cartoons on the Bay Festival in Positano, Italy.

  • Blooregard Q. Kazoo was the winner in the Best Character category.
  • The series was also named the winner of the Best Cartoon Series for All Audiences.

Annie Award

  • The show was nominated for four Annie Awards in 2004, and five more in 2005, winning two awards that year for Best Original Music in an Television Series (James L. Venable and Jennifer Kes Remington for Duchess of Wails) and Original Design in an Animated TV Series (McCracken with Mike Moon, David Dunnet and Martin Ansolabhere for the Christmas episode A Lost Claus).

Emmy Awards

  • House of Bloo's won two Emmy Awards for art direction (Mike Moon) and character design (Craig McCracken).
  • World Wide Wabbit winning an Emmy for best storyboard (Ed Baker).

Titles in other languages

File:Mainimg.jpg
A cast picture including logo in the Japanese language

The show is now seen on Cartoon Network channels worldwide, except in Canada where the series airs on Teletoon/Télétoon as the Time Warner enity does not exist due to Canadian television regulations. The titles are as follows in their native languages.

  • Chinese
    • Taiwan: 親親麻吉 (qìn qìn má jí)
  • Danish: Fosters hjem for fantasivenner.
  • French: Foster, la Maison des Amis Imaginaires. (This is also the title used in French-speaking Canada)
  • Hungarian: Fosterék háza képzeletbeli barátoknak.
  • Italian: Gli amici immaginari di Casa Foster.
  • Japanese: フォスターズ・ホーム. (fosutāzu hōmu) (Foster's home)
  • Norweigan: Fosters hjem for fantasivenner.
  • Polish: Dom dla zmyślonych przyjaciół pani Foster.
  • Portuguese
    • Brazil: A Mansão Foster para Amigos Imaginários.
  • Spanish
    • Spain: Foster, La Casa de los Amigos Imaginarios.
    • Latin America: Mansión Foster para Amigos Imaginarios.
  • Swedish: Fosters hem för påhittade vänner.

Some of the characters have slightly different names to fit their particular language (see List of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends characters).

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