Giggle and Hoot is an Australian children's television "wrap-around" program block that aired on the ABC Kids channel. The series was produced from 2009 to 2019, with the final episodes airing in 2020, and depicted the adventures of Jimmy Giggle (played by Jimmy Rees) and his best friend, Hoot the Owl (played by Damian Wagland). It also aired on ABC from 2009 to 2011. In later seasons, they were joined by a second owl called Hootabelle (played by Jemma Armstrong) along with other friends and their toys.

Characters

Jimmy Giggle

In the program, Jimmy Giggle is shown to enjoy mending objects and a talent for creating new things out of everyday items; for instance, he used a bath to make a bed, and the walls of his house were sewn and buttoned together. He also has a magic button that he relies on which never works. A dinosaur named Giggleosaurus is Jimmy Giggle's favourite toy. He plays several musical instruments, including the ukulele, double bass, baritone saxophone, piano, and guitar.

Hoot the Owl

Hoot the Owl is Jimmy Giggle's best friend. Although owls are traditionally nocturnal, the show depicts him favouring the daytime, which Hoot finds "very exciting". However, due to his nocturnality, he is prone to falling asleep. Hoot lives in a chest of drawers that he fashioned into his own personal apartment. Hoot plays the harmonica and triangle. He also uses a cloudier to make clouds appear. Hoot's interests include "owl" snacks, the colour blue, "owl" naps, hootball (a portmanteau of "hoot" and "football") and his favourite toy Mini-Hoot. He and Jimmy Giggle enjoy playing, singing, and spending time together. They also play dress-up and have been, for example, seen dressed up as astronauts and pirates.

Hoot's Night Watch

At the end of each episode, a sequence called the "Night Watch" plays when Hoot is "flying" across the land of Giggle and Hoot to "ensure everyone is tucked up in bed". Hootabelle helps him by lighting up the stars with her "Star Twinkler" so he can see his way in the "Nighty Night" sky. Hoot and Hootabelle often meet up after The Night Watch to fly and play everywhere in the land of Giggle and Hoot.

Hootabelle

Later seasons include a purple female owl named Hootabelle. She was created as a companion and close friend for Hoot. In the series, she lives in a "Purple Button Tree" and has a toy cat called Gigglepaws, who intimidates Hoot as he is terrified of cats. Hootabelle assures him that Gigglepaws is a "friendly" cat. She also has a toy butterfly called Giggle Wings who likes flying around the Giggle and Hoot house. Hootabelle uses her "Star Twinkler" to make the night sky's stars light up and her "Bookifier" to make random books appear from her library. She often visits the Giggle and Hoot house for an "Owl Pal Play Date". She enjoys the colour purple, books, butterflies, owl snacks, worm-flavoured milkshakes, and singing.

Giggleosaurus, Mini-Hoot, and Gigglepaws

Jimmy Giggle, Hoot and Hootabelle each have a favourite toy. Giggleosaurus the dinosaur is Jimmy Giggle's favourite; Mini-Hoot belongs to Hoot, and Hootabelle has a toy cat called Gigglepaws. Giggleosaurus, Mini-Hoot and Gigglepaws are treated and spoken to as real characters by Jimmy Giggle and the owls and are often used while playing. They are brought to life in animated form through various songs in the show, such as "Go Giggleosaurus," "On A Mini-Adventure," and "Hoot! Hoot! It's A Lovely Day."

Additional characters

Additional puppet characters that have appeared on the show include:

Format

The Day Time Block

The Day Time Block is between 7–9 am and 1:45–2:40 pm, and there are a number of music video clips shown in this time, including:

The Gigglearium

When Jimmy Giggle, Hoot and Hootabelle press a button on the side of their vegetable box it "magically" transforms into "The Gigglearium" – a musical theatre where three vegetables – Tommy Tomato (Hamish Fletcher/Nicholas Richard), Bessie Broccoli (Naomi Young) and Cosmo Carrot (James Rees) – come to life and sing songs. Songs are composed by Sean Peter in collaboration with the ABC. The vegetables sing seven songs:

The Giggle Gallery

Within Giggle and Hoot is a daily segment called "The Giggle Gallery". The segment celebrates art that was created and sent to the ABC from pre-school children around Australia. The pictures are hung as though they are in an art gallery. Jimmy Giggle and Hoot go through and talk about the 'wonderful things' that make up each artwork. In this section, Hoot is not able to restrain himself when there is blue in the compilation as it is his favourite colour.

The Goodnight Hour

The Goodnight Hour is about winding down in the evening and helps pre-schoolers maintain a bedtime routine. The Goodnight Hour screens 5:15–7:25 pm from Monday to Saturday and 6–7:25 pm Sunday and has a number of songs, including:

Production

The show was produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation at the Ultimo Sydney studios for ABC Kids. It was announced along with the launch of ABC Me. The show is aimed at 2–6-year-old children and premiered in early 2010. The production team was: In December 2019, Libbie Doherty, head of the ABC Kid's network, announced that Giggle and Hoot would end its run in early 2020.

Cast

Hoot Hoot Go!

Hoot Hoot Go! is a spin-off show of Giggle and Hoot which stars Hoot, Hootabelle, Pirate Hootbeard and Giggle Fangs. Supporting them are new characters Hootly, a best friend of Hoot and Hootabelle, and Hootaluna and Gigglebot, who live on the moon. The series contains 26 five-minute episodes.

Hoot Hoot Go! episode titles

Awards