I am late to this party, but as they say, better late than never.
The television series LazyTown, a show aimed at young kids, ran on Nick Jr. from 2004 to 2007 and later saw a reboot in 2013. I had personally never heard of it, but it enjoyed a surge of popularity after one of its most beloved stars, Stefán Karl Stefánsson, who played the villain, was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, leading to a fundraiser driven in large part by fans making internet memes. The condition ultimately took Stefánsson’s life in August of 2018, resulting, in turn, in multiple homages.
The show LazyTown was the brainchild of Magnús Scheving, an Icelandic aerobic gymnast and motivational speaker who came up with the concept after multiple parents had asked him how to encourage their children to eat well and to exercise. LazyTown appeared first as a book, then as a stage play, and finally as a television series combining puppetry, acrobatic stunts, and CGI, which, at least according to the Wikipedia page, made it one of the most expensive children’s shows of all time.
I have for some time had my eye on the show’s official YouTube channel, which has for the most part posted music videos and homages to Stefánsson. There are a lot of bootlegs of the show floating around the web—unsurprising, given its recent popularity boost. The official channel has within the last week apparently decided that it’s easier to join them than beat them, and has begun to release a selection of free episodes online. Most of those episodes are available on the Full Episode Playlist, though a few strays are lurking elsewhere on the channel.
Unlike many of the fans, I didn’t watch the show as a kid (I was already grown up when it appeared), and I must limit my comments to what is freely available on YouTube, but based on this selection of episodes, I’m impressed. A lot of the kids’ shows that cross live actors with puppets are endurance tests for adults, but LazyTown is an exception. It’s really entertaining; it’s perhaps not quite on the level of classic Sesame Street, but it’s close.
Summary
The protagonist is eight-year-old Stephanie Meanswell (Julianna Rose Mauriello, who was actually thirteen when she began playing the part). She has recently moved in with her uncle, the mayor of LazyTown, and is appalled to discover that the local kids only eat junk food and never play outside.
When her efforts to introduce the kids to sports are thwarted by the villainous Robbie Rotten (Stefán Karl Stefánsson), she calls on the acrobatic superhero Sportacus (Magnús Scheving), who with his sports-themed superpowers and a healthy dose of fruit and vegetables thwarts Robbie’s plans and teaches the children about healthy living.
The plots are simple: On a weekly basis, Robbie comes up with some harebrained scheme to force Sportacus to leave town and to convince the kids to stop being healthy. His plots typically involve some Wyle E. Coyote-like gadgetry and at least one disguise. Stefánsson expressively plays the part with extensive prosthetics that make his face look like what I think is supposed to be a caricature of James Cagney, and he is perhaps hoist by his own petard more thoroughly than any villain before him, because his efforts to be lazy require a great deal of exercise, as Stefánsson is constantly engaged in high-energy physical comedy.
Although his career was unfortunately cut short by his untimely death, Stefánsson already had extensive theatrical experience, largely involving character acting, and it shows: His is easily the most impressive performance in LazyTown.
Characters
Magnús Scheving, as the boyish yet wise superhero Sportacus, is considerably less polished, but what he lacks in acting ability, he makes up in charm. It’s not hard to see why he was popular as a motivational speaker, and his charisma shines through even when he stumbles over his lines. He is perpetually performing acrobatic stunts, and he originally did these stunts himself, though Nickelodeon compelled him to hire doubles after he injured himself on-set.
Julianna Mauriello also holds her own as the bubbly Stephanie. She almost (but not quite) keeps up with Scheving on the physical side, and her girlish appearance and behavior make a good contrast with Sporacus’s boyish exuberance. She dances and sings her own songs.
More questionable is the decision to fill out the rest of the regular cast with puppets. Obviously, puppets are common in children’s shows, but they’re usually animal or fantasy characters, whereas in LazyTown, they’re made to look human, and some viewers have called them creepy. I don’t especially dislike them myself, but they don’t seem entirely necessary. I suspect the reason for the puppets is to avoid having to hire and manage more child actors.
Comments
In another forum, I once said, half-jokingly, that Sportacus is my favorite superhero. Having now sat down and watched some LazyTown, however, I’m prepared to make the same statement, now completely seriously. Consider the following:
First, take the actor who plays the part. Whereas most Hollywood superheroes rely on rubber muscle suits, Scheving counts on his own real-life muscles to fill out his costume. He even does his own stunts, or at least did until his producers made him stop, and they are genuinely impressive stunts.
Second, take the character. He not only saves people on a regular basis, but with complete sincerity teaches children to eat healthy food, brush their teeth, get plenty of sleep, and play outside, which most superheroes no longer do except ironically. But perhaps the most notable thing about Sportacus is that, in spite of his superhuman abilities, he never ridicules the characters who can’t play on his level. When he plays games with the kids or with any other inexperienced and unathletic individuals, he moderates his abilities in order to play on their level. He only goes all out when he is doing something individually, or when he is up against Robbie, and even then he only does it to foil Robbie’s evil plans. With everyone else, he quietly holds back, because his goal is not to be the best or to win, but to encourage others.
Also, he has an airship. You can’t beat that.
LazyTown
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