This article describes the series as a whole. For pages that may share a similar name, refer to Kikoriki (Disambiguation).
KikoRIki, previously known in the United States as GoGoRiki or BalloonToons, occasionally referred by it's original Russian name, Smeshariki (Смешарики), is a Russian animated television series. The main series consists of 408 episodes of 6 minutes and 30 seconds (and 11 minutes) each, all aimed at children under 14. It's first episode (The Bench) premiered on STS in Russia on May 17, 2004. The characters consists of stylized rounded animals. The series includes complex themes and specific cultural references. The series is aired in over 60 countries, and is translated to 15 languages and has an everyday audience of 50 million people, however the audience in China surpasses the audience in Russia.
In May 2019, in Beijing as part of the talks between Asian civilizations, Russian and Chinese animators have made two agreements regarding cooperation, one of which involves the joint creation of the cartoon entitled Panda and Krash (Панда и Крош). The Chinese side of this project will be represented of animation division of the Central Television Agency of China. In May 2020, the show has been renewed for a 5th season, reverting the show back to its 2D animation style; it has been sponsored by Yandex and all 104 new episodes will be available exclusively on the streaming service, Kinopoisk HD.
Synopsis
"In the vibrant world of KikoRiki, there’s always something to discover or an adventure to embark on. Set in a fairy-tale landscape of meadows, mountains and more, the enchanted stories of KikoRiki teach valuable lessons about cooperation, creativity, core values, self-acceptance, support and communication. The colorful cast complement one another’s unique personalities. They are never belittling or insulting, and characters accept and respect each other for who they are."
"'Kikoriki is where alla circle-shaped animals were built by letters. Their names are Krash, Chiko, Rosa, Pin, Barry, Olga, Dokko, Wally, and Carlin."
Distribution
In the United States, The rights to distribute the series in English were acquired by American licensing company, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc from the worldwide distributor, Fun Game Media. The series went under the name "GoGoRiki", and premiered as part of the CW4Kids block on The CW on September 27th, 2008. It began it's second season on October 17th, 2009, and the show would later end on November 14th 2009 with 31 episodes and 92 segments. Fun Game Media was also producing a European dub of the original series, which began airing on the KiKA channel on December 8th, 2008, which goes under the name "KikorIki". It was also adapted for European broadcasting by the German company, Studio 100 Media in 2008 under the name "BalloonToons".
Since February 2017, all rights to KikoRiki, Pin-Code and others outside of the CIS territories, including KikoRiki episodes in all languages other than Russian, are owned by FUN Union. The show has been broadcasted in 90 countries and has been translated into more than 60 languages.
Characters
- Krash - is a sky blue color rabbit who is eager to jump into new adventures. Voice: Anton Vinogradov (Russian), Dan Green (English).
- Chiko - is a magenta-colored hedgehog, Chiko is Krash's best friend with a shy and cautious personality. While Krash is the brawn, Chiko is the brain. Voice: Vladimir Postnikov (Russian), Jason Griffith (English)
- Wally - is a lavender-colored ram. He writes poetry and has an unrequited love for Rosa. Voice: Vadim Bochanov (Russian), Wayne Grayson (English)
- Rosa - is a light pink-colored pig, described as a fashionista. Voice: Svetlana Pismichenko (Russian), Bella Hudson (English)
- Carlin - is a dark blue-colored crow who is Olga's friend. He is a retired traveler with aristocratic mannerisms. Voice: Sergey Mardar (Russian), Mike Pollock (English)
- Olga - is a purple-colored owl who often helps with useful advice and her wisdom. Acts like a caring grandma. Voice: Sergey Mardar (Russian), Jessica Calvello (English)
- Pin - is a black-and-white penguin from Germany, who is a self-taught inventor. Voice: Michail Chernyak (Russian), Darren Dunstan (English)
- Dokko - is a golden yellow-colored moose who is an eccentric and nerdy scientist. Voice: Michail Chernyak (Russian), David Wills (English)
- Barry - is a orange-colored bear who lives as a farmer. Voice: Michail Chernyak (Russian), David Willis (English)
Creators
The series was created as part of the cultural-educational project "World Without Violence" within the Russian federal program "Forming bulwarks of tolerance and preventing extremism in Russian society". It is made with the help of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and with the participation of the company "Master-Film" at the computer animation studio "Petersburg", which was created in March 31, 2003 specifically for KikoRIki.
- Artistic supervisor: Anatoliy Prokhorov
- General producer: Ilya Popov
- Co-producers:
- Leading director: Denis Chernov
- Leading writer: Aleksey Lebedev
- Art director: Salavat Shaykhinurov
Films
On January 24, 2007, it was announced that a Smeshariki feature film was to be made by the St. Petersburg company "Marmelad-media" (which owns the brand) to be released in December 2011. This movie was shot in 3D CGI, unlike the 2D Flash-animated series. An initial budget of $1 million was given to produce a "test film" to show to international partners. According to Marmelad-media's general director Ilya Popov, the final budget would depend on a number of factors, such as whether it will be sold internationally (in which case the budget would be up to $15 million) or limited to Russia (in which case it will cost around $3–4 million). Popov considered spending anything over $5 million to be unprofitable (the highest-grossing Russian animated film to date, Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber, cost $2.5 million and made just under $10 million; since around half of the profits usually go to the distributors, if it had cost over $5 million it would not have been profitable). The film was released domestically in December 2011, but received a limited release in the UK in early 2012. The film is considered a well thought-through prequel, its plot explaining events that brought the nine animal characters together in the first place.
Two other films, titled Kikoriki: Legend of the Golden Dragon and Kikoriki: Deja Vu were released on March 17, 2016 and April 26, 2018
Spin-offs of KikoRiki
ABCs (2006–2012)
"Kikoriki: ABCs" (Russian: Смешарики. Азбуки) — a series of instructional and educational short cartoons. A total of 73 episodes were issued, lasting either one minute and thirty seconds, or the conventional six minutes and thirty seconds. Each episode was part of several categories: traffic safety, Fundamentals of safety and life, health, morals, reading skills, children's rights, etc.
After a long hiatus, in August 2017, a new category of episodes, titled "ABCs of the Internet" debuted, where the characters are taught to work on the Internet.
New Adventures
"Kikoriki: New Adventures" (Russian: Смешарики. Новые приключения) — a series of 3D CGI shorts starring the original characters, designed as a continuation of the original 2D shorts. It was broadcast from October 27, 2012 to December 28, 2013, consisting of 57 episodes. This series was scheduled for November 11, 2011, but the actual premiere on the "Channel One" was held on October 27, 2012.
Sport
A continuation of "Kikoriki. New Adventures" which also uses 3D CG graphics. The premiere is dated September 1, 2017 and took place on the official YouTube channel of this animated series.
Pin-Code
"Pin-Code" (Russian: Пин-код) — an educational spin-off designed to develop interest in inventing, programming and science in children from 4 to 14 years old. Initially, it was supposed to be done in flash-animation (such as the pilot episode "Rescuing the Departing"), but later this idea was abandoned and production began in 3D computer animation instead. The show airs on Channel One on Sundays at 8:45 at Moscow time. From January 18, 2015 to February 7, 2016, the new season of the series aired under the title "Leap to the Future".
In the first season, the characters travel on Sharolyot, a ship invented by Pin, which can travel through the air, under the water, underground, and even in space. The adventures of the heroes are accompanied by stories of Eldoc and Pin about the world around them. Each episode of the season, having the subtitle "Nobel Season", ends with information about Nobel Prize winners (narrated by Andrei Levin).
The plot of the second season "Jump to the Future" is built around time travel, in which the characters are sent using the unique invention, the "Sharoscope-3000" (Russian: Шароскоп-3000), capable of answering any scientific questions. Pin thinks that it is impossible to interfere with the opening of the future, and Eldoc, on the contrary, is obsessed with the idea of knowing everything. Now all the Kikoriki are used to the Sharoscope and they learn about the inventions of the future.
September 1, 2017 marked the premiere of the new, third season of the "Pin-Code". It is called "Humanitarian technologies", and its topic are humanities.
In the autumn of 2025, Pin-Code 2.0 episodes will be released.
BabyRiki
A pre-school version of this series was created with the same company named BabyRiki.
KikoRiki. New Season
See also: Kikoriki: New Season
Episodes
Merchandise
Character stickers on bananas depicting a Kikoriki character holding a peeled banana have been used by Russian company Navkus (Навкус) and a banana sticker promoting the show has the line “Попробуй Мультик на вкус” (Try Cartoon on taste).
Character plushies made by the company "Multi Pulti"
