Why, what, where, who, which, when, how?
Curiosity Shop was the only television series created by Chuck Jones, and was initially aired on ABC, for which he was the head of children's programming at the time. Developed as a counterpart to Sesame Street, the series centered on four children - Ralph, Cindy, Pam, and Gerard - who would visit the titular shop each episode to find the answer to whatever question they had. Inside the shop was an ensemble of fantastical characters who would help answer their question while showcasing other topics related to the subject.The series originally aired from September 1971 to January 1972, then aired reruns until September 1973. Though promoted fiercely as the highlight of ABC’s Saturday schedule, even debuting in primetime nine days before the rest of the lineup, it proved a commercial failure and was not renewed for a second season. Today, of the seventeen episodes produced, just three are known to still exist.
Trope. Noun, from the Latin word “tropus”. A recurring motif across various forms of media:
- Adaptational Jerkass: Downplayed in that he's nice as ever, but Baron Balthazar is hinted at one point to have no problem looking through people's windows, a trait he does not have in the original version of his cartoons.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Halcyon is a green hyena, Aarthur a yellow aardvark, and Flip an orange hippo.
- Animated Adaptation: Various comics of the time were made into cartoons shown on the series, such as Dennis the Menace (US), B.C. and The Wizard of Id. Also featured was the first-ever adaptation of The Berenstain Bears.
- Baron Balthazar actually inverts this trope, being a puppet version of the animated Professor Balthazar character.
- Animate Inanimate Object:
- The Computer, Granny TV, and Hudson the Rock are all living objects of some kind, though none of them can move.
- One segment in "What Tool Do You Use To Get A Yo-Yo Out Of A Mailbox?" features stop-motion tools coming to life and performing a dance.
- Antidisestablishmentarianism: Used as one of Mr. Jones' seven stock answers in "How Come I Can't Remember What I Was Told Not to Forget?"
- The Baby of the Bunch: Gerard is the youngest of the kids, and his innocence and curiosity often ignite the plots of episodes.
- Butt-Monkey: Nothing seems to go right for Oogle, whose attempts at doing a task usually end in spectacular failure.
- Captain Ersatz: Halcyon Hyena bears intense resemblance in appearance and voice to Hanna-Barbera's Hardy Har Har, just green instead of orange.
- Cartoon Creature:
- Oogle has been described as "neither man nor animal", though he has traits of animals such as kangaroos or birds.
- The Onomatopoeia is even stranger, being a white cotton ball with three eyes, six legs, a pair of antennae, and the ability to speak in sound effects.
- Character Catchphrase: Monsieur Cou Cou has an extended “That’s right!”, usually said right after popping out of his birdhouse.
- Cheer Them Up with Laughter: A variation in “How Do You Fix a Broken Funnybone?”, which centers around the shop residents’ attempts to get Oogle to laugh for the first time.
- Computer Equals Tapedrive: When he’s not talking, the tape drive eyes on the shop’s computer indicate he’s running, as do, of course, the dozens of blinking lights.
- Deadpan Snarker: Pam falls into this on occasion.(after watching Professor Trivia narrowly escape Monsieur Cou Cou)Cindy: Well, looks like we can’t count on Professor Trivia’s definition for a while. And he never even got to his point.Pam: Monsieur Cou Cou certainly got to his.
- Does Not Like Spam: Aarthur the Aardvark is described as having a dislike of ants - which proves an issue, given his species.
- Dreadful Musician: Discussed and ultimately Defied in "Why Can't My Feet Keep Time with Ralph's Ear?". Though Ralph indeed cannot play his trumpet, he gets the practice he needs to play it effectively.
- Dreary Half-Lidded Eyes: Woodrow, the often-asleep groundhog, has these at all times.
- Edutainment Show: A fairly early example.
- Eek, a Mouse!!: One of the residents of the wall is actually named Eek A. Mouse, and often distressed Nostalgia Elephant.
- Epic Fail: Oogle’s wildest failures wind up in this fashion, such as making the sound of a trumpet from a guitar.
- Eye Glasses: Professor Trivia’s glasses are drawn in this fashion - in fact, the few times he is shown without his glasses, he seems to have no eyes under them.
- Forgetful Jones: Nostalgia Elephant, despite her name and species, has a remarkably poor memory.
- French Jerk: Monsieur Cou Cou is notably the only one of the shop’s residents to antagonize another, attempting to eat (or at least) catch Professor Trivia at almost any opportunity he gets.
- Fun with Acronyms: Oliver Wendell Lookout and the Computerized Human Utility Knowledge Center both apply, with their initials spelling out OWL and CHUKC (or Chuck), respectively.
- Gone Horribly Right: In the Wizard of Id cartoon, the King commands the Wizard to remove all laughter from Id, causing all the peasants to react with anger at everything they once laughter at. This, as it turns out, includes the king himself, and after being mobbed by his own subjects, he winds up wishing for everything to go back the way it was.
- Halloween Episode: “Where Do You Go to Get Out of a Scare?”, which guest-starred Vincent Price and featured a redecorated shop.
- Huggy, Huggy Hippos: Flip, a hippo, is one of the friendliest residents of the shop, frequently singing or dancing with the kids or helping them with their problem.
- Humanlike Hand Anatomy: Shows up on several characters, most notably Monsieur Cou Cou, who has arms and hands instead of proper wings, and Ole Factory, who had a five-fingered gloved hand.
- Icarus Allusion: The trope-naming legend is retold in “But What’s Leonardo Da Vinci Flown Today?”, featuring characters from the Virgil Patch comic Big George.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: All seventeen episodes have a question relating to their respective topics for a title.
- Ironic Name: One would expect an elephant named Nostalgia to remember just about everything, and she does have a rather remarkable memory - a remarkably bad one.
- Jive Turkey: Flip’s voice and slang are reminiscent of beatniks of the ‘50s - outdated even by the show’s 1971 premiere.
- Literal Bookworm: Professor S.I. Trivia, a worm who resides in a dictionary.
- Living Shadow: "The Shadow" revolved around B.C.'s shadow coming to life and troubling him.
- Magic Feather: Double Subverted in “But What’s Leonardo Da Vinci Flown Today?” At the end of the episode, to get Gerard to fly, Gittle tries placing a magic artifact on him. He ultimately succeeds in flying, doing so as the kids head home - and it’s only then Gittle realizes she never put it on him to begin with.
- Muppet: The residents of the Animal Wall, as well as other puppets such as Woodrow the Groundhog are portrayed this way.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: As stated by June Foray in her autobiography, Hermione Giraffe’s voice is an imitation of that of early screen actor Edna Mae Oliver.
- Non-Mammalian Hair: Subverted with Monsieur Cou Cou - he has a mop of red hair on his head, but it occasionally pops off his head, indicating it's actually a toupee.
- Old Dog: Ole Factory downplays this trope; he looks and sounds elderly, but is just as energetic as the rest of the cast.
- The Owl-Knowing One: Oliver Wendell Lookout (or O.W.L. for short) is an owl that happens to be an expert on birds.
- Punny Name: Quite a few examples. Take Ole Factory (olfactory) the Bloodhound, or Hudson the Rock.
- Really Fond of Sleeping: Woodrow the Groundhog can most often be found sleeping, and is often quite upset when someone wakes him up.
- Really 700 Years Old: Gittle, in the last episode, claims that she’ll be 321 next Halloween, a lifespan she attributes to having previously been a cat.
- Roger Rabbit Effect: Used with Dennis the Menace's appearances on the show, where he appeared alongside original author Hank Ketcham.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Baron Balthazar is able to understand both human and animal speech, though most of the animals on the shop can talk anyways.
- Starfish Language: Onomatopoeia speaks entirely in sound effects.
- String-on-Finger Reminder: The plot of “How Come I Can’t Remember What I Was Told Not to Forget?” kicks off with Gerard trying this trick, only to wind up forgetting anyways.
- Time Abyss: Hudson boasts about being the oldest tool in the world, and often describes events thousands of years in the past.
- Visual Pun: Eunice the seal makes her home in a water tank outfitted to look like a bed. In other words, a water bed.
- The Voice: Mr. Jones, the owner of the Curiosity Shop, appears exclusively as a voice played on a tape recorder.
- The Voiceless: Oogle never speaks within the series, though at least one coloring book depicts him as telling riddles.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: In the last episode, Oogle’s luck seems to turn around as his penthouse room cleans itself at his command. Right as he closes the last cabinet door, however, virtually everything falls into disarray once again.
