"Here come the Rubbadubbers,
Splish, splash, splish, splosh!
Here come the Rubbadubbers,
Splish, splash, splosh!"
Splish, splash, splish, splosh!
Here come the Rubbadubbers,
Splish, splash, splosh!"
— The theme song
Rubbadubbers is a British stop-motion children's television series produced by HOT Animation and HIT Entertainment. The series aired on the BBC in the United Kingdom, ABC Television and ABC2 (11 August 2003 – 30 July 2008) in Australia and Nickelodeon in the United States (as part of the Nick Jr. block).
The show is about various bath toys who like to play in the bathtub. Each episode, one of the toys would have some kind of problem, and have an Imagine Spot lasting for most of the episode that ends up giving them an answer to their problem.
At the end of each episode, the toys would have to stop what they're doing when the children, Benjie and Sis, came into the bathroom for a bath. So, in a way, it can be considered a version of Toy Story with bath toys.
Rubbadubbers provides examples of:
- Ageless Birthday Episode: "Tubb the Magician" for Tubb, and "Terence's Bubble Trouble" for Winona.
- Agony of the Feet: Tubb stubs his toe on a hammer in "The House That Tubb Built".
- Ash Face: Reg is subject to this when his rocket sled backfires in "Rocket Sled Reg".
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: In one episode, Reg imagines himself as having invented a rocket-powered sled, which he describes as having "turbo-charged rocket blasters, super-slippy mega skis, and a really cool stripe down the side."
- Babysitting Episode: "Amelia the Babysitter", where Amelia is fed up with being told what to do and wishes that she were in charge.
- Big "SHUT UP!": When Amelia quiets the babies in "Amelia the Babysitter":Amelia: I'll tell you what to do! Be quiet!!!
- Book Ends: Every episode starts and ends in the bathroom.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: This moment from "Deep Sea Reg", wherein Reg uses Tubb's catchphrase when he realizes the water isn't so bad after all.Reg: Swimming really is swimmin'!
- Captain Colorbeard: Sploshybeard in "Tubb the Pirate".
- Catchphrase: There are A LOT of Catch Phrases throughout each episode.Tubb: Swimmin'!Reg: Bathtime scramble!Sploshy: Splish splash splosh!Finbar: Arr, arr, arr!Amelia: Nyeeeeooooowwwww!
- Christmas Episode: “Finbar’s Gift” has the Rubbadubbers opening Christmas presents.
- Circus Episode: "Sploshy's Tail" and "Silly Sploshy"
- Dark Horse Victory: Sploshy the Sponge Wonder passes the last superhero test in "Super Amelia".
- Delayed "Oh, Crap!": In "Farmer Sploshy", while driving, Sploshy doesn't realize that she was destroying Amelia the chicken's eggs until after she stops driving.Sploshy: Driving a tractor is so much fun! (laughs, but then gasps) Oh no! What a mess!
- Downer Ending: "Spaceman Reg's" "if only" literally ends with his rocket running out of fuel when he tries to go back home.
- Economy Cast: Seven characters but only three voice actors.
- Every Episode Ending: Every episode ends with Reg announcing to the other Rubbadubbers that the children, Benjie and Sis, are arriving for their bath.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: These lines from "Farmer Sploshy":Finbar: Someone has left the gate open and my sheep has got out!Sploshy: Someone? Who?Finbar: Someone on a tractor!Sploshy: Someone else with a trac-(realizes)-tor. Oh!
- Fairy Tale Episode: "Tubb the Frog Prince" and "Little Red Riding Tubb."
- Green Gators: Terence is a crocodile who has green skin and a yellow belly.
- Help, I'm Stuck!:
- In "Amelia the Babysitter", Baby Tubb's head gets stuck in a cloud.
- In "Sploshy the Stoneseeker," Sploshy gets herself stuck in a cave because her sack was too heavy.
- Hold Your Hippogriffs: This line from "Tubb the Frog Prince":Tubb: Easy peasy shampoo squeezy!
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Episode titles feature the name of whatever Rubbadubber is the focus of the episode and the name of the job they get based on their "If only" wish.
- Interspecies Romance: Tubb marries Winona in "Tubb the Frog Prince".
- Porky Pig Pronunciation: Reg often struggles to say a long word. He usually stutters and ends up saying an easier one instead. One such example is in "Finbar's Important Part", when Finbar is looking for a part in Tubb's band but all the available instruments are taken.Reg: Can you play any other instru... instru... instru... can you play anything else?
- Short Screentime for Reality: Every episode majorly revolves around the gang's imaginary adventures, with all we see of the real world being Benjie and Sis's bathroom.
- Shoutout: Courtesy of Finbar in "Scary Finbar"
- Strictly Formula: The Rubbadubbers go about their lives, then one of them wishes they could do something with the phrase "If only...". The character is transported to a fantasy world where they get their wish, only for things to go wrong until they get help. One more "If only..." wish takes them back to the real world where they learn their lesson, and they all get ready for bath time which ends the episode.
- Theme Tune Roll Call:Here’s Tubb!
Rubbadubbers, Sploshy!
Rubbadubbers, Finbar!
Rubbadubbers, splish, splash, splosh!
Terence!
Rubbadubbers, Winona!
Rubbadubbers, Reg and Amelia! - Toilet Humor: In "Amelia the Babysitter", Baby Terence announces to Amelia that his cloud's full of rain, and since the clouds represent diapers, well...
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Terence has got to be the biggest example of this trope. He CANNOT stand getting even the slightest bit wet, despite being a toy crocodile.
- Verbal Tic: Finbar's sentences usually have the phrase "arr, arr, arr" in them.
