The Save-Ums! is a Canadian All-CGI Cartoon for preschoolers that was created by Dan Clark and produced by Decode Entertainment (now part of WildBrain) and C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures for CBC Kids. It ran from February 24, 2003, to July 11, 2006 for a total of 2 seasons and 39 episodes. It also aired on Discovery Kids in the United States.
The show stars the titular Save-Ums, who are a group of alien children made up of Jazzi, Noodle, Custard, Ka-Chung, Foo, and B.B. Jammies. Every episode, these six little aliens head out on various kinds of rescue missions or problem-solving expeditions to help the various denizens (usually small animals) of the world they live in, which is a great ocean full of all kinds of unique islands.
"The call is coming from Trope World!"
- Big Eater: The baby dinosaur that Raymundo and Peque babysit for is this.
- Black Bead Eyes: All of the Save-Ums (except B.B. Jammies) have these.
- Character Catchphrase::
- The Save-Ums' motto is "Small is powerful; believe it!", or less commonly, "A little goes a long way".
- The whole team uses "Green, on!/Red, off!" and "No adventure is too big or too small!". Foo ditches the latter one due to her You No Take Candle way of speech.
- Foo has "This Foo. Who you?".
- Custard has "Bam!".
- "KA-CHUUUUUUNG!!!!".
- Chicken Pox Episode: Dori and Terrell are subject to this in one episode.
- Crazy-Prepared: The toolbox the Save-Ums sometimes use. Has everything from a hammer to a megaphone.
- Clip Show: The episodes "Foo Is Powerful!" and "A Little Goes A Long Way!".
- Drives Like Crazy: Downplayed; Custard is a major Speed Demon on the Zoomer.Jazzi: You drive too fast, Custard!
- Dub Name Change:
- In the French dub, Foo is called Louna, Noodle is called Caboche, Ka-Chung is called Aïkido, Custard is called Berlingnot, B.B. Jammies is called Bébe Jimmy, Peque is called Paquita, and Elizabat is called Colinette.
- In the Spanish dub, Custard is called Jelly, Peque is called Hormiguita (Spanish for "little ant"), Elizabat is called Elizabeth and Olena is called Pulpolena (a Portmanteau of "pulpo", the Spanish word for octopus, and Olena).
- Edible Theme Naming: Noodle and Custard.
- Four-Fingered Hands: All of the Save-Ums save Foo have three fingered hands.
- Full-Name Basis: B.B. Jammies.
- The Puffs also count, as individually they're always refered to as "Red Puff", "Orange Puff" and so on.
- Hiccup Hijinks: One episode involves Winston having whale hiccups.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: In addition to the frequent exclamation points, many episodes also use the basic setup of "{verb} that {noun}".
- Informed Species: When you look at Noodle, he doesn't really look like a dog. Foo looks like a yellow sphere with a blue suit than an angelfish. Heck, Ka-Chung looks more like a fish than her.
- Large Ham: Ka-CHUUUUUUNG!!!!
- Magical Incantation: To activate the travel tubes that send them to their vehicles, the outgoing Save-Ums must shout "Small is powerful!", and the Save-Um manning the controls must follow it with "Believe it!".
- Meaningful Name:
- B.B. Jammies always wears pyjamas.
- In a more subtle way, Noodle. His name is referring to "using your noodle" (brainstorming), fitting his status as The Smart Guy.
- Never My Fault: A Running Gag is characters blaming the object involved for the problem they're having. For example, when Winston got stuck in a door...Winston: It's not your fault, Andre. It's the door's fault.
- NO INDOOR VOICE: It would be easier to count the episodes where Ka-Chung doesn't shout. The yelling of his name is so loud that it produces an echo and (sometimes) a Screen Shake.
- Only Known by Initials: B.B. Jammies.
- The Klutz: B.B.Jammies is the definition of this.
- Punny Name: One of the bat characters is named Elizabat.
- Running Gag:
- Ka-Chung shouting his name.
- "It's not your fault, it's the {object}'s fault!"
- Sick Episode:
- In "Operation: Banana Split!", Tina has a sore throat.
- In one episode, Dori and Terrell have the chicken pox.
- Speed Demon: Custard loves to drive super fast.
- Tag Line: "Small is powerful; believe it!", which also serves as the team's motto.
- Theme Tune Roll Call: "We´re the Save-Ums! Meet the Save-Ums!" kicks out the roll call in the intro. The Puffs are refered to on it as "Puff! Puff! Puff!".
- Terrestrial Sea Life: Foo is an angelfish who can survive out of the water.
- Tooth Strip: Jazzi has one of these.
- Two Girls to a Team: Jazzi and Foo.
- You No Take Candle: Foo speaks this way.
