Between the Lions (1999– )

Live-action and animation blend together in this educational fantasy about a family of lions running a library filled with adventurous and musical books.

Creator:

Kathryn Mullen

Stars:

Anthony Asbury, Stephen Scott Scarpulla, Makeeba Mooncycle

12 wins & 36 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Anthony Asbury	...	Arty Smartypants (30 episodes, 2000-2002)

Storyline

Lions Theo and Cleo and their cubs Lionel and Leona have many adventures at their library. Usually surrounding the many books within. Whether a daring story about Cliff Hanger, a vocabulary lesson from Chicken Jane, a song from the Monkey Pop-Up Theater and the Vowelles, as well as the lion family in a few zany skits of their own, such as Theo and Cleo as French chefs or Theo and Cleo as pop singers. There's no telling what can happen when you read...Between the Lions!

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Plot Keywords:

lion | book | library | family relationships | father daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

Get wild about reading

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Details

Official Sites:

PBS

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sirius Thinking Ltd., WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Cliff Hanger: Can't... Hold... On... Much... LONGER!

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Crazy Credits

At the beginning of every show before the opening sequence, Announcer Bunny pops up and shows us a small preview of what we'll see in the upcoming episode. Then, Cleo and Theo are heard reading off the sponsors and occasionally slipping in a few comments.

User Reviews

Definitely worth getting up early for

"Between the Lions" is a thoroughly engaging, well written, entertaining program that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. My 3-year-old and I like to get up early and watch it together. The only character I could really do without is Arty Smartypants; the others are entirely likeable, even the curmudgeon Busterfield. My wife and I feel that "Between the Lions" is like "The Electric Company" reborn, except that the writing is superior, especially with the incorporation of puns and other wordplay that are meant for grown-ups to enjoy ("Click" the computer mouse, a dinosaur called a thesaurus, Clay and Walter Pigeon, Chicken Jane, the sidekick Russell Upsomegrub, the author Livingston Dangerously, Monkey C. Monkeydew, etc.). "The Electric Company" was fast-paced, musical, and educational, but it can't match the humor and thus the total value of "Between the Lions."