Let's Watch This: An Episode of "The Save-Ums"

I was gonna do a review of Chop Socky Chooks this week, but then I decided to look up one of the companies that produced the show, Decode Entertainment. To my surprise, one of the other shows that they had a hand in was a little something called The Save-Ums, which I remember watching a lot when I was younger. So I'm going to review The Save-Ums instead. Don't worry, all three of you Chop Socky Chooks fans out there - we'll look at the show another time.

Now, before I talk about The Save-Ums, I should probably talk about the channel that it aired on here in the United States, Discovery Kids.

Discovery Kids was launched in October 1996 as part of four new Discovery cable channels (it also had a Saturday morning block on NBC starting in 2001). The channel aired a mix of live action "tweencoms" and cartoons like Tutenstein, but I always watched more of the show's "Ready, Set, Learn" preschoolers' block myself - along with Playhouse Disney, PBS Kids, and Boomerang, THIS was mainly what I watched when I was a toddler. Most of the shows that aired as part of this block, including The Save-Ums, are pretty obscure today, but I might unlock a few core memories in my readers' heads by mentioning them: ToddWorld? Hi-5? Peep and the Big Wide World? Animal Jam? Any of these a-ringing a bell? Surely you're familiar with the character who was for all intents and purposes the block's mascot, Paz the Penguin?

I'm not the only one who had a Paz plush, right?

Alas, in 2010 Discovery Kids became The Hub - which later on became Discovery Family. And so Paz, the Save-Ums, Peep, and the characters from ToddWorld wound up kicked to the curb, replaced by shows created to sell Hasbro toys. Fortunately, you can find episodes of The Save-Ums on YouTube for those of you like me who'd like to engage in some nostalgia.

So, what exactly IS The Save-Ums? Well, the premise is that a group of strange creature children known as the Save-Ums head out to help somebody, usually an animal, out with their problem. Sometimes they travel to a mountain-topped island called Rock World, sometimes they travel to another island with a volcano on it called Lava World, and sometimes they travel to the underwater location known as Wave World. No problem is too big or too small for the Save-Ums, who consist of...

- Jazzi, with her purple skin and pigtails
- Foo, who appears to be what happens when a penguin and a fish have a baby
- Noodle, presumably called that because he is (or at least looks like) a giant noodle
- Ka-Chung, a bombastic hippopotamus-esque fella
- Custard, who kind of looks like Chowder
- And the smallest and youngest of the Save-Ums, Jazzi's little brother B.B. Jammies

The show was created by Dan Clark, Don Asher, and Dave Pressler (who went on to create Robot and Monster for Nickelodeon) and premiered as part of the "Ready, Set, Learn" block on February 24th, 2003. It received two seasons, making for a total of thirty-nine episodes, each consisting of two segments. We'll be watching the fifth episode of the show, which consists of the segments "Save That Little Tree!" and "A Rock in Winston's Garden!", today because I want to see if the show holds up. This is The Save-Ums.

"Save That Little Tree!" starts off in the Save-Ums' home base (apparently the Save-Ums had the same contractor who built Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse), where Custard is teaching B.B. Jammies and these little fuzzy creatures called the Puffs how to do yoga. We hear the bones of one Puff crack, which A) is pretty disturbing and B) is also pretty surprising seeing as I didn't think the Puffs had bones. I have so many questions about Puff anatomy.

Think of them as being the Tribbles of The Save-Ums.

Actually, the Puffs are surprisingly good at yoga for creatures that don't have limbs. But their little yoga session is interrupted by the Save-Um Screen going off, prompting Jazzi to pop in and see what's going on. We also get a look at the planet that the Save-Ums call home - either Earth or a very, very similar planet that just so happens to have anthropomorphic noodles and fish/penguin hybrid babies living on it. I've seen the Save-Ums called aliens online, but I'm not sure if it's ever specified just WHAT, exactly, they are. I also don't recall it ever being specified where their parents were, either.

Did you know that you can see the Great Pyramids of Giza from space? Hey, if I can't be
funny, I think I should at least try to be educational...

Did you know that you can see the Great Pyramids of Giza from space? Hey, if I can't be funny, I think I should at least try to be educational...

As the Save-Ums gather around the screen, it's revealed that the call is coming from Lava World - specifically, from these two glum-looking monkeys. Maybe they're blue because they can't find their noses.

It must stink to be a monkey without a nose. You wouldn't be able to smell the bananas
you eat.

These two are Oscar and Tina, and they're worried because their friend Sally is in big trouble. Who is Sally? Not another monkey, but a tree. Not a sentient tree, just a regular tree. Presumably, there aren't many other residents in Lava World - which makes sense, because who wants to live on an island with a volcano on it? - so Oscar and Tina have decided to befriend a tree. The problem? The volcano is erupting, and the lava is headed right for Sally!

The Save-Ums don't seem to be too worried about this. Instead, Noodle cheerfully explains to the other Save-Ums - and the audience - what lava is. I mean, to be fair, it's a TREE, but if the monkeys are distressed by this, it's pretty insensitive of you guys not to show any concern. "Everyone in Lava World knows to stay away from the Hot Lava when the volcano is erupting!" Oscar claims. "But Sally is just a plant!" "She can't think for herself, or get out of the way, or ANYTHING! She's stuck in the ground!" Tina adds. Ah, so they DO know that Sally isn't sentient? I wasn't sure...

I bet Ka-Chung goes through a lot of ChapStick.

"Tell Sally we're on our way!" Noodle declares - and by "we're", he means himself, Ka-Chung, and Foo. For some reason, only two or three of the Save-Ums go on the mission in each episode. Wouldn't it make more sense if they ALL went? After all, if two heads are better than one, surely SIX heads (or five, since B.B. Jammies is just a baby) is better than THREE. What, does Custard have a dental appointment or something? Ah well, I'm glad Noodle is coming along - I think he was my favorite Save-Um. Probably stems from the fact that I love pasta...

Noodle suggests that they take the "Sub-Chopper", which can fly through the air and get them to Lava World quickly. Ka-Chung then says that his "Ka-Drill" could come in handy too, to which Noodle says that they can use the Sub-Chopper's robo-fingers to carry the Ka-Drill to Lava World. And so, with a shout of the team's catchphrase "Small is powerful!"...

"Beam us up, Scotty!"

The three Save-Ums going on the mission are on their way, with Noodle and Ka-Chung traveling in the Sub-Chopper and Foo using a jetpack. I love how when they get to Lava World, Ka-Chung says, "That volcano really IS erupting!" Well, obviously. Did he think that maybe the monkeys made up the "volcano erupting" thing just for the heck of it?

Yeah, the CGI in this show hasn't aged particularly well...

"We need to move that tree out of danger and replant her someplace safe!" Noodle tells the monkeys. Fortunately, Oscar knows of a great place near the beach where they can replant Sally. "Kaaaaaaaaaa-CHUNG!" Ka-Chung explains, because he couldn't think of a better catchphrase than just shouting his name whenever he's excited. "I can use my Ka-Drill to dig a comfy hole to plant her in!" And Noodle can use the Sub-Chopper to fly her down to them. But wait - how are they going to get Sally out of the ground? They'd have to somehow uproot her. Fortunately, Foo gets an idea after seeing some coconut shells on the ground nearby... she can just dig the tree out of the ground with the shells. Y'know, because apparently nobody thought to bring a shovel.

I bet Sally's not exactly DIGGING the situation she's in right now. Get it? DIGGING?
Ha ha ha ha ha... I amuse myself.

The lava is getting closer, so it's a good thing that Foo, Oscar and Tina are just about done digging. Now Noodle can use the Sub-Chopper's robo-fingers to lift Sally out of harm's way. Two questions about the Sub-Chopper: one, why is it called that? The prefix "Sub" means "underneath", so does the Sub-Chopper have the ability to go underneath things as well as over them? Did they ever show this in an episode? And two, where can I get one?

"Let me give you a HAND! Get it? HAND?



Hey, if the writer of this blog post can make bad puns, I don't see why I can't."

Noodle lifts the tree out of the lava's path, then Ka-Chung uses the Ka-Drill to dig a new hole. Zhe day, it is, how you say, saved! And it only took, like, three minutes!

Staring at Noodle makes me hungry for pasta. I still can't tell if he actually IS a walking,
talking noodle or if he just LOOKS LIKE one...

Now that Sally is safe and sound, the Save-Ums bid the monkeys farewell and head back to their headquarters. Foo tells Custard and Jazzi that they learned a valuable lesson about plants and how they need love... which doesn't really have anything to do with what happened. The problem wasn't that Sally wasn't getting enough love, it was that a VOLCANO WAS ERUPTING AND THE LAVA WAS FLOWING TOWARDS HER. So if anything, the moral is "don't plant a tree near a volcano, idiot". Who planted Sally anyway?

We end with the Save-Ums all doing more yoga. On to "A Rock in Winston's Garden!"!

Foo takes some pictures of herself and the Puffs (this was before the days of cell phones with cameras in 'em, so no, the pictures that Foo takes do not qualify as "selfies"), then the Save-Um Screen starts going off. Who's calling them this time? Somebody from Wave World - their pal Winston the blue whale!

Y'know what always bothered me about Winston? Why the heck does he have EARS? HUMAN ears? It's just so OFF-PUTTING. Is he a mutant? Does he live in one of those parts of the ocean where people test atomic bombs?

And where on Earth does a blue whale find a pair of pants big enough for them to fit in?

Winston demonstrates that he is a Woody Allen parody by fretting to the Save-Ums about how it's time for his "Silly Sea Sammies" - which are a kind of underwater flower that suddenly pop up out of the sand and giggle - to bloom. The problem? A big rock fell on top of his Silly Sea Sammies, so when the flowers bloom they'll hit their little flower heads.

I hope this episode features an appearance from that baby dinosaur who looks like a giant
Larry the Cucumber. Save-Ums fans, you know who I'm talking about.

Noodle suggests that they take the Sub-Chopper, which in addition to flying through the air can also travel under the sea (so THAT'S why it's called a "SUB-Chopper"). In addition to Noodle, Jazzi and Foo - fitting, seeing as she looks like a fish - are coming along as well.

How many Save-Ums does it take to remove a rock from a whale's garden? I don't know,
ask the chicken who crossed the road.

Off the three of them go, Noodle and Jazzi in the Sub-Chopper and Foo in her jetpack. When they arrive at Wave World, Winston leads them to his garden - and the rock that's taking up residence in it.

"It's not just a boulder! It's a rock! It's a big, beautiful old rock! Oh, the pioneers used to
ride these babies for miles! And it's in great shape!"

The Save-Ums better hurry, because the Silly Sea Sammies are getting ready to bloom any minute now. Noodle says he can use the robo-fingers to push the rock off the flowers. Unfortunately, it doesn't work - methinks Noodle isn't very strong. He's high in fiber and carbohydrates, but he's pretty weak. And to make matters worse, everyone can hear the giggling of the Silly Sea Sammies from under the rock.

...actually, now that I think about it, has WINSTON tried to lift the rock? He's a blue whale. Blue whales have strong muscles.

Odd that Jazzi has pigtails but otherwise no other hair on her head.

Jazzi gets an idea - if the rock is too big for them to move, they'll just have to smash it into smaller pieces. So Foo opens up the Sub-Chopper's tool box and, sure enough, there happens to be something in it that could help them - a sledgehammer!

"I wanna be... your sledgehammer... why don't you call my name?"

Foo isn't sure that she's strong enough to smash the rock since she's so small - and judging from the fact that she's having difficulty lifting the sledgehammer, I'd say her fears are justified. "Remember, Foo - small is powerful!" Noodle claims, giving Foo the strength of ten Save-Ums plus two. She hits the rock with the hammer, and sure enough, cracks start to form and the rock falls apart into smaller pieces. Now they can just lift up the pieces and move them so the Silly Sea Sammies can do their thing.

So flowers are sentient in this world, but trees aren't?

Winston thanks the Save-Ums for their help - the giggling of the Silly Sea Sammies is music to his weird human ears (yes, I'm still harping on that). It's back to Save-Um headquarters, where Foo puts the photos she took earlier in her album.

What's the Verdict?

So, that's The Save-Ums. And yeah, it's obviously aimed for little kids, the ones who are more into stuff like Paw Patrol and Dora the Explorer than, say, Gravity Falls. But it manages to avoid falling into the same trap as something like Cave Kids by not being too sappy and cutesy-wootsy. The Save-Ums all have really appealing designs... with the possible exception of B.B. Jammies. He's a bit off-putting (probably because he's the only one with pupils). Maybe they're not the most complex characters, but they're likeable and the child voice actors all do a good job. And it manages to get you genuinely invested in the problems that the characters have to solve without making them too scary for kids. I'm not sure if I would recommend it to anyone over the age of five (unless you watched it when you were little and want to engage in some nostalgia), but it's a great cartoon for you to show your kids.

I'll probably tackle the other Discovery Kids cartoons another time. It was never as iconic a channel as Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network, so pretty much anything animated that aired on the channel is pretty obscure nowadays. Oh, yeah - and remember the Discovery Channel STORES? Remember those?

I remember they had one in Baltimore at some point in the 2000s. Good times...