Donkey Hodie (TV series)

Donkey Hodie
Genre	Children Musical Comedy
Created by	David Rudman Adam Rudman
Based on	Characters by Fred Rogers
Developed by	Ellen Doherty
Starring	Haley Jenkins Stephanie D'Abruzzo David Rudman Frankie Cordero
Theme music composer	Bill Sherman
Opening theme	"With Our Pal Donkey Hodie" performed by Taylor Iman Jones, Haley Jenkins, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, and David Rudman
Ending theme	"With Our Pal Donkey Hodie" (instrumental)
Composers	Bill Sherman Zack Zeyde Noah Deblasis
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	60 (119 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	David Rudman Adam Rudman Ellen Doherty
Producers	Adam Rudman David Rudman Ellen Doherty Kristin DiQuollo
Running time	26 minutes
Production companies	Spiffy Pictures Fred Rogers Productions Sinking Ship Entertainment (visual effects services, some episodes) Bot VFX (visual effects services, some episodes)
Original release
Network	PBS Kids
Release	May 3, 2021 (2021-05-03) – present
Related
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Nature Cat

Donkey Hodie is an American puppet live action musical children's television series created by David and Adam Rudman for PBS Kids, and is aimed at preschoolers ages 3 to 5. Inspired by characters created by Fred Rogers, the series premiered May 3, 2021,^[1] and is the second spinoff of Rogers' television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood after Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.^[2] The first full episode was initially set to premiere in winter 2021 on PBS Kids in the United States, but it was pushed back to May 3 of the same year. Sometimes, television airings are followed up by a series of shorts: "Super Why's Comic Book Adventures", "Tiny Time Travel", "Through the Woods", "What Can You Become?", and "Elinor Wonders Why: That's So Interesting!".

On April 7, 2022, it was announced that Donkey Hodie was renewed for a second season which was slated to premiere in spring 2023 but was delayed to August 14, 2023.^[3][4]

On August 14, 2024, it was announced that Donkey Hodie was renewed for a third season. Season 3 will premiere in 2025 and will have a crossover with Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, with the Tiger characters re-imagined as puppets.^[5]

The series' title is a wordplay for Don Quixote.

In the land of Someplace Else, just north of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Donkey Hodie and her friends go throughout their day while solving different problems along the way.

• Haley Jenkins as Donkey Hodie, the granddaughter of Grampy Hodie (the original Donkey Hodie^[6]). Like her grandfather, her name is a pun on the novel Don Quixote. She's eponymously named, sunny and brave.
• Stephanie D'Abruzzo as Duck Duck, Harriet Elizabeth Cow and Mama Panda; Duck Duck's name is eponymous.
• David Rudman as Bob Dog, an upbeat red dog, Grampy Hodie and Stanley the Dragon.
• Frankie Cordero as Purple Panda and Turtle Lou.
• Peter Linz as Clyde the Cloud.
• Matt Vogel as King Friday, the ruler of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
• Joey Mazzarino as Game Show Gator and Super Porcupine.
• Leslie Carrara-Rudolph as Dodie Hodie, Donkey's cousin.
• Jimmica Collins as Rockstar Penguin.
• Melvin Campbell as Rogers the Fish

The characters of Duck Duck, Clyde the Cloud, Game Show Gator, Stanley the Dragon, Super Porcupine, Turtle Lou, Dodie Hodie and Cousin Hodie are new characters created for the Donkey Hodie series.^[6]

The series was announced in January 2020. The title character is the granddaughter of the original Donkey Hodie, a character from the Neighborhood of Make Believe on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.^[6][7][8][9]

Like Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, the series includes both new songs as well as songs written by Rogers.

The music for the show was composed by Bill Sherman, Zack Zeyde, and Noah Deblasis.

The following DVDs contain episodes of the show:

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: Playtime with Daniel!

1. "The Masked Veggies"
2. "The Royal Hosts"

PBS KIDS: Secret Superheroes!

1. "Donkey's Bad Day"
2. "Yodel Bird Egg"

PBS KIDS: Just A Little Bit Spooky!

1. "A Donkey Hodie Halloween"

PBS KIDS: We Love Camping!

1. "A Night Out"
2. "A Poetry Problem"

PBS KIDS: Get Up and Dance!

1. "The Cow & Potato Bug Opera"
2. "Everything Explorers"

PBS KIDS: 17 Puppy Adventures

1. "Fastest Fetcher"
2. "Bobbly Ball"

PBS KIDS: Book Buddies

1. "Bye Bye, Book"
2. "Tater Buddies"

PBS KIDS: 17 Fun Food Stories

1. "Flying Flapjacks"
2. "Pickle Penguin Problem"

• Official website
• Donkey Hodie at IMDb
• Donkey Hodie at Rotten Tomatoes