Line #4 YMMV/TheBackyardigans


1	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Tasha. Some fans enjoy her sassy spirit and singing voice, while others find her bossy and irritating.
2	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Halfway through "Ranch Hands from Outer Space", Uniqua and Pablo shrink Tasha's horses and play with them, singing a song about it. This is thoroughly irrelevant to the plot.
3	* BizarroEpisode: "Ranch Hands from Outer Space", even by this show's standards. It's about Uniqua and Pablo as aliens who will work on a farm for pancakes.
4	* BrokenBase:
5	** "Samurai Pie" is either the best or worst episode depending on who you ask.
6	** There's the "ugh" running gag in "Cave Party" and Tyrone's SkywardScream in "Best Clowns in Town". Are these funny or annoying?
7	* CreatorWorship: The fans young and old '''revere''' the creator of the show, Creator/JaniceBurgess. Apart from creating this beloved nostalgic classic, she was also the executive in charge of production for Creator/NickJr, overseeing the development of shows like ''Series/GullahGullahIsland'', ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'', and ''WesternAnimation/LittleBill''. It's safe to say that without her, Nick Jr as we know it wouldn't be the same. She also set a positive example by being a black woman in animation, since black (especially black woman) showrunners are still very rare. Many tears were shed when it was announced that she died in March 2024.
8	* DesignatedHero:
9	** In "Samurai Pie", Pie Master Tyrone is presented as a good guy despite being a stuck-up jerk to Austin and not getting any comeuppance for it.
10	** Same with Empress Tasha, who spends the whole episode whining about how long it's taking for her pie to arrive.
11	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Despite Sherman the Worman appearing in only ''three'' episodes, he appears in a lot of fan art, mostly because of his [[{{Moe}} cuteness]].
12	* EpilepticTrees: Some fans believe that Pablo is based on Pablo Escobar.
13	* EvilIsCool: Pablo as the Ping-Pong Bandit in "Blazing Paddles". Having an epic guitar riff as a leitmotif really helps.
14	* FanNickname:
15	** Some fanfics call the group "The Backies".
16	** Some also shorten Uniqua's name to "Uni".
17	** A common name for the city they live in is "Normville".
18	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The series is so popular in Latin America that it's easier to find fansites and videos of the show in Spanish than the original English (or at least until Treehouse Direct and the official Backyardigans account started uploading the full English episodes on Youtube) and got a reputation of FountainOfMemes there.
19	* GrowingTheBeard: From the second season onwards, the animation was much improved, and the music became even better. The plots became more original too. For example, the first season had pirates looking for treasure, cowboys chasing a bandit, and knights delivering a message, whereas the third season had pirates attending summer camp, cowboys playing Ping-Pong, and knights protecting a dragon egg.
20	* HarsherInHindsight: At the end of the season 4 episode, "The Tale of the Not-So-Nice Dragon", the five heroes promise to come back later, as they normally do at the end of every single episode. This turned out to be the last episode ever.
21	* HilariousInHindsight:
22	** Austin's superhero persona in "Race to the Tower of Power" is named [[{{WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog}} Captain Hammer]].
23	** There is a book for the series featuring the characters as superheroes with powers based on the five senses. In 2009, [[Creator/CookieJarEntertainment Nelvana's competing company]] came out with [[Animation/NoonboryAndTheSuper7 a (short-lived) show]] with that exact same premise.
24	** In "Into the Deep", Pablo and Tyrone search for rare aquatic animals and wear orange beanies. [[WesternAnimation/PAWPatrol Where else have we seen that?]]
25	** In "Viking Voyage", Tasha's role is that of a super-strong mermaid who serves as an antagonist. In the Japanese dub, Tasha's voice is provided by Creator/KanaUeda, who had previously portrayed another powerful antagonistic mermaid character, Sara from ''Anime/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch''.
26	** Austin wearing an outfit nearly identical to that of Literature/HorridHenry became this when the UK dub came around, where he was voiced by Henry's voice actress, Lizzie Waterworth.
27	** In 2004, Pablo was a blue penguin with a yellow beak who was anxious and had an energetic pink friend. In 2020, [[Anime/HealinGoodPrettyCure Pegitan]] now fits that exact same description as well.
28	* JerkassWoobie: The Soccer Monster. He's a friendly monster, but his aggressive nature scares people away, and thus he has no one to play soccer with.
29	* MagnificentBastard:
30	** "[[Recap/TheBackyardigansS2E10InternationalSuperSpy International Super Spy]]": The [[McNinja Lady in Pink]] is a brilliant criminal mastermind out to obtain the three canisters as her "recipe for disaster." Spying on Agent Secret and using him to lead her to the canisters, the Lady and her Henchman Tyrone routinely give Secret hefty duels over the canisters, from ski battles to dance-offs. Revealed to have [[CrazyPrepared concocted a backup plan]] if Secret got the canisters first, the Lady kidnaps Secret's boss Miss T and threatens TickleTorture to force Secret into handing the canisters over, at which point the Lady catches him, as well. Astute enough to see through Austin's disguise and thwart his attempted rescue of Secret, the Lady ultimately is redeemed and becomes a super spy alongside Secret, working with him to use the canisters in creating glasses of chocolate milk for everyone.
31	** "Le Master of Disguise": The titular antagonist, Le Master of Disguise, is a scheming trickster able to change his appearance with masterful skill. On the run from Paris police Inspector Austin, Le Master disguises himself as the Orient Express's conductor to escape the Inspector before changing his persona to that of a waiter. Further fooling Austin and playing him against the train's passengers, Le Master rounds out the story by pulling off his most ingenious plan yet, disguising himself as Austin and nearly tricking bystanders long enough for him to make his escape in Istanbul.
32	** "[[Recap/TheBackyardigansS4E1RobotRampage Robot Rampage]]": Professor Bug is a self-proclaimed EvilGenius who seeks to take control of every last robot in Mega City. Stealthily infecting various robots with his "bugs" to distract local robot repairman Austin, Bug uses the opportunity to infect all Mega City robots with his bugs and bend them to his will. Cheerfully singing about his newfound power while still avoiding giving Austin any clues to his villainy, Bug--refusing to let even one robot possibly thwart him--focuses all his attention on tracking down uninfected robot Rosco, and sics the powerful Rex Robot onto Austin and his friends when he infiltrates Bug's lair. Even when beaten, Bug simply prompts to assist the heroes in repairing all the corrupting robots, noting that he now has plenty of free time on his hands since his scheme was foiled.
33	** "Flower Power": The Gloom Meister is Flower Girl's ArchEnemy, a cackling, well-dressed supervillain with a hatred for all things pretty and flowery thanks to a fear of them. Causing chaos throughout Garden City to gain Flower Girl's attention, the Meister lures her into a trap that leaves her powerless, with the heroine only escaping thanks to a split-second window of opportunity. The Meister plans to use his Gloomsday machine to plunge Garden City into perpetual gloom, yet quickly turns the machine into a weapon to help him overpower and fight off Flower Girl. After his plan is thwarted, the Gloom Meister overcomes his fear of flowers with Flower Girl's help and rechristens himself the Bloom Meister, becoming a new hero to Garden City in the process to atone for his mistakes.
34	* MemeticMutation:
35	%%** SOCCER!!!
36	%%** YETI, YETI, YETI!
37	%%** "WHO'S THE MOST POWERFUL BACKYARDIGAN!?"
38	** "My name's Tyrone!" [[labelnote:Explanation]] His introductory line in the theme song (specifically, the theme for the fourth season). It likely became a meme because of his enthusiasm or him having a stereotypical African American name. [[/labelnote]]
39	%%** "HO DADDY!"
40	** "[[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/424/915/91f.png Why aren't we alive?]]"[[labelnote:Explanation]] An image macro that has circulated the Internet using a scene from the HalloweenEpisode "It's Great To Be A Ghost" [[/labelnote]]
41	%%** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cxD1CrapME Nelvana Wars]]. [[note]] This is a test animation made by a Nelvana animator. [[/note]]
42	** '''''[[SkywardScream CLOWNS!!!]]''''' [[labelnote:Explanation]] Tyrone's catchphrase in the episode "Best Clowns In Town" whenever the clowns Uniqua, Pablo, and Austin annoy him. [[/labelnote]]
43	** In May 2021, the show's song "Castaways" from the episode of the same name went viral on [=TikTok=]. This caused the song to chart on Spotify, topping the US Viral Chart on May 13th, 2021.
44	*** Following that, "International Super Spy" in June 2021.
45	*** Before ''either'' of them, "Into the Thick of It" managed to become a [=TikTok=] sensation in April 2021
46	** "What's a fellow gotta do around here to get some [[FrothyMugsOfWater apple juice]]?" [[labelnote:Explanation]] Said by Pablo as a Western outlaw in the episode "Blazing Paddles". [[/labelnote]]
47	** What is a Uniqua? [[labelnote:Explanation]] A common reaction to Uniqua's ambiguous species. WordOfGod says her species is actually called the uniqua. [[/labelnote]]
48	** "You can't put X in a box!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]The "wind in a box" scene from "Movers of Arabia" took off in late February-early March 2022, as people began replacing the wind with other sounds.[[/labelnote]]
49	** "Not funny haha. Funny weird." [[note]]This quote from "Castaways" became a popular sound on [=TikTok=] in 2022.[[/note]]
50	** When the teaser trailer for ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' released in October 2022, people jokingly compared the Penguin King to Pablo due to the latter having a similar appearance and, when acting the part of a king, wearing a similar king outfit to the former.
51	* {{Moe}}: All five of them certainly qualify, but Uniqua and Austin stand out the most due to their [[GenkiGirl energy]] and [[ShrinkingViolet shyness]] respectively.
52	* NarmCharm: Music genres like Creator/GilbertAndSullivan for a jungle episode, SpaghettiWestern for a Japanese episode, and Tarantella for a Hawaiian episode may sound a bit weird on paper, but it actually works surprisingly well.
53	* NightmareFuel: In "Escape from Fairytale Village", Tyrone thinks Austin, Uniqua, and Pablo want to eat him, which is a bit dark for a preschool show.
54	* NightmareRetardant: "Scared of You" is based around this trope. The episode features a skeptical Austin meeting Tyrone (as The Mummy King), Uniqua (as a rather cute werewolf), and Pablo (as a vampire), all of whom are far more scared of ''each other''. It ends with all five of the kids having a big monster dance party.
55	* ParodyDisplacement: Many songs ([[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness especially from season 1]]) are ToTheTuneOf earlier songs, including a few to the tune of songs that were popular when the target audience's ''grandparents'' were children, but are quite obscure today. Most people do not know this, but the song "Please and Thank You" is to the tune of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7Mu9fh23dY such a song]].
56	* PeripheryDemographic: Because those songs are damn catchy. Also, the animation is beautiful and the writing is smart and funny.
57	* RetroactiveRecognition:
58	** Yes, that is indeed [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Aang]]'s voice coming from Pablo in Season 1.
59	** Tyrone's singing voice for the second and third seasons is [[{{Series/Victorious}} Andre]].
60	** Tyrone in the last season is [[Series/LabRats Leo]].
61	* {{Sequelitis}}: "The Tale of the Mighty Knights" is regarded as a highlight of the series, an hour-long special with amazing visuals and a hardcore arena-rock soundtrack. The kids revisited that setting in the show's only SequelEpisode and GrandFinale, "The Tale of the Not-So-Nice Dragon", which was seen as a fairly average episode. Among other things, the original's dynamic "hair and makeup" effects were replaced by the characters' usual appearances, and the episode's musical genre, Broadway show tunes, was much less catchy.
62	* SignatureScene:
63	** The five (or four or three, depending on the episode) heroes dancing together at the end of every episode, before entering someone's house to have a snack.
64	** The "Lady in Pink" [[DisneyAcidSequence sequence]] from "International Super Spy".
65	* SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel: A cute show about five cute animal kids who are good friends and use their imaginations to go on adventures together. What's not to love?
66	* ToughActToFollow: The second ChristmasEpisode, "The Action Elves Save Christmas Eve", to the first such episode, "The Secret of Snow". The latter episode is considered one of the show's finest episodes, due to its [[FormulaBreakingEpisode unusual format]] and [[TearJerker emotional]] [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments ending]]. The former episode is just seen as average.
67	* ToyShip: Loads. The most common ship is Auniqua (Austin×Uniqua). Other ships include Tyniqua (Tyrone×Uniqua), Austone (Austin×Tyrone), and Tyrasha (Tyrone×Tasha).
68	* TheUntwist:
69	** Frequent, in the course of finding ways around their inability to actually hurt or arrest anyone. During "Whodunit?", for instance, it turns out that [[spoiler:Tyrone was the thief, but he didn't really steal the jewels; Tasha gave them to him. It was all a plot by Tasha to liven up a rainy day]].
70	** Any episode with a mystery or disguise element, naturally, as there are only five characters and they all look so unlike each other that the audience can never be the slightest bit in the dark about what's really going on.
71	* ViewerGenderConfusion: Remember Boinga, the baby alien from "Mission to Mars"? You might be surprised to learn that she's a girl.
72	* TheWoobie: If you think about it, all five of them are. Each character has a moment of Woobie-ness but Austin is the biggest contender, especially in "Race Around the World" where he keeps losing the race.

Context YMMV / TheBackyardigans