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Trivia / Molly of Denali

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General Trivia

  • A few episodes were dubbed into Gwich’in and Koyukon. "King Run" and "Grandpa's Drum" got Gwich’in dubs, while "Have Canoe, Will Paddle" and "Name Game" got Koyukon dubs.

Specific Tropes

  • Acting for Two:
    • Shawn Youngchief voices Mr. Patak, Maurice, Eugene Pike, Olin Benedict, and Finnegan King
    • Michelle Thrush voices Aunt Merna and Shyatsoo.
  • Actor-Shared Background: All the Indigenous characters are played by Indigenous actors. For example, Molly is voiced by Sovereign Bill (Tlingit and Muckleshoot).
  • Adored by the Network:
    • The show was heavily promoted by the network, with the promo for the show airing during every commercial break on PBS Kids beginning two months prior.
    • PBS Kids mass-uploaded several episodes of the show to their YouTube channel. While they have uploaded full episodes before, they haven't uploaded multiple episodes for a single show until now.
  • Children Voicing Children: All the kid characters are voiced by kid actors, though they are often somewhat older than their characters (For example, Sovereign Bill, who voices Molly, was 14 when the show premiered while Molly herself is only 10).
  • Completely Different Title: In Brazil, the show is called Molly e Sua Turma (Molly and Her Gang).
  • Creator's Favorite Episode: Sovereign Bill's (Molly's voice actress) favorite episode is "Grandpa's Drum."
  • Darkhorse Casting: Justified, as the show wants to have authentic Indigenous voice actors on board, resulting in many lesser-known or new faces in the cast. The exceptions are Lorne Cardinal (Nat), Vienna Leacock (Trini), Rebecca Shoichet (Dr. Antigone Howell), Luc Roderique (Daniel), Katrina Salisbury (Nina), Samuel Vincent (Mac McFadden), Bethany Brown (Joy), Cathy Weseluck (Charlotte, one of the Sassy Ladies of Saskatoon), and Ellen Kennedy (Connie).
  • Defictionalization:
  • Died During Production: Taran Kootenhayoo passed away at the end of 2020. As a result, the character of Randall was recast for Season 2.
  • Early-Bird Release: Several episodes of the show were released on YouTube and the PBS Kids website/app before airing on television.
  • Executive Meddling:
    • When the internet found out about "Clark Newman," the higher-ups at PBS caught wind of it and were not happy. The animator who snuck Reigen in either quit the show or was fired, and since then, oblique anime references in the series have been prohibited. It is rumored on a certain imageboard that Koichi also made a cameo, but he hasn't been found yet.
    • The series was renewed for a second season consisting of 23 episodes. However, PBS split the season in two, so that season 2 has 14 episodes and season 3 has 9 episodes, thus making it seem like the show has more seasons than it actually does. The reason for this is unknown.
  • Fake Nationality: Kenyan-born Canadian actress Veena Sood voices Dr. Amara Batra, who is Indian.
  • In Memoriam: "Sea Lion Crooks and Halibut Hooks" is dedicated to the memory of the first voice of Cousin Randall, Taran Kootenhayoo, who passed away in December 2020.
  • International Co Production: Between the American WGBH Boston and the Canadian Atomic Cartoons and CBC.
  • Meaningful Release Date:
    • "Molly and the Great One" is about a climbing expedition planning to reach the summit of Denali on June 7th, in order to honor Walter Harper reaching the top of Denali for the first time on June 7, 1913. The episode aired on PBS Kids on June 7, 2021.
    • Season 2 premiered on November 1, 2021, the first day of Native American Heritage Month.
    • "Bubbling Up/Eenie Eenie Aye Over" premiered on October 10, 2022 to celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day.
  • Missing Episode: The pilot episode is currently missing. It had different animation and voice acting from the official show. A clip of it was available on SPGTV's site, but was soon deleted after the show premiered. The plot of the pilot was remade into the episode "By Sled or Snowshoe".
  • No Export for You: The show has not been released in many countries outside the U.S and Canada. This is most likely a number of factors, with the major reason probably being that PBS distributes this show and don't really sell their shows to other networks, unless they're made by another company. Another factor is that the show will most likely not do well in international markets, as Molly of Denali focuses on Alaskan culture. As of 2023, the only other countries that the show airs in are Iran, Turkey, Slovakia, and Brazil (which airs it through its Discovery+ app).
  • Out of Order:
    • The first produced episode, "Grandpa's Drum/Have Canoe, Will Paddle", didn't air on TV until a month after the series premiered.
    • While "Molly and Elizabeth/Uqiquq" was the first episode of season 2 to air, it was actually the fourth episode in production order. The actual first episode of season 2 is "Mouse in the Treehouse/Leader of the Pack".
    • Generally speaking, the broadcast order makes little attempt to follow the production order.
  • The Other Darrin:
    • In Season 2, Tooey is now voiced by Zane Jasper instead of Sequoia Janvier.
    • Due to Taran Kootenhayoo's death, Randall is now voiced by Jared Ager-Foster.
    • In Season 2, Oscar was recast with Sigmund Dreveny.
  • Screwed by the Network: CBC dropped the show after season 1 and is no longer airing/producing it for unknown reasons.
  • Short Run in Peru: Season 1 wrapped up in Canada in 2020, while Season 1 concluded in the USA in 2021.
  • Special Thanks: Many episode credits feature Special Thanks. For example, Special Thanks were given to Amaya Shaw, Koso Shaw, and and Leeyadaakhan Shaw for the episode "Molly of the Yukon."
  • What Could Have Been: At one point, the show would've been about Molly traveling the world with her parents on a boat instead of setting it in Alaska.
  • Write What You Know: "Grandpa's Drum" was based on the personal memories of Tanana Athabascan tribal Elder Luke Titus.

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