Trivia / Oobi

• Acting for Two: Stephanie D'Abruzzo plays both Uma and Inka, so the crew had to find creative ways to fit them both in the same scenes without having her actually play both characters. For example, one episode has Inka call Grampu from off screen outside while Uma and Grampu are inside. Another has Oobi and Uma find a Valentine's Day card that Inka delivered to Grampu, but Inka is never seen. Possibly the most obvious example is in the "Recital!" episode, which heavily features Inka. Uma is said to be "visiting Aunt Oota's" for the entirety of the story.
• The Cast Showoff: Surprisingly, Kevin Clash—known for performing Elmo's vexatious falsetto voice for nearly 30 years—shows off his fantastic singing skills as the suave, deep-voiced Randy in "Babysitter!"
• Creator's Favorite: Stephanie D'Abruzzo said that Uma is her favorite character that she's performed.
• Cross-Dressing Voices: Frankie Cordero played both Papu and Mamu (though he never really spoke as Mamu).
• Flip-Flop of God: Promo materials for the second season identified the characters as furless Muppets. In a 2004 interview with Josh Selig, he mentioned that Oobi "is kind of his own species." Whether or not he meant a species of Muppets is unclear, so it's debatable whether or not this is a flip-flop.
• Follow the Leader: One could say Lejo followed the lead of Oobi, but as described in the lead of this article, they're too closely related to be this.
  • El Compayito would also technically count, but Oobi served as its inspiration.
• Missing Episode: The two-minute shorts have never gotten an official release, and many of them aren't available online. The "complete series" collection on Amazon Video only has the half-hour episodes.
• Screwed by the Network: After the third season wrapped in February 2005, most parents expected new episodes to return in the fall—just like what happened after the second season finished in 2004. The show's ratings during late 2004 were actually some of the highest in Noggin's history—they even published a press release with the subtitle "Noggin's Oobi Delivers Highest Rated Original Premiere In Network's History". Despite the record-breaking ratings, Noggin seemed to totally drop the show. Promotion was quietly pulled, reruns moved to an early-morning time slot, and it never came back for another season.
  • This isn't that bad when you consider how Oobi: Dasdasi continued the show's legacy in 2012.
• Short Run in Peru: A few episodes of the third season aired internationally before they were shown in the United States. Most international channels also aired the episodes in order, unlike in America; there, the finale ("Superheroes!") aired as if it were a standard episode and "Valentine!" was the last episode to premiere.
• Shrug of God: The creators have never revealed why Oobi and Uma live alone with their grandfather.
• What Could Have Been: According to this interview, the show was first pitched to Noggin under the working title Pipo.
• Word of God: Promotional materials identify the characters as "furless" Muppets.