Trivia / Under the Umbrella Tree

• Acting for Two: Holly Larocque plays Holly and her Irish cousin Lorraine. She also voices Mitzi the dog, who even sings a duet with Holly in the Christmas special.
• The Cast Showoff: Holly Larocque frequently got to show off her singing and dancing talent.
• The Danza: Holly Larocque plays Holly Higgins.
• Descended Creator: Noreen Young plays Gloria.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Over 140 episodes cannot be found on DVD or Encore+.
• Live on Stage!: There were Live Easter shows of Under the Umbrella Tree at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
• Network to the Rescue: Due to the show's immense popularity in the USA, Disney Channel saved the show by greenlighting a series of seasonal specials, focusing on Valentine's Day, Back to School, and more.
• Production Posse: Puppeteers Noreen Young, Stephen Brathwaite and Matt Ficner would later work together on The Noddy Shop.
• Real-Life Relative: Puppeteers Noreen Young (Gloria, as well as the series creator) and Stephen Brathwaite (Jacob) are siblings.
• Reclusive Artist: Holly Larocque, who played Holly, quit acting once this show ended. However, in 2020 she resurfaced to partake in a special about COVID-19 with the original puppet cast.
• Screwed by the Network: Throughout the show's history, Telefilm had trouble paying for the show's production funds. After weeks of negotiations, Telefilm agreed to fund the rest of season 4, but refused to fund a season 5, citing that the show had failed to make a profit. 98% of the show's earnings went to Telefilm due to CBC barring commercials during kids' shows. On top of that, CBC shows could not merchandise their characters. However, Disney later rescued the series.
• What Could Have Been: Noreen Young conceived the show and pitched it to the CBC as early as 1981. The character of Muffy Mouse from Today's Special was originally created by Young as an Umbrella Tree roommate, but repurposed after the show failed to be greenlit at the time.