Spinning off from Aardman Animations' Shaun the Sheep, Timmy Time follows that show's Ensemble Dark Horse as he heads to an all-animal preschool run by a pink heron named Harriet and a purple owl named Osbourne. There he meets Yabba the Duckling, Paxton the Piglet, Mittens the Kitten, Ruffy the Dog, Apricot the Hedgehog, Stripey the Badger Cub, Kid the Goat, Otus the Owlet, Finlay the Fox Cub and Bumpy the Caterpillar, and learns various lessons about getting along with others.
The series started in April 2009. If you live in the show's home of the United Kingdom, you can find Timmy Time on CBeebies. If you're in the United States, the home for the program is Amazon Prime Video (and was formerly on Playhouse Disney), and Canadian viewers can see the show on Treehouse TV. Australian viewers can watch it on two channels, ABC Kids (shared with young adult-orientated channel ABC2) and (formerly)note Disney Junior (only on pay TV).
This series provides examples of:
- Animal Stereotypes
- Anthropomorphic Shift: Timmy (and his mother in the credits) are much more anthropomorphic than in Shaun the Sheep (where, again, the sheep were more anthropomorphic than they were in A Close Shave). They also live in a world where animals go to preschool, which doesn't entirely fit with the Shaun the Sheep setting, where the sheep are basically treated like sheep.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Happens to Timmy all the time. Justified, since he's a toddler and is naturally curious about stuff.
- Attention Whore: Often an episode's conflict is set off by Timmy wanting to hog attention, only to learn his lesson. To be fair, his need for attention is balanced out by wanting to help his friends.
- Baths Are Fun: "Timmy Needs a Bath" focuses on Timmy trying to avoid one. Eventually, however, he permits his teddy bear to go into the bath. Then, once he gets in, he splashes and has fun.
- Class Clown: Ruffy
- Cuckoo Clock Gag: The school that Timmy goes to has a cuckoo clock, with the cuckoo doing something different depending on what time it is (e.g. holding cymbals when it's time to have a music session or holding a paintbrush and a palette when it's time for an art session).
- Cunning Like a Fox: Finlay, who is more of a Keet than The Trickster.
- Cute Kitten: Mittens
- Escalating War: Non-violent variation in "Timmy the Train": Timmy and Mittens both want to lead their friends as pretend trains, and take advantage of the others' attraction to shiny objects by making their costumes increasingly complex.
- Expressive Ears: Timmy and some of the other characters
- Halloween Episode: "Timmy Gets Spooked"
- Messy Pig: Paxton
- The Owl-Knowing One: Osbourne is the more patient of the teachers. His son Otus also tries to follow his example whenever possible, mimicking his actions.
- Pokémon Speak: Most characters make their respective animal noises, but since most kids don't know what sound badgers makenote , Stripey just says "Badger, badger, badger".
- Precious Puppies: Ruffy
- Shrinking Violet: Apricot, who responds to anything frightening by rolling up into a ball.
- Sleepy Head: Stripey is generally in a dozy state, though, to be fair, this is because badgers are nocturnal.
- Spin-Off: This show is a double example: it was spun off from Shaun the Sheep, itself a spin off of Wallace & Gromit.
- The Speechless: As on Shaun the Sheep, all the animals make their respective noises rather than speaking like humans.
- Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Harriet is pink and wears a pearl necklace. Averted for the others.
