| Creator: | Emily Kapnek[1] |
| Director: | Mark Risley |
| Composer: | Jared Faber |
| Open Theme: | "I'm in Between" performed by Macy Gray[2] |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 3 |
| Num Episodes: | 60 |
| List Episodes: | List of As Told by Ginger episodes |
| Runtime: | 24 minutes |
| Network: | Nickelodeon |
| Network2: | Nicktoons |
As Told by Ginger (also known as As Told by Ginger Foutley)[3] is an American animated preteen drama television series, produced by Klasky Csupo (which also produced Rugrats), and aired on Nickelodeon.[4] The series focuses on a junior high school (later high school) girl named Ginger Foutley who, with her friends, tries to become more than a social geek.[5] [6] [7] The series first aired on Nickelodeon on October 25, 2000.
As Told by Ginger ended production in 2004, although some episodes were initially unaired on U.S. television; the remaining episodes would premiere at varying intervals on Nickelodeon-affiliated services through to 2021. It was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour). The series was praised and noted for having ongoing story arcs and characters who developed, aged, and changed their clothes throughout the show, a rare quality in an animated series at the time it came out.
See main article: List of As Told by Ginger characters. The series focuses mainly on the life of junior high school student Ginger Foutley (voiced by Melissa Disney).[8] [9] Ginger and her friends Darren Patterson (voiced by Kenny Blank), Deirdre Hortense "Dodie" Bishop (voiced by Aspen Miller), and Macie Lightfoot (voiced by Jackie Harris), try to rise from the position of school geeks as they solve many conflicts that come their way.[8]
Luckily for Ginger, the most popular girl in school, Courtney Gripling (voiced by Liz Georges), has taken a liking to her and often includes her in her social plans.[10] She is intrigued by her "gingerisms", as Courtney calls them. However, Miranda Killgallen (voiced by Cree Summer), Courtney's right-hand woman, makes sure that she is not bumped down from her position thanks to Ginger. At home, Ginger writes her lively adventures in her diary.[11] Her younger brother, Carl (voiced by Jeannie Elias), is often scheming with Robert Joseph "Hoodsey" Bishop (voiced by Tress MacNeille) in his own side plots, and her mother, Lois (voiced by Laraine Newman), is always there for advice – to which Ginger is always able to listen.
The series takes place in the fictional suburban town of Sheltered Shrubs, located in Connecticut.[12] Sheltered Shrubs is based on the real town of Larchmont, New York, where series creator Emily Kapnek moved to when she was in junior high.[7] She said the town became "sort of the basis for this show".[7] Other towns noted in the series are Protected Pines, a gated community in which Courtney lives, Brittle Branches, where Ginger's father resides, and Heathered Hills, the town of Ginger's summer camp crush, Sasha.
As Told by Ginger has been recognized by fans and Nickelodeon alike for its character development, most of which was unusual for a cartoon in its time.[1] [13] [14]
In the first season, Ginger's age group is considered as being in seventh grade. By the second season, they move up to eighth grade rather than remaining the same age. In this season, Darren has the unwieldy orthodontic headgear that he has worn for the entire first season removed, which results in rising popularity. They graduate junior high in the middle of the third season and move on to become freshmen in high school. Carl's age group works in the same way, as they become junior high students by the third season. Many episodes make references to past episodes, giving the episodes a definite order.
One of the most notable developments is that most of the characters change clothes every episode and often within the same episode, a highly unusual characteristic of cartoons.[13] Most animated cartoons have their characters remain in the same outfits throughout the series to save time and money. This was most conspicuous amongst the girls in Ginger's age group (Dodie, Courtney, Macie, Miranda and Ginger herself) and some of the adults such as Ginger's mother. After Darren got his orthodontic headgear removed, he changed clothes as well. Carl's age group changes clothes only infrequently and with few changes. Hoodsey's coat rack has similar purple hoodies, satirizing cartoons whose characters always remain in the same outfits. Unlike most live-action shows whose characters only wear an outfit once, As Told by Ginger characters wear their outfits in rotation, and new outfits are added every few episodes.
The series also deals with several deeper themes.[13] [15] In "Wicked Game", Ginger's two best friends betray her after feeling jealousy toward her new boyfriend, Darren.[16] [17] In "And She Was Gone", the staff and students at school think Ginger is suicidally depressed after she writes a disturbing poem that worries them.[13] [18] In the episode "No Hope for Courtney", Carl's pranks cause his teacher to retire. After she agrees to come back, Mrs. Gordon passes on.[19] In actuality, Mrs. Gordon's voice actress, Kathleen Freeman, died before the episode's completion, and the script was rewritten in dedication to her. "A Lesson in Tightropes" has Ginger going through an emotional breakup with Darren while she must undergo surgery for appendicitis.[13] [20] Furthermore, the episode "Stuff'll Kill Ya" shows Ginger dealing with a coffee and caffeine drug addiction.[13]
Unlike most other Nicktoons, the series was aired on the TEENick block.
See main article: List of As Told by Ginger episodes.
There were four television films that aired during the series' run.
Nickelodeon had originally asked for the ending of The Wedding Frame to be changed to something less conclusive in case they wished to order more episodes, however, perhaps due to that situation being very unlikely, the original ending was eventually retained. It was released directly to DVD in the United States in November 2004,[27] but it would not be otherwise available in the U.S. until 2021, when it and one of the episodes leading up to the film ("Battle of the Bands") premiered on CBS All Access.
In international airings, the films were divided into two (for Butterflies are Free) and three parts (for the other three films) in reruns.
The pilot for the show was completed in September 1999. The show premiered in October 2000 on Nickelodeon.[28] The show was greatly popular at first, making its way into the teenager-aimed block TEENick.[29] After the second season, the show's popularity began to decline, partially due to constant scheduling changes. Nickelodeon then pulled the show off the air after airing less than half the episodes of the third and final season. The show was a part of the Nicktoons channel since its inception in 2002,[30] and began airing the remaining third-season episodes in November 2004, when "Ten Chairs" premiered. The "high school" episodes were slated to premiere during November 2006, but only one, "Stuff'll Kill Ya", premiered. Of the remaining Season 3 episodes, 4 ultimately premiered on TeenNick's The Splat in 2016, and the last 2 (including "The Wedding Frame", which had previously been released on DVD in the US in 2004) premiered on CBS All Access in 2021.
| Network | Time | In effect | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickelodeon | Wednesdays at 8 pm | October 2000 – January 2001 | |
| Sundays 7:30 pm | January 2001 – June 2003 | ||
| Nick on CBS | Saturday mornings (Sunday mornings on some stations) | September 14, 2002 – January 25, 2003 | |
| Nickelodeon | Weekday mornings | November 2005 | |
| Nicktoons Network | November 2006 – May 2007 | ||
| The N | Saturday nights | January 2007 | |
| Nicktoons Network | Sunday and Monday mornings | May 2007 – July 2007 | |
| Nickelodeon | Monday mornings | August 2007 | |
| Nicktoons Network | Tuesday and Saturday mornings | October 2007 – March 2008 | |
| Nickelodeon | 6am Tuesdays | March 2008 | |
| Nicktoons Network | 4:00am Tuesday and Saturday mornings | March 2008 – January 2009 | |
| The Splat | Fridays at 12am | October 9, 2015 – April 1, 2017 | |
| Four (New Zealand TV Channel) | Every morning 7.30am and later weekday and Sunday mornings 7.30am | February 7, 2011 – April 13, 2011 | |
| Indus Vision | Daily 5.30pm | August 2003 – November 2004 | |
| Spacetoon | Weekday mornings | March 2005 – January 2014 | |
| Spacetoon English | Tuesday mornings | April 2005 – January 2011 | |
| YTV | Daily | 2000 – 2005 | |
| Nickelodeon Canada | Weekdays at 4 & 4:30pm | 2014 – 2017 |
| +Region 1 | Title | Season(s) | Episode count | Release date | Episodes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Wedding Frame | 1, 3 | 5 | November 23, 2004 | 3 ("Stealing First"), 6 ("Dare I, Darren") and 58–60 ("The Wedding Frame") | ||
| Far from Home | April 5, 2005 | 1 "(Ginger the Juvey"), 41–43 ("Far from Home") and Pilot ("The Party") | ||||
The opening theme, titled "I'm in Between", was written for the show by American rapper Ray Raymond.[34] The song was first recorded with vocals by Melissa Disney, in character as Ginger. But this version was replaced before initial North American broadcasts with another version performed by Cree Summer. This would be used for half of the first season before a third version, featuring vocals by R&B artist Macy Gray,[2] which was used for the rest of the series' run.
In the UK broadcasts, the Melissa Disney and Cree Summer versions were used for the first two seasons, while the Macy Gray version was used for season three. Internationally, the Macy Gray version is the most recognizable version.
The closing credits are typically-designed backgrounds with the show's signature font. These backgrounds include the ice cream cones from Ginger's bedroom walls, ladybugs from Dodie's bedroom walls, pencils, lizards and more. In several episodes, the ending theme is a rock-based instrumental, although there have been exceptions. "Piece of My Heart" ends with a different and softer instrumental melody. The episode "Never Can Say Goodbye" ended with a song called "Wrong", sung by voice actor Kenny Blank as Darren Patterson, and "And She Was Gone" ended with a musical version of Ginger's poem during the credits. The episode "Come Back, Little Seal Girl" featured the songs "Courtney's World" and "The Little Seal Girl" blended together. In "About Face", a song called "Diamonds Are Expensive", presumably sung by the engaged Lois and Dr. Dave, is played over the credits. "Next Question" ended with "The Teen Seal Girl" song. Finally, the episode "No Hope for Courtney" had no music during the credits, being dedicated to the memory of Kathleen Freeman.