Stephanie (LazyTown) explained

Stephanie
Series:LazyTown
First:Áfram Latibær! (1996)
Last:Mystery of the Pyramid (2014)
Creator:Magnús Scheving
Portrayer:Shelby Young (pilot)
Julianna Rose Mauriello (Series 1–2, LazyTown Extra)
Chloe Lang (Series 3–4)
Kimberly Pena (stage show)
Nickname:'Pinky', 'SportaStephanie',[1] 'Pink Girl'
Species:Human
Gender:Female
Occupation:Aspiring dancer and cheerleader
Family:Milford Meanswell (uncle)
Lbl21:Age
Data21:8[2] [3] [4] initially, later 10

Stephanie is a fictional character from the Icelandic children's television show LazyTown. She is an aspiring cheerleader and dancer who inspires the other citizens of the titular town to stay active. She has pink hair and as such is nicknamed 'Pinky' by the puppet character Trixie. She came to town to visit her uncle, Milford Meanswell, the mayor of LazyTown. Upon meeting the other children, she unsuccessfully attempted to get them to play along as opposed to staying at home playing video games and eating candy. This changed when Stephanie asked for the help of Sportacus. When he finally arrived, the whole town worked together to make LazyTown a more active place to live. Each episode of the show ends with Stephanie performing a song and dance routine to "Bing Bang", the show's ending theme.[5]

The character’s original Icelandic name is Solla Stirða. In the Icelandic version of the TV series, her voice was dubbed in Icelandic by Ólöf Kristín Þorsteinsdóttir.[6]

The role of Stephanie was performed by Julianna Rose Mauriello in seasons 1 and 2.[7] In 2011, Julianna confirmed she would be leaving LazyTown, as she had grown too old to play the role of Stephanie. She was replaced by Chloe Lang for seasons 3 and 4. Stephanie was also played by Kimberly Pena in LazyTown Live! The Pirate Adventure, a stage production that toured throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2009.[8]

Description

Stephanie was depicted as being an athletic, sweet, shy, sassy, caring, optimistic, and smart 8-year-old girl.[9] Surprised by the inactivity of the residents of LazyTown, she cheerfully encourages them to participate in more active, energetic hobbies or pastimes such as sports, games, and much more when they are downhearted when the temptations of candy or video games overcome her prodding. Despite this, Stephanie is characterized by her optimism and self-confidence, which she proudly promotes and shares with her peers in encouragement against all odds or challenges, always victoriously triumphing over any obstacles or antagonists by the conclusion of an episode.

Stephanie's attempts are often nearly thwarted by Robbie Rotten, but his plans are never foolproof and always end with Stephanie winning.

Development

Stephanie was originally created by Magnús Scheving for the stage play Áfram Latibær as "Solla Stirða" ("Solla Stiff"), a girl with stiff joints who dreamt of becoming a dancer. Solla also appeared in the sequel to the stage play, Glanni Glæpur í Latabæ. She was played by Selma Björnsdóttir and Linda Ásgeirsdóttir, respectively.

Magnús Scheving reworked Solla into Stephanie for the LazyTown television show. Shelby Young was originally pegged to play Stephanie in 2003, and filmed one unaired pilot before departing due to union issues.

Ultimately, Julianna Rose Mauriello was chosen to play Stephanie, and played her for the first two seasons and LazyTown Extra before departing due to aging out of the role.

Chloe Lang picked up the role of Stephanie for seasons three, four, and LazyTown Motivational Campaigns. And as of 2024, she is the most recent actress to play Stephanie.

Appearance

Stephanie tends to wear a pink sleeveless dress with pale blush pink tights, pink socks, white and pink sneakers and a purple hairband. Her outfit, though, changes from time to time. For example, in "LazyTown Goes Digital" and "Energy Book", she wears pink leggings with her usual dress. She also wears tracksuits and other items of clothing, but they are nearly always pink. Her short bob hair is dyed pink. All her accessories are also pink. She also has long, curled eyelashes and slightly blushing cheeks. She is often seen carrying a pink purse with a heart on it, in which she carries her pink diary. As a pirate, she wore a pink bandanna with a white, fancy letter "S" on it for Stephanie, as well as a striped shirt, loose ripped pink leggings and pink socks. As a princess, she had longer curly hair in pigtails and wore a loose fuchsia princess dress.

Reception

Child development authors Lyn Mikel Brown and Sharon Lamb assert that Stephanie is interesting and makes pink a "power color" due to her quick thinking, computer gaming and sporty nature.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lazytown's New Super Hero - 02/11/2012. Radio Times.
  2. Web site: subscription . NBC 220 - 12:30 PM LazyTown . An 8-year-old girl is caught between a superhero and his lazy nemesis. . MyBell.Bell.Ca . 12 February 2016.
  3. Book: Kristjansdotter, Dagny . https://books.google.com/books?id=vJknBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 . the description of the character Stephanie: "This 8-year-old girl is new to LazyTown. . PART II: Filmic Translations Chapter 9: Sportacus Saves the Day! . 152 . Crossing Textual Boundaries in International Children's Literature . Lance . Weldy . 18 January 2011 . Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 978-1-4438-2760-7 .
  4. Web site: The Official Home Page for LazyTown . https://archive.today/20090820055840/http://www.lazytown.biz/Characters.aspx?char=stephanie . 20 August 2009 . This 8-year-old girl is new to LazyTown. She’s just moved here to live with her uncle, the town’s mayor, Milford Meanswell. Stephanie is caught between doing what’s easiest and making better choices. . dead .
  5. Web site: Bing Bang . GetLazy . 6 May 2014 . 31 May 2014.
  6. News: Talsetning á Latabæ hafin ('Dubbing of LazyTown Has Begun') . . 28 April 2005 . 21 September 2015.
  7. Book: Vincent Terrace. Encyclopedia of Television Subjects, Themes And Settings. 2007. McFarland & Company Incorporated Pub. 978-0-7864-2498-6. 16.
  8. Web site: Sportacus, Stephanie and Swashbuckling fun! . . 23 April 2009.
  9. Web site: Lazy Town Characters . nickjr.com.au . https://web.archive.org/web/20070514005238/http://www.nickjr.com.au/site/item.asp?pageID=100&sectionID=132&subSectionID=412&itemID=1057 . 14 May 2007 . Stephanie (8 years old) - Stephanie is a sweet, optimistic girl who’s just moved here.
  10. Book: Lamb . Sharon . Brown . Lyn Mikel . Sharon Lamb . See no evil? What girls watch . Lamb . Sharon . Brown . Lyn Mikel . Sharon Lamb . Lyn Mikel Brown . Lyn Mikel Brown . Packaging girlhood: rescuing our daughters from marketers' schemes . 60–61 . St. Martin's Griffin . New York . 2007 . 9780312370053 . Stephanie, the ten-year-old on the fitness and health-focused show Lazy Town... is especially interesting. While she seems almost over-the-top stereotypical, with her pink hair, pink clothes, pink room, pink everything, she also plays sports, thinks on her feet, and loves computer games. She makes pink a power color but is one of the only girls on the show. .