Fly with Oscar the Balloonist on journey of discovery

MANILA, Philippines – At just eight years old, Oscar the inquisitive explorer has seen almost the entire world! From Poland to the Antarctic to the Nile in Africa, OSCAR THE BALLOONIST is on a journey of discovery which takes him and his trusty companion, Spike the cactus, on exciting adventures in his one-of-a-kind hot air balloon.

Unlike ordinary hot air balloons that merely carry humans in a wicker basket, Oscar’s is fully equipped with gadgets and contraptions to help him live and travel around. But more amazingly, it’s the balloon’s ingenious ability to change seasons at Oscar’s command using just a simple rhyme that makes it extraordinary.

Through the changing of seasons, Oscar and Spike will be able to view the various stages of an animal’s life that will help them understand how they live, the issues that affect them and what their main function is in the eco-system.

Get drawn into an immersive world of beautifully animated landscapes, vivacious animal characters and unique experiences on OSCAR THE BALLOONIST when it premieres every weekday at 2:00 p.m. starting from September 23. Encores the following weekday at 9:00 a.m.

There’s nothing else that could be more exciting for Oscar than travelling day and night in his balloon to explore nature, discover new habitats and befriend animals living there! Each episode showcases two enchanting stories of different animal species and begins with a balloon flight that takes Oscar and his friend, Spike the Cactus, to new lands to unravel the secrets of creatures that reside there.

Whether it’s Oscar who spots something on the ground or waters below, or if it’s Spike who has a question yet to be answered, Oscar takes charge and lands the balloon to pay a visit to the animal concerned.

Every meeting with the animals is a personal one – each animal introduces itself to Oscar by name and openheartedly gives him insight into their daily life to help him understand them better. Oscar’s animal counterparts not only have names, but they have seemingly human personalities that reflect the species’ typical characteristics making it easy for young viewers to relate to. Meet a group of “single mom” bats who prefer to raise their kids on their own, “janitor” badgers who have low tolerance for messy neighbours, “lumberjack” beavers who help Oscar and Spike get their balloon back and other critters that are eager to share all there is to know about their special and unique traits and skills.

OSCAR THE BALLOONIST is a light-hearted series that will appeal to kids of all ages and features captivating animation, bright and lively colours, scenes of charming, magical landscapes and smart mix of simple dialogue that can be easily understood by younger audiences. The series also contains layers of information and witty humour that older children – and even adults – will love.

Audiences will also find that the show features a broad, worldwide representation of the animal kingdom and while the animals are cartoon in design, they are portrayed to behave as realistically as possible.

Join Oscar and Spike in becoming great explorers as they make every animal encounter an enriching experience that educates and engages both kids and parents alike.  Catch these following episodes of OSCAR THE BALLOONIST:

Episode 1
The Beaver Rescue
Oscar and Spike crash-lands in the autumn forest somewhere in Poland and meet a beaver family. Unfortunately the balloon gets stuck under water and buried under a fallen tree blocking the exit for the trapped beaver kids. Oscar and the beaver father now have to work together to save the day.

Feathered Friends
On a night expedition through a forest, Spike gets scared by a ghost, which turns out to be Oleg, a barn owl with a problem. As he cannot find enough mice to feed his family, Oscar and Spike want to help him with information on owl hunting skills. When their advice turns out to be less than useful, they try a different solution and turn to their own balloonist skills. They spot some mice in a field nearby and the family is saved.

Episode 2
Barefoot On The Ice
Flying over the endless Antarctic ice, Oscar and Spike spot a marching penguin colony, with one penguin dropping back a little. It’s Pondus, who is deeply in love and tries to make up a love song. Spike helps him out and after fast-forwarding a season, Pondus is married with an egg. Unfortunately, his wife got lost in the snowstorm. Oscar and Spike go on a mission to search for the penguin lady and bring her safe back home.

Dance Of The Bats
On a Transylvanian full moon night, Oscar and Spike land on the roof of a castle ruin and lose each other. While Oscar is making friends with some bats, Spike is desperately trying to find him and save him from the “vampires”. He is followed by Sammi, a young bat who wants to have some fun… Finally Spike finds Oscar and the “blood suckers”. In the end, Oscar and Spike lends a hand to the bats to repair their roof keeping them safe from the owl.

Episode 3
Rhino Seeks Makeover Pros
In the African dried-out savannah, Oscar and Spike meet Dora the rhino who has a dispute with Pecky, the oxpecker. The bird flies away, leaving the rhino and her little son without anyone to liberate them from vermin. Our friends try their best to help, but they cannot replace Pecky.  So they search for someone else to do the job and find a bunch of cattle egrets, who pick some bugs, but forget to warn Dora when a lion attacks. The rhino manages to fight the lion, but when Pecky comes back, everyone is really happy.

Spike’s Chick
Oscar and Spike find an abandoned ostrich egg. When the chick gets out, it first sees Spike and takes him for his mother, even if Spike tries everything to defend him from so much love. Later, they find the real Ostrich family, but the little bird still only has eyes for the cactus. Oscar gets the idea to build a “Spike-lookalike”, made of an old T-shirt and attach it to the real parents’ leg. Now, Spike is free again, but also a bit sad for leaving “his” boy.

Episode 4
New Life Of The Nile
Landing their balloon on the banks of the Nile, Oscar and Spike encounter a dragon – which turns out to be a crocodile named Leila who is waiting for her babies to leave their eggs. But many other animals also wait for them (for lunch) and Leila is in big trouble. How can you keep an eye on 66 babies on their way into the water? Our pair helps out and distracts the animals – giving a Nile monitor a dental treatment and troubling the water, so the marabous cannot see the swimming babies.

No Room For Two
In the rain forest of Sumatra, Oscar and Spike meet Otak, a young orang utan who has his problems with the huge alpha male of the district. Spike wants to give him some boxing lessons and teach him some confidence. Also, they build a bridge to cross the river, to get to some delicious fruit. As Spike falls down from the huge trees, Otak risks everything to catch him, speeding towards the ground, just as the alpha male comes along. The huge ape gets a real shock and runs off leaving Otak the new king of the jungle.

Episode 5
Meerkat Seeks Accommodation
Flying through the hot savannah, the balloon crashes into a lump of rocks, causing a small avalanche to hit meerkat auntie Gerda on the head. She then becomes a little wacky from the concussion so Oscar and Spike have to help out in the meerkat colony, taking care of the kids and searching for a new home. During the night, a snake attacks Gerda and Oscar warns the others like a real meerkat. Altogether, they defeat the predator and Gerda suddenly is well again, thanks to the scares the snake caused.

The Salmon Leaps
Oscar and Spike befriend Susie Salmon, who tries desperately to climb a wild Canadian mountain creek for to lay her eggs. Unfortunately she is quite exhausted from her long trip and cannot jump high enough to climb a tricky waterfall. Oscar builds a fish stairs out of a branch, and Susie carries on – just until she is threatened by a hungry grizzly bear. From their balloon, Oscar distracts him with a bucket on a rope and helps Susie escape safely.