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Oobi: Dasdasi is an Iranian adaptation of the original Oobi show. It was filmed in 2012. IRIB TV2, one of Iran's national TV channels, funded and aired the series. Like the original American version, it follows a family of bare-hand puppets, but it includes a variety of new characters and is more focused on comedy.

The puppet costumes are replicas of those from the original show. It was produced and directed by Negar Estakhr and Amir Soltan Ahmadi, two of Iran's foremost puppeteers. IRIB started production on the series after the two developers watched Oobi in English.[1]

78 eight-minute episodes were made.[2] The series ran from September 22 to December 20, 2012, with six new episodes premiering each week for three months.[3] By summer 2013, the show had been broadcast in seven Asian territories.[4][5][6] Reruns played regularly on IRIB until at least 2018.

Description

The main characters are a family of five hand puppets: a boy and a girl, their parents, and their grandfather. The kids are mischievous and like to play tricks on their parents and each other. They are impressionable, easily amused, and known for daydreaming a lot. However, they are also genuinely curious about the world. They often come to Mom and Dad with questions about science topics, like perception and the four seasons. Other times, they are interested in sillier things, like how to buy ice cream or play a mimicking game. No matter the episode's topic, the kids always learn about it in an awkward and humorous way.

The episodes have a unique structure that is distinct from the American series. The stories are eight minutes each, with two or three intermissions. During these transition scenes, a duo of puppets called the Palms have short adventures that relate to the episode's topic. They are upright hands with faces on their palms. They are sometimes joined by their friend Finger, a male little finger with a brown wig.

Credits

Gallery

Photos

Screenshots

Episodes

Only seven English episode titles have been confirmed, listed in alphabetical order.

# Title Summary
1 Butterfly After watching a caterpillar become a butterfly, the kids learn about metamorphosis.
2 The Copycats Mom, Dad and Grandpa are tired of the kids' new habit of mimicking everything they do, so they decide to turn the tables and join in on the imitation game.
3 Ice Cream The kids want to buy ice cream but are not sure how to ask for it.
4 Kites On a windy day, the kids go outside to fly their kites.
5 Laundry Day The kids accidentally get a stain on Grandpa's favorite hat. Mom and Dad try to help them clean it in the washtub before Grandpa finds out.
6 Senses Mom and Dad help the kids become familiar with their five senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste.
7 Swing After a mishap, the kids learn how to be careful on the swing set in their backyard.

Broadcast

Oobi: Dasdasi started airing internationally in mid-2013. By July of that year, it had been broadcast in five new territories: Kuwait, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.[5] In Japan, the national network NHK aired it with Japanese subtitles.[4] In addition to IRIB TV2, the show has aired on the main IRIB channel.

Trivia and notes

  • The Persian title is دس دسی صداش می آد, which roughly translates to Dasdasi: Clapping Hands.
  • Only one episode, "Swing", adapts a plot from the original American show ("Uma Swing!"). Every other episode is a unique story.

Links

Sources

  1. An interview with the producer of Dasdasi. Jaam-e Jam (July 9, 2013). Archived from the original on December 12, 2012.
  2. About Dasdasi (December 22, 2012).
  3. Oobi: Dasdasi - IRIB TV2 (Persian). IRIB (May 21, 2012). Archived from the original on October 27, 2012.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union desires to play Dasdasi. Iranian Students News Agency (July 8, 2013).
  5. 5.0 5.1 See Dasdasi submission at the ABU conference. Banifilm (July 9, 2013).
  6. Dasdasi wins at ABU conference. Magiran (July 9, 2013).
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