Camp Lazlo

Camp Lazlo is an American animated television series created by Joe Murray, produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It currently airs on Cartoon Network. The show features a Boy Scout-like summer camp with a cast of anthropomorphic animal characters, a "retro" type of humor and silliness akin to Murray's previous series, Rocko's Modern Life (which aired on Nickelodeon a decade earlier), and cultural references.

History
After the end of the production of Rocko's Modern Life, Murray kept a notebook of ideas for television shows and books. Murray attributes some of his most fond memories to days at summer camp; Murray said that he attended summer camp every summer for "4 or 5 years in a row" and that he "couldn't really get the scouting thing down." He also described cartoons with pastoral settings such as the Bugs Bunny cartoons of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series and Yogi Bear as having a "calming" effect due to the tree-filled backgrounds. At the time he believed that too many futuristic themes appeared in media and literature, so he wished to create a series that would "get back to nature". Camp Lazlo originated from a camp-related children's book concept by Murray that, according to him, "outgrew it’s medium." As Murray developed the concept, he felt that his "lunatic characters wanted to live" and decided that a simple story could not sufficiently house his characters. Murray desired to create a series about a group of children without "high tech stimulus" and "in nature."

Linda Simensky, who had previously worked with Murray on  Rocko  , had since moved to Cartoon Network and called Murray to solicit a new series. After an initial hesitation, Murray sent Simensky&lt;ref&gt;" Bio ,"  Joe Murray Studio  &lt;/ref&gt; the idea for a show with a working title of  3 Beans . Simensky "thought it sounded too much like a salad", so Murray changed the name to  Camp Lazlo . When approval was given, Murray decided to produce the show at Cartoon Network Studios and brought Mark O'Hare on as co-producer.&lt;ref name="crafting"&gt; &lt;/ref&gt;

According to Murray, the "green light" to start Lazlo had been initially given and later revoked, leaving Murray and Mark O'Hare "pissed" and "depressed." Murray believed that an executive was not "completely sold" with starting production for  Camp Lazlo . Murray worked to have the series receive its final, definite approval.&lt;ref&gt;" June 28, 2008 ."  Joe Murray Studio  .&lt;/ref&gt;

The production of  Camp Lazlo  began in 2004 and ended in 2007.&lt;ref name="CampLazloHome"/&gt; November 2007 marked the final production run of  Camp Lazlo . &lt;ref&gt;" September 8, 2007: Holy crap we won! ,"  Joe Murray Studio  &lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;" October 31, 2007 ,"   Joe Murray Studio  &lt;/ref&gt;

== ==Production ==

Murray felt that  Camp Lazlo  successfully appealed to younger children because his prior experiences with his own children helped him determine details that children found humorous. Murray said that he resisted the urge inside of him to micromanage the production and instead approved aspects and contributions related to the show. He said that he had "a lot of pre-production time" and therefore details became established before the show aired on television. &lt;ref name="cn pressroom"/&gt;

Rough Draft Studios &lt;ref&gt;" Production Credits ,"  Turner Pressroom  &lt;/ref&gt;, a South Korean studio, produced the  Camp Lazlo  footage.&lt;ref name="CampLazloArchivesMurray"&gt;" Camp Lazlo Archives ,"  Joe Murray Studio  &lt;/ref&gt;

=== Writing style ===His main philosophies expressed in the show include the phrase “be who you are" and that one should question authority unless the issue is "a safety issue." Murray said that he avoids sending "messages" to children and that he hoped that his television show did not contain "too many messages."&lt;ref name="cn pressroom"/&gt;

=== Animation style ===Murray said that he likes storybook art and the works of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse ; the styles influenced the visual style of  Camp Lazlo . He also describes "great comic book artists" as important to himself and Mark O'Hare .&lt;ref name="cn pressroom"/&gt;

The team created some backgrounds using "Acryl Gouache ," a mixture of acrylic paint and gouache.&lt;ref&gt;" January 24, 2008 ,"  Joe Murray Studio  &lt;/ref&gt;

== Description ==The show features the adventures of three major characters: Lazlo, the title character, is a spider monkey from São Paulo , Brazil &lt;ref name="CharMuseum"&gt;" Character Museum ,"  Joe Murray Studio  &lt;/ref&gt; with a carefree attitude; Raj, an Asian Indian elephant &lt;ref name="CharMuseum"/&gt; who is more level-headed; and Clam, an albino  pygmy  rhino , who speaks in bursts of one or two words, synonym ously echoing his friends statements.

Each episode contains two parts approximately 11 minutes long, with the exception of two episodes.&lt;ref&gt;&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;&lt;/ref&gt; The show occasionally breaks the fourth wall &lt;ref name="Award"&gt;Lazlo gives an award to a camper for being the best "incidental character"&lt;/ref&gt; and sometimes lacks continuity &lt;ref name="Gone Fishin"&gt;Ends with Lumpus being eaten by a lake monster .&lt;/ref&gt;. Carlos Alazraqui, Tom Kenny and Doug Lawrence, all of whom provided much of the voice work on Murray's previous series  Rocko's Modern Life , provide lead voices in this show along with veteran voice actors Jeff Bennett , Jodi Benson , Jill Talley (Kenny's wife and  Mr. Show   co-star), and first time voice acting Steve Little (Alazraqui's   Reno 911!   co-star).

 Camp Lazlo  premiered on July 8, 2005 in the United States. In Canada, Teletoon 's English channel also debuted the show June 26, 2006; but in the last week of August 2006, it was pulled from Teletoon, and returned on June 22, 2007. The second season premiered on Teletoon in the fall of 2007.

In the United Kingdom  Camp Lazlo  aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

In Australia, India, and Latin America  Camp Lazlo  is shown on the Cartoon Network.

== Setting ==The setting of the show was designed to deliberately bring a nostalgic feeling of childhood summer camps and "evoke a comfortable place to visit." The colors instill the  feeling  of summer camp, and rather than basing color schemes on real-life colors; Murray and Sue Mondt, the art director, chose the colors. In  Camp Lazlo , the sky can be yellow, and trees are not always green and brown. For the architecture and objects, books with cabins, camps and Native American artifacts were consulted. Ultimately, Murray wanted to create a place where nature prevails, and the hustle and bustle of real-life is left behind, with no technology to distract from the impressions of camp life. He describes the camp as having a "retro" feel. Murray likes 1950s and early 1960s designs of objects like advertising art, lamps, and old vacation brochures, and he said that the "brushy quality that developed at that time" heavily influenced the setting. &lt;ref name="cn pressroom"/&gt;

 Camp Kidney  is the camp where most of the show takes place. This is a summer camp attended by a group of boy scout -like campers called  The Bean Scouts . In keeping the theme of the name of the camp, the campers are allowed to name their cabins after various types of beans: Jelly Cabin, Pinto Cabin, Fava Cabin, and so on. The camp is known for a low standard of quality, and has been threatened with closure more than once. The camp is led by Scoutmaster Lumpus, with most of the administrative details assigned to his assistant, Mr. Slinkman. A full staff compliments the camp, including a nurse and a chef. Ginia Bellafante of  The New York Times   said that if she became "socio-analytical about the Lazlo enterprise," Camp Kidney appears to be a stand-in for "our culture of obsessive parenting."&lt;ref&gt;Bellafante, Gina. "Monkey Business at a Strict Summer Camp.(The Arts/Cultural Desk)(TELEVISION REVIEW)(Television program review)."  The New York Times  . February 17, 2007.&lt;/ref&gt;

 Acorn Flats  is across the lake from Camp Kidney, attended by girls of similar age, called the Squirrel Scouts. Acorn Flats has higher quality facilities than Camp Kidney, a point of contention between the two respective camps, with Acorn Flats being the more dominant in the rivalry. The leader of the Squirrel Scouts is Jane Doe, and her assistant, Ms. Rubella Mucus.

Both Camp Kidney and Acorn Flats are part a larger hierarchical organization, under the direct command of Commander Hoo-ha, with "The Big Bean" as the head of all scout chapters, which includes Beans and Squirrels (and possibly) Tomato Scouts.

 Prickly Pines  is a town near both camps with full commercial facilities: a post office, several restaurants, a laundromat, and other sundry stores.

The exact geographical locations of these settings is unknown.

== Characters == Murray said that, as he did in  Rocko's Modern Life  , he matched the personalities of characters to various animals. &lt;ref name="cn pressroom"/&gt;

== Episodes ==

== Crew ==Murray asked many staff members who participated in creating  Rocko's Modern Life   to return and perform duties for  Camp Lazlo , describing his main tactic to attract the crew as " coercion ." Murray wanted the  Rocko's Modern Life  crew as it "knows my sensibilities" and gained ten years of experience. Crew members of Rocko's Modern Life, such as Robert Scull or Peter Burns, have worked on this show. &lt;ref name="cn pressroom"/&gt;

Murray asked Tom Kenny to voice characters because Murray felt that Kenny "adds writing to his roles" and "brings so much." Murray looked for "comedic timing" in his voice actors, and therefore he used many stand-up comics and sketch actors. &lt;ref name="cn pressroom"/&gt;

== Music and sounds ==The team remixed and edited many songs for use in  Camp Lazlo . For instance, the main theme song plays on the children's song " B-I-N-G-O " replacing it with "L-A-Z-L-O." The team also remade " She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain ." The team created its own camp songs. Andy Paley created bluegrass and cowboy swing songs for  Camp Lazlo . Murray said that the team often used "strange instruments " such as washboard s and spoon s to create the music. Murray added that one woman created music with a saw. &lt;ref name="cn pressroom"/&gt;

Murray cooperated with Jeff Hutchins, the sound effects staff member for  Rocko's Modern Life  . Murray selected many of the sounds that he selected in  Rocko's Modern Life  for  Camp Lazlo . &lt;ref name="cn pressroom"/&gt;

== Awards ==

Pulcinella Awards
The series won three 2006 Pulcinella Awards for Best Animated Series for Children and Best Animated Series for all ages and Lazlo was the winner of Best Character at the 10th Cartoons By The Bay Festival in Positano, Italy.&lt;ref&gt; &lt;/nowiki&gt;&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref name="CampLazloArchivesMurray"/&gt; It was the second consecutive year that a Cartoon Network series won the latter two awards, as the  Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends   character, Blooregard Q. Kazoo, won the award the year before.

=== Emmy Awards and nominations ===
 *  Hello Dolly / Over Cooked Beans  was nominated for an Emmy in the category  Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)  &lt;ref&gt; &lt;/nowiki&gt;&lt;/ref&gt;
 *  Where's Lazlo   won an Emmy in category  Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More)  in 2007.&lt;ref name="Emmy 2007"&gt; &lt;/nowiki&gt;&lt;/ref&gt;
 * Sue Mondt&lt;ref&gt; &lt;/nowiki&gt;&lt;/ref&gt; received an Emmy in 2007 for  Individual Achievement in Animation  for her work as an Art Director on the episode  Squirrel Secrets.  &lt;ref&gt; &lt;/nowiki&gt;&lt;/ref&gt;*  Lazlo's First Crush  won a 2008 Emmy Award, under the category  Outstanding Special Class - Short-format Animated Programs  &lt;ref name="emmy2008"&gt; &lt;/nowiki&gt;&lt;/ref&gt;

=== Annie Awards === Sue Mondt, a production designer on Camp Lazlo, was nominated an Annie Award for production design on the episode "Hard Days Samson."&lt;ref&gt;     - Nominees from the official Annie Award website, November, 2006&lt;/ref&gt;

== Reviews ==Ray Richmond of  The Hollywood Reporter   posted his review of the series on 7 July 2005. Richmond said that his child enjoyed the show and did not ask to see it again. Richmond said that the show forms "plenty lively and a nice, safe way for a child viewer to spend a half-hour." Richmond said that the show has too much "self-consciously precious" humor; the reviewer said that the trait may not factor for children and described children as "demanding and nondiscriminating at the same time." &lt;ref&gt;" Camp Lazlo ,"  The Hollywood Reporter   &lt;/ref&gt;

Kathie Huddleston, a reporter for the  Science Fiction Weekly  , created a favorable review of  Camp Lazlo . &lt;ref&gt;" Camp Lazlo ,"  Science Fiction Weekly   &lt;/ref&gt;

The  Atlanta Journal-Constitution   reviewed the series and gave it an "A."&lt;ref&gt;" Off to camp with brats, silly critters ."  Atlanta Journal-Constitution  . 7 July 2005.&lt;/ref&gt;

Joly Herman of  Common Sense Media  posted a review of  Camp Lazlo  on Go.com. Herman describes the humor used in the  Camp Lazlo  as making it an "unpredictable show for younger viewers." Herman gave the show two stars out of five. &lt;ref&gt;" TV Review: Camp Lazlo ,"  Common Sense Media  on Go.com &lt;/ref&gt;

== DVD Release == Prior to Camp Lazlo's premier on Cartoon Network, a Press Kit for the show was given away as a promotional item, containing fact sheets on the show and a DVD with four episodes (2 half-hour episodes):  Gone Fishin' (Sort Of) / Bean Are From Mars  and  Parasitic Pal / It's No Picnic . This item is only available through a second-hand market.

On July 18, 2007, Madman Entertainment of Australia released a set of two DVDs encoded for Region 4 of Season One episodes. No further information is available about a Region 1 release or additional seasons.

Two episodes have also appeared on Cartoon Network themed DVDs.  Hello Dolly  appeared on the  Cartoon Network Fridays - Volume 1  DVD, released on September 19, 2006.  Snow Beans , a winter-themed episode of the show, was released on the  Cartoon Network Christmas: Volume Three  DVD on October 3, 2006. &lt;ref&gt; CN's Early Christmas&lt;!-- Bot generated title --&gt; &lt;/ref&gt;

The first four seasons can now be purchased on iTunes.