Stanley (2001 TV series)

Stanley is an American animated television series that aired on Playhouse Disney based on the series of children's books written by "Griff" (as indicated on the cover of the original book), also known as Andrew Griffin. It was produced by Cartoon Pizza and was developed for television by Jim Jinkins (the creator of Doug, PB&J Otter, Allegra's Window, JoJo's Circus, and Pinky Dinky Doo) and David Campbell. the show features famous celebrity Charles Shaughnessy as the voice of Dennis the Goldfish. Stanley teaches a wide variety of issues preschool children face, including change, growth, rules, and dealing with others. Each episode centers on an animal that deals with or helps explain the issue Stanley is grappling with. Bahamian Junkanoo and reggae fusion group Baha Men, who are known for their hit song "Who Let the Dogs Out", sang the series' main theme song, "My Man Stanley".

Synopsis
Each episode shows Stanley (voiced by Jessica D. Stone) in a situation he does not fully understand. He discusses it with his pet goldfish Dennis (Charles Shaughnessy) before consulting either his computer or the Great Big Book of Everything, a remarkably complete zoology book aimed at young children. By observing how an animal copes with the same situation Stanley faces, or how it can overcome a similar difficulty, Stanley learns to deal with the situation himself.

Throughout the show Stanley and all his preschool aged friends are able to talk to his pet cat, Elsie (Hynden Walch) and dog Harry (Rene Mujica) as well as Dennis. Other animals also seem to occasionally respond, but never talk or give a definite indication they truly understood what was said. Stanley and his friends actively try to keep the adults (that is, except Stanley's grandmother), and by extension Stanley's older brother Lionel, from realizing this.

The Great Big Book of Everything is magical in nature, able to either let the animals out of the pages or allow the children to enter, sometimes changing them into animals in the process. This does not appear to be imaginary since occasionally adults do notice the noise, and Stanley works hard to hide the animals. There is also an episode where Stanley's brother sees a whale on the roof but dismisses the memory when it disappears back into the book.

The Halloween special features Stanley's grandmother who, it is implied, is a witch. She reveals that she too can work the book, and in fact was the one who gave it to Stanley for a fourth birthday present. She was also the one who taught its theme song to Harry and Elsie.

When someone says the "Great Big Book of Everything", hints it out, or even has the book, Elsie and Harry will wake up or find their way into the scene and start singing. This usually annoys Dennis, who after the introductory verse, says something like "Oh, not again!"

Characters

 * Stanley Griff (voiced by Jessica D. Stone) is an imaginative 6-year-old boy. Stanley has three pets: a goldfish named Dennis, a dog named Harry, and a cat named Elsie. Stanley has an older brother named Lionel, who enjoys playing his electric guitar, a father who stays at home and draws cartoons, and a mother who is a dentist (the latter two were revealed in the episode "Double-Duty Dad").
 * Dennis (voiced by Charles Shaughnessy) is a male goldfish of Stanley Griff. In fact, Dennis is Stanley's best friend who gives him education about animals to help him with his everyday problems, which interest him. Dennis also has to point out the flaws in Stanley's ridiculous solutions. Dennis even breaks the fourth wall by either encouraging the audience to do something fun or by asking them questions at the end of almost every episode.
 * Lionel Griff (voiced by Shawn Pyfrom) is the older brother of Stanley. Lionel likes rock and roll music a lot and always wears headphones on his ears, but still loves his younger brother very much by giving him advice, helping out with his homework, and looking out for him. Lionel is 11.5 years old.
 * Mark Griff (voiced by David Landsberg) is the father of Stanley and Lionel. Mark is a stay-at-home father but works anyway as a cartoonist. Mark wears glasses, a dark purple short-sleeved shirt, dark pants, has short dark strands of hair and has a beard.
 * Dr. Joyce Griff (voiced by Ari Meyers) is the sweet and caring mother of Stanley and Lionel. Joyce works as a dentist and loves her family very much. However, Joyce does have ophidiophobia, which is the fear of snakes. Joyce has red hair, wears jeans, a green collared short-sleeved shirt, red lipstick and white shoes. Whether at the pool or the beach, her bathing suit is mostly a two piece bikini style.
 * Lester Goldberg (voiced by Philece Sampler) is one of Stanley's friends. Lester has a father who is referred to as Mr. Goldberg (voiced by Wallace Shawn) and a mother who is referred to as Mrs. Goldberg (Didi Conn). In "Little Dog Lost", it is revealed that he is Jewish because not only is his last name Goldberg, Lester does not celebrate Christmas and Lester celebrates Hanukkah. But Lester gets a present for every one of the 8 nights of the holiday. In the episode Gorilla Sleepover it is revealed that his mom's first name is Nancy. Lester also has a little sister named Samantha who went to Mrs. Griff for a dental checkup and in the episode "Tasmanian Tantrum" Samantha throws tantrums when Samantha wants something.
 * Marci & Mimi (both voiced by Khaylan Jones) are African-American identical twin sisters who are very good friends with Stanley. They both have black hair, but Mimi's hair is long with a purple hairbow on the top of her head and Marcie's hair is tied in a ponytail. In "Little Dog Lost", it's revealed that they celebrate Kwanzaa.
 * Jane (voiced by Macy H. Morikawa) is a Chinese-American girl that is in Stanley's class. Jane has pigtails and appears in several episodes. Jane invites Stanley to her house in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner".
 * Ben (voiced by Aria Noelle Curzon) is a boy that wears a hat. Ben appears in "Me and My Pal Fish!" where Ben takes Stanley's ball. Stanley stands up to him saying that he and Lester make a great team. Ben makes cameos in other episodes.
 * Teresa Kirby (voiced by Kelsy Kemper) is a girl that appears in the episode "Shell Game". Teresa is the same age as Stanley. Teresa gets shy and Stanley doesn't know why Teresa's shy. Later on, Stanley apologizes and him and Teresa were great friends. Teresa has a pet turtle (because Stanley and Dennis learned about turtles in this episode).

Voice cast

 * Jessica D. Stone as Stanley Griff
 * Charles Shaughnessy as Dennis
 * Rene Mujica as Harry
 * Hynden Walch as Elsie
 * David Landsberg as Mark Griff
 * Ari Meyers as Joyce Griff
 * Shawn Pyfrom as Lionel Griff
 * Philece Sampler as Lester Goldberg
 * Khylan Jones as Mimi & Marci
 * Candi Milo as Ms. Diaz
 * Wallace Shawn as Mr. Goldberg
 * Didi Conn as Mrs. Goldberg
 * Megan Taylor Harvey as Samantha
 * Lucy Hagan as Max