Jan's Funny Tales (2007 Australian TV series)

Jan's Funny Tales is an Australian animated television series which premiered on ABC and the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company on 8 October 2007 until 25 August 2014. The program was created by Joe Brumm and Andrey Kubliv and it was produced by Plexibay Productions and Queensland-based company Anthro Studio. It was commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, with Plexibay Productions holding global distribution and merchandising rights.

Being a teenage series disguised as a preschool children's series, the show centers on a 11 year old girl named Jan, as she plays and learns with her friends in a magical apartment building. The show is best known for its episodes dealing with topics that aren't usually appropriate for an ordinary preschool show. As well as the animated adventures of Jan and her friends, the series uses traditionally animated footage from the 2001 American television series Yearly Adventures for various segments. A total of 118 episodes were produced.

Jan's Funny Tales eventually went viral in 2015 as the show started to draw severe negative reaction from the older set, who mocked the title character in popular culture through song parodies and comedy routines such as being beaten up by Dwayne Johnson on a Saturday Night Live episode. Jan leaving her flat alone in each episode was seen by many parents as unsafe and her voice is also considered by some to be annoying due to it being high pitched. Whereas Jan's Funny Tales was especially popular during initial airings, the "anti-Jan" phenomenon became most ubiquitous in Russia by 2017, where the show soon became abhorred for it's innuendo packed episodes that seem to initially be appropriate for a typical preschool series but gradually revealed hidden themes that were deemed inappropriate for young children.

Overview
Jan is a 11 year old girl who loves using her imagination. Each day, she goes from her flat when her parents are away to the one next door to play with her magical friends: Craig, the crayon; Skeeter, the roller skate; Charlie and David, a set of chicken twins; a group of Siamese twin turkeys; and flat owner Aunt Chillary. Through their adventures in each episode, they learn good lessons that help them overcome their problems. Tied into each story are other segments, told through animated footage:


 * Through an anthropomorphic CCTV system known as Harold, the characters look out beyond the apartment building to see what the Monty family are doing. Their stories relate to the situations of the main characters. The Monty family footage consists of additional animation, taken from the American television series Yearly Adventures (see below for more information).
 * Some episodes include a segment called 'Refection Time'. These consist of Jan telling a short story about events she had been though that have similarities to what the Monty family experienced and then she ends the story with a moral which relates the lesson of the episode.

Voice cast

 * Tara Strong as Jan and April
 * David Tennant as Charlie the Chicken
 * Chris Pratt as David the Chicken and Mr. Anton Peterson
 * Sophie Aldred as
 * January
 * October
 * Melanie Swiningham
 * July
 * and Aunt Chillary
 * Julie Johnson as
 * Skeeter the Roller Skate
 * November
 * December
 * Giselle Swiningham
 * Cupid
 * Dave Thompson as
 * Father Time
 * Anderson Fents
 * Death
 * Bradley Walsh as
 * February
 * May
 * Mike
 * and Thomas
 * James Arnold Taylor as
 * March
 * J.P. Manoux as
 * June
 * Josh Keaton as
 * August

Broadcast
In October 2019, Jan's Funny Tales debuted in New Zealand, airing on TVNZ 2. The first series made its Australian pay-TV premiere on CBeebies on 5 March 2008. It made its free-to-air television debut on CBeebies on 4 May 2008 in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia. Internationally, it aired on MBC 3 in the Middle East, Dubai 33 in the Emirates, Fox Kids in Australia, Bahrain TV Channel 55 in Bahrain, SABC2 in South Africa, TV3 in Ireland, TVN in Poland, and SCN in Canada, in addition, also airing on UBC Kids in Thailand and CVM Television in Jamaica.

In June 2007, the international broadcasting rights to Jan's Funny Tales were acquired by Discovery Channel, with plans to premiere on the TLC television network from late 2008. The series premiered on Disney Junior in the United States on 9 September 2009. The series notably features the original voice actors while airing overseas, albeit with redone lines to fit local accents. The second season debuted on Discovery Channel in the United States on 10 July 2010 until 14 August 2012.