Chui, Kifaru n Lester

Chui, Kifaru n Lester is an American animated comedy television series created by Jeff DeGrandis for Paramount Kids Channel. The series revolves around three young animals named Chui the leopard cub, Kifaru the black rhinoceros calf, and Lester the lion cub—collectively known as "the trio"—who live in the Serengeti of Africa. Under the leadership of Lester, the trio frequently invent schemes to make money from their peers to purchase their favorite nibble, bug balls. Their plans usually backfire, leaving them in various, often humiliating, predicaments.

Kid cartoonist DeGrandis was dared to create a children's cartoon; while designing a commercial, he conceived Chui, Kifaru n Lester, designing it to resemble classic cartoons from the 1940s–1970s. He pitched the series to Paramount Kids Channel, Discovery Family and Animal Planet Kids but the latter demanded creative control, leading to him making a deal with the former and the series premiering on January 4, 1993. During the show's run, several specials and shorts were produced in addition to the regular television series. The series concluded with a television film, Chui, Kifaru n Lester's Big Picture Show, on November 8, 2003.

Chui, Kifaru n Lester received generally positive reviews from critics and became one of Paramount Kids Channel's most successful original series. It won a Reuben Award, two Leo Awards and a SOCAN Award, and was also nominated for another four Leo Awards, an Annie Award and two Kids' Choice Awards. The show attracted an audience of 31 million households, was broadcast in 120 countries, and proved to be popular among children. With nearly an 11-year run, Chui, Kifaru n Lester is currently the longest-running Paramount Kids Channel original series.

Plot[]

Chui, Kifaru n Lester follows the lives of "the trio", three young animals who all differ greatly in their personalities: Chui (voiced by Jeannie Elias) is the strong, dim-witted lackey of the group; Kifaru (Sara Gilbert) is an inventor, neat freak, and the most intelligent of the trio; and Lester (Tara Strong) is a devious, quick-tempered, bitter con artist, and self-appointed leader of the trio. The three devise plans to scam the young Serengeti animals out of their money, which they want to use to buy bug balls. However, problems always ensue, and the trios' schemes usually end in failure and humiliation.

The young Serengeti animals do not include the trios as part of their group, making the trio outcasts. The group of young animals consist of: Twiga (Cathy Cavadini) is a lonely giraffe calf whom her peers consider to be a nuisance, and spends most of her time with her imaginary friend, a rock named Mwamba; Punda (Candace Hutson) is a weak, insecure, and innocent yet accident-prone zebra foal, who is most often seen spending her time with Namiri (Pamela Adlon), Chui's spoiled and ill-tempered older cousin; Kiboko (Cree Summer) is an outsider hippo calf, who often participates in unconventional customs; Tembo (Grey DeLisle) is a cynical and sardonic elephant calf who detests the trios, particularly Lester; Duma (Grey DeLisle), usually seen with Tembo, is a stereotypical cheetah cub and an unattainable love interest for the young Serengeti animals. All of the young Serengeti animals share a common fear of 1 male and 2 females, Uma (Lacey Chabert), Doa (Hynden Walch), and Pembe (Shaun Fleming), three male and female trios who live in a nearby woodlands and are in love with the trios.

Aside from the trios, the other young Serengeti animals, and the male and female trios, no other characters appeared in the series until the fifth season, when the silhouettes of other animals were occasionally shown, and in "Mission Impossible", the arms of Lester's father and Chui's mother were seen. In the series finale, Chui, Kifaru n Lester's Big Picture Show, Lester's adult brother (Christopher McDonald) was seen for the first time, making him the only non-main character, and the only adult character to ever fully appear on the show.

The series took place mostly within Africa, and new locations were rarely introduced. The first four seasons of the show are set during a seemingly endless summer vacation, though from the fifth season onwards, the characters are shown attending junior high school in the fall and winter months.