Numberblocks is a British animated preschool series created by Joe Elliot and produced by Alphablocks Ltd. The first series was animated by Magic Lantern. In later series, animation production was taken over by Blue-Zoo Animation Studio. Premiering on CBeebies on the 23rd of January 2017, it is the second show in the Blocks Universe franchise.
Premise
Numberblocks' premise is similar to its predecessor, Alphablocks, with the only major difference being that Numberblocks teaches maths instead of literature. The series involves the titular characters that each represent their number and have as much blocks as their value, along with different personalities relating to their number. Together, they explore different math concepts every episode. They can do maths with themselves such as adding or subtracting.
History
Joe Elliot, a former mathematics teacher, thought up the idea for Numberblocks after noticing students' engagement with games and their difficulty with mathematics. He attempted to bridge the gap between concrete understanding and abstract mathematical representation. He questioned why children struggled with mathematical symbols like ½ + ½ = ? when they understood that two halves make a whole. Elliot went on to create an engaging and effective educational programme accessible to a broad audience. After leaving teaching and dedicating 15 years to learning media, Elliot conceptualized the idea of personified numbers, leading to the creation of Numberblocks.[1] Elliot collaborated with Blue-Zoo and the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics) to develop the series.
Sometime from early 2015 to early 2016, a comic was written titled "One". The comic involves a white block falling from the sky, growing arms and a face, discovering she's one, but eventually found a mirror, but when she stepped away from it, another one appeared, they then make a yellow character with two blocks. this comic was considered "an idea that eventually evolved into Numberblocks".
Concept art were also being eventually made for the characters, such as an amphibian Two, along with early looks for the Numberblocks One to Five and Ten that resemble animals[2].
The Numberblocks' designs then evolved, showing drafts of what Numberblocks One to Ten used to look like before the episodes were planned out[2].
On 13th January 2017, the show was then announced, with the theme song being uploaded on the CBeebies YouTube channel, and on 23rd January, the episode One aired on 10:20am, replacing Alphablocks on that timeframe. With that, 5-minute episodes begin to air daily every week until Hide and Seek on loop.
On 19th April 2017, The show had its second series announced, introducing Six to Ten. The show got first a BAFTA award and was nominated in the Pre-School Animation category following Series 2.
In late 2017, Series 3 and 4 would eventually get greenlit due to the series' popularity. Series 3 was announced on 12th September 2018, and its first episode aired on 24th September.
On 1st December 2018, the show won a second BAFTA award and came out top at the awards ceremony. The episode The Wrong Number was the BAFTA winner.[3]
Starting on 21st January 2019, Eleven through Fifteen would get introduced to the series. On 10th June, Series 4's first episode, Fifteen's Minute of Fame, aired, and starting on 14th June, Sixteen through Twenty would get introduced to the series.
Starting on 5th August 2019, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Five, Thirty, Forty, and Fifty were introduced, and one week later, Sixty, Seventy, Eighty, Ninety, and One Hundred were also introduced. The show's original run ended on 16th August 2019 with More to Explore.
The series would skyrocket in popularity in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, being greenlit for a fifth series and eight specials, four of which were part of a crossover event with Alphablocks. The show would then be renewed for three more series starting in 2023. Because of that, due to the massive impact the show has gotten over time, the show extended beyond television, from games, books, apps, toys, and immersive educational experiences.
Theme Song
Main article: Numberblocks Theme Song
Episodes
Main article: List of Numberblocks episodes
The show currently has a total 173 episodes; 165 normal-length episodes, four special episodes, and four crossover specials with Alphablocks. All of the episodes are available to watch online on BBC iPlayer and on YouTube.
Characters
Main article: Numberblocks Characters
Reception
- Numberblocks has been nominated for the prestigious BAFTA, Prix Jeunesse and The Japan Prize Audiovisual Pre-school awards, and received a BAFTA for Children's Preschool Animation in 2019. Numberblocks is also featured among the DfE's recommended resources for home learning and is part of BBC Bitesize Daily.
Trivia
- Numberblocks is the most popular show in the Blocks Universe franchise, making it the franchise's flagship series.
- In addition to the show's popularity, Numberland serves as a meeting place for all franchises as seen in the music video of Making Christmas Magical.
- This show has the highest episode count out of all the Blocks Universe shows so far, with 165 episodes compared to Alphablocks' 121, Colourblocks' 45, and Wonderblocks' 30.
- If the specials and crossovers are included, this won't change, as Numberblocks has 173 episodes, Alphablocks has 129, Colourblocks has 45, and Wonderblocks has 30.
- Additionally, Numberblocks was the first Blocks Universe show to reach its 100th episode, the episode in question being Odd Side Story.
- This show also has the most characters out of the Blocks Universe shows so far, with 53 Numberblocks appearing physically compared to Alphablocks' 26, Colourblocks' 20, and Wonderblocks' 39.
- Numberblocks uses best-practice visual teaching techniques aligned with the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) framework and KS1 curriculum, and mathematics curricula from around the world.
- If someone was to binge-watch a marathon of all 165 regular episodes of Numberblocks back-to-back with no breaks in-between, it would take exactly 13 hours and 45 minutes to watch them all.
- If the specials and crossovers are included, an extra 1 hour and 40 minutes is added, so it will take 15 hours and 25 minutes.