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Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is an animated television program by cartoonist Craig McCracken, who also created the Powerpuff Girls. It premiered on Cartoon Network on Friday, 13th August, 2004 as a ninety-minute TV movie. Half-hour episodes began airing the following Friday and continue to do so.

Show summary

In the world of Foster's Home, imaginary friends become real the instant a kid imagines them. Everyone can see them and can talk to them. However, kids still outgrow their friends sometimes, and when that happens, the friends don't disappear. That's why Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends was founded. This foster home was founded by the elderly Madame Foster to provide a home for abandoned imaginary friends; their motto is "Where good ideas are not forgotten." Children who cannot imagine their own imaginary friends can also adopt friends from Foster's Home.

In the premiere movie, we meet eight-year-old Mac and his imaginary friend Blooregard Q Kazoo, or Bloo out of the house. Mac's mother and his thirteen-year-old bullying brother Terrence think Mac is too old to have an imaginary friend and want the troublemaking Bloo out of the house, but Mac isn't ready to give Bloo up yet. Then Mac and Bloo hear about Foster's Home. Bloo is hesitant at first, but after visiting Foster's Home and meeting some new friends, he decides to stay. Normally the occupants of Foster's Home are eligible for adoption by other children, but after Madame Foster sees that Mac and Bloo are still best friends, she declares that Bloo may stay at Foster's without ever having to worry about being adopted. In return, all Mac has to do is visit every day. This is hardly a problem for Mac, who would rather spend his after-school time with his friends at Foster's Home than at home with the mean, ugly Terrence.

The show is produced entirely in-house using computer vector graphics programs, including Macromedia Flash and Adobe Illustrator and After Effects. This all-digital animation method is relatively inexpensive, and unlike most American traditionally animated shows, none of the animation is done overseas.

Characters

• Blooregard Q. Kazoo (Bloo for short) is a short blue blob with no legs. He is Mac's imaginary friend. He has a short attention span and is quite mischievous. Voiced by Keith Ferguson.
• Coco is an imaginary friend that has a head and neck like a palm tree, a crooked, wavy beak like a bird, a body like an airplane and human legs and feet. The only thing she can say is "coco", but the other imaginary friends can understand her anyway. When alarmed or if other friends are in need of defensive weapons and such, Coco lays plastic Easter eggs on the spot, filled with whatever the situation deems necessary. Voiced by Candi Milo.
• Duchess is an arrogant, scheming, ugly imaginary friend who resembles a Picasso painting. In the premiere movie, Duchess expresses jealousy of the attention Bloo is getting when he comes to the house and teams up with Terrence to get rid of him. Voiced by Grey DeLisle.
• Eduardo is a large imaginary friend with lots of hair, large fangs and a belt buckle shaped like a skull. Of all the show's main characters, he's the scariest-looking but he's actually kind-hearted and even a bit of a coward. He speaks Spanglish. Voiced by Tom Kenny.
• Frances Foster (Frankie for short) is Madame Foster's granddaughter and an assistant at the house. She is often stressed out by her job, and feels she is overworked. She is twenty-two. Voiced by Grey DeLisle.
• Madame Foster is the elderly woman who founded Foster's Home. She doesn't say much, but she's always smiling, and will go out of her way to help a friend in need — even if it means breaking Mr Herriman's rules. Voiced by Candi Milo.
• Mr. Herriman is a large anthropomorphic rabbit with a monocle, a top hat and an aristocratic British accent. He is Madame Foster's imaginary friend from her childhood and is the manager of the house. He believes in strict adherence to rules, such as being precisely on time for meals. He is also a dependable source of stress for Frankie and the target of jokes by the friends. Voiced by Tom Kane.
• Mac is the shy eight-year-old boy who imagined Bloo. He and Bloo are best friends, though they don't always get along. He lives with his mother (as yet unnamed) and older brother, Terrence. Voiced by Sean Marquette.
• Terrence is Mac's bullying older brother. He's mean, ugly and is always trying to get rid of Bloo. Voiced by Tara Strong.
• Wilt is a tall, thin red friend who has to duck to get through doorways. He has only one arm (the left is a stump) and a slightly undersized left eye. Each eye is mounted on a stalk protruding from the top of his head. He is gentle and polite to a fault, often apologizing more than necessary. Wilt takes pride in bringing abandoned imaginary friends to the foster home. His name is a reference to Wilt Chamberlain since Wilt likes basketball and is dressed in a jersey, shoes and a single wristband. Voiced by Phil LaMarr.

Episode List

Season One

Season One was comprised of thirteen episodes, and is now complete. Another season with more new episodes is likely, but it is yet unknown when it shall begin.

• Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (premiered 13 August 2004) - The premiere "movie" which comprised the first three episodes. See above for plot summary.
• Store Wars (premiered 20 August, 2004) - The gang heads to the mall to buy a birthday present for Madame Foster. The title is a pun on the movie Star Wars.
• The Trouble With Scribbles (premiered 27 August, 2004) - Bloo opens a forbidden door and unleashes a mass of troublesome imaginary friends called Scribbles. The title is a pun on a notorious Star Trek episode entitled "The Trouble with Tribbles."
• Busted (premiered 3 September, 2004) - Bloo accidentally breaks a bust of Madame Foster and the gang rushes to fix it before Mr. Herriman finds out.
• Dinner is Swerved (premiered 10 September, 2004) - It's dinnertime, but Bloo and Mac are lost in Madame Foster's labyrinthine house, and Mr. Herriman won't let the other friends eat until everyone is at the table.
• World Wide Wabbit (premiered 17 September, 2004) - Mac accidentally tapes a video of Mr. Herriman singing a silly song to Madame Foster, and the video finds its way onto the internet and quickly becomes an internet phenomenon. Will Mr. Herriman find out?
• Berry Scary (premiered 24 September, 2004) - A cute new friend named Berry shows up at the house and falls in love with Bloo. When Bloo ignores her, she becomes jealous of Bloo and Mac's friendship.
• Seeing Red/Phone Home (premiered 1 October, 2004) - The first (and so far only) two-part episode. In Seeing Red, Terrence creates his own imaginary friend to torment Bloo. In Phone Home, Bloo mistakes a man in a cell phone costume as an imaginary friend and brings him to the house.
• Who Let the Dogs In? {premiered 8 October, 2004) - Eduardo brings a puppy to the house. Can he hide him from Mr. Herriman, who is deathly afraid of dogs? The title is a pun on a 2000 song by the Baha Men entitled "'Who Let the Dogs Out?"
• Adoptcalypse Now (premiered 15 October, 2004) - When the house holds a special event, Adopt-a-Thought Saturday, Mac and Bloo conspire to keep their friends from being adopted. The title is a pun on the movie Apocalypse Now.
• Bloooooo (premiered 22 October, 2004) - Frightened by a scary movie, Wilt and Eduardo mistake a cold-ridden Bloo for a ghost.

Trivia

• Both Mr. Herriman and Mayor in the Powerpuff Girls have top hats, black waistcoats, monocles over their left eye, and thinning white hair just above their temples.
• Frankie is wearing a Powerpuff Girls t-shirt.

External Links

• Cartoon Network | Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends - Cartoon Network's official site.
• The Very Unofficial Guide to Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends - a fan site with an interview with McCracken and lots of show information.

• Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network Studios cartoons and characters