Deedee, Moe, Rooney!
If you have had anyone under the age of 6 in your household over the past 5 years then you are likely well aware of The Doodlebops. Favourites of the kiddy crowd, The Doodlebops are blue, pink and orange characters who know how to grab a four-year-old’s attention. But when they’re not appearing on TV, where are they?
Apparently, they’re getting an education in high school! High School Musical, that is.
Hugely popular with the pee-wee set, The Doodlebops ensure that parents, nannies and babysitters know how to find them on TV. The show commenced in 2004-05 on CBC, and spread to CBS and Disney. A quick check of YouTube shows that they are now broadcast all over the world dubbed in different languages.
Right now, several of the Doodlebops are on stage in St. Jacobs, (coming soon to Grand Bend), but with different personas, as students at East High, in Disney’s High School Musical.
So who are the “real” Doodlebops? The TV stars include Lisa Lennox as Deedee Doodle, Chad McNamara as Rooney Doodle, and Jonny Wexler as Moe Doodle. Lisa is originally from Etobicoke, Chad from Ottawa and Jonny from London – all Ontario talent. They also supply the voices for the new CBC/CBS cartoon show “The Doodlebops Rockin’ Road Show”. The three have also made several tours of North America as the Doodlebops Live and have been featured in Disney World Christmas Parades and on the Today Show.
In High School Musical, Lisa is Sharpay Evans, Chad is Ryan Evans and Jonny is Chad Danforth.
With the concert tours so wildly popular, several other actors have played Doodlebops on the live show circuit all over Canada and the U.S., including the most recent incarnation, The Doodlebops Live: Together Forever. And guess what, some of them are in High School Musical right now, too! The HSM cast includes Shaun Castor who plays Mongo in HSM; Tim Porter is James in HSM and previously Rooney Doodle; Amelia Sirianni is Kelsi in HSM and Deedee on tour; and Sarah Vance who is Cathy in HSM.