List of Sprout idents (2005 - 2009)

PBS kids sprout let's grow launch 2004-2009

One of the biggest things PBS KIDS Sprout is remembered for is their creative idents and promos. This is a list of bumpers shown on Sprout from September 26, 2005 to September 21, 2009, usually before shows or program breaks. Don't expect images for all of them because some of them are currently lost. Most of them were designed by Primal Screen, who also designed the Sprout logo as well as the Comcast on-demand idents months prior, and made to resemble a classic children's picture book and featured Sproutlets and occasionally cartoon characters. These idents debuted on-demand in January 2006, said to have replaced their predecessors, though those would remain up, and last aired in 2009, when Sprout rebranded.

The idents were animated and composited by Rick Newcomb.

History

Primal Screen, the company that designed Sprout's logo and original dents, described the channel's bumpers:

"Let's grow! The storybook-inspired branding that launched the first 24-hour preschool network. Primal Screen created the logo, tagline and of course all graphics. PBS KIDS SPROUT is a preschool network launched in 2005 as a partnership of PBS, Comcast, HiT Entertainment and Sesame Workshop. Primal Screen was assigned the task of designing the network, starting with the logo and tagline "Let's Grow." The look was inspired by classic children's book illustration. The network is configured as a single, seamless meta-show with actual show content embedded among the interstitial packaging - like shows within a show. The interstitial is themed to coincide with a child's daily experience: There's The Sunny Side Up Show in the mornings, The Sharing Show in the afternoons and The Good Night Show in the evenings. All are hosted by a cast of live action and puppet characters."

Alphabet

PBS Kids Sprout Alphabet bumper

"Alphabet" can also be seen before and after commercial breaks. The ident featured Elmo. We see two kids in letters, when the flower in the Sprout logo slides off a letter J. Used before program breaks as well as shows on demand like Plaza Sésamo. Set through an instrumental of the alphabet song, followed by the Sprout jingle, usually played at a slower pace.

Blocks aired on

• The Good Night Show

Art

Sprout idents (2005 - 2009)

Plays at the 0:09 mark.

As a girl paints a picture, a few paintings from a book fly by, and a boy paints the Sprout logo on a rack. Used for Sesame Street, Pingu, and The Birthday Show, as well as the "Sprout is Always Here for You" jingle from 2007. The ident featured Sagwa Miao. Music is an acoustic guitar tune. A few paintings in this ident were by a girl named Ava, the daughter of Primal Screen's Ward Jenkins. The "baking cookies" picture was used as an icon for the art gallery on SproutOnline.com in 2007. When the ident aired before Episode 3899 of Sesame Street, the "let's grow" was notably missing.

A 2022 YouTube video from Rick Newcomb shows the Sprout logo (sans the "let's grow!" slogan) on an art bucket leading to the ident on an easel.

Bath

PBS kids sprout id bathtime

We see a girl wearing a pink bathrobe, a rubber duckie in the bath, and a dog in the bath seeing the Sprout logo. The same dog was used in a promo for Hooray for the Holidays in 2007. Used for Zoboomafoo, Angelina Ballerina, The Birthday Show, and after commercial breaks. The ident featured Bob. Music is a whistle version of the Sprout jingle which is a shortened version of the soundtrack played in a montage of idents. Primal Screen describes the ident as "Like a little kid's, Sprout's day is about comforting routine. Bathtime is less traumatic when it comes regularly and predictably." A shortened version of this ident exists, cutting out the girl at the beginning, and other variants exist with different versions of the soundtrack.

Bedtime

Original 2005-2009 Sprout Bumper "Bedtime"

A mom hugs her son in bed and, outside the window, two Sproutlets propel book-like boats and the sails on a ship grow and reveal the Sprout logo in white. Used before commercial breaks and for Pajanimals music videos and before and after commercial breaks during The Good Night Show. The ident featured Angelina Mouseling. Primal Screen describes the ident as "Bedtime needn't be a time of conflict. By timing the packaging to a little kid's day, Sprout feels safe and serene." Music is a calm, gentle version of the Sprout jingle, and a version utilizing acoustic guitar can be heard in some airings. Other times, the ident is shortened, cutting out the mother and son. Footage was used in the "Place Where Little Stars Grow" PBS promo, as well as a version of "Come On, Let's Grow," and the book-like boats were later used in a TV-Y advertisement on the TV section of SproutOnline.com in 2007.

Blocks aired on

• The Good Night Show

Breakfast

"Breakfast Cereal" ident (2005-2009)

"Breakfast" can be seen before commercial breaks. Outside Caillou's window, we see cereal, which milk pours on to reveal the Sprout logo. Used before shows like Kipper, The Wiggles Show!, and after an airing of the Barney & Friends episode "May I Help You?." In Primal Screen's montage, a boy is seen instead of Caillou. A cow and chicken seen in this ident were later used in Sunny Side Up Show promo branding and in an online banner ad about requesting Sprout in one's area. The soundtrack heard in this ident could also be heard in Sproutorama bumpers during Sprout at the Movies. This ident can also be seen in the beginning of the music video for "Sprout Around the Clock," but the "PBS Kids" branding in the logo is not seen. The ident's soundtrack is registered with ASCAP as IDBRKFST1001REVISED.

Castle

Original 2005-2009 Sprout Bumper "Castle" (shortened)

"Castle" could be seen at the end of Musical Mornings and early Good Night Show episodes and after commercial breaks. Surprisingly, it was also seen at the end of a James the Cat episode during The Good Night Show in 2006, as well as a Caillou episode. It can also be seen before shows like Barney & Friends. The ident featured Pingu. We see a castle with a king, a queen, princesses and princes, then a flag waves reading the Sprout logo. In some episodes of The Good Night Show, Nina can be seen reading a book called "Once a Sprout a Time," which has a cover illustration similar to this ident.

Blocks aired on

• The Good Night Show
• Musical Mornings with Coo

Circus

PBS Kids Sprout Bumper Circus

Used for Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat, Barney & Friends, and before and after commercial breaks. The ident featured Jay Jay from Jay Jay the Jet Plane. At a circus, two boys hold up sticks with acrobats, a bear on a unicycle juggling on a tightrope, and a monkey on stilts holding an umbrella with the Sprout logo. Set through marching music. There was also a version with an alternate, shortened soundtrack, and one with another alternate soundtrack. This ident was the basis for the "Let's Play" section of Sproutletsgrow.com, which contained the site's games, and the acrobats appeared on the website’s main page.

Blocks aired on

• The Good Night Show

Cuckoo Clock

PBS kids sprout bumper cuckoo clock

The large hand on a clock grows to include a watch, a gear, and a cuckoo clock with a bird springing out of it. The Sprout logo springs out of another cuckoo clock above it. Can typically be seen before and after commercial breaks, but was seen without voiceovers before and after The Many Adventures of Mr. Mailman. Primal Screen describes the ident as "Families enjoy their time together in this ID for Sprout."

Blocks aired on

• The Good Night Show

Fish

Sprout idents (2005 - 2009)

Plays at the 1:04 mark.

"Fish" can be seen before commercial breaks. A fish swims by, and the Sprout logo is formed from a treasure chest.

Blocks aired on

• The Good Night Show

Foliage

PBS kids sprout bumper nature

"Foliage" can also be seen on shows like The Birthday Show, Thomas & Friends, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, and Big Sister, Little Brother. The ident featured Thomas the Tank Engine. It was also used in the Sprout Smart commercial from 2008. A girl plays with a butterfly that becomes the flower in the Sprout logo. Primal Screen describes the ident as "Growth and discovery is the theme of this ID created for the launch of the first 24-hour pre-school channel." Two variants of this ident with a different soundtrack exist.

Music

PBS Kids Sprout Instruments Ident

A few drums lead to a girl playing the xylophone, and the Sprout logo can be seen appearing out of horns. This ident can be seen before episodes of Barney & Friends and Sesame Street, amongst other shows. It is unknown what show was featured in the ident. The ident's soundtrack, now known as "BUMPERMUSIC01REVISED," was also heard in the Sprout Tunes openings and closings from 2013, years after Sprout rebranded.

Pinwheel

Pbs Kids Sprout Kite ident

"Pinwheel" can be seen before and after commercial breaks. It is unknown what show is featured in the ident. It was seen at the end of a handful of Sesame Street episodes on television. A girl blows a pinwheel, making a paper airplane fly and reveal the Sprout logo on a kite. The same kites were featured in the "About Sprout" section of SproutOnline.com when the site was given its first refresh in 2007.

Rain

PBS kids sprout bumper rain

Used before shows like Caillou, Fireman Sam, and Big Sister, Little Brother and after commercial breaks. The ident originally featured the Teletubbies, who were replaced by Chica shortly before the rebrand in 2009. A few kids play in the rain, while a bird flies to his nest and sees the Sprout logo. Set through "Rain, Rain, Go Away" followed by the Sprout jingle. Primal Screen describes the ident as "We discover the upside of downpours in this ID for Sprout." Footage from the ident was used at the near end of a Sproutletsgrow.com promo and umbrella trees were also used in Come On, Let's Grow. After Sprout rebranded, the soundtrack from this ident was used during split-screen credits on Pajanimals Pajama Party.

Blocks aired on

• The Sprout Sharing Show

Road

Sprout idents (2005 - 2009)

Plays at the 1:39 mark.

"Roads" can be seen before and after commercial breaks, but it is unknown what show is featured in the ident. It was also surprisingly featured in an episode of Angelina Ballerina. A few cars drive by a road, while a boy waves by the stoplight. The flower lands to the Sprout logo. Used before program breaks. Set through beeping sounds forming the Sprout jingle. Sound effects are heard in an alternate variant.

A squeezeback presumably from mid-2007 was probably based on this ident.

Blocks aired on

• The Good Night Show

Space

PBS Kids Sprout Bumper Astronaut In Space

An alien in a UFO is seen leading to planets and an astronaut jumping. A rocket zooms to the Sprout logo in a telescope. Used before and after commercial breaks. The ident featured Noddy. Set through space-like music which includes the Sprout jingle. In some airings, the soundtrack is faster. Other times, the ident is shortened, cutting out the alien, with a different soundtrack.

Blocks aired on

• The Good Night Show

Notes

• When these idents aired on TV before commercial breaks, a male announcer would say "Don't go away, Sproutlets, we'll be right back." When they aired after commercial breaks, the same male announcer would say "You're watching PBS KIDS Sprout, let's grow!" and later "You're watching Sprout!." The male announcer was later replaced by a female announcer in announcing what shows were up next.
• Pictures of several idents were shown in the Sprout Notebook.
• A few elements from these idents were used on Sproutletsgrow.com (ex. the Circus Ident was the basis for the Let's Play section, and the alphabet trees from the alphabet Ident and the circus acrobats from the circus Ident were often in the main page), as well as "Come On, Let's Grow" and The Let's Go Show.

Gallery

Bathtime ident

Bedtime ident

Second bedtime ident. Used for "The Good Night Show".

Rain ident. Taken from a promo from 2009.

Foilage ident

Version of "Foliage" without the "PBS KIDS" branding in the green flower.

Castle ident

Space ident

Circus ident

Alphabet ident

Paintings ident. Used for "Sesame Street", "Pingu" and (possibly) "The Birthday Show".

Cuckoo Clock ident

Kite ident. Used before commercials.

Roads ident. Used before commercials.

Instruments ident.

Fish ident. Used before commercials.

Breakfast ident. Taken after an episode of "Barney and Friends".

Birthdays ident. Used for "The Birthday Show".

Ben Prisk and a girl on the set.

External links

• Behind the Scenes
• Ident montage (Primal Screen)
• Ident montage (Rick Newcomb)