Synopsis

The Butcher enrolls in an adult-education class on "the art of speaking" to brush up on the word skills he needs to be a top-notch criminal. The class teaches him how to articulate, and as he learns, he becomes more confident in his ability to outsmart WordGirl. When he informs her that she tends to ramble, she realizes that she is distracted by her upcoming speech at the adult-education class.

Characters

Becky Botsford/WordGirl, Captain Huggy Face, Violet Heaslip, Tim Botsford, Sally Botsford, TJ Botsford, Todd "Scoops" Ming, Announcer, Professor Steven Boxleitner/Professor Two-Brains, The Butcher, Theodore MacCallister III/Tobey, Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy, Granny May, Mr. Big, Beatrice Bixby/Lady Redundant Woman, The Whammer, Grocery Store Manager, Reginald, Robber, Security Guard, Curator, Bank Teller, Ms. Champlain, News Reporter, Principal, Pretzel Vendor, Store Clerk, Robot, Todd "Scoops" Ming, Guards, Students

Credits

Directing

Director: David SanAngelo

Producing

Producer: Danielle Gillis (Associate Producer)
Supervising Producer: David Trexler
Executive Producers: Deborah Forte, Dorothea Gillim

Writing

Writer: Peggy Nicoll, Will Shepard

Voices

Voice: Dannah Feinglass (Becky Botsford/WordGirl, Student #1), Maria Bamford (Violet Heaslip, Sally Botsford), Ryan Raddatz (Tim Botsford, Todd "Scoops" Ming), Tom Kenny (TJ Botsford, Professor Steven Boxleitner/Professor Two-Brains, News Reporter), Chris Parnell (Announcer, Student #2), Jack Ferraiolo (The Butcher), Patton Oswalt (Theodore MacCallister III/Tobey, Robot), Fred Stoller (Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy), Wanda Sykes (Granny May), Mike O'Connell (Grocery Store Manager), H. Jon Benjamin (Reginald), James Adomian (Robber, Security Guard, Curator), Jen Cohn (Bank Teller, Ms. Champlain), Larry Murphy (Principal, Pretzel Vendor, Guard #1, Store Clerk)

Editing

Editor: Evan Sussman

Crew

Creator: Dorothea Gillim
Storyboard Artists: Joe Apel, Eric Brown
Voiceover Recordist: Jay Fisher
Visual Effects: Evan Sussman
Background Designer: Steve Young
Executive in Charge of Production: John Lynn
Production Executive: Jessica Wollman
Post-Production Executive: Eric Black

Production notes

Follow the everyday life and superhero adventures of WordGirl as she fights crime and enriches vocabulary usage, all in a day's work. Disguised as mild-mannered fifth-grader Becky Botsford, WordGirl arrived on planet Earth when she and monkey sidekick Captain Huggy Face crashed their spaceship. In classic superhero form, WordGirl possesses superhero strength with the added benefit of a colossal vocabulary. WordGirl has a family and friends who have no idea of her secret identity. As WordGirl, she battles and prevails over evil (albeit ridiculous and comical) villains.

Each episode introduces four new vocabulary words and reinforces their meaning in a variety of contexts throughout the episode. The vocabulary itself is not necessarily a plot point. The show teaches new vocabulary words to children in a variety of fun and interesting contexts. WordGirl is a superhero spoof, so storylines are funny takes of familiar stories from that genre.

WordGirl enriches young audiences' vocabulary, closes the gap for those who don't grow up in language-rich environments, instills a love of language, and fosters better reading comprehension.

Only a superhero like WordGirl, endowed with power punches and dictionary strength, can put the word-wrenching scoundrels back in their place, proving once again that crime doesn't pay... but knowing the right word for the right moment is priceless.

Each 30-minute episode consists of two cartoons.

Vocab words: Ramble, Articulate.