Anything but Lazy(Town)

Written by Helen Jones
FITNESS, FEB/MAR 2011

Revolutionising kids’ fitness LazyTown is a kid’s entertainment and lifestyle brand with an internationally acclaimed TV show, live theatre shows, music, magazines, DVDs, apparel and merchandise. Not only does that make it one of the major children’s brands of the world, but it has a unique competitive edge in promoting a healthy lifestyle for kids. LazyTown’s mission includes partnering with companies all over the world – a retail alliance with Asda saw a 41% increase in fruit and vegetable sales...

Describtion of the Latibaer Books
Kristjánsdótter, Dagný (18 January 2011). "PART II: Filmic Translations Chapter 9: Sportacus Saves the Day!". In Weldy, Lance. Crossing Textual Boundaries in International Children's Literature. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 137.

Áfram Latibaer!

In the first book, Áfram Latibaer!' (1) (Go LazyTown!), "the athletic elf," a forerunner to Sportacus, comes to LazyTown. The children there are in bad shape due to lack of exercise, computer games, and watching television. They are either overweight or too skinny and are sick in body and soul. The mayor summons the elf because all villages in the country have to hold a sports festival for children, but LazyTown cannot compete in any area, and it is in a crisis. The athletic elf shows the children that they can lead a better and more enjoyable life with nutritious food and lots of exercise and games. He runs about distributing advice and reminder notes, and the children welcome these, echoing the didactic tales of the eighteenth century in which the student declares that he has now understood the error of his ways and thanks the teacher with many fair words for having shown him the proper way. ...

Here are the questions and answers from the web chat

Julianna, how on earth do you manage to stay so smiley and happy? Do you ever feel like kicking Ziggy in the head and eating a bar of chocolate? And do you have a crush on magnus too?

Julianna:Hi there! Well, to answer honestly, at times it does get a bit tiring to be so happy and smiley all the time. Most of the time it's a lot of fun to play such a happy character though. Every once in a while I allow myself a chocolate...

Written by John Kaponi
The London Daily News. August 25, 2010

Interview with the creator of Lazytown Magnus Scheving and "Stephanie" Julianna Rose Mauriello



If you are one of those parents who does not want to see their child eat themselves to oblivion, or waste precious time playing moronic games on a games console, there are very few choices open to parents. One of them is to watch "Lazytown" the show developed in Iceland by Magnus Scheving promoting "balance" in the lives of children and exercise. ...

Written by Kenan
Manchester Evening News. May 18, 2009

When Julie Westwood isn’t pottering in her garden she transforms into a figure well-known to children all over the world.



Julie plays Bessie Busybody in the hit international children’s TV series LazyTown – a bustling do-gooder whose voice and life-size puppet are immediately identifiable. Identifiable, that is, to children "and anyone with young children," she explains in between sorting out her Bolton garden. Julie, in her 50s, has to take advantage of her time at home because she spends a large part of each year in Iceland, where LazyTown is filmed. ...

Written by Maria Suurballe
Play The Game Magazine. October 28, 2008 The Icelandic fitness champion, filmmaker and creator of LazyTown, Magnús Scheving, has convinced children around the world to pick fruit and water instead of chocolate and soda water. The recipe is the idea of LazyTown, the ingredients are a combination of play and positive stimulus. For more than ten years, Magnús Scheving has literally jumped and hopped around in Icelandic schools, and he has made handstands and back handsprings in all the kindergartens of the saga island. All in order to teach Icelandic kids and their families a more healthy and active lifestyle. Children run, they jump, they bend, and they move without thinking about it....

This Is Lancashire. 27th October 2008 The Bolton actress behind Bessie BusyBody in the hit children’s TV show LazyTown has been particularly busy for the past few months. Julie Westwood, who both voices and operates the puppet character in the popular C-Beebies series, has been spending her spare time during the national LazyTown tour arranging for the opening of a new gallery in the town centre. Her biggest challenge has been hunting for the artwork to fill it....

Written by John Gaudiosi
Unreal Technology 2008 Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) has already taken hold of the videogame industry, powering top games from game publishers like Electronic Arts, Sega, Midway Games, Capcom, Activision, and Sony Online Entertainment. Now, Hollywood can take notice, as the children's hit TV series, "LazyTown," is the first show utilizing the same powerful game technology to breathe life into its blend of live action, puppetry and computer-generated content. Produced and occasionally directed by Dutch television and film maker Raymond P. Le Gué, "LazyTown" currently airs around the world, including on Nickelodeon and Noggin in the U.S....

The Bolton News. 7th March 2008 For actress Julie Westwood, the trip from Bolton to Iceland is a familiar one. The TV star has just packed her bags and will today embark on the annual journey, which will see her become one of the most popular characters on children's TV. Since 2004, she has played Bessie Busybody in the hit C-Beebies TV show LazyTown. Every year, she spends time in studios just outside Reykjavik where the hit show is created. Julie is both the voice, played with a mid-American drawl, and the operator behind the character in the international series which combines computer generated images, puppets and live characters. "It's all great fun", she explained, just prior to her latest seven-week filming trip, "and I just love Iceland - it's fabulous!"...

Getlazy in association with LazyTown LiveJournal, December 2007


Question 1: "We have noticed that Julianna who plays Stephanie is growing up rather quickly and seems to be a tall girl now. Will you carry on using the current actress, or will there come a point in time when you need to get a replacement actress?

Magnus: We were so lucky when we found Julianna Rose Mauriello. She brought so much to the show. Like everyone else, she gets older. With regards to...