Interview with LazyTown fans: member Stingy
Questions by member Frances


1. As a fan how did you first get interested in Lazytown?
In 2008, I was watching some videos on YouTube, and there was a related video on the one I was watching with a strange looking thumbnail. It was of a blue man and a pink girl who looked like real life cartoon characters. I liked the way that it looked, so naturally, I opened up the video to see what the heck it was. I watched as equally strange looking clips from a thing called LazyTown played over an unrelated song. The video was clearly fanmade, and so I then wanted to see the source of the clips that were used. I came to understand that this LazyTown thing was a television show, and one of the first things that I learned about it was that the show had a ton of original songs. Some of the first LazyTown songs that I listened to were Spooky Song, Cooking By The Book, and You Are A Pirate, and I found that I kind of liked them. I wanted to learn more and more about the show, so I found a torrent online with songs and episodes and started to consume the content. Nine years later, here we are.

2. Bing bang was the obvious hit song from the show What other song do you think should be a hit?
It's ironic that the most commercially successful (sans memes) song is the Time to Dance remix of Bing Bang, since that's one of the only LazyTown songs not produced by Máni Svavarsson. LazyTown songs are way above the bar as far as children's shows go, but very few LazyTown songs could just be placed asis on a platform like contemporary radio and be successful. But I think with some fixing up, many songs could make the cut. If you take a look at the radio edit of Always A Way performed by Selma Björnsdóttir, it serves as a good example of what LazyTown songs could be with a more contemporary sound in mind. It would be incredible to hear a similar treatment be done with other LazyTown songs. If I was going to peg some songs to be successful after such a treatment, and maybe some lyrical changes, some that come to mind are We Will Be Friends, Ég á mér ósk, and Let's Go To The Moon.

3. This is a two part question:

A. What is your favorite puppet from the show and why?
The Robbie Rotten puppet from Secret Agent Zero for a few reasons.
a) I have a strange relationship with the puppets that were made under the Wit Puppets name. It's like an "It'ssouglyyetIcan'tlookaway" type of thing. I'm attracted and repulsed at the same time. So given that this is one of those puppets, I have a complicated affinity for it.
b) One of the things that has kept me interested in LazyTown for so long is the depth that the product has. I started down the rabbit hole nine years ago, and because LazyTown has existed for so long and in so many forms, I have yet to explore it all. But as I keep digging, I am able to link more and more things from LazyTown's past and present together, creating a fuller understanding of the whole. This is something that I find rewarding and at times amusing. This puppet contributes to that in a special way that the others cannot, because when it is used in the show, I am able to realize the history that the puppet has, which brings a whole new appreciation to its presence.
c) The brief scenes that the puppet is in are really funny!

B . Who is your favorite puppeteer from Lazytown and why?
I don't know, I haven't met them all.

4. How would you describe the people in the fanbase for Lazytown these days?
The fanbase is struggling, which is not surprising since LazyTown isn't producing. I know that GetLazy is not the endallbeall of LazyTown fans, but I think that it's fair to use it as a microcosm, and many of the active members are the same old people that have been around for years. We've all been making attempts at filling the void with fanmade content, but it's never going to bring the same attention as if LazyTown went into any kind of production again. I'm happy that the recent meme fad surrounding LazyTown gave it some exposure, but the fact is that most of these people are either only in it for the dank memes, or their fascination with LazyTown is fleeting and shallow. I guess only time will tell how much this exposure will actually affect the fanbase. I'm in it for the long haul, but if LazyTown truly is over and no more content is produced, the fanbase will be doomed to forever shrink. C'est la vie.

5. What does the concept of “Lazytown” mean to you?
To me, LazyTown is about fun and silly characters who live in a fantastical world first, and healthiness second. LazyTown has a special focus on physical health via Sportacus, but children's shows promoting "health," whether it be physical healthiness, mental healthiness, social healthiness, moral healthiness, are nothing new or special. Almost all of them do in varying degrees of obviousness. What defines LazyTown is the world that it exists in and the characters that inhabit that world.

6. Have you ever met or spoken to any of the cast or crew from Lazytown… if So, can you briefly describe your experience?
Yes, I visited the studio in 2014 and met a lot of them and have also interviewed some about LazyTown as well!

7. For those who didn’t get to meet anyone from Lazytown .If you got to meet one of the Lazytown cast members, what kind of souvenir would you like to take home with you?
N/A, I guess :p


END