LazyTown Becomes SunshineTown

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....

Written by Dagny Kristjánsdóttir
Paper, October 12, 2006 Kimberley Reynolds, a leading British scholar in the field of children´s literature, says that people’s attitudes toward childhood can be grouped into four main categories. First, there is nostalgia for the traditional childhood; then a tendency to view children as victims; next, as the opposite, or devils; and finally, simply as a market phenomenon. The phenomenon of Latibær (LazyTown) unites all these views in a particularly intriguing way....

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....

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. ...

MAGNUS SCHEVING
Producer and Writer of LazyTown
Entrepreneur/World-Class Athlete

Magnús Scheving is an athlete, entrepreneur, writer and producer whose infectious creativity and entrepreneurial spirit has lead him to become the CEO and co-founder of LazyTown Entertainment. Promoting fitness and a healthy lifestyle, Scheving and LazyTown Entertainment produce educational books, videos, games, and sporting goods for children and adults alike. As creator of the h...

Written by Simon Ashdown
KidScreen June 2003 While children's fitness may just now be shaping up as the issue du jour in North America, Reykjavic, Iceland's LazyTown keyed into its importance 11 years ago. Founded by fitness guru and lecturer Magnus Scheving, the LazyTown concept launched in 1992 with a mandate to improve health of children. Since then, the multi-million dollar icelandic francise has grown to encompass books, board games, videos, CDs, a radio station, theatrical productions, and even...