The original character designs for children’s TV show LazyTown have left fans in fits of laughter.
The health-themed programme, which aired from 2004 to 2014 and later became a popular meme on social media, has seen a resurgence in popularity after the initial character designs were discovered.
Creator Magnús Scheving, who also plays one of the few human characters, originally intended for all characters to be puppets. Early promotional material revealing what these puppets might have looked like has now been unearthed, leaving Twitter users in stitches over the terrifying original designs.
Two characters that were “never adapted” have also been found. The user who discovered the promotional materials tweeted: “lazytown is trending rn so im posting some of the original icelandic designs for the characters before it got adapted into the TV show.”
Those who have seen the frightening puppet designs joked they resembled “relatives of the Dolmio family”.
Another user quipped: “The picture on the left looks like some obscure strategy RPG for either the first Playstation, the Sega Saturn or PC that you’d only find out about either from finding it at a store or watching longplay of it.”
Some viewers expressed relief that their childhood was shaped by human actors and puppets rather than the original, more unsettling designs. “Ngl I’m glad Sportacus, Robbie and Stephanie were played by real actors,” one commented.
They felt it conveyed the message better and provided a necessary audience surrogate, reminiscent of Sesame Street. LazyTown resonated with audiences, as many shared warm recollections of the show.
A fan remarked: “It’s actually high-key heartwarming that LazyTown was made because Magnus saw there wasn’t any role models for kids that promoted healthy eating and fitness.”
Significant changes from the initial concepts to the final show were noted, including two characters who were dropped. Jives, a character described as lethargic due to poor diet, was seen in early promotional material but didn’t appear in the series.
Another unused character, known as the “rooster”, was deemed the laziest of all and also didn’t make it to the screen. The user disclosed: “thats the rooster, he’s a self-centered character and also the laziest lazytown resident in the play versions.”