I searched for a thread on this show but couldn't find one.

Handy Manny is the new animated show on Playhouse Disney. Manny is voiced by Wilmer "Fez" Valderrama.

I think it is supposed to be a cross between Dora and Bob the Builder but my 20 month old daughter loves this show. I really like the tools and Manny is so nice to everyone.

In a recent episode there was a character in a wheelchair. It was refreshing because he ended up just being another character instead of making him kind of helpless. Or worse making him an example of how capable people with disabilities can be. Which, while true, is totally over done and preachy.

Also, Kelly from the hardware store? Totally hot for Manny.

We haven't been getting the Disney Channel lately, but during a recent visit to my in-laws, our 3-year-old spotted this show, immediately recognized it (from the babysitter's perhaps?) and watched the whole thing. I did find the talking tools easier to deal with than Bob the Builder's menagerie of cement mixers, etc.

I love Handy Manny!! My 3 year old daughter loves it as well. I get a huge kick out of the fact that the Phillips Head screwdriver is named "Felipe." I really think this show sends a positive message that if everyone works as a team, we can get things done.

Singing.. Each of us has a special job....

Also, Kelly from the hardware store? Totally hot for Manny.

Word.

Our almost 2 year old absolutely loves this show so we're always watching it. My husband and I amuse ourselves by watching the Manny/Kelly relationship. It's horrible, but we're always saying that they are going to hook up.

You're so right on. I'm glad I'm not the only one! Kelly totally has the hots for Manny.

Does anyone get the feeling that Valderrama phones in his voiceovers? He does OK, but somehow lacks conviction. Or maybe I'm just imagining how I would feel, as a cool young TV star, doing a VO for a kids' show.

One thing that bugs me is the "now I'm teaching you Spanish" repetition. "Hola! Hi!" "Vamanos! Let's go!" I get the reason for it, but it makes the dialogue so unnatural.

Still luv the show though.

I do. Sometimes his voice just sounds so dead. I don't expect spectacular acting on a kids show, but a tiny bit more expression would be nice.

One thing I appreciate about this show is the continuity of characters. For instance, since the episode where we first saw that Mrs. Portillo got Carlos the dog, we continue to see Mrs. Portillo with Carlos. Also, we got to see Patches again after she was adopted when the fireman had to rescue her from the tree. I like that they keep the same people around and use them often.

I do not own a TV, but i discovered this show through a promo DVD that Disney put into a Parenting magazine. my 2 1/2 year old and I are hooked!! I downloaded a bunch of eps off itunes in addition to buying their 2 dvds that are out.

Anyway today i saw the episode "Tool Dance" in which Kelly & Manny end up dancing in the hardware store and I nearly gave a fangirl scream! Oh my, why dont those 2 hook up already? haha!!

another note: Has anyone noticed that there dont seem to be any intact families on this show? all the little kids seem to be living with their grandparents... or are they just visiting? (Julietta & Senor Sanchez, and is Alex just visiting Mrs. Portillo when they're together?)

Another question: Does anyone have a favorite tool? My sonny boy loves Squeeze, and I have a soft spot for Turner. It's hilarious how he always tries to be the straight man/ leader of the group and is always the rain on the parade, usually unsuccessfully. He cracks me up.

i also LOVE Mr. Lopart. the bumbling idiot is a riot! I love how they always come up with different clumsy ways for him to fall all over himself!

I think Julietta just visits Mr. Sanchez, at least that was the story in the episode where the tools wanted to adopt Patches but they decided to let Mr. Sanchez adopt her instead since he was lonely when Julietta wasn't there. I'm pretty sure Alex doesn't live with Mrs. Portillo, he wasn't at her house when they fixed her light in the dark or when she thought there was something wrong with her dryer because she was missing socks but turned out that Carlos was hiding them. Damn I know too much about this show!

The only intact family I remember them actually showing is the one that had a daughter and the wife was pregnant with their second child. Manny went over there to fix the crib and put up a mobile. Oh, there is also the family from Argentina, they showed the mom, dad and son when Manny went to their house to help assemble a teeter totter or something like that. Although I think there are other intact families, they just don't show either the mother or father. For example, they only showed Leela (?) and Mr. Singh, but I didn't get the impression that he was a single father (I believe the episode was "Tools for Toys"). There is also the Asian family who had their washer fixed by Manny and the tools, they only showed the Mom, but I never got the impression she was a single mother.

My favorite tool is Pat. I don't know why but his clumsiness and absentmindedness make me laugh, yet sometimes he'll come up with good ideas out of nowhere, like in the episode where the forklift was stuck in the doorway of the china shop and he came up with lowering the forklift so it wouldn't damage the top of the door frame. Also, I kind of think my dog looks like him and he's pretty goofy too. My daughter does not appear to have a favorite that I can tell.

I've been watching this show every so often with my boyfriend's kids. It's cute. I do love Mr. Lopart, and especially that his cat has a combover just like his. Hee!

I'm not crazy about smug and creepy Wilmer Valderama voicing a kid's show, but he has a nice enough voice and I guess the kids don't have to know that he's smug and creepy IRL.

And I'm all for teaching kids Spanish, but the heavy-handed way that it's done on this show and Dora the Explorer kind of drives me nuts, mostly because it is so unnatural, as someone stated above. "Look! Somebody opened LA PUERTA!" Who talks like that? I know that old-school Sesame Street had a lot of Spanish too, but I don't remember it being so clunky and heavy-handed. Then again, I was four. I probably wasn't the world's toughest critic.

Wilmer Valderama actually produces the show as well as stars in it. He said he created the show b/c he wasn't crazy about the shows he younger siblings were watching and he thought he could put something better on the air.

Can anyone tell me who is the voice of Mrs. Lopart (Mr. Lopart's mom). It's driving me nuts.

I wish I could tell you, but I just came here to find out the same thing! It's not on imdb either - anyone, anyone?

To me, she sounds a little bit like Marion Ross, but perhaps a bit too young to be her?

I've seen this show when it's on on Wednesday mornings, which is when the girls I nanny have to be looked after all day.
Only ever seen it in French, but I like the messages it gives, like when there's a problem, calm down/don't panic & think and the idea that working in a team is good/everyone has different skills/strengths.
I find the Spanish words much better integrated into the show than in Dora (which has seemingly endless repetition which is irritating, to say the least). It's obviously a Spanish-speaking community & so feels more natural & based in the real world than Dora.

I saw the episode with Mr. Lopart's birthday and Marion Ross is indeed the voice of his mother.

Ah, thanks! I had that episode on yesterday, and meant to watch the credits, but my son lost interest in the show and I ended up chasing him elsewhere around the house. :-)

I just discovered this show thanks to my 15 month old daughters love of cartoons with singing (she starts singing and dancing when it happens on cartoons), and cartoons in general.

This is such a great little show, even my husband looks forward to it.

We recently saw an episode where they went to the movies, and the projector broke down and as luck would have it, Manny and the Tools were there to fix it with a quick trip over to Kelly's hardware shop (and yes, I too think Kelly is harboring a serious crush on Manny) all was good. My husband and I had the best time pointing out some of the "friends" in the movie theater audience like Mrs. Portillo, etc.

All around, this is the best children's show on tv - both from the kid and adult perspective.

Has anyone seen the 45 minute special epsidode THE MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE? i watched it on the disney website. it's something!!! I enjoyed it as a 33 year old adult! I was a little suprised at manny's motorcyle antics, they were totally unsafe. But it was such an adorable, heartwarming story. anyone seen?

what does bug me about this show is that we never see manny's parents. are they back in mexico? also, this episode... couldnt htey simply have called the hardware store and ask them to detain their driver?