Stephanie is a fictional character from the children's television series LazyTown, created by Magnús Scheving. She is portrayed as an energetic girl who encourages the residents of LazyTown to be more physically active and to adopt healthier habits. In the series, she comes to LazyTown to visit her uncle, Milford Meanswell, the town's mayor, and befriends the local children. She is known for her pink hair, which leads the puppet character Trixie to nickname her "Pinky".
| Stephanie | |
|---|---|
| LazyTown character | |
 | |
| First appearance | Áfram Latibær! (1996) |
| Last appearance | LazyTown Live on Stage (2016) [citation needed] |
| Created by | Magnús Scheving |
| Portrayed by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Nicknames | 'Pinky', 'SportaStephanie',[1] 'Pink Girl' |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Aspiring dancer and cheerleader |
| Family | Milford Meanswell (uncle) |
| Age | 8[2][3][4] initially, later 10[5] |
The character originated in the Icelandic stage play Áfram Latibær! (1996), in which she appeared under the name Solla Stirða. For the television adaptation, the character was reworked into Stephanie. In the Icelandic dub of the television series, she was voiced by Ólöf Kristín Þorsteinsdóttir.[6]
Stephanie was portrayed by Julianna Rose Mauriello in the first two seasons of LazyTown and by Chloe Lang in the third and fourth seasons.[7] In earlier stage productions, she was played by Selma Björnsdóttir and Linda Ásgeirsdóttir, and she was also portrayed by Kimberly Pena in LazyTown Live! The Pirate Adventure.[8]
Description
editStephanie was depicted as being an athletic, sweet, shy, sassy, caring, optimistic, and smart 8-year-old girl.[9] Surprised by the inactivity of the residents of LazyTown, she cheerfully encourages them to participate in more active, energetic hobbies or pastimes such as sports, games, and much more when they are downhearted when the temptations of candy or video games overcome her prodding. Despite this, Stephanie is characterized by her optimism and self-confidence, which she proudly promotes and shares with her peers in encouragement against all odds or challenges, always victoriously triumphing over any obstacles or antagonists by the conclusion of an episode.
Stephanie's attempts are often nearly thwarted by Robbie Rotten, but his plans are never foolproof and always end with Stephanie winning.
Development
editStephanie was originally created by Magnús Scheving for the stage play Áfram Latibær as "Solla Stirða" ("Solla Stiff"), a girl with stiff joints who dreamt of becoming a dancer. Solla also appeared in the sequel to the stage play, Glanni Glæpur í Latabæ. She was played by Selma Björnsdóttir and Linda Ásgeirsdóttir, respectively.
Magnús Scheving reworked Solla into Stephanie for the LazyTown television show. Shelby Young was originally pegged to play Stephanie in 2003, and filmed one unaired pilot before departing due to union issues.
Ultimately, Julianna Rose Mauriello was chosen to play Stephanie, and played her for the first two seasons and LazyTown Extra before departing due to aging out of the role.
Chloe Lang picked up the role of Stephanie for seasons three, four, and LazyTown Motivational Campaigns. And as of 2024, she is the most recent actress to play Stephanie.
Appearance
editStephanie tends to wear a pink sleeveless dress with pale blush pink tights, pink socks, white and pink sneakers and a purple hairband. Her outfit, though, changes from time to time. For example, in "LazyTown Goes Digital" and "Energy Book", she wears pink leggings with her usual dress. She also wears tracksuits and other items of clothing, but they are nearly always pink. Her short bob hair is dyed pink. All her accessories are also pink. She also has long, curled eyelashes and slightly blushing cheeks. She is often seen carrying a pink purse with a heart on it, in which she carries her pink diary. As a pirate, she wore a pink bandanna with a white, fancy letter "S" on it for Stephanie, as well as a striped shirt, loose ripped pink leggings and pink socks. As a princess, she had longer curly hair in pigtails and wore a loose fuchsia princess dress.
Reception
editChild development authors Lyn Mikel Brown and Sharon Lamb assert that Stephanie is interesting and makes pink a "power color" due to her quick thinking, computer gaming and sporty nature.[5]
References
edit- ↑ "Lazytown's New Super Hero - 02/11/2012". Radio Times.
- ↑ "NBC 220 - 12:30 PM LazyTown". MyBell.Bell.Ca. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
An 8-year-old girl is caught between a superhero and his lazy nemesis.
- ↑ Kristjansdotter, Dagny (18 January 2011). "PART II: Filmic Translations Chapter 9: Sportacus Saves the Day!". In Weldy, Lance (ed.). Crossing Textual Boundaries in International Children's Literature. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-4438-2760-7.
the description of the character Stephanie: "This 8-year-old girl is new to LazyTown.
- ↑ "The Official Home Page for LazyTown | Lazytown.com | Characters".
This 8-year-old girl is new to LazyTown. She's just moved here to live with her uncle, the town's mayor, Milford Meanswell. Stephanie is caught between doing what's easiest and making better choices.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - 1 2 Lamb, Sharon; Brown, Lyn Mikel (2007). "See no evil? What girls watch". In Lamb, Sharon; Brown, Lyn Mikel (eds.). Packaging girlhood: rescuing our daughters from marketers' schemes. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 60–61. ISBN 9780312370053.
Stephanie, the ten-year-old on the fitness and health-focused show Lazy Town... is especially interesting. While she seems almost over-the-top stereotypical, with her pink hair, pink clothes, pink room, pink everything, she also plays sports, thinks on her feet, and loves computer games. She makes pink a power color but is one of the only girls on the show.
- ↑ "Talsetning á Latabæ hafin ('Dubbing of LazyTown Has Begun')". Fréttablaðið. 28 April 2005.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ↑ Terrace, Vincent (2007). Encyclopedia of Television Subjects, Themes and Settings. McFarland & Company. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7864-2498-6.
- ↑ "Sportacus, Stephanie and Swashbuckling fun!". WalesOnline. 23 April 2009.
- ↑ "Lazy Town Characters". nickjr.com.au. Archived from the original on 14 May 2007.
Stephanie (8 years old) - Stephanie is a sweet, optimistic girl who's just moved here