Horseland



An animated series based on a virtual pet game by DiC Entertainment.

It stars a bunch of teenage kids at a horse ranch called, you guessed it, Horseland. It features your typical teen problems and various situations involving horses. Basically, it's an animated version of The Saddle Club.

The series returned to CBS on February 5, 2011. The show will remain on the line-up when the block will renamed Team Toon on September 17, 2011.

Horseland includes examples of:

 * Actor Allusion: Shep sounds a lot like Sean Connery.
 * Amplified Animal Aptitude - The horses understand a lot of human speech, and act more like intelligent dogs than horses. They do bolt and spook, but not at times you'd really expect them to.
 * An Aesop: Every episode.
 * Animated Adaptation: Of the virtual pet online game of the same name.
 * Badass Long Hair: Bailey has a sweet mullet.
 * Big Damn Heroes: The kids, Shep, and the horses show up to rescue Cubby from a mountain lion.
 * Big Eater: Teeny, being a pig.
 * Book Ends: Used with most episodes.
 * Cats Are Mean: Angora, though she isn't mean all the time.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Quite a few characters actually. Shep, Angora, Chili, Molly, Zoey and Chloe.
 * Did Not Do the Research - Where to start!? The kids consistently fail to tie their horses with halters, walk directly behind them all the time, let them wander around with bridles on, and none of the riders appear to know the emergency dismount technique or one-rein stop. About the only thing the show gets right safety-wise is wearing a helmet and (occasionally) checking a girth before you mount. Basically, if you know anything at all about being around horses, you're going to be yelling at the screen at some point.
 * "The Horse Whisperer" episode has Sarah doing just about any horse handling/training dead wrong. She looks a horse in the eye (a predatory stance) and pulls on the animal to get it to move (like anyone could outpull a 1,000 lb animal), and insists on being physically attached to an animal that wants to rear, bite, and kick. Accuracy wise, none of her techniques are those associated with so-called "horse whispering" techniques like join-up or round pen work. Of course, why a tween is being asked to train an unruly, intact stallion is anyone's guess.
 * Dull Surprise - A lot of the voice acting is ... not top notch. Best example is in "The Whispering Galley" when Zoey apologizes while trying not to cry, and really delivers an incredibly sarcastic line.
 * Mr. Fanservice: Bailey and, to a lesser extent, Will.
 * Evil Laugh: Done very badly by Zoey and Chloe.
 * Feud Episode: "The Competition"
 * Heroic Dog: Shep has his moments.
 * Ho Yay: Shep telling Mosey to "lean on him" could qualify.
 * It's All My Fault: Used in a few episodes. Will has this reaction when a forest fire breaks out during a camping trip. Sarah also does this when she realizes that Molly wasn't gossiping behind her back, and was talking about a different Sarah.
 * L Is for Dyslexia: We learn that Sarah's cousin, Chase, has difficulty reading because of dyslexia. Sarah tries to show him that he needn't be embarrassed, because she has a good friend who is also dyslexic who still manages to get by quite well.
 * Limited Social Circle/Minimalist Cast: Sarah, Molly, Alma, Bailey, Zoey, Chloe, Will, their horses, Shep, Angora, and Teeny are the only characters featured. Though, other kids make occasional appearances in most episodes.
 * Lonely Rich Kid: Sarah in the first episode; the others didn't like her at first because they thought she'd be like Zoey and Chloe.
 * Manly Tears: Shep sheds a few of these as he watches Mosey leave the barn.
 * Never My Fault: In "Win Some, Lose Some", Alma blames the course-changing rather than herself for not practicing because she thought she was too good.
 * New Kid As The Plot Demands
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Zoey and Chloe, again, look and act an awful lot like Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan.
 * Also their last name is "Stilton".
 * Non-Identical Twins: Zoey and Chloe.
 * Parental Abandonment: Will lives with his aunt and uncle, and cousin Bailey. It was never revealed what happened to his parents
 * Rich Bitch: Zoey and Chloe Stilton.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold: At least when they learn their lesson.
 * Ship Tease: Sarah/Bailey and Sarah/Will.
 * Speaks Fluent Animal: Sarah is accused of this.
 * Talking Animal: At least when humans aren't around.
 * Token Minority: Molly (Black) and Alma (Hispanic).
 * Nani (Native American) in Season 3