Under the Umbrella Tree is a Canadian children's television series created by Noreen Young that originally aired on CBC from 1987 to 1993. It was produced by CBC and Noreen Young Productions, and later by The Disney Channel, which began airing it on May 7, 1990. The series centers on a quartet of main characters who share a house on Spring Street in a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario. The characters include Holly (a human), Iggy (an iguana), Jacob (a blue jay), and Gloria (a gopher). The show's title is derived from the fact that the characters live together in a home featuring a prominent indoor umbrella tree. When production of the show ended in 1993, syndication continued on The Disney Channel and Canal Famille until 1997. Twenty-seven episodes of the show were released to DVD by Cinerio Entertainment in partnership with Noreen Young in 2006, following a long wait for expiration of ownership rights. In 2019, Gloria, Iggy and Jacob were featured in episode 1 of Cavendish, in Andy and Mark's childhood bedroom. In 2020, the original cast (Holly Larocque, Noreen Young, Stephen Brathwaite and Bob Stutt) reunited to make a video called Under the Umbrella Tree: The Mask Special, which was uploaded to YouTube and Facebook. Overview Premise A total of 285 episodes were produced over the years, with 270 being 15 minutes long and 15 being 30-minute specials. Every episode focuses on a different theme, such as sports, holidays, singing, dancing, exercise and various other activities. Valuable life lessons are often woven into every story, such as the importance of keeping promises, being considerate of others or assuming responsibility for one's actions. The show's characters were created by Ken Sobol, who also wrote the majority of the series episodes. Sobol had previously worked closely with Noreen Young on Readalong and Téléfrançais, two other children's television series. Characters Main Gloria Gladys Grace Gabrielle Gardenia Glenda Gale Gopher (performed by Noreen Young) – Gloria is the only female puppet in the Umbrella Tree household and lives and sleeps underneath it, entering her burrow from behind the couch. She enjoys music and other performing arts, keeping her more particular interests secret, even from her best friends. She is a tomboy and does not like being treated like a girl. Holly Penelope Higgins (played by Holly Larocque) – The only human character. She serves as a parental figure and mentor for the