Photo Credit: Disney XD/Tony Rivetti
Four kids and one adult – pranking the world. Did you’ll watch it last week? What was your favorite prank?
Here was my favorite – The Science Fair Robot!
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For those of you that didn’t watch here are some highlights of what the show is all about:
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In WALK THE PRANK, four tweens design practical jokes for their online hidden-camera show. Friends Chance (Cody Veith), Bailey (Jillian Shea Spaeder), and Dusty (Brandon Severs), along with Chance’s younger brother, Herman (Bryce Gheisar), design large-scale pranks like a haunted house and a disobedient life-size robot with the help of Dusty’s Uncle Will (Tobie Windham) and props from his joke shop. After capturing the victims’ reactions to their work, they post the videos online for their fans’ entertainment.
Part reality series and part scripted comedy, this is a unique show for sure. We were able to watch part of the scripted taping while in LA recently. The kids use their experiences in their “real world” lives at school and at home to inspire the pranks they pull, but their victims are strangers to them and have no reason to suspect that what they’re walking into is a prank. For the tweens, though, the primary concern is always how well the videos play online, and how many views they get from them.
When we visited the set, we had a chance to see how much work goes into making sure the pranks are successful. We were able to see the kids having fun while they were taping, and having even more fun together in between takes! They all seemed like one big happy family! The kids seem like such professionals while they are working but in between takes turn into just regular kids, having fun with each other. The pranks themselves are pretty elaborate and expertly executed, and the kids are impressive actors in their accompanying roles. Walk the Prank will make you chuckle, actually, Walk the Prank will make you laugh out loud!
Photo Credit: Disney XD/Tony Rivetti
Having met the cast on my recent trip to LA I can tell you that each of them is funny, even when it’s not scripted, energetic and personable. We sat with Tobie Windham (Uncle Will) and talked about his work on Walk the Prank. He can actually see himself in some of the scripted parts of the show. He doesn’t feel he contributes consciously to the creative concepts or processes for the show but that the team is very intuitive and pick up on his movements, actions and real moments and creates a scene. When he gets his script he is often surprised by how close to his real life and reality it is. He definitely kept us laughing and even had some of the bloggers doing the robot! No practice necessary for Tobie to perform the robot since “he’s got moves.”
He explained that so far, no one that was pranked has gotten really upset but because it’s real you just don’t know how someone will react. As soon as a prank is finished he goes for a “high five” to make sure they know it’s a prank and so far has only come across one person who hesitated but finally gave him a high five.
Tobie likes to play pranks on others but doesn’t really like to have anyone prank him since he is afraid of what his reaction will be! The cast does play some harmless pranks on each other!
The show does raise plenty of issues you can discuss with your kids when they watch, like teamwork and friendship but at the same time lets you discuss with your kids pranks and the effects those pranks have on others as long as they are harmless, safe and funny.
Make sure to watch Walk the Prank on Disney XD. It premiered April 6 and now airs Wednesday nights at 8:30 pm EST.
