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Network: The Hub (US) and Treehouse (Canada)
Rating: TV-Y
Age Recommendation: 4-7
Publisher:Shout! Factory
Release Date: August 13, 2013

Overview:

Chuck is an exuberant young dump truck, who helps his parents Porter (a crane truck) and Haulie (a forklift) around their truck stop diner and repair shop. He has a large group of friends who stop by to play and have adventures with him in the parts yard across from the truck stop.

In the series, Chuck learns lessons about being kind, being a good friend, and being himself. The DVD features ten episodes from the series, each about 20 minutes in run time. The show tends to be aimed at a younger audience, and likely more at boys than girls, especially since there are few female characters featured, although little girls who like cars and trucks will still enjoy it. The lessons taught are gentle and heartwarming, and not heavy-handed. There is also a matching toy line from Hasbro.

Chuck's Friends:

Rowdy - A little green trash truck who loves to get dirty.
Soku - A blue and green Japanese van who always has the latest technology.
Digger - A Spanish-speaking bulldozer and backhoe.
Handy - A blue tow truck who loves to use tools.
Boomer - A young red firetruck.
Biggs - An orange monster truck from Texas.

Check out a gallery of Chuck's friends at Hubworld.com!

Episode Synopses:

*Choosy Chuck - Chuck has an extra ticket to see an interesting exhibit about Famous Trucks of Old Time at the local museum.

However, he only has one, so he has to choose from amongst his friends who gets to the extra ticket, as the exhibit has been sold out for months. His friends Handy, Rowdy, and Boomer fall all over themselves to be nice and helpful to Chuck in hopes that they top the others and get to be the one Chuck picks. When Chuck realizes what they are doing, he decides to give up his ticket rather than choose from his friends and possibly hurt someone's feelings. His parents reward him with giving up their tickets so all four of the friends can go (and more tickets open up for sale, so they can tag along too).

*The Art of Being Chuck - Chuck stacks up some tires in the repair shop for his mother, and is spotted by landscaping truck and artist Dahlia, who tells him it looks like a sculpture. She teaches Chuck about art. Chuck decides he and his friends should create art pieces to hang in the repair shop. However, they find that creating art is harder than it sounds, and none is pleased with their works. Chuck's mother Haulie stops by to see what the young trucks are doing, and she helps them see their art in a whole new light, and reminds them all how their works are expressions of themselves.

*Commercial Trucks - An extreme sports star truck, Rad Tail-lights, stops by the truck stop with his crew to film a commercial. Chuck and his friends are given a special job to build a ramp for a stunt in the commercial. Chuck does not think the job is important enough, so he goes looking for something more important to do. Instead, he ends up getting in the way of the commercial shoot time and again, and is more of a nuisance than helpful. Also, his friends try to build the ramp alone, but can't complete it in time. They learn that they must work together to save the shoot and that their job was indeed one of the most important ones.

*Prince Chuck - Chuck, Digger, and Boomer play Prince at a clubhouse they've built themselves. When a real Prince named Prince Piston visits the town, they realize he and Chuck look just like one another. Chuck thinks Prince Piston has the best life, and Prince Piston is tired of being commanding and bossed around by his keeper, Mr. Scoopenbottom, so they trade places. Prince Piston gets to have fun with trucks his own age and get dirty, while Chuck gets to be paraded around and presented with extravagant gifts. However, the gifts for the Prince are not to be played with, only displayed, which makes Chuck sad. When the time comes for the young Prince to leave, he refuses. Chuck convinces him that his royal life can be pretty great in ways, and the Prince reminds Chuck how much fun his side of things is.

*Lights, Cameras, Trucks! - When Chuck sees a movie and gets to meet the star, he thinks being in the film business would be a lot of fun. He asks Biggs, Soku, and Handy to make a movie with him. However, as the director, Chuck is bossy and mean, and the other trucks don't have any fun. They leave Chuck to make the movie on his own. Chuck watches some of the tape and sees how mean he was being to his friends, and realizes how hard it is to make a movie without anyone to help him. He apologizes and they make a fun short movie about police cars and getaway cars.

*Truck n' Roll - A rock n' roll roadie bus stops at the station, and Chuck has the idea to start a band. Chuck, Boomer, Handy, and Soku can't decide what kind of song their band should play, so they split off into pairs: Chuck with Boomer and Handy with Soku. Soku wants to do a pop song with lots of dancing, and Chuck wants to do a hard rock n' roll song. However, Chuck has a hard time with rhyming lyrics, and Soku can't get his spins just right. Boomer and Handy remind them how the other can help, and they reunite and blend their styles to create a rock n' roll song with a fun dance.

*Contest Countdown - While listening to the radio, a quiz contest is announced. Chuck knows the answer, but there isn't a working phone in the diner to call in, so he heads to his mother's repair shop to use her phone. On the way, he runs into Digger, Handy, and Rowdy, all of whom know the answer as well. However, when they race into Haulie's shop, they break her phone and must rush to get a part from the yard to fix it. They compete with and sabotage each other at every turn, and when they return with the part, Holly announces she won't be able to make the repair in time for the contest. The young trucks decide to work together to illustrate the answer to the quiz so that the radio helicopter can see it from the sky. When they win the contest, the helicopter says the prize can actually be shared amongst the four friends.

*Soku-Kun - Soku's cousin Kazuo is visiting from Japan and he doesn't speak English. Soku does not understand why learning about his Japanese heritage is important when he doesn't live there, and the things Kazuo does differently embarrass him. Kazuo gives them a book about Japan, which helps Chuck, Boomer, and Digger to understand more of what he says and why he does certain things. They use their knowledge to save Soku from a collapsing pipe pyramid they had built. They teach Soku a few things about Kazuo, and Soku decides he would like to learn more about his Japanese background after all.

*Rowdy the Rockstar - Rowdy's favorite singer, Kurt Camshaft, is coming to Treadwells. When given the opportunity to meet Kurt, Rowdy is worried he won't make a good impression and that Kurt won't like him. He is too nervous to even practice. His friends give him ideas of ways he can make a memorable introduction, but none seem to fit for Rowdy. They clean him up nicely, and get him new hubcaps and a paint accent. When Kurt doesn't show up for the concert, the friends go looking for him. Rowdy notices tracks going off the road, and ventures down in the mud to find Kurt stuck. He and the others help rescue him, and Kurt reminds him that it is most important to be himself.

*Flower Power - Dahlia the landscaping truck teaches Chuck all about what she does for a living and caring for plants. She leaves some extra trees and flowers for Holly to plant around the repair shop, but Holly is booked solid and doesn't have time to plant them herself. Chuck decides to plant them himself as a surprise for his mother. However, they dig a hole around the entire perimeter of the shop, which traps Haulie and her client Semi Steve inside. The young trucks must help her get out of the shop and get a part she needs to complete her repair, and she reminds them that it's nice to want to surprise someone, but sometimes asking first is necessary. She also points out that it's a great idea to try new things and it's okay to make mistakes.

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