Octonauts is an animated children's television series, produced by Sony Pictures Television Kids for the BBC channel CBeebies. It is based on the children's books written by Meomi, the design team of Vicki Wong and Michael C. Murphy.

The show follows an underwater exploring crew made up of stylised anthropomorphic animals, a team of eight adventurers who live in an undersea base, the Octopod, from which they go on undersea adventures with the help of a fleet of aquatic vehicles. Although its technology is fictional, the exotic creatures and locations that the crew encounter are based on real marine animals in their natural habitats. The show's subject matter has been compared to that of Star Trek and Thunderbirds blended with Jacques Cousteau.

The show was animated in Ireland by Brown Bag Films for its first four series. The show was renewed for a fifth series in 2018, with Canada's Mainframe Studios taking over animation work. A Netflix-original spinoff, subtitled Above & Beyond, was released in September 2021, and featured the Octonauts venturing onto more land-based habitats of the natural world.

In March 2023, five new episodes under the original Octonauts branding and format were released via the BBC iPlayer.

The Octonauts, consisting of the Octopod crew and captain, are the recurring main characters.

Name	Rank	Species	Voice cast	Description
Barnacles	Captain	Polar bear	Simon Greenall (speaking) Ross Breen (singing)	Barnacles is the brave polar bear captain of the Octonauts. He knows how to drive any vehicle and is strong enough to lift a giant clam. However, despite his bravery, it was revealed in The Caves of Sac Actun that he was claustrophobic. Catchphrases: "Octonauts, let's do this!", "Sound the Octo-Alert!", "Octonauts, to your stations!", "Octonauts, to the HQ / launch bay!" and "Hold on, this could get bumpy!".
Kwazii	Lieutenant and Cryptozoologist	Cat	Rob Rackstraw	A cat who speaks in a Cockney accent. Kwazii is a daredevil cat with a mysterious pirate past. He believes in many sea monsters such as the Nackerwhack, Tri-Toothed-Terror, Giant Shrimp Monster and Monster of Creepy Cove. He likes to drive fast in the Gup-B. In the episode "The Octonauts and the Giant Spider Crab", it reveals that he has a fear of spiders. Catchphrases: "Shiver me whiskers" and "Yeow!".
Peso	Medic	Penguin	Paul Panting (UK) Wayne Grayson (US)	He is a penguin with a British accent (Spanish accent in the US version) and the medic of the Octonauts. He is not fond of scary situations, but if someone is hurt or in trouble he can be the bravest Octonaut of all. He has a younger brother called Pinto. Catchphrase: "Flappity flippers!".
Inkling (Prof.)	Oceanographer and Founder	Dumbo octopus	Keith Wickham	An octopus who speaks in a posh accent. Inkling brought the Octonauts together, to study the oceans and have adventures. Catchphrase: "Fascinating!"
Shellington (Dr)	Biologist	Sea otter	Keith Wickham	A sea otter who speaks with a Scottish accent. Dr. Shellington is a biologist who assists the Octonauts on missions. He is not a very good driver and once crashed the GUP-D. Catchphrase: "Jumping jellyfish!" and "Fascinating".
Tweak	Engineer	Rabbit	Jo Wyatt Jaimie Kelton (US, season 1)	A rabbit who speaks with a Southern-US accent. Tweak lives and works in the launch bay. She often invents things like the GUP-X, GUP-S, the Octo-Max suit and the Friend Finder she made for her friend, Sandy the leatherback sea turtle. She often refers to Captain Barnacles as "Cap". Catchphrases: "Right away, Cap!", "...faster than you can say 'buncha munchy crunchy carrots'!", and "Oh, me, oh, my!".
Dashi (Previously Sauci)	Computer programmer and photographer	Dog (Dachshund)	Teresa Gallagher (UK) Mary Murphy (US, seasons 1–4) Jenny Yokobori (US, "The Caves of Sac Actun"–present)	A dog who speaks with an Australian accent (American in the US version). Dashi is the photographer for the Octonauts and takes care of all the computers aboard the Octopod. She's also a professional surfer. Catchphrase: "Already on it, Captain!"
Tunip	Chef and Horticulturist	Vegimal	Michael C. Murphy	Tunip is half-tuna, half-turnip, but has the outward appearance of a harbour seal mixed with a turnip. He loves to make kelp cakes and work in the greenhouse. He often faints at shocking news. Tunip the Vegimal is the Octonauts' head cook and gardener. He is a Vegimal, a half-animal, half-vegetable creature capable of breathing on land as well as underwater. Tunip is very childish and innocent, always wanting to help the Octonauts in any way he can. He is the smallest main character in the Octonauts crew. Aside from cooking the meals, Tunip works in the garden, cultivating vegetables he can use to cook meals. His two favourite meals are fish biscuits and kelp cakes. Tunip, like all Vegimals, speaks Vegimalese. Since he was born, his first words were "Cheepa cheepa!, Cheepa cheepa!" and "Zuupa zuupa!"

Vegimals are half-animal, half-vegetable creatures. The vegimals were discovered by Shellington as eggs attached to the side of the Octopod. To protect them he brought them into his lab, where they hatched a few days later. After a few weeks, they established themselves as an integral part of the crew. They primarily speak Vegimalese, a language made of chirps and warbles (heavily accented English with inter-mixed gibberish), though they also speak a limited amount of English (with an accent). Shellington is the only (non-vegimal) Octonaut who has some fluency in Vegimalese.

Name	Taxonomy	Description
Albachoy	half-bok choy and half-albacore
Barrot	half-bass, half-carrot.	Although nervous, he can go super fast in an emergency.
Carprika	half-paprika and half-carp
Charchard	half-chard and half-char
Codish	half-cod, half-radish.	He is very clumsy and also causes accidents.
Grouber	half-grouper, half-tuber.	He is big and can eat almost anything.
Halibeet	half-beet and half-halibut
Maccoli	half-broccoli and half-mackerel
Perchkin	half-pumpkin and half-perch
Pikato	half-tomato and half-pike
Tominnow	half-minnow, half-tomato.	She is the littlest one, but she is also a daredevil.
Tunip	half-tuna, half-turnip.	He is a recurring main character.
Salepeño	half-jalapeño and half-salmon
Sharchini	half-zucchini, half-shark
VegiBot	a vegimal robot
Wallabaga	half-rutabaga and half-walleye
Yamchovy	half-anchovy and half-yam

Name	Animal	Relationship to Octonauts	Description	First Seen
Calico Jack	Cat	Kwazii's grandfather	As a pirate, his exploits are frequently talked about but he is assumed long dead until he finally makes an initial first appearance. In real life, the pirate Calico Jack was the creator of the Jolly Roger, though the Octonauts character's name might also be an allusion to the Calico cat.	Special 3
Pinto	Penguin	Peso's little brother	A young penguin who visits in season 1 – episode 24, season 1 – episode 32 and Special 1. He initially aspires to be a pirate, like Kwazii, but later decides he'd rather be a medic like Peso.	Season 1 – Episode 24 (24)
Sandy	Sea turtle	Friend	A good friend of Tweak. She swims long distances and makes appointments to meet the Octonauts in several episodes.
Boris	Narwhal	Friend	A friend of Captain Barnacles from when he was young. Boris remains in the Arctic but the Octonauts meet him in several episodes.
Pearl	sea otter	Shellington's married sister	She recently had a baby named "Periwinkle".	The Urchin Invasion
Bianca	polar bear	Captain Barnacles' twin sister		Special 7
Orson and Ursa	polar bear	Bianca's cubs. Captain Barnacles' niece and nephew		Special 7 and season 4 – episode 7 (99)
Professor Natquik	Arctic fox	Captain Barnacles's old friend	A polar explorer who loves to explore rivers under the ice.	Special 8
Tracker	Polar Bear			Special 8
Ranger Marsh	Rabbit	Tweak's father	A park ranger who loves to explore swamps.	Episode 9
Koshi	Dog (Dachshund)	Dashi's little sister		Season 4 – Episode 17 (109)
Squirt	Dumbo Octopus	Professor Inkling's Nephew	Squirt lives in 'sea mount' which is an underwater mountain.	Season 1 – Episode 52

Vehicle	Purpose	Resemblance	First Appearance
Octopod	The Octonauts' mobile home base and the biggest vehicle. It has an almost unlimited range.	Giant octopus	"The Whale Shark" (Season 1, episode 1)
GUP-A	A propeller-powered vehicle and Captain Barnacles' favourite. It is occasionally modified by Tweak during the series:- 1) a turbo booster for greater speed ["Giant Whirlpool" (Season 1, episode 21)]; and 2) extra lights to help see in the midnight zone, which flash when the vehicle's power is running low ["Midnight Zone" (Season 1, episode 18)].	Anglerfish	"The Whale Shark" (Season 1, episode 1)
GUP-B	Kwazii's favourite. This vehicle is a turbo sub so is the fastest of all GUPs. When Kwazii loses this GUP, it is revealed that he painted the shark teeth. In some episodes, Kwazii continuously crashes the GUP-B, leading to occasional modification by Tweak during the series: 1) a set of fully adjustable pectoral fins and a tail fin, to enable it to emulate the flying fish's movements when launching itself out of the water; and 2) an eject button to escape from the GUP in an emergency. 3) a tiger shark camouflage mode to scare away other predators (since tiger sharks can eat almost anything).	Tiger shark	Intro Credits, but substantively in "The Undersea Storm" (Season 1, episode 2)
GUP-C	This strong vehicle has a towline and is powerful enough to tow an elephant seal or the entire Octopod ["Narwhal" (Series 1, episode 17)]. It can also be used as an icebreaker when fitted with a special reinforced prow.	Blue whale	Intro Credits, but substantively in "The Undersea Storm" (Season 1, episode 2)
GUP-D	Tweak's favourite. This multi-purpose vehicle has two claws, two drills and six legs.	Manta ray (or a crab when legged)	Intro Credits, but substantively in "The Crab and Urchin" (Series 1, episode 3)
GUP-E	This is an ambulance GUP and coloured green. A tank at the vehicle's rear can be filled with water for creatures with gills.	Guppy	Intro Credits, but substantively in "The Orcas" (Season 1, episode 7)
GUP-F	This was a pedal-powered metal-framed vehicle and the very first prototype GUP built. In its only appearance, in ["The Speedy Sailfish" (Season 1, episode 10)], it was used to round up the runaway GUPs A-E. It was destroyed by a hurricane and converted into an artificial reef ["The Artificial Reef" (Series 3, episode 4)]	Clownfish	The Speedy Sailfish (Series 1, episode 10).
GUP-G	This is a ship with "sturdy legs for walking on ground and a special tank for carrying large sea creatures". The GUP-G was built "to travel in water and on land, just like a salamander".	Salamander	Appearing in the book entitled, "The Octonauts & the Growing Goldfish" (3 July 2014, 25 August 2014 & 5 June 2018). Also appearing in The Caves of Sac Actun (10th special).
GUP-H	This is a helicopter. It is used to soar above the sea and watch the animals hop in and out of the water.	Dragonfly	The Poison Dart Frogs (Series 4, episode 1) and The Caves of Sac Actun (10th special).
GUP-I	This is a polar exploration station and rugged vehicle.	Water bear	Operation Deep Freeze (8th special).
GUP-J	This is a small, but powerfully-fast, hovercraft.	Tree frog	Only in the toys made for the series.
GUP-K	This is a half-air-boat, half-tank vehicle that can float on the surface. It was used to save Tweak's hometown the Everglades from fire in "The Great Swamp Search" (9th Special).	Crocodile or alligator	The Great Swamp Search (9th Special)
GUP-L	This is a seaplane.	Flying fish	Only in the toys made for the series.
GUP-M	This is a rugged three-wheeling buggy, with a creature-carrying sidecar, designed to scout and search swamplands or manoeuvre through the muddy marsh.	Mudskipper	The Caves of Sac Actun (10th special)
GUP-O	This is a jet ski designed to be able to mimic the movements of an orca whale, including a tail that moves up and down as it travels.	Orca whale	Only in the Season 4 end credits & the toys made for the series.
GUP-P	This is a first response emergency vehicle and medical station (complete with an X-Ray machine), allowing Kwazii to treat and transport sea creatures to safety. A beak-like hatch exists at the nose of the vehicle for capturing sea creatures being rescued by the vehicle.	Parrotfish	Octonauts and the Great Barrier Reef (11th Special)
GUP-Q	This is an undersea exploration vehicle for search and rescue, especially in dark caves. It is structured like a hammerhead shark, featuring a flat head with searchlights for eyes.	Hammerhead shark	The Caves of Sac Actun (10th special)
GUP-R	This vehicle (pronounced GUP-ARRRR by Kwazii) is designed for rescue missions in and out of water. It possesses a dorsal fin and wings that are lower for hydroplane mode. It can deploy rescue buoys.	Sailfish	Only in the toys made for the series.
GUP-S	This is a propeller-powered amphibious Antarctic exploration vehicle, which can split into 2 sections, like the GUP-X. The main body of the vehicle is an underwater Octo-Shuttle, which has 2 pairs of continuous track wheels for travelling on the Ocean floor, an antifreeze system to prevent the ship from freezing over (modelled on arctic fish which have antifreeze in their blood), a research lab, a sleeping quarters, and even a hot cocoa machine. The detachable cockpit forms an above-water snowmobile called the Octo-Sled, with a tusk-like ice-penetrating heated drill at its nose, and an extendable rescue line. Accessories for this GUP include an ice-proof camera.	Swordfish or narwhal	The Over Under Adventure (6th Special)
GUP-T	This is a rescue rover, which travels on the seafloor, on rotating tread wheels, scouring the ocean floor for waste recycling. The Gup-T Rescue Rover is equipped with two sea slime cannons, containing a special sanitising slime that the Octonauts use to break down harmful pollutants in the ocean and rescue contaminated creatures. It has middle and rear doors that open to safely transport wounded creatures.	Sea pig	Only in the toys made for the series.
GUP-U	This is an agile vehicle that can travel fast and also stand in patrol position, giving the crew a better view for scanning and spotting creatures in trouble.	Frogfish	Only in the toys made for the series.
GUP-V	This is a vehicle designed by the Vegimals and made from improvised materials.	Train	A Very Vegimal Christmas (5th Special)
GUP-W	This is a mobile emergency medical centre, specially designed to help treat the world's endangered coral reefs and their inhabitants. The front can open, creating a ramp that can also function as a launch bay for other GUP vehicles. It is used by Peso to rescue injured creatures, which are stored in a rescue tank.	Whale shark	Octonauts and the Great Barrier Reef (11th Special)
GUP-X	This is an armoured, powerful and sturdy tracked vehicle presented to Captain Barnacles as a Christmas present from Tweak. It can split into three sections; for instance, a glider, the 'Octo-Ski' and its central main section with the caterpillar tracks.	Horseshoe crab	The Great Christmas Rescue (Series 1, episode 52)
GUP-Y	The vehicle is a deep sea excavation vehicle for working around the Deep Sea Octolab in the Mariana Trench. It has long arms, ideal for hauling, lifting and even scooping up sea materials, including slimy rocks.	Yeti crab	Only in the toys made for the series.
Mega GUP-Z	A specialised vehicle meant for work in volcanic environments and combined from 5 smaller Z-GUPs. It is also capable of assuming a humanoid robot configuration for a limited amount of time.	Vent shrimp Mantis shrimp (robot form)	The Octonauts Movie: The Ring of Fire
Deep Sea Octolab	This is a moveable base from which the deepest parts of the ocean can be studied. It is dome-shaped and stands on springy legs to cope with subterranean tremors.	—	The Mariana Trench Adventure (4th Special)
Octo Servicing Station	This is a vehicle servicing scaffold constructed on the seabed. It is used to refurbish the Octopod and manufacture the GUP K and GUP H.	—	Season 4 and The Great Arctic Adventure (7th Special)

The original books were first published in the US by Immedium in 2006 and were republished in the UK by HarperCollins in 2009. Six titles by Meomi have been published:

• The Octonauts & the Only Lonely Monster, about an Architeuthis (Giant Squid).
• The Octonauts & the Sea of Shade, about a world where everyone's shadows have gone missing.
• The Octonauts & the Frown Fish, about a glum-looking catfish.
• The Octonauts & the Great Ghost Reef, about coral bleaching.
• The Octonauts Explore the Great Big Ocean, about the search for Tunip the Vegimal's home.
• The Octonauts & the Growing Goldfish, about Dunkie, a giant goldfish who won't stop growing.

A series of shorter books based on individual episodes from the TV series is being published by Simon & Schuster. These titles can be distinguished by the "As seen on TV" label on the covers and are not written or illustrated by Meomi. The books have the same titles as the episodes they are based on.

In 2010, The Octonauts was adapted into a 52-episode CGI animated television series co-produced by Chorion and Brown Bag Films. It first aired in the UK on 4 October 2010 on CBeebies, a BBC television channel for children under 7. The first series ended in February 2011 but continued to be aired as repeats. A second series of 22 episodes commenced in November 2012.

The Octonauts had its US premiere on the Disney Channel on 9 January 2012 In September 2014, Silvergate Media announced its sale of season 4 to the Disney Channel, to be aired in 2015. Many of the characters' voices were redubbed to give them American accents—Hispanic in the case of Peso and Pinto—although Captain Barnacles, Kwazii and Professor Inkling retained their original British voices. Another notable difference between the British version and the US version is the absence of the "Creature Report" feature at the end of each episode. This educational and melodic recap of the adventure is missing from the UK version, but is available to view in Britain through Netflix, which streams the American version.

In Australia, in 2014, the Octonauts became the second most-watched children's TV show in the country, seen daily on ABC2 by 257,000 viewers nationally. By season 4, the Octonauts had been picked up in more than 100 countries, including RTÉ Two (Ireland), Treehouse TV (Canada), ABC Television (Australia), TF1 (France), SuperRTL (Germany), CCTV (China), Karusel (Russia), Disney Junior (Spain, Portugal), and SVT (Sweden).

The show has been translated and shown in French (TF1), Spanish and Portuguese (Discovery Kids Latin America), Finnish (YLE TV2), Welsh (S4C), and Slovakian (STV 2).

The series was made with the help of marine biologists Dr. Lara A. Ferry-Graham and Dr. Michael H. Graham, who had previously worked on Finding Nemo.

The TV show is episodic, with each 11-minute episode seeing them encountering an unusual but real sea creature as they explore strange underwater worlds. Often they must discover a vital biological or behavioral fact about that creature to rescue it or themselves from danger. The stories usually feature three main characters: Captain Barnacles, Kwazii, and Peso, with the other five Octonauts acting in supporting roles.

The opening theme tune finishes with the chant "Explore! – Rescue! – Protect!", the Octonauts' motto.

Creature Reports are one-minute, musical, poem-like sequences that recap the facts learned about the sea creature that the Octonauts encountered in the associated episode. In the UK, these were shown as separately scheduled items, but in the American version, they were used after each regular episode. The exception is the episode of "The Surfing Snails", where it was replaced with a surf rock song called, "Surf's Up, Bubbles Up (Ready to Ride)".

The Creature Report's addictive, repetitive nature has been postulated to have psychological benefits. For children, it provides a sense of predictability that promotes good feelings and mental balance. For adults, it provides a sense of virtual participation via the principle of involuntary musical imagery.

The initial working title of the 2017 American Superhero film "Thor: Ragnarok" was "Creature Report", a reference to the Octonauts, which acted as the movie production's code word.

Seasons of The Octonauts are available on variety of streaming and direct purchase video services.

Service provider	Country availability	Content
ABC iView	Australia	Season 3 (episodes 73, 74, 78, 82 & 84–91) Season 4 (episodes 93–101, 103–110 & 114) Special 8
Netflix	Worldwide	Seasons 2–4 Special 3, 5, 8 & 9
Stan	Australia	Season 4 Specials 3–5 & 7

Service provider	Country availability	Content
Apple TV/iTunes	Worldwide	Seasons 1–4 Specials 1–9
Google Play	Worldwide	Season 1 (except episodes 49 & 50) Season 2 Season 3 (except episode 76) Season 4 (except episode 115) Specials 1–9
Microsoft Store	Worldwide	Season 1 (episodes 22–28, 29–35 & 36–42) Season 4 (episodes 99, 102, 112, 113, 116)

Google Play and Microsoft Store organise their episodes into packages, similar to the region 4 DVD titles.

Package	Episodes
Meet the Octonauts	Season 1 (1–7)
To the Gups!	Season 1 (8–14)
Ready for Action!	Season 1 (15–21)
Sound the Octoalert!	Season 1 (22–28)
Jumpin' Jelly Fish	Season 1 (29–35)
Shiver me Whiskers	Season 1 (36–42)
The Great Penguin Race	Season 1 (43–47) & Special 1
GUP X to the Rescue!	Season 2 (51–55) & Special 2
Amazon Adventure	Season 2 (56, 57, 62, 63) & Special 3
Calling All Gups!	Season 2 (56, 64, 69–71, 83 & 92)
Deep Sea Adventures!	Season 2 (60, 61) & Season 3 (73, 79, 80) & Special 4
Flappity Flippers	Season 2 (episodes 66–68), Season 3 (episode 75, 84–86)
Great Arctic Adventure	Season 2 (episodes 66–68), Season 3 (episode 75, 84–86) & Special 7
Here Come the Vegimals	Season 3 (episode 74, 78, 87–89) & Special 5
Over Under Adventure	Season 3 (episode 94, 97, 98, 101) & Special 6
The Great Swamp Search	Season 4 (episode 96, 100, 103, 105–107) & Special 9
Octopod Mystery	Season 4 (episode 93, 95, 104, 108–111)
Operation Deep Freeze	Season 4 (episode 99, 102, 112, 113, 116) & Special 8
ABC Kids	Season 4 (episode 48)

The TV series was well received when shown on CBeebies in the UK and by ABC in Australia. According to the authors' website, it was the No. 1 pre-school age show in the UK, and the first pre-school show to be ranked in the top ten by older audiences (aged 3–4 and up). The show was the top-ranked ABC programme for 5- to 12-year-olds in January 2011 in Australia, with the ABC calling its first month an "unprecedented success online and on-air". The Octonauts DVD boxed set was 4th best-selling Children's TV DVD at Amazon UK as of 7 April 2013.

In 2013, Octonauts was nominated for two awards: an International Emmy Award in the "Kids—Preschool" category and an Irish Film and Television Award in the "Best Children's/Youth Programme" category.

In 2017, the series took home the Annie Award for Best Animated Television Production in the Preschool category for the episode "Operation: Deep Freeze".

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2011	British Academy Children's Awards	Pre-School Animation	Octonauts	Nominated
2013	International Emmy Award	Kids-Preschool		Nominated
	11th Irish Film & Television Awards	Children's/Youth Programme		Won
	British Academy Children's Awards	Pre-School Animation		Nominated
2017	45th Annie Awards	Best Animated Television Production	"Operation: Deep Freeze"	Won
2018	British Academy Children's Awards	Pre-School Animation	Octonauts	Nominated

In 2020, two new movies were released on Netflix: on August 14, The Octonauts Movie: The Caves of Sac Actun (which takes place in a cenote in Mexico) and on October 13, The Octonauts & the Great Barrier Reef (a musical). In 2021, The Octonauts Movie: The Ring of Fire was released March 30 on Netflix in the United States.

The Octonauts brand has been licensed by the production company for numerous spin-off activities. These include Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure, a themed rollercoaster within the CBeebies Land of Alton Towers theme park and themed bedrooms with the CBeebies Land Hotel. There is also a travelling live show called Octonauts Live, which has toured in the U.S. and other countries.

An Octonauts app was launched for iOS on 17 November 2016, produced in partnership with Night and Day Studios.

A spin off series, titled Octonauts: Above and Beyond, premiered on September 7, 2021, with the full first episode being released on YouTube on August 25. Rather than an aquatic setting, Above and Beyond features the crew exploring and assisting in natural habitats such as forests and deserts; essentially all terrestrial habitats.

In 2024, a new spin-off set in China aired exclusively on Chinese broadcast stations, with no news for an international release date.

• Octonauts at BBC Online
• Octonauts at IMDb

• Octonauts on Disney Junior US
• Octonauts on ABC 4 Kids
• Octonauts on Discovery Kids
• Octonauts on Discovery Kids Brazil
• Octonauts on TF1
• Octonauts on TFOU Archived 20 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine
• Octonauts on Treehouse Archived 29 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine

• Official website (by the book's authors: Meomi Design)
• Official Octonauts store UK
• Chorion's Octonauts TV site
• Octonauts on Disney Junior