Oscar winners Alison Snowden and David Fine based Ricky Sprocket, Showbiz Boy on their own Hollywood experiences. All images © 2006-2007 Studio B (Ricky I) Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

There's a new cartoon star in town, and his name is Ricky -- Ricky Sprocket, Showbiz Boy, to be exact.

Actually, it remains to be seen whether Ricky will achieve the same stardom outside the cartoon realm as he does within his own series. In it, Ricky is the most famous child star on the planet with all the wish-fulfillment possibilities -- and complications -- that suggests, along with the more down-to-earth problems that any kid has to deal with.

Ricky is the creation of husband-and-wife animators Alison Snowden and David Fine. The pair is best known for their Oscar-winning short Bob's Birthday and the series it inspired, Bob and Margaret, broadcast around the world and in the U.S. on Comedy Central.

It's their first children's show, based on "an idea we had a number of years ago," says David Fine. "We had some Hollywood experiences that kind of inspired us," he adds without going into detail.

"We wanted to do something inspirational," Alison Snowden offers. "When they show child actors in movies, they seemed always to be bitching. We wanted to do something more positive and inspire kids a bit -- but incorporate actual problems they go through. It's something to dream about -- Ricky can do anything he wants."

Ricky is almost an everykid. The non-showbiz half of Ricky's life focuses on his family and friends, including no-nonsense mom Bunny, goofy dad Leonard, and Ethel, Ricky's sister-from-hell.

Ricky's Hollywood is of the old-fashioned variety, more Singin' in the Rain than The Player, although Fine points to the Coen Brothers' Barton Fink as one source of inspiration, "but without the burning hallways." Ricky is employed by Wishworks Studio, where he deals with the studio's blowhard boss Mr. Fischburger, perfectionist director Wolf Wolinski and not-so-nice rival child star Kitten Kaboodle. Even though Snowden and Fine pictured Ricky as an alternative to that overly-precocious stereotype, Snowden admits that "we needed someone [like that] in the show" for their real star to play off.

The non-showbiz half of Ricky's life focuses on his family and friends. Waiting for him back home are no-nonsense mom Bunny, goofy, sausage-making dad Leonard, and Ethel, Ricky's sister-from-hell. "Ricky is almost an everykid," says Snowden. "We wanted the show to have some edge. It's a sibling rivalry, but they're not always shouting -- it's a silent but deadly rivalry. She's the complete opposite of Ricky: she's basically charmless, barely moves and says the absolute minimum."