Littlest Pet Shop (2012 TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Littlest Pet Shop |
|
|---|---|
_characters.png) |
|
| Genre | |
| Developed by |
|
| Directed by |
|
| Voices of | See cast |
| Theme music composer |
|
| Composer(s) |
|
| Country of origin |
|
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 104 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
|
| Producer(s) |
|
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
|
| Release | |
| Original network | YTV (Canada) The Hub (United States) |
| Original release | November 10, 2012 – June 4, 2016 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Littlest Pet Shop (1995) Littlest Pet Shop: A World of Our Own (2018) |
Littlest Pet Shop is an American-Canadian animated TV show for kids. It was made by DHX Media for The Hub channel. The show is based on the popular Littlest Pet Shop and Blythe toys by Hasbro.
The story is about a teenage girl named Blythe Baxter. After moving to a new city, she discovers she can talk to animals! Her apartment is right above a pet store called Littlest Pet Shop. Blythe starts working there and becomes friends with a group of pets who stay at the shop's day care. A big, mean rival business wants to shut down their pet shop. So, the pets rely on Blythe and her amazing pet fashion designs to bring in more customers and save their home.
The series was produced by Hasbro Studios and DHX Media. It first aired on The Hub on November 10, 2012. The channel later changed its name to Discovery Family. The show finished on June 4, 2016, after four seasons and 104 episodes. Each episode took about a year to make, with several being worked on at the same time. The show was mostly liked for its writing and characters. However, some people criticized it for having too much product placement. Many people who worked on the show also won awards for their efforts.
This TV series was part of a big reboot for the Littlest Pet Shop brand. Hasbro released new toys that looked more like the characters from the show. A mobile game and a comic book were also created based on the series.
Contents
What the Show is About
The series follows a young girl named Blythe Baxter. She lives with her dad, Roger, who is an airplane pilot. They have to move from their quiet hometown to a busy city because her dad got a promotion. Their new apartment is right above the Littlest Pet Shop. This shop is not just a store; it's also a day camp for many different pets. Blythe starts working there as a fashion designer.
Her amazing adventure begins when she finds out she can understand and talk to all the pets at the shop! She can even talk to most other animals in the world. As Blythe and the pets spend time together, they discover that a much bigger pet store is trying to put their shop out of business. This rival store is run by Fisher Biskit and his snobby twin daughters, Brittany and Whittany Biskit. To stop their shop from closing, the pets convince Blythe to keep working there and help them.
The main pets at the day camp are:
- Pepper Clark: A funny striped skunk who loves comedy.
- Minka Mark: A lively spider monkey who loves painting and visual arts.
- Penny Ling: A sweet giant panda who enjoys rhythmic gymnastics.
- Russell Ferguson: A hedgehog who often acts as the leader of the pets.
- Sunil Nevla: An Indian mongoose who hopes to be a great magician.
- Vinnie Terrio: A clumsy gecko who loves dancing.
- Zoe Trent: A diva-like cavalier king charles spaniel who is a talented singer.
Other human characters include Mrs. Anna Twombly, who owns the shop, and Blythe's friends: Youngmee Song, Sue Patterson, and Jasper Jones.
Episodes
List of Littlest Pet Shop episodes
Characters
Voice Cast
Main Voice Actors
- Ashleigh Ball voices Blythe Baxter, and other characters like Shea Butter and Mitzi.
- Sam Vincent voices Russell Ferguson, Fisher Biskit, and more.
- Peter New voices Sunil Nevla, and characters like Digby and Big Al.
- Kyle Rideout voices Vinnie Terrio.
- Tabitha St. Germain voices Pepper Clark, and characters like Gail Trent and Delilah Barnsley.
- Kira Tozer voices Minka Mark, and characters like Sue Patterson.
- Nicole Oliver voices Zoe Trent, and characters like Cashmere Biskit and Velvet Biskit.
- Jocelyne Loewen voices Penny Ling, and Meow-Meow.
- Kathleen Barr voices Anna Twombly, and characters like Madame Pom and Jasper Jones.
- Shannon Chan-Kent voices Brittany Biskit, Whittany Biskit, and Youngmee Song.
- Michael Kopsa voices Roger Baxter, and Chef Henri.
- Cathy Weseluck voices Buttercream Sundae, and Judi Jo Jameson.
Other Voice Actors
- Brian Drummond voices Fuzzy Gumbopaws and Shivers.
- Colin Murdock voices Ramon and Wiggles McSunbask.
- Kelly Metzger voices Sugar Sprinkles.
- Brooke Goldner voices Emma Hart.
- Terry Klassen voices Dr. Handsomeface.
- Casey Wilson voices Felina Meow.
- Heidi Klum voices Heidi.
- Dan Sioui voices Jason 1.
- Anne Yoo voices Jebbie.
- Lee Tockar voices Sideburns.
How the Show Started
Hasbro owns the rights to both the Blythe and Littlest Pet Shop toy lines. Blythe dolls first came out in 1972, and Littlest Pet Shop toys in 1992. Both were originally made by a company called Kenner Products. Hasbro bought Kenner in 1991.
There was an earlier animated show based on Littlest Pet Shop in 1995. But the 2012 Littlest Pet Shop series was the first time the Blythe doll became a character on TV.
Julie McNally-Cahill and Tim Cahill created the show My Gym Partner's a Monkey for Cartoon Network. They developed Littlest Pet Shop after joining Hasbro Studios in September 2011. They were both executive producers and story editors for the show. The show was announced in March 2011, after Hasbro introduced the "Blythe Loves Littlest Pet Shop" toy line in 2010. The Hub Network, which was partly owned by Hasbro, ordered the series.
Making the Show
Hasbro had some ideas for Littlest Pet Shop, and the Cahills pitched their version of the story. At first, Hasbro wasn't sure about setting the show in a pet store. They thought it might be weird to show animals being bought and sold. But the Cahills explained that modern pet stores offer grooming and day care, not just selling pets. Hasbro agreed, and production started quickly!
Hasbro only had ideas for Blythe and the pets as characters. So, the Cahills decided to create more human characters for Blythe's world. They designed Blythe's friends, Mrs. Twombly, and the Biskit twins. Julie Cahill said that she and her husband loved quirky comedy, which inspired the show's humor. Even though the show is for young girls, Julie said they tried to make it fun for boys and parents too.
The music for the show was created by Daniel Ingram and Steffan Andrews. Daniel Ingram said that because Littlest Pet Shop is set in a city, they used a modern style of music. The music mixes pop and different cultural sounds.
Each 22-minute episode took about a year to finish. Three to four episodes were usually being made at the same time. Artists used a program called SketchBook Pro to draw the storyboards (like comic book versions of the scenes). Then, DHX Media created the designs, poses, and main movements for each character and the backgrounds. They sent these parts to another studio, which finished the rest of the animation using Adobe Flash. It took a bit longer to make episodes because Blythe has two different outfits in each one!
When the Show Aired
The Hub first showed two episodes of Littlest Pet Shop on November 10, 2012. These episodes aired right after the third season premiere of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, another popular show based on Hasbro toys.
The network ordered 26 episodes for the first season, which ended on April 27, 2013. A second season, also with 26 episodes, started on November 2, 2013. A third season began on May 31, 2014. During this season, The Hub channel changed its name to Discovery Family. The fourth and final season started on November 7, 2015.
The show was released on DVD by different companies. Shout! Factory handled releases in North America. Clear Vision released DVDs in Europe and the Middle East, and Beyond Home Entertainment released them in Australia.
Other Products
Mobile Game
| Littlest Pet Shop | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Gameloft |
| Publisher(s) | Hasbro |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | City-building |
Gameloft made a mobile game based on the show. It came out on November 22, the same year the show started. The game is a city-building type, where you can create your own pet world. It's a free game, but you can buy things inside the game to make it go faster. You can collect over 150 different animal friends and play mini-games to take care of them. The game first came out for iOS devices, and then for Android phones and tablets.
Some people thought the game was too focused on getting players to make in-app purchases. However, the Advertising Standards Authority in the United Kingdom looked into it and said the game was acceptable. They found that the instructions for buying things didn't force players to spend money.
Comic Book
IDW Publishing created a comic book series based on Littlest Pet Shop. It had five issues, released from May to September 2014. The stories were written by Georgia Ball and Matt Anderson, and the art was by Nico Peña and Antonio Campo.
Georgia Ball said that Hasbro wanted the comic to be fun and entertaining, not just teach lessons. She focused on writing stories that would appeal to kids who were moving from elementary to middle school. She described the comic as a daily drama, like a "slice of life" story.
See also
In Spanish: Littlest Pet Shop (serie de televisión) para niños
