Wonder Pets! facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wonder Pets!
Genre	Adventure Educational Musical
Created by	Josh Selig
Developed by	Josh Selig
Written by	Billy Aronson Billy Lopez Chris Nee Sascha Paladino Adam Peltzman Josh Selig Melinda Richards Jennifer Oxley
Directed by	Jennifer Oxley
Voices of	Sofie Zamchick Teala Dunn Danica Lee
Theme music composer	Larry Hochman
Opening theme	"The Wonder Pets!"
Ending theme	"The Wonder Pets!" (instrumental)
Composer(s)	Larry Hochman Jeffrey Lesser Billy Lopez Bobby Lopez
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	Shorts: 2 Full-length episodes: 62 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Josh Selig
Producer(s)	Tone Thyne
Editor(s)	Romeo Alaeff Susie Herang
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Little Airplane Productions Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Release
Original network	Nickelodeon (2006–09) Nick Jr. (2009–16)
Picture format	NTSC 480i (2006–09) HDTV 1080i (2009–16)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	March 3, 2006 (2006-03-03) – March 9, 2016 (2016-03-09)

Wonder Pets! is an American animated children's television series. It was created by Josh Selig for Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block. The show is about three classroom pets: Linny the guinea pig, Tuck the turtle, and Ming-Ming the duckling. They work together as a team to help animals who are in trouble. A lot of the characters' talking is sung, like in an operetta. Each episode has new music played by a 10-member live orchestra.

How the Show Started

Josh Selig came up with the idea for Wonder Pets! after working on his other Nickelodeon show, Oobi. The series began with two short animated videos called "Linny the Guinea Pig." These videos were like a test episode. They showed Linny going on adventures with classical music playing.

Selig showed these shorts to the crew of Oobi, and they really liked them. They told him to show them to a TV network. He decided to send them to Nickelodeon. Selig said Nickelodeon was "a great partner" because they believed in his ideas for both Oobi and Wonder Pets!.

The two original shorts aired in 2004. Later, Tuck and Ming-Ming were added to create a team of hero pets for the full TV series. The first full episode aired on March 3, 2006, on the Nick Jr. block on Nickelodeon. The show ran for three seasons and had 62 episodes.

How Each Episode Works

Each episode of Wonder Pets! follows a similar pattern. When an episode starts, you hear kids leaving school at the end of the day. They say goodbye to the classroom pets. The classroom is always decorated with student artwork that matches the episode's story, animal, or place.

Once the classroom is empty, a pencil holder shakes, making a phone ring. The pets notice the phone ringing. They quickly put on their special gear: Linny wears a cap, Tuck puts on shoes, and Ming-Ming wears aviator goggles. They sing their opening song as they get to the phone.

The Wonder Pets answer the phone and find out an animal needs help somewhere. Linny, the guinea pig, explains the problem to Tuck the turtle and Ming-Ming the duckling. They all jump into a box of fabric scraps and come out wearing different outfits. These outfits often hint at where they will travel. They make a quick joke, jump back into the box, and then appear in their superhero capes.

Once they are dressed, they build their flying vehicle called the "Flyboat." Sometimes, they change the Flyboat to be a different type of transport. Before they even leave the classroom, the pets usually face a small problem. The way they solve this small problem is always similar to how they will save the animal later.

When they try to save the animal, the Wonder Pets usually don't succeed on their first few tries. The danger gets bigger, which makes Ming-Ming sing, "This is se-wious!" Then, the Wonder Pets remember how they solved the problem in the classroom. They realize the rescue needs a similar solution. They always have to work together to save the animal.

After the animal is saved, its parent or another family member shows up to thank the Wonder Pets. The pets celebrate by eating a celery snack. Sometimes, the rescued animal's parent gives them a special local food. The pets then fly back to the classroom and quietly return to their cages. Their hats and capes come off automatically. Ming-Ming is always the first one back in her cage, then Tuck, and Linny is last. A short musical tune from the rescue plays as Linny eats her celery and winks at the camera.

Episodes

The series first aired on March 3, 2006, on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block. List of Wonder Pets! episodes

Characters

Main Characters

• Linny the Guinea Pig (voiced by Sofie Zamchick) is the leader of the Wonder Pets. She is the oldest of the three. As a superhero, she wears an orange cap and a blue cape. Linny is very smart and often shares facts about the animals and places they visit. She often reminds the group about the importance of teamwork and gives praise. Linny is also in charge of starting and flying the Flyboat. Her famous saying is "This calls for some celery!" She always carries celery and eats it to celebrate after every successful mission.
• Tuck Turtle (voiced by Teala Dunn) is a turtle and the second oldest Wonder Pet. He is kind and caring, and he is seen as the heart of the group. As a superhero, he wears a white sailor's cap, blue Aquasocks, and a red cape. Tuck is very understanding and often wants to hug the rescued animals or stay with them. He has great eyesight and can spot things from far away, which often earns him the compliment, "Good eye, Tuck!"
• Ming-Ming Duckling (voiced by Danica Lee) is a confident duckling and the youngest of the three. As a superhero, she wears a leather pilot's helmet with goggles and a green cape. Unlike Linny and Tuck, she can fly and speak "bird," which helps her talk to other birds they meet. Ming-Ming often adds humor to the show. Her family lives at a petting zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She speaks with a special way of saying "r" sounds as "w," like in her famous line, "This is Se-wious!"

Other Characters

• Ollie (voiced by T.J. Stanton and Cooper Corrao) is a gray rabbit who thinks he is the fourth Wonder Pet. He is a bit self-centered and sometimes accidentally bothers the Wonder Pets. He has his own superhero team called the "Thunder Pets," made up of himself and his toys. Ollie is not a very good rescuer and usually needs the Wonder Pets' help. He lives in a burrow outside the school with his mother, sister, and baby brother.
• Ginny (voiced by Anne Meara) is Linny's grandmother. She lives in a nursing home with a white mouse named Bernie. Like Linny, she is confident, a natural leader, and loves celery.
• The Visitor is an alien from a faraway planet. He looks like a purple frog with two antennae and one foot. He knows a few English words but speaks in short phrases. He crashes on Earth in "Save the Visitor" and needs the Wonder Pets' help to fly back home.
• Little Bee and Slug are two bug friends. Little Bee is a young bumblebee learning to make honey. Slug is a green garden slug who wears an acorn top as a hat. They appear in several episodes.
• Baby Dragon and Uni are two magical creatures from a storybook in the Wonder Pets' classroom. Baby Dragon is a dragon without wings, and Uni is his best friend, a unicorn.

DVDs and Other Media

Many DVD collections of Wonder Pets! episodes have been released. These DVDs often group episodes by theme, like "Save the Unicorn!" or "Save the Dinosaur!"

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album called Wonder Pets! was released on April 10, 2007. It includes many songs from the show, including the main theme song.

Song List

Here are some of the songs on the soundtrack:

• The Wonder Pets
• Poor Baby Squirrel (Ming-Ming)
• The Caterpillar's Song
• Oh Sheep-eee-hooo
• Tickle the Whale
• To Be Free
• Hold On Pigeon
• Fruit Salad
• City Garden Rap
• Hug A Hedgy
• The Oasis
• Hola Hermit Crab
• Wee-Wee Pee-Pee Tinkle
• Brown Cow Down
• Wonder Pets We Love You
• The Wonder Pets (Instrumental) (Wonder Pets Orchestra)

Video Game

The show also has a video game called The Wonder Pets! Save the Animals!. It was released on October 27, 2008, in the United States for the Nintendo DS.

Streaming Online

You can watch Wonder Pets! episodes on different streaming services. In 2016, the first 20 episodes became available on the Noggin video service. All 62 episodes are also available to buy on Amazon Video. In March 2021, the series was added to Paramount+.

Toys and Merchandise

In March 2008, Fisher-Price started selling official Wonder Pets! toys in the United States. These toys included the Flyboat, small character playsets, and soft plush animals. The playsets showed each Wonder Pet saving a different baby animal. There was also a whale playset for bath time.

See also

In Spanish: Las mascotas maravilla para niños