''Littlest Pet Shop'' is a
Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Barry Allen)
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Wally West, the first Kid F ...
-animated
musical television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
produced by
DHX Media
WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children ...
and
Hasbro Studios
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...
for
Discovery Family. The series is based on the
Littlest Pet Shop and
Blythe toyline by
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...
. It centers on Blythe Baxter, a girl who, after moving into an apartment in a city named Downtown City, gains the ability to communicate with animals.
Located below her apartment is the eponymous
pet store
A pet shop or pet store is a retail business which sells animals and pet care resources to the public. A variety of animal supplies and pet accessories are also sold in pet shops. The products sold include: food, treats, toys, collars, leashes, c ...
where Blythe works and talks to a group of pets who regularly reside at a daycare in the shop. Worried that a corrupt rival business might drive their shop out of business, it is up to Blythe to drive business into the store with her pet fashion designs.
The series first aired on The Hub on November 10, 2012 (which was renamed Discovery Family on October 13, 2014). The completion of a single episode took roughly one year with several in production at once. Although it mostly received praise from reviewers for its writing and characters, it was criticized for its
embedded marketing. Several crew members additionally received accolades for their work on the series. The series was part of the company's franchise reboot. Hasbro released a new line of Littlest Pet Shop toys designed to more closely resemble the characters on the series. A mobile game and
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
adaptation were also made.
On May 30, 2016, The Hub cancelled the series after four seasons. The series finale aired on June 4, 2016.
Plot
The series follows
Blythe Baxter, a young girl living with her airplane pilot father,
Roger
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
. Forced to move out from her suburban hometown following her father's promotion, she moves into an apartment located in a people's city. Their complex is located above the eponymous
Littlest Pet Shop—a
pet shop that also serves as a day camp for numerous pets—where Blythe works as a
fashion designer. Her adventure begins when she discovers that she alone can miraculously understand and talk to the pets that regularly stay at the shop, in addition to most other animals on the planet. As she and the pets spend time together, they find the pet shop jeopardized by a
larger pet store managed by
Fisher Biskit and his snotty twin daughters
Brittany and Whittany Biskit. To avoid being dispersed, the pets convince Blythe to remain an employee.
The pets who reside in the day camp of the shop are
Pepper Clark, a wisecracking
striped skunk who is passionate about
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
;
Minka Mark
'' Littlest Pet Shop'' is a Canadian–American children's animated television series developed by Tim Cahill and Julie McNally-Cahill. The series is based on Hasbro's '' Littlest Pet Shop'' toy line, and features Blythe Baxter (voiced by Ashle ...
, a bouncy
spider monkey
Spider monkeys are New World monkeys belonging to the genus ''Ateles'', part of the subfamily Atelinae, family Atelidae. Like other atelines, they are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil. The g ...
with a love for
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
and
visual arts
The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...
;
Penny Ling
'' Littlest Pet Shop'' is a Canadian–American children's animated television series developed by Tim Cahill and Julie McNally-Cahill. The series is based on Hasbro's '' Littlest Pet Shop'' toy line, and features Blythe Baxter (voiced by Ashle ...
, a sensitive
giant panda
The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes us ...
interested in
rhythmic gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...
;
Russell Ferguson Russell Ferguson is an American Krump dancer from Boston, Massachusetts. He won ''So You Think You Can Dance'' season 6, making him the first Krumper to win the title.
Russell is a graduate of the Boston Arts Academy and attended the University of ...
, a
hedgehog
A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...
who is often the self-appointed leader of his animal bunkmates;
Sunil Nevla, an Indian
mongoose
A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...
and hopeful
magician;
Vinnie Terrio
''Littlest Pet Shop (2012 TV series), Littlest Pet Shop'' is a Canadian–American children's List of animated television series, animated television series developed by Tim Cahill (producer), Tim Cahill and Julie McNally-Cahill. The series is ba ...
, a clumsy
gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from .
Geckos ar ...
obsessed with
dancing
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...
; and
Zoe Trent
''Littlest Pet Shop (2012 TV series), Littlest Pet Shop'' is a Canadian–American children's List of animated television series, animated television series developed by Tim Cahill (producer), Tim Cahill and Julie McNally-Cahill. The series is ba ...
, a diva-like
cavalier king charles spaniel
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a British breed of toy dog of spaniel type. Four colours are recognised: Blenheim (chestnut and white), tricolour (black/white/tan), black and tan, and ruby; the coat is smooth and silky. The lifespan is u ...
with a talent for
singing
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
. Other human characters include
Mrs. Anna Twombly, owner of the shop and Blythe's boss; and
Youngmee Song,
Jasper Jones
''Jasper Jones'', is a 2009 novel by Australian writer Craig Silvey. It has won and been shortlisted for several major awards including being shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. The novel was selected by the American Librar ...
, and
Sue Patterson; Blythe's friends.
Episodes
Characters
Cast
Principal cast
*
Ashleigh Ball
Ashleigh Adele Ball (born March 31, 1983) is a Canadian voice actress and musician, known for performing with the rock band Hey Ocean!, as well as voicing characters in several toyetic movies and television series, notably the ''Barbie'' film ...
–
Blythe Baxter, Shea Butter, Lemonface, Hubble, Baa Baa Lou, Sunshine Sweetness, Mitzi, Fluffy Lighting, Cindeanna Mellon,
Alice
*
Sam Vincent
James Samuel Vincent (born May 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player and coach.
Vincent won the State of Michigan "Mr. Basketball" award in 1981, the first year the award was given. He attended Lansing's Eastern High Sch ...
–
Russell Ferguson Russell Ferguson is an American Krump dancer from Boston, Massachusetts. He won ''So You Think You Can Dance'' season 6, making him the first Krumper to win the title.
Russell is a graduate of the Boston Arts Academy and attended the University of ...
, Esteban Banderas, Sam U.L.,
Sunil's Dad, Steve, Sweet Cheeks, Canine Cop,
Captain Cuddles, Panda Elder,
Speedy Shellberg, Weasel Whiskers,
Fisher Biskit, Morgan Payne,
Josh Sharp, Mr. Bromidic, Mr. Banks, Sherman, Mr. Sawdust
*
Peter New
Peter New is a Canadian actor and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Big McIntosh in ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' and Sunil Nevla in ''Littlest Pet Shop (2012 TV series), Littlest Pet Shop''.
In 2007, New's script "The Bar" wo ...
–
Sunil Nevla, Mary Frances, 3DGB,
Digby, Joey Featherton, Otto Von Fuzzlebutt, Whiskers, Dodger, Weber, Basil, Big Al, Harold Winston, Ivan, Vlad, Tenzing Norgert,
Francois LeGrande, Christopher Lyedecker, Riley Robinson, Fred, Littlest Pat,
John Trent
*
Kyle Rideout
Kyle Rideout (born November 9, 1984) is a Canadian actor, writer, and director. He co-owns a production company called Motion 58 with business partner Josh Epstein. He co-wrote and directed the short films Hop the Twig and Wait for Rain as well a ...
–
Vinnie Terrio
''Littlest Pet Shop (2012 TV series), Littlest Pet Shop'' is a Canadian–American children's List of animated television series, animated television series developed by Tim Cahill (producer), Tim Cahill and Julie McNally-Cahill. The series is ba ...
*
Tabitha St. Germain
Tabitha St. Germain, formerly known as Paulina Gillis Germain and also known as Tabitha or Kitanou St. Germain, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is known for a variety of roles across many different shows. She has been actively doing voi ...
–
Pepper Clark, Gail Trent,
Sunil's Mom,
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, Mushroom,
Delilah Barnsley, Parker,
Nutmeg Dash, Philippa,
McKenna Nicole, Finola Frumt,
Mona Autumn,
Stephanie Hart, Tess McSavage,
Clarissa Trent
*
Kira Tozer
Kira Tozer (born December 6, 1984) is a Canadian voice actress for cartoons, anime and video games. Her major roles include Minka Mark on ''Littlest Pet Shop'' and Kagome Higurashi in the 2012 anime, '' Inuyasha: The Final Act''. She married i ...
–
Minka Mark
'' Littlest Pet Shop'' is a Canadian–American children's animated television series developed by Tim Cahill and Julie McNally-Cahill. The series is based on Hasbro's '' Littlest Pet Shop'' toy line, and features Blythe Baxter (voiced by Ashle ...
, Olive Shellstein,
Christie,
Sue Patterson, Tanya Twitchel, Ginny Hues
*
Nicole Oliver
Nicole Lyn Oliver (born February 22, 1970) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Princess Celestia and Cheerilee in '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' and Zoe Trent in ''Littlest Pet Shop''.
Early life
Oliver was born i ...
–
Zoe Trent
''Littlest Pet Shop (2012 TV series), Littlest Pet Shop'' is a Canadian–American children's List of animated television series, animated television series developed by Tim Cahill (producer), Tim Cahill and Julie McNally-Cahill. The series is ba ...
, Genghis, Tiger,
Cashmere Biskit,
Velvet Biskit, Scarletta Redd, Clover Fields, Mrs. Mondt
*
Jocelyne Loewen
Jocelyne Rae Loewen (born 1976) is a Canadian actress working in Vancouver, Canada. She is known for her roles in the English dubs of anime series. She is best known as the voice of Yai Ayano in the '' Mega Man NT Warrior'' series, Mii from ''Po ...
–
Penny Ling
'' Littlest Pet Shop'' is a Canadian–American children's animated television series developed by Tim Cahill and Julie McNally-Cahill. The series is based on Hasbro's '' Littlest Pet Shop'' toy line, and features Blythe Baxter (voiced by Ashle ...
, Meow-Meow
*
Kathleen Barr
Kathleen Barr is a Canadian voice actress. She is best known for voicing Marie Kanker and Kevin in ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' and Trixie Lulamoon and Queen Chrysalis in '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic''. She also voiced Henri Richard Maurice D ...
–
Anna Twombly,
Madame Pom, Poppy Pawsley, Scout Kerry, Dolores, Fleur le Moose,
Jasper Jones
''Jasper Jones'', is a 2009 novel by Australian writer Craig Silvey. It has won and been shortlisted for several major awards including being shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. The novel was selected by the American Librar ...
,
Henrietta Twombly, Vi Tannabruzzo, Robinnia Amster
*
Shannon Chan-Kent
Shannon Chan-Kent (born September 23, 1988) is a Canadian voice and stage actress. She is known for her roles as Silver Spoon and Smolder and the singing voice of Pinkie Pie in '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', Misa Amane in the English ...
–
Brittany Biskit,
Whittany Biskit,
Youngmee Song,
Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
,
Brittman Biskit,
Whittman Biskit, Phoebe, Strum Basso
*
Michael Kopsa
Michael Kopsa (January 22, 1956 – October 23, 2022) was a Canadian actor.
Kopsa was best known for his role as Char Aznable in the English dub of ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' and for his role as Commander Volcott O'Huey in ''Galaxy Angel''. He als ...
–
Roger Baxter
Roger Baxter (1784–1827) was an English Jesuit, a Catholic missionary in the United States, and Prefect of Studies at Georgetown College.
Life
Baxter was a native of Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, in Lancashire and studied at Stonyhurst Coll ...
, Chef Henri
*
Cathy Weseluck
Cathy Weseluck is a Canadian actress and comedian who frequently works with Ocean Productions in Vancouver, British Columbia and is known for her roles as Near in '' Death Note'', Cybersix/Adrian Seidelman in ''Cybersix'', and Spike in '' My Littl ...
–
Buttercream Sundae, Jane, Judi Jo Jameson
Additional cast
*
Brian Drummond
Brian Drummond (born August 10, 1969) is a Canadian voice actor. He formerly served on the board of directors for the New Westminster-based Urban Academy along with his wife, Laura Drummond, also a voice artist. Usually working in Vancouver, h ...
–
Fuzzy Gumbopaws,
Shivers, Shahrukh, L-Zard, Ollie Arms, Desi, Jerry Ferguson, Shakespeare, Lord Twigg
* Colin Murdock –
Ramon, Tangier,
Wiggles McSunbask, Cheep-Cheep, Twist, Bob Flemingheimer, Oliver St. Oliver
*
Kelly Metzger
Kelly Jane Metzger (born February 25, 1980) is a Canadian voice and theater actress.
Life and career
After making her debut in the title role of '' Anne of Green Gables'', she performed on the stage with several Vancouver-based theatrical compani ...
–
Sugar Sprinkles
* Brooke Goldner –
Emma Hart,
Peachy Fluffton
*
Terry Klassen
Terry Klassen is a Canadian voice actor, ADR director and writer. Before animation, Klassen worked in radio in Winnipeg (CITI-FM), Toronto (Q107), Calgary (CFAC), Portage la Prairie (CFRY) and part-time at CFOX and CFMI. In animation, he is best ...
–
Dr. Handsomeface, Princess Stori Jameson
*
Casey Wilson –
Felina Meow
*
Heidi Klum –
Heidi
''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' (german: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre) and ''Heidi: How She Use ...
* Dan Sioui –
Jason 1
Jason-1 was a satellite altimeter oceanography mission. It sought to monitor global ocean circulation, study the ties between the ocean and the atmosphere, improve global climate forecasts and predictions, and monitor events such as El Niño ...
* Anne Yoo – Jebbie
*
Lee Tockar
Lee William Tockar (born 1969) is a Canadian voice actor and visual artist who works for several studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is also a writer of children's literature, a musician, sculptor, illustrator and collected painter ...
– Sideburns
Origin
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...
owns the rights of both
Blythe and
Littlest Pet Shop, toy lines respectively introduced in 1972 and 1992.
Both lines were originally manufactured by Cincinnati-based
Kenner Products
Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...
. Kenner became a part of Hasbro when the Pawtucket-based company acquired
Tonka
Tonka is an American producer of toy trucks. The company is known for making steel toy models of construction type trucks and machinery. Maisto International, which makes diecast vehicles, acquired the rights to use the Tonka name in a line of ...
(the parent company of Kenner back then) in 1991. Hasbro sold Littlest Pet Shop toys under the name of this division until they closed down Kenner's original Cincinnati headquarters in 2000.
Claster Television
Claster Television, Inc. was a Baltimore, Maryland–based television distributor founded in 1953 by Bertram H. (Bert) Claster and Nancy Claster (Goldman) as Romper Room Inc. It was originally a producer of the children's show ''Romper Room'', on ...
, Hasbro's television arm at the time, had produced an
earlier animated show based on Littlest Pet Shop in 1995 for Hasbro, but the 2012 ''Littlest Pet Shop'' series marked the first adaptation of the Blythe doll to a character on television. A prior incarnation of such a character is the protagonist of ''Littlest Pet Shop Presents'', an unrelated animated miniseries produced by Cosmic Toast Studios and released by Hasbro exclusively on the internet.
Julie McNally-Cahill and
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "his ag ...
, the creators of
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
's ''
My Gym Partner's a Monkey
''My Gym Partner's a Monkey'' is an American animated television series created by Tim Cahill and Julie McNally Cahill for Cartoon Network. It aired from December 26, 2005, to November 27, 2008, ending with a total of four seasons and 56 episode ...
'', developed ''Littlest Pet Shop'' upon joining
Hasbro Studios
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...
in September 2011.
The two serve as both executive producers and story editors on the show; also working as executive producers are Chris Bartleman and Kirsten Newman.
The show was announced in March 2011,
based on Hasbro's 2010 introduction of the Blythe Loves Littlest Pet Shop toy line.
Margaret Loesch
Margaret Ann Loesch () is an American television executive and producer. She is the former President and CEO of Discovery Communications and Hasbro Inc's joint venture television network Hub Network. On June 12, 2014, she announced that she would ...
, then-CEO of the
Hub Network
Discovery Family is an American cable television channel co-owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Hasbro Entertainment.
The channel was originally launched by Discovery Communications on October 7, 1996 as Discovery Kids, a spin-off of Discove ...
—a network
partly owned by Hasbro and
Discovery Communications
Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chann ...
—commissioned the series.
Production
Given Hasbro's framework for ''Littlest Pet Shop'', the Cahills pitched their adaptation of the property. Hasbro originally felt discouraged over having the show set at the pet store, finding the exchange of animals they thought would come from that disconcerting. The Cahills saw the studio's definition of such stores as antiquated, convincing them that most modern locations provide grooming and daycare services as opposed to merely selling pets. Production followed quickly, to their surprise.
The studio defined only Blythe and the pets as characters, so the Cahills sought to expand the human character's fictional universe, designing Blythe's friends, Mrs. Twombly and the Biskit twins.
Julie explained that she and her husband's preference for quirky comedy inspired that of the show. While the show is aimed at a demographic of young girls, Julie explain that she and the writers attempt to cater to boys of the same age and parent viewers simultaneously.
Original music for the show is accomplished by film and television composers
Daniel Ingram and
Steffan Andrews.
Ingram wrote that the urban setting of ''Littlest Pet Shop'' prompted the use of a modern style of music. The score incorporates
pop and different cultural influences for the same reason.
Ingram found Hasbro's pushing of the limitations for music in daytime television a source of pride.
Each 22-minute episode takes approximately a year to complete; three to four episodes are produced simultaneously.
Storyboard artists
A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of Previsualization, pre-visualizing a film, motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyb ...
depict scenes using
SketchBook Pro. Adapting these boards to
limited animation
Limited animation is a process in the overall technique of traditional animation that reuses frames of character animation.
Early history
The use of budget-cutting and time-saving animation measures in animation dates back to the earliest commerci ...
, studio
DHX Media
WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children ...
handles the designs, poses, and keyframes of movement for each character appearing in a given scene for an episode, as well as background art. DHX hands these assets to a separate studio, where the remaining animation is finished using
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...
. The speed of production is throttled slightly by Blythe having two unique outfits per episode, according to director Joel Dickie.
Supervising director Dallas Parker similarly explained that the variety of assets created for each episode challenged the process of
Flash animation
Adobe Flash animation or Adobe Flash cartoon (formerly Macromedia Flash animation, Macromedia Flash cartoon, FutureSplash animation, and FutureSplash cartoon) is an animation that is created with the Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional) p ...
in reusing movements.
Release
Broadcast
The Hub aired the first two episodes of ''Littlest Pet Shop'' in succession on November 10,
2012.
The network scheduled these episodes to succeed the
third season premiere of ''
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', based on the
My Little Pony
''My Little Pony'' (''MLP'') is a toy line and media franchise developed by American toy company Hasbro. The first toys were developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno, and were produced in 1981. The ponies feature c ...
toy line which is also owned by Hasbro.
The network ordered 26 episodes for its first season, concluding it on April 27, 2013.
A second season, also of 26 episodes, premiered on November 2, 2013, and concluded on April 12, 2014.
A third season of the same number of episodes aired from May 31, 2014, to March 7, 2015.
During this season, the network shifted management and was renamed to
Discovery Family. A fourth and final season was aired beginning November 7, 2015.
Home media and streaming services
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
has acquired North American distribution rights for programs broadcast by The Hub, releasing several DVD sets for ''Littlest Pet Shop''.
Clear Vision
''Clear Vision'' is series of mobile games developed by the Swedish developer Eldring Games and was for a period the most downloaded game in the Android Appstore.
Plot and gameplay
The game's plot revolves around a sniper-for-hire named Tyler ...
, a distributor located in the United Kingdom, obtained the rights for its first two seasons for most of European regions and the Middle East.
Beyond Home Entertainment
Beyond International Limited is an international television and film production company with operations in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (), the company is involved ...
handles distribution in Australia. On April 11, 2013, Hasbro announced that it would add ''Littlest Pet Shop'' to the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
streaming service.
The show was added in the summer of that year.
Reception
''Littlest Pet Shop'' became one of the Hub Network's top programs in 2013.
Both the show and ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' were outperforming shows aimed at similar demographics internationally, according to Stephen Davis, president of Hasbro Studios.
Hasbro rebooted their toy line in accordance with the show; newer collections features customizable sets for fans to "create, decorate and personalize their own scenes" inspired by episodes.
Writing for the parent-focused organization
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children. , Emily Ashby found the show unimpressive. She praised Blythe as a model of "integrity, self-confidence, loyalty, and creativity" but found fault with
product placement and the "run-of-the-mill" pet characters.
Mercedes Milligan of ''
Animation Magazine
''Animation Magazine'' is an American print magazine and website covering the animation industry and education, as well as visual effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outsi ...
'', however, described the varied personalities of the pet characters as the most endearing trait of the show.
Writing in ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'', Hillary Busis found the Biskit twins amusing as characters.
Busis praised the twenty-first episode of the first season in particular, which contains a parody of both ''
Toddlers & Tiaras
''Toddlers & Tiaras'' or ''Another Toddlers & Tiaras'' is an American reality television series that aired on TLC from January 27, 2009, to October 16, 2013. After a three-year hiatus due to much controversy, ''Another Toddlers and Tiaras'' aired ...
'' and the
Christopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born February 5, 1948) is an American-British screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor, and comedian. Guest is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed, and starred in ...
–directed film ''
Best in Show''.
An homage to ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' was singled out by Hanh Nguyen in ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
''.
Tori Michel of ''
About Entertainment
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...
'' gave praise to a DVD set containing five episodes of the first season. She wrote that despite the intended demographic, older children in elementary and middle school would find the writing humorous, while girls would find the pet characters entertaining the most.
The Dove Foundation
The Dove Foundation is an American non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, that issues film reviews, ratings and endorsements of movies that it considers suitable for family audiences, and that bases said reviews on Christian values.
D ...
member Donna Rolfe gave the same set a full five stars.
The show was nominated at the
40th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for the song "If You're a Guy" in 2013, but it lost this to ''
3rd & Bird''. Oliver's portrayal of Zoe won her an award from
ACTRA
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has 25,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. The org ...
and the Union of British Columbia Performers. New, who voices Sunil, was nominated for this but lost to Oliver. Ingram and Andrews were nominated for
Leo Awards
The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...
for their work as composers of the episode "Lights, Camera, Mongoose!" in 2014. The duo later won this nomination in common.
Related products
Mobile game
As part of a contractual agreement with Hasbro,
Gameloft
Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games ma ...
developed a mobile game based on the show.
Released in the same year the show premiered, on November 22, the game is of the
city-building genre. The game, ''Littlest Pet Shop'', is
freemium
Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium," is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical (o ...
software—
microtransaction
Microtransactions, often abbreviated as mtx, are a business model where users can purchase virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransact ...
s allows users to speed up the progression of the game. The game provides over 150 animal companions for users to collect;
minigame
A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...
s allow players to take care of these pets.
Its initial release was for the
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
platform. An
Android port was released shortly afterwards.
Writing in ''
TouchArcade
''TouchArcade'' is a mobile video game website that launched in 2008. Arnold Kim of ''MacRumors'' worked on the site and its editor-in-chief was Eli Hodapp from 2009 to 2019.
''TouchArcade'' has been recognized as one of the best mobile game ...
'', Jared Nelson wrote that the game is unexceptional for players who are not fans of the toy line.
While in the United Kingdom the game was subject of controversy concerning its incorporation of in-app purchases, the
Advertising Standards Authority deemed it acceptable. The organization found that the instructions detailing purchases did not coerce players to make such purchases.
Comic book
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...
was commissioned to adapt ''Littlest Pet Shop'' to a comic book.
An adaptation made up of five issues, released from May 7 to September 17, 2014,
was written by Georgia Ball and Matt Anderson and illustrated by Nico Peña and Antonio Campo.
Anderson had worked on the shorter, contained stories, while Ball had scripted the remainder of each issue.
Different from the other Hasbro properties Ball had worked on, she explained that Hasbro wanted the comic to entertain readers rather than be
morally didactic. She likened this to the principle of "no hugging, no learning" coined on the set of ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
''. Apart from that, the studio gave Ball a license to give Blythe hobbies not depicted on the show.
Ball focused on writing stories that would appeal to readers transitioning from primary to secondary education. She described the structure of the comic as a daily drama, while Anderson thought of it as
slice of life
Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence of events in a character ...
.
Notes
References
External links
''Littlest Pet Shop''at Hasbro Studios
*
''Littlest Pet Shop''on
Pop
''Littlest Pet Shop''on
YTV
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