Littlest Pet Shop is an animated children's television series and comedy based on the toy franchise Littlest Pet Shop released by Kenner Products. The series debuted on September 11, 1995, in the United States and syndicated to local stations by distributor Claster Television. It was produced by Sunbow Entertainment in the United States, and Créativité & Développement and AB Productions in France.
For a brief time in America, the show was a bit of a hit. The humor and style of the show was mostly inspired by cartoons such as Looney Tunes, Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. While not violent, the show was filled with lots of slapstick humor, as well as pop cultural references, puns, parodies and zany adventures.
Plot
Littlest Pet Shop follows the lives of five miniature animals who live in a pet shop on Littlest Lane and have their own treehouse inside of the store. Sometimes the main pets do end up in the homes of eager owners, mostly children, but it never works out for them. Unlike regular pets, the gang aren't overly cutesy, but zany, anthropomorphic characters. Usually their adventures at their new homes never work out and they end up returning to the store to rejoin their friends.
Characters
Main
- Stu (voiced by Michael Donovan) is a blue dog with a bumbling personality who happens to be a big eater. He claimed in one episode that his name is short for "stupendous" but it could just be bragging rights. He's been called by Viv as the most loyal and most lovable of the pets. He wears a green cap backwards and has cream coloured muzzle, also short hair in a darker blue.
- Chloe (voiced by Babs Chula) is a snarky purple cat who has been reincarnated many times. Her first life dates to Ancient Egypt. She has dark short tufts of hair on her head, wears a pink collar and blue belly fur. Stu is the butt of Chloe's jokes, but above all, the two are great friends. Chloe also lost her sixth life during her time in the pocket of a daredevil trying to do a stunt on a motorbike. Despite her sass, she does care about and greatly respect the others. Chloe also has a twin sister named Sabrina who looks exactly like her, but with a mole on her armpit.
- Viv (voiced by Lynda Boyd) is a music-loving pink rabbit who sings and dances. She has a backing band that lives in her top hat. She speaks with a British accent similar to that of famous rock stars and acts such as Spinal Tap. Viv has short blonde hair, her fur is pink and white and she wears blue eyeshadow, she also loves wrestling, like her friends and dreams of being famous. She wears a purple top hat, sometimes keeps things in there for safe keeping, but mostly, her trusty guitar that she loves to play. She also writes her own songs.
- Chet (voiced by Lee Tockar) is a macho yellow horse who acts like a cowboy. He is proud of his strength and is not a fan of "cute". He speaks with a Southern accent. Chet is closest friends with Stu.
- Squeaks (vocal effects provided by Ted Cole) is a red monkey who loves bananas and speaks in monkey language that the other characters understand. Squeaks also has a yellow muzzle, paws and tail. His tail can act as certain objects, such as rakes, shovels and even scissors. He's fairly childish but does try to warn the others of danger. Because he doesn't talk, he has to try and use pantomime to tell the others what is happening.
Recurring
- Elwood P. Harvey (voiced by Ian James Corlett) is a man who runs the pet shop. His name and appearance are a reference to the movie Harvey.
- Delilah (voiced by Shirley Millner) is a normal-sized monitor lizard who plots to eat the pets and is owned by Elwood. She has a Hungarian accent and wears a pink ribbon with a bell round her neck.
- Harriet is a parrot who often joins the main pets.
- Rookie (voiced by Sarah Strange) is a brown puppy who lives in the pet shop.
- Sergeant Butch Kowalski (voiced by Garry Chalk) is a green militaristic hamster. Has a yellow mohawk.
- Bernice (voiced by Kathleen Barr) is a hamster and Butch's love interest. She has a sister named Juliet and is a little bigger than Sarge. She's tan colour with a pink belly and short hair.
- Mumsy (voiced by Kathleen Barr) is an archaeologist and explorer who is Elwood's mother.
- Rat - a scheming, villainous rat.
- Cheesehead - the other rat, who's not as bright.
- Larry J. Weasel - a celebrity weasel who appeared occasionally, has an assistant named Sue, a sheep.
- Two Stink Bug characters, can't remember the names, two other villainous characters
Episodes
Production
Littlest Pet Shop was animated by AKOM in South Korea, K.K. C&D Asia in Japan, and Wang Film Productions in Taiwan.
Broadcast
Littlest Pet Shop was syndicated to local stations in the United States. The series was also broadcast on Tiny Pop and CBBC in the United Kingdom.
Home media releases
In 1996, Family Home Entertainment released the show on four VHS cassettes each containing 2 to 4 episodes. The Christmas video entitled Do Not Solve Until Christmas (which contains "Do Not Solve Until Christmas" and "Who Scrooged McRude?") was released as part of the Family Home Entertainment Christmas Classics series.
References
External links