Dee & Friends in Oz

Dee & Friends in Oz is a CG-animated fantasy adventure musical television series re-telling the classic story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It released globally on Netflix on February 5, 2024.

Produced by 9 Story Media Group, 9 Story USA, and Brown Bag Films, animated by the same team who worked on Karma's World and Ada Twist, Scientist, the series is inspired by the L. Frank Baum 1900 children’s fantasy novel and has been adapted in a series format for a preschool audience for the first-time.

Premise
The series follows the story of a young girl named Dee, who uses a mysterious key to discover a magical land of Oz, where she meets new friends and gets challenged on a musical journey to save magic - and become a hero.

Main

 * Dorothy "Dee" Davis (Layla Capers ): The series' main 7-year-old female protagonist.
 * Miss Emerald (LaChanze ): The teacher at The School of Oz. She's Miss Ruby's good sister.
 * Stuffley (James Monroe Inglehart ): The main villain's right-hand-bear turned hero and supporting character by the end of Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2.
 * Tin/Quentin (Judah Edwards ): A 7-year-old boy who is kind-hearted and loyal.
 * Scarecrow/Skylar (Sevien Desuyo ): A 7-year-old scarecrow who's really not scary at all.
 * Lion/Rohan (Sid Kamat ): A 5-year-old lion who's always ready to hang with the big kids.
 * Eastyn/Emília (Isabella Velasquez ): An 8-year-old pink witch who's always on the go and twin sister of Westyn/Wanessa.
 * Westyn/Wanessa (Lumi Pollack ): An 8-year-old blue witch and twin sister of Eastyn/Emília.

Villains

 * Miss Ruby (Tarriona "Tank" Ball ): The series main villain. She's Miss Emerald's evil sister.
 * Larry The Shrink Bug (Ravi Cabot-Conyers )

Supporting

 * Grandma (LaChanze ): The grandmother of Dee.
 * Dee's Dad (Antoine L. Smith ): The father of Dee.
 * Dee's Mom (Kaitlin Becker ): The mother of Dee.
 * Ozzo (Matt Densky ): An Ozling in the magical land of Oz.
 * Ozzie (Rodney Saulsberry ): An Ozling in the magical land of Oz.
 * Ozelle (Olivia Sarafina Washington ): An Ozling in the magical land of Oz.
 * Whoop-Dee-Doo (Jim Conroy ): Stuffley's assistant.
 * Whoop-Dee-Don't (Jim Conroy ): Miss Ruby's assistant.
 * Nonny Haybert (Kay Eluvian ): A non-binary scarecrow and the mayor of Strawland.
 * Mayor Gadget (Matt Densky ): A male tinperson and the mayor of Tinland.
 * Nonny Haybert (Christine Rose Schermerhorn )
 * Bluebell (Lena Josephine Marano )
 * Lavender (Stephanie Sheh )
 * Baby Woohoo Bird (Ravi Cabot-Conyers )
 * The Singling (Damian Thompson )
 * Thwart Funigans (Benjie Randall )

Minor

 * Strawperson (Olivia Sarafina Washington )
 * Strawperson (Tarriona 'Tank' Ball )
 * Tinperson (Kaitlin Becker )
 * Tinperson (Tarriona 'Tank' Ball )
 * Little Ozling (Lena Josephine Marano )
 * Little Ozling 2 (Lena Josephine Marano )
 * Oz Creatures (Olivia Sarafina Washington )
 * Ozica (Olivia Sarafina Washington )
 * Sleepy Tree (Olivia Sarafina Washington )
 * Ozling Parent (Olivia Sarafina Washington )
 * Singing Ozling (Rodney Saulsberry )
 * Singing Ozling (Olivia Sarafina Washington )
 * Golden Woohoo Bird (Olivia Sarafina Washington )
 * Woohoo Birds (Jim Conroy )
 * Ozlie (Jim Conroy )
 * Wiggly Frog (Jim Conroy )
 * Giggly Frog (Jim Conroy )
 * Boat (Matt Densky )
 * Grumpy Ozling (Matt Densky )
 * Sleepy Tree (Matt Densky )
 * Witch (Antoine L. Smith )
 * Rozzo (Matt Densky )
 * Baby Ozling (Matt Densky )
 * Ozling Chorus Member (Matt Densky )
 * Ozward (Matt Densky )
 * Lilac (Stephanie Sheh )
 * Widget (Matt Densky )

Series Overview
The series is split into two parts: Part 1 (The Prequel) and Part 2 (The Series).

Production
The series is produced by 9 Story Media Group and Brown Bag Films. Vince Commisso, Cathal Gaffney, Darragh O'Connell and Angela C. Santomero, Halcyon Person and Keion Jackson are co-executive producers for the series, while Fatimah Abdullah, Rory Dungan and Michael Pecoriello are producers. The series is directed by Declan Doyle and Dan Nosella.

On September 28, 2023, Netflix announced the greenlight of the series, alongside an order for additional episodes of Gabby's Dollhouse and a trailer for its first CoComelon original series. The vice president of Netflix animation series, John Derderian, stated the series offers an exciting, character-forward way into a new social emotional curriculum through public domain characters like The Wizard of Oz that parents and kids are familiar with.

The official trailer for the series was released on January 11, 2024.

The show's first and second seasons premiered on Netflix on February 5, 2024. All 16 episodes premiered on the same day, alongside a 44-minute prequel and released globally on Netflix.

Music
The show's original music is composed by Tarriona "Tank" Ball and inspired by music genres like R&B, hip-hop, funk, gospel, country, rock and more. The lyrics include affirmations about community, confidence and friendship. The show's first official soundtrack, Dee's Journey, was released globally on February 9 on all music streaming platforms, with the lead single "Proud to be Loud".

Reception
The series has been received positively. Fernanda Camargo of Common Sense Media described the series as a "vibrant musical", saying that it "encourages kids to be their best selves" and brings a fresh take on familiar characters from the world of The Wizard of Oz. Herman also argued that the music in the series is "catchy with pop energy and lyrics that stay with you" and said that it uses song and dance to "inspire creative expression" calling it an enticing show providing good fun "for the entire family".