Littlest Pet Shop (2012 TV series)

Littlest Pet Shop is a Flash-animated musical children's television series produced by DHX Media and Hasbro Studios. The series is based on the Littlest Pet Shop and Blythe toylines by Hasbro and was broadcast on Discovery Family from November 10, 2012 to June 4, 2016. It centers on Blythe Baxter, a teen 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 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 received praise from reviewers for its writing and characters. However, it was criticized for its embedded marketing. Additionally, several crew members received accolades for working 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 adaptation were also made.

Plot
The series follows Blythe Baxter, a young girl living with her airplane pilot father, Roger. Forced to move out from her suburban hometown following her father's promotion to the rank of airline captain, she moves into an apartment located in a place called Downtown 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; Minka Mark, a bouncy spider monkey with a love for painting and visual arts; Penny Ling, a sensitive giant panda interested in rhythmic gymnastics; Russell Ferguson, a hedgehog who is often the self-appointed leader of his animal bunkmates; Sunil Nevla, an Indian mongoose and hopeful magician; Vinnie Terrio, a clumsy gecko obsessed with dancing; and Zoe Trent, a diva-like Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with a talent for singing. Other human characters include Mrs. Anna Twombly, owner of the shop and Blythe's boss; and Youngmee Song, Jasper Jones, and Sue Patterson; Blythe's friends.

Main cast

 * Ashleigh Ball – Blythe Baxter, Shea Butter, Lemonface, Hubble, Baa Baa Lou, Sunshine Sweetness, Mitzi, Fluffy Lighting, Cindeanna Mellon, Alice
 * Sam Vincent – Russell Ferguson, 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 – 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 – Vinnie Terrio
 * Tabitha St. Germain – Pepper Clark, Gail Trent, Sunil's Mom, Cairo, Mushroom, Delilah Barnsley, Parker, Nutmeg Dash, Philippa, McKenna Nicole, Finola Frumt, Mona Autumn, Stephanie Hart, Tess McSavage, Clarissa Trent
 * Kira Tozer – Minka Mark, Olive Shellstein, Christie, Sue Patterson, Tanya Twitchel, Ginny Hues
 * Nicole Oliver – Zoe Trent, Genghis, Tiger, Cashmere Biskit, Velvet Biskit, Scarletta Redd, Clover Fields, Mrs. Mondt
 * Jocelyne Loewen – Penny Ling, Meow-Meow
 * Kathleen Barr – Anna Twombly, Madame Pom, Poppy Pawsley, Scout Kerry, Dolores, Fleur le Moose, Jasper Jones, Henrietta Twombly, Vi Tannabruzzo, Robinnia Amster
 * Shannon Chan-Kent – Brittany Biskit, Whittany Biskit, Youngmee Song, Madison, Brittman Biskit, Whittman Biskit, Phoebe, Strum Basso
 * Michael Kopsa – Roger Baxter, Chef Henri
 * Cathy Weseluck – Buttercream Sundae, Jane, Judi Jo Jameson

Additional cast

 * Brian Drummond – 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 – Sugar Sprinkles
 * Brooke Goldner – Emma Hart, Peachy Fluffton
 * Terry Klassen – Dr. Handsomeface, Princess Stori Jameson
 * Casey Wilson – Felina Meow
 * Heidi Klum – Heidi
 * Dan Sioui – Jason 1
 * Anne Yoo – Jebbie
 * Lee Tockar – Sideburns

Origin


Hasbro 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 became a part of Hasbro when the Pawtucket-based company acquired Tonka (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, 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, the creators of Cartoon Network's My Gym Partner's a Monkey, developed Littlest Pet Shop upon joining Hasbro Studios 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, then-CEO of the Hub Network—a network partly owned by Hasbro and Discovery Communications—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 depict scenes using SketchBook Pro. Adapting these boards to limited animation, studio DHX Media 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. 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 in reusing movements.

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 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 has acquired North American distribution rights for programs broadcast by The Hub, releasing several DVD sets for Littlest Pet Shop. Clear Vision, 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 handles distribution in Australia. On April 11, 2013, Hasbro announced that it would add Littlest Pet Shop to the Netflix 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, 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, however, described the varied personalities of the pet characters as the most endearing trait of the show. Writing in Entertainment Weekly, 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 and the Christopher Guest–directed film Best in Show. An homage to Star Trek was singled out by Hanh Nguyen in TV Guide.

Tori Michel of About Entertainment 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 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 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 for their work as composers of the episode "Lights, Camera, Mongoose!" in 2014. The duo later won this nomination in common.

Mobile game
As part of a contractual agreement with Hasbro, Gameloft 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 software—microtransactions allows users to speed up the progression of the game. The game provides over 150 animal companions for users to collect; minigames allow players to take care of these pets. Its initial release was for the iOS platform. An Android port was released shortly afterwards.

Writing in TouchArcade, 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 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. 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.