January 16, 2021

LITTLEST PET SHOP: A WORLD OF OUR OWN

 

LITTLEST PET SHOP: A WORLD OF OUR OWN

(Discovery Family, April 14, 2018-January 26, 2019)

 

Boulder Media Limited, Allspark Animation

 

 

MAIN CAST:

Diana KaarinaRoxie McTerrier, Petula Woolwright, Edie Von Keet (singing)

 

 

            Littlest Pet Shop: A World of Our Own is the third animated series based on Hasbro’s LPS toyline, the second to air on Discovery Family, and the first to be produced by Hasbro’s own Boulder Media Limited. While it may share some visual similarities with the previous series, it was completely unrelated. Instead, it was meant to promote the 2017 revamp of the toys that featured new molds including rounder eyes and three sizes: teensie, mini and classic.

The not-quite-a-pet-shop Littlest Pet Shop.

            A World of Our Own removed the traditional pet shop element entirely and took place in a pocket dimension that was completely run and inhabited by animals. Pets who made their humans very happy were given a special key that could open a portal to the land of Paw-Tucket (named after Pawtucket, RI where Hasbro is headquartered), a place for pets made by pets where they could relax and be themselves for a while. Time in the human world froze for the duration of their stay, meaning their humans never knew they were gone. As for the Littlest Pet Shop, it was the center of the town that served as both a general store and information center run by Mister Yut (Vincent Tong); a Siamese fighting fish that lived in a water-filled ball and was incredibly stubborn. Other businesses in town were the Pumpkin’ Paws Fitness Center, Shake ‘n Dry Salon, Chill-Out Inn, Paw-Tucket Stadium, an amusement park, and the LPS Cruise Ship.



Best friends: Trip, Quincy, Bev, Roxie, Jade and Edie.

            The show focused primarily on the adventures of six characters: Roxie McTerrier (originally spelled “Roxy”, voiced by Diana Kaarina), a hyper, optimistic and loyal Boston Terrier with a strong naïve streak whose enthusiasm often caused some problems; Jade Catkin (Ingrid Nilson), a gothic Bombay cat with a strong sarcastic and smug streak that liked to appear more aloof than she actually was; Trip Hamston (originally “Hamsta”, voiced by Travis Turner), a hamster that fancied himself both a daredevil and a rapper; Quincy Goatee (Kyle Rideout), a fainting goat who was timid and easily frightened, fainting whenever he got scared (although he’d recover quickly); Edie Von Keet (Lili Beaudoin with Kaarina providing her singing voice), a parakeet with a passion for performing with a drama queen personality to match; and Bev Guiturtle (Rhona Rees), a box turtle with a peppy, friendly and outgoing personality that loved trying out new activities and attempting to entertain her friends. Roxie and Jade were roommates in the Pet-Ultimate Apartments complex, as well as neighbors on the same street in the human world, so they would often get on each other’s nerves (although they were really good friends).

Petula and her gang of meanies: Gavin, Sweetie and Mitchell.

            Other characters included Petula Woolwright (Kaarina), a pink sheep that liked to bully the other pets and served as the primary antagonist of the series along with her crew: Sweetie Pom Pom (Brittney Wilson), a Pomeranian that was sassy, snarky and very unfriendly, Gavin Chamelle (Alessandro Juliani), a chameleon who was rude, sobby and liked calling other pets names, and Mitchell Snailford (Ian Hanlin), a snail who wasn’t too bright but enjoyed bullying others immensely; Savannah Cheetaby (Bethany Brown), a cheetah who was a very famous pop star; Scoot Raccoonerson (Tong), a sneaky racoon with a strong affinity for trash; Austin Goldenpup (also Tong), an obedient and very athletic Golden Retriever that Roxie had a crush on; Mayor Perrito (Juliani), a Chihuahua who became the self-appointed Mayor of Paw-Tucket since that’s his name; Captain Gilturtle (Brian Drummond), Bev’s uncle who captained the LPS cruise ship; Carmilla Wingbat (Lanie McAuley), an incredibly shy fruit bat with a tremendous singing voice and acting skills; The Scrappers, a rowdy bunch of kids (two pups, two kittens, and a bunny) who tend to cause chaos and destruction; Clicks Monkeyford (Drummond), a monkey who served as Bev’s cameramonkey; Sultanna Siam (Tabitha St. Germain), a Siamese cat who was a yoga instructor at the Fitness Center; Wisteria (Rebecca Shoichet), a Persian cat who was a famous celebrity in the land; L.B Froglegs (Beaudoin), a DJ and Savannah’s manager; Javier Peacocken (Richard Ian Cox), a conceited peacock that loved to look at himself; and Sasha Siberio (St. Germain), a Siberian husky magician specializing in hypnotism, amongst others.

Roxie enters the portal to Paw-Tucket.

            Littlest Pet Shop: A World of Our Own debuted on Discovery Family on April 14, 2018; although it debuted 5 days earlier in France on TiJi and several episodes would make their international debuts before their American broadcasts. Leading up to the series, Hasbro released two series of shorts starring Bev that introduced the world of Paw-Tucket under the premise of updating the original “welcome” video for new arrivals, and her own talk show, Late Night with Bev. Each episode was only 11-minutes in length, with two shown back-to-back to fill in a whole half hour.

Bev and Click on the set of her talk show.

The show was developed by Tim Maile and Douglas Tuber, who also served as writers alongside Char Easton, Maggie Parr, Rich Halke (as Professor Rich), Nina Bargiel, Kelly D’Angelo, Nick Watson, Rachelle Romberg, Ralph Greene, Dave Polsky, Jordana Arkin, Whitney Ralls, Rick Williams, Heather Nuhfer, Kara Lee Burk, Steve Aranguren, Kate Leth, Julia Prescott, Jenna Martin, Sam Freiberger, Jim Martin and Greg Levine. The characters were designed by Shane Cooney and Mateo Dolset off of a concept by Gillian Comerford, who also directed the entire series. The theme was composed by Jess Furman, Ethan Roberts and Jessica Charlotte Vaughn and performed by Brown. Furman, Roberts and Melissa Hammond composed the rest of the series’ music.


Unlike the previous LPS series, A World of Our Own only seemed to last a singular season, with Boulder Media announcing no plans in place for a second. Although not officially cancelled by Hasbro, it’s more than likely that the series failed to achieve its primary goal: generate sales for the struggling toyline at a time when Hasbro was reeling from the closure of Toys R Us. The series itself also generated lackluster ratings. It did walk away with two award nominations, however: a Leo Award for “Best Performance” and a Sovas Award for “Best Voiceover”, both going to Rees.

Jade's toy.

Most of the main characters and some of the secondary ones appeared in the fall of 2017 as part of second wave of the revamped toyline. To date, the series has been made available to view on streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, with the shorts and clips available on Hasbro’s YouTube channel.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“A Pet’s Best Friend Is…” (4/14/18) – House-sitting for Savannah gets Roxie the attention of the snobbiest pets, whom Jade warns are only using her to have a party at Savannah’s house.

 

“Pet, Peeved” (4/14/18) – With their differences posing a problem, Roxie is determined to become a better roommate for Jade.

 

“The Wheel Deal” (4/14/18) – Jade ends up stuck on a Ferris wheel with Scoot while Trip grows frustrated of his inability to go on rides due to his size.

 

“In the Steal of the Night” (4/14/18) – Roxie and Jade must prove Austin isn’t responsible for the thefts around town.

 

“Pitch Im-Purr-Fect” (4/21/18) – Edie is determined to keep the lousy-voiced Quincy from ruining her chances of winning the a capella competition.

 

“The Big Sleep-Over” (4/21/18) – Roxie hosts a sleepover to convince Jade they’re fun and it ends up being a disaster.

 

“Let It Go (Not the Hit Song)” (4/28/18) – Roxie tries to get Jade’s favorite toy back after she accidentally donates it to charity.

 

“The Fast and the Fur-ious” (4/28/18) – Roxie and her friends bet Austin can beat Petula’s speedy rabbit in an agility race, but Austin ends up in a no-chew cone before the race.

 

“Show Your Beau” (5/5/18) – Bev is excited that her friend, a big-shot producer on her favorite show, is coming for a visit.

 

“A Brave New Quincy” (5/5/18) – Trip takes advantage of Quincy’s amnesia to turn him into a daredevil so that they could have more fun together.

 

“All Decked Out” (5/12/18) – Bev tries to make her friends classy and fancy when they’re invited to attend a dinner cruise for a visiting royal Corgi.

 

“Bev on the Edge” (5/12/18) – Bev’s friends work on a plan to ensure she survives her desire to cliff-dive off the tallest summit in Paw-Tucket.

 

“The Call of the Mild” (5/19/18) – Roxie convinces the others to attend a seminar to get in touch with their inner animal, but their instructor goes into hibernation leaving them on their own.

 

“Four Left Feet” (5/19/18) – Roxie accidentally reveals Jade’s most embarrassing secret: that she can’t land on her feet.

 

“Copycats, Copy-Dogs & Copy-Iguanas” (5/26/18) – Jade’s new scarf turns her into a fashion icon and her friends try to help her get rid of all that unwanted attention.

 

“The Imitation Game” (5/26/18) – Quincy’s impressions make him popular, but his best one of Edie makes her feel self-conscious.

 

“The Purr-fect Storm” (6/2/18) – Bev recruits her friends to keep the cruise ship running, but she takes being in charge a bit too far.

 

“Spooky Tails” (6/2/18) – The pets have a contest to see who can tell the scariest campfire story.

 

“Crystal Fever” (6/9/18) – Jade tries to hide her enthusiasm when a crystal convention comes to town.

 

“So Trip Thinks He Can Dance” (6/9/18) – When Petula posts a video of Trip dancing that goes viral, he decides to become a hip-hop star.

 

“Fine, Feathered Fortune Teller” (6/16/18) – Playing a fortune teller in a play has Edie believing she may actually have psychic powers.

 

“Scrappers Keepers” (6/16/18) – Mayor recruits Roxie, Jade and Edie to keep the Scrappers from ruining a parade.

 

“Bev Rolls with It” (6/23/18) – Bev’s enthusiasm could see the town’s roller derby team finally win a game but may end up costing her in the end.

 

“CEO Trip” (6/23/18) – Trip goes on a reality show to pitch his invention and ends up the head of his own company.

 

“The Incredible Roman and Ray” (6/30/18) – Bev auditions to become an assistant to a popular magic act and ends up causing the duo to split.

 

“Paw it Forward” (6/30/18) – Roxie and Jade invite an inured sheepdog to recuperate at their place and quickly come to regret that decision.

 

“Mayor May Not” (7/13/18) – Tired of being taken for granted, Mayor quits and goes off to relax.

 

“The Scratch Tree Society” (7/13/18) – Bev is eager to join a prestigious social club that does good work around town until she learns the membership test is designed only for cats.

 

“Clear the Fear (aka Fear Factor)” (10/6/18) – Quincy signs up for a seminar on conquering fears.

 

“The Jade Luck Club (aka Good Luck Jade)” (10/6/18) – Roxie notices that Jade has really good luck at the same time that Edie is struck with a run of very bad luck.

 

“Double Booked Bev” (10/6/18) – Bev tries to prove she can handle a lot by taking on more than realistically possible.

 

“Nine Lives to Live (aka As the Hamster Wheel Turns)” (10/6/18) – A soap opera binging session has Edie believing she’s living in one.

 

“Homesick as a Dog” (10/13/18) – Roxie needs to visit home frequently to avoid homesickness but ends up losing her key to the portal.

 

“Sleepless in Paw-Tucket (aka Never to Bed)” (10/13/18) – Jade tries to demonstrate her willpower by skipping on her naps for an entire day.

 

“Biggest Fan (aka Nightmare at 30,000 Bleats)” (10/27/18) – Quincy wins dinner for him and a friend with Savannah on her hot-air balloon.

 

“Pet Side Story” (10/27/18) – Setting up a play brings Edie in contact with a shy fruit bat named Carmilla.

 

“Seeing Double” (11/3/18) – Needing to clear some room in her schedule to write a play, Edie convinces her doppelganger Didi to switch places with her.

 

“The Ancient Art of Clean Fu (aka Trip Kwan Do)” (11/3/18) – Trip is invited by a visiting martial arts team to join in their performance—now all he needs to do is learn martial arts.

 

“Hidden Treasures & Guilty Pleasures (aka With Friends Like These)” (11/10/18) – Edie and Gavin discover they have a lot in common and become friends, but decide to keep it a secret from everyone else.

 

“Take This Suggestion (aka Take This Suggestion And…)” (11/10/18) – Mister Yut puts in a suggestion box and drives himself crazy trying to address every issue he comes across.

 

“Surf and Turf Shindig” (11/17/18) – Bev tries to introduce her aquatic friends to her land friends and it ends up being an awkward situation.

 

“Austin La Vista” (11/17/18) – Austin ends up being so good at a game that he takes all the fun out of it.

 

“Big Sis, Lil Pup” (12/1/18) – Roxie volunteers to be a mentor to a newcomer to the town.

 

“Trip for the Record” (12/1/18) – Feeling he’s the only one without an accomplishment, Trip sets out to break a town record.

 

“The Couch is Always Greener…” (12/8/18) – Jade and Roxie have a fight that drives them to move out and search for a new roommate.

 

“Model Behavior” (12/8/18) – Roxie and Bev help with an annual fashion show and discover “helping out” means “do all the work”.

 

“Surprise! Paw-Zombies!” (12/15/18) – Roxie decides to throw Jade a surprise birthday party based on her favorite zombie movie.

 

“Curiosity and Cats” (12/22/18) – Jade tries to avoid going to a mystery costume party at the LPS as she knows her curiosity will spike out of control.

 

“Fetch the Story Stick” (12/22/18) – When their limo breaks down on the way to a show, the pets try to cheer up a distraught Edie with stories about adventures.

 

“Eyes and Ears of Paw-Tucket” (1/26/19) – Roxie is invited to submit a news story centered on a scandal.

 

“Get Her to the LPS” (1/26/19) – Bev and Roxie pull some strings to get Savannah to perform at Mister Yut’s birthday party.

 

“Littlest Pet Shop” Shorts:

“Welcome to the Littlest Pet Shop” (10/4/17) – Bev volunteers herself to make a new and more exiting “Welcome to Paw-Tucket” video.

 

“Welcome to the Cruise Ship” (10/11/17) – Bev is excited for her first cruise but has trouble finding her sea legs.

 

“Welcome to the PetUltimate Apartments” (10/18/17) – Bev attempts to show off all the apartments in the complex but discovers there are far too many for a short video.

 

“Welcome to the Fitness Center” (10/25/17) – Bev tries out yoga and has trouble finding her zen.

 

“Welcome to the Shake ‘n Dry Salon” (11/1/17) – Bev discovers sometimes the path to beauty can be a bit scary.

 

“Welcome to Paw-Tucket Stadium” (11/8/17) – Bev tries to convince her favorite band to use her as a replacement when their lead singer loses her voice.

 

“Welcome to Spin Class” (11/15/17) – Bev feels the burn when she attends the Fitness Center spin class.

 

“Welcome to Chill-Out Inn” (11/22/17) – Showing off the inn lands Bev in a ski race with a snow bunny.

 

“Welcome to Paw-Tucket Park” (11/29/17) – Bev invites herself to a bunch of parties, almost missing her own.

 

“Welcome to the Amusement Park” (12/6/17) – Bev faces her fears and goes on a ride that terrifies her.

 

“Late Night Bev” Shorts:

“Talent Search” (2/20/18) – Bev goes on a search for her new show’s announcer.

 

“Unboxing Live!” (2/27/18) – Bev invites a famous internet unboxer to do an unboxing on her show.

 

“Hip-Hop Dance-Off!” (3/6/18) – Bev gets her crew to help her in her dance-off against professional hip-hop dancers.

 

“Interview w/ Mac Hedgyhog” (3/13/18) – Bev tries to get to the bottom of why humans find a hedgehog adorable in tiny costumes.

 

“Bollywood Dance-Off!” (3/20/18) – Bev goes up against a peacock with amazing costume changes.

 

“Manny About Town” (3/27/18) – Bev’s “mouse on the street” segment goes way off script.

 

“Ballet Dance-Off!” (4/3/18) – Bev thinks she can cinch it against a ballet-dancing flamingo’s long legs.

 

“Ice Dance-Off!” (4/10/18) – Bev lets Clicks fulfill his dream of being a figure skater.

 

“Interview w/ Savannah Cheetaby” (4/17/18) – Bev loses her cool when she lands an interview with Savannah.

 

“Modern Dance-Off!” (4/24/18) – Bev gets a lesson in shadow dancing.

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