Behind the New Characters of ‘Surprise Pets: Within the Metropolis’

Nickelodeon Animation’s Surprise Pets: In The Metropolis, premiering globally on December 13 on Apple TV+, is the adventure-filled spin-off of Surprise Pets! This new model highlights kid-friendly themes that encourage younger audiences to work collectively, take optimistic dangers, pursue journey, and embrace variations.

Developed and government produced by Jennifer Oxley and in partnership with Emmy-award-winning music producer Jeffrey Lesser, the 13 22-minute episodes middle three new characters: Izzy the Guinea Pig, Tate the Snake, and Zuri the Bunny.

We chatted with Oxley to dig a bit deeper into the inspiration behind the characters, how the sequence promotes cultural range and inclusion, and the creator’s intentionality with supporting the cognitive and social improvement of preschool and school-age youngsters.

New Locations and New Emotional Areas

Having an enormous hand in creating the unique Surprise Pets! sequence, Oxley highlights nostalgia as an enormous inspiration and problem for creating Surprise Pets: In The Metropolis.

“Once we had been attempting to determine what this new spinoff might be, we actually needed to honor the spirit of the unique,” Oxley tells Dad and mom. “However, with three model new pets, and a complete new location. We determined to set it [the new series] within the metropolis as a result of the unique is about in a extra rural college.”

Oxley goes on to speak about desirous to go deeper with this spherical of characters to inform extra social-emotional tales. “We’re nonetheless very a lot grounded in our teamwork, and collaborative type of content material that is from the unique sequence. However, we additionally needed so as to add a layer of storytelling to this new sequence to get out extra messages of compassion, empathy, kindness, and naturally, the enjoyment of serving to others, which may be very a lot part of [both] sequence.”

Intentionality Behind the New Characters

Given the recognition of the unique Surprise Pets! characters Ming-Ming Duckling, Turtle Tuck, and Linny the Guinea Pig, Oxley, and the inventive workforce had been very deliberate in creating the traits they needed every new character to personify.

“We preferred the thought of the Guinea pig on the unique sequence. So for this spinoff, we’ve Izzy the Guinea pig, however with a really completely different persona,” she explains. “Linny was extra type of the straight-up center ring chief, and sometimes when errors had been made, was the voice of motive between the opposite two. Whereas, Izzy the Guinea Pig is extra of a leap-before-you-look sort of character, with this punk rock type of power and actually spunky.” 

She talks in regards to the different new additions to the trio: a black bunny named Zuri, who she calls the jokester of the group and a snake named Tate, who she describes as differently-abled. With these new characters, Oxley aimed to defy expectations based mostly on appearances and as a substitute use storytelling to debate inclusion and perceived variations for youthful audiences.

“We all know that some individuals have an preliminary response to snakes as being scary and slimy, however I actually love the thought of [Tate},” she says. We thought ‘what if we were to create this character that is lovable and the opposite of what you expect a snake to be?’ He doesn’t walk, he doesn’t have hands, and he definitely represents a key element of the show with that sort of personality and character.”

Staying true to the culture and worlds featured was also very important to Oxley, which extended to choosing the voice talent. The new characters who full of curiosity and an eagerness to get the job done are voiced by newcomers Victoria Scola-Giampapa as Izzy, Vanessa Huszar as Zuri, and Christopher Sean Cooper Jr. as Tate.  

Check out this exclusive clip from Wonder Pets: In the City:

Authenticity with New Cultural Adventures

Just like in the original series, this new dynamic trio is in a classroom setting. But when they get calls from other animals in distress, they hop into their “Jetcar” and race off on opera-themed adventures to save the day–all while working as a team, of course!

“They spring into action while singing opera, and jump into their vehicle…that’s made out of toys and parts and things in the classroom, and they always go to a new location,” Oxley describes.

She talks about the pets going to a number of locations throughout the world to experience a range of cultures in rich and authentic ways. “It could be under the sea, in space, or in Japan. They even fly into elements in the classroom. In one episode, they fly into a Sum painting [a style of East Asian brush painting] the place the youngsters get to find out about that fashion of portray and the traditions that associate with it.”

Oxley and the event workforce labored carefully with academic consultants and researchers to make sure that Surprise Pets: Within the Metropolis finest meets the wants of its viewership, together with supporting cognitive and social improvement for youthful audiences.

“An important instance is an episode the place we have a good time the Lunar New 12 months,” she says. “We had a marketing consultant assist us with the story and likewise the phrases that had been spoken. She helped us get all of the pronunciations good. Throughout the board, if there was one thing that we felt we wanted assist with to get proper, we at all times reached out to a marketing consultant to get steering.”

With the authenticity of experiences comes the necessity for genuine illustration–and Oxley emphasizes the significance of getting the casting proper right here particularly.

“I am everywhere in the casting, she confirms. “The casting director will get a short of what we’re on the lookout for after which comes again with a collection of selections. But when the character is in Japan and Japanese, we are going to [look] for a Japanese actor. It was the identical for the New 12 months episode set in China. We attempt actually laborious to seek out these actors which can be going to convey authenticity to the half.”

Deliberately Showcasing Teamwork for Younger Viewers

When pondering on the issues that youngsters and households can profit from watching this new sequence, Oxley hopes that the present evokes youngsters to know that anybody could be a hero.

There’s positively that heroic motion angle to [the show]. However, I really feel like on the coronary heart of it, is basically simply the enjoyment and kindness of those three finest associates working collectively, bringing collectively their completely different personalities and their completely different presents.”

Oxley additional shares that none of them alone have any superpowers, however what they do have is their teamwork and their collaboration, which she hopes younger viewers will relate to.

“After they come collectively as one, they will do nice issues,” she says. “So, I am hoping that that actually comes by way of.”