Nature Cat

Nature Cat
Genre Children's fiction
Animation
Adventure
Comedy
Musical
Created by Adam Rudman
David Rudman
Todd Hannert[1]
Starring
Theme music composer Bill Sherman
Opening theme "Nature Cat Theme Song", performed by Taran Killam, Christopher Jackson, and Veronica Jackson
Ending theme "Nature Cat Theme" (instrumental)
Country of origin United States
Canada
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 48 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Adam Rudman
  • David Rudman
  • Vince Commisso
  • Steven Jarosz
Producer(s)
  • Caroline Bandolik[1]
  • Frances Nankin[1]
  • Jesse McMahon[1]
  • Scott Scornavacco[1]
Running time 28 minutes
Production company(s) Spiffy Pictures
Distributor
Release
Original network
Picture format 1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Original release November 25, 2015 (2015-11-25) – present
External links
Website

Nature Cat is an American-Canadian educational animated children's television series. The series premiered on November 25, 2015 on PBS Kids. The series is aimed at children aged 3 to 8 years old,[4][5] following the adventures of four main characters: Nature Cat, Hal the Dog, Daisy the Bunny and Squeeks the Mouse. The show has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program".[6] The series debut in November achieved nearly 3.7 million viewers, and by March it has achieved 69 million video streams across online platforms.[7] As of October 2016, Nature Cat has been renewed for a second and third season.[8] The second season premiered on January 1, 2018.

The show's soundtrack, The Green Album, was released on February 16, 2018 through BMG Rights Management (which also owns the song publishing rights to Nature Cat).

On June 5th, 2018, the first DVD Onward and Ponward was released. Tomy owns the toy license to Nature Cat, and has released several stuffed animals of the main characters.[9]

Overview

The series follows Fred, a house cat with dreams of exploring outside. Once his family leaves for the day, he transforms into Nature Cat, who cannot wait for backyard nature excursions. However, Fred has one problem: he has no instincts for nature.[4] Through the learning experiences of the characters, this series intends to encourage children to similarly engage with and develop understanding of nature.

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
140[10]November 25, 2015 (2015-11-25)[11]September 15, 2017 (2017-09-15)
220January 1, 2018 (2018-01-01)TBA

Characters

Main

Many primary cast members are better known for their work on the hit NBC comedy sketch show, Saturday Night Live.

  • Nature Cat (aka. Fred) (voiced by Taran Killam[4]) - In the absence of his owners, Fred transforms into his alter-ego Nature Cat, narrating himself as such throughout the show. He is the main protagonist in leading a group of three other animals, frequently using the expressions "tally ho!" and "onward and yonward!" when initiating and continuing his adventures, lending to his optimistic and cheerful attitude in encouraging enthusiasm for the natural world. Actor and comedian Taran Killam appraises Nature Cat as a positive character for children, describing his handling of adversity as “a great example of when you fall down you get back right up… and try it again[12]”. He will occasionally drop from his ‘Nature Cat’ persona where, much like a regular housecat, he can suddenly become nervous or frightened. This can include having to interact with water, lamenting “why did it have to be water?”, but in these situations he ultimately ends up finding confidence to persist. When Fred turns into Nature Cat his clothes are all green.
  • Hal the Dog (voiced by Bobby Moynihan[4]) - Characterised as being happy most of the time and very loyal to his friends, most of all for Nature Cat. He is always willing to partake in Nature Cat's outdoor excursions and share discoveries even if he initially doesn’t understand them. Hal is generally absent minded, becoming a source of comic relief where he may respond to others with non-sequiturs or muddled reasoning thought out loud. He can also become blissfully unaware of when he is taken into a dangerous situation, such as becoming lost in a city. His capabilities as a playful dog is portrayed as him being a character that is uninhibited in approaching messy or unpleasant situations, such as digging in the ground or smelling strong odors. This comes much to the benefit of others, where he is utilized in digging holes or locating in the environment by smell. He is sometimes accompanied by an inanimate chewing toy, “Mr. Chewinsky,” who he converses with when projecting his thoughts.
  • Squeeks the Mouse (voiced by Kate McKinnon[4]) - The smallest of the main four characters, actress and comedian, Kate McKinnon describes her as “a sass… but sweet and so excited at the same time[13]”. At times, Squeeks can act tomboyish while on adventures, but nevertheless, she stays focused at the task at hand.
  • Daisy the Bunny (voiced by Kate Micucci[4]) - She is often carrying a smartphone for use in providing supplementary information when investigating nature. Her role is to act as the voice of reason, but nevertheless, she's mostly co-operative as the rest when venturing with Nature Cat.
  • Ronald the Cat (voiced by Kenan Thompson[4][14] (season 1), Chris Knowings (season 2-present)) - The main antagonist of the series. Ronald lives in the backyard next door and is Nature Cat's arch-nemesis. He is arrogant, vain (often specifically obsessed with grooming his hair) and fairly obnoxious. He also tries to compete against Nature Cat.

Others

Discography

Albums

  • The Green Album (2018)[15]

Singles

Year Single Peak

positions

 Album
CAN
2017 "Theme Song"[16] 65 The Green Album
2018 "Clouds" —

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Credits :: Nature Cat". pbskids.com. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "9 Story Entertainment - Nature Cat". 9 Story Entertainment - Program Details. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "DHX net catches Nature Cat". tbivision.com. Television Business International. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "New PBS Kids Series Nature Cat Will Premiere November 25, 2015". Public Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015.
  5. ↑ PBS KIDS [@PBSKIDS] (13 May 2015). "Nature Cat designed for kids 3 to 8 and inspired by Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods. - Sara Dewitt #PBSam #PBSKIDS" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 March 2016 – via Twitter.
  6. ↑ "PBS and PBS KIDS Receive 44 Daytime Emmy® Nominations". pbskids.org. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Nature Cat is a new PBS Kids Series Produced by Spiffy Pictures". blog.toonboom.com. Toonboom Blog.
  8. ↑ http://kidscreen.com/2016/10/18/pbs-kids-greenlights-nature-cat-for-two-more-seasons/
  9. ↑ https://toybook.com/tomy-introduces-nature-cat-toy-line
  10. ↑ http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-nature-cat-spiffy-pictures-0907-biz-20160906-story.html
  11. ↑ "Nature Cat". Zap2it. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  12. ↑ "NATURE CAT Taran Killam Interview". YouTube. PBS KIDS.
  13. ↑ "NATURE CAT Interview with Kate McKinnon". YouTube. PBS Kids.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Nature Cat full cast and crew". Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  15. ↑ The Green Album (Music from the Original TV Series) by Nature Cat, 2018-02-16, retrieved 2018-08-29
  16. ↑ "Canadian Music: Top 100 Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
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