Hamster & Gretel

Hamster & Gretel is an American animated superhero comedy television series created by Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law co-creator Dan Povenmire that first aired on Disney Channel on August 12, 2022. In January 2023, the series was renewed for a second season that debuted on September 14, 2024. The series name is a pun on the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel".
A 16-year-old boy named Kevin must work with his sister Gretel when she and their pet hamster are given superpowers by aliens and become a superhero duo dedicated to protecting their city.
As part of a promotional campaign, Disney Channel began airing the Disney Theme Song Takeover, wherein supporting characters from different shows performed the theme song to the series they were in.
Chibi Tiny Tales is a series of shorts that depict characters from various Disney Channel properties in chibi-style animation. In September 2022, the series began releasing shorts based around Hamster & Gretel.
In October 2020, it was reported that Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law co-creator Dan Povenmire was developing a new animated series with a 20-episode order for Disney Channel, titled Hamster & Gretel, with Disney Television Animation producing. Povenmire first pitched the show as an animatic in 2019, with him providing all the voices. The character of Hamster originated from a drawing he did on his sketchboard during development on the Disney+ film Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe (2020). It was later refined whilst Povenmire was on a vacation with his family in Aruba. The series marks Povenmire's first project as showrunner without Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, due to the latter developing projects of his own after creating his own studio. However, Marsh still has a recurring voice role as various characters on the series.
In September 2021, Joanna Hausmann joined the series as its head writer, co-producer, and story editor. Povenmire approached her after listening to Hausman talking about her experiences as a Venezuelan, as he felt she could bring authenticity to the series' Venezuelan representation. Povenmire has also stated that the show boasts ADHD representation, through Gretel.
In June 2022, it was announced that ten additional episodes had been ordered, bringing the total episode number to 30. On January 13, 2023, it was announced that the series was renewed for a second season, as part of an overall deal between Povenmire and Disney Branded Television, which included the revival season of Phineas and Ferb.
Writing for Hamster & Gretel began by October 2020. It was done remotely due to Disney TVA's closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. The series was based on Povenmire's dynamic with his much younger sister, which he felt had never been portrayed on TV before; director Amber T. Hollinger described the relationship between Kevin and Gretel as the series' main focus, with Kevin's arc centering on his role as an older brother after Gretel receives her powers. Povenmire also drew inspiration from his family for the characters Kevin and Gretel. The series features Venezuelan lead characters; this was inspired by both Hausmann and Povenmire's wife being Venezuelan. The series also incorporated several Venezuelan easter eggs.
The series is set in the same universe as Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law, with characters from both shows making cameos throughout Hamster and Gretel. However, Povenmire noted there were no plans for a formal crossover in the series, unlike Milo Murphy's Law. At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Povenmire elaborated that while there were no concrete plans for a crossover, he remained open to the possibility after the first two seasons, as the staff were focusing on the show's own overarching narrative during that time. He expressed interest in eventually bringing together characters from Phineas and Ferb, Milo Murphy's Law, and Hamster & Gretel.
Snipple Animation and Synergy Animation both provide animation services for the series; work on the first episodes was finished by May 2022. Episodes are produced simultaneously at different stages, with some in pre-production and others in post-production. The series features action sequences that are more elaborate than those occasionally seen in Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law.
Like with his previous work, Povenmire has written some songs for the series. The soundtrack was released the day of the series' premiere.
The score is composed by Danny Jacob, with additional music by Aaron Daniel Jacob and Keith Horn.
Hamster & Gretel premiered on Disney Channel on August 12, 2022. The first five episodes of the series were added to Disney+ on August 17, resulting in episodes 3–5 being released prior to their televised premieres. Similarly, episodes 11–15 were added to Disney+ on February 8, 2023, resulting in episode 15 being released prior to its televised premiere later that week.
Brandon Zachary of Comic Book Resources stated, "Hamster & Gretel delivers a new take on a lot of well-worn genres from Disney Animation. It's quietly a solid parody of superhero narratives, with one of the minds behind Phineas and Ferb helping usher in a new generation of bizarre heroes and villains. It's a down-to-earth cartoon sitcom focusing on a multicultural family dealing with some absurd situations. It's also a show where a hamster sometimes punches adults into submission – a very silly direction that was very much by design." Tony Betti of LaughingPlace.com gave Hamster & Gretel a grade of 4 out of 5 stars, saying, "At only a few episodes in so far, the show has already started building a universe that is sure to become lush and full of details and recurring characters that we will likely see throughout. While the show already has a built-in villain-of-the-week premise, the setup has also been built to include overarching enemies and even non-threatening characters that we'll see again and again. Namely cousin Fred, and Kevin's crush. We also see hints at how expansive Kevin and Gretel's family is, all of which will likely come into play in the weeks and months ahead, giving fans a world in which they can immerse themselves into when viewing and will likely keep them coming back for more. However, they need to figure out the target audience where those fans will come from first. Once they do, (and they still have time) it will be solid programming."
Diondra Brown of Common Sense Media gave the series a grade of 3 out of 5 stars and praised the depiction of positive messages and role models, stating the characters promote self authenticity, friendship, and helpfulness, while noting the diverse representations across the racial and religious backgrounds of different characters. Neville Naidoo of MovieWeb ranked Hamster & Gretel 2nd in their "Best Joey King TV Series" list, called it a "hit Disney show" and "delightful," while praising the performance of Joey King across the television series.