Nature Cat (TV series)

*For the titular character, see Nature Cat*.

***Nature Cat*** is an educational American-Canadian children's animated television series. The series premiered on November 25, 2015 on PBS Kids after the *Wild Kratts* Christmas special, "A Creature Christmas". The series is aimed at children aged 3 to 8 years old, following the adventures of four main characters: Nature Cat, Hal the Dog, Daisy the Bunny and Squeeks the Mouse. 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 is still a house cat with no instincts for nature.

Through the learning experiences of the characters, this series intends to encourage children to similarly engage with and develop understanding of nature, a motif which draws inspiration from the book *Last Child in the Woods*. The show has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program". The series debut in November achieved nearly 3.7 million viewers, and by March it has achieved 69 million video streams across online platforms.

On October 18, 2016, PBS Kids green-lit the series for two more seasons.

A television film, titled *Nature Cat: The Untold Story*serves as a prequel to the show, premiered on May 17, 2016 on PBS Kids and on June 7, 2016 on Family Chrgd.

A second television film, *Nature Cat: Ocean Commotion*, premiered on PBS Kids on June 19, 2017.

A third television film, *Nature Cat: The Return of Bad Dog Bart*, is set to premiere on PBS Kids on July 16, 2018.

Production of a feature film was commenced in December 2015 and the film's title, *Nature Cat: The Movie*was released on July 14, 2017.

## Cast

All of the cast members (with the exception of Kate Micucci) are currently the cast members of NBC's comedy show, *Saturday Night Live*.

### Characters

#### Nature Cat

Nature Cat, 'Fred' (voiced by Taran Killam) - 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. 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. 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 does it always have to be water?”, but in these situations he ultimately ends up finding confidence to persist.

#### Hal

Hal the Dog (voiced by Bobby Moynihan) - Characterised as being happy most of the time and is very loyal to his friends, most of all for Nature Cat who, who is always willing in partaking in his 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 or in 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 the ground or smelling strong odours. This comes much to the benefit of others, where he is utilised 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

Squeeks the Mouse (voiced by Kate McKinnon) - The smallest of the main four characters, Kate McKinnon describes her as “a sass… but sweet and so excited at the same time”.

#### Daisy

Daisy the Bunny (voiced by Kate Micucci) - 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 is nonetheless mostly co-operative as the rest when venturing with Nature Cat.

#### Ronald

Ronald the Cat (voiced by Kenan Thompson) - Ronald lives in the backyard next door and is Nature Cat's quasi-nemesis. He is arrogant, vain (often specifically obsessed with grooming his hair) and fairly obnoxious.

## Feature film

During production on the show in 2015, Adam Rudman and David Rudman were asked if they could make a feature film based on the series, in which Adam replied, "Well, we've just premiered the first episode of the series, but we'll get to that eventually." After the first episode's premiere, David Rudman announced that the film was in early development by Spiffy Pictures to be released in 2017. In December 2015, Annapurna Pictures announced they would produce the film. That same month, Destination Films was confirmed to distribute the film.

Production on the film began in January 2016, with the show's cast signed to reprise their roles. Cecily Strong and Vanessa Bayer had been cast to do the roles of Catalina and Hayley, the respective love interests of Nature Cat and Hal.

The film, titled *Nature Cat: The Movie*, was released on July 14, 2017, followed by a PBS Kids premiere on July 21, 2017 and on Family Chrgd on August 4, 2017.