Littlest Pet Shop (2012 TV series)

***Littlest Pet Shop*** is an animated musical children's television series produced by DHX Media and Hasbro Studios based on the Littlest Pet Shop and Blythe toyline by Hasbro. The series was part of the company's franchise reboot, where Hasbro released a new line of toys designed to closely resemble characters from the show. It aired for four seasons on The Hub (later Discovery Family) from November 10, 2012 to June 4, 2016.

## Plot

The series follows Blythe Baxter, a young girl living with her airplane pilot father Roger. Forced to move out from her suburban home following her father's promotion, she moves into an apartment located in the city. Their complex is located above the eponymous Littlest Pet Shop, a pet shop that also serves as a day camp for numerous pets, where Blythe works as a fashion designer. Her adventure begins when she discovers that she alone can understand and talk to the pets staying at the shop, as well as other animals. As she and the pets spend time together, they find the pet shop jeopardized by a larger pet store owned by Fisher Biskit and his snotty twin daughters Brittany and Whittney Biskit. The pets convince Blythe to remain an employee to avoid being dispersed.

## Characters

* **Blythe Baxter** (voiced by Ashleigh Ball) - The main character of the series and an aspiring fashion artist and designer. She is very kind and compassionate and always ready to assist others in need, whether it be the pets, Mrs. Twombley, her new friends, or maybe the Biskit twins. Soon after moving into her new apartment, Blythe hits her head and discovers that she can talk to and understand animals, and she comes to enjoy working at the Littlest Pet Shop not long after saving it from going out of business.
* **Russell Ferguson** (voiced by Sam Vincent) - A male orange European hedgehog with yellow-green eyes and the organizer of the group with a love of food. Though uptight, he maintains everyone in the shop, making sure everything is orderly. Though Russell heavily wishes to fit in more with his friends, his love for safety and maintenance and his friendship with six friends often spoils the other pets' enjoyment, which causes them to poke fun at him. He is often mistaken for a porcupine.
* **Sunil Nevla** (voiced by Peter New) - A male blue banded mongoose with golden eyes and an Indian accent. He is very timid and fearful but will gather courage and bravery for his friends when faced with adventure. He is a magician who enjoys performing tricks on his friends at the shop, most of which fail or rarely work when he needs it to. Despite his timid appearance and personality, Sunil becomes aggressive at the thought of cobras. He is also Vinnie's best friend and known to have entomophobia.
* **Vinnie Terrio** (voiced by Kyle Rideout) - A male green gecko with purple eyes. Though slow at times, he is a talented dancer. Unfortunately, he is prone to wreaking havoc for others in the pet shop because of his natural clumsiness. His favorite show is a dance competition show called "Shake a Leg". Sunil is his best friend.
* **Pepper Clark** (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain) - A female gray and white striped skunk with light pink eyes and speaking in a thick Boston accent. A self-proclaimed comedian, she loves making her friends laugh, usually through the use of puns and comical props. At times, however, she can be brash and inconsiderate towards others. Her smells change depending on her mood.
* **Minka Mark** (voiced by Kira Tozer) - A female pink spider monkey with light blue eyes, who is an artist. Energetic, flexible, and hyper, she is an expert in abstract art. However, she is constantly distracted by shiny objects, hanging out on a tire swing, or looking for something to eat. When in a small space and not able to escape, Minka sits and rocks back and forth quietly saying to herself, "I'm a space monkey, I'm a space monkey..."
* **Zoe Trent** (voiced by Nicole Oliver, singing voice by Kylee Epp) - A female purple Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with light blue eyes, who is a singer. A born diva, she strives to achieve her goal of being the greatest entertainer, thought she can sometimes be quite dramatic and snobbish and leader, and a little rude towards others, though she cares for everyone very much and is willing to go out of her comfort zone to be there for them. Her owners are the couple John and Clarissa Trent.
* **Penny Ling** (voiced by Jocelyne Loewen, singing voice by Laura Hastings) - A female white and indigo giant panda with grey eyes, who is a rhythmic gymnast with a talent for twirling ribbons. Being the peacekeeper of the group, her feelings are more sensitive, and she is prone to get hurt by others, though when the job comes down to it, she can be straightforward and there are sometimes that she can be grumpy.
* **Roger Baxter** (voiced by Michael Kopsa) - Blythe's fun-loving, slightly clumsy father whose airline piloting job takes them from their quiet hometown to Downtown City where countless adventures await. He has dark brown with some gray hair and blue eyes. He loves spending time with Blythe, listening to heavy metal, and supporting any of Blythe's talents and endeavors.
* **Anna Twombly** (voiced by Kathleen Barr) - The kind, off-beat owner of Littlest Pet Shop store and day camp for pets. She has silver hair and turquoise eyes. Mrs. Twombly befriends Blythe and helps her to display and sell her first pet fashion collection. She has a love for animals and making them feel at home in Littlest Pet Shop. She also has a bizarre obsession for collecting doorknobs, occasionally compulsive cleaning, and some unique talents from her past, including inventing the martial art of king fu quilting.
* **Whittney and Brittney Biskit** (voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent) - Twin sisters and bullies and all-around rich girls who seem to envy Blythe. Although they aren't the smartest, they are not opposed to using whatever evil scheme they can come up with to sabotage Blythe and her friends' endeavors. Their father is the owner of Largest Pet Shop Ever, the unfriendly competitor of Littlest Pet Shop. Both twins have red eyes; Whittney has black hair, while Brittney's is bleached white. Both have a pet chinchilla.

## Episodes

Main article: *List of Littlest Pet Shop episodes*

 1
 2
 3
 4

## Reception

*Littlest Pet Shop* became one of Hub Network's top programs in 2013. Both the show and *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic* were outperforming shows aimed at similar demographics internationally. It also received praise from viewers for its writing and characters, though it was criticized for its embedded marketing.

## Home media

Main article: *Littlest Pet Shop (videography)*