*With its return on March 20 on Apple TV, “Wonder Pets: In The City” season two expands its imaginative world with new characters, larger-scale adventures, and its signature music-driven storytelling.
Produced by Nickelodeon Animation and developed by Emmy Award winner Jennifer Oxley, the 13-episode season follows Izzy the Guinea Pig, Zuri the Bunny, and Tate the Snake as they travel the globe in their “Jetcar,” rescuing animals in need. The series continues to celebrate curiosity, friendship, and embracing differences through vibrant, mini-opera-style storytelling.
For those just discovering the series, Oxley explains its unique premise and evolution from the original show. “Wonder Pets in the City is a spinoff from the original series that was on Nickelodeon. The idea is that we’ve got three classroom pets, who at the end of the day, as all the kids are going home, they get a call from an animal that might need help. And then in that moment, they spring into action and they become the Wonder Pets.”
She continues, “The music starts, all of the episodes are mini operatas. So they’re sung straight through dialogue and lyrics. And then they zoom off in this series, it’s their jetcar, to save animals in distress.”
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This season also plays with format and visual storytelling in new ways, including episodes that explore artistic styles and imaginative settings. “We get a chance to break the format. There’s an episode where they go into a Sumi painting and the characters are painted in Sumi and animated in Sumi painting style.”
Music remains the heartbeat of “Wonder Pets: In The City,” setting it apart from other children’s programming. Oxley notes, “I would say the music definitely sets it apart. There’s a lot of wonderful musical shows out there. But I think what sets our show apart is the fact that we record a live orchestra for every episode.”
The production process begins with music at the scripting stage, allowing every creative department to work in sync with the score. “It sort of speaks to one musical whole,” she adds.
Season two also broadens the scope of storytelling, both in New York City and beyond. By day, the trio are classroom pets in a bustling kindergarten, but their adventures take them everywhere from neighborhood locales to distant ecosystems.
“They live in this little classroom that’s sandwiched between two buildings on a busy New York City street. And then what’s around them?” Oxley says, describing new characters like a pizza-making kitty, a sewer-dwelling rat named Pearl, and a theater mouse chasing Broadway dreams.
The new season doesn’t shy away from larger themes either, including environmental storytelling. Oxley shares, “There’s an episode where they get a call from the coral reef. And at first they’re like, we can’t hear this coral. And then they realize that the coral reef actually does need help. It’s sick, it’s dying.” The story evolves into a lesson about teamwork and scale. “Their team of three now needs to expand out to a team of ocean friends that they met along the way.”
When it comes to building the show’s globe-trotting adventures, the creative team embraces boundless imagination. “We try not to repeat ourselves too much, but we also thought it would be fun to revisit some worlds as well,” Oxley explains. From the Australian Outback to stylized artistic worlds, the possibilities are intentionally limitless. “There really are no limits to where these wonder pets could go.”
Casting also played a crucial role in bringing authenticity to the series’ young heroes. “Finding voices that felt genuine yet musically capable was key to maintaining the show’s tone,” Oxley says.
The result is a vibrant, music-forward series featuring a remarkable roster of composers, including Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, and Pulitzer Prize winners, with a score performed by the FILMharmonic Orchestra.
With new voice talent like Victoria Scola-Giampapa, Vanessa Huszar, and Emmy winner Christopher Sean Cooper Jr., the show continues to evolve while staying true to its core message. As always, the Wonder Pets prove that by combining their unique strengths, they can overcome any challenge—because together, there’s nothing they can’t do.
Watch our conversation with Jennifer Oxley below.
*This article has been edited for length and clarity.
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