Poppy Cat (alternatively titled The Extraordinary Adventures of Poppy Cat) is a British preschool animated television series. It is based on a series of books created by British illustrator and writer Lara Jones. First published in 2003 in the UK (with over 2.5 million copies sold worldwide since then), Poppy Cat was specifically written, and now animated, for a preschool audience. Each adventure is told from the point-of-view of Lara, a young girl with a vivid imagination and exceptional storytelling ability who talks to her faithful cat Poppy. They travel to destinations full of fantasy and magic for fun-filled adventures in pirate ships, hot air balloons and rocket rides.
Overview
- "Join Poppy Cat and her friends as they embark on extraordinary adventures through fantastical lands. Seen through the eyes of Poppy’s imaginative young owner, a little girl called Lara, each episode tells the tale of a very special cat and her colorful band of friends." (link)
Characters
- Lara – the narrator of the show. A six-year-old girl with an active imagination who writes and reads stories and draws pictures about the adventures of her pet kitten Poppy, the beloved young kitten leader and her eccentric team of friends, Alma the rabbit, Zuzu the puppy, Owl and Mo the mouse, and not the villain, Egbert the badger. Voiced by Cindy Robinson.
- Poppy Cat – the main protagonist in the series. She is the leader of the group. She is a feisty, imaginative, cheerful and happy-go-lucky young six-year-old orange ginger tabby kitten girl with a big white face and long whiskers and she wears a magic multi-colored neckerchief that takes her and her stuffed animal friends on extraordinary adventures by any type of vehicle they need that matches her neckerchief. She's an adventurer, a heroine, an imagineer, a dreamer, and a devoted best friend to her stuffed animal friends. Poppy's heroic gusto and unquenchable curiosity propel each adventure for her and her friends, often leading to unexpected experiences and discoveries. She is highly conscious of those around her and will go to the ends of the Earth to solve a problem. Poppy likes adventure, but her top priority is always her friends, which is why she is the unspoken leader of her little gang. She's the glue that holds them all together. On her birthday adventure, she wears a pink hat and serves as the Birthday Captain. Her catchphrases are "Would you like to come along?", "Would you like to play?", "Hoop-dee-doo!", "Hooray!", "That's a great idea!", "Come on, everybody!", "Okey-doke, we're off!" and "But first, we're going to need...(type of vehicles)!" Voiced in the UK by Joanna Page in the first season,[7] and Jessica Ransom in the second season.
- Zuzu– a speedy young six-year-old black and white plush toy Dalmatian puppy boy with black spots who is Poppy's best friend and loves doing tricks on his skateboard and laughs really loud. Zuzu is an adrenaline junkie who is competitive, loud, and practically fearless. He is impulsive and cool, quick to laugh at a joke, impatient when it comes to manners and protocol, and a good sport most of the time. Voiced by Katie Leigh.
- Alma – a giggly young six-year-old pink and white plush toy European rabbit girl with a big pink tummy, pink circles on her cheeks and speaks in a Western accent. She often arrives at Poppy's breathless and worked up about a situation, though in the face of danger, she can be quite blithe, to Mo's chagrin. Alma, who fancies herself quite a singer, often coaxes her best buddy Mo to sing a duet. Mo has an unspoken little crush on Alma and worries about her a bit. The chatty rabbit is a loyal, affectionate friend who likes jewelry, the color pink, and picnics. She treasures a special seashell that Mo gave her to hear the ocean. In the mystery-solving adventures, she wears glasses with white fluffy eyebrows and red nose and a black pointy beard. Her catchphrases are "Oh, Poppy!", "Hoop-dee-doo!" and "Hooray!" She is implied to have numerous cousins, with her favorite being named Chester. Voiced in by Alicyn Packard.
- Mo – a feisty young five-and-a-half-year-old pink stuffed toy mouse boy with a yellow head, pink ears and a striped tail who loves singing songs with Alma and eating cheese sandwiches, wears a red and green striped tanktop and is Alma's best friend who never gets squashed. In the mystery-solving adventures, he wears a black moustache. He is the youngest of the group. He is voiced by Stephanie Darcy.
- Owl – a lazy seven-year-old brown stuffed toy Eurasian eagle owl boy who wears a turquoise and purple striped wool hat with a purple pompom on top. He considers himself an expert on almost everything, knowledge that he has gleaned from books or his travels. Though he has traveled far from his comfortable house, Owl's directions are usually comically convoluted. Owl may complain about Zuzu's inadvertent path of destruction, but he has a soft spot for each of his friends. He's especially supportive of the timid Mo, and like everyone, has great respect for Poppy Cat. Owl likes the finer things in life: a soft coconut-leaf nest, a cup of hot chocolate, and a quick nap whenever he can catch one. He also likes to perform. He is the oldest of the group. Voiced by Donald King.
- In the episode "Royal Toad", his singing voice is provided by Spanish tenor opera legend Plácido Domingo.
- Egbert – the main antagonist of the series. He is an arrogant, stout, sneaky, greedy, grumpy and adenoidal young six-year-old stuffed toy honey badger boy and the master of disguise with an English accent in both the UK and US. He is desperate to be part of the group, although only by his rules. But rather than accept their invitation to play (or go on an adventure), Egbert always has 'top secret stuff' to go to on his way, only to always meet the group again, in their adventure. There, he will insert himself into their journey, costumed as a ridiculous antagonist of his own invention. Depending upon their location, Egbert may fancy himself to be a pirate, troll, or sea monster. His nerdy, eccentric energy elicits groans from everyone but Poppy. Egbert pretends to not know 'this Egbert', and always stays in character. He hates their friends' fun. Voiced in the UK and US by Teresa Gallagher.
- Gilda – an arrogant pigeon girl with an English accent in both the UK and the US. Voiced in the UK and US also by Teresa Gallagher.
- Rocket Cat – Poppy Cat's favorite superhero. He appears in numerous episodes each time who Poppy Cat and her friends visits outer space. Voiced by in the UK by Richard Jones and in the US by Danny Katiana.
- Ravi – Poppy's pen pal from Tiger Island. He is a young and friendly plush toy tiger cub boy who has a broken arm and can't play with the other tigers, only Poppy and her friends would play with him. Voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee.
- Chester – Alma's favorite cousin who is four years old. He is a little white and blue plush toy rabbit boy with a big blue tummy and a Western accent who occasionally goes on adventures with his cousin Alma and the rest of the crew. Voiced by Alicyn Packard.
Games
History on Sprout
Poppy Cat was announced as coming to Sprout on March 22nd, 2011, a day after Super WHY! and new seasons of multiple shows premiered on the network during the Spring is Sprouting festivities.[1] The show premiered eight months later on November 7th, during the fourth season of The Good Night Show[2] in The You and Me Tree at 7PM, replacing Rubbadubbers, 10PM, and 1AM ET. It aired at 10:30 ET during The Sunny Side Up Show, premiering on March 12th, 2012, replacing Dive Olly Dive!. In later years, it aired early in the morning at 4:30AM. Shortly after, Poppy became the network's #1 rated show.[3]
- "Meet some NEW Sprout friends! Watch Poppy Cat every night at 7pm ET. Click to watch videos, print coloring pages and more!" (link)
Season 2 premiered on October 25th 2014, kicking off with a mini-marathon lasting from 1PM to 3PM ET, and episodes began airing regularly that same evening at 7PM ET.
The show, along with several others, stopped airing on Sprout on September 26th, 2016, a year after surviving the rebrand. Despite the show's removal, Poppy was still seen in Sprout's "Page not found" page as late as 2017.
Notes
- On the show's 2013 SproutOnline.com page, the games page was absent and a "Home" page was on the left. This was fixed as of 2015.
- A clip of Owl sleeping in an episode was featured in Sprout's Snooze-a-Thon, as well as "La La Lullaby," which aired at the end of The Good Night Show.
Gallery
Videos
Sources
- ↑ DeMott, Rick. Poppy Cat Heads to Sprout (March 22, 2011), Retrieved March 6, 2025
- ↑ POPPY CAT TO DEBUT EXCLUSIVELY ON SPROUT® IN U.S. DURING NEW SEASON OF THE GOOD NIGHT SHOW® (October 24, 2011), Retrieved March 6, 2025
- ↑ Packard, Alicyn. Facebook post (December 15, 2011), Retrieved March 6, 2025