Max & Ruby
Template:Short description Template:Use Canadian English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox television
Max & Ruby is a Canadian children's preschool animated series based on the book series by Rosemary Wells and co-produced by Nelvana Limited. The series follows the everyday lives of two young rabbit siblings.
Two Max & Ruby books had been previously adapted into short films by Weston Woods and Michael Sporn Animation in 1988 and 1991. These shorts were later remade into episodes for the television series.
Max & Ruby first aired in Canada on Treehouse TV on May 3, 2002.<ref name="Screener">Template:Cite web</ref> In the United States, the series first aired on Nickelodeon on the Nick Jr. block on October 21, 2002.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite news</ref> 130 half-hour episodes were produced. The final episode aired on April 9, 2020.
Premise
Max & Ruby follows two young rabbits: Max, a rambunctious and achievement-determined three-year-old and his older sister Ruby, a seldom-patient, goal-oriented and sometimes, bossy seven-year-old.<ref>Template:Cite web. Nick Jr. Channel.</ref> The series takes place in a town called Eastbunny Hop, in a universe populated by bunnies and other creatures. According to Wells, the series shows the relationship between Ruby, Max and the universal nature of sibling relationships.<ref name="webarchive">Template:Cite web. Nick Jr. Channel.</ref>
Episodes
Template:Main List of Max & Ruby episodes The TV series premiered in 2002, but was preceded by a 1988<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and 1991<ref>Template:Citation</ref> short adapting the characters for the first times. The shorts were individually produced and later remade into broadcast episodes.
Characters
Main
- Max Bunny (voiced by Billy Rosemberg in seasons 1–3, Tyler Stevenson in seasons 4–5,Template:Efn and Gavin MacIver-Wright in seasons 6–7) is a four-year-old (starting off at three and a half years old) bunny and Ruby's younger brother. He has white fur and wears some clothes including some long overalls. Prior to seasons 3 & 5 and for the first few episodes of seasons 1 and 2, Max only says 1–3 words or phrases (with the exception of a few episodes like Max's Bedtime and Ruby's Candy Store and of voiceover on the title card for episodes featuring Ruby). He does this again in season 5 (voiceover on the episode's title card; except in just the ones featuring Ruby). In seasons 6 and 7, Max (along with Morris) is able to speak in full sentences.
- Ruby Bunny (voiced by Samantha Morton in seasons 1–2, Rebecca Peters in seasons 3–5, and Lana Carillo in seasons 6–7) is an eight-year-old (starting off at seven years old and of voiceover on the title card for episodes featuring Max) white bunny, and is Max's older sister. She has white fur and has been considered the more level-headed of the siblings. She is also a member of the bunny scouts (a formula similar to the "girl scouts").
Recurring
- Grace (voiced by Julie Lemieux) is one of Max and Ruby's new baby siblings and Oliver's older twin sister. Like Max, Grace likes getting dirty.
- Lemieux also voiced Oliver (the other one of Max and Ruby's new baby siblings and Grace's younger twin brother who, like Ruby, likes being clean), Louise (Ruby's best friend with tan/auburn fur who is also eight years old), and Baby Huffington "Baby H" (Mr. and Mrs. Huffington's baby son and Bunny Scout Leader's nephew).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="RC" />
- Mom (also known as Mrs. Bunny;<ref name="SurnameBunny">Template:Cite web</ref> voiced by Carolyn Larson) is Max and Ruby's mother. She and Ruby are close and she trusts Ruby's ability to help out with Max. She is Grandma and Grandpa’s daughter-in-law.
- Dad (also known as Mr. Bunny;<ref name="SurnameBunny" /> voiced by Paul Bates) is Max and Ruby's father. He is Grandma and Grandpa’s son.
- Grandma (voiced by Kay Hawtrey) has grey fur and is the paternal grandmother to Max and Ruby. Max and Ruby sometimes compete as to whose ideas are better in order to impress her, but in the end she likes both of their ideas equally. She is Dad's mother and Mom's mother-in-law.
- Mrs. Rachel Huffington (voiced by Emily Scott) is the wife of Mr. Huffington, mother of Baby Huffington, female faithful butler of Max and sister of Bunny Scout Leader.
- Mr. Clark Huffington (voiced by John Torres) is the husband to Mrs. Huffington, father of Baby Huffington, male faithful butler of Max and brother-in-law of Bunny Scout Leader.
- Valerie (voiced by Alexis Walla for the 1–2 season, and Loretta Jafelice for the 3–7 season) is Ruby's second best friend; she has brown fur.
- Martha (voiced by Catherine Disher in Season 1, Julie Lemieux in Season 2, Andrea Libman in Season 3, Tabitha St. Germain in Season 4, and Tajja Isen in Season 5) is a friend of Ruby; she has gold fur.
- Morris (voiced by Cameron Ansell in seasons 2–5 and Nicholas Fry in seasons 6–7) is Louise's two-year-old cousin<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Max's best friend.
- Roger Piazza<ref>in Roger's Choice, Louise says "we're going to play with Roger Piazza"</ref> (voiced by Kenan Thompson in Season 2, and Jo Vannicola in Season 3-7) is the son of Mr. Piazza. He is older than Ruby and Louise, standing at Template:Frac years old.<ref name="RC">Template:Cite episode</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Bunny Scout Leader (voiced by Sarah Adams and Nadine Rabinovitch) is the leader of the Bunny Scouts and Mrs. Huffington's sister and Mr. Huffington's sister-in-law and Baby Huffington's maternal aunt.
- Mr. Piazza (voiced by Jamie Watson) runs the local market in East Bunnyhop and is the father of Roger.
- Candi (voiced by Linda Ballantyne) is the owner of the candy shop in East Bunnyhop.
- Rosalinda (voiced by Anne Hill) is the owner of a gift shop that sells jewelry and collectibles and a friend of Max and Ruby's grandmother, Mary.
- Katie (voiced by Robin Duke) is the waitress at the diner in East Bunnyhop.
- Miss Bunty (voiced by Judy Price) is Max's preschool teacher.
- Winston (voiced by Ethan Tavares) is one of Max's classmates who is confined to a wheelchair. He is also Max's second best friend.
- Lily (voiced by Isabella Leo) is one of Max's classmates who is also Max's best female friend.
- Priya (voiced by Laaibah Alvi) is one of Max's classmates who is also Max's second best female friend. She is from India.
- Mr. Estévez (voiced by Carlos Díaz) is Ruby, Louise, and Valerie's teacher in school.
- Antonio (voiced by Emilio Vírguez) is one of Ruby's classmates. He is Max and Ruby's new friend.
Production
Nelvana Limited and Silver Lining Entertainment Limited co-produced the show for its first five seasons (in 2005, Silver Lining itself was acquired by Chorion).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 9 Story Media Group overtook producing the animation from Nelvana Limited in season 3 (and continues animating the series for seasons 4 and 5 while Chorion co-produced at the same time); with season 6, Nelvana Limited still handles production of the series and also for the rest of its run.
Shortly after Chorion and its division Silver Lining Entertainment Limited both close their doors when season 5 finished production, Atomic Cartoons overtook co-producing the series, season 6 of which premiered on September 18, 2016,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with a new main voice cast and theme song, along with each episode now having 2 10-minute segments per half-hour, rather than having 3 7-minute segments as in the previous five seasons.
In an interview with Nickelodeon, Wells has stated about Max and Ruby's unseen parents that "we don't see Max and Ruby's parents, because [she] believe[s] that kids resolve their issues and conflicts differently when they are on their own. The television series gives kids a sense about how these two siblings resolve their conflicts in a humorous and entertaining way."<ref name="webarchive" /> However, in season 6, the series finally introduced Max and Ruby's parents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Telecast and home media
Max & Ruby first aired on Treehouse TV in Canada on May 3, 2002.<ref name="Screener" /> In the United States, the series first aired on Nick Jr. on October 21, 2002, then on Noggin on August 16, 2004.<ref name="auto" /> The series also featured a British English dub that first aired on Nick Jr. in the UK and Ireland in February 2003.Template:When
Paramount Home Entertainment is the DVD distributor for the series in the United States, on behalf of Nickelodeon. As of March 29, 2012, 2.9 million DVD units of the series from Paramount have been sold in the U.S. These DVDs (see below) only have episodes from the first five seasons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| Name | Release date | Number of episodes | Episode titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max & Ruby's Christmas | October 26, 2004 | 12 |
|
| Springtime for Max & Ruby | March 1, 2005 | 12 |
|
| Max & Ruby's Halloween | August 30, 2005 | 12 |
|
| Party Time with Max & Ruby | February 14, 2006 | 12 |
|
| Afternoons with Max & Ruby | August 1, 2006 | 12 |
|
| Easter with Max & Ruby | March 13, 2007 | 12 |
|
| Summertime with Max & Ruby | June 5, 2007 | 12 |
|
| A Merry Bunny Christmas | October 2, 2007 | 12 |
|
| Berry Bunny Adventures | February 26, 2008 | 12 |
|
| Perfect Pumpkin | August 26, 2008 | 12 |
|
| Playtime with Max & Ruby! | January 5, 2010 | 12 |
|
| A Visit with Grandma | June 15, 2010 | 12 |
|
| Everybunny Loves Winter | September 21, 2010 | 12 |
|
| Bunny Tales | January 11, 2011 | 12 |
|
| Rainy Day Play | April 12, 2011 | 12 |
|
| Everybunny Loves Spring | February 11, 2014 | 12 |
|
| Sweet Siblings | February 17, 2015 | 12 |
|
| Sharing and Caring | June 2, 2015 | 12 |
|
| Name | Release date | Number of episodes | Episode titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Jr. Celebrates Spring | March 2, 2004 | 1 |
|
| Nick Jr. Favorites Vol. 1 | May 24, 2005 | 3 |
|
| Nick Jr. Favorites Vol. 2 | October 18, 2005 | 3 |
|
| Nick Jr. Favorites Vol. 3 | February 7, 2006 | 3 |
|
| Nick Jr. Favorites Vol. 4 | June 6, 2006 | 3 |
|
| Nick Jr. Favorites Holiday | September 26, 2006 | 3 |
|
| Nick Jr. Favorites Vol. 5 | March 13, 2007 | 3 |
|
Notes
References
External links
- {{#invoke:URL|url}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:URL with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y | 1 | 2 }} on Treehouse TV
- Template:IMDb title
- {{#invoke:URL|url}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:URL with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y | 1 | 2 }} on the Nick Jr. Channel
Template:Former Nickelodeon original seriesTemplate:Treehouse TV
- 2000s Canadian animated television series
- 2010s Canadian animated television series
- 2000s Canadian children's television series
- 2010s Canadian children's television series
- 2000s preschool education television series
- 2010s preschool education television series
- 2002 animated television series debuts
- 2002 Canadian television series debuts
- 2019 Canadian television series endings
- Canadian flash animated television series
- Animated television series about rabbits and hares
- Animated television series about siblings
- Animated television series about children
- Canadian children's animated fantasy television series
- Canadian preschool education television series
- Canadian television shows based on children's books
- Animated preschool education television series
- Nick Jr. original programming
- Treehouse TV original programming
- NHK original programming
- Television series by Nelvana
- Television series by Corus Entertainment
- Television series by 9 Story Media Group
- Canadian English-language television shows
- 1979 children's books
- Series of children's books
- Children's books adapted into television shows
- Book series introduced in 1979
- Children's television series about talking animals