''Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends'', sometimes shortened to ''Miss Spider '' or ''Sunny Patch'', is an animated television series produced by

Nelvana Limited Nelvana Limited (; also known as Nelvana Enterprises, Nelvana International or Nelvana Digital; commonly known as Nelvana; stylized as "nelvana") is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment production company owned by Corus Entertainment s ...

, AbsoluteDigital Pictures and Callaway Arts & Entertainment as a follow-up to the television special ''

Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids ''Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids'' is a 2003 animated television special produced by Nelvana and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It serves as the pilot for the show '' Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends''. It aired on Treehouse TV in Canada on ...

''. Created by

David Kirk David Edward Kirk (born 5 October 1960) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He is best known for having been the captain of the All Blacks when they won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. Early years Kirk was born in Wellington an ...

and developed by

Nadine van der Velde Nadine van der Velde (born May 14, 1962) is a Canadian actress, writer, and producer. She is a three-time Emmy award winner, two-time Annie Award winner and a recipient of a Humanitas Award. Early life and career Nadine was born in Toronto. She ...

, it was based on Kirk's ''Sunny Patch'' brand and the accompanying ''Miss Spider'' book series. In Canada, the show aired on

Teletoon Cartoon Network (formerly Teletoon) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts animated series aimed at children and teenagers. It was launched on October 17 ...

before moving over to

Treehouse TV Treehouse TV (commonly known as Treehouse) is a Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary specialty channel that was launched in 1997. Its name comes from sister network YTV (Canadian TV channel), YTV's former programming b ...

. In the United States, it aired on

Nick Jr Nick Jr. (sometimes disambiguated as Nick Jr. on Nickelodeon or Nick Jr. on Nick, and sometimes referred to as Nick, Jr.) is an American morning programming block that airs on Nickelodeon every weekday. It was launched on January 4, 1988. Nic ...

, and later

Qubo Qubo ( ; stylized as qubo) was an American television network for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by Ion Media, it consisted of a 24-hour free-to-air television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel" (available as a digital ...

. 40 episodes were produced.

Premise

The show takes place in a peaceful meadow called "Sunny Patch" (a tiny town made of common forest items), populated by

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

bugs, and primarily focuses on a

Spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

family. The episodes follow the children's adventures playing in Sunny Patch and learning life lessons, such as being kind to others, being imaginative, having responsibility, and being curious about the world around them. They are threatened by two snakes, Mama Snake and Baby Snake.

Episodes

Characters

Main

* Miss Flora Spider (voiced by

Kristin Davis Kristin Landen Davis (also listed as Kristin Lee Davis; born February 23, 1965) is an American actress and producer. She is known for playing Charlotte York in the HBO romantic comedy series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004). She received no ...

in Seasons 1 and 2, Caroly Larson in Season 3 in the Canadian version and

Maria Darling Maria Darling is a British voice actress who has provided many character voices for children's television programmes in the United Kingdom and the United States. She is known for voicing Dizzy and Roley in the US version of Bob the Builder. T ...

in the UK version) is an adoptee, adopted by Betty Beetle when her biological mother abandoned her before she hatched and Holley's wife. Miss Spider tries to be a kind and caring mother and gives equal time to all of her eight children. She strongly believes that "We have to be good to bugs, all bugs." * Squirt (voiced by

Scott Beaudin ''Peep and the Big Wide World'' is an animated preschool television series created by Danish-Canadian animator Kaj Pindal. It revolves around the lives of Peep, Chirp, and Quack, as viewers discover, investigate, and explore the world around ...

in the Canadian version and

Joanna Ruiz Joanna Ruiz (born ) is a British voice actress. She has mainly done voice acting for children's television shows. She attended the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. List of credits * ''Casper the Friendly Ghost'' – Casper (UK) (1991) * ...

in the UK version) is a curious and very adventurous lime green spider, with a party hat on top. Squirt is considered to be the leader of the children and as such, more stories that focus on him than any other. He really enjoys surfing the air on his webs, dreams of flying like Shimmer or Dragon, and is often ready to take the lead in an adventure. Because of his impulsive and curious personality, he often needs the advice of his parents to help him with certain situations. * Shimmer (voiced by Rebecca Brenner in the Canadian version and Maria Darling in the UK version) is a pink jewel beetle with an interest in sports and games. Shimmer is quite different from the rest of the family as she has abilities the others do not such as heat sensors. She is one of Miss Spider and Holley's adoptive children. * Dragon (voiced by Mitchell Eisner in the Canadian version and Maria Darling in the UK version) is a purple

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threat ...

who is one of Miss Spider and Holley's adoptive children. He is the oldest of the Spider children and often very brash towards the others, especially Squirt. In many episodes, Dragon serves as an example of peer pressure. For example, in "Cry Buggie", Dragon makes fun of Squirt when he shows his feelings. However, he still loves his family. * Bounce (voiced by

Julie Lemieux Julie Lemieux is a Canadian voice actress. Career Lemieux has provided the voice for characters such as Sammy Tsukino in ''Sailor Moon'', young Darien Shields in '' Sailor Moon R: The Movie'', and Peruru in '' Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie''. ...

in the Canadian version and Joanna Ruiz in the UK version) is a blue

bedbug Bed bugs are parasitic insects from the genus ''Cimex'', which are micropredators that feed on blood, usually at night. Their bites can result in a number of health impacts, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptom ...

who is one of Miss Spider and Holley's adoptive children. He is a two-legged, high-energy bug and the only bug character in the show to have teeth. He and Dragon have been "best bug buddies" ever since they met because of their similar experiences regarding their native families.

Supporting

* Holley (voiced by Robert Smith in the Canadian version and David Holt in the UK version) is Miss Spider's best husband. Holley is a great musician who loves to play the guitar. He has a special thinking stone where he makes decisions. * Spinner (voiced by Austin Di Iulio in Seasons 1 and 2,

Cameron Ansell Cameron Joseph Amell, known professionally as Cameron Ansell, is a Canadian voice and television actor, best known for voicing Arthur in the television series of the same name, Cheng in ''Skyland'', Prince Lumen in ''Spider Riders'' and Franklin ...

in Season 3 in the Canadian version and Lynn Cleckner in the UK version) is a yellow spider with very large eyeglasses just like Holley’s. He looks almost exactly like him, with Miss Spider’s coloring. He is a very smart and wise bug often looked to for advice. While he isn't great at physical activities, he has a wonderful talent for the "bugpipes". * Pansy (voiced by Aaryn Doyle in the Canadian version and Maria Darling in the UK version) and Snowdrop (voiced by Alexandra Lai in the Canadian version and Lynn Cleckner in the UK version) are orange spiders who are two identical twins. Pansy sings well, but not as naturally as Snowdrop sings yet. Pansy wears a purple bow while Snowdrop’s is green. * Wiggle (voiced by Marc McMulkin in the Canadian version and Lynn Cleckner in the UK version) is a light blue spider who tends to worry the most out of the group, and is quite emotional. * Ned (voiced by Jonathan Wilson) and Ted (voiced by Philip Williams) are Australian-accented and New York-accented

fire ant Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus ''Solenopsis'', which includes over 200 species. ''Solenopsis'' are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many of the nam ...

brothers. Ned has a tuft of hair between his antenna. Both of them are scheming, mischievous and deceptive, and have only two main interests: food and getting more of it. A common running gag is that when Ted is mistaken for Ned or vice versa, they would say "I'm Ted. He's Ned." or vice versa. * Stinky (voiced by

Scott McCord Scott McCord is a Canadian actor. He has performed on film, television, animation and on stage. He is a member of ''The Actors Studio''. On television he has appeared in series regular, recurring and guest starring roles. Career He plays the m ...

in the Canadian version and David Holt in the UK version) is a green New York-accented stinkbug who takes up detective work in his free time. He is also very talented at playing the

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...

. * Felix (voiced by Richard Binsley) is a young and giant

leopard frog Leopard frog is a generic name used to refer to various species in the true frog genus Lithobates. They all have similar coloration: brown or green with spots that form a leopard pattern. They are distinguished by their distribution and behaviora ...

who longed to be a bug himself and refuses to eat bugs, as he never finds them yummy. Instead, he eats only berries.

Recurring

* Betty Beetle (voiced by

Patricia Gage Patricia Gage (3 March 1940 – 31 January 2010)In Memoriam – Pat ...

and

Barbara Budd Barbara Budd (born May 23, 1951) is a Canadian actress, narrator and radio announcer. Between 1993 and April 30, 2010, she was the co-host of CBC Radio One's '' As It Happens''. Early life Budd was born in St. Catharines, Ontario. She studied th ...

in the Canadian version and Maria Darling in the UK version) is Miss Spider's adoptive mother, the spiderlings' maternal grandmother, and Holley's mother-in-law. It is revealed that when Miss Spider couldn't find her actual mother, Betty decided to adopt her. * Uncle Asparagus "Gus" (voiced by

Peter Oldring Peter James Edward Oldring (born August 25, 1971) is a Canadian actor and comedian. Early life Oldring was born on August 25, 1971, in Drayton Valley, Alberta. He graduated from Sir Winston Churchill High School in 1989 in Calgary, Alberta, ...

in the Canadian version and David Holt in the UK version) is an orange and green jewel beetle who is Miss Spider's adoptive brother, Betty's son, Holley's brother-in-law, and the spiderlings' maternal uncle. He really likes to stargaze with his nephews and nieces. * Shelley (voiced by Cole Caplan) is a snail who is good friends with the Spider family. He is also part of the Sunny Patch Bug Scouts. * Spindella (voiced by Kristina Nicoll in the Canadian version and Lynn Cleckner in the UK version) is Spiderus' wife who he met in the Snakey Woods near the farm. * Mandrake (voiced by Samson Weiss-Willis) is Spiderus and Spindella's son. * Bella (voiced by Emma Pustil) and Ivy (voiced by

Nissae Isen Nissae Isen (born March 3, 1997) is a Canadian voice actress who has voiced prominent young male characters in several television series, including BG's younger brother George in ''Miss BG'' from 2005 to 2008, Yuri from '' My Big Big Friend'' fr ...

) are Spiderus and Spindella's twin daughters. * Grub (voiced by

Rob Tinkler Robert Tinkler is a Canadian voice actor who provides voices for a number of cartoons and anime shows. He voiced Max in ''The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police'', Delete in the children's animated series ''Cyberchase'', Pelswick Eggert ...

) is a

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

that has told Squirt about the Snakey Woods. * Whiffy (voiced by Judy Marshak) is a light green stinkbug who is Stinky's sister. * Grace (voiced by Hannah Endicott-Douglas) is an orphaned baby ladybug who was adopted by Stinky and Whiffy. * Lily (voiced by

Stephanie Morgenstern Stephanie Morgenstern (born December 10, 1965) is a Canadian actress, filmmaker, and screenwriter for television and film. She has worked extensively on stage, film, and television in both English and French. Her most widely seen feature film ...

) is an adult ladybug. * Snack (voiced by

Amanda Soha ''Peep and the Big Wide World'' is an animated preschool television series created by Danish-Canadian animator Kaj Pindal. It revolves around the lives of Peep, Chirp, and Quack, as viewers discover, investigate, and explore the world around ...

) is a juvenile ladybug. * Eunice Earwig (voiced by

Cara Pifko Cara Pifko is a Canadians, Canadian actress known primarily for her work on television shows produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Life and career Pifko was born in Toronto to Esther Pifko (née Taub). Her older brother is Andrew Pi ...

) is one of the Spider family's neighbors and the mother of Eddy and Lil Sis. ** Eddy Earwig (voiced by Ezra Perlman in the Canadian version and Maria Darling in the UK version) is Eunice Earwig's son and oldest child. He is good friends with Squirt. ** Lil Sis (voiced by

Tajja Isen Tajja Isen is a Canadian writer, editor, and actress. Her first book, the essay collection Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service, was published in April 2022. As an actress, she is best known for voicing the title character '' Atomic Be ...

) is Eunice's youngest child and Eddie's younger sister. * Mr. Mantis (voiced by Wayne Robson in the Canadian version and Tom Eastwood in the UK version) is the teacher of the spiderlings' class. * Beatrice (voiced by Catherine Gallant) is a

queen bee A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female ( gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are develope ...

in a hive part of the Hollow Tree. * Honey (voiced by Isabel de Carteret) is the princess of the Hollow Tree and the daughter of Beatrice. She loves honey and hanging out with her friends. * Cookie (voiced by

Susan Roman Susan Roman (born April 17) is a Canadian television and voice actress and voice director, best known for voice acting the role of Lita/Sailor Jupiter in the Canada DiC (and later Cloverway/CWi) dub of the anime ''Sailor Moon''. She is one of ...

) is an orphaned

monarch butterfly The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. I ...

and the spiderlings' adopted sister.

Villains

* Spiderus (voiced by

Tony Jay Tony Jay (2 February 1933 – 13 August 2006) was a British actor. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was known for his voice work in radio, animation, film, and video games. Jay was particularly noted for his distinctive raspy ...

in the Canadian version and Andy Turvey in the UK version) is a short-tempered, stubborn, conniving, arrogant, and cowardly white spider and Spindella's husband. Despite this, he cares for his family and others. He lives in a crack at the bottom of the Hollow Tree. * Mama Snake (voiced by

Alison Sealy-Smith Alison Sealy-Smith (born 1959) is a Barbadian-born Canadian actress best known for her role as Storm in various Marvel animated TV series. Early life and education Smith was born in Bridgetown, Barbados and raised in Toronto. She attended Mount ...

) is a

corn snake The corn snake (''Pantherophis guttatus''), sometimes called red rat snake is a species of North American rat snake in the Family (biology), family Colubridae. The species subdues its small prey by constriction. It is found throughout the sout ...

that terrorizes the inhabitants Sunny Patch. * Baby Snake is the son of Mama Snake.

Production, broadcast and release

The show was first announced on 17 December 2003, as part of a Callaway Arts & Entertainment press release. In January 2004, it was reported that Toronto-based studio

was animating the show. The show premiered on September 7, 2004 on

in Canada and on Nick Jr. in the US. On June 20, 2005, a second season with 25 episodes was announced. The second season premiered on March 13, 2006 in the US, with the episode "Captain Sunny Patch" airing that same day. A third season followed and Treehouse TV finished airing the show's final season on June 17, 2007. The series' final episodes did not air in the US until 2009 when many episodes which had yet to be aired in the country were aired on Noggin. The final episode of the show aired on October 26, 2008. Reruns of the show aired on the Nick Jr channel from September 28, 2009, until December 12, 2014.

aired repeats of the show from October 1, 2018 until it discontinued on February 28, 2021 due to Scripps' acquisition.

Merchandise

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

based on the series, titled ''Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends: Harvest Time Hop and Fly'' was developed by

Shin'en Multimedia Shin'en Multimedia is a German independent video game developer. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1999 by former members of the demoscene group Abyss. They develop games primarily for the Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch, some n ...

and published by The Game Factory for the

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

in 2006. The game's plot involves Miss Spider, her husband Holley, and their gang of buggies harvesting food and preparing for the coming of winter. The review score aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

gave the game a score of 60 out of 100, based on 5 critic reviews.

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

gave it a 4 out of 10 rating, criticizing it for being overly simplistic. Conversely, the

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

, giving it a 75 out of 100, stating that it gets more difficult over time.

References

External links

* {{Children's programming on CBS in the 2000s 2000s Canadian animated television series 2000s Canadian children's television series 2004 Canadian television series debuts 2004 animated television series debuts 2007 Canadian television series endings 2000s preschool education television series Canadian children's animated adventure television series Canadian children's animated comedy television series Canadian children's animated fantasy television series Canadian television shows based on children's books Canadian computer-animated television series Canadian preschool education television series British children's animated adventure television series British children's animated comedy television series British children's animated fantasy television series Animated preschool education television series Animated television series about children Animated television series about families Animated television series about insects British English-language television shows Teletoon original programming Treehouse TV original programming Nick Jr. original programming Channel 5 (British TV channel) original programming Television series by Nelvana Children's television series about talking animals