Exclusive: How Music Comes to Life in Apple’s Musical Series WONDER PETS: IN THE CITY
The first two seasons of the series are now streaming on Apple TV.
In a new exclusive video, viewers can go into the recording studio with the FILMharmonic Orchestra to see how music is brought to life in Apple's musical series Wonder Pets: In the City.
The preschool series, which recently debuted its second season, borrows from the worlds of musical theater and opera to chronicle the adventures of Izzy the Guinea Pig, Zuri the Bunny and Tate the Snake. Despite being classroom pets who live in a New York City kindergarten, the trio spends much of their time travelling the globe to rescue animals in need, sharing music all along the way.
An integral member of the creative team is Grammy and Emmy Award winner Jeffrey Lesser, who serves as an executive producer on the series and is a driving force behind its musical identity. Across the show's episodes are songs written by some of the most prominent modern composers, including Broadway's Bobby Lopez, Jason Robert Brown, Georgia Stitt, Tom Kitt, and Matthew Sklar, among several others.
"Pairing the perfect composer to each episode is an adventure in and of itself," Lesser says. For a season two episode about a theater mouse, Lesser shares that "It was a natural to reach out to Broadway Musical’s Jason Robert Brown & Georgia Stitt," to capture "a superb balance of the story’s vulnerability and razzmatazz."
Another episode, "Help the Dancing Fishies!" looked to West Side Story for its inspiration, complete with opposing underwater groups, Puffs and Jells. "Bobby Lopez with Justin Ward Weber were perfect to create two different music styles that find a way to blend in harmony," explains Lesser.
"Our composers are selected because of their affinity for the style, personality and destinations of the critters that reach out for the help of our heroes," he adds. "The Wonder Pets travel worldwide. It is essential that the music reflects the true ethnicity of those locales. Our composers are specialists in their genres."
Each number is recorded by the esteemed FILMharmonic Orchestra. Based out of Prague, recording manager Petr Pýcha works with the Wonder Pets team to hand-pick musicians for the sessions. "Each adventure is a complete, new, through-composed, live recording," Lesser notes. Watch the above clip to hear Pýcha speak about his love of the music, and to watch conductor Adam Klemens lead the orchestra.
Other composers who contribute their musical talents to the series include Zina Goldrich, Michael John LaChiusa, Larry Hochman, Natsumi Osawa, J. Walter Hawkes, Martin Erskine, D.D. Jackson, Brad Alexander, Brittany Dunton, Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson, and Matthew Wang.
Produced by Nickelodeon Animation, Wonder Pets: In The City is developed by Emmy Award winner Jennifer Oxley. Through the adventures of the trio, each episode aims to celebrate teamwork, curiosity, and the beauty that makes everybody unique. The first two seasons of the series are now streaming on Apple TV.
The series is executive-produced by Oxley, Steve Altiere, and Lesser, with a voice cast that includes newcomers Victoria Scola-Giampapa as Izzy, Vanessa Huszar as Zuri, and Children’s and Family Emmy Award winner Christopher Sean Cooper Jr. as Tate.
Photo Credit: Apple TV
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