Thursday, June 5, 2014

Saturtainment: Littlest Pet Shop (1995)

Ever since the Hub launched in October 2010, Hasbro has managed to revive several properties, some of which weren't originally theirs.

Kenner, which was later bought by Hasbro, introduced the Littlest Pet Shop line of toys in 1992. Three years later, a license was granted to Sunbow, which had previously collaborated with Marvel in adaptations of GI Joe, Transformers, & My Little Pony, among others, to create an animated series. Former DIC co-founder Jean Chalopin was on board as an executive producer, which, in hindsight, might've been the kiss of death, considering that Chalopin had last tried a revival of He-Man a few years prior, and that was a dud. As a result, this version of the Pet Shop lasted 1 season of 40 episodes, which meant that either it could air 5 days a week over 2 months, or 40 weeks as a weekend series. This strategy, ironically enough, would be employed by DIC a few years later.

Two years ago, Hasbro marked the 20th anniversary of the toy line with a new series, currently airing on the Hub, with a revamped line of toys to match. We'll look at the current series another time, but let's go back in time to the original Littlest Pet Shop.



No rating. Never saw the show.

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