Max & Ruby
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. In the United States, the series first aired on Nickelodeon on the Nick Jr. block on October 21, 2002. 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. 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.Episodes
The TV series premiered in 2002, but was preceded by a 1988 and 1991 short adapting the characters for the first times. The shorts were individually produced and later remade into broadcast episodes.Characters
Main
- Max Bunny is a four-year-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. He does this again in season 5. In seasons 6 and 7, Max is now able to speak in full sentences.
- Ruby Bunny is an eight-year-old 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.
Recurring
- Grace 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, Louise, and Baby Huffington "Baby H".
- Mom is Max and Ruby's mother. She and Ruby are very close to each other and she trusts Ruby's ability to help out with Max. She is Grandma and Grandpa’s daughter-in-law.
- Dad is Max and Ruby's father. He is Grandma and Grandpa’s son.
- Grandma 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 is the wife of Mr. Huffington, mother of Baby Huffington, female faithful butler of Max and sister of the Bunny Scout Leader.
- Mr. Clark Huffington is the husband to Mrs. Huffington, father of Baby Huffington, male faithful butler of Max and brother-in-law of the Bunny Scout Leader.
- Valerie is Ruby's second best friend; she has brown fur and wears glasses.
- Martha is a friend of Ruby; she has gold fur.
- Morris is Louise's two-year-old cousin and Max's best friend.
- Roger Piazza is the son of Mr. Piazza. He is older than Ruby and Louise, standing at years old.
- The Bunny Scout Leader 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 runs the local market in East Bunnyhop and is the father of Roger.
- Candi is the owner of the candy shop in East Bunnyhop.
- Rosalinda is the owner of a gift shop that sells jewelry and collectibles and a friend of Max and Ruby's grandmother, Mary.
- Katie is the waitress at the diner in East Bunnyhop.
- Miss Bunty is Max's preschool teacher.
- Winston is one of Max's classmates who uses a wheelchair. He is also Max's second best friend.
- Lily is one of Max's classmates who is also Max's best female friend.
- Priya is one of Max's classmates who is also Max's second best female friend. She is from India.
- Mr. Estévez is Ruby, Louise, and Valerie's teacher in school. He is from Mexico.
- Antonio 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. 9 Story Media Group overtook producing the animation from Nelvana in season 3 ; though Nelvana still handles production of the series.Shortly after Chorion and its division Silver Lining Entertainment Limited both close their doors when season 5 finished production, Nelvana became the sole producer for the series and outsourced the animation to Atomic Cartoons, season 6 of which premiered on September 18, 2016, with a new main voice cast and theme song, along with each episode now having 2 11-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 believe 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." However, in season 6, the series finally introduced Max and Ruby's parents.
Telecast and home media
Max & Ruby first aired on Treehouse TV in Canada on May 3, 2002. In the United States, the series first aired on Nick Jr. on October 21, 2002, then on Noggin on August 16, 2004. The series also featured a British English dub that first aired on Nick Jr. in the UK and Ireland in February 2003.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 only have episodes from the first five seasons.
| 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 |