Mira, Royal Detective
Mira, Royal Detective is an American animated mystery children's television series produced by Wild Canary Animation, which is inspired by Indian culture and customs. The show's protagonist, Mira, is the first Indian protagonist in the Disney Junior show. It premiered on Disney Junior channel and programming block in United States on March 20, 2020.
On December 12, 2019, the show was renewed for a second season prior to the first season's debut. The second season premiered April 5, 2021 on Disney Junior and DisneyNOW. The series finale aired on June 20, 2022.
Plot
Set in a fictional kingdom called Jalpur which resembles the late 19th century version of India, the series follows the brave and resourceful girl Mira, a commoner who is appointed to the role of royal detective by the queen Shanti and travels throughout her kingdom to help royals and commoners alike. Joining Mira are her two mongoose sidekicks Mikku and Chikku.Characters
Main
- Mira is the titular protagonist who was appointed by Queen Shanti to be a royal detective in Jalpur after solving a mystery that involved saving the kingdom's young prince. The royal detective before her was a man named "Gupta" as revealed in the episode "The Mystery of the Secret Room" but it is not known why he stopped being the royal detective or what happened to him, while Queen Shanti, in other episodes, refers to the fact there have been royal detectives in the past.
- Mikku is a mongoose who helps Mira on her cases. Chikku is his brother.
- Chikku is another mongoose who helps Mira and is the brother of a fellow mongoose, Mikku.
Recurring
- Queen Shanti is the Queen of Jalpur and considers Mira, who she chose to be the royal detective, to be like a daughter. Prince Neel and Veer are her sons.
- Prince Neel is a friend of Mira, others in Jalpur, Prince Veer's younger brother, and is a brilliant, talented inventor. He often flies around the city in his "flycycle", a machine that allows someone to fly by pedalling into the air. He also seems to have a little crush on Mira.
- Prince Veer is a friend of Mira, Prince Neel's older brother, and the aspiring King of Jalpur.
- Priya is Mira's cousin, is very creative and aware of fashion, allowing her to make her own clothes.
- Pinky is a commoner and friend of Mira who has a pet goat named Pari. Mira calls her a "goat expert". In one episode, she sings a song about what it would be like to be a goat. Pinky also helps trains ponies for polo matches.
- Sahil is Mira's widowed father who often calls her "beti" when talking with her. His wife died some time before the series.
- Sanjeev Joshi is a music teacher and owner of a music shop in the city. He has a goat named Bhavna.
- Meena is a cousin of Mira and always wants to have good outfits. She is also, apparently, very good at archery, is Priya's older sister, and has a peacock named Koo. As such, she is Mira's cousin, like Priya.
- Dhruv Sharma is a friend of Mira and he has a goat named Bhanu.
- Ranjeet and Manjeet are two brothers who live in the city and work at a bicycle shop.
- Kamala is a young girl who is a friend of Mira and works in a chai shop in town. Her younger sister's name is Dimple.
- Dimple is a young girl who is Mira's friend, and Kamala's younger sister. She calls Mikku and Chikku "gooses."
- Manish and Poonam are two bandits in Jalpur. They often try and steal items for their own benefit, usually wearing disguises while doing so, but are always foiled by Mira and her friends. Cheena called the bandits "misunderstood," saying that Manish usually wants to just get snacks and food, with robbery as a "means to an end," while Shah said that Poonam has a life goal to "be in control."
- Deputy Oosha is a female cow who is a police officer in Jalpur.
- Chotu is Priya and Meena's younger brother and Mira's little cousin.
- Detective Gupta, a famous detective that sometimes helps Mira solve her cases.
Other
- Palace Tailor is a tailor who works in the royal palace.
- Great-Aunt Rupa is Prince Neel's great-aunt.
- Auntie Pushpa is the aunt of Mira and mom of Priya, Meena, and Chotu.
- Preeti and Neeti are two cousins of Mikku and Chikku and are very athletic, skilled in rope gymnastics.
- Sandeep is Mira's friend.
- Princess Shivani is a princess of the kingdom of Nayapuram.
- Ram Sing Ji is a royal guard who often helps protect the palace in Jalpur and occasionally helps Mira in her detective work.
- King of Nayapuram is the king of the neighboring kingdom of Nayapuram. Shivani is his daughter.
- Queen of Nayapuram is the queen of the neighboring kingdom of Nayapuram. Shivani is her daughter.
Episodes
Production
Sascha Paladino, previously a writer for Doc McStuffins, told the Associated Press in March 2020 that they wanted the series to "feel authentic" and that they did that by including "as many South Asian voices in the process as possible." He hoped that the show would, for those who aren't South Asian, allow them to see "a new and interesting culture that hopefully they'll want to explore," and said that he believed that the characters are universal enough that "all kids can relate to the stories." Shagorika Ghosh Perkins of IW Group as a cultural consultant, a Bollywood dancer named Nakul Dev Mahajan, and other designers, musicians, writers, those working in the animation studio in India, were consulted in making the show. The series was created for kids ages 2 to 7, with each of Mira's decisions encouraging "critical thinking and deductive reasoning in young viewers" in the view of Romper.Paladino also stated that the show's crew was "inspired by the Indian culture on every level."
The show is developed by Becca Topol, who previously worked on Elena of Avalor, who is also the story editor. Perkins, the show's cultural consultant, called the show a "celebration of Indian and South Asian culture," and added that she is glad that her daughter's generation will "have a character and role model to identify with and look up to." She further said the show allows South Asian children to "see themselves on television" and that those new to the culture will be "exposed to it in a fun and accessible way."
Music
Deepak Ramapriyan, a Baltimore-born musician, whose parents are immigrants from India, is the orchestrator and music consultant for the show. In March 2020, he told the Baltimore Sun that when listening to the music score for the series he sometimes feels like he is dreaming and said that seeing everything about the series is "mindblowing." He also described the show, to the Sun, as a "full-on sharing Indian culture in all of its aspects," saying that viewers are now able to "see the vast and rich magic and color of India, and have it expressed in such a beautiful way," calling this a major positive. One of the voice actors, Shah, called the music catchy and easy to dance to, while Cheena, another voice actor, was happy that the music is done in such a way that parents, and kids, can be involved and interested in it. Apart from this, Amritha Vaz is the music composer for the series.Paladino also said that to prepare for the show they watched a lot of Bollywood films which have huge musical numbers, so they decided to depict that in the animation with dancing by lots of characters while using "authentic Indian music and instruments." Nakul Dev Mahajan, a Bollywood choreographer, who worked on the show, said he gets the script and music, talks with the writers and crew of the show, choreographs the piece, videotapes himself and assistants, then send those videos to the team, with the artists animating the movements of his body and that of his assistants. He was also appreciative that the team working on the show, with many interested in Bollywood dancing, and said that the show celebrates styles of Indian dance from various regions across the country.