Wonderoos


Wonderoos is a Canadian animated television series produced by Atomic Cartoons for Netflix. The series was initially scheduled to premiere on November 24, 2020, but the original version never aired—likely due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A holiday special, Wonderoos: Holiday Holiday!, was also planned for release on November 29, 2020. The show was produced by 7ate9 Entertainment and co-created by Artur Spigel and Hannah Kole.
After the project's quiet cancellation, international dubs that had been planned for the series were also shelved. For over a year, there was no official word on the show's future.
However, on February 8, 2024, Wonderoos resurfaced in a remade form on the Netflix Jr. YouTube channel, signaling a reboot of the project. The revamped version of the show was officially released on July 15, 2024, with a second season premiering a few months later on November 18, 2024.

Premise

Wonderoos follows five colorful animal characters—Luly the yellow bunny, Hazzy the orange elephant, Teshi the green turtle, Dewey the blue dog, and Kiki the pink cat—as they navigate everyday childhood experiences and social-emotional learning moments in their hometown, Roo City. Each episode uses a consistent structure: one of the Wonderoos enters the group's apartment's elevator, makes a playful comment related to the episode's moral, and tells the viewer, "I want to tell you about the first time, and I wondered what to do." After pressing the button to the first floor, the story transitions into a flashback sequence without narration. In the flashback, the featured Wonderoo encounters a situation that creates a moral or social dilemma. This sparks an "I wonder what to do?" moment where the character must decide between the right, responsible choice and the wrong, often impulsive choice. Initially, the Wonderoo chooses the wrong path and faces consequences. After recognizing the mistake, an "I wonder if I should have tried something else." moment arises. The episode then rewinds and gives the character a chance to redo, modeling problem-solving through trial and error. A song plays during the transitional moment between the flashback and the episode's conclusion, reinforcing the episode's theme. After the song, the featured Wonderoo returns to the elevator with the other Wonderoos. A visual comment related to the episode's lesson appears on screen. At the episode's end, the featured Wonderoo earns a Wonderbadge, symbolizing the lesson learned. Wonderbadges are shaped like thought clouds, and each one has a colored outline, a colored background and a pictorial symbol related to the episode's moral.

Characters

All characters in Wonderoos have Roo Pouches—a unique anatomical feature that's central to the world-building of the series. The five main characters, known as the Wonderoos, have thought cloud patterns on their Roo Pouches. This detail, absent from the pilot, symbolizes their ability to think critically, self-reflect, and grow—key themes in the series. Other Roos in the show do not have these thought cloud patterns. However, in the episode "First Time Making New Friends", it's confirmed that it's possible for a new Roo to be a Wonderoo without even realizing it. Dazzle the Chinese Dragon, Suzy the Skunk, Rudy the Swahili Rhino, and Poppy the Hispanic Parrot were removed.

Wonderoos

  • Luly is a yellow bunny with an orange Roo Pouch, teal green eyes, and a physical difference. Luly is the de facto leader and one of the most intellectually curious of the Wonderoos. She deeply values her individuality and can sometimes be controlling, but her intentions are always playful and kind. Luly often shares fun facts with her friends, revealing her advanced knowledge for her age—for example, she knows that the Ponderosa Pine trees can live to be five hundred years old, and that there's no air in space. Despite her intelligence, Luly has a tendency to get distracted by fun things. She loves nature, photography, and music. In the unaired original version, she used a green wheelchair, her ears were both regularly sized, and her Roo Pouch was teal, matching the color of her inner ears, which are now a greener shade.
  • Hazzy is an orange elephant with a blue Roo Pouch and lime green eyes. Hazzy thrives when he's playing with his friends, and often becomes so excited to have fun that he's tempted to skip important things, like using the bathroom. On his own, he tends to get bored, which makes his social connections even more important to him. Hazzy struggles with changes in routine and new experiences, often showing visible discomfort when faced with unpredictability. Hazzy has an unspecified and undiagnosed anxiety disorder. Though his anxiety disorder is never explicitly diagnosed or named, it's portrayed thoughtfully and realistically. Notably, in "First Time Getting a Shot", Hazzy nearly reaches the threshold of a full anxiety attack, though the do-over happens before it can. Despite his challenges, Hazzy expresses himself creatively and finds comfort in activities like painting and building pillow forts. In the original pilot, Hazzy was named Emjay and was portrayed as Hindu.
  • * In both the pilot and the second season of the reboot, Hazzy has a baby cousin named Hudzy, who is a teal elephant with a yellow Roo Pouch and purple eyes.
  • Teshi is a green turtle with a yellow Roo Pouch, brown eyes, and a purple and lime yellow shell. Teshi often finds himself easily confused by new experiences and has a low tolerance for waiting, especially when it comes to exciting or fun activities. In the episode "First Long Wait", his impatience leads him to get out of line just to avoid waiting—only to later realize the consequences of acting impulsively. A more sensitive side of Teshi is shown through his attachment to Little T, a homemade stuffy he created to cope with the loss of his original teddy bear. This emotional moment reveals Teshi's deeper struggles with losing things and moving on, even though he usually presents himself as lighthearted. Teshi finds joy and comfort in making jokes, and hands-on crafts, where he can create, focus, and express himself. His glasses are framed with a light blue outline. In the original pilot, Teshi was most likely Japanese, though his background was never explicitly explored.
  • Dewey is a blue dog with dark purple ears, white fur surrounding his snout and right eye, a purple Roo Pouch, and teal eyes. Dewey's undiagnosed hyperactive-impulsive ADHD is central to his personality and the way he interacts with the world. He's constantly moving, talking, and exploring, and while his excitement can sometimes get the better of him, he does have strategies to help him regulate when needed. Dewey carries a bouncy stress ball, which he lovingly refers to as his "squeezy ball". Though it's designed to help him calm down when overstimulated, Dewey often carries it just for fun, incorporating it into games and everyday activities. He finds happiness in active, stimulating environments, especially watching concerts, visiting museums, and playing sports. Though Dewey may seem hyper at times, he's capable of calming down—he simply "usually doesn't need to". In the original pilot, Dewey was portrayed as Jewish.
  • Kiki is a pink cat with dark pink ear insides, a dark pink stripe on her head, a light blue Roo Pouch, and blue eyes. Kiki is the most quirky of the Wonderoos. Her shyness often holds her back when meeting someone new, but her impulsiveness can lead to delightfully unpredictable and goofy behavior. One of her defining quirks is her obsession with lemons—whether it's the flavor, scent, or anything lemon-themed, Kiki is all in. Kiki finds joy in cooking and baking, and often expresses her creativity in the kitchen. Her shy demeanor hides a fun-loving and offbeat personality that frequently shines through, especially when she's with the other Wonderoos. Her voice has a British accent, leading viewers to believe she may be British, though this has not been officially confirmed or denied by Netflix or Atomic Cartoons. The ambiguity adds a little extra mystery to Kiki's character, much like her own tendency to surprise others. In the original version of the show, Kiki was explicitly confirmed to be British, and her ear insides, head stripe, and Roo Pouch were all cyan instead of the current darker pink and light blue combination.
  • * Kiki has a pet Shoompsy—a small, fuzzy, quadrupedal creature—named Fifi.
  • * In the episode "First Snowy Day", it's confirmed that Kiki is from a place where it snows frequently, and she played in it, made snowballs, and built snowmen.

Episodes

The only objectionable thing in Wonderoos is references to bathroom usage.

Series overview