Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends (sometimes shortened to Sunny Patch) is a Canadian children's television series based on the children's books by David Kirk. The series originally aired on Teletoon in Canada and Nickelodeon in the United States.
The series is set in "Sunny Patch" (a miniature town made of common forest items), populated by anthropomorphic bugs, and primarily centers around the Spider family. The episodes follow the children's adventures playing in Sunny Patch and learning life lessons, such as being kind to others, being imaginative, having responsibility, and being curious about the world around them.
Main characters
Miss Spider (voiced by Kristin Davis) – Like three of her children, Miss Spider is an adoptee, adopted by Betty Beetle when she could not find her biological mother. Miss Spider tries to be a kind and caring mom and give equal time to all of her many children. She strongly believes that "We have to be good to bugs; all bugs." Voiced by Kristin Davis.
Squirt (voiced by Scott Beaudin) – A curious and adventurous green spider, Squirt is considered to be the leader of the children and as such, more stories center around his character than any other. He enjoys surfing the air on his webs, dreams of flying like Shimmer or Dragon, and is often ready to take the lead in an adventure. Because of his impulsive and curious personality, he often needs the advice of his parents to help him with situations. Voiced by Scott Beaudin.
Shimmer (voiced by Rebecca Brenner) – A pink jewel beetle with an interest in sports and games, Shimmer is different from the rest of the family as she has abilities the others do not (such as heat sensors). She is one of Miss Spider and Holley's adoptive children. Voiced by Rebecca Brenner.
Dragon (voiced by Mitchell Eisner) – A purple dragonfly and one of Miss Spider and Holley's adoptive children. He is the eldest of the Spider children and often assumes the role of an antagonist, especially towards Squirt. In several episodes, Dragon serves as an example of peer pressure. For example, in "Cry Buggie," Dragon pokes fun at Squirt when he explains his feelings. Voiced by Mitchell Eisner.
Bounce (voiced by Julie Lemieux) – A blue bedbug and one of Miss Spider and Holley's adoptive children. He is a two-legged, high-energy bug and the only bug character in the series to have teeth. He and Dragon have been "best bug buddies" ever since they met because of their similar experiences regarding their original families. Voiced by Julie Lemieux.
Supporting characters
Holley (voiced by Robert Smith) – He is Miss Spider's husband. Holley is a songwriter and loves to play his guitar. He has a special thinking stone where he makes decisions.
Spinner (voiced by Austin Di Iulio in seasons 1-2 and Cameron Ansell in season 3) – A yellow spider sporting very large eyeglasses, he looks almost exactly like his father, Holley. He is a smart and wise bug often looked to for advice. While he is not great at physical activities, he has a wonderful talent for the "bugpipes".
Snowdrop (voiced by Alexandra Lai) – A yellow spider and Pansy's twin. Her distinguishing feature is a green bow on her head. She has a beautiful singing voice.
Pansy (voiced by Aaryn Doyle) – A yellow spider and Snowdrop's twin. Her distinguishing feature is a pink bow on her head. She sings well, but not as naturally as Snowdrop.
Wiggle (voiced by Marc McMulkin) – A blue spider who tends to be the worrier of the group, and is quite emotional.
Ned (voiced by Jonathon Wilson) and Ted (voiced by Philip Williams) – A pair of red ant brothers. Ned speaks with a Cockney accent and has a tuft of hair between his antenna and Ted speaks with a New York accent. The both of them are scheming and deceptive, and have only two interests: food and getting more of it.
Stinky (voiced by Scott McCord) – A green stinkbug who takes up detective work in his free time.
Felix – A frog who was introduced in the three part special "A Froggy Day in Sunny Patch." Felix longed to be a bug himself and refuses to eat bugs, as he does not find them tasty. Instead, he eats only berries.
Production
The series was first announced on February 17, 2004 as part of a Callaway Arts & Entertainment press release. On March 19 of the same year, it was reported that the show was slated to premiere in August 2004 and that Canadian animation studio Nelvana was currently producing it. The series premiered in August 2004 on Teletoon in Canada and in September 2004 on Nickelodeon in the United States.
On June 20, 2005, Nickelodeon ordered a twenty-five-episode second season of the series. The second season premiered on March 13, 2006, with the episode "Captain Sunny Patch." A third season followed and Teletoon aired the show's last episode in June 2007. The series' final episodes did not air in the United States until 2008, when several episodes which had yet to be broadcast in America were aired on Noggin. The show continued to air on Nick Jr. after its cancellation until September 12, 2014, when the show was pulled from the channel's daily lineup.
