Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends

Did You Know?

• The show was a follow-up to the television special Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids.
• The characters are threatened by two snakes named Mama Snake and Baby Snake.

Characters

Miss Flora Spider, voiced by Kristin Davis in Seasons 1 and 2, Caroly Larson in Season 3 in the Canadian version and Maria Darling in the UK version, is an adoptee adopted by Betty Beetle after her biological mother abandoned her before she hatched. She is Holley's wife and tries to be a kind, caring mother to all eight of her children, believing that "We have to be good to bugs, all bugs." Squirt, voiced by Scott Beaudin in the Canadian version and Joanna Ruiz in the UK version, is a curious, adventurous lime green spider with a party hat on top.

He is considered the leader of the children, enjoys surfing the air on his webs, dreams of flying like Shimmer or Dragon, and often needs his parents' advice due to his impulsive nature. Shimmer, voiced by Rebecca Brenner in the Canadian version and Maria Darling in the UK version, is a pink jewel beetle interested in sports and games, possessing heat sensors that others lack. Dragon, voiced by Mitchell Eisner in the Canadian version and Maria Darling in the UK version, is a purple dragonfly and the oldest of the Spider children, often brash toward others, especially Squirt, and serves as an example of peer pressure.

Bounce, voiced by Julie Lemieux in the Canadian version and Joanna Ruiz in the UK version, is a blue bedbug with two legs and high energy, the only bug character with teeth, and is best bug buddies with Dragon. Holley, voiced by Robert Smith in most of the series, Richard Clarkin in the episode "Night and Day/Cob Fog" in the Canadian version and David Holt in the UK version, is Miss Spider's husband, a great musician who plays the guitar and uses a special thinking stone for decisions.

Production, broadcast and release

The show was first announced on 17 December 2003 in a Callaway Arts & Entertainment press release. In January 2004, Toronto-based Nelvana Limited was reported to be animating the series. It premiered on September 7, 2004, on Treehouse TV in Canada and on Nick Jr. in the US. A second season of 25 episodes was announced on June 20, 2005, premiering on March 13, 2006, in the US with the episode "Captain Sunny Patch." A third season followed, and Treehouse TV finished airing the final season on June 17, 2007. The series' final episodes aired in the US on Noggin in 2009, with the last episode airing on August 9, 2009. Reruns aired on the Nick Jr. channel from September 28, 2009, until December 12, 2014, and on Qubo from October 1, 2018, until February 28, 2021.

Merchandise

A video game titled Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends: Harvest Time Hop and Fly was developed by Shin'en Multimedia and published by The Game Factory for the Nintendo DS in 2006. The game involves Miss Spider, Holley, and their buggies harvesting food for winter. Metacritic gave it a score of 60 out of 100 based on 5 critic reviews. IGN rated it 4 out of 10, calling it overly simplistic, while the Detroit Free Press gave it 75 out of 100, noting it becomes more difficult over time.