An Interview with Jennifer Oxley, Executive Producer of ‘Wonder Pets: In the City’

Zuri (voiced by Vanessa Huszar), Tate (voiced by Christopher Sean Cooper Jr.), Izzy (voiced by Victoria Scola-Giampapa) and Salmon (voiced by Kanoa Edgar) in "Wonder Pets: In The City," now streaming on Apple TV+.

Jennifer Oxley is a highly accomplished producer that has worked on a bevy of family programming, including Wonder Pets! Currently she helped bring for the next chapter in the saga, Wonder Pets: In the City on Apple TV+, and we had the honor of sitting down with Jennifer to discuss this magnificent new show.
John Betancourt: I would love to start by getting to know what inspired you to want to bring this iteration of Wonder Pets to life.
 
Jennifer Oxley: Well, you know, when we, when I got the call asking if I wanted to, you know, bring a new version of the Wonder Pet to a new audience. I was initially shocked, but also, like, because I didn't expect it, but I was also super excited. I loved the challenge of, like, regaining something that stays true to the love and, sort of, like, the nostalgia for the original and honors the spirit, but also takes it to another level, you know, the challenge of like, what could this new take on the Wonder Pets be? So, you know, I got to thinking, and I thought, well, what if our originals that lived in this little classroom in this quintessential rural environment in this red schoolhouse, what if they weren’t alone? What if there was actually this vast network of, you know, opera singing animals all over the world, and we get a chance to meet, you know, three new pets in a new location with new personalities and, you know, new ways of getting around, new ways of getting there. Also, it'd be like… sort of like same format, but, you know, sort of break it out and get a chance to meet some personalities.
 
John Betancourt: I was really impressed with the depth of the songs, of just the lessons overall. And I'm very curious, well into the decision for this iteration of the show to have such impactful and powerful lessons.
 
Jennifer Oxley: Yeah, that's a that's a great question, because, you know, on the original, you know, we definitely like, you know, spoke to the sort of message of kindness and the sort of like joy of helping others, collaboration, teamwork, that was at the heart of the original and I think it's still at the heart of this spin off, but we also wanted to challenge ourselves, because the question is sort of like, why now? Why bring this to the screen now, you know, what if we were to add an additional layer of storytelling, you know, speaking to messages, deeper messages, passion, empathy and inclusivity, you know? What if we were to challenge ourselves to, you know, have a layer like that in every one of our stories for this new spin off. So, I think that that's something that really will set it apart, I think, from the original, and it is definitely an expansion on the world. Even though we did do that, we touched on that on the original, I feel like we've really gone for it on this side, this new spin off.
 
John Betancourt: Now there are some incredible lessons present in this show. Especially when it comes to moral and racial issues people encounter in the real world, and I’m curious what kinds of challenges went into putting together those lessons.
 
Jennifer Oxley: Yeah. I mean, you know what? One thing that we do, pay extra close attention to is, you know, making sure that we get it right. So, we definitely work with a lot of consultants to, you know, sort of make sure that what we're doing is, you know, right, and get their advice on how we might, you know, tackle some of these, you know, subject matters, these deeper, you know, messages in a sort of kid appropriate way. But I will say that that Tate, Tate the snake, sort of like embodies, you know, sort of what we were trying to do with this series, in that, you know, he is this, this snake. And a lot of people, you know, think of snakes as slimy and sneaky and scary and like, already have this preconceived notion of what they are.
 
So, what if we had a character that sort of has that sort of almost like baked into, you know, into the character, and so, you know, we had that episode where they traveled to the farm to help this mom and chicken with this runaway egg. And when the pets get there, she's like, “Oh no, hold the bone. I don't want this snake helping me” because, you know, she's judging him by his appearance. Um, so the whole episode, you know, we still have our formal features of like, we're saving an animal while singing opera and working together. But then there's this added layer of like, you know, don't judge a book by its cover, you know. And we have this wonderful apology moment where she realizes that she was wrong.
 
John Betancourt: Speaking of other challenges too. I would be remiss to not ask, what kind of challenges went into assembling such incredible songs because they're so perfect and they work so well.
 
Jennifer Oxley: Oh, thank you. You know, I think that writing for the Wonder Pets is a challenge because you're basically writing a mini opera. You're weaving in and out of dialogue and song lines, and sometimes it's little, you know, some moments, and then sometimes it's full-on songs. So, it's like figuring out what the flow is going to be. We definitely have some amazing, you know, writers that have come back to work on this spin off. Billy Lopez came on board as our series lyricist. So, I think, like his genius is definitely singing through in all of the songs. And then we were also able to through Jeffrey Lesser, our music producer, who was on the original and is now back with us on the spin off, he was able to tap into his community of Broadway composers, sort of bringing back a lot of the original composers that made the series so great, way back when, to compose for us for this new series, and we also brought in some new voices that we hadn't worked with before. That has also been a wonderful treat. So, you know, if we're going to, let's say, into a Japanese painting. It was important to us to find a composer that could help us with that style of music that's authentic to that genre.
 
John Betancourt: Now this is, you know, I mean, Apple TV has just such a massive audience in general, and now this beautiful show is going to be in front of so many people. And I'm curious what it means to you now, as the shepherd of two iterations of the show, to have it out to so many people in this manner.
 
Jennifer Oxley: You know, I mean, I think that's really what it's all about, you know, for me is, you know, telling stories that are going to touch people and ultimately make a difference. And I do agree with you, the reach that Apple TV has, I think is going to be fantastic, and it's been such a wonderful partnership. You know, they really encouraged us. Michelle Hennessy, our exec over at Apple TV, you know, was a fan of the original, so she brought all that love and joy for the original, you know, to this new spin off, and really empowered us to see how we could elevate our storytelling and our animation.
 
John Betancourt: Ultimately, what do you hope Wonder Pets in the city accomplishes for audiences?
 
Jennifer Oxley: I mean, I guess I hope that they, they feel the love between these three friends who are so different, you know, and feel the sort of joy and the kindness that sort of like is exuding from their, you know, relationships with one another and how they work together, and how they're able to get along, and how, when they come together again as one, they can do great things. And I feel like that's sort of like a message that can be applied to, you know, things that go well beyond preschool and television, the idea of bringing, you know, different outlooks and personalities and views together to work as one.
 
John Betancourt:Oobviously this is a part of been near and dear to your heart for ages. And I'm curious, just from a personal standpoint, what it means to go on this journey.
 
Jennifer Oxley: Yeah, it's been great. I mean, I think that the best part about it for me was that, like, I said, like, it kind of, it started this way, you know, getting to stick with, you know, what I think made the show so special way back when. This sort of unique look and the idea of a mini operetta music forward format that records a live orchestra for every episode. I think that because we were given the freedom to stick with that, I think that that has been very special for me, but maybe even more so than that, was getting the chance to work with the folks that made the show so great way back when. So many of the original, talented, you know, animators and designers and composers and writers and lyricists came back to help us, you know, bring these new characters to life. And I feel like their experience and knowledge from the original and then bringing it forward all these years has enabled us to really take it to that next level. I don't think we could have done it without them.
 
John Betancorut: The last question I have for you today, what are you most proud of when it comes to this iteration of the show?
 
Jennifer Oxley: You know, I think I am very proud of the fact that we are able to tell these sort of deeper stories, you know, that we were able to touch on things that you know sometimes are shied away from on kids TV. You know what I mean, like, the episode that I was speaking about the mama chicken and the egg. You know, that was a complicated story to tell in the right way. And so, I think sometimes the inclination is to just not do it. But I love that, you know, we were given the freedom to challenge ourselves to try and tell some of these deeper stories.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.