Beat Bugs

Beat Bugs is an Australian-Canadian animated children's television series, created by Josh Wakely, and produced for Netflix by Grace: A Storytelling Company and Thunderbird Entertainment since 2016. The series is centered around five young anthropomorphised insects who live in an overgrown suburban backyard and learn life lessons while having adventures. Wakely acquired worldwide rights from Sony/ATV Music Publishing to a catalogue of music by the Beatles to feature in the series. The program features versions of songs by the popular rock group, performed by contemporary recording artists and interwoven into the narrative.
"Beat Bugs" was produced in association with Beyond Entertainment, Atomic Cartoons and the Seven Network, an investor of the program. The series was first made available worldwide on Netflix on 3 August 2016 after premiering in Australia exclusively on 7TWO on 25 July 2016. It also airs on the CBC Kids programing block of CBC.
The program received an AWGIE Award in animation for an episode script in 2016, an AACTA Award for Best Children's Television Series and a Daytime Emmy Award in 2017. The second season premiered in November 2016 on Netflix and 7TWO, and was followed by a 48-minute special in November 2017. Additional episodes entered pre-production in 2018. A staged production featuring the characters and themes of the show, "Beat Bugs: A Musical Adventure", began playing in theaters in the U.S. in October 2018.
Plot.
"Beat Bugs" is a series aimed at five to seven year olds, set in an overgrown suburban backyard, which serves as an environment that five young bug friends regularly explore. To the bugs, the backyard is known as "Village Green". Songs by the Beatles, such as "Come Together" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", are interwoven into the narrative of the episodes. One episode, "Come and Get It" features a song that was originally recorded by the band, Badfinger, albeit written by the Beatle Paul McCartney and published under the Beatles' Apple Records label. These versions are performed by popular recording artists such as Pink and Sia. The songs often influence the life lessons that the young bugs learn.
Wakely described the series as "about teaching kids, but with a bit of humour and not in a patronising way." He stated that the message of the song "All You Need is Love" was the main idea he wanted to portray.
Production.
Conception.
"Beat Bugs" was created by Josh Wakely who in 2014, under his US-Australian production company Grace, acquired worldwide rights from Sony/ATV Music Publishing to a catalogue of music by the Beatles. The music was to be used for a children's animated series in development to be entitled "Beat Bugs", which would tell the story of young bugs learning life lessons set to songs by the popular rock group. The publishers liked Wakely's vision of bringing the classic songs to a new audience of children with original stories written around them. Managing director of Sony/ATV Damian Trotter stated, "the idea of opening up the single greatest music catalogue of the 20th Century to the next generation is something we are particularly excited about". The music acquired was the Lennon-McCartney "Northern Songs" catalogue. The deal reportedly cost an estimated $10 million.
Wakely, an Australian writer and producer who grew up as a fan of the Beatles, stated that he never considered using any other artist's music for the series. He said, "people in years to come will talk about the Beatles like we talk about Shakespeare." Wakely spent three years originally working on the show before acquiring the rights to the Beatles' music, and by this time, he had already conceived all of the episodes and characters. Of the characters, he said, "They have lived in my head for so long that I don't have their date of conception". Wakely sold the project to Netflix as a global distribution partner. The Seven Network in Australia was also an investor of the production.
Daniel Johns, former singer of Silverchair, arranged and produced the music for the series as musical director. He stated, "It's a dream job to go into the studio and dissect all of the Beatles' music". Johns and Wakely had previously worked together on a musical short film which Wakely wrote and directed. Wakely was closely involved in the production, arranging and mixing of the music.
More than 1000 people were involved in the production of the show, including a worldwide team of writers and animators in Australia, Los Angeles and Vancouver. Wakely described the process as a full-time job lasting three years. Vancouver's Atomic Cartoons created the 3D animation for the series. By the show's premiere, Wakely had spent six years working on the program from its conception. It wasn't originally planned to produce "Beat Bugs" in Australia until Beyond Entertainment allowed Wakely to do so.
Release.
The initial order of 52 segments (26 half-hour episodes) was split into two 13-episode seasons for distribution. The episodes were a given a provisional classification of C (children's) in Australia over 2014–15. All episodes from Season 1 became available on Netflix in the US on 3 August 2016. Prior to its premiere, on 27 July 2016, the series was renewed for a second season to debut later in the year. The first season premiered exclusively in Australia on 7TWO on 25 July 2016. Season 2 was released through Netflix on 18 November 2016. The second season also debuted on 7TWO on 16 November 2016. A 48-minute special entitled "Beat Bugs: All Together Now", premiered on Netflix on 21 November 2017. The third season premiered in November 2018.
Reception.
"Beat Bugs" generally received favourable reviews. Critics praised the concept of reimagining Beatles songs for a young audience. Reporting for "Common Sense Media", Emily Ashby said "this unique series borrows some of rock-and-roll's most recognizable lyrics to help tell its gentle stories and teach excellent life lessons", commending it as a series for parents and children to watch together. David Knox of "TV Tonight" praised the music for "bursting with optimism and exuberance", while describing the animation as "an alluring, inviting feast". A reviewer for "the Daily Telegraph" applauded how the series presents children with "an influence that lasts beyond the screen time".
Ivan Radford of "VODzilla.co" noted that the program as a whole "is something closer to a visual album than a series", and stated that the show's theme song of "All You Need is Love" provides "an upbeat sentiment that gives an overall theme and identity to this strange universe". However, Radford expressed that the main characters are not always fully developed.
"Beat Bugs" received a 2016 AWGIE Award in animation for the episode script of "Yellow Submarine", written by Wakely. The episodes "Hey Bulldog", written by Kate Mulvany, and "Ticket to Ride", by Erica Harrison, were also nominated. The program also won an AACTA Award for Best Children's Television Series. "Beat Bugs" was also nominated for five 2017 Daytime Emmy Awards in 2017, and won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Preschool Animated Program.
The series also received some negative comments. Jordan Runtagh of "Decider" disliked the character of Jay, stating "I find the lack of comeuppance for his behavior distressing". He stated the music of the series is "forgettable, but inoffensive", however added that the songs are incorporated into the episode narratives "with grace and skill". "Decider"'s Jessica Jernigan of described the series as "disheartening and dull because there's so little art in the transformation of Beatles lyrics into stories", suggesting that the songs were already appropriate for children "without visual or narrative contextualization."
Broadcast and release.
The first season was added to the Australian Netflix library on 28 February 2017. In Australia, "Beat Bugs" premiered on pay-TV channel Nick Jr. in May 2017. The free-to-air broadcasting of the series moved to 7flix in 2017 to continue airing repeats.
In Canada, the show started airing on the CBC Kids programming block on CBC on 26 February 2018. In Ukraine, the show started airing on the Niki Junior in April 2019, titles are localized, all songs are subtitled.
Possible film adaptation.
On 10 May 2019, MGM picked up the film rights to the series with Wakely writing and producing the film.
Other media.
Soundtracks.
The first soundtrack to the show, ""Beat Bugs": The Complete Season One" was released on online music-streaming service Apple Music on 3 August 2016. The release featured all of the songs performed by the guest artists in the first season, compiled on one soundtrack. It was only available exclusively on Apple Music until 4 November 2016. The record was released by Republic Records and Universal Music. Melodia Music was formed by the show's production to release music from "Beat Bugs" and other related productions.
A new compilation album, ""Beat Bugs": The Best of Seasons 1 & 2" was released physically and digitally on 4 November 2016. This was the first time a selection of the music from the first season was available for purchase, and included songs from the second season ahead of its premiere. ""Beat Bugs": The Complete Season One" was also made available on iTunes for the first time.
""Beat Bugs": The Complete Season Two" was made available on iTunes on 18 November 2016 at the same time as its Netflix premiere.
Two apps were also made.
"Beat Bugs: A Musical Adventure".
A live musical stage show, "Beat Bugs: A Musical Adventure", began playing in theaters in the United States in October 2018. The show, running 60 minutes, was written by Sean Cercone and David Abbinanti. The show's plot involves the characters seeking to save Strawberry Fields from a stinkbug with other plans for them. The show includes the songs "All You Need Is Love," "Come Together," "Yellow Submarine," "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Eleanor Rigby," and "With A Little Help From My Friends." It is a production of Pantochino Productions.