Nature Cat's Big Circus Adventure is a 2025 animated family adventure television film. It is based on the PBS Kids educational animated television series Nature Cat (2015). The movie was produced by Yowza! Animation, Spiffy Pictures, and WTTW Chicago, to mark the 10th anniversary of Nature Cat. It stars the regular television cast of Taran Killam, Kate McKinnon, Bobby Moynihan, and Kate Micucci. Additionally, the cast includes actors such as current and former SNL cast members Chris Parnell and Cecily Strong, alongside actor Emily Lynne, the show's creator David Rudman, actors Nicole Sullivan, Erica Broder, Fred Armisen, and writer Joey Mazzarino. It first aired on PBS Kids on April 18th, 2025, at 6PM.
Story[]
Gwendolyn, Nature Cat, Daisy, Hal, and Squeeks have to help Ringmaster Tory the turtle and his circus crew find Fred the circus lobster, a female Robin bird named Harmony, and a stern ferret named Billy, when they're missing from a circus. Will they help Harmony, Fred, and Billy make amends and work together to save the circus before it's too late?
Cast[]
- Taran Killam as Nature Cat
- Erica Broder as Leeza the lizard
- Cecily Strong as a cat spectator
- Kate Micucci as Daisy and the circus crew's purple poodle
- Nicole Sullivan as Harmony the circus robin
- Joey Rudman as Circus Dog #2
- Fred Armisen as a circus beaver, additional voices
- Bobby Moynihan as Hal
- Chris Parnell as Circus Dog #1, Male Cardinal, Fred the circus lobster, additional voices
- David Rudman as Billy the ferret, Red Fox Spectator, Dog Spectator, additional voices
- Emily Lynne as One Eared Winnie (a.k.a. Gwendolyn), additional voices
- Joey Mazzarino as Ringmaster Tory the turtle
- Kate McKinnon as Squeeks
Additionally, Rachel Dratch voices Lulu Ladybug, who is one of the friends from "Nature Cat" in the audience in the circus. The same goes for Paul F. Tompkins as Chandler the Toad and Jacob Ewaniuk, who is the voice of Mama Fox's young fox son, Sammy. (And plus, Mama Fox, Lola the Flamingo, MC Ferret, Flo the Heron, Jingles the cat, and Kathy the spiny lobster all have a non speaking role in this movie). Plus, Emily Lynne, Fred Armisen, Chris Parnell, and David Rudman all voice the animal audience that attends the circus show.
Cast for UK dub:[]
David Tennant as Nature Cat and the Red Fox Spectator
Emma Tate as Squeeks
Joseph May as Hal, crowd characters, and Sammy the fox
Tom Eastwood as Ringmaster Tory the turtle
Matt Smith as Chandler the Toad
Joanna Ruiz as Daisy
Teresa Gallagher as Harmony
Kate Harbour as the unnamed purple poodle that works with the circus
Regine Candler as Gwendolyn
Oliver Britten as Dog Spectator, Circus Dog #1, and crowd characters
Rupert Degas as Circus Dog #2 and the circus beaver
Lizzie Waterworth as Lulu Ladybug and the crowd characters
Christine Allado as crowd characters
Keith Wickham as Billy the circus ferret and the Male Cardinal in the circus crew
John Hasler as Fred the circus lobster and the crowd characters
Anna Maxwell Martin as the cat spectator in the circus's animal audience and Leeza the lizard
Production[]
This movie was fast tracked into Yowza! Animation, Spiffy Pictures, and WTTW Chicago's production schedules to commentate 10 years since Nature Cat was first shown on PBS Kids on November 25, 2015, until ending the series on January 2, 2024. Also, it was announced that both David Rudman and Adam Rudman would serve as executive producers for the film. The film was produced by Scott Scornavacco, Caroline Bandolik, and Brian Henson. Yowza! Animation, Spiffy Pictures, and WTTW Chicago decided to make “Nature Cat's Big Circus Adventure“ into a TV movie rather than a feature film.
Casting[]
The cast and writer Joey Mazzarino from Nature Cat's television series signed to reprise their roles, including voicing new characters that were made for the movie. However, Nicole Sullivan is the only non Nature Cat actor in the cast.
Music[]
See Nature Cat's Big Circus Adventure/Soundtrack
Stuart Kollmorgen, who is a composer who works on the music for the series, announced that he will be working and collaborating with a live orchestra to compose the film's score (the film contains no songs.) The completed soundtrack was then released one day after the movie was aired on PBS Kids.
Use Of Animation[]
The dream sequences of Hal, Gwendolyn, and Fred were done by Canadian cartoonist, Michel Gagné. David and Adam Rudman hired him to animate the dream sequences of those 3 characters during the scene showing what will occur if Fred, Billy, and Harmony didn't get back to the circus. The rest of the film used 2D digital Flash animation, made by animators working at Yowza! Animation.
Trivia[]
- In one scene in this movie, Nature Cat references the events of the episode "Pet Sounds" to the viewer. He and the others also use nature materials during the circus practices and in one scene during the circus performance, which could be a callback to the Pet Sounds episode.
- However, these scenes are not featured in the UK, Korean, or Japanese versions.
- This movie also has a UK dub, replacing the American actors with British actors. The film's dialogue had their sentences localized (or changed some words) for UK viewers.
- For example, they removed the line "fellow nature adventurer" and they say "Hi kids!" instead.
- Error: In one scene, Hal's mouth stops moving when he said "come back for them when they're ready to" but resumes on "when they're ready to make it all up." Then in the next scene after that, his ears are the color blue for a few frames.
- It was left undubbed in Canada, the Nederlands, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Singapore, with subtitles used for the India, Finland, and Singapore versions.
- Jingles the cat, Mama Fox, Lola the Flamingo, MC Ferret, Flo the Heron, and Kathy the spiny lobster are the only characters who have a non-speaking role in this movie.
- This is the only time where Fred, Billy, and Harmony had a falling out, but then they made up for it.
- 9 Story Media Group is the only production company of Nature Cat to not be involved in this film.
- Throughout this movie, Billy, Daisy, Hal, Squeeks, and Nature Cat speak to the viewer the most. But Daisy and Nature Cat are the only ones who interact with the viewer (by asking them questions).
- Throughout the circus show, Gwendolyn, Nature Cat, Daisy, Hal, and Squeeks don't wear any circus clothing (except for the circus crew themselves).
- In the film's Hebrew and European Spanish versions, the ending credits are instead shown over a black background, removing the pictures.
- Hal is seen flipping out when he discovers that Ringmaster Tory looks just like Nature Cat. He does so again while performing his Amazing Animal Act during the circus show.
- Daisy uses her phone five times in this film: when she mentions what ringmasters do in the circus, helping her friends find directions to the circus, locating a safe place to stay in while visiting the snowy mountains, and to snap a picture of the confetti photos created by Fred and Billy.
- Additionally, Hal doesn't say "Tah-dee!" throughout the movie.
- The plot is similar to Harry's Big Circus Adventure from BabyFirst TV, but instead, there are 5 characters (Gwendolyn, Nature Cat, Daisy, Hal, and Squeeks) who help to save the missing circus clowns.
- Fred, Mama Fox, Lola the Flamingo, MC Ferret, Flo the Heron, Gwendolyn, Lulu Ladybug, the large audience of animals at the circus, Chandler the Toad, Daisy, Hal, the circus crew, Kathy the lobster, Sammy the fox, Ringmaster Tory, and Billy don't get emotional in this movie, but Squeeks, Harmony, and Nature Cat do.
- A running gag in this movie is when someone says that they're gonna get to the circus show on time with the others.
Release[]
On April 18th, 2025, at 6PM, the movie first aired on PBS Kids. In some countries (where the show Nature Cat was dubbed), it was a theatrical release. The film was released on Digital HD on May 25, 2025 and will be released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D on September 20th, 2025. Special features include deleted scenes, games such as "Make Your Own Guard Costume", "Find the Directions", and "Interactive Storybook".
Transcripts[]
For the main transcript, see Nature Cat's Big Circus Adventure/Transcript.