The ZhuZhus is about 8-year-old Frankie Pamplemousse, who lives in Anytown with her parents who run a plumbing home business called Pamplemouse Plumbing. She owns four talking hamsters called the ZhuZhus; Pipsqueak, Mr. Squiggles, Num Nums, and Chunk, as they have adventures in their town.
Characters
Main
Frankie Pamplemousse is the 8-year-old owner of the ZhuZhus. She likes sports and hanging out with her friends, the ZhuZhus. She has blonde hair and blue eyes. Before the redub of the series, she was originally named Polly.
Pipsqueak is Frankie's first ZhuZhu, and the unofficial leader of the ZhuZhus who loves adventure. She'll do anything to help Frankie and the team out. She is fearless, energetic, and very loyal to Frankie. She is yellow and her birthmark, which are located on the Zhus' backs, is a shooting star.
Mr. Squiggles is the secondly introduced ZhuZhu, and the oldest. He is smart, resourceful, and likes science. He also invents machines that help the team out when in need. He is orange, has wrinkles under his eyes, wears a belt, and his birthmark is a spiral.
Num Nums is the thirdly introduced ZhuZhu. She is shy and a cautious thinker, and unlike her best friend Pipsqueak, she isn't as daring as the rest of the team, but will also do anything to help them out. Despite this however, she still has a tough side whenever she or the team is insulted. She is purple, wears pink glasses, and her birthmark is a heart.
Chunk is the fourthly introduced ZhuZhu. As his name suggests, he is very chunky. He is also very strong. He is stylish and is very narcissistic, and usually serves as the comic relief. His cousins are Jilly and Bean, two mischievous twins. He is light blue and his birthmark is a sun. He is the tallest Zhu.
Recurring
Ellen Pamplemousse or "Mom" is Frankie's mother and a professional plumber for Pamplemousse Plumbing. She used to be a part of the Power Badge Girls.
Stanley Pamplemousse or "Dad" is Frankie's father and also a professional plumber for Pamplemousse Plumbing. He loves music and was previously a Wilderness Teen Ranger. Thus, he knows a lot about nature.
Wilfred P. Kerdle or Mr. Kerdle is the cranky janitor of Frankie's school. He tries to stop the Zhus from coming into the school and insults them.
Madge is Frankie's neighbor and worst enemy. She always tries to beat Frankie at everything. She has blue hair and brown eyes and a cat named Princess Tickyboo.
Whendy Sails is a celebrity and news reporter for Channel 5.
Jessica Beeker is Frankie's favorite popstar.
Dr. Phelmholz is an Austrian doctor from Vienna.
Production
The ZhuZhus is produced by Nelvana and Cepia LLC, in association with Corus Entertainment. The series is animated using Toon Boom Animation and recorded in Studio 306 Inc. It was first announced on February 12, 2015 by Kristin Musulin of USA Today as a Nelvana production, with a planned release of 2016. The show was originally referred to as "ZhuZhu Pets" before the official title was revealed. The last episode to air on Disney Channel with that title was "Fur-Vivor/Zhuper Girl," which premiered on October 21, 2016, and the show went on a hiatus. After its hiatus the series gained a new name and Polly's name was changed to Frankie for the rest of the series' run. Eventually all seven episodes that were previously broadcast on Disney Channel were redubbed to say Frankie instead of Polly.
Episodes
Shorts
A short webseries called "Zhu's News" was released to YTV's YouTube channel starting July 17, 2017. Each episode stars Whendy Sails of Channel 5 recapping moments in the series.
Release
Broadcast
The ZhuZhus debuted on Disney Channel in the United States on September 12, 2016 as Polly and the ZhuZhu Pets. After the show went on a hiatus and changed its name, the first episode to air was "Zhu Years Eve/Lookies for Cookies" on January 7, 2017, and the show was added to the Get Animated! block. On August 29, 2016, Denise Petski of Deadline Hollywood announced that Disney Channels Worldwide acquired both multi-territory broadcast and on demand rights to The ZhuZhus in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Central and Eastern Europe, Germany, Luxembourg, the Middle East, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Switzerland. The series aired on Disney Channel in Australia and New Zealand on February 13, 2017, Disney Channel in South Africa on March 6, and Boomerang in the United Kingdom and Ireland on May 2. The series was scheduled to premiere on YTV in Canada in December 2016, but eventually it premiered on July 4, 2017. Reruns in Canada airs on Disney Channel and Disney Junior.
Home media
On September 25, 2018, Cinedigm released a DVD featuring all 26 episodes of the series named "The ZhuZhus: Season 1".
Reception
Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media rated The ZhuZhus a 3 out of 5 stars, stating "the series does well to stand on its own entertainment merit, but it can't avoid commercial tie-ins altogether." Bruce Katz of Cepia feels that "the animation further enhanced the personality of the characters," and says that "they've captured the essence of what ZhuZhu Pets is all about."
Media information
Two online games are currently available on The ZhuZhus website called Tube Racers and Costume Couture. An app was also released on April 18, 2017 called The ZhuZhus: Zhuniverse, which is available to play on iTunes and Google Play.
