Disney Junior’s Firebuds, an animated comedy-adventure series from Disney Branded Television featuring a team of young first responders and their talking vehicle sidekicks, premieres Wednesday, September 21, with a simulcast on Disney Channel and Disney Junior (10:30 a.m. EDT). An initial batch of episodes will premiere the same day on on-demand platforms and Disney+.
From Emmy Award-winning creator and executive producer Craig Gerber (Elena of Avalor, Sofia the First), the music-filled series follows a group of friends, all children of first responders, who embark on adventures to help their community and learn what it truly means to be a hero.
Recurring and guest stars joining the previously announced voice cast in include:
- Padma Lakshmi (Top Chef) as Chef Pavani
- Melissa Rauch (The Big Bang Theory) as Beth Bayani
- Oscar Nuñez (The Office) as Chef Fernando
- José Andrés (We Feed People) as Chef Al
- Pamela Adlon (Better Things) as Principal Kagan
- “Weird Al” Yankovic (Milo Murphy’s Law) as Latch
- Lisa Loeb (Jake and the Never Land Pirates) as Laura
- Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille) as Duke the Duckbus
- Nat Faxon (Loot) as Throttle
- Ali Stroker (Broadway’s Oklahoma!) as Gliderbella
- LaChanze (Broadway’s The Color Purple) as Jenna
- Aimee Carrero (Elena of Avalor) as Marina Ramirez
- Natalie Morales (Dead to Me) as Val Vega-Vaughn
- Allison Case (Broadway’s Matilda the Musical) as Viv Vega-Vaughn
- Rich Sommer (Mad Men) as Mr. Wexell
- Atticus Shaffer (The Middle) as Wayne Riley
- Tatiana Lee (Speechless) as Ayanna
- Lauren “Lolo” Spencer (Give Me Liberty) as Jazzy
Set in a fantastical world where talking vehicles live, work and play with the humans who drive them, Firebuds follows a boy named Bo (Declan Whaley) and his fire engine best friend Flash (Terrence Little Gardenhigh) as they team up with their first responder friends to help others in their community with problems big and small. Each episode is comprised of two 11-minute stories that showcase the importance of teamwork, helping fellow citizens and volunteerism. The creative team worked with consultants from RespectAbility to help populate the diverse communities of Gearbox Grove and Motopolis featured in the series.
The lead voice cast also features Vivian Vencer as Violet, Lily Sanfelippo as Axl, JeCobi Swain as Jayden and Caleb Paddock as Piston. Lou Diamond Phillips and Yvette Nicole Brown also star as co-fire chiefs, Chief Bill Bayani and Chief Faye Fireson, respectively.
In addition to Gerber, the series’ creative team consists of Matt Hoverman as story editor, Francis Giglio as art director and Robb Pratt and Craig Simpson as supervising director and producer, respectively. Krystal Banzon, Leanna Dindal, Norma Sepulveda, Jeremy Shipp and Alyssa Stratton comprise the writing team, and the episodic directors are Kris Wimberly and Julius Aguimatang.
Emmy Award-nominated Beau Black is the series songwriter, and Emmy Award winner Frederik Wiedmann is composer. Firebuds is produced by Disney Television Animation.
Planned extensions for the series include Disney Junior Music: Firebuds digital soundtrack from Walt Disney Records, debuting Sept. 16, and storybooks from Disney Publishing releasing later next year. Spin Master is the North American toy licensee for the series and will debut an innovative toy line featuring vehicles, figures, playsets and more, launching in summer 2023. Additionally, Bo and Flash will be featured in the upcoming Disney Junior Live on Tour: Costume Palooza, launching Sept. 2, with stops at more than 80 North American cities throughout 2022.
Read more about Firebuds in the upcoming Sept./Oct. ’22 issue of Animation Magazine.
