The 1st of June 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in the United States. The LP that many describe as the “greatest rock album of all-time”, held the #1 spot on the U.S. charts for 15 weeks upon its original release. Who would have thought five decades later, preschoolers would be rocking to the same beat thanks to an animated show based on the fab four’s magical mystery tour of music?
The celebration goes even further with a complete line of Beat Bugs products hitting shelves this week available exclusively at Target stores nationwide in the U.S., followed by Tesco stores in the United Kingdom starting in the fall.
Beat Bugs introduces a whole new generation to The Beatles
Beat Bugs is an Emmy Award-winning animated series created by Josh Wakely, that debuted on Netflix in Summer 2016. The story revolves around the lives and adventures of 5 charming and funny childlike bugs who band together as they explore and learn about life in a suburban backyard that is their entire universe.
The characters are charming and adventurous, with a knack for getting themselves into mischief and mayhem. Each episode ties in a song made famous by The Beatles in an innocent and child-friendly fashion, covered by one of the characters or guest stars that include mega-musicians The Shins, Jennifer Hudson, James Bay, Of Monsters and Men and more. Beat Bugs introduces a new generation to the music of the most influential band in rock history, The Beatles.
Target turns up the beat on a full line of Beat Bugs preschool products
With Beat Bugs success on Netflix, Target has curated an assortment of interactive merchandise across multiple categories that hit stores this week. Naturally, some of the stars of the line are products that have music at their core.
Other supporting players include DVDs, books, apparel, accessories, and much more.
Many of the products that include tidbits of music from the show are Beat Bugs Hijinx Alive™, figures that magically sing along to the show playing on Netflix or the app. The Musical Yellow Submarine plays excerpts from “Yellow Submarine,” “All You Need Is Love”, and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Young bugs can also dance and sing on the Beat Bugs Piano Dance Mat, Sing Along Microphone, Sing Along Karaoke Machine and much more.
The celebration continues at the gym
From now until the first week of August, Beat Bugs can also be found at 178 My Gym locations in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, where kids can enjoy games, fun activities, coloring sheets and of course, songs made famous by The Beatles covered by the Beat Bugs.
It’s wonderful to be here, it’s certainly a thrill
Parents across the nation are reporting that it is so nice to hear their kids sing along to creations by real musical masters, but also ironic as they have no real idea of where these songs originally came from. Only time will tell if like Sgt. Peppers’ the Beat Bugs show goes down in history as one of the best preschool shows of all time, or the line of toys are remembered as one of the most played. For now, the show and the line at Target look pretty-darn cute to say the least.