Max & Ruby

America

The story

Max & Ruby is a children's preschool animated television series based on the book series by Rosemary Wells and produced by Nelvana Limited. The series follows the everyday lives of two young anthropomorphic rabbit siblings Max and Ruby.

Two Max & Ruby books had been previously adapted into short films by Weston Woods and Michael Sporn Animation in 1988 and 1991. These shorts were later remade into episodes for the television series.

Max & Ruby first aired in Canada on Treehouse TV on May 3, 2002. In the United States, the series first aired on Nickelodeon on the Nick Jr. block on August 26, 2002. 130 half-hour episodes were produced, with the final episode airing on April 9, 2020.

The first two seasons of the series were added to Paramount+ on December 8, 2020, but on March 25, 2026, the show was removed from the service.

Premise

Max & Ruby follows the everyday lives of two young anthropomorphic rabbit siblings: Max, a rambunctious and achievement-determined three-year-old and his older sister Ruby, a seldom-patient, goal-oriented, and sometimes bossy seven-year-old. The series takes place in a town called Eastbunny Hop, in a universe populated by bunnies and other creatures. According to Wells, the series shows the relationship between Ruby, Max and the universal nature of sibling relationships.

Episodes

The series premiered in 2002, but was preceded by a 1988 short and a 1991 short adapting the characters for the first time. The shorts were individually produced and were later remade into broadcast series episodes.

Main

Max Bunny (voiced by Billy Rosemberg in seasons 1–3, Tyler Stevenson in seasons 4–5, and Gavin MacIver-Wright in seasons 6–7) is a three, later four-year-old (starting off at three and a half years old), bunny and Ruby's younger brother. He has white fur and wears some clothes including some long overalls. Prior to seasons 3 & 5 and for the first few episodes of seasons 1 and 2, Max only says 1–3 words per episode (with the exception of a few episodes like Max's Bedtime, Ruby's Candy Store, and of voiceover on the title card for episodes featuring Ruby). He does this again in season 5 (voiceover on the episode's title card; except in just the ones featuring Ruby). In seasons 6 and 7, Max (along with Morris) is now able to speak in full sentences.
Ruby Bunny (voiced by Samantha Morton in seasons 1-2, Rebecca Peters in seasons 3–5, and Lana Carillo in seasons 6–7) is a seven, later, eight-year-old (starting off at seven years old and of voiceover on the title card for episodes featuring Max) white bunny, and is Max's older sister. She has white fur and has been considered the more level-headed of the siblings. She is also a member of the bunny scouts (a formula similar to the "girl scouts").

Recurring

Louise (voiced by Julie Lemieux) is Ruby’s best friend. She often comes over to visit and helps Ruby. She has tan/auburn fur and a little cousin named Morris.
Lemieux also voiced Baby Huffington "Baby H" (Mr. and Mrs. Huffington's baby son and Bunny Scout Leader's nephew), Grace (one of Max and Ruby's new baby siblings introduced in season 7 and Oliver's older twin sister who, similar to Max, likes getting dirty), and Oliver (the other one of Max and Ruby's new baby siblings introduced in season 7 and Grace's younger twin brother who, similar to Ruby, likes staying clean).
Mom (also known as Mrs. Bunny; voiced by Carolyn Larson) is Max and Ruby's mother. She and Ruby are very close to each other and she trusts Ruby's ability to help out with Max. She is Grandma and Grandpa’s daughter-in-law.
Dad (also known as Mr. Bunny; voiced by Paul Bates) is Max and Ruby's father. He is Grandma and Grandpa’s son.
Grandma (voiced by Kay Hawtrey) has grey fur and is the paternal grandmother to Max and Ruby. Max and Ruby sometimes compete as to whose ideas are better in order to impress her, but in the end she likes both of their ideas equally. She is Dad's mother and Mom's mother-in-law.
Mrs. Rachel Huffington (voiced by Catherine Disher) is the wife of Mr. Huffington, mother of Baby Huffington, female faithful butler of Max and sister of the Bunny Scout Leader.
Mr. Clark Huffington (voiced by Jeff Pustil) is the husband of Mrs. Huffington, father of Baby Huffington, male faithful butler of Max and brother-in-law of the Bunny Scout Leader.
Valerie (voiced by Loretta Jafelice) is Ruby's second best friend; she has brown fur and wears glasses.
Martha (voiced by Catherine Disher in seasons 1-2, and Tajja Isen in seasons 3-5) is a friend of Ruby; she has gold fur.
Morris (voiced by Cameron Ansell in seasons 2–5 and Nicholas Fry in seasons 6–7) is Louise's three, later four-year-old cousin and Max's best friend.
Roger Piazza (voiced by N/A in season 2, and Jo Vannicola in seasons 3-7) is the son of Mr. Piazza. He is older than Ruby and Louise, standing at 7+1⁄2 years old.
The Bunny Scout Leader (voiced by Sarah Adams and Nadine Rabinovitch) is the leader of the Bunny Scouts, Mrs. Huffington's sister, Mr. Huffington's sister-in-law and Baby Huffington's maternal aunt.
Mr. Piazza (voiced by Jamie Watson) runs the local market in East Bunnyhop and is the father of Roger.
Candi (voiced by Linda Ballantyne) is the owner of the candy shop in East Bunnyhop.
Rosalinda (voiced by Fiona Reid) is the owner of a gift shop that sells jewelry and collectibles and a friend of Max and Ruby's grandmother, Mary.
Katie (voiced by Robin Duke) is the waitress at the diner in East Bunnyhop.
Miss Bunty (voiced by Judy Price) is Max's preschool teacher.
Winston (voiced by Ethan Tavares) is one of Max's classmates who uses a wheelchair. He is also Max's second best friend.
Lily (voiced by Isabella Leo) is one of Max's classmates who is also Max's best female friend.
Priya (voiced by Laaibah Alvi) is one of Max's classmates who is also Max's second best female friend. She is from India.
Mr. Estévez (voiced by Carlos Díaz) is Ruby, Louise, and Valerie's teacher in school. He is from Mexico.
Antonio (voiced by Emilio Vírguez) is one of Ruby's classmates. He is Max and Ruby's new friend of hispanic descent.

Production

Nelvana Limited and Silver Lining Entertainment Limited co-produced the show for its first five seasons (in 2005, Silver Lining was acquired by Chorion). 9 Story Media Group overtook producing the animation from Nelvana in season 3 (and continued animating the series for seasons 4 and 5 while Chorion co-produced at the same time); though Nelvana still handled production of the series.
Shortly after Chorion and its division Silver Lining Entertainment Limited both closed their doors after season 5 finished production, Nelvana became the sole producer for the series and outsourced the animation to Atomic Cartoons.
Season 6 premiered on September 18, 2016, with a new main voice cast and an updated theme song, along with each episode now having 2 11-minute segments, rather than 3 7-minute segments like the previous five seasons.
In an interview with Nickelodeon, Wells has stated about Max and Ruby's unseen parents that "we don't see Max and Ruby's parents, because [she] believe[s] that kids resolve their issues and conflicts differently when they are on their own. The television series gives kids a sense about how these two siblings resolve their conflicts in a humorous and entertaining way." In the sixth season, the series finally introduced Max and Ruby's parents Mr. and Mrs. Bunny.

Telecast and home media

Max & Ruby first aired on Treehouse TV in Canada on May 3, 2002. In the United States, the series first aired on Nick Jr. on August 26, 2002, then on Noggin on August 16, 2004. The series also featured a British English dub that first aired on Nick Jr. in the UK and Ireland on March 31, 2003.
Paramount Home Entertainment is the DVD distributor for the series in the United States, on behalf of Nickelodeon. As of March 29, 2012, 2.9 million DVD units of the series from Paramount have been sold in the U.S. These DVDs (see below) only have episodes from the first five seasons.