Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat, or simply Sagwa, is a children's animated television series based on the children's book The Chinese Siamese Cat, created by Amy Tan which aired on PBS Kids, co-produced by Canada-based animation studio CinéGroupe and Sesame Street creator Sesame Workshop. In the series, which is set c. 1895–1912, after the cinematograph was patented and during the late Qing dynasty, Sagwa has fun in her day-to-day life while learning and teaching valuable life lessons. The show is notable for its setting and messages about family obligations and loyalty. The show is also intentionally cross-cultural, with the theme song in both English and Chinese. The series was developed and produced for television by executive producers George Daugherty and Michel Lemire, and producers David Ka Lik Wong and Leon G. Arcand. The series aired from September 3, 2001, to October 5, 2002, running for one season and 40 episodes. The series won the Silver Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival for Children's Film in 2001, as well as winning an Outstanding Individual in Animation award for background artist Valery Mihalkov at the 29th Daytime Emmy Awards and a "TV Series - Family/Children" award at WorldFest Houston in 2002.

Premise

Sagwa resides in a palace of a magistrate in China in what is assumed to be modern-day Fujian province (possibly during the late Qing dynasty, as shown by the characters' clothes), as part of a royal family of cats who have the ability to write with their tails. She and her siblings, along with various other cats and Fu-Fu the bat, have adventures that are usually accompanied by moral lessons, as is typical with most children's shows. However, one aspect of the show which sets it apart is its display of various elements of Chinese culture.

Characters

Miao family

Humans

Best friends / allies

Other

Many of the names of the characters derive from the Chinese language. Their spellings are romanizations (though not always Wade–Giles, but possibly dialects also), and differ from the standardized Pinyin system.

Episodes

Home media

Canada

From 2002 to 2003, CinéGroupe Star released six volumes of the series in Canada. The VHS versions were released in both separate English and French versions, while the DVD counterparts featured both languages.

United States

In 2003, PBS Home Video and Warner Home Video brought each compilation of individual episodes to VHS and DVD. On VHS, there were eight volumes with each containing three episodes. On DVD, there were four volumes which each contain six episodes each. Each DVD combined episodes from each pair of the VHS tapes. A pair of VHS titles (Best Friends and Family Fun) were renamed for the Feline and Friends and Family DVD. There was also a 6 volume DVD box set, with each disc consisting of 5-6 episodes. Every disc comprises episodes based on themes and were divided in half for those select sections of segments. In 2006, Paramount Home Entertainment brought sixteen episodes from the show were released on one disc as part of the PBS Kids pack anthology set, with the two other discs containing episodes from Zoboomafoo and George Shrinks.

VHS

July 30, 2002 January 28, 2003 April 1, 2003 July 29, 2003

DVD

January 28, 2003 July 29, 2003

Online streaming

In 2018, TFO's MiniMation YouTube channel began uploading episodes from the French version. The series was also briefly on Google Play.