Rather, the series aims to instill helpfulness, a commitment to service and a sense of community - being good neighbors, in the “Mister Rogers” sense - while also providing the excitement of crises and car chases that have been carefully engineered not to unsettle little viewers.

In “Firebuds,” “vehicles have families, just as humans do,” said Craig Gerber, the series’s creator and executive producer, in a phone interview from Los Angeles.īut the “Firebuds” creative team doesn’t expect young viewers to aspire to be firefighters or emergency medical technicians. The series’s three elementary school students - Bo, Jayden and Violet - operate juvenile-size vehicles that are not only their best friends but also the offspring of what the children’s parents, all emergency workers, drive on the job.

They star in a fantasy universe featuring two generations of rescuers, human and automotive, voiced by an impressive cast packed with big-name guest stars.

On Wednesday, when Disney Junior premieres its latest animated television series, “ Firebuds,” the four-wheeled heroes will be a fire engine, an ambulance and a police cruiser.

It’s rare, however, to find a television series for the very young that shines a spotlight almost exclusively on the kinds of trucks and cars that get screen time mostly in adult medical and crime shows. From the genteel Thomas the Tank Engine to the rough-and-ready racecar Lightning McQueen, children’s entertainment has been filled with talking cartoon vehicles that run on feelings as much as on fuel.

Company of heros 2 medic trucks