The Beatles music will be introduced to toddlers, thanks to a new Netflix animated show called Beat Bugs. Eddie Vedder, Pink, Sia, James Bay and others have been recruited to record covers of famous Lennon/McCartney songs.
Beat Bugs is produced by Netflix with Grace: A Storytelling Company, Thunderbird and Beyond Screen Production. It was created by Josh Wakely, who has the rights to use songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney through a deal with Sony/ATV Music.
In addition to Vedder, Pink, Sia and Bay, James Corden, Chris Cornell, Birdy, Of Monsters and Men, The Shins and Regina Spektor also recorded songs. Some of the songs that will be included are “Help!,” “Penny Lane,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Come Together,” “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Wakey managed to get the rights to use over 50 Beatles songs.
The series is about a group of friends - Jay, Kumi, Crick, Buzz and Walter - who frequently get themselves in and out of trouble in a suburban backyard. Of course, they are all bugs.
“Bringing Beat Bugs to life on Netflix and having a platform to re-imagine this universally acclaimed music for families around the world is an exhilarating and rewarding experience,” Wakely said in a statement. “Our partners have been fantastic in making this concept a vivid reality, and this is a great example of the innovative and fresh storytelling at the heart of Grace’s ethos.”
Beat Bugs debuts in August on Netflix worldwide. It will also air on Australia’s Seven Network before it debuts on Netflix there.