Max and Ruby

Max and Ruby is a Canadian-American animated series that debuted in 2002 (following a pilot episode in 2001) that is aimed at a preschool audience. Created by children's book author/illustrator Rosemary Wells and based on the world of her Max and Ruby books, the episodes present stories about Max, a rambunctious and determined three-year-old rabbit, and his big sister, Ruby, a patient, goal-oriented, sometimes restrictive seven-year-old rabbit. A pilot episode for this series aired in 2001 and the program appeared as a regular series on February 11, 2002, Season Two was aired during 2003, Season Three was aired in 2006, and a fourth season was aired in 2009. According to Rosemary Wells on the Nick Jr. website, "Max & Ruby celebrates the relationship between Ruby and her younger brother, Max, and the universal nature of sibling relationships."

Each episode consists of three self-contained vignettes. Within each, Ruby is typically engaged in some sort of project or activity (which usually involves Max whether he's willing to participate or not), while Max has a particular interest of his own which either runs counter to his sister's or distracts her. Generally, Max's dialog within each story is usually limited to just one word or a two word phrase, which he repeats periodically for the rest of the episode until the end, sometimes saying a different word (or on rare occasions a full sentence). Since he only uses the same word when communicating, what he is trying to say is often misinterpreted. By the end of the story, Max usually ends up helping Ruby in some way, to her benefit and delight, or outsmarts her when she is trying to restrict him. Their parents are never seen or mentioned although there is a family photo hanging in the entry room, however, their grandmother makes regular appearances.

For season one, Jamie Whitney was the director, and all 39 episodes were written by Kate Barris and Paddy Granleese. While some of the stories were adapted from the books, the number of TV episodes eventually surpassed the number of books written by Wells.

Samantha Morton was the voice of Ruby until season three. Billy Rosemberg was the voice of Max until season four. In season three, Rebecca Peters replaced Samantha Morton as the voice of Ruby. In season four, Tyler Stevenson replaced Billy Rosemberg as the voice of Max.

A fifth season came out on December 10, 2011.