A cat, a mouse, a bunny and a dog skipping through nature, exploring hiking trails and helping out other animals along the way may not seem like a show that would fit with the often snarky and sarcastic tone of cast members from "Saturday Night Live."
But "Nature Cat," an earnest show that is part of PBS Kids' "Explore the Outdoors" lineup, enlists some of the funniest people on TV to play straight-edged cartoon characters trying to solve problems out in the environment. Nature Cat or Fred the cat (Taran Killam) goes on adventures with his friends Hal the dog (Bobby Moynihan), Daisy the bunny (Kate Micucci) and Squeeks the mouse (Kate McKinnon). Other longtime "SNL" members who've lent voices to the show include Kenan Thompson, Bobby Lee and Chris Parnell.
What's going on here? There's obviously some kind of talent pipeline from "SNL" to the show, which recently launched a week of new episodes. Adam and David Rudman, co-creators of "Nature Cat" alongside Todd Hannert, are the producers who seemed most keen to pluck their cast from the show's roster . Moynihan remembers them asking for opinions on who could come aboard to help as voice actors, and he rattled off a number of performers from the late night staple. Killam recognized that the "brothers Rudman" were on to something.
