Netflix Sealook Cartoon Becomes Surprise Hit With Pets — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Sealook, a Netflix kids' cartoon co-produced by South Korea's Pinkfong Company featuring dialogue-free slapstick antics among pastel seals on ice, has become an unexpected viral hit with cats and dogs, with pet owners posting clips of pets fixated on the screen.
- Jessica Blumen's Instagram video of her two goldendoodles reacting to Sealook racked up nearly 10 million views, while Rio, a six-month-old golden retriever in Houston, saw his Instagram following jump from about 115 to nearly 4,000 after his owners posted a similar clip.
- Pinkfong communications lead Leah Yeon said the show wasn't designed for animals: "We didn't set out to make a show for animals, but it continues to be fascinating — and very amusing — to see it connect with this new audience."
- Dr. Emily Blackwell of Bristol Veterinary School said the seals' "high-pitched squeaking noises may mimic the sounds of prey species — rodents — and also sound very similar to the squeaky toys," while Dr. Freya Mowat of the University of Wisconsin-Madison noted dogs prefer watching animals and that cartoons offer "high contrast, lots of movement, nice fun music — it's the whole package."
- Dr. David Williams, an associate lecturer in veterinary ophthalmology at the University of Cambridge, said movement is a likely draw because cats and dogs are predators attuned to chasing prey, especially in low light given their crepuscular nature.
- The trend reportedly began with cats before dogs joined in, with one owner saying Sealook settled her goldendoodle's nighttime "zoomies" and even kept his attention through the end-card "fin" screen.
Why it matters: Sealook has handed pet owners a free, on-demand enrichment tool that doubles as viral content — Rio's Instagram following grew from about 115 to nearly 4,000 after a single clip — and gave Pinkfong a second, unplanned audience for content originally aimed at toddlers, with no animal-specific marketing spend.
Ask SkimNews
