TikTok’s D’Amelio family has grown by two.
Creator sisters Charli and Dixie D’Amelio–who collectively count more than 170 million followers on the platform–and their parents Marc and Heidi have debuted Squeaky and Roy, two cartoon characters described as they brothers they “never asked for but always wanted.”
Squeaky, a pink teddy bear, is based on a toy of Charli’s that was lost in an airport when she was a child. In a series of ongoing videos, the family will chronicle his surprise return–and the addition of Roy, a squat purple penguin who “met” Squeaky during his adventures away from the D’Amelios.
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Per Variety, Squeaky and Roy were created by the D’Amelios in partnership with Invisible Universe, a tech/entertainment company that creates original cartoon IPs for distribution on social media.
“When we met Invisible Universe, we loved their vision for creating cartoon characters on social media that can later end up across other media like film and TV,” Charli and Dixie told Variety. “We thought creating our own franchise could be really fun for our entire family and couldn’t be happier with how Squeaky and Roy turned out.”
The cartoon duo’s first video dropped yesterday on dedicated Squeaky and Roy TikTok and Instagram accounts that, at press time, have 66,000 and 17,000 followers, respectively.
@squeakyandroyCan’t wait for all of our new adventures with @dameliofamilyofficial !! ##LifeIsGood ##NoComplaints ##WhatRules♬ original sound – Squeaky and Roy
The one-minute intro video is filmed reality TV-style, and features the D’Amelio parents apparently chastising Charli and Dixie for not cleaning up around the house. The sisters then turn to look at the camera and agree with their parents, revealing the animated Squeaky and Roy are the real culprits.
“No one knows the power of social media like the D’Amelio family, which makes them the perfect partner to bring this animated franchise to life,” John Brennan, Invisible Universe’s founder and CEO, told Variety.
While Squeaky and Roy are the D’Amelios’ first foray into animated IP, they are not the family’s first foray into reality TV: the D’Amelios are also starring in an eight-part Hulu docuseries due to drop sometime this summer. You can see the trailer for that show here.
