It's Pupstruction time!note
Pupstruction is a 2023 Preschool Show produced for Disney Junior.
The show centers on crew leader Phinny, an innovative young corgi who dreams up some of the biggest and wildest ideas to help his town of Petsburg. He, along with the other members of Pupstruction, Tank, Luna, and Roxy, build and create around the town.
The series was first announced with a two-season order in August of 2021 after Disney announced an overall deal with Travis Braun resulting from the success with his last Disney show T.O.T.S. The series premiered on Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney+ on June 14th, 2023.
Not to be confused with another group of construction pups.
Pupstruction has built the following tropes:
- A Lizard Named "Liz": A fish named Mayor Gilmore.
- Big Eater: Tank LOVES snacks, to the point where he keeps an entire toolbox full of them and brings it along with him on builds.
- Birthday Episode: "Bailey's Birthday Coaster" is this for Bailey.
- Blank White Void: The end of the theme song sees the pups building in one of these.
- Cats Are Mean: Bobby Boots and his crew, who are always attempting (and failing) to outshine Pupstruction with their own company.
- Cheated Angle: A rare CGI example; depending on which angle Phinny is currently facing, either his left ear will be covered by his construction hat while his right ear sticks up, or vice versa.
- Chekhov S Gun: In "Built to Build", Phinny builds a Ferris-wheel shaped waffle holder. The pups later use this to convince Phinny that he's not too small to help out, and give him the idea to build a Ferris wheel as a bridge to get the kids to school.
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: The theme song is sung by Pupstruction themselves.
- Eager Rookie: Despite him being the newest member, Phinny is eager to show the members of Pupstruction all that he has to offer.
- Height Angst: One of Phinny's biggest weaknesses is him doubting his worth due to his small size.
- Helicopter Parents: Phinny's dad is incredibly protective of him, mainly due to his small size and him working at a construction site. This ends up becoming the subject of an episode.
- Interspecies Romance: Phinny's dad (a corgi) and his mom (a dalmatian) are happily married. His sister Bailey is a dalmatian as well.
- Piggyback Cute: Bailey's favorite thing to do with Phinny is riding on his back like a roller coaster.
- Security Blanket: Tank has a stuffed bear that he sleeps with in case he has bad dreams and occasionally brings on builds.
- Sleep Aesop: One episode focuses on Tank being too sleepy to contribute to a build since he spent all night reading a recipe book for a restaurant. This later comes in handy when the book falls in cement and only Tank is the one who is able to remember all of the recipes in it. In the end, though, he still regrets staying up all night and falls asleep at the restaurant.
- Title, Please!: Like other Disney Junior shows since Summer 2018, the episode titles do not appear on screen, but they were still spoken by the characters.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Roxy loves smashing this down with her wrecking ball, but also loves pink and glitter. These lyrics sum it up pretty well:Roxy: I like glitter, I like sparkles, I like pretty pink sprinkles on cake.But the one thing I love more than anythingI love to BREAK, BREAK, BREAK!
- Welcome Episode: The first episode centers on Phinny's first day at Pupstruction. After the first build goes well, he is immediately promoted to captain.
- World of Funny Animals: The town of Petsburg is home to pets of all kinds, from dogs to cats to fish to even hamsters.
