Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat

Synopsis

Characters

Miao family

• Sagwa Miao - Sagwa is the middle child of the Miao family at 6 years old, as well as the titular protagonist of the series. Kind, curious, quick thinking, creative and often bossy, Sagwa, according to a story told by Nai-Nai in one episode, was born in the Year of the Dog. She was originally pure white in color, but gained her current Siamese cat markings after falling into an inkpot. Sagwa is very talented in calligraphy, and is said by her parents to have the best artistic skills in the Miao family. She has an orange and salmon Miao Family collar on her neck. Voiced by Holly Gauthier-Frankel.
• Dongwa Miao - Dongwa is the oldest child of the Miao family at 8 years old, born in the Year of the Monkey. Intelligent, competitive and sometimes stubborn, Dongwa is independent and often prefers the company of the Alley Cats or solitary martial-arts practice to playing with his sisters. He is the only male child of this entire family and is also protective of his sisters plus is pretty mature. He is cream-colored and has the traditional Siamese markings, and has a purple Miao Family collar on his neck. Voiced by Oliver Grainger.
• Sheegwa Miao - Sheegwa is the youngest child of the Miao family at 4 years old, born in the Year of the Rat. Curious, friendly, cheerful and full of energy, Sheegwa is also very optimistic and ascribes good intentions to almost every creature she meets. She is pure white in color, except for a pink tinge on her cheeks, and has a folded right ear. She also has a pink Miao Family collar on her neck. Voiced by Jesse Vinet.
• Wim Baba Bao-Bao Miao - Baba Bao-Bao is the father of the Miao family. He is very strict with his children, and in matters of hard work and duty, but also has a softer, playful side as well. Baba also fancies himself a devotee of Chinese Opera, although he has Beat deafness. He and Mama are the official calligraphers of the Foolish Magistrate. Baba, like Dongwa, is cream-colored and has typical Siamese facial markings. When Angwan took care of him, she called him Bu-Gu, "Cuckoo Bird". Voiced by Arthur Holden.
• Mama Shao Faing Miao - Mama Shao Faing is the mother of the Miao family. Like Baba, she is also a loving but strict parent, but is usually more lenient and gentle than Baba. She and Sagwa have similar coloring and markings. Voiced by Ellen David.
• Nai-Nai Miao - Nai-Nai is the grandmother of the Miao family. Grey in color, she is old-fashioned, patient and full of wisdom. She often tells the kittens stories, and the family treats her as a respected ancestor. Voiced by Sonja Ball.
• Yeh-Yeh Miao - Yeh Yeh is the grandfather of the Miao family. Like Nai-Nai, he is wise and patient. He is a good storyteller, and the kittens treat him with great love and respect. Voiced by Neil Shee.
• Uncle Miao - Uncle is the uncle of Sagwa and Baba's brother. He's very much into ancient local history.
• Mae-Mae Miao - Mae-Mae is an aunt of Sagwa and Baba's in-law. She babysits Sagwa, Sheegwa and Dongwa for the first time and adopts a dog called Cha-Siu as their cousin.
• Chi-Chi Miao - Chi-Chi is another aunt of Sagwa and Mama's sister. She is an acrobat and teaches Sagwa and Sheegwa the art of acrobatics. Voiced by Susan Glover.

  Humans

• Shan-Tai-Yeh Soon, the Foolish Magistrate - The ruler of the province, Shan-Tai-Yeh the Foolish Magistrate is a large and rather absent-minded man. He occasionally makes rules without reason, or makes ill-conceived decisions under pressure from his wife, Tai-Tai, but for the most part he is portrayed as a just and reasonable ruler. He is very fond of his cats, both for their calligraphy skills and for their ability to keep away mice and rats, of which he is deathly afraid. In one of the episodes, when he says "No rules, no race.", his phrase turns into a musical drumbeat song as a result of being chanted by him. Voiced by Hiro Kanagawa.
• Tai-Tai Soon - Tai-Tai is the Foolish Magistrate's wife. She is a very irritable, status-conscious woman who needs to prove her superiority to the "common" people of the village; however, she has flashes of kindness and reasonableness, in which she sees the consequences of her actions and apologizes to those she has wronged. She is very attached to the Sleeve Dogs who live in her robe, and values the cats only when they can bring praise to the family. She has a niece called Angwan. Voiced by Khaira Ledeyo.
• The Three Daughters - Ba-Do is the Magistrate's oldest daughter, who wears pink. Of the three daughters, Ba-Do is the protagonist. Luk-Do is the Magistrate's middle daughter, and usually wears yellow. She is the more athletic of her sisters. Huang-Do is the Magistrate's youngest daughter, who is shorter than her sisters and usually wears blue. She is the more sensitive of her sisters. The three girls argue a great deal, but they are generally loving sisters who support each other. Voiced by Kathy Tsoi, Leanne Adachi and Rosa Yee, respectively.
• Kuh-Keh, the Cook - Kuh-Keh not only prepares meals, but he also attends to medical care and other emergencies around the palace. He is a good friend of the Reader. Voiced by Raugi Yu.
• See-Yeh, the Advising Reader of the Rules - See-Yeh is in charge of reading the Magistrate's rules to the villagers; informally, he and the Cook often serve as advisors to the Magistrate as well. He also served as a tutor to the three daughters, and in one episode is discovered to be a talented poet as well. The reader is often the victim of mishaps caused by others in the palace. Voiced by Russell Yuen.
• Jun - Jun is the new tutor to the three daughters who appears in the final episodes. She wears purple clothing and is shown to be from another village.

  Best friends / allies

• Fu-Fu - Fu-Fu is Sagwa's best friend and a sidekick. A cave-dwelling bat who wears round glasses, he is an extremely clumsy 8-year-old flyer and often crashes into trees and other objects. He acts as Sagwa's conscience, warning her against taking unneeded risks, and then rescues Sagwa from the consequences of her adventures. Voiced by Rick Jones.
• The Mice - Shei-Hu, his cousin Shei-He, and a large group of other mice live unseen behind the Palace walls. They are close friends of the three kittens and do no harm to the Palace nor its inhabitants. However, the Foolish Magistrate and his family are very afraid of mice in general, so their presence must remain hidden.

  Other characters

• The Alley Cats - A group of cats who live in the streets and alleys outside the palace grounds. They include "bullies" such as Wing Wing, Jet Jet and Lik Lik, who tease the Miao kittens because of their "goody-goody" ways and privileged lives. Others, however, are friends to their siblings Sagwa, Dongwa and, Sheegwa, such as two female alley cats named "Hun-Hun" and "Ling" and two male ones named "Won-Tom" and "Fam". Wing Wing is voiced by Michael Yarmush, Jet Jet is voiced by Erik von Detten, Hun Hun is voiced by Kathy Tsoi, Lik Lik is voiced by Terrence Scammell, Wong Ton was voiced by Ian James Corlett, and Ling was voiced by Kamiko Taka.
• The Sleeve Dogs - Ping, Pong and Pang are three small Pekingese dog triplets who live in the sleeves of Tai-Tai's robe. They antagonize the cats and boast of their superior status, but invariably their taunting and plots cause them to appear ridiculous and get into trouble in the end. Pang is voiced by Sonja Ball.

Additional voices

Episodes

Home media

VHS

• Cat Nights, Flights and Delights - "Firefly Nights", "Fu-Fu's Full Moon Flight", "Shei-Hu's Secret"
• Feline Frenzy - "Explorer's Club", "Treasure Hunters", "Sick Day"

• Cat Tales - "How Sagwa Got Her Colors", "Fur Cut", "Stinky Tofu"
• Feline Festivities - "The New Year's Clean-Up", "Ba-Do and the Lantern Festival", "By the Light of the Moon"

• Best Friends - "Sagwa's Lucky Bat", "Cat and Mouse", "Dongwa's Best Friend"
• Family Fun - "Royal Cats", " The Cat and the Wind", "Ciao, Meow!"

• Kitty Concerto - "Alley Night Opera", "Comic Opera", "Tung, the Singing Cricket"
• Sagwa's Petting Zoo - "The Birds, the Bees and the Silkworms", "Panda-monium", "Sagwa, Fu-Fu, and the Whistling Pigeon"

  DVD

• Sagwa's Storybook World
• Cat Tales and Celebrations

• Great Purr-formances
• Feline Friends and Family and Sagwa's Family Tree

  Online streaming