Annie might be at the heart of Annie Mals, but she could never do it alone. Luckily, she doesn’t have to. Every AniPal sees the world differently – which means every one of them brings something special.

Meet Annie. She’s the one who notices. She looks a little closer, listens a little longer and often spots what everyone else has missed. She cares deeply, sometimes too deeply, and has a habit of thinking she can fix everything herself. The rest of the team are very good at reminding her otherwise!

Then there’s Leo, Annie’s little brother. Leo’s curious, playful and almost magnetically attracted to things he probably shouldn’t touch. But he isn’t there to cause trouble. He approaches problems differently from Annie and often reminds her that imagination, silliness and trying something completely unexpected can be useful too.

Davy is energy on four paws. If somebody needs help, Davy is already moving. Often before anyone knows where they’re going! He’s brave, loyal and enthusiastic; even when his enthusiasm lands him somewhere sticky.

Tula is the inventor. Give her a problem and she’ll start building. Give her no problem whatsoever and, frankly, she’ll probably start building anyway. Her workshop is full of tools, half-finished inventions and ideas that may or may not work exactly as intended.

And then there’s Rita. Rita is quiet, observant and exceptionally good at spotting the tiny things. While everyone else is looking at the obvious clue, Rita has usually noticed something happening in the corner. She might be shy about speaking up, but when she does, it matters.

Finally, meet the Antgineers. Three tiny engineers live inside the walls of HQ, maintaining the buttons, slides and mysterious machinery nobody remembers installing. They speak their own language, Antish and have an extraordinary gift for building magnificent inventions. Sometimes they help, sometimes their mistakes and misunderstandings are too many to count! Together, they’re messy, funny, occasionally chaotic and much better as a team than any of them would be alone.

Because that’s another rule of Annie Mals: Everyone has something only they can bring.

We’ll be introducing the gang properly over the coming months, with more from Happy Hill Farm, HQ and — assuming we can keep them away from the controls — the Antgineers.