Spying in a dumbwaiter and writing it in her notebook. Some things haven't changed!
Loosely based on the original 1964 novel, the Apple TV cartoon Harriet the Spy is a Slice of Life cartoon that follows around Harriet and her friends Sport and Janie. There is less of a focus on Harriet spying on people and writing about them, but Harriet still considers herself to be a spy and aspiring writer. Mostly, however, the focus is on Harriet's life in 1960s New York City, and her school life. The art style is a little similar to the original book's original art style, but a bit more cartoony.
The cartoon is primarily episodic until the second half of season 2, where it suddenly more or less follows the book and even introduces a continuing storyline.
This cartoon provides examples of:
- Adaptational Diversity: The movie made Janie black, and the cartoon keeps that and also makes Sport ambiguously Asian.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Harriet is considerably nicer than she is in the book and the movie. The comments about the other kids in her notebook are toned down a lot and her spree of revenge pranks is condensed to just the one on Marion.
- Adaptation Amalgamation: Elements from both the 1964 book and 1996 movie are used in the cartoon, though it leans closer to the book:
- Janie is black, like in the movie. However, Sport appears to be Asian rather than white.
- The setting was moved back to the 1960s, like in the book.
- Harriet's outfit is pretty much the same as in the original book, complete with frameless glasses.
- Alpha Bitch: Marion Hawthorne, who is almost cartoonishly this, as she also is often seen making cocky facial expressions.
- Animated Adaptation: Of the 1964 book with some elements of the 1996 movie. It's also a bit "cartoony" and exaggerated for the sake of humor.
- Blush Sticker: Beth Ellen Hansen has permanent blush stickers, highlighting her gentle and meek nature.
- Courtroom Episode: In the second season, Harriet is put on trial by her classmates at a party, for every mean thing she wrote about them in her notebook. Her defense? Everything she wrote is true. She is found innocent, but everyone is even angrier at her.
- Dreadful Musician: One episode introduces a family in the area whose eldest daughter likes to sing, and it annoys everyone else.
- Dresses the Same: Harriet buys a new coat, but discovers that resident Alpha Bitch, Marion Hawthorne, has the exact same coat, with the latter demanding that she remove it. It gets to the point where a "coat vote" is called to determine who keeps/loses the coat.
- Dumbwaiter Ride: Harriet breaks into Agatha Plummer's home using a dumbwaiter, just like in the book and movie. However, she actually comes out of hiding right to Agatha.
- Enemies List: Rachel Hennessy has a list of people she'll eventually get revenge on (including her teacher, Mr. Horatio).
- Eyes Out of Sight: "Purple Socks" is almost always seen with his bangs covering his eyes, with only a few brief times where we actually get to see his eyes.
- Fantasy Sequence: There are a few of these. One has Harriet running from lasers and hiding. Another is Harriet imagining herself as a famous writer as an adult.
- Free-Range Children: The kids wander freely around the neighborhood, especially Harriet, whose spy route (which is even sometimes shown on a map) takes her all over her neighborhood.
- Heartfelt Apology: Harriet's apology for the hurtful things she wrote in her notebook is given during the play, in a very direct manner, in front of the entire audience.
- Heel Realization: During the Courtroom Episode, Harriet wins the "case" against her because everything she said is true, but also realizes that she was wrong for having written it.
- Helpful Hallucination: After Ole Golly leaves Harriet's life, she later appears to Harriet in the form of a ghost, giving advice. Somewhat played with, since the "ghost" would sometimes give her bad advice (or what she'd think Ole Golly would tell her in the situation), such as telling her not to apologize to the other students for her hurtful comments towards them in her notebook, since seeking and speaking the truth should never be apologized for.
- How We Got Here: There are a few episodes that begin in the middle of the action (such as Harriet running away from city hall security with her birth certificate in hand, or her digging in her backyard), while she narrates about said situation, sprinkling in hints on why she's doing what she's doing. The episode proper begins after the opening credits, always taking place some time beforehand, eventually looping back to the opening sequence.
- Idiosyncratic Wipes: Scene transitions are indicated by the turning of a page, almost like the show is taking place in Harriet's notebook.
- I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine: Child psychologist Dr. Wagner is voiced by Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Harriet in the 1996 movie.
- Kind Hearted Cat Lover: Mr. Withers from the book and movie is also in the cartoon, owning many cats. Harriet even gets to catsit them in one episode.
- Last-Name Basis: The Robinsons, a boring couple that Harriet wants to know more about, refer to each other as Mr. Robinson and Mrs. Robinson. Their first names are never given, nor used by each other.
- Lighter and Softer: Compared to the original book and movie. Humor is used to lighten the mood, and there are some slightly "cartoony" situations. When the cartoon does start following the book in the second half of season 2, the meanspirited elements are toned down a bit from the book and movie.
- Meaningful Name: Unlike in the book and movie, in the cartoon, Sport is good at sports and is often seen playing them.
- Mistaken for Cheating: The focus of one episode has Harriet thinking that Ole Golly's new boyfriend is cheating on her. She goes to great lengths to try to prove it (largely motivated by her fear of losing Ole Golly to someone else).
- No Matter How Much I Beg: Harriet had a plush duck toy in her youth, but decided she was too old to be playing with it. She had her nanny, Ole Golly, hide it away and promise never to reveal its location, no matter how much she begged. In the present day, with the stress of having a million tests to study for at school, as well as keeping a friend's secret from reaching Marion Hawthorne's ears, Harriet begged Ole Golly to reveal her plush toy's location, but her nanny held true to her promise to never reveal anything. Ole Golly eventually gives Harriet's plush toy back to her, saying there was no promise about just handing it back if asked.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Harriet's classmate, the Boy with the Purple Socks (or simply "Purple Socks") is called this by her due to the purple socks he always wears. She's even made it a vow to never learn his real name, due to "Purple Socks" being a much cooler name than his real name in her eyes. Unfortunately for her, she accidently learns his last name is Matthews, with his real name being Peter Matthews.
- Playing a Tree: The play in which all the kids dress up as food items also occurs in the cartoon. It plays out quite differently than in the original book.
- Harriet herself plays an onion (much to her initial dismay).
- Janie and Sport play tater tots (which are incredibly itchy to wear).
- Pinky and "Purple Socks" play yams.
- Carrie plays a brussels sprout (which oddly smells like one, too).
- Beth Ellen and Rachel play chicken drumsticks (which are incredibly top-heavy and lack holes for their arms to poke out of, causing them—especially Beth Ellen—to tip over and fall, needing assistance to get back up).
- Finally, Marion plays the main roast chicken (designed by a great aunt of hers who works for Broadway plays).
- Politically Correct History: Harriet's best friends are an ambiguously Asian boy and a black girl. In the 1960s. With that said, one episode does explore racism in the form of a black musician who wasn't given credit for his contributions to an otherwise all-white music group.
- Present-Day Past: In one episode, Harriet is seen listening to a pocket radio with an earpiece, similar to how people today listen to music on their phones. In another, she and a boy photographer take a selfie together.
- Primary-Color Champion: Harriet wears a red jacket and blue jeans, and has blonde hair. Her outfit is nearly identical to the original cover illustration of the book.
- Purely Aesthetic Glasses: Harriet wears glasses without frames, just like in the book.
- Revenge: The revenge that the other kids have against Harriet for the mean things she wrote about them in her notebook, and Harriet's revenge on them for their behaviors in response, play out similarly to the book and film, though in a less meanspirited way with some of the crueler behaviors removed.
- Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: Harriet suspects that her nanny's new boyfriend, George Waldenstein, is having a secret affair behind her back, when she sees him receiving a letter for a "Mrs. Waldenstein", as well as kissing a woman with her son, believing them to be his secret wife and child. Harriet goes out of her way to expose Mr. Waldenstein to Ole Golly for cheating on her (largely motivated by her own fear of losing her nanny to him), but it turns out the letter he received was for his mother (he felt embarrassed for still living with his mother, despite being a grown man), and the woman he kissed was his sister, with the child being his nephew.
- Slice of Life: The theme of the cartoon, as it's mostly an episodic series about individual events in Harriet's life.
- Speed Stripes: Used for cartoon effect when Harriet is playing tetherball and takes a ton of aggression out on the ball.
- Trauma Conga Line: Poor Harriet goes through quite the ordeal in the second half of Season 2, with her nanny, Ole Golly, leaving her forever to start a new life, as well as having her notebook stolen and read out loud by the other students, who then lead a bullying and harassment campaign against her to the point where she starts hating herself. She even remarks that everything in her life started going pear-shaped soon after Ole Golly left her, leaving her without proper guidance during hard times.Harriet: [Narrating] Ole Golly said that great art requires great suffering, but I wish it came in spurts, not in one big gush.
- Two Girls and a Guy: Harriet, Sport and Janie are frequently together, doing many activities together.
- We Used to Be Friends: One episode has Harriet point out to Marion that they were once friends in the past, but Marion has no interest in accepting Harriet back into her friend group.
