James R | On 15, Sep 2017

Netflix will now wish your children happy birthday for you.

Barbie, King Julien, My Little Pony and other characters from the streaming giant’s originals have recorded special birthday messages for parents to play their children – just in case they need that added animated greeting on their special day.

Launching in the world’s most common birth month of September (just nine months after the holidays, wink wink), Netflix’s Birthdays On-Demand service can be found by searching “birthday songs” on Netflix. There, you’ll find a special performance from kids’ favorite characters, including All Hail King Julien, Barbie, Beat Bugs, DreamWorks Dinotrux, Las Leyendas, LEGO Friends, LEGO Ninjago, Luna Petunia, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug* and Cat Noir, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Pokemon, Project Mc2, Skylanders Academy, DreamWorks Trollhunters and Word Party.

Research from Netflix suggests many parents feel social-media-fuelled pressure to give their kids a huge party (44%), and most wish they didn’t have to go Pinterest-crazy to give their kids a good time (69%). Does that mean hitting play on Netflix will be the answer to their problems? In Mexico, certainly, kids are all about character-themed birthdays: 91% of parents in Mexico say they have hosted a character-themed party for their child. So next time you bake the cake and break out Pokemon-themed party poppers, pick up the remote: this could be the icing on the cake.

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