Viewers steer the plot themselves in To Steal or Not to Steal, an interactive animated special built around the globe-trotting thief at the center of the Carmen Sandiego series.

What is Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal about?

The special drops Carmen into a rescue mission after the villainous organization V.I.L.E. captures her friends Ivy and Zack during a heist in Shanghai. Rather than following a fixed script, the format hands the audience choices at key moments, letting them help decide how Carmen responds as the situation unfolds. That interactive structure sets the special apart from a standard episode, turning the usual heist-and-chase rhythm of the series into something the viewer takes part in rather than only watches. The stakes stay grounded in the show's established world, with V.I.L.E.'s scheme providing the pressure that drives Carmen from one decision point to the next until Ivy and Zack are back with her.

About the cast

Gina Rodriguez voices Carmen, with Finn Wolfhard, Abby Trott, Micheal Hawley, Liam O'Brien, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Toks Olagundoye and Sharon Muthu rounding out the cast across the special's supporting roles. Kenny Park and Jos Humphrey direct, working within the character designs and world already established by the wider Carmen Sandiego series.

Context & significance

A joint Canada-United States production from 2020, To Steal or Not to Steal runs 31 minutes and sits squarely in the animation genre, built as a choice-driven companion piece to the regular Carmen Sandiego series rather than a self-contained standalone film. The Shanghai setting gives the heist plot a fresh backdrop while keeping V.I.L.E. as the recurring threat the series is built around. Its interactive format makes it a distinct entry in the catalogue, aimed at the same young audience the main series draws while asking for a more active kind of viewing.

Watching Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal on Ktime

K-Time offers To Steal or Not to Steal with both Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles, so the interactive special plays equally well in a fully localized version or with the original English performances subtitled in Farsi. Watching only requires a K-Time account login, and the service's Farsi-first design makes it simple for young viewers and their families to find alongside the rest of the Carmen Sandiego catalogue.