As I embraced motherhood, I accepted the idea that I was going to be tormented by children's videos. After all, by definition they are created for and marketed to children. The thought of enduring song after song sung by Barney in that insipid voice...ugh! Even less-blatantly annoying shows like Strawberry Shortcake and He-Man don't hold up well to adult sensibilities. So I pretty much figured that irritating kids' TV shows was part of the bargain, like messy diapers and 3am feedings. (Which, by the way, have GOT TO STOP. Hebs, you're 7 months old now. Have pity!)
And, as it turns out, there ARE a lot of annoying childrens' shows around. (Dora's voice, anyone? Or Arthur's little sister D.W.'s whine? And where in the world are Max and Ruby's parents? Not to mention that creepy doped-out sloth in It's A Big Big World.) But I've been (pleasantly) surprised at how many good shows there are.
There's Cyberchase, a PBS math-oriented show starring Christopher Lloyd as The Hacker's voice. My five-year-old loves that one in particular, and loves explaining things to me ("a line is the shortest distance between two dots, Mom"). WordWorld, Word Girl, Super Why, Between the Lions--all great reading/word shows. Zula Patrol (space and science, I adore this show!) and Sid the Science Kid are both teaching my preschoolers amazing things. And the best part is: none of these shows are highly irritating. In fact, some of them are pretty fun on first viewing. (On seventh viewing, however, most are a bit dull.)
However, my hands-down, no-contest, very extremely favorite children's show is the Backyardigans. I can (and have) watch these shows repeatedly, time and again, over and over...and still laughed at appropriate places. Five friends meet in the backyard and imagine a new adventure every day, and sing adorable, catchy songs about it. Each episode uses a different genre of music in the songs. (Garage Rock, Calypso, Polka, Bassa Nova, Opera, etc.) And although there is often a moral-to-the-story (be prepared, don't give up, make friends, say thank you), the episodes are never preachy and are always light-hearted. (After all, the "make friends" episode has the "Legendary Luau Brothers" making friends with the "Volcano Sisters" so the luau isn't ruined by an erupting volcano. Not much preachy about that.) (Huka Pele!)
I highly recommend the Backyardigans, especially if you have kids. (And even if you don't.)
Honestly, I find it disturbing that NO ONE in children's cartoons has a parent around. Dora is wandering through snakes with her cousin Diego swinging from vines in the jungle--PARENTLESS. Max and Ruby-obviously latch key kids-Ruby has had to take on the role of mother too soon-she will surely need therapy. Kai Lan-playing with wild animals with only occasional talks with the grandfather who is clearly less sophisticated than her. Backyardigans-parentless too- oh sure, they get an occasional snack time, but really, some adult should be making sure they are OK--shouldn't they? And what about iCarly, Drake and Josh, Zach and Cody, and on and on. If there is a parent, they are token comic relief. I find it so strange......
ReplyDeleteI will give it to you though, Backyardigans' annoying factor is far below many others. :) It is fun when you see your own kids pulling in little ideas in their own play.
It was great to see how big your kiddos are getting! I hope we see you some more this summer. You know, they say that Geologically Speaking, Durango is very exciting. You are a 5 hour drive away....
Oooh, Michelle...tempting, tempting. I was thinking fondly of the family reunion we had at your house four years ago. (Can you believe it's been that long?) So much fun! And I can't believe I've never been to the quarry...crazy!
ReplyDeleteThe only problem is that we are tentatively planning a trip to LA to see Grandma Peters. She's never met any of our kids--last time we visited I was pregnant with Zee. So maybe we'll just have to plan for next year...or this fall...or something! We'll see!
Oh, I got so enamored of visiting you that I forgot to address your main point--parents in cartoons. You are completely right, it's weird how you almost never see kids and parents interacting normally, especially in preschool cartoons. The only one I can think of that did portray good interaction is Little Bill, and they don't even run those very often anymore.
ReplyDeleteI watch Backyardigans and they remind me of Muppet Babies from when we were little. It's the same sort of imagination base, but the muppets jumped around a bit more.
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