Kid's Programming That Makes You Think Life is GOOD!

[FellowWLover]

Originally posted by frogboy4
My nephew loves Bob the Builder and it is interesting, just didn't make my personal list. A bit boring for me. It's nice that they have included Wendy the (female) builder. Women can build stuff too!

Ah yes, Bob the Builder. That is quite popular on my block. It is ok I guess, but I can't really get into it. A few rounds of "Can we fix it? Yes--we--CAN!" and I am done.

 

[FellowWLover]

Something else I forgot to mention is The Bookworm Bunch, which is PBS's answer to Saturday morning animation. There are several shows in the BB, but our favorite is Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse.

http://pbskids.org/bookwormbunch/marvinindex.htm

 

[sarah_yzma]

i am quite a bit younger than most on this thread, but i like Shining Time Station (that probably isn't the exact title...) it was a neat show, i would probably still watch it if it was on....

i still watch Arthur....i wonder what my friends would say if they knew that???


favorite of all time still has to be animaniacs, though it is for a slightly older age group (and even older to get a lot of the jokes!)

well that's all i have to say, for now....

Sarah

 

[FellowWLover]

Well. we are talking mostly about shows that are on *now*, which is why it is does seem strange that we are *older* than you, but know more about children's television.

 

[sarah_yzma]

Originally posted by FellowWLover
Well. we are talking mostly about shows that are on *now*, which is why it is does seem strange that we are *older* than you, but know more about children's television.

umm i don't know.....i went through a phase where i was too 'mature' to watch cartoons, now i mature enough TO watch them!

Sarah

 

[beaker]

Hehe, you can never be too mature to watch cartoons!(or good kid's programming in general)

Seeing those old Fraggle Rock episodes still leaves me in awe.

 

[frogboy4]

...but not the Fraggle Rock cartoon, right. (Thinking this may be another point that we agree on)

 

[beaker]

Originally posted by frogboy4
...but not the Fraggle Rock cartoon, right. (Thinking this may be another point that we agree on)

Being as the only source of Fraggle in my 80's diet(being poor doesnt match up very good for HBO only programming), I have nothing but fond memories of the animated Fraggle Rock. Then again, I havent seen it since the late 80's.

 

[EmmyMik]

To get things out of the way, Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock (I figured those were "givens")...

And now here's the rest of my list:

--Arthur. The humor on this show works for me too, and I'm taller than 2 feet.

--Between the Lions. Although I haven't seen it in a year or two (this little thing called "school", oh well). I thought it was a very creative way to include the concept of reading (of course since Michael K. Frith was involved, I loved it. He was involved in so many things that I loved).

--Pepper Anne. The last time I saw it, it was floating around on Toon Disney, but this show rocked. It managed to take your average "lesson of the week" (which sadly, is featured on EVERY Saturday morning cartoon) and spin it on it's head. I loved it.

--Reading Rainbow. I have no idea if my PBS station is still showing it, but this show was great. It helped me become interested in reading.

--Wishbone. It's been a few years since this show aired on my PBS station (and when it was airing, I was a few years older than the "target" audience), but this show introduced me to the "classics" (The Three Musketeers is one of my favorite books...

 

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

Some o' these are great, wonderful, spectacular shows, but I can't believe no one's mentioned my FAVORITE one currently on the air, one that takes me back to the fantasy, ecstasy, imagination, and pure LOVE that some of the best cartoons from '80s childhood did:

"DragonTales".

Here's an Epinion I wrote on it in August of 2001. Hopefully other fans will agree...

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I just recently discovered PBS's series DragonTales, and I am oh so glad I did. This is clearly one of the best shows for children out there today. Why is that? Several reasons, actually (and I'll get to the '80s thing in a bit).


PREMISE
---------------

Six-year old Emmy and her four-year old brother Max find a magical dragon scale in the play room of their new home (I'm not exactly sure how it got there, I haven't seen the pilot episode yet). Whenever they chant the rhyme,

"I wish, I wish with all my heart
To fly with dragons in a land apart!"

the dragons off the wallpaper of the room fly off the walls and around the kids, taking them to the fantastically-fantasy realm of Dragon Land (by the way, the theme song to this show kicks).

Emmy and Max then have fun with their 3 1/2 dragon pals (I'll explain that later), and either they or one or more of the dragons--or any combination thereof--learn something valuable from it (which your kids of course take to heart and become angelic little citizens). Once all is well in Dragon Land, Emmy and Max then recite the farewell address,

"I wish, I wish to use this rhyme
To go back home until next time!"

So just who lives in Dragon Land? Lucy Ricardo? Ricky Martin? Dracula? No, but in case you're assumin' any of those people, lemme give you the lowdown:


CHARACTERS
-----------------------------------

The kids:

Emmy--Emmy is the older sister of the child duo. Emmy is surefooted and likes to encourage her dragon friends. She likes to take charge of things and is usually fairly responsible, though she has her faults at times (hey, cut her some slack, she's six).

Max--Emmy's younger brother Max is more stubborn, which makes him try to act more independent. Hence, he sometimes gets into scrapes of his own. Though the younger of the two, he sometimes thinks up good solutions to problems on his own.

The dragons:

Ord--I love this guy. Ord is the biggest of the dragon pals, blueish-teal with purple ridges, and he and Max are best friends. Although large, he is also quite cowardly and has lots of fears to overcome. You can't help but love him, and his determination to overcome things only adds to his character. He's also got a great voice. He has the potential to be a big ol' buffoon without brain cells, but wisely, the writers keep him from such a stereotype (though he does seem to recall at times Friends' Joey Tribbiani, who we all know is pretty much the dimmest light in that shed---though not overtly stupid). If I were a little boy now instead of a 6'6"college graduate guy, Ord would be my ideal best dragon buddy.

Cassie--Cassie is the smallest of the dragons. She is little and light pink, and has such a cute, young little girl-dragon voice to match her little appearance. Though she has some strengths of her own, a lot of the time she lacks the confidence to realize this. In confrontations she is sorta like Phoebe on Friends--instead of taking sides, she understands different angles and tries to smooth things over (Pardon all the Friends references, I just watched a bunch last night and I do love the show). Cassie is also quite smart and she and Emmy are best girl pals.

Zak and Wheezie--Zak and Wheezie are a two-headed dragon (sorta like the Two-Headed Monster on Sesame Street). Zak's half is green, and Wheezie's purple. Even though they share the same body they are completely different siblings. Zak is conservative, calm, and orderly, while Wheezie is wild, loud, and disorganized. They try to get along and usually find ways to accomplish that. They're also very musically inclined. Once again, great voices here. Zak's sounds just a bit stuffy, and Wheezie is more loud and raucous (but not annoying). Wheeize also has a catch phrase, "Looooooooove it!" when she--well--"loves it" (any good idea or treat, etc.). So 1 dragon, 2, 1 1/2, whatever...they're great.

Quetzal--The lone adult in Dragonland, Quetzal is a nice, sympathetic, yellow, helps-with-problem-solving grownup with a Spanish accent. He even says Spanish words and phrases from time to time, which the other dragons and kids use every once in a while, too (this is great for kids who wanna learn Spanish--they say a really young age is the best time to learn a new language). Wise and kind, Quetzal is a wonderful role model and teacher for the kids (literally---he's in charge of the "School in the Sky" in Dragonland).

Sid--Though not a major character, I've seen Sid in a couple of episodes recently. He's a big tree that houses the playhouse for the group. He also has a Fozzie-esque sense of humor (Fozzie Bear from The Muppet Show), utilizing tree parts for play-on-words humor.


FORMAT
--------------------------

Each half-hour installment of DragonTales includes two approximately 15-minute episodes, divided by a song from "DragonTunes". This li'l segment of the show always has the same theme song which segues into one fun song. Kids are encouraged to get up and dance and sing along with their dragon friends. It's cute, and the songs are of a good variety (some have pretty fun movements, too).


TOTALLY IN THE '80S
----------------------------------------------

Okay, so now you've heard why the show's great on its own merit, but now lemme tell you what really delights the kid in me. First of all, the great characters and voices are reminiscent of the wonderful personalities and voices we had back in the '80s, what I consider to be the heyday of children's entertainment (those in my age group were blessed to grow up with such great shows). You could watch The Wuzzles, The Care Bears, The Smurfs and a multitude of other '80s kids shows, and DragonTales would fit right in.

The well-done animation and good color scheme are also highlight ingredients here. There's never anything choppy or messy in the animation, and so many of the colors are just plain beautiful ("plain beautiful"...nice oxymoron, no?). You feel so enriched when you really pay attention to the visual aspects of the show.

The fantasy elements are great, too. We have the "School in the Sky", "sleepy fog", "star trees", "butterfrogs", and "twinkling daisies", just to name a few. All these li'l touches of a fantasy world only add to the show's imaginative appeal.

And of course, there are morals. The morals are never preached at you (or, um, kids), but the dragons and Max and Emmy often have to problem-solve and explore ideas to get out of their predicament or face something need to (for example: Ord is afraid of the dark, Emmy breaks Weezie's trumpet and worries about their friendship, Cassie wants to share her crayon but needs it to make a get well card, etc.). And when the dragons do something hard for them---like Ord being brave, or Zak and Wheezie working together---the dragon badges they wear around their necks warmly glow.

I'm afraid I must also admit, if your'e a sensitive person, DragonTales can just get ya right in the heart. While watching certain episodes I've found myself really touched by 'em, and my eyes got a li'l moist. Never would I have imagined that animated juvenile dragons could pierce my heart. Kudos to PBS.


MEDIA/MERCHANDISE
------------------------------------------------

I thought this was a fairly new show when I first saw it, but noticed in the end credits that it came about in 1999 (guess I've been watchin' too many reruns of Friends and Mama's Family). And just the other day in Waldenbooks, there was a whole shelf chock *full* o' good ol' DragonTales. Lots of different books for various levels and themes--pretty dang cool. And if I wasn't a poor graduate tryin' to pay bills, I probably would have bought some by now (I'd love to read more about my good buddy Ord, especially in his voice which I've found out I can imitate).


BOTTOM LINE
----------------------------------

If you have kids, then I'm sure they'll love DragonTales. If you don't, then give it a try for yourself. It can be a good stress reliever, too. I mean, c'mon, who wouldn't like a half hour of being transported back to their innocent, care-free, playful '80s childhood? I certainly don't mind at all. Every afternoon I plan on bein' home at 5:30 to catch my dragon pals (check your local TV times---5:30 Eastern time isn't universal).

So forget your problems, relax, and spend time with Max and Emmy and their dragon friends. Hey, if I'm 23 and this constitutes the highlight of my day, somethin' must be right...


August 28, 2001