Tumble Leaf (A young kid's show, but read anyways)
So the sprog gets to watch TV now and again. I'm very picky about what she gets to watch; don't want her brain infected by ponies and princesses.
When I first heard about Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, my reaction was "How DARE they defile my memory of Mr. Rogers?" Then I watched an episode, and realized it was actually pretty good for helping kids learn how to deal with their feelings, and respected Mr. Rogers legacy.
So then, I'm thinking, "No way will anybody else have made anything else that will come anywhere near that. Kid's shows are all brain junk."
Enter Tumble Leaf.
This is somebody's passion project, full stop. Stop motion animation with a little tiny bit of occasional CGI to add affects, beautifully designed colorful background sets, characters full of curiosity, kindness, and creativity, and the music doesn't make me want to cut my ears off. There is no way something like this could escape the dungeons of Major Corporation Incorporated - even the way they wrapped the show up after four seasons instead of continuing until they ran out of steam was perfect. (And by perfect, I mean they took a bunch of background stuff that had been happening for all four seasons, explained it all, then told the viewer good-bye while at the same time implying that the adventures never stopped. (I suspect they ended it because the main character was voiced by a young boy - four seasons and his voice was bound to start cracking soon. Most corporate productions would have just recast the main character and proceeded to beat the show into the ground.)
Which is not to say that I suggest watching all four seasons of a show aimed at the preschool set. But if you have a love of stop-motion animation, or you just want to watch something for 11-22 minutes and see something of quality, it's worth taking a peek at. (Or if you have responsibility for a four year old who is looking for something to watch. Then I fear you're going to have to sit through the whole thing, multiple times.)
When I first heard about Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, my reaction was "How DARE they defile my memory of Mr. Rogers?" Then I watched an episode, and realized it was actually pretty good for helping kids learn how to deal with their feelings, and respected Mr. Rogers legacy.
So then, I'm thinking, "No way will anybody else have made anything else that will come anywhere near that. Kid's shows are all brain junk."
Enter Tumble Leaf.
This is somebody's passion project, full stop. Stop motion animation with a little tiny bit of occasional CGI to add affects, beautifully designed colorful background sets, characters full of curiosity, kindness, and creativity, and the music doesn't make me want to cut my ears off. There is no way something like this could escape the dungeons of Major Corporation Incorporated - even the way they wrapped the show up after four seasons instead of continuing until they ran out of steam was perfect. (And by perfect, I mean they took a bunch of background stuff that had been happening for all four seasons, explained it all, then told the viewer good-bye while at the same time implying that the adventures never stopped. (I suspect they ended it because the main character was voiced by a young boy - four seasons and his voice was bound to start cracking soon. Most corporate productions would have just recast the main character and proceeded to beat the show into the ground.)
Which is not to say that I suggest watching all four seasons of a show aimed at the preschool set. But if you have a love of stop-motion animation, or you just want to watch something for 11-22 minutes and see something of quality, it's worth taking a peek at. (Or if you have responsibility for a four year old who is looking for something to watch. Then I fear you're going to have to sit through the whole thing, multiple times.)
