The Backyardigans: I Think We All Drank the Kool-Aid
Written: Oct 21 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: great animation and music
Cons: doesn't cover that much new ground
The Bottom Line: The Bottom Line is SO glad we are done watching all the new shows and have settled into a lesser amount of television watching.
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| pippadaisy's Full Review: The Backyardigans |
I'm going to preface my review of the new Nick Jr. show The Backyardigans by stating that I am not entirely sure that what I am reviewing is actually true. See, I have this problem involving the theme song. When the theme to The Backyardigans begins, I am instantly mesmerized. All coherent thought goes out the window; the song becomes an ear worm; and the kids get to watch in relative peace as I struggle to shake the cobwebs out of my brain and sort out the plot of the show. As a result, I'm not sure I got it right.
::: The Characters :::
The Backyardigans is a computer-animated show with incredible animation and unbelievable choreography. The choreography is actually done by a human choreographer, and then the animated figures are given the "real" choreography to do.
The basic premise of the show is that five friends (Pablo, a blue penguin; Uniqua, a pink-spotted unique something-or-other; Austin, a purple kangaroo; Tyrone, an orange moose; and Tasha, a yellow hippo) play in each other's backyards every day. Their yards all back up to each other (they live on a sort of reverse cul-de-sac), and every day in their backyards, they come up with an adventure that takes them to a new place, which might be Texas, or a pirate ship, or a ski slope.
Pablo is the very high-energy friend, Uniqua is funny and empathetic, Austin is a bit shy, Tyrone is very laid-back, and Tasha is the girly-girl: sweet but a little bossy, too.
::: The Allure of the Show :::
Each show manages to teach a lesson with TONS of music. The musical styles vary from rap to R&B to country to Latin, with just about anything thrown into the mix, and most is almost as hypnotic as the title song. I still have the rap-like "Riding the Range" song stuck in my head as well.
Each song manages to work in something new; for instance, in the "Riding the Range" episode, the friends notice the echos in a canyon, find that you can get horses to do things with apples, etc. The music has simple enough lyrics that toddlers can easily sing along with the songs while being introduced to new musical styles, and the choreography is simple and realistic enough that children can dance along.
The animation is totally unlike anything I've seen in children's programming. As the Backyardigans' adventure begins to unfold, you see the backyard melt into the adventure scene, and there is something about it that makes me a bit wistful as a mother, seeing how well they've done animating how children's imaginations work.
::: The Lessons :::
Each episode does have a moral to the story, which your child will doubtlessly pick up on, even if it seems all they are doing is bopping along to the great songs. In one episode, Tasha is the Queen of the Nile, and Uniqua is The Sphinx. Tyrone, Pablo, and Austin are her servants, and she has to bring gifts to The Sphinx to end the drought in Egypt. Along the way, she gets more and more high-handed with her "servants" who do her bidding even though they don't like her attitude. At the end, The Sphinx tells Queen Tasha that the secret is always saying please and thank you when people do things for you.
::: Overall :::
If I could get the theme song out of my head long enough, I think this is an enjoyable-enough show. I really like that it introduces children to all different types of music (the Nile episode had a lot of swing music) that they might not be exposed to otherwise, and the animation and choreography are really great.
In the overall scheme of educational shows, however, aside from the music and choreography, this show doesn't cover that much new ground. Sharing and manners are all ideas covered in other shows, and it remains to be seen how far they will take this in terms of other topics.
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Other children's television shows:
• JoJo's Circus on Playhouse Disney
• Kim Possible
• Lazy Town
• Maya & Miguel
• The Proud Family
Recommended:
Yes
Type of Program: Cartoon or Animated
Program Quality: Thought-provoking, original material
Best Suited For: 3 to 5 Years
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pippadaisy
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