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Beat Parental Boredom: 5 Shows You’ll All Love

4 kids in, I think I’ve cracked it!

By Dominic McGowanPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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Credit: freakanomics.com

It’s 6am. You’re about to start Peppa Pig for yet another session on the Netflix carousel and maybe, just to stop your brain dripping out of your ears, you’ll get to mix it up with Octonauts before cognitive damage really sets in.

Fellow parents - or prospective parents - please believe there is a world of entertainment at your fingertips for both you and your children to enjoy SIMULTANEOUSLY!

‘You’re crazy!’ I hear you cry. ‘This is impossible; children’s TV is for the children! We are but gatekeepers and butlers in this world.’

Let me assure you now that if you just try these tips and encourage (manipulate...don’t be shy; Machiavelli has nothing on a parent after months of 3 hour sleeps) your darling little ones in the right direction, time together will become that bit less mindnumbinly repetitive.

Credit: @peppapig on Twitter

Peppa Pig and Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom

Yes, I know I’ve just used this as an example of mind melting repetition, but have you actually ever watched an episode of Peppa Pig? Peppa is a snotty little madam who needs bringing, and often is, down a peg or two. If you have a child between 2 and 4 (and 13-17) you might well recognise this. But have you ever paid attention to the characters?

Grampy Rabbit is voiced by Brian Blessed, doing his very fullest BRIANNNN BLESSEDDDD. He’s also frenemies with Grandpa Pig in only the way old men can be. Imagine Matthau and Lemmon: it’s genuinely not far off.

Daddy Pig is Peppa’s hero for always fixing things, but the running joke is that he never actually manages to fix them, and only Mummy Pig knows this. It’s great couples comedy.

Perhaps my favourite character is Mrs Rabbit. She does ALL the jobs. There is an episode where she takes a day off and the town grinds to a halt. It is genuinely amusing.

I’ve grouped this with Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom because it’s made by the same people and uses many of the same voice actors. Again, this is full of adult tension, particularly between the adult elves and fairies, and this example below shows you something of the quality of the minds behind these ‘kids’ shows:

Masha and the Bear

There is an element of bafflement about the popularity of this, but when my eldest were my youngest they discovered Masha and the Bear on YouTube, in the original Russian. They would devour these cartoons despite not one word of English being spoken.

Now on Netflix and reasonably well dubbed into English, this is a great insight into Russian humour which is DARK. In one episode, Masha does something wrong and hands a belt to a bemused bear, saying she must be punished. Bad things happen, and consequences are delivered, and generally it’s not sugarcoated, much like the original Brothers Grimm.

What I like best though is the attention to detail. In these English versions the artists have gone to great lengths to ensure Bears bookshelves are full of the English translations of books. Posters, in-world advertisements, and more are all accurately translated, which is a really appreciated detail in HD and UHD.

What really caught my eye recently - and worth a view if you like these things - was the episode ‘The Grand Piano Lesson’. When Disney’s Coco came out much was made of how Coco’s guitar fingering was realistic. In this fairly cheap Russian cartoon, Bear teaches Masha the piano and his fingering on the notes not only matches the notes being played, but is also an example of great piano technique! Go view it here:

Mickey Mouse and The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse: the dullest of the Disney characters, right? Just a do-gooder who has no grit or edge whatsoever. We all know this. Well, we’re all wrong.

Starting with the short 3-5 minute Mickey Mouse cartoons in 2013, followed by the longer 10 minute The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, director Paul Ruddish put a brand new, adult spin on everyone’s blandest mouse resulting in some amazingly risqué children’s television.

With definite echoes of Ren and Stimpy, the reason you can happily watch this with your children is that it’s Mickey Mouse! He’s recognisable to them, and in my household we merrily switch from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to these cartoons without any tantrums or complaints.

If you don’t have kids, I entirely recommend watching Episode 10 of The Wonderful World. In this episode Donald and Daisy are worn out by spending time with Mickey and Minnie. Daisy insists on Donald phoning Mickey to make up an excuse as to why they can’t go out that night.

What ensues should be taught in any horror script writing/film class. I won’t spoil it for you, but it is genuinely creepy and disturbing. Ok, maybe keep you kids away from that particular episode…

Credit: Disney+

Hey Duggee

Finally, we come to the wonderful Duggee. If you are unaware of this, Duggee is a sort of scout leader dog who runs a daycare looking after five ‘children’, a mouse, octopus, rhino, crocodile, and hippo. Many of the animals talk, some don’t, and Duggee communicates in ‘Woof’s. Duggee awards badges each episode for tasks achieved. So far, so child.

The first thing that will catch your attention (jaunty theme aside) is the narrator/‘other adult’ Alexander Armstrong. He’s a U.K. comedian, and narrates in the most ridiculously plummy English accent, clearly not typically appropriate for a kids show, but the pomposity is the perfect foil for the child characters.

The personalities are superbly well rounded, even in the bit-part irregular characters like snobby, privileged King Tiger, or his amour, Choo-Choo the Panda. Duggee even has a little sexual tension going on with Tag the Rhinoceros’ mum in The Big Day Out Badge.

Oh Duggee... Credit: CBeebies

If you are unconvinced, or even uninterested (I’m impressed you’ve got this far if so…), please please pleeease watch The River Badge episode. It is a full pastiche of Apocalypse Now, from the lighting, to the broken photojournalist, to a magnificent take on Brando. I will consider my work done if you at least watch this.

Now, of course, you may not have my sense of humour, or my tv-based approach to parenting, but be assured if you are a new or expectant or intentioned parent, you do not have to settle for the role of carer. You can find humour and joy in their entertainment just as much as they do. They will also come to notice that you like the things they like, and that feeling as a parent is absolutely free and priceless.

If you liked this, or feel I have added to your entertainment for the day, please drop me a heart. If you feel like my children need a better role model, tip me substantially and I will get them a nanny.

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About the Creator

Dominic McGowan

I’m very much motivated by a wish to escape from reality. Weirdly that more often than not involves dark, dystopian fantasy or science fiction, which you’d think, given the state of the world, would be the last place I want to retreat to.

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