Tot TV Watch

Manny Rivera is just an average pre-teen boy living in Miracle City, but he possesses superpowers that he’s not quite sure what to do with. With a quick spin of his mystical belt buckle, Manny transforms into the mighty El Tigre, but he just can’t decide whether he wants to become a superhero or a supervillain. Sometimes he manages to be good, but other times he really enjoys just being bad. Most of the time he is just interested in finding a new adventure for himself and his best friend Frida. Frida isn’t always a great influence though, as she often leads him down paths he would have otherwise avoided.

Manny’s father Rodolfo, once a superhero himself, is trying to steer Manny in the right direction, but he’s not always successful. Although he is semi-retired and prefers to focus on his family and 9 to 5 job, he still transforms into White Pantera and saves the day when there is a dire emergency.

Manny’s Granpapi, also known as the super villain Puma Loco, loves his grandson dearly and strives to show Manny the ropes of his villainous ways. Though he claims to be retired, he still manages to pull of an occasional heist. He never misses a chance to show Manny just how fun it is to be bad.

Overall, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera looks like a good show. The struggle between good and evil is always present and it is interesting to see which way El Tigre will turn. Created by husband and wife team Jorge R. Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua, El Tigre is an entertaining Mexican-folk inspired cartoon. While younger viewers may enjoy the animation, it is probably best aimed toward the elementary and/or tween age range.

El Tigre premiered on March 3, 2007. You can catch new episodes on Nickelodeon Saturday mornings at 10:30 a.m./9:30 a.m. Central. The episodes will also re-air throughout the week on Nickelodeon. Check local listings for times.

El Tigre, Manny Rivera, White Pantera, Puma Loco, Nickelodeon, Jorge R. Gutierrez, Sandra Equihua

I flipped on the TV this afternoon, scrolled through the episodes recorded on the TiVo and finally settled on Dora The Explorer. When the show started playing, there was no Dora or Boots on the screen. Instead, we were treated to an episode of Rocket Power, a cartoon I had never seen before. We didn’t watch it for long because for some reason we had recorded the Spanish version and my son looked a little confused, but it was still fun to watch something new.

With my curiosity piqued, I decided to do a little bit of research and find out more about the show. Produced by Klasky Csupo, who also created The Rugrats, Rocket Power debuted on Nickelodeon in August of 1999. It revolves around four middle school aged kids from Southern California who love extreme sports. Otto Rocket, Reggie Rocket, Maurice “Twister” Rodriguez, and Samuel Dullard all have different specialties that mold together to form quite a diverse group.

Three made for TV movies were created based on the Rocket Power characters: Race Across New Zealand, Reggie’s Big (Beach) Break, and Island of Menehune. Both the made for TV movies and the animated show have featured cameos from popular sports figures such as Tony Hawk (Enter the Hawk-trix), Andy MacDonald (…Beach Break), and hockey players Jeremy Roenick, Luc Robitaille, and Martin Brodeur (Power Play).

While I didn’t get a good feel for the dialogue of the show (since the episode was in Spanish and I don’t speak Spanish) it did look entertaining. It seems to be aimed more towards the Elementary/Tween range.

If you’ve seen Rocket Power, leave a comment and let me know what you (and your kids) think of the show.

Rocket Power, Otto Rocket, Reggie Rocket, Maurice “Twister” Rodriguez, and Samuel Dullard, Nickelodeon, Klasky Csupo, Tony Hawk, Andy MacDonald, Jeremy Roenick, Luc Robitaille, Martin Brodeur

If you haven’t heard the phrase “What’s the sitch’?” then you haven’t been watching Disney’s Kim Possible. Kim Possible is a high school student and cheerleader captain by day and a crime fighter by night. Along with her crime fighting partner Ron Stoppable, Kim crosses the globe to rescue people, stop crimes, and battle supervillains. When she’s done with that, she still has to go home and finish her homework.

Kim Possible was canceled by Disney after the third season and 65 episodes, but grassroots efforts from fans of the show resulted in the show being renewed for a fourth season. The fourth season began airing on Disney on February 10, 2007.

Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, Disney

Based on the popular picture book series by author Lucy Cousins, Maisy is a show about a young mouse who loves to explore the world. During her daily adventures, Maisy Mouse learns all about growing up. Whether on an imaginary adventure or doing everyday things like taking a bath, Maisy and her animal friends are always embarking on new discoveries.

One of the interesting features of the television show is that the characters do not speak. Instead the action is narrated by a male voice. The characters, voiced by The Umbilical Brothers (Shane Dundas and David Collins), do make various babbling noises and may speak single words from time to time.

Maisy helps viewers comprehend story structure and promotes early literacy through appreciation of language. Maisy and her friends model creative problem solving with optimism while encouraging viewers to consider and understand the importance of values such as friendship, honesty and social interaction.

While I haven’t watched a lot of Maisy, what I have seen of the show gives me nothing to complain about. It is simple, upbeat, and actually keeps my son’s attention. Some of the interstitials that have aired on Noggin have cute songs in them that tend to stick in my head all day.

Developed by Nickelodeon, Maisy currently airs twice a day on Noggin.

Maisy, Lucy Cousins, mouse, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Umbilical Brothers, Shane Dundas, David Collins, The Upside Down Show

A couple of days ago I walked into the living room just in time to hear my son yell out “Oobi!” along with the TV. Since it isn’t one of the shows he normally watches it caught me a little off guard.

So what exactly is Oobi? Oobi is a show on Noggin based on bare-hand puppets (with eyes and accessories). “Oobi” is a curious four-year-old who explores the world around him with the help of his little sister Uma, his best friend Kako, and his grandfather, Grampu.

Oobi introduces simple concepts that occur in a child’s every day life. The show explores the wonder and amazement that most children experience when they discover something new. As Oobi and his friends play, they help preschoolers build vocabulary, concepts and skills from mathematics, early literacy and logical thinking. During the breaks between each episode, the characters have interactions with real toddlers based on the theme of the show.

As with most shows there are both good and bad aspects of the show. My one big gripe about the show is the speech that is used throughout it. All of the characters on the show, including Grampu, speak in simple phrases-often leaving words out-rather than using full sentences. While it does keep things simple for the preschool aged viewers that it is aimed at, it does not model proper speech patterns. Parents of autistic children, however, find the show refreshing as they find it easier to communicate with their children in simple sentences like those used on the show.

While I don’t keep it in frequent rotation, I do allow my son to watch it occasionally because he really does seem to enjoy it. I, on the other hand, have to find some other kind of distraction while it is on.

Oobi, Noggin, preschooler, speech, autism, Uma, Kako, Grampu

Who are The Hoobs? They are the latest Jim Henson creation to make their way to US television. Aimed at 3-5 year olds, the show follows The Hoobs as they spend their days seeking answers to simple questions about the world they live in. Tula, Groove, Iver, and Roma hail from far away Hoobland. The four colorful puppets travel the world in their Hoobmobile to learn as much as they can about life on Earth. They report their findings back to Hubba Hubba Hoob, who then records it in the large Hoobopedia.

The show appears to be fairly educational. It helps children learn the process of asking a question, looking for clues to the answer, following the presented information and eventually coming to a final conclusion. It also includes a nice variety of singing and dancing which helps to keep the child’s interest.

The one factor that I personally find a little annoying is their use of the Hoob language. Some of the common words that you will hear throughout the show are: tiddlypeeps (kids), Hooby groovy, Hooble-toodle-do, and Hoobalicious.

The series was first aired in the UK in 2000 and premiered in the US, on PBS’s Sprout, on December 25, 2006.

The Hoobs, Jim Henson, PBS, Sprout

If you haven’t heard of SpongeBob Squarepants then I would guess that you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years or perhaps, under the sea. At first I just didn’t get it. Why is this yellow sponge character so popular? I still have no idea. What I do know, is that he has the ability to entertain all of the boys in my life-including my toddler, my nephews (2 and 7), and even my husband. I can’t speak much for the girls since there aren’t too many around here but my guess is they probably love him too.

It certainly isn’t the most educational show on tv, but SpongeBob and his ocean-dwelling friends do manage to get into quite a bit of mischief and, well, it’s funny. Let’s face it. We all need a little mindless entertainment sometimes, right? If you don’t believe me, just give the clip below a chance.

SpongeBob Squarepants, Nickelodeon

A few minutes into The Wonder Pets, you can hear them singing a catchy little tune that always gets stuck in my head:

Wonder Pets! Wonder Pets! We’re on our way,
To help a baby [featured animal], and save the day.
We’re not too big,
And we’re not too tough,
But when we work together we’ve got the right stuff!
Goooooooo Wonder Pets! Yaaaaaaayyyyyyy!

Every preschooler out there knows who The Wonder Pets are, but something about them just leaves me skeptical. Each episode of The Wonder Pets features three superhero friends: Linny the Guinea Pig, Turtle Tuck, and Ming-Ming Duckling. The three classroom pets work together to solve problems and help another animal in trouble. Almost all of the dialogue is in song and it is uniquely animated using photo-puppetry, which allows animators to manipulate photos of real animals to create the characters.

I applaud the teamwork theme because I think it’s a great life lesson, but this show still just rubs me the wrong way. I think my biggest gripe is the fact that Ming-Ming, the duck character, talks with a bit of a speech impairment. “R” sounds are pronounced as “W” sounds. Even though this is very common in toddlers, I don’t see why the creators of a show targeted to children who are learning speech would purposely give this as an example. The last thing I want to do is encourage my child to pronounce words incorrectly.

While I have not yet completely banned the show from my TV, The Wonder Pets are certainly not in the regular rotation. I can appreciate it for what it is, but there is definitely room for improvement.

Wonder Pets, Noggin, Nick Jr., preschool, toddler

I found yet another use for the TV tonight. Haircuts. When I couldn’t get my son to sit still long enough to cut his hair I plopped him in front of the TV and put on an episode of Noggin’s new show, The Upside Down Show. If I was thinking I would have put it on the “Barbershop” episode where Shane visits the very hairy room. While I admit this show annoys me at times (generally after watching 2 or 3 episodes with no break), it entertains my son like no other. I was amazed the first time I saw him pull himself up into the recliner and sit still for the entire 20 minutes the show was on.

Shane and David, played by Shane Dundas and David Collins, are not only goofy, they are pretty entertaining while they teach things such as relational concepts, problem solving, and new vocabulary. They encourage the viewer to push buttons on their imaginary remote control to control the characters on the screen. There are some really fun buttons on there that cause some pretty humorous reactions. For instance, the imaginary remote has buttons to fast forward, rewind, pause, turn things upside down, make them humongous or minute, rotate, and many others functions.

In each episode Shane and David are searching for a certain place, such as the barbershop or the art museum. After a series of wrong turns and mishaps they end up at their final destination where they always experience something “for the very first time”.