Tot TV Watch

Up until now I have managed to escape watching LazyTown, but for the sake of the blog I decided to record and actually watch a full episode.  To be perfectly honest, I could have gone my entire life without watching it and not missed much.  I did like the machine Pixel built that could pause, fast forward and rewind life, but Stephanie’s fake looking pink wig and the music (that reminded me of that “Barbie Girl” song) drove me a little batty.  Needless to say it won’t be seen on our TV again anytime in the near future.

LazyTown was created by Magnus Scheving, an aerobics champion and CEO of LazyTown Entertainment.  It has a very unique look which was created by a combination of CGI animation, puppets and live characters. Scheving also stars in the show as the active and health conscience superhero Sportacus.  His character spends his days trying to lead by example and show the residents of LazyTown - known for being lazy - how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Stephanie, who recently moved to LazyTown and lives with her uncle, is an optimistic young girl who has to make daily choices between a healthy alternative and taking the easy way out.  She loves LazyTown, but strives to get her new friends Ziggy, Trixie, Stingy, and Pixel outside to play and keep them more active.  She encourages the others by holding onto her motto, “There’s always a way!”  As an aspiring dancer, Stephanie really appreciates some of the fantastic moves Sportacus performs.

Robbie Rotten, the town villain, is perhaps the laziest of them all.  He spends most of his time snacking and watching TV in his underground lair.  The only time you see him outside is when he has come up with some new idea that he thinks will make his nemesis Sportacus look like a fool.  He just doesn’t understand why all the kids look up to Sportacus instead of himself.

Each day in LazyTown is a brand new adventure.  The adults may be a little lazy, but the kids are learning to give up some of their lazy habits,to Robbie Rotten’s chagrin.  All of the characters add their own splash of personality to the show to create a nice balance.

The one redeeming quality that I see in the show is that it does encourage kids to be active and promotes the idea that all kids do have the will to succeed.  They might just have to search a little to find it.

You can catch new episodes of LazyTown all week long (4/2/07-4/5/07) on Nick Jr. It also airs on Noggin. Check local listings for times.

LazyTown, Magnus Scheving, Sportacus, Stephanie, Robbie Rotten, Nick Jr., Noggin, new episodes