Strollerderby : kid shows

Review: Olivia the Pig Comes to Nickelodeon

JeanneSager — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:32:00 GMT

She's here, she's finally here! The porcine answer to Eloise has made it to Nickelodeon - or she will on the 26th - and we offer a look-see at Olivia the pig's first day on TV.

For those of you who haven't met my favorite piglet, she's the book version of author Ian Falconer's niece. Prone to driving her mother bananas with the things a six and three-quarters kid does best (opting out on naps, recreating her favorite paintings from the museum on her bedroom walls), Olivia has earned Caldecott Honors on the page.

Now the star of Olivia Saves the Circus, Olivia Forms a Band, and, of course, Olivia, has her own half-hour show on Nickelodeon. Abandoning Falconer's favored clean black and white - with splashes of red for a passionate pig - the animated version is full-color. But what it loses in terms of artistry, the TV version gains with the time allowed to bring Olivia's winsome "sixness" to life.

Broken into two storylines, the premiere episode explores the big sister/little brother rivalry made famous on Falconer's pages - putting Olivia in a tizzy when her father reveals baby brother Ian will one day grow up to be bigger than her. After all, what's the point of being the big sister if you aren't the biggest? Olivia tries convincing Ian to stop drinking milk, and warns he'll miss out on the fun of hide and seek and game time if he grows up. But when Dad reveals there's fun to be had in grown-up-land, and big sisters will always be big sisters, the sibling rivalry drops back down to normal levels.

Part two takes a snow day for a spin, and imagination takes over the house. With the flakes flying, Olivia's mom brings home her brood and two of Olivia's friends for a playdate - while the piglet turns her family house into the luxe accomodations of the Olivia hotel. Ian plays the hotel's ghost - and scares the guests - until an electric outage taxes even Olivia's imagination of how to make the hotel to the stars keep running.

Olivia makes great strides toward improving brother-sister relations in kid shows. Olivia is annoyed by Ian, but the two cobble together a friendship of sorts - with a bit of gentle pushing from their parents. The show makes a point not to celebrate Olivia's irritation with Ian, but not to downplay it either. It highlights the imperfect relationship between brothers and sisters in the best way - allowing for improvement. The result is somewhere in the middle of the perfection that is the Pinky Dinky Doo and Tyler symbiosis and the domineering Ruby to misunderstood bunny Max.

If I sound like I'm gushing, I'm sorry. I was biased walking into a screening of the first episode; after all, I named my dog Olivia after Falconer's books. But with repeated requests from my pre-schooler to watch Olivia again. . . and again . . . and again . . . I'm not the only one who sees a hit. Airing at 11:30 a.m. eastern and pacific on the 26th, all-new episodes will air all week long. Can't wait? The family can get ready with a pile of Olivia crafts, iron-ons and games over at the Nick Jr. site.

Image: Nickelodeon

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Daddy Club Rule: Don't Argue Kids Shows

JeanneSager — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:24:00 GMT

I wonder if the puppy blogs miss me. Because I've been getting my much-needed (in this economy, anyway) fix of "yes, things are right in this world," from Kids Say the Cutest Things here on Babble of late.

Who doesn't want to share their kidlet's latest cutie pie saying with people who actually CARE to hear it? As in someone other than the guy at the coffee pot at work whose eyes start to glaze over just around the words "and yesterday, she said . . . "

But as we've got KSCT already taking care of the kid quotes, I'll spare you mine (or at least let you make your own guesses as to which on there might have been inspired by the three-year-old in the Sager household). As for the adult conversations - I'm sorry, you're in the same boat as the coffee guy.

Because if there's one thing my husband is slowly starting to learn, it's DON'T argue with the kid over kid stuff. We'll call it Daddy Club Rule number one. You might be in decade three of life on this planet, but let's face it - you're clueless.

Case in point - the argument last week over the dancing robot on Noggin. "It's Brobee," my husband said. "Noooo, Daddy, it's Plex," (said with appropriately exaggerated eye roll).

"Brobee."

"Plex."

You get the idea. I sat through this, and because no one likes to hear "I told you so," I stayed silent. Until the next episode of Yo Gabba Gabba came on anyway. The "magic robot?" Yeah, her name is Plex. Brobee is "the little green one."

It's not that my husband is always wrong. It's that he bothers to belabor the point with a three-year-old . . . about a TV show character. If we were fighting about the name of the president (Dick Cheney, duh), I've told him, he should go full bore. But it's a dancing fluff ball. On TV.

So Dads, this is from my husband to all of you - the first rule of Daddy Club, don't talk about kid shows.

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Mix Rap With Kid Shows and Whaddya Get?

JeanneSager — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:33:00 GMT

Stephanie in all her pink haired cheeriness just can't take the nasty out of Lil' Jon. So while the assorted awesomeness of hip hop mashed up against our kids' favorites shared by Cole earlier today is disturbingly hilarious, you'd do well to kick the kids out of the room before watching it. Oh, and that goes for this post too.

Some parents get all ferklempt when folks start messing with their kids' characters. But if your five-year-old is perusing YouTube, you'd be better off spending your time worrying about something else. . . namely, them. The rest of you? Check out Cole's post on Unreality Magazine's list of Twelve of the Best Kids Show/Rap Mash-Ups.They use the word "rap" loosely. Right Said Fred? Really guys? That's actually the lamest on the list anyway - because who wants to watch Hannah/Miley/Smiley/Achy Breakying Daddy's Heart and hear the words "I'm too sexy?" Ew. Just ew.

The Lil' Jon and Lazy Town mash up, however, is pure art. The others are clever, although they're your basic "take video clip, lay new song over" design (with impeccable timing - check Mr. Krabs eye-popping action in the Spongebob/Eminem's "Just Lose It" video). Mixing Stephanie's "Gotta Do the Cooking by the Book" with Lil' Jon dropping the mother of all f bombs? G-f'ing-en-i-ous. Warning: listening to Lil' Jon might destroy your vocabulary. It will also get you thinking about all the funny things you found while wandering around YouTube when you're stuck with only a computer to amuse your pre-schooler (long story, so let's just say hooray for hulu).

In other words? They were missing some of my favorites. So here's another taste of rappers doing it kid's school:

Dora, Dora, Dora the Whore-a!

How does Pablo push it?

Fraggle caught in your throat?

They call him Charlie 3000.

Strollerderby : kid shows

Review: Olivia the Pig Comes to Nickelodeon

Daddy Club Rule: Don't Argue Kids Shows

Kid and Kangaroo Best of Friends

Review: Unstable Fables Goldilocks and the Three Bears Show

Kid Gets Tongue Stuck on a Metal Pole

Mystery Solved: Dog Swallowed Fifteen Pacifiers

Daddy Club Rule: Don't Argue Kids Shows

Review: Yo Gabba Gabba! Cuts an Album

Does Your Kid Have an Accent?

Kid Won't Friend You on Facebook? Get a Life

Why Do Pacifiers Piss So Many People Off?

Mix Rap With Kid Shows and Whaddya Get?

The Ten Best Christmas Songs For the Kid in You

Alllllvin! Everyone's Favorite Chipmunk is Fifty

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