Hello and welcome to this new section of the Character Critic’s blog: Kids TV shows.
Here, we are going to examine the best/worst of kids shows, past and present. So be it something your child may watch, or something that rotted our brains back in the 80s, we’re going to cover it.
Oh, and before I get a ton of comments from people saying “Uh dude, you know way too much about these kids shows… hurr hurr hurr…”
Yeah, it’s called having a family with a 1-year-old kid who loves these shows. Maybe if you ever get out of your mother’s basement, you can understand what that’s like. Cheers!
Today’s subject: Disney’s Jake and the Neverland Pirates.
I’ll admit, when I first heard about this show, I wasn’t expecting much. It was another poor Disney spinoff on Peter Pan that was destined for disaster like most of the rest of them. I am pleased to report that I could not have been more wrong. The animation is great, the premise of the show is interesting, the characters are all memorable, and it has recognizable faces from the classic movie, Peter Pan.
Basically, this is a group of child… I would actually call them privateers, that Peter left in Neverland to defend it against the pirates… who are now only 4 and only one (three guesses who) is actually evil. The music is quite catchy and unfortunately I find myself reciting the lyrics that have now been burned into my memory, care of my loving wife. Thanks hun!
So the premise of the show is that these 4 young adventurers; Jake, Izzy, Cubby, and their parrot, Skully, board this magical ship… which looks like a small brigantine, that they call Buckie, and go on adventures. Often they square off against Captain Hook in search of gold doubloons. Each has a different tool and a different perspective. What makes this show different from others is that they actually try to include the viewer in the adventure. It’s interesting that no one really thought of doing this more back when we were little kids. The characters will actually ask the viewer questions and wait a predetermined amount of time for the viewer to answer.
Another interesting aspect is that Captain Hook and Smee are really the only major players from the original Peter Pan/Neverland cast. That’s right, no Indians, no Lost Boys, no Tinkerbell, no Wendy, John, or Michael, and most of the original Pirates are long gone too. Peter Pan himself only makes cameo appearances in a few episodes, yet somehow the show still works very well.
This show has become a new phenomenon and you can’t go into a store that has anything to do with younger audiences without seeing something to do with Jake and his friends. My only criticism is that Captain Hook as really been watered down from the baddie from the original movie… so use caution if your kid watches this show and then wants to watch the source, they may be scared by just how evil the original portrayal was in comparison.
So I would say that this show is highly recommended. The adventures are carefully designed to be educational for a very young crowd, but exciting and interesting at the same time. It is all a nice breath of fresh air in a sea of suicidal tendency inducing shows like the Wiggles or Barney for the adults who have to watch these shows with their kids. This one is tolerable guys, it’s even likeable. Just know, it is for a younger audience, so the stories are going to be simplistic, expect easy resolutions for seemingly non-issues, just like any other kid’s show.
The Character Critic 