Good video entertainment for preschoolers and adults?
November 17, 2014 9:49 AM Subscribe
I need some suggestions for videos a mix of adults and preschoolers would enjoy. The absolute gold standard is The Muppet Show, which is totally awesome and had something for everyone, but we've watched it all. What else is like it?
Wallace and Gromit.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:17 AM on November 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:17 AM on November 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
Shaun the Sheep is a family-wide hit here, as is the documentary Babies.
posted by tchemgrrl at 10:18 AM on November 17, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by tchemgrrl at 10:18 AM on November 17, 2014 [3 favorites]
Pee Wee's Playhouse?
posted by humboldt32 at 10:30 AM on November 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by humboldt32 at 10:30 AM on November 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Too Cute: Kittens and Puppies.
Not a lot of laughs, but MAN! I could watch it all day.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:35 AM on November 17, 2014
Not a lot of laughs, but MAN! I could watch it all day.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:35 AM on November 17, 2014
yes, definitely Shaun the Sheep.
A recent discovery and great hit was Pink Panther. But the old silent stories, not the new ones made for children with a talking panther. Our 6 yrd old laughs himself to stitches, as do we.
posted by 15L06 at 10:48 AM on November 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
A recent discovery and great hit was Pink Panther. But the old silent stories, not the new ones made for children with a talking panther. Our 6 yrd old laughs himself to stitches, as do we.
posted by 15L06 at 10:48 AM on November 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
Mr. Bean (the TV show, not the movies). Very, very funny, practically wordless, physical comedy.
posted by metahawk at 10:48 AM on November 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by metahawk at 10:48 AM on November 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Some nature or animal shows are good. I've been hearing a lot lately about Zoboomafoo since the lemur died last week, but lots of my friends are talking about how they watched it as adults and really liked it.
posted by CathyG at 10:51 AM on November 17, 2014
posted by CathyG at 10:51 AM on November 17, 2014
Fantasia
posted by andromache at 10:56 AM on November 17, 2014
posted by andromache at 10:56 AM on November 17, 2014
The animated version of Kipper the Dog is great for preschoolers - and as an adult I found it entertaining - although, not nearly as captivating as the Muppets.
posted by Ardea alba at 11:05 AM on November 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Ardea alba at 11:05 AM on November 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
From Miyazaki, My Neighbor Totoro is his most young kid friendly. Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo and The Cat Returns are very good. Some of the others are too intense for small kids.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:16 PM on November 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:16 PM on November 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
BBC nature documentaries like Life, Blue Planet, and Planet Earth were big hits when I was a preschool teacher. There's a massive amount of them and they're all visually interesting as well as educational.
BUT!
You need to watch them before hand and make sure there's nothing really awful, like disembowelment or something. Kids have to be exposed to that stuff eventually but there's no reason to shove gore in their faces.
When I was a teacher I watched the episodes beforehand, and occasionally did my own narration. Kids have a lot of questions.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 3:05 PM on November 17, 2014
BUT!
You need to watch them before hand and make sure there's nothing really awful, like disembowelment or something. Kids have to be exposed to that stuff eventually but there's no reason to shove gore in their faces.
When I was a teacher I watched the episodes beforehand, and occasionally did my own narration. Kids have a lot of questions.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 3:05 PM on November 17, 2014
We love to watch Daniel Tiger at our house, which is an animated version of Mister Rogers, and perfectly suited to toddlers. It's not over-cloying or Barney-annoying in any way.
Otherwise, we watch a lot of nature shows, like Blue Planet or National Geographic. I personally don't even like Disney for my 3yo because there is too much violent imagery, just as we're trying to teach "we don't hit", etc.
posted by vignettist at 7:45 PM on November 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Otherwise, we watch a lot of nature shows, like Blue Planet or National Geographic. I personally don't even like Disney for my 3yo because there is too much violent imagery, just as we're trying to teach "we don't hit", etc.
posted by vignettist at 7:45 PM on November 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Krtek the mole is an incredible cartoon character from Czekoslovakia. In China, he's called Yenshu. There's no dialog, so he travels well.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:50 AM on November 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:50 AM on November 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
From my time as the father of a three-year-old, let me categorize our viewing history:
Fun and funny, minimal in terms of Important Lessons, and great for adults to watch: Shaun the Sheep [Netflix streaming]
A few more lessons, but also pretty simple format, so it can get repetitive quickly: Pocoyo (there's a TON that is officially on YouTube)
Annoyingly repetitive but much-loved and decently educational, with an emphasis on activity: Bo on the GO! (bonus points: the main character is a young lady) [Netflix streaming]
More annoying, but also much loved: Phonics Farm, one of many videos from LeapFrog Enterprises [Netflix streaming]
Light on the education but fun to watch: Jake and the Never Land Pirates (modern spin on the world of Peter Pan, negative points for the young lady being decked in a frilly pink variant of Pirate Garb and providing fairy dust, and for the chubby kid to also be a sidekick) [Netflix streaming]
Cute, good educational lessons, including simplified versions of other places around the world and in time: Justin Time [Netflix streaming]
The movies: My Neighbor Totoro is a staple in this house, alongside with a number of Disney/Pixar staples, like Monsters Inc. and Monster University, Cars, and Mater's Tall Tales.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:48 AM on November 18, 2014
Fun and funny, minimal in terms of Important Lessons, and great for adults to watch: Shaun the Sheep [Netflix streaming]
A few more lessons, but also pretty simple format, so it can get repetitive quickly: Pocoyo (there's a TON that is officially on YouTube)
Annoyingly repetitive but much-loved and decently educational, with an emphasis on activity: Bo on the GO! (bonus points: the main character is a young lady) [Netflix streaming]
More annoying, but also much loved: Phonics Farm, one of many videos from LeapFrog Enterprises [Netflix streaming]
Light on the education but fun to watch: Jake and the Never Land Pirates (modern spin on the world of Peter Pan, negative points for the young lady being decked in a frilly pink variant of Pirate Garb and providing fairy dust, and for the chubby kid to also be a sidekick) [Netflix streaming]
Cute, good educational lessons, including simplified versions of other places around the world and in time: Justin Time [Netflix streaming]
The movies: My Neighbor Totoro is a staple in this house, alongside with a number of Disney/Pixar staples, like Monsters Inc. and Monster University, Cars, and Mater's Tall Tales.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:48 AM on November 18, 2014
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I also cannot recommend strongly enough this amazing five-part show HBO did several years ago called Classical Baby. To this day, I'll put it on and watch it myself. Spellbinding, and really artsy and beautiful.
posted by jbickers at 10:14 AM on November 17, 2014 [1 favorite]