Cartoons for the under 6 crowd without squeaky voice and magical powers?
July 8, 2020 10:27 AM Subscribe
Looking for kids cartoons where the problems are "real life" problems - without using magic or superhero powers. Bonus points if the characters voices are not high squeals or whines (Calliou is unbearable). Good problems are things like getting ready for school, being a good friend and sharing, why we brush our teeth, finding a lost toy, social problems, etc. Daniel Tiger meets these criteria (his squeaky voice is barely bearable). Sarah and Duck is a pretty good standard for what I am looking for. Peep's wide world and Puffin Rock are also good examples as well.
Best answer: If you can find Little Bear anywhere I think it would fit the bill. No squeaky voices, and while all the characters are animals they usually stick to mundane problems. It was such a kind, low-key, humane show - definitely for kids but when I was an undergrad it was one of my favorite shows to nap to.
posted by DingoMutt at 10:36 AM on July 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by DingoMutt at 10:36 AM on July 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Little Bear was a favorite in our house when our daughter was little. It is gentle and kind, though not as "lesson-y" as some other cartoons for little kids. Franklin is definitely "lesson-y", but I always found him super-annoying (though not as bad as the heinous Caillou). Oswald was another one that we liked.
posted by briank at 10:46 AM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by briank at 10:46 AM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Molly of Denali (PBS) seemed very sweet and unannoying during the 3 episodes my kid consented to watch before deciding to only watch Brainchild on Netflix on repeat.
posted by Maarika at 10:49 AM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Maarika at 10:49 AM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Arthur is solid.
posted by Mizu at 10:49 AM on July 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by Mizu at 10:49 AM on July 8, 2020 [5 favorites]
Bing is very much this - they deal with things like losing favourite toys or feeling sick. It does a good job of modelling ways for kids to handle these kind of situations that they might find hard or scary.
Its maybe for the younger kids, like I think a 6 year old might find it a bit babyish. The child character voices are a bit annoying but not unbearably so. But one of the grown up characters (Flop) is voiced by renowned and amazing Shakespearean actor Mark Rylance.
posted by Lluvia at 11:03 AM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Its maybe for the younger kids, like I think a 6 year old might find it a bit babyish. The child character voices are a bit annoying but not unbearably so. But one of the grown up characters (Flop) is voiced by renowned and amazing Shakespearean actor Mark Rylance.
posted by Lluvia at 11:03 AM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Peg Plus Cat, do doot do do do doo doo
Peg Plus Cat, do doot do doo do doo do
Bonus: mathy, drawn on graph paper
Possible risk: at some point, Peg will declare that they’ve got a Really Big Problem! But her voice doesn’t seem whiny to me (certainly no Dora), and Cat is low-pitched and usually pretty chill.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 11:23 AM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Peg Plus Cat, do doot do doo do doo do
Bonus: mathy, drawn on graph paper
Possible risk: at some point, Peg will declare that they’ve got a Really Big Problem! But her voice doesn’t seem whiny to me (certainly no Dora), and Cat is low-pitched and usually pretty chill.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 11:23 AM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Small problems generally - but Max & Ruby?
posted by bonobothegreat at 11:28 AM on July 8, 2020
posted by bonobothegreat at 11:28 AM on July 8, 2020
Best answer: Charlie & Lola is this - brother & sister, everyday stuff - school, pets, friends, etc. The books are lovely too, with a beautiful collage art style.
posted by rd45 at 11:29 AM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by rd45 at 11:29 AM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
StoryBots: "Ask the StoryBots" on Netflix: Kids ask questions, the StoryBots research the answer singing goofy, catchy songs. Also there is StoryBots Super Songs, which are just the songs amalgamated without a plot.
My kids liked these. But more importantly, I liked these.
posted by Sauter Vaguely at 11:59 AM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
My kids liked these. But more importantly, I liked these.
posted by Sauter Vaguely at 11:59 AM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
I found Joe & Jack pretty good. Imaginative play with a talking cat, but also realistic household plot lines, and mundane things like laundry lines.
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:13 PM on July 8, 2020
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:13 PM on July 8, 2020
The current Curious George show on PBS Kids is remarkably calm and mellow and probably the least-grating kids show I've ever listened to. Its stories are all about being curious and exploring things and getting into, and then out of, gentle mischief -- it's really popular with the 3-5 crowd around here. (Have not seen the movies/previous adaptations)
Also seconding Peg + Cat, although I had a visiting relative (back when that was a thing that we did) remark that they found the voices squeaky, for what that's worth. It can be silly, but problem solving through math is a good lesson.
posted by puffyn at 12:19 PM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Also seconding Peg + Cat, although I had a visiting relative (back when that was a thing that we did) remark that they found the voices squeaky, for what that's worth. It can be silly, but problem solving through math is a good lesson.
posted by puffyn at 12:19 PM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Peppa Pig has normal life problems and (in my opinion) quite tolerable voices.
posted by hungrytiger at 12:21 PM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by hungrytiger at 12:21 PM on July 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Seconding Arthur. I'd never heard of it when I started watching it with my kids, many years ago. I don't think they found it very exciting, but I was impressed with how well-written it is/was.
posted by pipeski at 1:18 PM on July 8, 2020
posted by pipeski at 1:18 PM on July 8, 2020
Sheriff Callie's Wild West? It's a little ridiculous at times (cartoon stretching of reality) but I don't think any of it's "magical" in nature. Episodes seem geared toward problem-solving; I remember episodes on friendship, bullying, trustworthyness, responsibility, etc.
posted by stormyteal at 4:36 PM on July 8, 2020
posted by stormyteal at 4:36 PM on July 8, 2020
Best answer: I liked Osward. Sweet and slow paced.
posted by ReluctantViking at 7:54 PM on July 8, 2020
posted by ReluctantViking at 7:54 PM on July 8, 2020
Jakers was a lot of fun for us. There's one minor-ish squeaky character (Molly), but she's rarely in the forefront. The setting is an Irish farm in the 1950s, so there's nothing supernatural about it. Bonus: Mel Brooks plays a wisecracking sheep, whose schtick was appealing to the adult viewers in our house.
posted by NumberSix at 9:19 PM on July 8, 2020
posted by NumberSix at 9:19 PM on July 8, 2020
We really enjoy Esme and Roy on HBO/PBS. It’s by Sesame Street so the characters are (non-scary) monsters, but it’s about a duo of babysitters solving problems like siblings squabbling, boredom, being sad about missing out on something, etc with real world solutions.
posted by notheotherone at 10:58 PM on July 8, 2020
posted by notheotherone at 10:58 PM on July 8, 2020
Kipper! My kid loved Kipper. Kipper is a English dog and he and his friends do things like go to the park.
posted by kerf at 11:31 PM on July 8, 2020
posted by kerf at 11:31 PM on July 8, 2020
Adding a vote for Bluey. Short clips can be watched here. Think it's on Disney+ in the USA.
posted by antipodes at 4:29 AM on July 9, 2020
posted by antipodes at 4:29 AM on July 9, 2020
Motown Magic, perhaps?
posted by Mrs. Rattery at 6:21 AM on July 9, 2020
posted by Mrs. Rattery at 6:21 AM on July 9, 2020
Bluey is excellent and I would watch it even without my toddler, but if Daniel's voice is barely tolerable to you, I think you're going to have some problems with the kids' voices (they're puppies, so they get yippy when they're excited).
posted by natabat at 8:18 AM on July 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by natabat at 8:18 AM on July 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't know what format you're looking for, but if you're OK with YouTube, The Koala Brothers is fantastic. For the most part, the themes are based around helping out, but there are stories about the consequences of your actions, making mistakes, and so on. The voices are with Australian accents for the most part and are fairly natural voices. The pacing is moderate, neither too slow nor too fast.
posted by plinth at 1:14 PM on July 9, 2020
posted by plinth at 1:14 PM on July 9, 2020
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posted by hanov3r at 10:34 AM on July 8, 2020