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• Cookie Monster Moves to Bunnytown

  Bunnytown, a variety show for the pre-school set, just moved to weekdays on the Disney Channel at 10 a.m. EST/PT (check your local listings). We talked to David Rudman, co-creator of Bunnytown and voice of Cookie Monster about working in the biz and spilling Sesame Street secrets. – April Peveteaux   How does one get into the puppet business? I got a job working for The Muppets at eighteen as an intern.   How do you train to mimic the original voice of Cookie Monster?   Well I grew up watching him, so I knew what he sounded like and I worked with Frank Oz a lot on the show when he used to do Cookie Monster. When I first started I used to do his right hand. That’s one of the things you do when you’re starting; the main puppeteer is the voice, head and the left hand. Somebody else is the right hand of the puppet. The voice is close, but it’s the personality and the little quirks of the character that you have to hook into.   How many times have you had to sing C is for Cookie? Read More... Posted Apr 01 2008, 10:33 AM by editors with | with no comments Filed under: disney, sesame street, kids television, puppets, cookie monster, C is for Cookie, The Muppets, Oscar the Grouch, Bunnytown, David Rudman

• Old, Dorky, Great

  Mr. Rogers is a dork and even my kids, on some level, get this. But I like him because of his dorkiness and they like him in spite of it. So here's to another 40 years of his dorky goodness. The series "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" premiered Feb. 19, 1968. It's 40th birthday is being feted around Pittsburgh and will include a re-assembled Neighborhood of Make Believe set at its home, WQED. A Mr. Rogers Sweater Drive has also been planned.   Read More... Posted Feb 20 2008, 04:37 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: PBS, kids television, children's television, mr. rogers, fred rogers, mr. rogers' neighborhood

• Pingu!

  Around my house, we love a certain claymated penguin, who we discovered as an extra on a Fraggle Rock DVD. Yes, my husband and I have decided that our kids will only watch shows from the early '80s. Soon, they'll be ready for John Hughes's oeuvre. What a great and magical day that will be.   Read More... Posted Feb 04 2008, 04:00 PM by Adrienne Martini with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: kids television, Slate, fraggle rocks, Dana stevens, pingu

• Babble Talk: "Class of 3000" Rocks

  PSH.  I can't believe "Class of 3000" - the Cartoon Network show developed and conceptualized by Andre "3000" Benjamin of Outkast - is entering its second season, and I'm just now hearing about it - where have I been?  My girls and I parked ourselves in front of Cartoon Network at 8:30 sharp last Saturday morning to check out "Class" and weren't disappointed.  The show follows Sunny Bridges - Andre's animated alterego has lost none of his real-life flash or sass - a hip hop superstar who takes leave of the music biz to teach music to a talented group of kids in his hometown.  It's fun, it's funky and it's unlike any other kid's show on TV; kind of a latter day School House Rock.  Read about how the show came to be here, and tune in this Saturday - you'll love it! Posted Jul 24 2007, 07:37 PM by Alisyn with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Family Fun, kids television, cartoon network, class of 3000, andre benjamin, t.v., outkast

• 80's Kids Shows to Movies: Which Ones Would You Choose?

  I guess there's a live-action Transformers movie coming out. (As you can probably tell from my enthusiasm, I'll be camping out at the first showing to get tickets.) A little Wikipedia-ing told me Transformers have been around in one incarnation or another since 1984, but I think I was a little old for the original show, or just not that into cars that could become robots or what-have-you. However, at least one child of the 80's has a whole list of nostalgia shows she'd like to see made into movies (although I have to correct and say Ghostbusters was a movie before it was a show, oh 80's child.) On the list are G.I. Joe (if it hasn't been explicitly done, I think we've come pretty close with about a bajillion war movies), Jem (yup, truly, truly, TRULY outrageous), and the Smurfs (everyone inserts the Smurfette porn joke here). Also mentioned are Rainbow Brite (god help us) and Thundercats. Uh, thundercats, ho? This list made me realize first and foremost that my child watches waaaaay better T.V. than I ever did, tricked out with Tivo as we are, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before she's all into some poorly drawn, badly written program designed to sell merchandise. I'm not really heavy on the nostalgia-fix myself, but maybe there are one or two programs I wouldn't mind seeing as films. 1. Sigmund and the Seamonsters, which was 70's, not 80's, and is already live-action, but I watched it in the 80's and I wanna see a movie of it so get off my back, will ya? 2. Um, did we have any good T.V. back then? Mr. Rogers? Help me out here, people! Posted Jun 11 2007, 04:31 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: kids television, transformers, kids movies, nostalgia, sigmund the sea monster

• Kid's Show Hosted By Former Navy SEAL

  Former Navy SEAL David Rutherford has created a show for Boca Raton television called Froglogic. No, it's not a slur against the French or a nod to the retired WB mascot, it's named after the SEALs, who are called "frogmen". Rutherford uses the lessons he learned during his training to help keep kids on the straight-and-narrow. "I teach kids things like, 'never quit, never leave a man behind, there is no such thing as failure,'' he says.  You know, when the kids are doing military exercises and stuff. I totally disagree that there's no such thing as failure, and I can point to about a hundred examples from my own life alone to prove it. But maybe I just haven't had the proper training. I like this: "He targets kids between the ages of 10 and 15 because kids under 10 are too young to get into trouble..." Someone has not met the right under-ten kids yet. But Rutherford is very active in his community, and he is trying to give kids a positive attitude. He's even organizing an event: "'Frogapalooza,' which would feature healthy, local food vendors, music acts and motivational speakers to provide kids with positive influences." Now these pearls aren't part of the SEAL training, but here's my credo: 1) No one is allowed to use '-alooza' anymore, because I'm so friggin' sick of it I can't even stand it, and 2) motivational speakers are usually scary. Worse than clowns, even. Not all, but most. Other than that and the interesting military vibe of all this, more power to you, Rutherford. I'll try and check out the show after my bootcamp exercise class.   Posted Jun 01 2007, 04:48 PM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: kids television, children's television, tweens, navy seals, motivation

• "High School Musical" Franchise is Unstoppable

  I'd admit it. I haven't paid a lick of attention to the whole High School Musical frenzy.  A quick Googling pulls up a description about a high school girl who meets a high school boy while on vacation. Romance ensues, then they part ways.  Then she gets transferred to a new school which—surprise!—is high school boy's school.  But she's a geek and doesn't fit in with his jock-ly world and...hmmmm...something sounds not-so-vaguely familiar.  Ooh!  And, it's directed by Kenny Ortega, better known as the man behind the sexxxy dance moves in both Dirty Dancing and Xanadu. Read More... Posted Feb 21 2007, 10:03 AM by Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: disney, high school musical, kids television, disney channel, kids movies

• LinkLove: Kids TV That Doesn't Suck

  Let's face it: for most of us, part of having kids is watching kids' TV.  There are some intensely disciplined and strong willed parents out there who forgo TV entirely - everyone knows at least one set of these people, right? -  in favor of puzzles, board books, and endless rounds of CandyLand.  But I don't know how these parents stay sane.  I admire their principles, but... how do they get anything done?   Most of the parents I know, myself included, rely on commercial-free, educational TV to help them, and their kids, get through the day.  TiVo and Noggin are our best friends.   But herein lies the rub: most kids' TV blows. It blows big time.  Whether it's "Clifford the Big Red (Pussed-Out) Dog," the coked-up antics of a couple of Australian weirdos, or "Barney" (The Douche Bag-a-saurus) - it all blows so, so hard.  But wait - there's hope!  Check out the funkiest, freshest, strangest kids shows out there: Peter Hartlaub of The Poop recommends "Pingu." My current fave (and that of my 4-year-old daughter) is "My Neighbor Totoro."  Also try "Kiki's Delivery Service,"  "Spirited Away," and the rest of the Hayao Miyazaki Collection. Yo, Gabba Gabba! (coming to the U.S. Spring 2007).  Eagerly anticipate by hipsters everywhere. Dan Zanes is pushing "All Around the Kitchen."  Henry Rollins, The Flaming Lips and Arcade Fire all have fun on "Pancake Mountain."  (This one ROCKS!) And of course, you can't go wrong with the classics: "The Muppet Show," "Fraggle Rock," "The Electric Company," "Sesame Street,"  "Schoolhouse Rock" are all available on DVD here.  Posted Jan 04 2007, 09:15 AM by Alisyn with | with no comments Filed under: television, kids television