Now, I should preface this by saying that we don't allow our son more than a small amount of screen time (TV or computer) per day. The TV is watched with us right there and it can take us two or three days finish a feature length movie.
Parents, raise your hand if you have ever been forced to watch a children's show with insincere adults, a well-trained animal and the hokiest lines ever written and wanted very much to find the people that made that bane of civilization and personally beat them into a tin can? Or have you been forced to watch a cartoon whose sole purpose to get your kid singing the most annoying songs ever written which made you want to personally tie the singers vocal cords together into a pretty bow? Or high budget, high flash, low brain movies that made your child want cheap 'Made in China' garbage guaranteed to fall apart within a week (more applicable for the slightly older kids)? After about two dozen of those, you are ready to do one of the following:
1) Ban every cartoon, muppet, puppet and anything resembling cute from ever crossing your threshold or gracing the screen of your TV again.
2) Get your spouse to watch your dear child while you spend an hour listening to punk and gangster rap on your headphones while playing with dangerous tools and not following directions.
3) Ride your horse. Right into the next state.
4) Move to a remote cabin in Alaska without running water, regular bathing, or satellite tv.
Then, you find a little ray of hope. Something with enough cute to satisfy the little one but with enough snark to keep the parents happy. We were thrilled, for instance, when our son was finally old enough for Bugs Bunny. The old favorites (violence and all) were pulled out and he has handled them well. Whew!
Recently, our friends from across the pond have provided us with a form of sanity known as "Shaun the Sheep". I think I'm addicted. The best episode is "Hiccups". It had me laughing until our son gave me a worried look.
Our son loves it, too. It's probably just a passing fancy, but anyone who makes childhood TV shows that are adult friendly should be awarded a public service medal, (or whatever the British equivalent is). Oh, and "Wallace and Gromit" is another survivable kids show made by the same folks.
