`Wimzie’s House” is one place parents shouldn’t mind their preschoolers visiting each morning. The sweet and gentle new PBS show, which airs weekdays at 9:37 a.m. on WTTW-Ch. 11, clearly is a safe haven for young viewers.
From the producers of the hit PBS children’s show “Arthur,” “Wimzie’s House” currently is one of Canada’s most popular kids’ shows. The series follows the adventures of a spunky young monster, her family and friends. Wimzie, a sunshine yellow puppet with google eyes and magenta Brillo pad hair, is the product of a “mixed marriage.” Rousso, her firefighter father, is a dragon-like creature. Mother Graziella, an airline pilot, exhibits bird-like characteristics.
(If these whimsical and woolly puppets look strikingly like Muppets, that’s because New York’s 3/Design Studio, which has worked on many Jim Henson productions, created them.)
Wimzie, her parents and baby brother, Bo, live together in a wildly colorful home that doubles as a day-care center. Wimzie’s hip and wise maternal grandmother, Yaya, runs the center, where she freely dispenses advice and chocolate chip cookies. Yaya lovingly watches over her grandchildren and three other little monsters: the brainy Jonas, his adoring little sister, Loulou, and the emotionally complex Horace.
Together Wimzie and company learn important life lessons during their time together at Wimzie’s house. Through story and song, each episode explores an overall theme that is relevant to young viewers. These issues include such hot-button preschool topics as sharing, safety, responsibility, honesty and diversity. Although the story lines are easy to follow, they examine each theme from a variety of angles. Consequently, dilemmas and problems can be multilayered, just as they are in real life.
Take the episode “We Want Toys!” Here Wimzie and her friends become obsessed with the “Binga-Boinga,” the hottest toy around. Wimzie, as any self-respecting child would do, ceaselessly pesters her parents about it. The show not only explores the feelings children have when they desperately want something they can’t have, but it also addresses how kids feel when their friends have things they don’t. Wimzie wonders if her parents love her less because they won’t buy her a Binga-Boinga. Of course, Wimzie comes to learn the age-old lesson “Money Can’t Buy Me Love” when her father takes her on a spectacular fishing trip that eclipses the Binga-Boinga in coolness. But her epiphany comes after some realistic soul-searching.
Also admirable is the show’s emphasis on respecting others. Sure, “Wimzie’s House” wants kids to feel like they matter — you know, the whole self-esteem thing. But the series clearly wants children to understand that others matter too. Whether it’s learning not to tease others about their fear of the dark or giving back someone’s really cool magic crayon after discovering that it’s really not yours, Wimzie and her friends ultimately learn to do right by each other. But it’s not just the adult figures that teach such valuable lessons. Many times it’s the imperfect kids teaching each other the difference between right and wrong.
“Wimzie’s House” also deserves applause for presenting a contemporary version of a loving, caring family. With so many children today in day care, it’s nice to see a children’s show — other than “Sesame Street” — that honestly reflects that reality. The series also shows that although Wimzie’s parents work outside of the home and are not always around, they deeply care about their children. For young viewers with working parents, that’s surely a nice touch.
If the show has one shortcoming, it’s perhaps that the learning-and-growing stories can go on a tad long and sometimes drag a bit. Musical numbers add some variety. And it helps when the action moves from one room of the house to another.
Fortunately, this minor structural flaw doesn’t prevent the delightful show from being a dream house.
CINAR, the series’ producer, offers learning materials for parents and adult caregivers to use with young viewers. These materials are available through the “Wimzie’s House” Web site at www.wimzie.com/
– Almost as fast as the animated Hercules could slice heads off that hideous Hydra monster, Walt Disney Television went into production on a new animated TV series, “Disney’s Hercules.” Based on this summer’s Disney movie, the new music-laden cartoon is scheduled to debut in fall 1998 on ABC Saturday mornings and in syndication. The series will focus on Herc’s teen years, and many original cast members will reprise their roles.
