Higglytown Heroes

Guys come on Higglytown Heroes is not a rip-off to South Park even though i hate South Park for being racist i find this show to be cool and the best show since september 12th 2004.

I love how every episode teaches kids the value of everyday heroes. I also think Wild Brain Entertainment is a good name for this show's production company, as I always found it funny when Twinkle comes up with a silly genius idea for a solution to their problem, but then someone else (usually Fran) tells her one problem with the plan she just drew up, and she says "Aw, pickles."

My 3-year-old liked this show at first. The bright colors and basic shapes are easy to watch for really small children. After a while though, her interest waned and my patience for this show is at an all-time low.

My main complaint is the all-too-obvious attempt to be politically correct. Besides all the family and ethnic stereotypes, all of the unusual or "cool" heroes (astronauts, zoo-keepers, doctors, nuclear physicists) are all women while men fill the more mundane, everyday roles (bakers, gardeners, garbage collectors). I just think it's weird and silly to try so hard.

The other thing that drives me crazy is the animation. The character's arms disappear whenever they are at rest. If you haven't noticed this, keep an eye on their arms. When someone puts their arms at their side, the arm gets sucked into their body and leaves only a hand sitting on the side of the character. It's strange, distracting and makes me think that the animators could have tried to perfect their technology before making hundreds of shows.

All in all, I don't think this is a terrible show, but I don't like it as much as others. I think it teaches kids some valuable lessons (positive thinking, respect for others) but also implies that every kid needs to find an adult or "hero" to solve every single one of life's problems. I"d like to see the kids (or Pizza Guy for heaven's sake!) succeed on their own every once in a while.

Now, first a sort of disclaimer: I know this show is meant for young kids, and as a man in my thirties, I am not included in the intended target audience for this show. This comment is written as an adult and a father, and describes my feelings after watching this show on Disney channel for almost two days while staying home with my sick kid.

This show has taken away my good humor. I am now an official hater of Higglytown. The theme song invades your brain, the way the word "hero" is used waters out the very concept of a hero, the babushka-style figures leave a lot to be desired when it comes to exciting animation. But the worst thing is how perfect the world of Higglytown is. Even though I have to agree that it is educational about different types of work, friendship and problem-solving, I get a really sticky feeling in my throat and in my head. It is simply too nice and friendly, and alienates the real world where things are far from this world of perfection.

Now I am really happy that I got out of the house, I couldn't stand much more of the show. I was almost afraid of going postal or to be lulled into a candy-covered pastel world inside my own head. Watching this WITH my kid is out of the question, and that may very well be the worst bit. Because this is the kind of show that kids probably watch alone most of the time. It easily becomes a parent substitute. It gives the kids solutions to everything, and does little to stimulate curiosity and independent thinking. Little of what is learned is applicable to a kids world of problems, and applying the "solutions" to real world problems will probably leave the kids disillusioned and apathic with no thinking on their own.

I would rather watch old, not so politically correct, classic Disney animation movies with my kids, where there is real anger (Donald Duck), playful action and fun quarreling. This means I have to explain stuff to them, and I truly think good parent-kid interaction is much more valuable and educational for the kids than this utopian world of Higglytown.

In the future I will put on my DVDs with classic Disney cartoons instead of the Playhouse Disney channel. For both my sanity and for my kids.

My two year old loves this show. We have a routine starting at 10am, watching playhouse Disney for the first three hours of the day while we get the day started with breakfast and getting dressed. She loves the playhouse Disney line up, starting with the DoodleBops and ending with JoJo's Circus. The shows allow her to dance, get moving, as well as learn about the world around her. Higgleytown Heroes is a great show since she can learn what adults do for careers and has started her imagination running. We love playing dress up after Heroes has gone off. She & I imagine we're one of the Heroes from the show and play around. She always asks for me to turn back on the Heroes movies. It's hard to tell a two year old somethings over for the day, but at least playhouse Disney has thought up great fillers like "Shanna's Show" and "This is Daniel Cook". She loves the shows and I Love the content that Disney has in their shows. I love Playhouse Disney and hope it continues to have such good ideas!!! Thanks Disney!