amanda-purington

My toddler loves this show! The mini-episodes are only 11 min long. It is far and away his favorite of the few different shows we've tried out. He literally starts laughing as soon as I start up a new episode. Unlike so many other cartoons I've come across with both him and my nieces and nephews, this one is actually (more than) bearable for the adults in the room to watch, as well. It is cute and educational for young kids. It goes over the different names, functions, and properties (shininess, reflectiveness, shape, sound, etc.) of everyday items, and it's a really cute premise. For instance, in one episode Fig (the main character) discovers that round things roll more easily on smooth surfaces, by playing with a round item on different types of surfaces. These are the sort of little details in life that parents get so used to, that we might not think to point them out to our kids. To us, they are just obvious details, but to little kids, everything is a brand new lesson, and Tumble Leaf writers do a great job of going over various items and their properties, as if they are also seeing through the children's' eyes, for the very first time. We've gone through the first season and begun to cycle back through, again, so I'm definitely looking forward to the second season!

First of all, when I got to this page the reviews were filtered by "best," the only best review was written by one of the writers/producers, which should tell you something. I'm sorry to say something disparaging about someone else's piece of work, but it just isn't a high quality documentary. I have watched quite a few documentaries, and this one was probably one of the worst, yet. If you are one of the writers of the film and yours is the only 5-star review, that isn't a great sign. I thought this was a waste of my hard- earned money. My husband and I really enjoy documentaries, and we just couldn't get into this. 15 minutes in, and we just had to shut it off. I honestly congratulate myself for sticking with it and making it that far (but also totally regret the waste of time). A big part of the problem was the style. The woman's low voice, the flashing of random images that have negative connotations (skull and crossbones, etc.)... It made this "documentary" seem very amateurish. Full of conspiracy-theories, and not in a thoughtful way (more like in the way that false flag people are convinced that 9/11 and the Holocaust never happened.... i.e. insane and without any credibility). If I watch a documentary, I'm doing it because I want to learn something. I want to see another perspective. I want a thoughtful presentation of that perspective. I don't enjoy so much sensationalism. It muddles any point you are trying to make. This documentary was created for people who aren't capable of critical thinking and who need images of skulls and crossbones flashed at them, so that they'll know how they're supposed to be feeling about the subject matter that is being presented to them. My advice to the writers is to have more faith in people's abilities to understand that you are trying to tell them something is good or bad. And fire your effects crew/person, or whoever it was who thought that it was a good idea to flash skull images and violent images at viewers, while they simultaneously listen to a woman's purposefully creepy- sounding voice spouting conspiracy theories. Super cheesy. Get out of the documentary-making business, I beg you.