
Kids Programming (33)
First Look: 'Hailey's On It'
Hailey's On It!, an original animated comedy-adventure series from Disney Branded Television, will premiere Thursday, June 8 (8:00 p.m. EDT/PDT), on Disney Channel, Disney XD and next day on Disney+. Auli'i Cravalho stars in the title role as Hailey, a risk-averse but resourceful teenager on a mission to complete every item on her long list of challenging — and sometimes impractical — tasks in order to save the world. Starring alongside Cravalho is Manny Jacinto (The Good Place) as the voice of Scott, Hailey's best friend, and Gary Anthony Williams (The Boondocks) as the voice of Beta, an artificially intelligent operating system from the future.
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First Look: 'Gremlins: Secrets Of The Mogwai'
Gremlins: Secrets Of The Mogwai takes viewers back to 1920s Shanghai where the Wing family first meets the young Mogwai called Gizmo. Sam Wing (future shop owner Mr. Wing in the 1984 “Gremlins” film) accepts the dangerous task to take Gizmo home and embarks on a journey through the Chinese countryside. Sam and Gizmo are joined by a teenage street thief named Elle, and together, they encounter—and sometimes battle—colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore. Along their quest, they are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist and his growing army of evil Gremlins.
The all-star voice cast includes Ming-Na Wen, James Hong, BD Wong, Matthew Rhys, Izaac Wang, AJ LoCascio, Gabrielle Nevaeh Green. The series will also feature notable guest stars including Zach Galligan who starred as the hero “Billy Peltzer” in Amblin’s original “Gremlins” films. Additional guest voices include Sandra Oh, Randall Park, George Takei, and Bowen Yang.
Gremlins: Secrets Of The Mogwai is produced by Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Animation. Steven Spielberg serves as executive producer, along with Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, Presidents of Amblin Television, and Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios. Tze Chun serves as showrunner and executive producer. Brendan Hay serves as executive producer with Dan Krall serving as Supervising Producer. Joe Dante serves as consulting producer.
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First Look: 'Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur'
Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, based on Marvel's hit comic books, follows the adventures of 13-year-old super-genius Lunella Lafayette and her 10-ton T-Rex, Devil Dinosaur. After Lunella accidentally brings Devil Dinosaur into present-day New York City, the duo works together to protect the city's Lower East Side from danger.
Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur premieres on Disney Channel 2/10/23 and Disney+ 2/15/23.
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1st Annual Children’s & Family Emmy Award Ceremonies: Remembering Sesame Street Icons (Video)
Sesame Street cast members Alan Muraoka and Martin P. Robinson introduce the In Memoriam Segment with their personal remembrances of Sesame Street legends Bob McGrath and Emilio Delgado. Sesame Street is one of only three series to receive Lifetime Achievement honors, alongside 60 Minutes and This Old House.
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First Look: 'Circuit Breakers'
Circuit Breakers is a half-hour anthology series about middle-schoolers in the near future that uses science fiction as a backdrop to tell universal stories about growing up. The series was created by Melody Fox with executive producer Matt Hastings directing three episodes from the season including the pilot. Circuit Breakers is executive produced by Hastings, Andrew Orenstein, Cottonwood Media’s Sarah Haasz, David Michel and Cécile Lauritano, Aircraft Pictures’ Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen, and Todd Berger. Fox and Gillian Horvath serve as co-executive producers.
Each installment of Circuit Breakers features a sci-fi twist on kid relatable stories, with the intent of kids and families asking themselves how they would act in each unique situation. The gripping trailer highlights the seven distinct stories with cast including Callan Farris (Grimcutty), Nathaniel Buescher (APB), Veda Cienfuegos (Undone), Cole Keriazakos (Southside), Maz Jobrani (Immigrant), Cale Ferrin (Endlings), Quincy Kirkwood (Y: The Last Man), Arielle Halili (Less Than Kosher), Gavin MacIver-Wright (Odd Squad: Mobile Unit), Khiyla Aynne (13: The Musical), Maya McNair (Clarice), and more.
Circuit Breakers premieres Friday, November 11th, 2022 on Apple TV+
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'Daniel Spellbound' (Photo Gallery)
In modern day New York City, magic is real - it's just hidden from the public. But Daniel Spellbound knows just where to find it. Making his living "tracking" hard to find magical objects, Daniel catches the attention of the wrong people when he discovers a rare artifact and suddenly the fate of magical world hangs in the balance.
Daniel Spellbound premieres Thursday, October 27th, 2022 on Netflix.
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Review: 'Daniel Spellbound'
If you haven't heard of Daniel Spellbound before now, keep in mind that it premiered today on Netflix. Which means, of course, that like many Netflix originals, the pre-premiere press coverage has been close to non-existent.
Which is a shame, because this CGI-series from Matt Fernandes (Dino Ranch, Remy & Boo, Kingdom Force) and Boat Rocker Studios is a blast. Part YA Indiana Jones mashed together with magic and set in modern-day New York City, the series is a non-stop action romp that has the feel of the best parts of Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse.
Teenager Daniel Spellbound (Alex Barima) is a tracker of magical ingredients and he makes his living selling rare goods to sorcerers and wizards for their spells. He lives in a New York City where magic lives just below the surface and it's an arrangement that (mostly) works for everyone. But it turns out that Daniel owes a debt to the evil Pie Maker and the only way he can make that right is to uncover the location of a rare magical item: The Fugu Rose.
That quest will eventually include everything from a talking pig named Hoagie (Devin Mack) to an attempt to steal the heart of a Mermaid Queen. Along the way, Daniel meets Gremlins with a broken ice cream truck, an Insect King and a mysterious Dark Mage. It all ends with an epic battle pitting Daniel, Hoagie the Pig and their partner Lucy Santana (Chantel Riley) against the Dark Mage as they try and defend the Gryphon's egg and save the world.
Daniel Spellbound is just a blast and while it might be a bit too frentic for the youngest viewers, this series will delight young teens. And to be honest, I am about as far from the target audience as you imagine and I watched the entire ten-episode season in one session. There is something incredibly relaxing about just sitting back and letting yourself get caught up in the energy of a fun and engaging series.
After watching the premiere season, you might be curious about whether Netflix might order a second season. My prediction is yes, because the initial order from Netflix was announced as being twenty episodes. My suspicion is that the streamer will save the second group of ten episodes for a few months and then release them as a "second season," even though for budgetary reasons they are really all part of a one season order.
Daniel Spellbound premiered Thursday, October 27th, 2022 on Netflix.
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First Look: 'Slumberkins'
Apple TV+ today released the trailer for the heartwarming original preschool series Slumberkins, premiering globally on Friday, November 4. Emmy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson serves as executive music producer, creating original music for the mixed media puppet/2D animation series from The Jim Henson Company.
Based on the leading children’s emotional learning brand Slumberkins, the series brings to life characters from the beloved books while empowering the emotional wellness of children through supportive storytelling. Embark on adventures with Bigfoot, Unicorn, Sloth, Yak, and Fox as they explore a world of feelings.
The Slumberkins voice cast introduces young newcomers Brayden Morgan as Bigfoot, Olive Baity as Unicorn, Miles Flack as Sloth, Araceli Prasarttongosoth as Yak, and Yonas Kibreab as Fox with narration by Jennifer Hale (Ralph Breaks the Internet). Additional voice cast includes Jason Ritter (Raising Dion) as Fox’s Father, Pamela Adlon (Better Things) as Fox’s Mother, Adelynn Spoon (Luck) as Kit, Yvette Nicole Brown (Big Shot, Disenchanted) as Yak’s mother, Josh Banday (Upload, Not Dead Yet) as Bigfoot’s Father, and many more.
Slumberkins was created for television by Alex Rockwell (Word Party, Pajanimals). The Jim Henson Company’s Halle Stanford executive produces alongside Rockwell. Callie Christensen (MIT, Elementary Education and Special Education) and Kelly Oriard (M.S., Counseling and Marriage Therapy & School Counseling), creators of the Slumberkins education brand, serve as co-executive producers of the series. Dr. Dan Siegel, Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute serves as an expert on attachment and human development as part of the Apple TV+ changemaker initiative.
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'Cars On The Road' (Photo Gallery)
Cars On The Road follows Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and his best friend Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) as they head east from Radiator Springs on a cross-country road trip to meet up with Mater’s sister.
Premiering on Disney+ Day, September 8th, Cars On The Road is produced by Marc Sondheimer. The series' episodes are directed by Steve Purcell (Eps 1, 2, 8), Bobby Podesta (Eps 5, 6, 9) and Brian Fee (Eps 3, 4, 7). Composer Jake Monaco created the score for all nine episodes, which is featured on the Cars On The Road soundtrack from Walt Disney Records.
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Family Programming Premieres: 09/25/2022 - 10/01/2022
Here is a rundown of kids and family programming premiering this week:
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH, 2022:
Celebrity Jeopardy Season Premiere (ABC)
Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune Season Premiere (ABC)
Outrageous Pumpkins (Food)
Under Wraps 2 (Disney)
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH, 2022:
Halloween Cookie Challenge (Food)
My Little Pony: Make Your Mark (Netflix)
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2022:
Bobby's Triple Threat Series Premiere (Food)
Outchef'd Series Premiere (Food)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH, 2022:
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season Premiere (Disney+)
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers Season Two Premiere (Disney+)
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2022:
Dragon Rescue Riders: Heroes Of The Sky (Peacock)
Looney Tunes Cartoons Halloween Special (HBO Max)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2022:
Floor Is Lava Season Premiere (Netflix)
Get Rolling With Otis (Apple TV+)
Hocus Pocus 2 (Disney+)
Phantom Pups Series Premiere (Netflix)
Rainbow (Netflix)
Rainbow is a modern tale of a teenager's coming-of-age journey loosely inspired by the all-time classic “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. The cast is led by Dora Postigo, Áyax Pedrosa, Wekaforé Jibril (Spirit Disco), Carmen Maura, Carmen Machi and Luis Bermejo.
Wolfboy & The Everything Factory (Apple TV+)
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Family Programming Premieres: 08/14/2022 - 08/20/2022
Here is a rundown of kids and family programming premiering this week:
MONDAY, AUGUST 15TH, 2022:
Deepa & Anoop Series Premiere (Netflix)
Joined by her color-changing pet elephant, a joyful little girl creates music, merriment and mischief at her Indian family's Mango Manor hotel.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17TH, 2022:
Junior Baking Show (Netflix)
Britain's most talented young bakers wow judges with cakes, biscuits, breads and more in this kid-focused spinoff of "The Great British Baking Show."
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18TH, 2022:
Dragons: The Nine Realms Season Premiere (Hulu)
Set 1,300 years after the events of How To Train Your Dragon, dragons are now just a legend to the modern world. When a geological anomaly opens up an immense, miles-deep fissure in the Earth’s surface, scientists from all over the world gather at a new research facility to study the mysterious phenomenon. Soon a group of misfit kids, brought to the site by their parents, uncover the truth about dragons and where they’ve been hiding -- a secret they must keep to themselves to protect what they’ve discovered.
He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe (Netflix)
On Eternia, the first planet of creation, a demonic tyrant rises: Skeletor! With dark armies at his command, Skeletor is on the march, hell-bent on capturing Eternia’s kingdoms, and its ultimate prize – Castle Grayskull, the ancient fortress of mystery said to contain the greatest power in the universe. It’s up to He-Man and his brave squad of rookie heroes to stop Skeletor and restore the peace. Both sides come armed with enchanted Power Weapons – transforming them into Masters of the Primal Powers of the Universe. It’s Master vs. Dark Master, He-Man vs. Skeletor – fighting for control of Eternia, Castle Grayskull, and the fate of us all. In the end, who will become MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE?
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19TH, 2022:
The Cuphead Show! Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
Based on the award-winning video game that smashed onto the scene with a gorgeous retro animation style, THE CUPHEAD SHOW! is a character-driven comedy series following the unique misadventures of loveable, impulsive scamp Cuphead and his cautious but easily swayed brother Mugman. As the two scour their surreal homeworld of the Inkwell Isles in search of fun and adventure, they always have each other’s back. Unless there’s only one cookie left, in which case it’s every cup for himself. THE CUPHEAD SHOW! combines nostalgic delights, side-splitting gags, and a healthy dose of the heebie jeebies—especially when a ridiculously weird nemesis, The Devil himself, arrives on the scene to toy with our heroes. For King Features, C.J. Kettler will serve as the Executive Producer and Cuphead creators Chad and Jared Moldenhauer will serve as Executive Producers for Studio MDHR. The series will be produced by Netflix Animation and is executive produced by Emmy and Annie Award-winning producer, Dave Wasson (Mickey Mouse Shorts) and co-executive produced by Cosmo Segurson (Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling).
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First Look: 'Duck & Goose'
Inspired by the New York Times bestselling books by Tad Hills, Duck & Goose is a preschool series that celebrates the unique camaraderie of Duck and Goose, two best feathered friends that don’t always see beak to beak. That is until they discover that embracing and appreciating each other's differences can help them think up entirely new ideas to help solve everyday challenges, both big and small.
Duck & Goose is directed by Brian Muelhaupt (Sesame Street) with Jane Startz (Ella Enchanted), Douglas Wood (Bob the Builder, Little Einsteins), Chris Prynoski (Harriet the Spy), Shannon Prynoski (Harriet the Spy), Ben Kalina (Harriet the Spy), Antonio Canobbio (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) and Tad Hills (Duck & Goose) executive producing. Peabody Award winner Wood also serves as showrunner. Cathy Davidson, Ph.D., founding director of the Futures Initiative and a distinguished professor in the Ph.D. program in English at the Graduate Center, CUNY, and Christina Katopodis, Ph.D., executive director and postdoctoral associate at Transformative Learning in the Humanities, serve as the transformative learning experts on the series through Apple TV+’s changemakers initiative.
Duck & Goose premieres Friday, July 8th, 2022 on Apple TV+.
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PBS Kids To Air New 'Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood' Movie
A new one-hour Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood movie is coming to PBS Kids.
Daniel Tiger Visits A New Neighborhood will be premiere nationally on PBS Kids stations on Monday, June 20th, 2022.
In the special, Daniel and Mom go on a trip to visit Mom Tiger’s friend and her family, including her young son and Daniel’s pen pal, Juan Carlos. Daniel gets to take his very first train ride as he leaves the Neighborhood of Make-Believe for the first time and learns helpful new strategies for traveling and being away from home. He also discovers what makes Juan Carlos’ family and neighborhood so special – and even learns some grr-ific Spanish phrases.
The Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood special is part of PBS KIDS summer celebration. Still to come are new episodes of Odd Squad (July 4th-8th), Alma’s Way (July 11th-14th), and Molly of Denali (July 18th-21st), as well as new shorts from Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, which will debut in July and explore themes like compassion, kindness, gratitude, curiosity, and more.
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Review: 'Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers'
Reboots of any television show can be a tricky thing. The premise might sound ludicrous, but given the right amount of talent nearly any idea has the potential of exceeding your expectations. The laughable sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica was rebooting into one of most compelling dramas of the genre. And the reboot of Saved By The Bell became...well, maybe that's not a great example. Hey, wasn't that reboot of Battlestar Galactica really well done?
I did not have a great deal of optimism that the new movie Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers was going to be able to capture the joy and the classic animated series. The original was so well done that it was difficult to imagine how those characters could be rebooted into a movie that is set in modern-day California. But not only were my fears unjustified, I could not have been more mistaken.
Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers is an absolute delight. It's funny, warm and it is crammed with unexpected cameos and literally dozens of increasingly off-the-wall pop culture references. It's the perfect family film and is a special treat if you grew up on the original Disney Afternoon animated block of shows.
The movie takes place in the present day, thirty years after Chip & Dale's TV show was cancelled. They live in a Roger Rabbit world where humans and animated characters live side-by-side and in a lot of ways this film is the sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? that I always wished someone would make. In this film, Chip (voiced by John Mulaney) is living a lonely life in the suburbs as an insurance salesman. Dale (voiced by Andy Samberg), meanwhile, has had CGI surgery and works the convention circuit, desperate to relive his glory days.
Dale's appearance at the convention is a tip-of that this film is going to be something special. He's sitting in an autograph booth, surrounded by other quasi celebrities, all hoping for a little attention. There's Ugly Sonic (the Sonic with the human teeth), the candlestick from Beauty and the Beast and of course The Jungle Book's Baloo, who is the star of the event.
Chip and Dale haven't spoken since Dale left the Rescue Rangers to do his own series (which didn't last longer than the pilot). Dale keeps hoping for a reunion, and has paid for a CGI upgrade in hopes of appearing younger. But the team getting back together seems impossible until the duo are forced to work together after their old Rangers pal Monterey Jack is kidnapped. They learn he is going to be altered and forced to act in bootleg animated films. A plotline which will open up all sorts of unexpected cameos later in the film.
Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers perfectly captures the chaos of the original series while still being able to put the characters firmly in the modern world. Nearly every scene has some unexpected image or pop culture joke and even the throwaway posters are hilarious (Meryl Streep in "Mr. Doubtfire").
I am not going to spoil anything about the film's many surprises, but I will say it's been a long time since I laughed this much while watching an animated film. This movie is absolutely first-rate, so much so that I suspect Disney would have done very well if it had decided to release the movie into theaters first.
Kids will love Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers, but there is also a lot for adults to enjoy. The film ends with what seems to be a good set-up for a sequel and I hope that happens.
It's been a tough few months, and Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers is just the sort of mental palate cleanse we all need right about now.
Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers premiered Friday, May 20th, 2022 on Disney+
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