Children’s brains are programmed to learn. They absorb information from everything around them, storing it in their minds as building blocks that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
Based on this fact, and given the amount of time that children are exposed to TV and other media, it seems almost obvious to use this time to present them with content that may both entertain them and help shape their minds.
However, most children’s programs nowadays seem to lack substantial educational content.
Here’s a list of ten of the best ‘Oldie’ TV shows that conjugate fun and educational content, and that children would still enjoy today.
1.- The Funny Company (1965)
The premise of the show is a kid’s club formed to perform social activities and community jobs. Both boys and girls could enter (unlike most ‘boys-only’ clubs at the time), and they included a Native American chief and a gizmo dragon pet.
These 5-minute microprograms mixed animation and live action film, covering a variety of topics that both enlightened and entertained young audiences. These included: nature, how to, history, people and countries of the world, Earth and the Universe, inventions and mechanics, business, commerce and industry, people and things of interest, folk tales, and songs from all over the world.
The fast pace of the plots presented, and the quick jokes and witty puns, are a winning combination that have withstood the test of time.
Although some of its stereotypical portrayals may offend modern sensitivities, the stylized design of the characters looks surprisingly modern, and the educational content value and fun quotient of this little jewel compensates for any of its flaws.
2.- The Big Blue Marble (1974)
The Big Blue Marble was a groundbreaking program at many levels.
One of its most innovative concepts was its global view: each episode presented up to two children presenting his/her city, what they did, their family, their neighborhood, their culture, etc.
The filming crews traveled to the five continents in order to film the reality of children from all over the planet, in their own environment. These micro-documentaries allowed children to get to know other children around the planet, see how they lived, know their activities - some were athletes, singers, dancers, rodeo stars, others helped their families, etc.- and learn about the world from their own perspective.
Another segment included a brief section showing children at play from several parts of the world, or their reactions at common happenings. These showed the young audience that people around the planet are not so different, fostering thus a concept of global unity.
TBBM blended animation segments with filmed sections, and in many of these they encouraged children to participate actively and interact with the program through letters.
The program also showcased a section called: “If kids ruled the world”, in which children gave their views on what the world should be like from their point of view. Another section featured real addresses from children around the world looking for penpals, thus enabling international friendships.
(For those too young to remember: before internet, people around the world made friends with each other through the exchange of letters. They were called ‘penpals’, and there were clubs and even organizations built around them.)
All these, and the scant participation of adults in the segments, gave children viewers the feeling that it was a show created by kids for kids.
Children nowadays may find The Big blue Marble extremely low-tech, but that’s precisely part of its charm - simplicity. It looked as if TBBM had been shot at your school, in your own neighborhood, with you as the star, thus creating an instant sense of identification.
And it also demonstrates that children didn’t need much paraphernalia to be entertained - the rest was added by their own imaginations.
3.- Petete’s Big Fat Book (1975)
In 1975, Manuel García Ferré conceived a baby penguin on insatiable curiosity and named him Petete (after the name of the sucker around his neck).
This little penguin that talked in verse -since it’s demonstrated that children memorize quicker using rhyme-, presented a daily topic in his micro-programs, in which he also interacted with a human friend.
The topics presented encompassed a variety of topics, ranging from science to history. Using animation and basic puppetry resources, the Petete micro-programs were extremely popular and were broadcast in all Spanish-speaking countries.
These micro-programs were accompanied by an educative weekly magazine, which included a fascicle to collect and thus form the five volumes comprising the “Petete’s Big Fat Book”.
The success of “Petete’s Big Fat Book” was such that the micro-programs were translated and broadcast to over twenty countries, including Sweden, Germany, Portugal, Israel, all South America, and some arabic countries.
In 2000 new Petete shows were made, following the original pattern. However, as it often happens, despite its improved technology they failed to reproduce the charm of the original series.
4.- Animals, Animals, Animals with Hal Linden (1976)
Video - Animals, Animals, Animals, (2:23)
https://youtu.be/1LglQxEmPH0
There have been many animal shows produced and directed towards kids, including the excellent “Zoboomafoo”, but only “Animals, Animals, Animals” featured vibrant animation, sing-alongs, factual zoological information, and an array of cultural links (fables, historical facts, riddles, mythology, stories, etc.) connected to them.
Each of the 25-minute episodes focused on one particular animal, and explored every fascinating fact connected to it, using brightly colored animation, narration, interviews with specialists, a specially dedicated song, riddles, and more.
Presented by Hal Linden, a well-known TV personality at the time, “Animals, Animals, Animals” included live action sequences in which zoologists, biologists, and animal researchers were interviewed to provide facts about the animal presented.
In addition to a long array of biologists and zoologists, the production of "Animals, Animals, Animals" included a teacher consultant to make its content adequate for children, and the animal rights activist Roger Karrass as one of its advisers.
“Animals, Animals, Animals” was nominated to 5 Emmy Awards, and won in 1978 for Outstanding Children’s Informational Series. In addition, the program received the Peabody Award, and the Action for Children’s Television (ACT) Prize for Excellence in Programming.
5.- Heidi (1977)
Many versions have been made of the Johanna Spiri novel, both animated and in live action. But none has managed to capture the beauty of the Swiss Alps, the wide range of emotions, or the complexity of the subjects explored in the original source, as this Japanese animated version from 1977.
In addition to a script that does not look away from spiky issues - such as child abandonment and child abuse-, the masterful animation brings all characters to full vibrant life with a depth not even achieved by real actors.
As it happens in the perception of young children, every emotion is heightened, every moment is unique and explored to the last.
Heidi rings with laughter, bursts with joy, cries her heart out, goes wild at the beauty of nature, sinks into despair, loves with all her heart...and the audience follows her, joining her in every mood, feeling deeply identified with her.
In addition, without being explicit, through its actions and images “Heidi” installs a powerful discourse of protection of nature and childhood.
Punctuated by an unforgettable and deeply emotional score by Takeo Watanabe, and presenting marvelous depictions of nature that remain in the retina forever, “Heidi” is a classic that should be experienced at least once by every child.
6.-Bearcub Jackie (1977)
Based on the 1904 novel “Monarch, The Big Bear of Tallac”, by Ernest Thompson Seton, Bearcub Jackie presents the story of Senda, a Native American boy who adopts two bear cubs after his father kills their mother, a grizzly bear known as the goddess of Mount Tallac.
Along with his father, uncle Dimas and his granddaughter Jill, Senda faces a daily struggle to care for his animal friends and preserve the nature of their reserve from man’s greed and destruction.
Set in the Lake Tahoe region, “Bearcub Jackie” deals with several important issues, of which the main ones are the respect towards nature and to the native cultures.
While counting with all the playful elements that entice children, “Bearcub Jackie” never strays far from its original source.
Ernest Thompson Seton was an author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft League of America, and one of the founding pioneers of the Boy Scouts of America. Other of his works adapted into anime include “Bannertail: The Story of a Gray Squirrel”, “Eiken”, and “Wild Animals I have Known” (released under the name “Seton Animal Chronicles”), in addition to several manga versions.
Unlike most animated shows containing animals, “Bearcub Jackie” does not humanize any animal. At times, the bears speak with each other when they are not in human presence, but they never cease to behave as the wild animals they are.
Likewise, their relationship with Senda and the rest of humans, while happy and even jolly, is not romanticized, emphasizing that as much as their relationship may be good, wild animals are not pets and need to live in their natural habitat.
This concept is maintained throughout the series up to the last chapter when Senda, now an adult, meets his once-friend bear during a hunt, and is forced to take a crucial decision.
In addition to these environmental aspects, “Bearcub Jackie” explores the relationship -sometimes harmonious, sometimes conflictive- between the American natives and the white man. This provides an additional layer of complexity to the story, examining the socio-cultural conflict of the region at that time, forming an additional educational component.
Bearcub Jackie was awarded the Award of the Ministry of Culture of Japan to the Best Children’s Film or Series (1977), and the Award from the Wellness Ministry of Japan for its contribution to children’s education (1978).
7.- Fables of the Green Forest (1978)
Based on the books of Thornton W. Burgess, “Fables of the Green Forest” is an animated series focused on the life of a group of forest animals: beavers, foxes, bears, a woodpecker, etc.
Each episode explores their interactions with one another, and the challenges and perils they face in the wildlife (predators, hunters, natural catastrophes, etc.) In order to survive, the animals discover that they often require more than natural skills and luck - they also need cooperation, generosity with one another, self-sacrifice, and no little bravery.
Thornton Waldo Burgess was an American conservationist and author of more than 15,000 children's stories and 170 books, most of them on natural themes. Some have found similarities between Thornton Waldo Burgess and Beatrix Potter with her “Peter Rabbit” series, as both wrote moralizing tales enacted by humanized animals.
The simple design of the characters, and their characterization -all dressed- are very appealing to the younger audience. The fun stories are quick paced and full of drama and adventure. But all this cute coating belies the important character of their stories, charged with moral content.
Without ever being preachy, the stories of the “Fables of the Green Forest” stresses the importance of strong values, and installs a sense of ecological awareness on the young audience, by showing the destructive effects of man on the forest from the point of view of animals.
8.- Once Upon A Time...Man (1978)
Generations across the globe remember this show, which presented an animated version of world history from pre-history to the 20th century, divided in 26 episodes of 25 min each.
Instead of merely describing historical facts and dates, “Once Upon a Time...Man” focused on the daily life of a group of nine characters - Pierre, Pierrette, Little Pierre, Little Pierrette, the Fat guy, the Little Fat guy, the Master, and two scalawags-, which reprised the same roles throughout the different ages.
The vignettes charged with quotidian affairs managed to present history as something real and approachable, close to children’s realities, thus making it more memorable than facts and dates.
Peppered with funny skits among the real historical facts, the show had little dialogue among the characters, and instead the connecting thread of the story was carried by a narrator. A date clock appearing on the upper left corner of the screen participated as another character, often reacting to the events portrayed.
The French animation series was created with international support that included Canada, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, and Japan, among several other countries. It was translated into several languages and broadcast in more than 40 countries. Sadly, it never reached audiences in the United States, New Zealand, or Australia.
Following the animated series, magazines, trade card albums, activity books and other materials were launched.
The success of “Once Upon a Time...Man” spurred a string of additional series, each one following the original concept but exploring different topics: “Once Upon a Time...Space” (1982), “Once Upon a Time...Life” (1987), “Once Upon a Time...The Discoverers” (1994, which also launched a redesign of the characters), and “Once Upon a Time...Planet Earth” (2008).
This last installment in the series was released on the 30th anniversary of the original series, and marked the finale of the exploratory journey.
9.- Punky Brewster (1984)
Although not exactly created as an educational show, “Punky Brewster” contains enough valuable elements to make it more than a show of light entertainment for children.
Punky is an abandoned child who is found by a severe building administrator squatting in a vacant apartment. The two strike a deal and, through endless ups and downs, they slowly become more attached to one another. By the show’s end, the now soft-hearted administrator becomes Punky’s guardian, and finally his legal parent.
Along with “Diff’rent Strokes” (1978), “Punky Brewster” tackled social issues (inter-racial friendship, homelessness, adoption) under a light of benign comedy not devoid of tenderness. “Punky Brewster” was one of the first programs to raise the issue of Children’s Rights, and also one of the first to present a mild social critique to the events of its time.
Just as innovative was the concept of giving children a voice of their own. With very few exceptions, until then children in film and TV had been relegated to secondary characters - they were obedient, cute and funny, but mostly silent. That mold was first broken by “Family” (1973), “Little House on a Prairie” (1974) and “The Bad News Bears” (1979, from the 1976 namesake film). And the torch was worthily rescued by “Punky Brewster” for a new generation in the 1980's.
In addition to the humorous situations and witty lines, on every episode Punky faces situations in which she must learn about how to behave and deal with adversity, and how to tackle the endless problems of human interaction.
The combination of humor and drama succeeds in delivering important messages to the audience without ever being preachy or too evident in its intention.
Although younger audiences nowadays may find it overacted, “Punky Brewster” was one of the first shows in which childhood was portrayed by a child actress in all its authenticity: inventive, witty, free-spoken, tender but with a mind of her own.
The live action “Punky Brewster” gave way to an animated version featuring the voices of the original actors, but sadly this one lacked the brilliancy of the original script.
10.- The Magic School Bus (1994)
Mixing science, animation and adventure, the class of teacher Valerie Frizzle embark daily on a new exploration field trip aboard a school bus that can fly, dive underwater, turn into a rocket or shrink to microscopic size, allowing the children to learn deeply and in first person the mysteries of what they learn in class.
The topics explored range from biology and history, to zoology and astronomy, each one presented in a fun and didactic manner, since each episode contains a mystery that the class must solve gathering clues in their exploration.
Aside from its theoretical content, the show presents a diverse and well-integrated class, with a teacher who, while fun and kind, does not give her students all the answers, but rather often challenges them to discover them themselves. All these incite children to learn and use what they learn in the process.
The group is completed with a pet iguana, and the bus itself which, anthropomorphized, reacts to all the adventures as another character.
Launched as a TV animated series, “The Magic School Bus” was accompanied by books and activity magazines, among other materials, as a way to add further educational content.
“The Magic School Bus” was relaunched in 2017 with new character designs and updated technology, but the original series (1994-1997) remains the favourite of many.
Notable Mentions
Song of the South (1946)
Not included on the list only for being a film, its content is, however, just as fun and valuable.
Based on the collection of Uncle Remus stories, the film follows Johnny as he visits his grandmother in her plantation in the American South, shortly after the end of the Civil War. There he befriends Uncle Remus, who amuses him by telling him the adventures of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, and Br'er Bear. Through them, Johnny learns important lessons that help him cope with the changes in his life.
Drawing from ancient African lore, the tales of Br’er Rabbit are similar to other folk tales found across the Americas. They are not only charged with morals and educational value, but they also represent the cultural richness brought in by this group, and are an invaluable piece of cultural idiosyncrasy.
The song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" won the 1948 Academy Award for Best Original Song, and James Baskett received an Academy Honorary Award for his performance as Uncle Remus.
Sadly, "Song of the South" has not escaped cancellation culture, accusing it of ‘offensive stereotyping’. However, the film’s overall value can’t be reduced to this narrow view.
Young children will enjoy the colorful animations, the fun stories, and the tuneful songs. In older children, the film may install important discussions about slavery, the civil war, racial inequality, etc.
With the appropriate guidance, there’s no reason why children of all ages should not enjoy and learn from this charming animated jewel.
Topo Gigio (1960)
Created in 1959 by puppeteer artist Maria Perego as a full-body puppet that interacts with living persons, Topo Gigio first made its appearance in brief skits in several shows in Italy. But it was not until 1963, when he appeared in the Ed Sullivan Show, that his success became global.
And although not created with the implicit intention of being an educational program, the skits and actions of Gigio, along with the tenor of the stories presented, always contain an educational element meant to instil good values in pre-school children.
From saying his prayers before sleep to brushing his teeth, kissing his dad good night, or singing “I love my dad very much”, Topo Gigio blends the irresistible tenderness, coyness, and sweetness of a good little boy.
Still active more than 60 years since its creation, Topo Gigio, is one of the best examples that it’s possible to create shows for children that combine fun and educational content, and remains a favourite of children, and those who were once children and grew up with him.
Sesame Street (1973)
Probably the most famous and enduring of all educational programs for children. The only reason why we did not include it in the main list is because it has continued to run since its inception in 1972.
However, compared to the original concept and even those from up to a decade earlier, the content of the contemporary Sesame Street has lost some of its educational emphasis, migrating instead towards a ‘fun for fun sake’ concept.
Thus, while Sesame Street may still be a show worth watching for pre school children, its educational content must be now combined with other sources to obtain the same effect.
Lorne Greene’s New Wilderness (1982)
Although not created specifically for children, this Canadian nature series has every element to entice the younger audience.
Each episode of this show focused on a wild animal; but instead of presenting zoological data about them, LGNW presented the life of each as a real life drama, from an up and close point of view.
The beauty of the shots -some of which captured scenes of wildlife intimacy never before seen-, Lorne Greene’s sober narration, and the score composed by Jacques Urbont bestowed even greater emotion to the scenes, which often split between gorgeous beauty and terrible drama.
Conjugating simple but effective elements, LGNW manages the audience to feel the life of each wild animal as if it were his/her own.
Using the latest in nature filming of the time, LGNW won 3 Emmy Awards, for achievements in cinematography, film editing, and music.
***
Childhood is a time to learn and to enjoy freedom, and there are excellent shows created over the years that provide a great combination of fun entertainment and substantial educational content.
Those wary that the concepts exposed in old material may clash with our current accepted canons shouldn’t need to worry.
Exposing children to materials that defy the current conventions may open their minds and give way to interesting discussions. For instance: about how children lived decades ago, what was better then and what is better now, which concepts have changed and what values have remained over the years, etc.
The material meant to entertain and educate children should allow them to think by themselves and draw their own conclusions. In the end, it’s in the hands of the parents and educators to guide the minds of the young audience.
And most of all, children should be free to enjoy quality entertainment with solid content for their healthy growth.
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