TV Review: Animalia
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this lighthearted, fast-paced
series (which is based on the popular book by Graeme Base) has
nothing but good intentions. The central characters work
together to save a society in peril, and the show subtly
emphasizes the importance of communication and language arts --
from reading and writing to speech and computer
proficiency.
Families can talk about how the series compares to Base's book. Kids: Have you read the Animalia? Did you like it? How is the TV show similar to or different from the book? What other books would you like to see turned into TV shows?
Common Sense Media Review
Based on the wildly popular children's book by
Graeme
Base, the CGI-animated series ANIMALIA colorfully brings to
life a futuristic fantasy world in which animals talk, wear
clothes, and do pretty much everything else humans do. Alex
(voiced by Brooke Anderson) and Zoe (
Katie
Leigh) -- two children who are transported from our present
world to Animalia via a magic portal in a library -- arrive in
this strange land to find all is not well. The Core, a huge,
glowing orb that governs Animalia's stability, is faltering and
having potentially harmful effects on Animalia's inhabitants.
With help from their new animal friends G'bubu the gorilla
(Christopher Hobbs), Iggy the iguana (Robert Mark Klein), and
Animalia ruler Livingstone T. Lion (who's reminiscent of
The
Chronicles of Narnia
's Aslan), Alex and Zoe set off on one thrilling adventure
after another in a quest to help regulate the Core and restore
harmony to Animalia.
Featuring lively storylines and filled with enough silliness to keep any grade schooler entertained, Animalia can get a bit loud and frantic at times (from an adult point of view, anyway). That said, it's also designed to appeal to today's smart, sophisticated kids -- the dialogue is unusually witty, and the Animalians' use of ultra-advanced technology and other machinery and everyday objects typically used by humans sets a contemporary tone in a zany fantasy world that children will love exploring. Although this won't be obvious to most kid viewers, the show's central theme is communication, as the Core is what enables Animalia's inhabitants to talk and write like humans; according to the show's producers, each episode strives to emphasize the importance of communication skills such as reading, writing, speech, critical thinking, and computer proficiency.
Kids who enjoy this series should check out the book it's based on. Older grade schoolers who like the show may also enjoy C.S. Lewis' book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the movies based on it, as well as Lewis's other Narnia books.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
