THERE IS A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN

Disney Junior introduced a new animated show to join its popular kids focused television lineup on Friday the 13^th called SHERIFF CALLIE’S WILD WEST.  The follows the exploits of a calico cat, voiced by the singer Mandy Moore, who serves as the Sheriff of the frontier town of Nice & Friendly Corner using a magical lasso and cow-girl know how to keep the peace.  The show utilizes Wild West folklore and Country music to impart social skills and lessons for young children ages 2-7 encouraging them to be good friends and neighbors.

My 5 year old son was home sick from preschool and we watched the Friday the 13^th sneak peek preview airing on the Disney Channel together.  The episode focused on dealing with the issue of “being a good sport” when one of Callie’s sidekicks becomes the best horseshoe player in town he becomes an arrogant jerk so the Sheriff teaches him a lesson by graciously beating him at his own game.  While the show has a cute premise with the Sheriff, her deputies a cactus and a red robin, and a town full of characters that look like they were pulled from a Richard Scary book, it just didn’t capture my son’s attention.  It wasn’t that the show had a girl for a main character, because he loves to watch Disney’s newer cartoon brands Sophia the First and Doc McStuffins rather the content was a little more focused towards younger children.  I’d say that if he was a few years younger that he’d love this show, though the songs in it with their country twang just aren’t as catchy as those in Sophia and Doc, so while the age rating for SHERIFF CALLIE’S WILD WEST is 2-7 I’d probably say it is more geared for children 2-4 years old.  Both my 5 yr old twins feel the Disney Junior cartoon HENRY HUGGLEMONSTER is too immature for them as well, so if you have a younger child I’d recommend this and for kids that are 5 and older they may watch but not necessarily love this new cartoon. 

This is a quality production that shows DISNEY is committed to giving PBS KIDS dominancy in quality childhood programming a run for the money as they continue to produce and air programs like SHERIFF CALLIE which really is comparable to Dinosaur Train, Daniel Tiger, and Peg + Cat in catering to a 2-5 year old audience.  As a parent, I hope this “battle” will encourage both networks to continue to develop and expand new and interesting programs for children with safe age appropriate content and dependable education and social skill development content.

The Friday the 13th Sneak Peek Show EST air times are: 8:45 am , 2pm & 7:20pm

For more information, check out the show’s website:  http://disneyjunior.com/sheriff-callies-wild-west

SHERIFF CALLIE’S WILD WEST is scheduled to join JAKE AND THE NEVERLAND PIRATES, SOPHIA THE FIRST, DOC MCSTUFFINS &  HENRY HUGGLEMONSTER on DISNEY JUNIOR’S regular weekly lineup starting January 20, 2014.  

Doc McStuffins Starts Making House Calls on Sept 6

The Disney cable network’s popular and award-winning preschool show “Doc McStuffins” will be kicking off Season 2 on Friday, September 6^th.   "Doc McStuffins" is a tv program my kids enjoy watching and I can appreciate letting them watch. This animated show chronicles a six-year-old girl named Doc McStuffins who, one day, wants to become a doctor like her mother. As a kid, she "pretends" to be a doctor by fixing up toys and dolls. When she puts on her stethoscope, something magical happens: toys, dolls and stuffed animals come to life and she can communicate with them. With a little help from her stuffed animal friends, Stuffy, Hallie, Lambie and Chilly, Doc helps toys "feel better" by giving them check-ups.  

It is a really entertaining series that includes an original song in each show plus the show’s catchy theme song “Time for your Check-up” along with educational themes and messages for preschool and kindergarten aged children including Doc giving advice to viewers about staying healthy during the ending credits . The most important educational aspect of the show though is its message to little girls that they can grow up to have professional careers and be doctors…something this geek daddy wouldn’t mind seeing his own daughter grow up to do.

Starting on September 6^th, there will be a new episode of “Doc McStuffins” airing every Friday on the Disney Channel throughout the month of September.  The season will be premiering Doc’s new mobile clinic, a souped up wagon that lets her travel the neighborhood making house calls, allowing the show to expand beyond the primary setting of Doc’s bedroom, playhouse and back yard from Season 1 in these new episodes.  Also new in Season 2 will be guest stars voicing characters in show.  While you and your family are watching Season 2 can you guess which characters are being voiced by  Geena Davis "A League of Their Own", Jeffrey Tambor "Arrested Development", Tony Hale "Arrested Development", Molly Shannon "Saturday Night Live", Tony Award-winning actress Sutton Foster "Anything Goes", Amy Sedaris "Strangers with Candy" and Peter MacNicol "Grey's Anatomy"?

To help kick-off Season 2, a "Doc McStuffins: The Doc Mobile" game and other digital activities including one that invites boys and girls to create a customized doctor avatar, will debut on DisneyJunior.com/Doc  on Friday, August 30.  Also debuting that day is a preview of the season two premiere "Doc McStuffins Goes McMobile/Chip Off the Ol' Box" via WATCHDisneyJunior.com, the WATCH Disney Junior app for smartphones and tablets, and Disney Junior on Demand.  It will become available for download on iTunes, Amazon and Xbox beginning Saturday, September 7.

A winner among preschoolers and their parents, "Doc McStuffins" was 2012's #1 cable TV series in Kids 2-5 and the #1 cable TV preschool series in Total Viewers and Women 18-49.* The popular series has inspired the creation of brand extensions across other Disney businesses. The award-winning "Doc McStuffins Time For Your Check Up Doll" was lauded as 2013's Preschool Toy of the Year by the Toy Industry Association. The "Doc McStuffins Time For Your Check Up" app launched in April 2013 as the #1 paid entertainment iPad app, and the series recently debuted two new appisodes for the Disney Junior Appisode app for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. There are over 50 "Doc McStuffins" book titles from Disney Publishing, a soundtrack and two DVDs from Disney Studios and the series is prominently featured in the popular "Disney Junior Live on Stage!" attraction at Disney Parks & Resorts.

Created and executive-produced by Humanitas Prize and Emmy Award-winning Chris Nee (writer on "Little Bill" and producer of "Deadliest Catch: Crab Fishing in Alaska") and directed by Emmy-winning Norton Virgien ("Rugrats"), "Doc McStuffins" is a production of Dublin, Ireland's Brown Bag Films in association with Disney Channel. The Hollywood Health & Society division of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center serves as its health and medical consultants, advising on basic health issues that are relevant to young kids and families. 

Check out the Disney Channel's newest Pre-K Friendly Show: Henry Hugglemonster

The Pre-K television programming that we’ve allowed our preschool aged children to watch has been primarily on two channels PBS (Arthur, Cat in the Hat, Caillou, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Dinosaur Train, MarthaSpeaks, Sid the Science Kid, Sesame Street, Wild Kratts & Word Girl) and Nick Jr. (Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go!, Bubble Guppies, Max & Ruby, Mike the Knight, PeterRabbit & Team Umizoomie).  Recently though Disney has been challenging the dominance of those other two channels in our household with new quality programming like Doc McStuffins, Jake and theNeverland Pirates & Sophia the First.  This week the Disney Channel is adding a new addition to its Disney Jr. lineup with the premiere of HENRY HUGGLEMONSTER.

HENRY HUGGLEMONSTER debuts on the Disney Channel Monday April 15^th at 5pm ET/ 4 pm CT.  Based upon Niamh Sharkey’s award-winning children's book “I’m a Happy Hugglewug” this new animated tv series is filled with entertaining stories that provide life lessons for kids age 2-7.  The show revolves around a 5 year old “monster” named Henry Hugglemonster as the middle child in a family that lives in the town of Roarsville. 

Our kids love Doc McStuffins so I was pleased to find out that the woman who voices Lambie, Lara Jill Miller, is also providing the voice for Henry in this show.  On the other side of the spectrum, we’ve banned Spongebob Squarepants from being watched by our kids but the man who is the voice behind Spongebob, Tom Kenny, brings life to Henry’s dad and grandpa in this new show.  Don’t worry though, I’ve watched the first episode and Tom doesn’t bring Spongebob’s behavior and antics to Roarsviile from Bikini Bottom. 

Henry Hugglemonster is a quirky and charming show that is a nice addition to television program lineups for parents looking for Pre-K appropriate shows for their children to watch.   What has been nice for our family is that my 4 year old son has recently not been wanting us to turn off the lights at bedtime because he is “scared of monsters in the dark” and we are hoping that this show will help  reinforce our efforts to put those fears to rest by showing the Hugglemonster family and their monster neighbors in a fun non-threatening way.

 Can’t catch the April 15^th premiere on the Disney Channel or want to prescreen the show before your kids see it?  You can do that! Disney has the full twenty-four minute first episode “The Huggleflower  / Monster Lullaby “ live streaming on its website NOW! Just go to the following website to watch the show at your convenience:  http://disney.go.com/disneyjunior/henry-hugglemonster/henry-hugglemonster-videos-episodes/the-huggleflower-monster-lullaby-2019660

Disney also has some Henry Hugglemonster coloring pages, crafts (create your own monsterhorns to wear when you watch the show) and games (choose from roaring racer gokart or monster maker charactertures) on its website.