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I'll try to explain this one. Many shows usually offer a form of escapism as a way of appealing to kids. As such, when you have a show that has some kind of job/workplace as a main setting, how would you make it appealing to kids, especially if you use adult characters? Well, there seem to be some factors that would be at play. Some shows may combine all three, but they usually have at least one of them.
1. The first is with primarily focusing on a cast of non human characters, whether the world is made of up non human characters, or if the focus is simply on them.
Something like Pound Puppies 2010 is a good example of this. The show's characters are clearly adults whose mission is to make people happy by matching dogs with their perfect humans. The fact that the show's main characters are dogs probably helps in selling the idea since I'm not sure if having a human adult cast would be accepted. The idea of having non human characters in main roles seems to be a way of going into more diverse plots since its easy to project yourself into the characters without thinking too much about the real world. However, the show has its bases covered by also including The Secret Pup Club as an extra method of kid appeal.
You can kind of see this idea with Monsters At Work, which is definitely a workplace sitcom. The show has a recent college graduate as the main character, but he's a monster, just like the other workers. The show is produced by Disney Television Animation, but made for Disney Plus, which probably helped to loosen some restrictions. Like if DTVA were to make a show that primarily takes place at a job/workplace, it would most likely star a kid/teenage character if it aired on regular television.
There are also some shows like Bob The Builder and Handy Manny which do have an adult human main character, but they primarily work with talking tools of some form (talking vehicles and workman tolls respectively), which probably helps to sell the shows.
2. When I talk about escapism, I mean more in the sense of having a world where cool things can seemingly happen anytime, and you just roll with it. They also don't allude too much to the real world. I'm going to provide two examples, Breadwinners and TOTS.
Breadwinners isn't really a good show, but look at the general premise. It's a show about two ducks with a flying van and they deliver bread everywhere as part of their job. There's slapstick, video game references, the main characters seem to be teenagers (I don't remember their exact ages), and there's no mention of school. On paper, this has the makings to be big. The execution is lacking, but there's still something to be said about the show having the right ingredients.
Now we have TOTS. Its a show about two young birds named Pip The Penguin and Freddy The Flamingo, which makes sense for a Disney Junior show. They work at TOTS, whose mission is to deliver baby animals to their loving families. There's some occasional slapstick, a good deal of silliness, cute baby animals, a ferris wheel to help get babies ready, and there are some interesting premises like accidentally growing a baby to giant size or having things within a building go out of control due to a malfunction. While there is a school element, it's with recurring character Mia, not a main character, and it only shows up a few times. Episodes that have more of a direct focus on adults usually involve Pip and Freddy, as well as babies, in some ways. This especially holds true for JP. The series is animated in part by Icon Creative Studios, who did work on Monsters At Work, yet are primarily known for Disney Junior shows.
3. The final point to touch on is cuteness. Let me explain. This applies to characters who have somewhat of an ambiguous age in how you can't really tell how old they are, but they have a good deal of cuteness to help sell the show to kids.
One recent example I can think of is with Strawberry Shortcake: Berry In The Big City. The show's main characters, who are humans, operate their food trucks, something usually reserved for those who are old enough to drive. One of the main settings is the Big Apple Berry Works, the main workplace. They can also go around without supervision. At the same time, Strawberry lives with her Aunt Praline, who doesn't look older than her late 30s, and she has a plucky, childlike energy and enthusiasm. Her friends seem to be of a similar age since, when we see their families in the two part Berry Bounty Banquet episode, the adults look closer in age to Aunt Praline. Similarly, that episode showed Orange having an older sister (who looks to be an older teenager or a young adult) and Blueberry has a younger brother who's clearly a kid. The show looks very cute, which probably helps to appeal since it's like watching a friend go through daily adventures regardless of age.
Another example I can think of is with Chico Bon Bon Monkey With A Tool Belt. It's a preschool show that focuses on an animal construction crew, with one of the members being a kitty mechanic who's also a daredevil. I don't recall their ages being mentioned, but the show fits all three criteria. It's a show about non human characters, there's some escapist elements, and the show is produced by Silver Gate Media and Brown Bag Films, who are known for making cute looking preschool shows (they both worked on Octonauts while Silver Gate Media also worked on the Nick Jr Peter Rabbit series and Brown Bag Films has worked on Doc McStuffins and Vampirina). What probably helps to sell the show is the fact that it looks really cute. Regardless of the character ages, it looks appealing in more ways than one.
What do you think though? Do shows with job/workplace settings work well for kids with at least one of these three criteria? Tell me your thoughts.
PS I was going to add a section on having young characters being the main characters in these settings, but I think my other points show the the idea better.
1. The first is with primarily focusing on a cast of non human characters, whether the world is made of up non human characters, or if the focus is simply on them.
Something like Pound Puppies 2010 is a good example of this. The show's characters are clearly adults whose mission is to make people happy by matching dogs with their perfect humans. The fact that the show's main characters are dogs probably helps in selling the idea since I'm not sure if having a human adult cast would be accepted. The idea of having non human characters in main roles seems to be a way of going into more diverse plots since its easy to project yourself into the characters without thinking too much about the real world. However, the show has its bases covered by also including The Secret Pup Club as an extra method of kid appeal.
You can kind of see this idea with Monsters At Work, which is definitely a workplace sitcom. The show has a recent college graduate as the main character, but he's a monster, just like the other workers. The show is produced by Disney Television Animation, but made for Disney Plus, which probably helped to loosen some restrictions. Like if DTVA were to make a show that primarily takes place at a job/workplace, it would most likely star a kid/teenage character if it aired on regular television.
There are also some shows like Bob The Builder and Handy Manny which do have an adult human main character, but they primarily work with talking tools of some form (talking vehicles and workman tolls respectively), which probably helps to sell the shows.
2. When I talk about escapism, I mean more in the sense of having a world where cool things can seemingly happen anytime, and you just roll with it. They also don't allude too much to the real world. I'm going to provide two examples, Breadwinners and TOTS.
Breadwinners isn't really a good show, but look at the general premise. It's a show about two ducks with a flying van and they deliver bread everywhere as part of their job. There's slapstick, video game references, the main characters seem to be teenagers (I don't remember their exact ages), and there's no mention of school. On paper, this has the makings to be big. The execution is lacking, but there's still something to be said about the show having the right ingredients.
Now we have TOTS. Its a show about two young birds named Pip The Penguin and Freddy The Flamingo, which makes sense for a Disney Junior show. They work at TOTS, whose mission is to deliver baby animals to their loving families. There's some occasional slapstick, a good deal of silliness, cute baby animals, a ferris wheel to help get babies ready, and there are some interesting premises like accidentally growing a baby to giant size or having things within a building go out of control due to a malfunction. While there is a school element, it's with recurring character Mia, not a main character, and it only shows up a few times. Episodes that have more of a direct focus on adults usually involve Pip and Freddy, as well as babies, in some ways. This especially holds true for JP. The series is animated in part by Icon Creative Studios, who did work on Monsters At Work, yet are primarily known for Disney Junior shows.
3. The final point to touch on is cuteness. Let me explain. This applies to characters who have somewhat of an ambiguous age in how you can't really tell how old they are, but they have a good deal of cuteness to help sell the show to kids.
One recent example I can think of is with Strawberry Shortcake: Berry In The Big City. The show's main characters, who are humans, operate their food trucks, something usually reserved for those who are old enough to drive. One of the main settings is the Big Apple Berry Works, the main workplace. They can also go around without supervision. At the same time, Strawberry lives with her Aunt Praline, who doesn't look older than her late 30s, and she has a plucky, childlike energy and enthusiasm. Her friends seem to be of a similar age since, when we see their families in the two part Berry Bounty Banquet episode, the adults look closer in age to Aunt Praline. Similarly, that episode showed Orange having an older sister (who looks to be an older teenager or a young adult) and Blueberry has a younger brother who's clearly a kid. The show looks very cute, which probably helps to appeal since it's like watching a friend go through daily adventures regardless of age.
Another example I can think of is with Chico Bon Bon Monkey With A Tool Belt. It's a preschool show that focuses on an animal construction crew, with one of the members being a kitty mechanic who's also a daredevil. I don't recall their ages being mentioned, but the show fits all three criteria. It's a show about non human characters, there's some escapist elements, and the show is produced by Silver Gate Media and Brown Bag Films, who are known for making cute looking preschool shows (they both worked on Octonauts while Silver Gate Media also worked on the Nick Jr Peter Rabbit series and Brown Bag Films has worked on Doc McStuffins and Vampirina). What probably helps to sell the show is the fact that it looks really cute. Regardless of the character ages, it looks appealing in more ways than one.
What do you think though? Do shows with job/workplace settings work well for kids with at least one of these three criteria? Tell me your thoughts.
PS I was going to add a section on having young characters being the main characters in these settings, but I think my other points show the the idea better.
