The show was created and is produced by Josh Selig. Selig isn’t new to preschool TV. He was the creator of Go, Baby! and Oobi, a writer on Sesame Street, and the head writer for Little Bill. I had the opportunity to watch the first episode with my kids.
What the kids thought
Both of my kids had seen the commercials, and were excited to see the show. My five year old was entranced during the first viewing, while my nearly 3 year old seemed to lose interest. However, a couple hours later both were asking to see it again. This time both were engaged. And then they asked to see it again. And then they started singing all the songs. So essentially they warmed up to it pretty quickly. (Before I get my parent card revoked, I didn’t actually let them watch it 3 times in one day).
They’ve since taken to assuming the roles of the characters with my 5 year old acting as Linny, and my nearly 3 year old serving as Ming-Ming. This is coincidentally appropriate since Linny is supposed to represent the developmental age of a 5 year old, while Ming-Ming is the youngest of the group as a 3 year old. Tuck the turtle is right in between at 4 years old.
While the first episode didn’t lend itself to the type of interaction that some other recent shows have, the kids were both into it.
What the parent thought
It’s easy to see why the kids were engaged because the characters are adorable and the animation technique is colorful. The technique is called photo-puppetry where photographs of real animals are manipulated. While the technique was developed exclusively for the show, it looks a lot like the Playhouse Disney interstitial Go Baby.
Sylistically the show feels considerably like Little Einsteins – which isn’t a bad thing. The pets go on adventures in their ship, much like the Little Einsteins. Linny i s the leader and plays a role analogous to Leo. Along the way on the adventure kids are presented with various facts, like that Hawaii is actually a series of islands. Both shows are heavily influenced by music.
The show is enjoyable, and for an opera it isn’t annoying like I expected it to be. My main problem with the show revolves around Ming-Ming. Her voice is very baby-like. While I understand she is the youngest of the group, and many kids her age have troubles with R’s and similar problems, I don’t like it on a TV show. That was always one of my issues with Baby Bear on Sesame Street. I don’t like that voice as an influence, and I happen to find it annoying. In a similar vein, I caught Ming-Ming using the word best-est in the premiere episode. This is somewhat ironic in that one of the shows primary educational goals is vocabulary development.
However, the other curricular goals of teamwork and problem solving certainly seem to be accomplished. In Save the Dolphin when the pets are preparing to set out on their mission, Ming-Ming gets tangled up in yarn. The group works together to use scissors to cut her free. When they find the baby dolphin caught in a net, they worked with a swordfish to cut the net. I appreciate the foreshadowing and the clue earlier in the story. And as I mentioned earlier, there are numerous facts inserted unobtrusively thoughout the stories.
The good news is that if your kids like the show, there are quite a few episodes on the way. The initial order is for 20 episodes which will prove more enjoyable than the 12 episode orders of other recent Nick Jr. shows Jack’s Big Music Show and Go Diego Go.
The show will premiere on Friday, March 3rd with back to back episodes starting at 11:30am. The premiere episodes will be simulcast on Nick Jr. and Noggin.
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
My 3 year old son loves the show. We have to tape every show so he can watch it over. He thinks it is exciting to have the pets help each other. Even lately his great grandmother and grandparents had babysat and they sat here and love the show. They asked us to make copies of it for their house for when he comes to visit. Great show and does show a bit of responsibility.
My two little ones, four and three, both sit entranced with every episode on Nick Jr. every day. I do like the musical content, and I think it’s great to introduce the concept of opera to a young generation. They should know that people sang to dialog before rap music came along. A bit more variety in the music wouldn’t hurt, though, as the same musical phrases are used over and over in each and every episode, perhaps for the benefit of the young performers.
In fact the music is so repetative that I even find myself huming or singing along with the main “Wonder Pets fight song” (for lack of a better phrase) during the show and even during the day.
I also find Ming-ming’s baby voice articulation kind of bothersome. While it’s “cute” to hear, it doesn’t teach kids how to pronounce words correctly, which should be the case for a show that’s primary focus is educational. I think if they dropped it most kids wouldn’t notice the change.
However, it’s a minor quibble, and the positives of the show FAR outweigh the negative issues. So this adult says, “Go, Wonder Pets, Yay!”
I am interested in finding a Dvd for WOnder Pets.
Where can I purchase it.
Fran – I don’t think they’ve released any DVDs yet.
My son and I love The Wonder Pets and now I have my sister and her daughter hooked on it. We are both very interested in finding the DVD, if anyone knows anything about it please reply.
horrible show,i mean cant they just talk instead of sing pretty much all the time
My daughter loves the wonderpets. Is the dvd out yet? She sits there singing with them all the songs and they are so adorable.
She just loves it. She is 4 and can’t wait until they come on. another big hit for Nick!
my little brother loves wonder pets. he is crazy for them
my soon loves wonderpets very much
Wonder Pets are perfect for my son. He will be 3 in July. He screams with joy everytime it comes on. The characters and music are perfect. GREAT SHOW! Even Mom likes to watch it!
This show very educational. everyone i know loves it. i dont.
my nephew (zion) likes da wonder pets more than all yall
My three year old son loves “Wonderpants” as he calls them. I wish they would hurry up and put it out on dvd so he will stop asking to watch wonderpants aaaaallll day long.
i have 2 boys one will be 2 the other will be 3 and they are zombies when the wonder pets are on. I LOVE IT!! a little free time!! i wish there was videos too!!
I found this website desperately looking for the DVD for wonderpets. My son loves this show. You can see him get excited when it starts to come on TV, which we can find only 1 time a day! Too bad. He has almost every movie DVD and TV show made and this is the first one that he just gets so excited about and runs around singing “animal trouble” and Team work”. Help, I need it on tape!!!
my 2 year old grandson loves the wonder pets. he sings what’s it gonna take teamwork and ming ming too all day. he wants to watch it all the time. he hands me the remote and says mom-mom watch ming ming too.
we are looking for wonder pet toys but have not been able to find them
my daughter loves it! Every morning she asks for ming-ming!
great show for toddlers!
My 2 year-old LOVES the show! She can sing the song from memory and is learning about teamwork! What a great help for parents who are teaching their children the value of good citizenship! We are also waiting for the DVD’s and TOYS to appear! Any help??
My 5 yr old is obsessed with this show after visiting grandma’s house, which unlike ours has cable. A month later he is still talking about it and from time to time will do nothing but sing while playing around the house.
I am absolutely crazy about the wonder pets as an adult! I have a 4 month old and she is already into watching just little bits and pieces of tv at a time, but she loves the music! I get so tickled when I hear them say .. “this is sih-we-us”. How could you not love these adorable creatures?? I think this is a big thing!!! We got to get some DVD’s out people!!!!
My 2 1/2 year old loves this show! He, like other’s that have posted likes to pickup the phone to call them! We ask him who needs to be saved and he likes to think up different animals from books we’ve read to him. We can’t wait until the episode’s are released on DVD! For now it’s taping them to watch later!
they have got to come out with a dvd soon. my son is 18 months old and he is in nlove with this show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I found one place where you can get the first season of wonder pets. Go to http://www.dvdentertainment.biz and in the search box type in wonder pets
my daughter who will be 3 in about 9 days loves the wonder pets she is so crazy about them and they are only on 1 time during the day she knows the whole theme song i would really like to get her the dvds if anyone can help i tried the dvdentertainmentbiz website but could not recieve access
My little boy is 3, and he loves the wonder pets! I’m not a big tv fan, but this is a very cute show! Can someone tell me how I can buy the movies? dvdentertainmentbiz didn’t work for me either.
My daughter just loves Wonder Pets! She never wants to miss it! She laughs and sings with them! We just love this show in our house hold! =) I also didn’t have any luck with dvdentertainmentbiz. Any ideas on where to buy them on DVD? Or even merchandise?
i found were to bye wonder pets on DVD here is the wed site :
http://www.bestdvdentertainment.com/productsdescription.php?id=87
I think that the dvd at bestdvdentertainmen.com is just copied from the actual tv show. I do not think they are the quality dvds you would buy at the store. And its 29.99 for 10 episodes.
I have a 2 year old who loves ming-ming… He cries if we dare touch the remote… It is a wonderful television program for preschool children… One of the best!!!!
Just a quick note with regards to the WONDER PETS DVD. As far as I am aware you can download the first 10 episodes from APPLE’s ITUNE’s website. And if I am correct it costs $19.99. Once downloaded you can burn onto a DVD or play it on your computer. The quality is excellent as well.
My niece an daughter adore this show. They no longer care about Dora! It’s all about MING MING AND LINNY!! Pls make dvd’s and games and plush toys for the kids!
A new kind of showI love the singing, so do my kids!!
THIS IS A KEEPER DISNEY!
Love Charlie and LOLA TOO!!
I can’t get my 3 year old to nursery because the show is on when she has to leave . Needs to be on earlier .
Forget my 2 year old…I LOVE the Wonder Pets and so does my 14 year old! I am an educator with a master’s degree in early childhood education, and I normally don’t allow my toddler to watch much television, “educational” or otherwise, but this show is irresistable, unique, and creative. My two year old daughter loves it, and it is one of the few shows I let her watch.
As for the original reviewer’s qualm’s with Ming Ming’s speech–which in my mind is adorable–children develop language by listening to their parents/caretakers speak to them and by interacting with live people in their environments. Unless your child is stuck in front of the TV all day, his/her language development is not going to be adversely affected by hearing a little duck mispronounce “serious” once or twice…
My wife and I find ourselves playfully quoting items from the show.
Our daughter Sarah loves it and becomes transfixed while it is on.
She is 10 months old.
She also seems to enjoy the Backyardigans. When she is upset or
we want a smile, all we need do is sing a verse or two from one of these
shows. She sways and tries to dance although she only recently started
taking steps on her own. Bravo!
My 2 year old son wakes up in the morning asking for pets. I have been hoping they would get some merchandise out before christmas. I am asked constantly sing pets. So he picks an animal each time to save dolphin, zebra, or horse.
Thank You
andrea
my grandson Diego love the wonder pets. Diego see them everyday.I can’t wait until it come out on dvd so i can get them for him and me. Great show for the kids.
I have twin four year old boys and a two year old daughter. All three of them love this show, as do myself and their Dad!! This show is so cute. We order it (free) on On Demand (Comcast) whenever they come out with a new episode.
I WISH they’d come out with Wonder Pets flashcards. My kids love flashcards and having Wonder Pets ones would be so nice!!
Hello, My 5 year old daughter loves wonderpets too,
And i too hav been searching for wonderpets dvd, Just though you all might like to know i have just purchased 10 episodes from ebay, granted they will be be a copied (pirate) dvd, BUT.. for £5.00 for 10 episodes i think its good value, and it will keep my daughter happy til nick junior release there own copy..
Search on ebay for wonderpets..
Good Luck
Hello, My 5 year old daughter loves wonderpets too,
And i too have been searching for wonderpets dvd, Just though you all might like to know i have just purchased 10 episodes from ebay, granted they will be be a copied (pirate) dvd, BUT.. for £5.00 for 10 episodes i think its good value, and it will keep my daughter happy til nick junior release there own copy..
Search on ebay for wonderpets..
Good Luck
Hi, my 2 year old son is obsessed with wonderpets and constantly asking for it on. We managed to find a free promo dvd but desperately seeking more than one episode if anyone knows where to get the DVD in the UK. Little suggestion for anyone looking for toys, if you go on NickJr’s website there’s loads of different Wonderpets stickers to print off, I printed them on card, cut them out and laminated them. My son loves them and uses them to ‘save’ his other animals, regardless of them being big and fluffy in comparison.
me and my little sister l.o.v.e. the wonder pets and i cant wait til wp comes out on dvd and they make more episodes!!!
My daughter absolutly loves the wonder pets. she is only 1 year old and its so cute because when we put on the wonder pets in the morningit makes my day hearing her sing the wonder pets “the phone is ringing song” I as an adult love the wonder pets as well and so does my 11 year old daughter!!! please put more wp episodes ondemand
Amazon.com reports a Wonder Pets DVD coming out April 24. This is serious!
my son is 20 months and he loves this show,finally no more barney. now theres a show that my husband,my 10 year old,my 8 year old and myself all enjoy!!
My wife cares for 2 neighbor babies daily, a 1 year old and soon to be 2 year old. A few months ago television would not get their attention. We tried every childrens program available on cable TV. When the Wonder pets came up in rotation their response was instantanious. Now when they hear an episode beggining, they come running from whatever room. It is adorable how they watch so intensly. Great children’s program and the live orchestra in every episode is a treat!
My 3 yr old niece loves them! Of course she likes Max & Ruby as well, but I think Max is a spoiled brat. The photo puppetry technique probably takes a while to make, but this is a wonderful cartoon with a message … “teamwork”. Not just bouncing around like Barney or Teletubbies.
You can find the newest seasons of the Wonder Pets including Save the Unicorn & Reindeer at http://www.littletoons.com/DVDWon-Wonder_Pets_Videos.html
Also the “Phone is Ringing” song pops up at http://www.littletoons.com/Wonder_Pets_Toys.htm
Lenny, Tuck, & Ming Ming too. GO Wonder Pets!
Amazon has wonder pets dvd
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_d_0_11?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=wonder+pets+dvd&sprefix=wonder+pets
I am grown up and what got me into watching the wonderpets is ming ming – my girlfreinds name is ming ming and we both love this show-when we have children i know they will be crazy about lenny.tuck and ming ming too!