Review: Toot & Puddle

Toot & Puddle

Nick Jr.

It’s perfectly natural to be envious of cartoon characters. After all, they can do lots of cool stuff, like defy the laws of physics, and they never age. With Toot & Puddle, folks have another reason to envy the animated: Unlike the title characters, we can’t hop the globe and travel as we please (except, of course, for Brangelina).

Inspired by Holly Hobbie’s popular picture books, Toot & Puddle chronicles the adventures of a pair of journeying pigs. These globe-trotters make Indiana Jones look like a homebody: They think nothing of jetting off to Majorca to compete in a soap-box derby or zipping over to India on a whim. Of course they’re equally content to explore their own backyard.

The show introduces preschoolers to plenty of different cultures, and offers a cursory introduction to their respective traditions, foods and languages. There are also plenty of familiar life lessons: Friendship is valuable, it’s okay to ask for help, and winning isn’t everything.

While those over age five might find the characters’ perennial cheeriness a bit exhausting, there are occasional treats for parents, like Toot and Puddle fist-bumping à la the Obamas. For the most part, it’s best to enjoy your kids’ reactions and remind yourself that you never thought you’d see the day when pigs could fly.--Will Sabel Courtney